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The Insurance Information Institute has released a "Know Your Coverage" iPhone App. Below, find a screen shot and the app's description from the download site.

"Do you have the right insurance coverage if your home and belongings are damaged or destroyed by a fire, flood, earthquake, or other catastrophe? Getting the peace of mind that comes with insurance isn't rocket science; it's about knowing your stuff, knowing the risks involved and understanding your priorities. The Know Your Coverage app features interactive quizzes that guide you through key questions to discuss with your Insurance Professional. Together, you can work out a coverage plan for your needs and budget. But it's not just about stuff... with the right amount and type of insurance, you can focus on what really matters--your work, family, friends and hobbies--without having to worry about the "what-ifs" in life."

This is one in a series of "Know Your X" apps ... find other apps from the Insurance Information Institute - get a home inventory app called "Know Your Stuff" and a disaster planning app called "Know Your Plan."

The following are resources to help you track and prepare for Sandy - along with insurance related resources should you incur any damage. We've also included some good info gleaned from past hurricanes, if still relevant.

Storm Tracking
MSNBC Hurricane Tracker

Storm Central 2012 at the NOAAA

National Hurricane Center Facebook

Weather Underground - including co-founder
Dr. Jeff Masters WunderBlog

New England Emergency Resources

CT: @CTDEMHS - Connecticut Deparment of Emergency Services

MA: @MassEMA - MA Emergency Management Agency

ME: @MaineEMA - Maine Emergency Management Agency

NH: @NHgov - ReadyNH

NY: @NYSDHSES - NY Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services

RI: @RhodeIslandEMA - RI Emergency Management Agency

VT: @vemvt - VT Emergency Management

Hurricane Preparation
It Is Not Too Late to Conduct a Home Inventory In Preparation for Hurricane Irene - Still relevant info

Common Sense Advice Before & After a Hurricane

Preparing an effective evacuation plan

Checklist for protecting your technology before & during a hurricane

Disaster Planning for Small Businesses - a checklist from the
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which covers key steps for preparation, as well as an overview of related insurance issues that you need to consider.

Hurricane Preparation Tips and Disaster Preparedness - from the Insurance Information Institute

Hurricane Safety Checklists - from the Red Cross

Insurance Matters

Homeowners Insurance Policies in Many Coastal States Affected by Sandy Have Hurricane Deductibles

Hurricane & Wind Storm Deductibles

Claims reporting: Direct links to Renaissance Alliance insurance partners claims reporting pages - list includes 40 of the state's major insurers. If your insurer is not listed here, contact your independent agent or the Mass Division of insurance's main number (617) 521-7794 or the Consumer Information Hotline (617) 521-7794.

Tips for claims reporting: What consumers should know when faced with a loss - Important, but sometimes difficult, filing a claim can be one of the most frustrating processes during a crisis or following a major disaster. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners offers tips for what your insurance company needs to help you avoid problems getting your claims paid.

If you have an older driver in your household - or if you are an older driver yourself - you may be wondering what your state law is about when and if you need to be tested. Some states have no special requirments based on age. Some require older drivers to renew in person. Many require vision tests or proof from an optometrist that vision has been tested.

Few, if any, states require road tests for aging drivers. Several states have looked into laws to impose manadatory tests after a certain age (often age 75), but these have generally been defeated, either because there was not sufficient evidence that they would reduce collisions, or because they were viewed as discrimantory. However, most states will accept reports of potentially dangerous drivers from police, family or other observers and may require tests based on such reports. Some states also allow tests to be required at renewal based on observations of potential impairment by registry of motor vehicle employees. Selective tests based on reports or observations aren't necessarily restricted by age! Some states will revoke licenses based on any problems that turn up, while others impose restrictions, such as driving only in daylight hours.

There's no consistency state to state - here's a handy State by State Look at Driving Rules for Older Drivers.

Aging drivers should be aware that there are many new safety tools that can help reduce risks commonly associated with aging, such as diminished vision. See the Top 10 Car Technologies For Mature Drivers, as well as 10 Vision Safety Tips for Older Drivers.

It would be ideal if everyone could self-assess and make the decision to limit or stop driving as they feel abilities diminish - some peopel do indeed do that. But because giving up a car is so tied with independence, many are reluctant to give up driving. And some may lose objectivity - they may "feel" like they are still driving safely. It often requires intercession of a caring family member or friend. See our prior post on Helping senior drivers to make a tough decision: hanging up the keys.

If you are one of the 5 million people who has the misfortune to be involved in a car accident over the next year, you may not be sure exactly what steps to take to protect yourself. Car accidents are rare enough events that most people don't have top-of-mind awareness about what information needs to be exchanged. Plus, the stress, confusion and high emotions of the event can be a recipe for problems. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) conducted a survey to find out if consumers know what to do, and they learned most people don't. Here were some common misconceptions and associated risks:

• Nearly 40% of respondents felt they should share their driver's licenses, some allowing the other driver to photograph their licenses. The risk is that many retailers accept driver's license information as a common way to verify identity over the phone.
• 25% of consumers would share their home addresses. The risk: this information gives potential identity thieves the physical location of one's mail or garbage, a place often searched for further financial information; It also means potential criminals know where you live, putting your personal safety in jeopardy.
• Almost 30% of drivers think they are required to share their personal phone numbers. This is not necessary.
• Close to 20% believe the only reason to call the police after an accident is if someone is injured. However, filing a police report can help facilitate the insurance claims process.

Car Accidents: there's an app for that!
NAIC offers a WreckCheck mobile app that takes the guesswork out of a post-accident information exchange. When you download the app, enter your vehicle information and info about your agent and insurer. If you are in an accident, launch the app, which will guide you through a step-by-step process to create an accident report. It also offers tips for staying calm, safe and smart on the road, and makes it easy to capture photos and document the necessary information to file an insurance claim. Additionally, the app lets you email yourself a completed accident report directly, as well as to your insurance agents.

The app is free and available for both iPhone® and Android® smartphone users.

Disasters can happen anywhere - just ask the folks in Springfield who experienced the full wrath of last summer's tornado or the Vermont communities who were flooded last year in the aftermath of a hurricane that was supposed to pass the state by. While we sometimes have warning about pending problems, catastrophic weather and disastrous natural events often take us by surprise.

Today, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has introduced a new mobile disaster preparedness app - Know Your Plan - which features property protection guidance. It includes a variety of "resources and checklists that consumers can use to to help minimize property damage due to severe weather events and other disasters. Users also can build customized checklists, and can share their checklists with family and friends via email." Users can also access local emergency information through a built-in Google Crisis Response feed.

The iPhone app was developed with the Insurance Information Institute, and can be accessed at the iPhone store under Know Your Plan, or by searching "Insurance Information Institute" in the App store from any iPhone.

Your disaster prep should also include a home inventory. We recommend two tools for that. See Know Your Stuff from the Insurance Information Institute or myHOME Scr.APP.book from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Passwords for more than 6 million LinkedIn accounts were leaked by hackers this past week, and just after that was announced, there was a leak of more than 1.5 million eHarmony user passwords. The strong advice from security experts: Change your passwords now.

Here's the scoop: you should change your passwords for these accounts, and if those passwords were used on any other accounts, you need to change those, too. Run, don't walk, to change passwords if any of those accounts are related to your financial data.

Creating and managing passwords is a nuisance for many, but it is one of your first defenses against preventing identity theft and illegal access to your important accounts. It's something you should take seriously.

Here are some security tips:

• Ideally, you should use separate passwords for each account. At the very least, create and memorize unique, separate, and strong passwords for your banking and your email accounts, and any other accounts that have financially sensitive information. Do not re-use those passwords on other sites. That way, you would limit damage and exposure if one account is compromised.


• Take the time to learn about and create strong passwords. Microsoft Security Center offers simple advice on creating strong passwords, as well as a secure password checker, a tool that you can use to test the strength of a password.


• Make it a routine practice to change passwords regularly, particularly for key accounts. At a minimum, do it twice a year at daylight savings when you change your fire alarm batteries.


• Avoid storing credit card information online. Enter it in every time when making a purchase. Today's convenience might be tomorrow's headache.


• Never enter a password into an email or a site you have clicked through an email. Phishing can be very convincing. Instead, if you get a notice from a bank or some other account, go directly to the website from your browser and sign in there.


• Consider a password managing service. While we can't make a recommendation for a specific service, some popular ones frequently cited on tech forums include LastPass, KeePass, and 1Password. These have different features and benefits, and help solve the problem of remembering and storing passwords. While there are free versions of password management services, this seems important enough to consider paying an annual service fee for.

See our other posts on ID theft and scams.

Gas prices are soaring again in what has become almost an annual spring ritual, although it's starting earlier this year. Just ten months ago, we did a post on what you can do about rising gas prices - and the information in there is worth another look. This year, though, spurred by rumors of more conflict in the Middle East, gas prices look set to rise more than they have in several years, possibly even above the record high of $4.11 reported on July 17, 2008. What else is different this year? Well, you can now download a variety of apps for your smartphone to help you find the cheapest gas in your neighborhood. Gasbuddy.com in particular is a useful site either online at home or on the go with a free app. The data is submitted by local users so keep an eye on the date of submission to make sure you're getting the most recent info.

Why do gas prices fluctuate so much? This overview explains How Gas Prices Work. Essentially, it's a complicated interlocking chains of supply, demand and crude oil prices. Any slight hitch in this chain can cause our prices at the pump to jump or fall in a crazy pattern that seems to make no sense. One thing does seem certain, though and that's that we'll continue seeing higher prices at the pump for the foreseeable future.

What can you do to lessen the impact of gas prices on your life? Experts say that the easiest first step is making sure your tires are properly inflated. Over and under inflated tires waste gas, as do dirty air filters, so consider replacing yours more frequently. Yahoo news reports that gas prices are higher on the weekends, so try to buy gas in the middle of the week. And stay away from highway gas stations! Buy your gas in smaller neighborhoods, where prices are likely to be lower.

Everyone's favorite time of year, tax deadline, is rapidly approaching. While there are still a few weeks left before it's time to get out the balloons and party hats, it's always a good idea to be over rather than under prepared for your yearly taxes. As you're thinking about the past year, make sure to consider any property losses you may have incurred in 2011. Many people up and down the East Coast suffered losses due to Hurricane Irene, which was by most estimates one of the top ten most destructive and deadly hurricanes to hit the United States since 1980. Irene was a tragedy, but the silver lining is that according to the IRS, losses may well be deductible.

Keeping the terminology clear may help you understand which losses are deductible and which are not. Remember, a casualty occurs when your property is damaged as a result of a disaster such as a storm, fire, car accident or similar event. A theft occurs when somebody steals your property. A loss on deposits occurs when your financial institution becomes insolvent or bankrupt. Any losses incurred as a result of hurricane damage are considered casualties, particularly since Hurricane Irene was one of the many federally recognized disasters in 2011.

However, while losses are deductible, it's important to know that if you have insurance, you must have filed a timely insurance claim. Any reimbursement you received from insurance must be taken into account and subtracted when figuring your loss. This includes any expected reimbursement even if you have not yet received it. This booklet on Casualties, Disasters & Theft from the IRS (PDF) will help you decide if the casualty, loss and theft deductions apply to you.

Taxes are never fun, but being prepared for all eventualities helps whether the disaster is a hurricane or a Form 1040. Make sure your accountant is aware of any losses you may have suffered in 2011.

Presidents' Day weekend is traditionally a big car buying time. Manufacturers and dealers roll out incentives and discounts galore to lure buyers into a purchase. Is it really a good time for consumers to buy? The best time to buy is when you can afford it and when you've done your research. Rather than acting impulsively on any of the deals, you should plan your budget, your purchase goals, and do your research in advance - then, if any deals coincide with your pre-established budget, criteria, and goals - terrific!

Step by Step: Buying a new car - a good guide from Consumer Reports that covers choosing a car, what to expect at the dealership, getting the best price on your new car and your trade in, financing tips, closing the deal, and post-sale tips.

Safercar.gov Vehicle Shoppers - Consumer resources from the U.S. Department of Transportation, including 5 Star Ratings, which measure the crash worthiness and rollover safety of vehicles. Five stars is the highest rating, one is the lowest. The site also offers information on child safety, tire safety, safety technologies, and other topics.

Watch out for scams
One other thing to watch out for: The head of Consumer Affairs in Boston says to be on the alert for questionable fees. "NewsCenter 5's Susan Wornick obtained the results of a new state surveyin which state regulators, posing as consumers, called 180 car dealers across the state and found 130 charged some questionable fees that can drive up the final cost by hundreds or even more than $1,000."

Just another reason not to rush into things!

Other car-buying research tools
Consumer Reports: Step-by-step: Buying a used car

Edmunds True Cost to Own Vehicle Calculator

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Picks for 2012 Autos

Myths and Truths About Timing Your car Purchase

Here in the Northeast, it's been a mild winter so far -- if you exclude the freak Halloween storm that caught us all by surprise. But the roads are slick today so you may need a refresher in winter driving and car care.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation offers a great page of safe winter driving tips - including everything from preparing your vehicle, supplies you should have in the car, safe driving pointers, and advice for what to do if you are stranded while driving. One of the things that always seems difficult is sharing the road with plows and snow clearing equipment - to pass or not to pass? So the common sense tips for driving near plows offers some good guidance. The graphic that accompanies the tips is excellent so we are reprinting it below.

Have fun this New Year's Eve, but be careful! It's a good idea to plan in advance for your safety - and that of your friends and family.

As a rule of thumb, you should consume only one drink or less per hour. Effects will vary based on a person's body weight and body chemistry. Plus, alcohol has a cumulative effect so how many drinks you consume over how many hours has an effect. In general, your body can only metabolize about one drink per hour. And be careful about how you define "one drink" - this equates to 12-ounces of beer, a 4-ounce glass of wine, or one shot (one ounce) of 80 proof alcohol.

The Blood Alcohol Calculator from the Police Notebook will estimate your impairment level and tell you if you are "legal." The calculator works by giving an estimate of your "blood alcohol count" (BAC) or the ratio of alcohol to blood in your system. Enter the type of drink, how many drinks you consumed/plan to consume, your weight, and the amount of time you have been/will be drinking. This will produce an estimated BAC, and will tell you if you are impaired and at risk of arrest should you be stopped by police.

The site also includes some handy reference charts for men and for women, and charts that describe the type of impairment that people experience at various BAC levels. There are also a list of common myths and suggestions for how to get car keys away from an intoxicated person.

If you are out on New Year's Eve, have an advance strategy to ensure your safety:

• Plan for a designated driver.
• Plan to sleep over.
• Look for a Tipsy Taxi service in your area. Many communities sponsor a free taxi service that can be called to get a ride home. You can call a local police department to see if there are any operating in your community.
• Drink non alcoholic beverages.
• Have one or two drinks early in the evening and switch to non-alcoholic beverages for a few hours before you drive home.

If you are hosting a party, take your responsibilities seriously. You would never forgive yourself if a guest were injured or killed - or killed another driver - after leaving your house. Plus, you might have either criminal or civil liability for any accident ensuing from intoxication that occurred at your home. Here is a good Responsible Party Host Tip Sheet (PDF) to help you plan a safe party.

And one final note of caution:
People can and do die from alcohol poisoning when they consume more alcohol than their body can safely process in a short period of time. Tragically, many young people succumb to alcohol poisoning every year due to ignorance about the facts of excess alcohol intake. Call 9-1-1 if you see someone exhibiting behavior that might indicate alcohol poisoning, evidenced by any of the following symptoms:

• Cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin
• Unconscious or unable to be roused
• Slow or irregular breathing
• Puking repeatedly or uncontrollably

The Edmunds True Cost to Own Calculator is a handy tool that will help inform you of the true cost of your next vehicle purchase. The purchase price is not the only indicator of which car is the better deal as sometimes the cheaper car will hit you with other costs down the line. The True Cost to Own Calculator helps reveal those hidden costs.

Here's how it works. Based on your area and the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, it then factors in estimates about depreciation, taxes, fees, financing, fuel, maintenance, repairs, and the purpose of this blog, insurance. All estimates are based on a 5 year period with 15,000 miles driven per year. Although these are just estimates it's educational and often surprising to compare the charts of different makes and models to see what the estimated "True Cost to Own" is.

It's also good for comparing whether or not that hybrid car you've been eying is finally worth it, since in theory the higher purchase price will save you gas in the long run. You might be surprised. The True Cost Calculator helps determine this and reveal other hidden costs.

Insurance is already figured into the tool, but here is a list of the Most and Least Expensive Cars to Insure for 2011. Another factor you might want to consider is susceptibility to theft. Here is a list of the Top 10 Most Stolen in 2010.

Before you purchase your next vehicle be sure to check this tool out - it pays to do a little advance research!

An August 2011 Consumer Reports article about nutritional labeling advises us how to avoid temptation at the fast food counter, citing a study that shows that a group of people who saw calorie counts before ordering consumed 14% fewer calories than a group that didn't... other studies offer different results, showing little or no effect on consumer behavior. Does fast food nutrition labeling help us make healthier choices, yes or no?

Well, yes, and no, apparently... But we would point out one salient fact: fast food is fast. People may want to make healthy choices, but they're also in a rush. They're picking up and dropping off their kids, thinking about that presentation they need to deliver, or errands they need to run. If they had a few minutes to peruse the nutritional labeling, maybe they would have had time to make their own healthy lunch.

It makes sense to try to sort out this information and settle on selections during some free moment before placing an order. The article offers four suggestions for avoiding fast food temptation, the first being: Visit websites: Many fast-food chains post figures for fat, calories, and sodium. But that's a lot of work!

Surely there must be some magical Internet gizmo that would make all this much, much easier? And, yes, there is: Fast Food Explorer to the rescue! This clever fast food calculator makes it quick and easy to compare nutrition facts for fast food at 12 of America's most popular chains. You can view by Fat Calories, Total Calories, Cholesterol, Sodium, Carbohydrates and more in various categories, from sandwiches to side dishes -- and a handy feature is that you can compare between restaurants. So let's say you have an Arby's, a Burger King, and a Wendy's nearby, and you have a hankering for chicken: The Fast Food Explorer compares the three and instantly shows you that Wendy's 5-piece Crispy Chicken Nuggets is the healthiest (adult menu) choice.

Nice! And also rather addictively fun. Here's your easy way to make healthy decisions before you're blinking at the lunch menu and worrying about getting to your next meeting on time.

There's a total of more than $32 billion in the nation's unclaimed property pools representing more than 117 million accounts. It's mostly money or assets that were either forgotten or abandoned - and in many cases, the abandonment occurred when the account holder died and nobody else knew the account(s) existed. Don't let your property become part of that pot!

We've previously talked about the importance of updating your beneficiaries on insurance polices and other financial records. Just like changing batteries in your smoke detector and getting your car inspected, you should set a routine time to do this annually - failing to do so might leave your loved ones wrangling with court proceedings - or even totally unprotected. The importance of planning cannot be overemphasized. Not to be grim, but you simply never know when your time will be up. For a statistical assessment, see our prior post What are the Odds where we have a lot of risk tools that you can play with. They range from actuarial tables to to calculators for finding out your relative risk of dying in the next year or being attacked by a shark.

OK, you get the point. Planning is important. This past week, the Wall St. Journal featured an excellent and very helpful article in their finance section about The 25 Documents You Need Before You Die - alternately titled as "Designing your death dossier," which makes it sound pretty fancy. The article makes the point that it is not simply enough to ensure that your policies are updated - it's also critical that somebody in your family knows what and where all your important documents are.

We counted more than 25 important documents referenced in the article - but it is unlikely that all will be relevant to your situation. Nevertheless, it's a great reference article to bookmark and keep as a checklist for your annual planning.

Oh, and about that unclaimed $32 billion, if you think any of it might rightfully belong to you, here's a good place to check: The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators will let you conduct a free search.

Our last post dealt with various tools and technologies for keeping home inventories, and we just learned about a free new app for iPhones. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) have introduced myHOME Scr.APP.book, a tool that lets you capture images, descriptions, bar codes and serial numbers. It looks great. You can see a brief 2 minute video demo below and you can get tips from NAIC's InsureU on how to create a home inventory. And if you don't have an iPhone, there's always the low-tech method, which works too. NAIC offers a Home inventory checklist.

Also, be sure to check our our last blog post for other alternatives.

A step-dad who drowned his 3-year old girl in her backyard pool to collect her life insurance, a landlord who set fire fatal to one of his tenants while trying to cash in on property insurance, and a doctor who made a fortune running an illegal "pill mill" that resulted in 68 fatal overdoses ... these and a handful of other killers, liars and cheats make up the rogue's gallery that is the 2010 Insurance Fraud's Hall of Shame.

The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud compiles these lists annually, highlighting some of the worst and most egregious examples of fraud from the prior year - but they are just the tip of an estimated $80 billion dollar iceberg. Sometimes, fraudsters act alone. Other times, fraud is perpetrated by organized crime rings.

Consumer attitude to insurance fraud can be highly frustrating. Research by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud reveals, "Two of five Americans want little or no punishment for insurance cheats; they blame the insurance industry for its fraud problems because they believe insurers are unfair." Many of those who tolerate insurance fraud wrongheadedly view it as a battle between an everyman David vs a large corporate Goliath. But the truth is far different ... it's more a battle between criminals and you. After all, it's not the insurance companies who take the hit: it is a crime you pay for - money from your pocket. Fraud and theft are business expenses that get factored into the costs that honest people pay for insurance.

The idea that insurance fraud is victimless is a common myth. Besides adding to the cost of insurance for every honest consumer and honest business, thousands suffer even more serious consequences: Every year, people are bilked out of life savings by illegal investment schemes; health is endangered when people are swindled by phony health policies; injured employees and their families suffer when businesses fail to carry legally mandated coverage, and innocent people are killed and maimed in arson and staged auto accident fraud schemes. See videos of common criminal fraud schemes.

If you have been a victim or insurance fraud or suspect insurance fraud, here are some ways to take action.

• Report to your state insurance authority. Many states have specific insurance fraud bureaus
• File a complaint online with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
• Notify the insurer - Insurance company fraud hot lines
• Call the National Insurance Crime Bureau Hot Line at 1-800-TEL-NICB (1-800-835-6422). Cell phone users can also text the keyword "FRAUD" and their tip to TIP411 (847411). Or drop an email. Tips can be anonymous.
• Check to see if an insurer or an agent is legit and licensed in your state: State Insurance departments.

Many healthcare reform provisions are scheduled to kick in sometime in 2011 - some went into effect on January 1. Here are a few resources that outline changes scheduled to take effect in 2011 and what the changes mean to you and your family.

• HealthCare.gov: Provisions of the Affordable Care Act, by year
• Kaiser Family Foundation: Health Reform Implementation Timeline
• Wall Street Journal's Health Blog: The Health-Care Law Provisions Taking Effect in 2011
• Idaho Department of Insurance: Affordable Healthcare Act - What it Means for You in 2011

The Kaiser Family Foundation has produced an excellent single-source guide to Health Care Reform and health insurance reform. They've also produced a 9 minute animated video that summarizes and explains Health Reform in simple terms.

Tomorrow is the American Cancer Society's 35th Annual Great American Smokeout, a good day to quit smoking if you haven't already, or to support the smokers that you know in kicking their habit. Quitting smoking is not only a good decision with respect to your physical health, it can also be quite a boon to your financial health. Even beyond the cost of cigarettes themselves, smoking carries other high costs. Most life insurance, health insurance, homeowners insurance and even auto insurance policies carry higher premiums for smokers. It stands to reason: the price of insurance is based on the odds of having to make payment on a claim. Smokers are an overall riskier bet than nonsmokers. For life and heath insurance, the risks are obvious and well-documented: on average, smokers have significantly more health problems and die younger.

Property insurance is also more costly for smokers due to a higher risk of smoking-related accidents. Households with smokers have an increased risk of fires. According to the US Fire Administration, "... an estimated 9,000 smoking-related fires in residential buildings occur annually in the United States, resulting in an estimated average of 450 deaths, 1,025 injuries, and $303 million in property loss ...they are the leading cause of fire deaths, accounting for 17 percent of fire deaths in residential buildings." Smoking is also considered to be one of the major "distracted driving" culprits leading to an increase in auto accidents. And with any property, residual damage from smoke can decrease the property value and make resale more difficult. There may be other costs too: last year, it was revealed that Apple voided computer warranties due to second-hand smoke.

Save your health and save money in the process - that's a win-win all around!

Stop smoking resources
American Cancer Society: Great American Smokeout Guide to Quitting Smoking
American Cancer Society: Great American Smokeout Resources and Tools
American Cancer Society: Helping a smoker quite: do's and don'ts
American Lung Association - Help resources for quitting smoking
Centers for Disease Control: Smoking & tobacco tools and resources
Mayo Clinic 10 ways to help teens stay smoke-free
Teen's Health: How can I quit smoking?

As the economy eases and the real estate market shows signs of revival, many people whose home buying plans were on hold are now beginning to look around. If buying a new home or vacation property is on your agenda, the Insurance Information Institute (III) has some advice for you: make insurance considerations an important part of your home buying process. In addition to looking at considerations such as location, neighborhood, and home features, you need to do a risk assessment of the home and property so you don't find yourself owning something with some unpleasant surprises down the line.

For a quick overview of issues and considerations that you should be thinking of, see III's Home Buyer's Insurance Checklist and short video on the topic:

If you had an un-reimbursed loss of more than $500 due to fire, theft, or natural disaster, you may be able to claim that on your taxes. According to the IRS:

"A casualty loss can result from the damage, destruction or loss of your property from any sudden, unexpected, or unusual event such as a flood, hurricane, tornado, fire, earthquake or even volcanic eruption.

A theft is the taking and removing of money or property with the intent to deprive the owner of it. The taking must be illegal under the law of the state where it occurred and it must have been done with criminal intent."

• Un-reimbursed losses due to theft, fire, accidents, storm damage, or similar events if losses are greater than $500 and 10% of your adjusted gross income. (This would include money that you paid in a deductible)
• Losses that occurred in federally declared disaster areas. See: 2009 Federally Declared Disasters
• Financial losses due to insolvency or bankruptcy of a bank or financial institution

Types of losses that wouldn't be deductible:

• Home or household damage that is gradual, progressive, or the result of normal wear and tear
• Items that you lose, break, or damage in the course of normal use

If you have insurance, you must have filed a timely insurance claim. Any reimbursement you received from insurance must be taken into account and subtracted when figuring your loss. This includes any expected reimbursement even if you have not yet received it.

To claim a deduction for casualties and theft, you need to use Form 4684. Here are Instructions for Form 4684

For more information:
The go-to source for all information on tax deductions is the IRS. The booklet Casualties, Disasters and Thefts - 2009 Tax Returns explains the tax treatment of casualties, thefts and losses on deposits. It includes the following information:

• Definitions of a casualty, theft, and loss on deposits.
• How to figure the amount of your gain or loss
• How to treat insurance and other reimbursements you receive
• Deduction limits
• When and how to report a casualty
• Special rules for disaster area losses

Other resources
Should you do your own taxes? See how you fare on this 25 question tax quiz

If you are filing your own taxes or gathering your documentation for your accountant, use this handy tax checklist.

October is National Fire Safety Month. To kick things off, the Home Safety Council (HSC) is teaming up with Lowe's to hold Safety Saturday on Saturday, September 26, 2009, a day-long safety celebration.

Lowe’s stores nationwide are planning family safety activities geared to educating you and your family on how to keep safe from fire and other home dangers. Some stores are partnering with local fire departments to host a side-by-side burn demonstration to show how quickly a home fire spreads and becomes deadly when it isn’t controlled. The demonstration compares the limited damage in a room that is protected with a home fire sprinkler system with the extensive damage that occurs in a room without a sprinkler.

Even if you can't attend one of these events, the idea of dedicating a Saturday to making your home safer is a pretty good one. According to the HSC, the home is the second most common location of unintentional fatal injuries, with moving motor being the first. About 20% of all fatal injuries occur in the home. The top five leading causes of unintentional home injury death are falls, poisoning, fire/burn, choking/suffocation, and drowning; together these account for 90% of all unintentional home injury deaths. And for every one death, there are approximately 650 nonfatal injuries. HSC says that children under age 5 and adults over age 70 are the highest risk groups for home injury, both fatal and nonfatal.

HSC offers excellent Step-by-step Safety Guides on a variety of topics to help you safety-proof your home. They also offer a library of Safety videos for kids and adults.

Given that it's Life Insurance Awareness Month, we thought we might offer a few tools for you to assess your risk of imminent mortality. We've mixed the serious with the silly to lighten things up a bit.

Death Risk Rankings is an interactive tool from CarnegieMellon that calculates your risk of dying in the next year and allows you to compare that risk to others in the world.

Heart Disease Risk Calculator - estimate your chance of a cardiac event, dying from heart disease, and your overall chance of dying in the next 10 years.

Dead at your age - enter your birthday and find out what celebrities and famous people you have outlived.

Are you likely to die of a shark attack? Compare the relative risk of shark attacks to humans to various other risks.

Life Expectancy Table - find your age and your sex to learn the additional number of years you may expect to live. A footnote says that one-half of individuals can expect to live beyond their life expectancy and one-half will not live to that age.

The Death Clock bills itself as "the Internet's friendly reminder that life is slipping away... second by second." Enter your date of birth, sex, bmi and smoking status. You can choose to your results on a scale ranging from "sadistic" to "optimistic" - or just plain "normal."

Are you planning to live to be 100? There are about 250,000 centenarians alive today, including several hundred "supercentarians" aged 110+ years. You can get a good idea of your chances of joining their ranks with the Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator. This calculator asks you 40 quick questions related to your health and family history, and takes about 10 minutes to complete. It uses medical and scientific data to estimate how old you will live to be. In addition to estimating your life expectancy, it offers a "to-do" list for you and your physician, along with a list of things you can do differently and how many years you will likely add to your life if you do so.

This calculator was developed by Doctor Thomas Perls who is the founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study, the largest study of its kind in the world. We like it because it gets you thinking about lifestyle factors that can influence your odds. But for those of you who want a shortcut, you can get an estimate of your remaining years by viewing the life expectancy chart published by the Office of the Actuary of the Social Security Administration.

Interestingly, according to the CIA World Factbook's life expectancy chart ranking various countries, here in the U.S., we rank at #50 at 78 year and 11 months. Macau tops the chart with a life expectancy of 84.36 years. Meet a few of the oldest people on earth at this site, or view portraits and read the stories of some people whose lives span three centuries.

By the way, if you are planning to live to 100, make sure your retirement planning takes that into account - life expectancy is an important factor in your financial planning - talk to your insurance agent if you expect to join the ranks of centenarians!

In this video, Dr. Joe Bresee of the CDC Influenza Division describes swine flu - its signs and symptoms, how it's transmitted, medicines to treat it, steps people can take to protect themselves from it, and what people should do if they become ill.

Additional resources:
PandemicFlu.gov - Individuals & Families Planning - tools to help you plan for challenges that you might face, particularly if a pandemic is severe.

Swine Influenza (Flu) - Resources, updates and news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It includes a chart that lists confirmed cases by state. Also see the CDC Twitter feed CDCemergency and What's new on the CDC Swine Flu Site

Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home

Hand Washing: An easy way to prevent infection - Learn the proper way to kill germs from the folks at the Mayo Clinic

General Instructions for Disposable Respirators - brief video from the CDC that demonstrates how to put on and take off disposable respirators.

Frequently asked questions
CDC: Swine Influenza and You
Frequently asked questions from PandemicFlu.gov
World Health Organization - FAQs (PDF)

Swine Flu Maps
Global disease alert map from HealthMap
H1N1 Swine Flu

If you suffered unreimbursed losses of more than $500 due to severe storm damage, fire, theft, disaster, or loss on your deposits in 2008, you may qualify for a tax deduction. You must be able to document the extent of your loss and if you were compensated by your insurer, you must subtract the amount of compensation from your overall loss. A short clip from the Insurance Information Institute offers more information:

Kimberly Lankford of Kiplinger's discusses storm-related tax deductions and points to a helpful casualty loss calculator.

Or you might go right to the source -the IRS provides a variety of publications and tools about available deductions. Here are a few:

Casualties, disasters and thefts - for use in preparing 2008 returns; explains the tax treatment of casualties, thefts and losses on deposits. A casualty occurs when your property is damaged as a result of a disaster such as a storm, fire, car accident or similar event. A theft occurs when somebody steals your property. A loss on deposits occurs when your financial institution becomes insolvent or bankrupt. This publication discusses definition of losses, how to figure the amount of your gain or loss, how to treat insurance and other reimbursements, deduction limits, and any special rules.

Tax relief in disaster situations - various resources and fact sheets

IRS FAQs for disaster victims

Disaster losses - PDF brochure from the IRS

2008 - federally declared disasters and emergencies

In today's tough economic climate, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) notes that many former homeowners may now be renters, either due to their own choice to downsize or due to a home foreclosure. In the light of this, NAIC offers an alert about renter's insurance, which discusses the importance of renters' insurance and dispels some of the most common misperceptions that people have about this type of insurance.

• "Renter’s insurance is too expensive, and I already have enough bills to pay." The average renter’s insurance policy costs between $15 and $30 per month. Replacing all of your possessions or being liable for an accident on your premises will cost much more.
• "I don’t have that many valuables; renter’s insurance isn’t worth the cost." Renter’s insurance policies can cover everything from electronics to clothing to household appliances. Even a minimal number of items could add up to thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise, which can all be covered in a basic policy.
• "My landlord has insurance, so I’m already protected." Your landlord has insurance for structural damage to the building, and might even be protected against damage caused by tenants. However, this coverage does not extend to your personal property, nor does it protect you from being liable for damage you might cause to the building inadvertently (e.g., a kitchen fire or a plumbing mishap).

The alert also includes other common questions and answers related to renter's insurance. You can also view this brief brief video on Renter's Insurance. If you have questions about whether or not you need renter's insurance, how much coverage you need, or what it will or will not cover, your independent agent is also a good source of information.

Whether you are a homeowner or a renter, the Insurance Information Institute offers a free downloadable home inventory software This software will help you create a room-by-room inventory of your personal possessions. Having an up-to-date home inventory will help you:

• Purchase enough insurance to replace the things you own
• Get your insurance claims settled faster
• Substantiate losses for your income tax return

With the anticipated landfall of Gustav, we're thick into hurricane season, which continues through November 30. Homeowners in the hurricane belt here in the U.S. are preparing for what is expected to be an active September and October. Disaster relief organizations such as the Red Cross offer hurricane preparation advice, with information about a personal evacuation plan, including supplies that should be part of your emergency kit.

A few preparatory steps can also make filing insurance claims after the storm an easier process. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) offers a special disaster preparedness section of their website, along with a one page tip sheet on Storm Preparedness: A Four–Step Process . Among their recommendations:

• Review your insurance coverage in advance to understand what your insurance policy covers and what it excludes.
• Take an inventory of your property - photos or videos can be helpful. They suggest storing photos on the web or with a relative.
• Move all of your important documents to a safe location. Take them with you if you evacuate. Be sure to include the name of your insurance companies and agent, policy numbers and contact information.

And should your home or property suffer damage, NAIC's guide to What Consumers Should Know When Faced with A Loss can also be very helpful.