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For Your Benefit
This section of Mutual Benefit Group's Web site is posted for
your benefit. It includes the latest news from MBG, including
new products, pricing, service options, articles featuring safety
tips for home, highway, and business, and links to other sites
that will provide you with valuable information on insurance,
health and safety topics. Check back often for updates.
Press Releases:
Agents rate MBG as top carrier
Consumer Articles:
Don’t let your next barbecue go up in flames
Is your home underinsured?
Links to Insurance, Health, and Safety Tips:
INSURANCE-RELATED SITES:
Advocates
for Highway and Auto Safety
Join the coalition to improve highway and auto safety through
public policy.
Coalition
Against Insurance Fraud
Learn how to avoid being victimized by insurance fraud.
IIHS (Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety)
Crashworthiness evaluations, fatality facts, and more! A must
read before you purchase a car.
NAMIC (National
Association of Mutual Insurance Companies)
Learn more about the industry to which Mutual Benefit belongs.
AICPCU/IIA (American
Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters/Insurance
Institute of America)
A valuable online resource for professional insurance education.
HEALTH-RELATED SITES:
American Association
of Pediatrics
An organization committed to the health and well-being of infants,
children, and young adults.
Health On the Net
Foundation
Use the MedHunt search engine to find valuable medical sites,
hospitals, and medical support.
Mental Health
Net
An award-winning guide to online mental health, psychology, and
psychiatry resources.
U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services
Access the U.S. government's principal agency for protecting the
health of all Americans.
Healthfinder
Browse the listed categories or conduct your own keyword search
to access a database of health-related information.
4 safety.com
Safety tips and products for protecting you, your children, your
home, and your business. Extensive links to safety organizations
and publications. A must see!
AUTOMOBILE SITES:
Advocates
for Highway and Auto Safety
Keep on top of the latest issues and policies, print policy statements
and fact sheets on numerous topics including teen divers, air
bags, and more!
Car and
Driver
An online version of the magazine. Useful information including
numerous online issues, a buying guide, and classifieds.
AAA Foundation
for Traffic Safety
A must for parents of TEEN DRIVERS. Find educational materials,
statistics, online quizzes, and more! driver-ZED allows teens
to gain real-world driving experience on your PC!
www.safety.org
Become a more informed driver! Tips on jump starting, hydroplaning,
air bags, and more! IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
Crashworthiness evaluations, fatality facts, and more! A must
read before you purchase a car.
Agents rate MBG as top carrier
Mutual Benefit Group (MBG) has been ranked as the number one insurance company in its territory of operation based on a survey conducted by the Insurance Agents and Brokers (IA&B).
IA&B is a partnership of three agents’ associations from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware led by agent volunteers and staffed by 40 professionals. The organization conducts a biennial Company Satisfaction Index (CSI) survey to gauge members’ opinions regarding the relationships they have with their major carriers. Agents are asked to rank their experience with carriers, rating them on products, pricing, and underwriting; policy service and claims; agency/company relationships; and technology.
Over 480 agents responded to the 2006 survey. Of the 44 carriers rated, Mutual Benefit ranked number one in both personal lines (insurance coverage for homes and personal vehicles) and commercial lines (insurance coverage for businesses), scoring higher than large national carriers such as Progressive, Travelers, and the Hartford.
“Mutual Benefit Group is honored to get the number one ranking by our agents in the 2006 CSI analysis. Everyone throughout our great company works hard every day to create a rewarding experience for our agents and policyholders. We are very pleased to know that our efforts are proving valuable for our agents. And, thanks to the wonderful people of MBG that have made this number one ranking possible,” said Steven C. Sliver, President and CEO of Mutual Benefit Group.
Sliver was invited to attend the IA&B annual meeting in Baltimore on Oct. 19, at which time the 2006 survey results were released. He and several other CEOs from top-ranked companies were asked to participant in a panel discussion to explore the policies and services that made them top competitors in the carrier world in the eyes of independent agents.
“This survey is an invaluable tool not only for our members, but also for the companies they partner with,” said Tony Bennett, IA&B chairman. “Members can make more informed decisions when choosing carriers, and carriers receive candid feedback which can either validate their current methods, or point out areas that need improvement.”
Mutual Benefit is a regional property/casualty insurance carrier licensed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The company markets its insurance products through 250 independent agents, employs over 200 people at its home offices in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, and serves 77,000 policyholders.
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Don’t let your next barbecue go up in flames
Fire in the grill, under hot dogs and burgers, is a welcome sight at the family cookout. But fire anywhere else can make your summer barbecue memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Make safety a priority when using your grill. Place your grill away from flammable material, and at least 10 feet from any structure. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby, and never leave the grill unattended once it has been lit.
To make sure your next barbecue doesn’t go up in flames, the Home Safety Council recommends the following safety tips:
Designate the grilling area a “No Play Zone,” keeping kids and pets well away until grill equipment is completely cool.
Only use starter fluid made for barbecue grills when starting a fire in a charcoal grill.
Before using a gas grill, check the connection between the propane tank and the fuel line to be sure it is working properly and not leaking.
Never use a match to check for leaks. If you detect a leak, immediately turn off the gas and don’t attempt to light the grill again until the leak is fixed.
Never bring a barbecue grill indoors, or into any unventilated space. This is both a fire and carbon monoxide poisoning hazard.
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Is your home underinsured?
Dave and Marie Anderson* were surprised when their insurance agent recommended they insure their two-story Colonial for $254,000; the home, located in a subdivision, had been built for $189,000 in 1996.
The Andersons assumed that having an amount of homeowners insurance equal to their home’s market price or mortgage would provide sufficient coverage should their house suffer a total loss. However, insuring a home to its proper value is based upon reconstruction cost: the cost to rebuild, at today’s prices, an exact copy of your current home using like kind and quality of materials (excluding the price of land). For that reason, your home’s insured value may be more (or less) than its market or appraised value.
More than 64% of U.S. homes — 2 out of 3 — are underinsured, according to Marshall & Swift/Boeckh, a firm that many insurance companies rely on for help in
calculating the value of homes.
Why are so many homes underinsured?
Increasing construction costs and inflation -Building material prices jumped 63% over the past year, according to the National Homebuilders’ Association, driving up reconstruction values —even for houses built within the past few years.
Changing building codes -New ordinances can mean significant increases in the cost to rebuild an older home according to current specifications.
Remodeling- More than 60% of homeowners neglect to increase their insurance following a remodeling project to reflect the added value of their home.
Your MBG agent can help you arrive at the accurate reconstruction cost for your home using a component-based valuation system, a computer program that “builds” your house from the ground up on the computer screen. Such systems take into account specific features of your home and building material and labor costs, adjusted for the area in which you live. Call your independent agent for details.
* This scenario is based upon an actual situation; the names, however, are fictitious.
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