7-9th            Agent’s License Review, Jackson

10-11th        MS Council of NAIW State Meeting, McComb, MS

13th             Columbus Day

16th             Monthly Business Meeting of the IW of SW MS
 
                    National Boss’s Day

17th              NAIW “Inroads” Emailed

21st              CISR Personal Residential, Jackson, MS

22-24th         CIC Personal Lines, Jackson, MS

26th              Daylight Savings Time Ends

29-31st          CIC Life & Health, Baton Rouge, LA

31st               Halloween            
 
 

Texas Insurance Commissioner, Jose Montemayor, has denied appeals by the state’s two largest writers of homeowners insurance to reconsider the rate cuts he ordered them to make in August.

Automobile insurers in Pennsylvania will be required to offer a more significant discount for policyholders who take advantage of the state’s “limited tort” option under a new order issued by the state’s Insurance Department.

Auto makers apparently listen to insurers when they say cars aren’t safe:  All of the latest round of vehicles subjected to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s crash tests earned the highest ratings, including one car that used to be rated “poor.”

Things.  How many of us spend hours dusting, storing, and protecting nick nacks.  Many of us our compulsive buyers.  If we buy less then we won’t have to spend so much time on things.

Not saying no.  Never make a spur of the moment decision when someone asks you to volunteer.  Always take the time to think the decision over carefully.

Unmade decisions.  Do you spend time worrying about decisions you need to make?  Bite the bullet and resolve the issue.

Not interrupting.  Politeness can eat up your day.  If you are in a hurry and need to leave, you can interrupt without being rude.

Television.  Once that TV set is turned on people find themselves in front of it.  Limit the amount of time you spend watching TV.

Lack of planning.  Are you trying to do too much?  Better planning is the key to saving us all much time and aggravation.

Clutter.  A place for everything and everything in it’s place.  If you put things where they belong then you won’t have to waste time looking for them later.

Agonizing about the future.  So much of our life is spent preparing for distant tommorows that we often forget that this moment, which will not come again, is when we live.  Why throw it away in daily anxiety about next week or next year?

On September 20, 2003 the Mississippi Council of NAIW held it’s annul leadership retreat at the Farm Bureau offices in Jackson.  State Director Helen Andrews conducted the meeting.

Helen began the meeting by going over the mission of NAIW.  She specifically highlighted education as a wonderful benefit of NAIW.

NAIW has two new membership categories, student and retired.  There is also now an option for a “lapsed” member.

The next topic that was discussed was the Horizon Plan.  Helen strongly encouraged each association to develop a plan.  The plan helps associations reach their goals.  As the Insurance Women of Southwest Mississippi already has a written Horizon Plan, she encouraged the members of that association to update their plan and see how it was working.

Helen also mentioned the Winner’s Circle.  Helen asked everyone who attended the meeting to fill out their Winner’s Circle card and turn it in if they have the required points.  If they didn’t have the required points, she wanted you to earn them.

Following the meeting the four hour “I Can! A case study in Homeowners.” Was presented by Ann Tharp.  Ann did an excellent job of teaching this very informative class.

In Any Town, USA on Main Street it is a nice fall afternoon.  The street is busy with people coming home from work and there is a rain cloud in the sky.  There are children playing by the river and it is a wonderful afternoon.  Then the unthinkable happens, the weather report comes on the air, a tornado is heading for the town.  The rain cloud bursts open and it begins to rain.  The tornado does come through the town and destroys several buildings.  The rain never did stop falling and the river went over its banks and flooded several homes.  The river had never flooded before so very few people had flood insurance.  The governor of the state asks the President of the United States to declare that county a federal disaster area.

Now what happens?

Because Any Town is in a county that has been declared a federal disaster area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can respond with assistance.  FEMA offers low interest loans to cover expenses not covered by private insurance.  In the situation above, the homeowner’s policy is not going to cover damage from the flood.  FEMA will be able to provide loans to repair or replace damaged property from the flood.  These loans are provided through the Farm Service Agency and the Small Business Administration.

If a person does not qualify for a loan, FEMA has cash grants.  These grants are up to $25,000.  These grants can be used for a number of things including: lodging expenses, rental assistance, home repair, home replacement, medical, dental, funeral costs, transportation costs, and in rare circumstances permanent housing construction.

FEMA’s website www.fema.org has a list of all the counties in the US that has been declared disaster areas.  If you have an insured that needs to apply for assistance with FEMA have them call 1-800-621-3362.
 

October is Fire Safety Month.  Take this short quiz to test your fire smarts!

1. Live Christmas trees should be kept:
a) by the fireplace
b) away from sources of heat
c) outside in the woods

2. You should keep matches and lighters:
a) out of the reach of children
b) by your candles
c) next to the gasoline can

3. To help the fire department, you should:
a) block your driveway
b) call 911 and ask for the time
c) clearly mark driveway entrances

4. When cooking you should:
a) leave the stove on when finished
b) keep dangling clothing away from burners
c) keep combustible materials by the stovetop

Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. c
4. b

Ruth Phillips has announced that she will be running for the Public Relations Chairperson at the 2003 Mississippi Council State meeting.

It is soccer time again for Virginia.  She had to miss her grandson, Hayden, play in his first soccer game.  She hopes to make it up to him by watching as many other games as possible.  Virginia is also planning on attending some museum exhibits after the state meeting.

Mary Stogner was busy before she got married and now she is even busier.  She has been commuting back and forth from Tylertown while she and Tim build their house in Summit.  Besides spending all that time on the road, she has been working on her costume for the State Meeting.

Keri Morrell has added another designation to her list.  She has completed the requirements and has earned the AAI designation.  Congratulations!

Are you going to apply for a Regional Award?  If so it is time to get working on filling out your paperwork.  The deadline for all Regional Awards is December 12.  Good Luck!