Christa Lannom – Page 43

Star Wars and Service Line Coverage

By Kim Bronder, Sales & Service Center Manager

I must have missed something in the movie world because I just realized that a new Star Wars movie is being released December 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Needless to say, I am ecstatic to see the film when it comes out. However, I must practice Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobi patience until then.

I saw the very first Star Wars film on opening day May 25, 1977. It was my sister’s birthday but I skipped out to stand in line for two hours with my best friend in order to get tickets and the best seats in the house. The marketing lead up to the film captivated anyone who loved sci-fi movies. We couldn’t wait! The film did not disappoint. Then in the summer of 2015 that same friend and I purchased online tickets (no waiting in line) to see the latest Star Wars: The Force Awakens and again it didn’t disappoint. I will purchase my online tickets for Rogue One as soon as I am able and I’ll be patient until that time.

So you ask, what does this have to do with Service Line Coverage? Or as Yoda would say, “Service Line Coverage, hmmm, what is?” Well, honestly, I’m ecstatic and have been patient for this coverage to be available on my home.

My homeowner policy renewal came out this week and I am thrilled because I’ve been waiting for this coverage for a long time! I have been a homeowner for 32 years and this year is the best renewal by far. I witnessed my neighbor who had their water line burst on their side of the street. The city/county didn’t cover the damage, their homeowner insurance didn’t cover the damage, my neighbors covered the damage by way of a second mortgage on their home to pay for the over $6000 cost to dig up the public street, install new pipes and repave the street. YUP! It was crazy expensive and I suspect they are still paying on that second mortgage.

Service Line Coverage provides protection from an unexpected loss caused by a service line failure which is not a covered loss under most insurance policies. This added coverage extends to damage of underground piping, wiring, valves or attached devices that connect a home to a public utility service provider or to a private system.

Star Wars and Service Line Coverage are both worth the wait. Being a sci-fi fan and an insurance agent can be fun at the same time as well as being a homeowner especially when your company offers new coverages. If your homeowner policy doesn’t have Service Line Coverage on it, contact us and we can give you a quote!!

About Kim

Avid traveler, Mom of three daughters, and Insurance Agent!
Direct Phone – 913-754-3807
kbronder@maxinsurance.com

Kim has been with MAX for 5 years and has over 12 years of experience in the insurance industry. When Kim is not at work, she loves to travel, cook and read. Kim and her husband of 32 years are involved with Retrouvaille, a ministry that helps married couples strengthen and heal their marriages. She has three grown daughters, one son in law and a precious granddaughter. Kim enjoys the spring and summer months where she can tend to her garden.

The Heart of a Smart Home

By Sam Schoutko, Personal Lines Underwriter

The last blog post I wrote detailed what a smart home is, how you can implement it into your home, and how you really don’t need to be intimidated by it. Most of it was broad strokes though and I would like to give more specifics in a series of future posts. I want to start with the most essential piece of any smart home: your router.

Most people don’t have a clue about the internet setup in their home – the people from your internet service provider come and set it up then tell you the Wi-fi password and you are good to go. 90% of the time this suffices for your basic needs as far as connecting your laptop, cell phone, and maybe a smart TV. When you add more and more devices though it can tax the basic router* they provide you and sometimes you need to upgrade that portion of your home network in order to improve performance and range.

*Quick disclaimer: there are two main parts of any home internet network: the router and the modem. The modem is what receives the signal from your internet service provider (ISP) and switches it to an ethernet cable you can plug directly into your computer. Most people take that cable and instead plug it into a router which then broadcasts the internet via Wi-fi throughout your home. A lot of ISP’s provide the modem and router in one unit. You can bypass the wireless portion of the combo box and just use it as a modem while you purchase your own router (or you can purchase your own upgraded combo box). That is the setup I advocate for and do myself. There are many more details but I don’t want to get too technical.

In my home (just my wife and dog and I) we have 2 cell phones, 1 tablet, and 1 laptop. This is normal and probably would be fine for even the most basic router. On top of this I also have connected to the Wi-fi – a thermostat, 3 smart light bulbs, virtual dog walker, Xbox One, 2 smart TVs, Chromecast, dog cell phone, 2 Roku’s, a printer, Wi-fi dog kennel and an external hard drive (a few of those are jokes). While all that isn’t used simultaneously it is still taxing on a basic router and as such I have upgraded to something that can handle that type of traffic.

It does not matter how new your neat smart home toy is if your router is not up to the task of supporting it. If you have a sprinkler system and have a Wi-fi controller in your garage for it but you don’t get a signal in your garage you might need to get a new router that is strong enough to punch through the walls and reach it. Maybe you have all new smart light bulbs in your home or smart outlets and the number of items connecting makes your video streaming lag a great deal. There are a myriad of problems that can be fixed by simply just investing in a good router.

There are way more technical details about your home network that vary from situation to situation and the point of this blog post isn’t to fix everything or get into the nitty gritty of home networking – it’s to get you thinking about it. Keep in mind that a good reliable router is the most important part to the start of any smart home and most likely the first thing you need to invest in. Think of it as a cornerstone to everything you need to build on – with poor speed and range from your router you won’t be able to utilize all the neat items you purchase to make your home more convenient.

In future posts I would like to detail different examples of smart home products but I started with this one because I feel it is the most important. I hope it helps you on your path to a smarter home!

About Sam

Sam enjoys spending time with his wife Krista and their Siberian Husky, Ecko, while not at work. Krista is a wonderful cook and baker so their relationship works well as he is a wonderful eater of the food she cooks and bakes. They enjoy keeping up to date on the latest movies and traveling to see family. As new homeowners, there is always a project to tackle around the house as well.

Photo by Sean MacEntee

MAX Staff Love Mutual Aid Ministries

Mutual Aid Ministries is the heart of MAX. It was created to help bring wholeness to people facing extreme financial hardship. By caring beyond the contract, we live our vision of creating and sustaining wholeness. That’s what makes MAX so unique and that’s why our staff loves Mutual Aid Ministries. We asked Kim, a member of our Finance team, why she loves Mutual Aid Ministries. Check it out.

What do you think of MutualAid Ministries?
When I came to work for MAX almost two years ago, I was very excited to learn about Mutual Aid Ministries and how it brings wholeness to others in financial need. Rarely do you find an insurance company that will donate a portion of their own revenue to aid in the help of others. I had longed to be a part of an organization that actually makes a difference…which I found at MAX.

How do you look at Mutual Aid Ministries Grants?
Although so many of the stories I read about in our employee newsletter or hear about in our quarterly team meetings tear my heart out; I feel such pride to be part of an organization that actually cares about others and wants to help people when they are financially down and see no way out. I believe that we all have a moral obligation to help others, especially those in need.

Do you know of someone that could benefit from a grant? Learn more about Mutual Aid Ministries, including our grant application, by clicking here.

MAX Insurance in Top 10% of Socially Responsible Companies Worldwide Evaluated by Comprehensive B Impact Assessment

–CONTACT: MAX Insurance (877) 971-6300

Megan Brock, B the Change Media – (785) 832-1222 ext. 208 or megan@bthechange.com

MAX Insurance in Top 10% of Socially Responsible Companies Worldwide

Evaluated by Comprehensive B Impact Assessment

October 11, 2016, Overland Park, KS

An Overland Park, KS, headquartered property/casualty insurance enterprise has been recognized among the top 10% of 1,800 socially responsible companies in the world, according to an independent assessment organization.

MutualAid eXchange (MAX) Insurance was recognized by the independent nonprofit B Lab and B the Change Media for creating positive overall impact in the communities it serves and for its strong relationships with its workers. The recognition of MAX and the other B Lab honorees was announced at the first-annual Best for the World Celebration & Awards Ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas Business School.

“The companies we are honoring as the best for the world represent the cutting edge of a global movement using business as a force for good. We are inspired by them, and feel deeply honored to join them in this historic and ground-breaking celebration,” said Bryan Welch, CEO of B the Change Media, the multi-platform media company that publishes the quarterly B Magazine and host of the Best for the World event at the University of California, Berkeley.

MAX was recognized for the positive way it relates to its workers. “We know we can’t pay the most but we work hard to recruit, train, support, promote, encourage and retain employees and independent agents who share our values,” said Dave Wine, MAX President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our team members choose to work for MAX because of who we are. We try to honor that by creating a caring and supportive work environment.”

MAX’s commitment to helping individuals and communities in need was also noted by B-Lab. “We try to use business as a source for good with the people and communities we serve,” Wine said. “MAX is fair, faithful and socially responsible based on our traditional Mennonite background and our ongoing commitment to creating and sustaining wholeness for all our stakeholders. We believe that’s the way insurance should be.”

To live out these values, MAX created and funds a program called Mutual Aid Ministries which provides grants to people and communities facing unexpected financial crises or in need of support for socially beneficial causes. The company funds the program through top-line revenue contributions. Over the years MAX, in partnership with its network of independent agents, has donated thousands of dollars to families suffering from illness, loss or tragedy, and to communities working to improve the lives of youth, seniors, the disadvantaged or the community at large.

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MutualAid eXchange (MAX) is a property/casualty insurance company that believes in a set of core values that derive from its founding Mennonite, Brethren and other Anabaptist faith communities. MAX employees, representatives, and members subscribe to and practice these values as conditions of their association with the enterprise:

MAX is FAIR. We believe in treating others as we would like to be treated.

MAX is FAITHFUL. We affirm and seek Higher Guidance from God, whose blessing extends to all people, no matter their particular spiritual pathway.

MAX is SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE. We believe business has a responsibility to do good in the world.

Overland Park, Kansas Office

4400 College Boulevard, Suite 250

Overland Park, KS 66211

877-971-6300

877-785-0085

www.MAXInsurance.com

B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world and society will enjoy prosperity for all for the long term.

B Lab drives this systemic change by: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and good marketing; 2) passing benefit corporation legislation to give business leaders the freedom to create value for society as well as shareholders; 3) helping businesses measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance with the free B Impact Assessment; 4) driving capital to impact investments through use of its B Analytics and GIIRS Ratings platform.

For more information, visit www.bcorporation.net.

B the Change Media was formed as a partnership between B Lab, the community of B Corporations, and Bryan Welch, former CEO of Ogden Publications (B Corp since 2010). B the Change Media is a multi platform media company whose mission is to build the world’s largest engaged audience of people with a passion for using business as a force for good. B the Change Media has editorial and operating independence and covers compelling stories about business as a force for good, not just stories about B Corporations. B the Change Media has independent investors and is a subsidiary of B Lab, the nonprofit organization that administers the Impact Assessment and aggregates the B Corporation community. B the Change Media is a Pending B Corporation.

For more information, visit http://www.bthechange.com.

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What is a Smart Home?

By Sam Schoutko, Personal Lines Underwriter

The term “smart home” is bandied around nowadays and most people don’t have a good idea what it actually means or how their home can become a smart home. If you aren’t familiar with technology it sounds daunting, complicated, and expensive. It is somewhat expensive and it can be complicated but it doesn’t need to be daunting. Hopefully I can help explain a little about smart homes to the average person that makes them easier to understand and implement in your own home.

Let’s start with a common myth about “smart homes” and that is in order to be called a “smart home” every element/system/appliance of a home needs be controlled via your phone or a computer. While this is partly true it definitely isn’t the whole story. Did you know that when you enter Bill Gates home you can set a climate profile for yourself and the home tracks which room you are in and automatically adjusts the temperature in that room to whatever you set? As you walk from room to room it changes the temp based on who is in the room. Would we all love to have a home that does that? Of course! Is it practical for anyone but the 1% of the 1%? Of course not.

The point of a smart home is to make common features of a home more accessible and easier to manage remotely. Remotely can mean from another part of the country to just not wanting to get off the couch to turn the lights on. There are many elements to a smart home – security, climate control, doors, lights, appliances, voice commands, etc. Could you upgrade everything in your home at the same time? Yes, but that would cost thousands of dollars and probably isn’t even necessary. All you need to do is identify which of these features matter to you. You don’t have to upgrade them all like Mr. Gates.

When I bought my first house I decided that I wanted a thermostat that connects to the internet and I can monitor from my phone. It knows where I am at any time, it automatically learns my schedule and adjusts the temperature in my house for when I’m gone to conserve energy. This has helped me save money and made my life more convenient and it was just a small part of my home that was upgraded – I didn’t need to retrofit everything.

It is important to identify what matters to you. Do you have kids that get home from school while you are at work? Maybe a remote webcam that sends a notification to your phone when there is motion in front of it so you can see they made it home safely is what you need. Do you need to let guests into your home while you are gone? A Wi-fi garage door opener works for that. Do you work long hours but want to come home to nice meal already made? You can actually buy a Wi-fi crockpot that you can control from your phone. Do you go out of town for long stretches of time? Get smart lights that will turn on every evening for a period time to make it seem like you are home and deter would be burglars.

The possibilities go on and on and the list of items you can add to your home grows every day as more products are developed.

You know the saying “there’s an app for that”? Today that applies to your home as well as your phone – there’s a Wi-fi connected smart device for that. Not quite as catchy of a phrase but it gets the point across. Don’t allow it to overwhelm you – you don’t need to upgrade everything at once. You just need to figure out what meets your current needs the best and you can slowly develop your own smart home piece by piece over time.

About Sam