The holidays are coming!

It goes without saying that keeping yourself and your family healthy through the holiday season in North Carolina can be a challenge. When you combine chillier temps, housebound days, year-end deadlines and pre-holiday preparation – not to mention kids passing around colds at school like they’re playing “Hot Potato” – you can end up spending the holidays under the covers.

No matter how many inherent seasonal risk factors you face, there are ways to prepare for and get through the season virtually unscathed. At policyline insurance, we wish for you a happy and abundantly healthy holiday season, so here are a few tips to help you stay well and enjoy!

1) Consider ‘sticking it’ to The Flu. Flu shots seem to be available at practically every drug store or pharmacy. Discuss with your doctor the pros and cons of flu shots for yourself and your family.

2) Get some zzz’s. The holiday hustle and bustle can interfere with normal sleep patterns, yet sleep is essential to health and healing. Prioritize getting enough sleep – or taking a quick nap – despite your busy schedule.

3) Fill the fridge. It’s easy to allow your pantry to start looking like a sweet shop as the holidays near. Take care to stock your refrigerator and cabinets with healthy snacks and ingredients for balanced meals. Think fruit, nuts, lower-calorie snacks, veggies and lean proteins.

4) Get real. Emotional health is important, too, so be realistic about what can be expected through the season.

5) Keep moving.  Despite the many holiday temptations to just relax, don’t give in to being a couch potato. Get to the gym or yoga studio, go for a walk in the park, jump on the treadmill or dance. The important thing is to just move!

From the policyline family to your family, we wish you a happy and healthy holiday season!

Need health coverage during the holiday season to get that flu shot?  Contact your local policyline agent at 1 800 725 POLICY (1-800-725-7654) or visit us here and contact us online!

It’s a great feeling to hang out with friends and family around a blazing fire in your backyard in North Carolina — unless, of course, that fire blazes a little too much.

While a fire pit can be a wonderful addition to your home, all fires are potentially dangerous. So before you sit down with some marshmallows to roast, we here at policyline insurancehave gathered up some tips to help you keep that fire in the pit (and away from everything else).

• Are you legal?

• Before building or buying a fire pit, check the regulations in your area to learn about restrictions.

• Your fire pit may be legal, but a fire might not always be. Monitor and follow community burn bans.

• Be respectful. Nothing can extinguish the good vibes of a nice fire more quickly than police complaints from smoked-out neighbors.

What kind of pit do you want?

• You can buy a fire pit or build one. If you choose the latter, there are plenty of resources online to help you design it. Don’t dig a hole just anywhere and throw some rocks down. Put some thought into it and you’ll have a better — and safer — spot to enjoy.

• If you want convenience, a propane model might be right for you. They produce less smoke and have an adjustable flame.

 Ready to build your fire?

Actually, you probably aren’t ready yet.

• First, ensure the area under and around the fire pit is clear of flammable materials. Keep the pit itself at least 10 feet from any structures.

• Before you start the fire, have a fire extinguisher or a garden hose handy.

Okay, now are you ready to build your fire?

• Choose hard, seasoned woods. Sparks from softer woods like cedar can increase the danger of igniting something nearby.

• Don’t use liquid fuels, even lighter fluid, to get your fire going. And don’t burn paper, cardboard, leaves, garbage, etc.

• If you have a metal fire pit, don’t overload it and always use the included safety screen.

•  Is the fire out?

• When you’re done, spread out the ashes and let them cool off for a bit. Then gently pour water or sand over them. Stick around for a little while to watch for flare-ups.

We want you to have plenty of nice, warm nights — without getting burned. Here’s to making memories around the fire!

Contact your local policyline agent to make certain that if something does happen, you have enough liability coverage.  We can handle that. 

This article provided courtesy of Safeco Insurance.

A little extra caution can go a long way while driving at night. 

Summer has ended, and while fall and winter have their own pleasures — including the Blowing Rock Winterfest — longer nights mean increased danger on the roads.

You might think you drive just as well at night, but consider this: Even though nighttime driving accounts for just 23% of vehicle miles traveled, more than 50% of fatalities for vehicle occupants 16 and older occur between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to the National Safety Commission (NSC).

Because we’re big advocates for safety at policyline insurance, we thought it would be helpful to take a look at why night driving is more dangerous, and what you can do to decrease that danger.

What’s dangerous about night driving?

1.  Decreased vision. We won’t go into all the biological details, but different parts of the eye (such as iris, pupil and retina) work differently at night. Your peripheral vision is actually slightly improved, but it’s more difficult to focus on objects ahead of you. And traveling between well-lit areas and darker roads creates issues as well.

2.  Driving too fast for your headlights. Depending on vehicle speed and headlight setting, many people “over-drive” their headlights. That means, by the time they see something on the road, it’s too late to stop in time to avoid it.

3.  Impaired judgment. Whether due to drowsiness or the use of alcohol or drugs, it appears that drivers at night often don’t use good judgment. According to the NSC, 66% of fatalities at night involve vehicle occupants who weren’t wearing seat belts.

So what do you do?

Sometimes, there’s no way around driving at night. So here are some tips to help you make a safe trip — whether you’re just running to the store, or you’re headed all the way to Asheville.

1.  Make sure your vehicle’s lights are in good working condition. And not just headlights, but turn signals, taillights, etc.

2.  Avoid speeding. Leave a bigger cushion between you and other cars than you would during daylight hours. Leave yourself more time for the trip.

3.  Be more aware of your surroundings. You shouldn’t be using your phone, messing around with the radio or trying to find something on the floor while you’re on the road anyway — and distractions are even more deadly at night.

Of course, if you’re not comfortable driving at night, the best thing is to avoid it altogether if possible. There’s nothing wrong with asking for a ride from a trusted safe driver or waiting for the sun to come out!

Sidebar:

We’re open all day! (8:30am-5:00pm)

When you’re driving around during the day, stop in to policyline insurance for a review of your coverage. We won’t keep you after dark, we promise. Just give us a call at 1-800-725-POLICY. We’re here to help!

Contact Us!

At policyline insurance, we can work with you to make sure you’ve got the coverage you need, while at the same time using all possible credits and discounts to make that coverage affordable. Just give us a call at 1-800-725-POLICY or send us a note at contactus@policyline.com. We want to help you meet your goals, and make sure what’s important to you is protected!

Content provided by Safeco Insurance

Parents, class is back in session in North Carolina, so you’ve likely already reviewed the basic safety tips for kids who walk or bus to and from school.

Those tips, of course, are:

• Walk with a buddy

• Stay in well-lit areas

• Never accept a ride with strangers

• Once home, lock the door and don’t let anyone in​

However, Dr. Michele Borba, author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions, urges you not to overestimate your kids’ safety smarts. Kids under 10, for example, may not grasp the concept of crossing a street safely, she says.

She suggests teaching them: “Stop. Left. Right. Left.” Meaning that children should, “stop at the curb, look left, right, then left again before crossing, and keep looking as they cross.”

Another thing kids need to know, says Borba, is how to ask for help. Have kids practice saying, “I need help,” out loud and instruct them to “find a uniformed employee, a police officer or a woman, preferably with a child,” when they need assistance, she says.

Once home, kids will likely use the Internet, so be sure to discuss digital safety too.

Staying Safe Online Internet safety advocate Sue Scheff, author of Wit’s End and Google Bomb, says that, “we need to put parental controls/security measures on computers and cell phones. Unfortunately, these aren’t guarantees, so having a cyber-smart child is your best defense.”

Teach kids about the dangers of sharing personal information, such as their home address and phone number, online. And about using social media responsibly.

While online, it’s best for kids – and adults – to converse and connect only with people they truly know and trust, to keep their social accounts private and to still be cautious even then. After all, photos and information that go online today will still be there years later, when kids apply for college scholarships and jobs.

Above all, stay involved in your kids’ digital lives. Let them know you’re there for them, always – to talk, not to judge or punish, says Scheff. “Many kids fear having their Internet removed if they tell their parents they are being bullied online,” she says.

So keep the lines of communication open to help keep everyone safe, both in and outside of your home.

Content provided by Safeco Insurance