The RJ O'Brien Agency O'Blog - Tips, News & More!

My dress!

Can you tell from Rachel’s face that she is not happy? This was supposed to be her BIG day and look what happened to her $7500 dress.  And if that wasn’t enough, she just found out that the caterer went out of business last week and she’s out her $1000 deposit.  And the worst part- Rachel was UNINSURED! Did I hear you say “What are you talking about”? Insurance for my wedding? Why do I need that? Ask Rachel.  The things that happened to her, could happen to you. Or maybe you have your own nightmare wedding stories?  Feel free to leave your comments.

 

Anyway, the good news is that you can buy insurance to protect your big day. Weddings can get expensive these days. You’ll be asked to put a lot of money up front even before the big day. Deposits for reception, photographer, florist.  A deposit for your dress.

What happens if someone gets hurt at the reception? The Wedding insurance policy comes with liability insurance for just those kind of accidents. Did you know that you can now purchase liquor liability as part of this policy?

What about all your wedding gifts? Have you heard of gifts being stolen? Happens all the time.

No reason to fret or get worried. As always, our goal is to educate. If you find a reason to purchase this type of insurance, we can help.

And for those getting married who will need to combine your separate car insurance policies into one, we can help too.  Renters and home insurance? You got it.

So much to do, so little time.

Ever notice how much there is to do in the Glens Falls area? And its not just when the sun is shining and warmer. It seems like almost every weekend and many weekdays, there is a ton of stuff going on. The tough thing is making the choice of what to experience. This past Saturday was a good example.  The Glens Falls Rotary had their Annual Water Walk. I went to do my daily walk in Cole’s Woods and just to get there I had to pass the hundreds of people strewn all over Crandall Park.  And then there was the Fishing Derby that morning, the Farmers Market was once again outside on South Street, Little League games all over town and many other area events that are hard to keep track off. Never boring around here. Something for everyone. Don’t we live in a great place of our world? And with great neighbors?

 

A m2con kinda day!

 

Do you ever have one of those days that you’re just a little overwhelmed, but in a good way? I had one of those on Thursday May 2, 2013 and it was the folks at Mannix Marketing that made it possible.  And it’s funny because at the last minute, I was having second thoughts about going to their all day conference.  Kind of like the same feeling I get when going to a wake-  Don’t always feel like going but always happy I did. It was going to be tight with me dropping off the kids, plus I was feeling like the last couple of weeks were way too busy for me and I needed a day to regroup. Well, I think that day is today, Friday-I hope! Although, I am using this blog post to sharpen my blogging skills ( thank you Chris A. and Jennifer McDonald) and as always with something new, this is taking the whole morning.

Anyway, as usual with these things, the day and the conference were just awesome. And the new people I got to meet – WOW!  Carol from Coyote Impressions, Lisa Balschunat, Pat Cole from William J Cole Real Estate, Inc and Megan Higgins. Also in attendance was fellow Empire Spectrum LLC member, Rich Nesbitt of Johnnie Walker Insurance.

And of course I get to see lots of familiar friends from the area including  John Crawford, John Marcantonio and the always wonderful Pam Fisher, alias tee-ball coach! I also got to say hello and speak to  Meg Porto. She has recently started working at Wait House.  And I was able to say hello and talk to many others. It was a very good day.

But I must say that the VERY best part of the day was listening and engaging with the people of  Mannix Marketing.  I told my wife and others that the whole day was of chuck full of so many tips and ideas, that there is no way I would be able to implement them all. I’ll be happy to push the button on a couple.

So a BIG thank you and HUGS to  Sara Mannix (Vote for Aprons!), Mark Mannix, Jeremy Abel, Chris Archibee ( The Geek),Ashley LaVoy, Rick Marchant, Valleri James, Longfellows for lunch (it was yummy), Amberly Rundell, Jennifer Manz, Pam Sissons, Mary Longley, Brian McGrath.

Just goes to show you that we shouldn’t always trust our feelings. Go with “what you know is the right thing to do” despite all the voices telling you to run!

 

 

You’re kidding!

So I had the van this morning since it’s Wednesday and Grandpa’s taxi is transporting all three and the Riskmobile is a little too small for Lucas!

And since I’m the insurance guy who breathes “safety”, I like my cars clean, especially the windows so you can see clearly. SO the van was still grimey from the winter so I decided to get it washed after dropoff. Normally I have coupons with me but I left them in my other car, so I paid cash. I also gave the attendant a tip. So I roll up my windows so I don’t get soaked and get ready to move. Suddenly there is a knock on my window and its the guy handing me a coupon for next time. WOW. Total surprise and not expected. Now his motivations could have been many. My point in all this, is that he blew me away with an unexpected gesture and I went through the carwash a very happy camper. So happy that I want to tell you all about it.  Is this what you call good customer service? Is it good business? Whatever! It was just plain nice and impacted me in a good way, Pass it on!

 

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Are you somebody who tries to “do it all”? I can sometimes be like that. As I get older though, I see the wisdom in allowing other people to help. Here is a good example.

 

 

 

The picture is of Jim Mclaughlin http://mclaughlinphoto.com.  He is VERY good at what he does. When we heard that we were being given the Juckett Award,we knew that we needed some “updated” personal portraits. Now we could have taken them ourselves or gotten a family member or friend to shoot them, but we decided to enlist the expert. Glad we did. So many of the pictures you’ve been seeing lately ( I know-I’m tired of seeing them too!) are Jim’s work. It was just a good reminder to me to stick to insurance and leave the other stuff to people who know what they’re doing. Thanks Jim. (more…)

Sunday Reflection

I’ve had a couple days to reflect on the Dinner. And the more I think about it, the more I confirm that the most important aspect of our lives are RELATIONSHIPS. Family, friends, staff, clients, customers, company, acquaintances, strangers. Doesn’t matter, people are people and our interaction with each other is the lifeblood of our day to day.

Many of the people I saw Thursday night I have known for years. Some, I’ve never met and still don’t know their name (my loss). When I take the time and look back on 33 years of business, I can’t imagine what my life would be like if there had been another path.

So just a quick reminder for me and maybe for you. Appreciate the journey, and most especially the people. Treasure them, love them, forgive them and be with them. It is all worth it. It is seldom easy, but oh is it worth it.

Checklist

So here it is Thursday morning March 7th and it is the day of the BIG dinner. Do you know what is unfair? Being told 6 weeks ago or so that you have to give a speech. Do you know how many times I have “thought about” this speech. You are correct-I’ve lost track. Boy does it consume you. You want to say and do the right thing. You want people to like it and like (LOVE) you! You want it to be a good night. You don’t want to be nervous but you are and you WILL be. I must say though, this one is a little different  a little better. There is a part of me that is REALLY looking forward to this. And then there is a LITTLE (small) part of me that is worrying. Oh well, thank you God that you want me to do this. May YOU get the credit because I HATE public speaking! Give me one-on one!

So here is part of the checklist- duck tape-check. Hoodie-check. Pancakes-check. Ipad-check.

I hope to TWEET along tonight, so if you can’t make it, check the tweeter line.

What is your reaction when you hear an insurance company ad -”15 minutes can ……………”?

What is your reaction when you hear an insurance company ad -”15 minutes can ……………”? I think I know what the company is hoping you get from it, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think it means- “Look we can get this done in 15 minutes. Its not that big of a deal. I’ll tell you what you need and hopefully you can save some $$$$. And we have to do this fast because I have a lot of other people I have to talk to”.

I have caught myself many times looking at the clock after about twenty minutes with a new client and we’re still taking about their home or their car or their kids, etc. In other words, it takes a lot longer than 15 minutes to do this insurance stuff right. Since insurance isn’t plain vanilla flavor for even two different people, the way you do it right is to give people their due and take the time to get the insurance they need. Do it the RIGHT way.

Now you might be saying, “but I don’t have the time” or “it is too hard to switch insurance”. Actually, we do all the work for you. You just start the ball rolling and we do the rest. But before you make the switch, you will know what you need to know to be HAPPY that you have the right insurance for YOU.  So come see us if you want to feel loved and you want more than 15 minutes!

Back to Blogging!

My apologies to my blog and anyone paying attention! I won’t even tell you the last time I posted. Anyone else have problems keeping up? Life is busy and fast and noisy. But it is also very good especially in the most challenging times. One year ago at this time, I was in the middle of some sickness that would sideline me for 3 months from the office. Thankfully, I could get what I needed to do from home.  But boy odes it really set you back. I was just starting to get out of the office more to see people and then I got sick. I think it took me until May or so to really get back in the swing of things. Hopefully, this kind of sickness will pass you by.

As I write this I am laughing to myself. I am not comfortable up in front of a lot of people. I have spent my 33 years speaking to people one on one and that has worked great. So now all of sudden, I seem to be getting “public speaking” opportunities coming in from all over the place. Maybe my Niagara University Professor would be laughing too.  I must say that I do feel different about these. More comfortable, more like “this is what I’m supposed to do”. So say a prayer for me that I say the right things in the right manner.

Something we are very excited about is the fact the we have joined a new group of fellow New York State Independent Agents which is allowing us to represent many more insurance companies than we have ever had before. That is great news for our current and future clients. It gives us a lot more choices so we can better serve everyone. We have also had many requests in the past especially from business people who wanted to switch to us but we did not have a company that would write their type of business. That is changed as of now. So if you are reading this and would like us to become you insurance agent and get you a “better” policy, contact us!

And on a personal note, it has now been 5 years since my father, Robert J O’Brien died. Five years flies. So thanks dad for getting this Agency started back in 1957. It continues to help many people in and out of insurance.

Stayed tuned for more regular postings. I hope ( you know how that goes ) that this will be my main way of “getting the word out”!

Lower Your Car Insurance Costs

Car insurance premiums often take a big bite out of a family’s budget. You may, however, be paying too much for this coverage. The following are several approaches you can use to reduce your auto insurance costs.

• Choose higher deductibles, particularly if you currently have a low collision or other-than-collision deductible, such as $100 or $250. Increasing your deductible from $250 to $500 or $1,000, for example, can reduce your collision and other-than-collision premium by 15 to 35 percent.
• Eliminate collision and other-than-collision coverage on older, less valuable cars. If your car is worth less than $1,500, it may be wiser and cheaper in the long run to just retain this physical damage exposure. Used car valuations are available online at Kelley Blue Book.
• Maintain an excellent credit record, since insurance companies are increasingly using credit scores to price auto insurance policies. Consumers with poor credit often pay more for auto insurance.
• Buy a “low-profile” automobile. Before you purchase a new or used car, check into the auto insurance costs. Automobile models that are expensive to maintain and have higher theft and collision frequency rates tend to have higher insurance costs.
• Take advantage of multipolicy discounts by keeping your homeowners and auto policy with one insurer. Likewise, take advantage of multicar discounts by having all autos on one insurance policy.
• Seek out other auto insurance discounts (which can vary by state and by insurance company), such as defensive driving, good student, low-mileage auto, alcohol awareness training, air bags, anti-lock brakes, claim-free experience, and long-term customer.