Summer Vacation Time!

                                            MVP Agency Offers
                                            Vacation Tips

to Protect You and Your Family

     Vacations should be a time spent having fun and relaxing. By taking a few extra precautions while traveling, you can prevent yourself, or your friends and family, from being a victim of crime.  MVP Agency and Travelers, a leading provider of auto and homeowners insurance, offer these safety tips to help you, your friends and family have a fun and safe vacation:

·         Do not carry large amounts of cash. Use traveler’s checks that can usually be replaced within 24 hours.

·         Use ATMs only during daylight hours. If you must use one after dark, try and find a well-lit, busy area such as a grocery store.

·         Leave copies of trip information with a friend or family member at home. This includes credit card numbers, passport numbers, plane tickets and itinerary information, and phone numbers for your credit card companies.

·         Keep credit cards, cash, passport, and plane tickets separate.

·         Wear a “money purse” underneath your clothes that contains passport, phone numbers for credit card companies, and a small amount of cash, should your wallet get stolen.

·         Carry a “dummy” wallet in your back pocket containing $20 which, if you were to be mugged, would satisfy the robber without draining all of your funds.

·         Have your mail delivery stopped while on vacation. If you have a neighbor retrieving mail and newspapers while you are away, ensure that they will be there every day. Nothing says an empty house like a stack of mail or newspapers at the front door.

·         Do not assume your personal documents are safe in your hotel room. Lock them in a safe while the room is unoccupied.

·         Have separate ATM, debit and credit cards and make sure that you need a PIN for in-store use of a debit card, not only for the ATM.

·         For women, do not hang purses on the back of bathroom stall doors.  It is very easy for someone to reach over the door and grab it. 

·         Leave your regular checkbook at home.  If your checks are stolen, it’s difficult to cancel them and track their use as you would a credit card.  Plus, if someone re-orders checks in your name, you won’t realize it until you receive your bank statement.

·         Only carry credit cards that you will need on vacation. Leave cards for particular department stores or things like gas cards at home.

·         Remember that your credit card number is on your plane tickets, so treat them as you would a credit card.

·         Cover ATM key pads when entering your PIN.  People could be watching over your shoulder, or even from a distance, and then later attempt to steal your wallet and use this information.

·         Use common sense when traveling. Do not draw attention to yourself as a tourist.  Avoid reading maps in a busy, high-traffic area, carry your camera in a tote bag rather than the carrying case, and do not flaunt large amounts of cash when removing money from your wallet or pocket.

Your homeowners, condo or renters insurance policy may cover loss or damage of your personal items while traveling, up to specified limits.  Take time before you go on vacation to compile a personal property inventory, which helps determine replacement cost of lost items.  Document each item’s year of purchase and original price.  Items that may exceed policy limits, such as jewelry, cameras and golf equipment, need additional protection such as Travelers valuable items insurance.  To ensure you have the coverage you need, contact your independent insurance agent. 

Established in 2013, MVP Agency is an independent insurance agency offering a full range of insurance products including AUTO, HOME, LIFE, ETC.  MVP Agency is a member of Downtown Johnstown Inc.and supports the local schools and other community organizations.   

For information and quotes on insurance coverage, please visit      

MVP Agency Inc. at 73 S Main Street in Johnstown, call 740-966-3180, or on the web: www.themvpagency.com. 

About Travelers

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business.  The company’s diverse business lines offer its global customers a wide range of coverage sold primarily through independent agents and brokers. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has operations in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Ireland. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.

Congratulations 2013 Graduates of Johnstown and Northridge!!

Special Congrats to the Top of the Class: 

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/johnstown/news/2013/05/10/valedictorians-salutatorians-top-johnstown-northridge-students-ready-for-next-phase.html

Teen driving tips to keep prom and graduation safe

High school is full of defining moments for Johnstown teens and two of the highlights for most are prom and graduation.

However, this time of year often sees other, more tragic defining moments - serious car accidents involving teens who are distracted or even under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

At MVP Agency, we want to help make this season one to celebrate for you and your teen. So, with the help of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, here are some tips that can keep your teen safe.

First, encourage your teen to follow these general safe-driving rules:

Absolutely no alcohol

Always use seat belts

No cell phone use (including texting) while driving

Special circumstances

Of course, special events such as prom and graduation often present special circumstances. There may be dinner with dates before the dance, and parties before or after either event. It’s a good idea to discuss your expectations well before each event, putting some guidelines into place before your teen heads out for the night. Here are some ideas:

Make sure you know the itinerary of the evening, as well as who else will be with your teen. You should have contact information for everyone.

Have a way to contact your teen at all times. You may want to require them to check in with you once or twice over the course of the evening.

Set a curfew, whether they are coming back to your home or staying with a friend. If they are staying elsewhere, make sure the curfew will be enforced by a responsible adult.

Discuss with your teen how to handle difficult situations, such as facing pressure to drink, or accepting a ride with someone who shouldn’t be driving. It’s a good idea to provide your child with money for a taxi just in case.

Offer a “no-questions-asked” ride home, should they need one during the evening.

If you’re worried about your teen driving, consider alternate transportation. A car service or limousine will provide a responsible, experienced adult driver. You also will be able to limit changes to the itinerary and contact the driver.

Prom and graduation in Johnstown are special times in a teen’s life. And just a little common sense will go a long way toward making sure your young adult is around to enjoy the other milestones that are sure to come.

 Safeco Insurance Teen Safety Rewards™

Safeco Insurance  Teen Safety Rewards can provide you a collection of tools, benefits and discounts to help your teen become a safer driver — as well as manage the cost of adding them to your policy. There are several discounts available, including the Good Student Discount, Driver Training Discount and more. Call MVP Agency at 740-966-3180 for more information!

Trampolines Increase Insurance Risks

My kids love them as much as the next but is having one worth the risk...? You may not think your neighbor would sue you if their child got hurt on your property but the medical bills could get costly and when their child is hurt - their thoughts will be on the one in pain not necessarily on their neighborly relationship!

Trampolines Increase Insurance Risks

Thinking of Moms...

A time to celebrate mothers

As the second Sunday of May nears, it’s time to think of ways to celebrate mothers - although, of course, that’s a worthy pursuit at any time of year!

At MVP Agency Inc., we thought it would be fun to give you a little of the history behind Mother’s Day, as well as a few ideas to honor the special women in all our lives.

Ancient beginnings

According to MothersDayCentral.com, the ancient Egyptians held an annual festival to honor “the mother of the pharaohs” - the goddess Isis. This is one of the earliest historical records of a society celebrating a mother.

How Mother’s Day came to be in the U.S.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe, a social activist and poet (and author of the lyrics for “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”) had became distraught by the toll of the Civil War. She issued a “Mother’s Day Proclamation” that year, calling on mothers to protest the killing and create a day celebrating peace and motherhood.

Howe’s proclamation did not result in a national Mother’s Day, but in 1908, Anna Jarvis of West Virginia took up the cause. She wanted to accomplish her mother’s dream of making a celebration of all mothers. By 1909, more than 40 states were holding Mother’s Day services, even though it was not a national holiday.

In 1912, according to Wikipedia, West Virginia was the first state to officially observe Mother’s Day. Jarvis continued to promote the day until President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in 1914.

She later regretted creating the holiday, believing that it had become too commercialized.

Enough with the history – where are the gift ideas?

Like us at MVP Agency Inc., we know you might have more urgent concerns on your mind, like last-minute shopping, so here are the most popular Mother’s Day gifts, according to MothersDayCentral.com.

Flowers

Gift baskets

Personalized gifts

Jewelry

Perfume

Spa gifts

Magazines

Of course, perhaps the best gift of all is getting in touch and letting the moms in your life know just how much they mean to you. Happy Mother’s Day!