Worcester, U.S.A. — Most people take fire safety seriously and have fire extinguishers handy and escape routes pre-planned should a blaze threaten their home. Yet while tornadoes and the violent storms surrounding them are far more common than homeowners realize, many homeowners don’t take the necessary steps to prepare for these destructive storms. On average, some 1200 tornadoes appear each year in the U.S.

With the possibility that the 2012 storm season will be a long and challenging one, The Hanover Insurance Group today provided tips to help home and business owners in tornado-prone states to prepare and minimize damages.

While tornadoes can occur in the United States during any month, weather conditions produce a peak season that runs through October. In areas of the country subject to the harshest storms, winds can far exceed those of even the strongest hurricanes, averaging between 110-205 mph.

“Tornadoes can form in every state east of the Rockies,” said Mark Desrochers, president of The Hanover’s personal lines business. “Preparing for a tornado is a practical safety precaution that should be taken by all households in these states. With proper preparations, home and business owners can significantly reduce the risks of injury to their family and pets, as well as damage to their property. This also enables them to recover quicker.”

To help prepare for a tornado and respond in the event one strikes, The Hanover suggests the following 10 tips:

1. Make an action plan. Prepare in advance so that when a tornado watch is issued, you already have an existing plan of action. Unlike hurricanes, which tend to be closely monitored for days, tornadoes can spring up quickly. In many cases, you will have to take shelter within minutes in your own home or a below-ground storm shelter. Experts advise never trying to outrun a tornado by car. Instead, move to the basement or to an inner windowless room or interior hall. Protect your head and neck with your arms and hands. Ensure everyone knows the action plan.
2. Create a survival kit. After a storm, it may be impossible to use roads for several days. You may be forced to live in your home for a while even if it is wrecked or you’re without electricity and water. So, it’s wise to assemble a survival kit containing a week’s worth of non-perishable food, bottled water, paper plates and cups, eating utensils, medicines, first aid handbook and bandages, blanket, a radio, batteries, flashlight, soap and toiletries, bleach for disinfecting, and spare clothing. Store the kit in the basement or other safe area.
3. Have debris removal tools on-hand. There may be a significant amount of debris following a tornado that will have to be moved just to exit your structure. Some of this will be splintered wood and glass. With this in mind, store helpful items — including heavy soled shoes, gloves, eye protection and a small shovel to safely move debris. This should be kept in the same area as your survival kit.
4. Create a home inventory. Tornadoes can destroy your home and its contents, making it difficult to document your property losses, which can impede your recovery. With a proper home inventory you will have an acceptable means of documenting ownership and value in the event of a claim. Photograph or shoot video of your entire home or business, including the contents of each room, and store these with a written inventory and serial numbers in a fireproof safe or safe deposit box. Automate the process using a free online inventory tool available at Hanover.
5. Ensure you have proper coverages in place. It is always a good idea to review your homeowner’s policy with your independent insurance agent, ensuring you have enough coverage for your contents and the physical structure as well. Also ask about other coverages that may be of value to you in the event of a tornado loss, such as reimbursement for temporary living expenses.
6. Create and share contact info.  All family members should have the personal and business contact information (phone/email) for quick communications. Also ensure you have your agent and insurer’s claims office numbers stored in your mobile phone. After a storm, cell service may be more accessible than local land lines.  Have important numbers on hand to help expedite your recovery after the storm.  It’s important to keep your cell phone charged in advance, as power may be out for days.
7. Wait for official notice before returning home. If there is an evacuation after a storm, wait for official notice that it is safe to return to your home. When returning to your home, be cautious when entering a damaged structure. Stay away from damaged or weakened walls.
8. Take photographs and/or video documenting claim damage. Should your home or business be damaged in a tornado, take pictures of the entire scene and document all damage — provided it is safe. Try not to remove items until an insurance adjuster has had an opportunity to visit the property and assess the damage.
9. Keep an accurate record of any temporary repairs or expenses. If you do need to make temporary repairs to help preserve the remains of your home or personal property, keep all records to ensure that they may be considered in your claim.
10. Engage with an Independent Agent. With careful preparation and planning — and assistance from your insurance professional — you can rest assured that you have the right coverages to meet your needs and a good plan of action in place.  This will reduce the time and effort required to recover from a tornado and other major weather events.

While no one can tell you for sure whether a tornado or other weather event will strike your area, they are occurring with increasing frequency. So it is a good idea to consult with a local Independent Agent, have the right insurance carrier to meet your needs, and to be as prepared as you can in advance of such events.

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Stevens Point, Wisconsin, U.S.A-Though hurricane season officially began June 1, activity in the tropics heated up ahead of schedule this year with Tropical Storm Alberta forming off South Carolina in late May, followed by Tropical Storm Beryl, which was the strongest pre-season storm to make landfall in history when it came ashore in Jacksonville, FL. With this early tropical activity in mind, Travel Guard is urging travelers to prepare for upcoming vacations by considering travel insurance options.

No matter if travelers are taking advantage of off-season deals in Florida and the Caribbean or heading to destinations outside of the hurricane belt, their plans can be drastically affected by delays and cancellations that can affect airports far from the coasts should a storm arise. Several tips can help to avoid these problems.

Safeguard your trip investment: In the event of a covered hurricane or other unforeseen severe weather, travel insurance may provide benefits under trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage. If a trip is cancelled for a covered reason, travel insurance may refund the prepaid, forfeited, non-refundable trip costs up to the limit of coverage.

Purchase in advance: Insurance must be purchased at least 24 hours prior to a hurricane being named in order for trip cancellation and trip interruption coverage to cover losses due to the hurricane. Once a hurricane watch or warning is in effect, it’s too late. To avoid a last-minute scramble, travelers should purchase insurance at the same time they book their travel plans.

Monitor status of airports, accommodations and driving routes: If a storm directly affects travel arrangements or accommodations, insureds may benefit from trip cancellation or trip interruption coverage. A few examples: an airport is closed due to the high winds; mandatory evacuations are enforced at a policyholder’s hotel/resort; roads are impassable due to high water and alternate modes of transportation are not possible. If a resort, hotel or vacation home is damaged and cannot be used, or if comparable accommodations cannot be provided, non-refundable costs could be covered.

Be aware of the difference between what has happened and what “might” happen: Inclement weather must directly affect travel arrangements for travel insurance to cover the loss. Base travel insurance plans never cover losses incurred by a cancellation based upon what “might” happen because of a storm. For example, if a policy holder chooses not to take a flight because of concern about a hurricane, and that flight still operates on schedule, the cost of the flight will not be a covered loss.

Prepare for delays: If the airport from which flights are scheduled to depart is closed due to a hurricane or other weather event, travel insurance may cover the expenses incurred because of the delay. Additionally, reasonable accommodations and travel expenses may be covered until travel becomes possible. It’s important to understand that Travel Guard’s travel insurance plans do not cover cancellations solely made by the traveler’s choice not to go because of possible delays, unless a plan including “Cancel For Any Reason” coverage has been purchased.

“With the many unanticipated situations that can arise during hurricane season, our best advice to travelers is to be prepared,” said Carol Mueller, Vice President, Travel Guard North America. “Travel Guard travel insurance plans average 5-7 percent of the total trip cost, meaning an affordable cost can provide travelers with confidence throughout hurricane season.”

Hurricane season runs through November 30, 2012. To keep track of the latest hurricane-related news, visit the National Weather Services’ National Hurricane Center.

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Many companies do not see complaints as an opportunity to get free consultation from customers that can solve problems and make their services better for free. It could be that they cannot accept the fact that one unsatisfied customer makes a much greater impact on the image of one brand than the ones who are satisfied and how important it is to have a serious focus in changing these problems.

Companies should be aware about word-of-mouth, but now there is the much more powerful channel: word-of-mouse. Social networks such as Twitter — with more than 100 million active users updating more than 50 million times per day – are the perfect environments to complain and companies should seize this opportunity to gain valuable information about their image.

The advantages of listening and give attention to the complaints are open a channel for a good relationship with customers and increase loyalty, improve the image of the company, use as an assessment regarding performance and quality, study of the market and to be open to what customers want, and to be fast in innovation.

One crucial factor on the complaint management is the time to decrease the amount of dissatisfaction of one customer and turn him as soon as possible to a marketing positive compound. Twitter can became a tool to the companies and help not just in discover what people are talking about as help about the time factor and accelerate the process of a solution.

Companies in Brazil are giving a good example because companies are taking around 5 minutes to 2 hours to answer customers who complains in twitter , much more faster than using the foundation to protect customer – the “faster” way which use to take at least one month.

The US in other hand is wasting their opportunity. Around 70% of companies are ignoring customer complaints on twitter  and consequently losing chances to put their companies and brands to the front of others’ minds in a positive way.

Here are a few tips for companies to use Twitter as an efficient way to develop a good complaint management system:

• Team: The Company must be a team prepared to deal with complaint and with enough power to reach a balance between  company/customer interests and have enough powder to create solutions. Make customers talk and in the end do not have the powder to solve make him talk with one person, after to another, after with the manager, and the director just increase the level of irritation;
• Open the eyes: search who is talking about your company and what they are saying;
• Open the “voice”: contact the person in order to understand the dissatisfaction and open the relationship. Be polite and show empathy. Be aware that there are much more people watching this “conversation”.
• Give possibilities for solutions and show interest. It is also important remember that customers sometimes can abuse and this is not acceptable, but if the company shows their face in environments such as Twitter, others will understand.
• Time: all of this must happen quickly, and it is also related to the quality of the personal responsible for this task.
• 140 characters: remember the power of these characters in both sides: customer to the Companies and Companies to the customers.

The market has changed a lot. Before it was a few companies and a lot of customers with high level of loyalty, nowadays the reality shows a lot of companies and customers with no loyalty that are full of power to impact the network. The complaint management system must reach dissatisfied customers wherever they are, and for sure, a lot of them in Twitter.

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