Arizona State and University of Arizona football fans don’t agree on much, but they do have a chance to work together before Saturday’s annual showdown at Sun Devil Stadium and to help those in the state struggling to feed their families.

The first annual “Territorial Cup Series Food Fight,” sponsored by State Farm Insurance, will take place outside the stadium in the hours leading up to kickoff. Demand has doubled for emergency holiday food boxes during the early stages of this holiday season, and St. Mary’s Food Bank is hoping fans from both teams will help with donations of non-perishable food and cash that will go immediately to work in 13 of Arizona’s 15 counties.

Volunteers from ASU4Food and State Farm Insurance will be stationed at numerous food-drop locations surrounding the stadium. The ASU4Food group is also holding a raffle and those who donate are eligible to win a football or Sun Devil Stadium panoramic photo autographed by ASU coach Dennis Erickson.

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – State Farm Lloyds has been ordered to issue $310 million in refunds to home insurance policyholders.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin said this completes insurance reforms that began in 2003 following years of record rate increases. Regulators had then ordered the company to cut its rates 12 percent.

The refund amounts to 6.2 percent of premiums for those the company insured from September 2003 to August 2004, and 3.4 percent of premium for each year of coverage for customers insured from September 2004 to July 2008.

State Farm, Texas’ largest home insurer with about 1.2 million policyholders, has ten days to appeal the order.

For more information on building, buying, selling or leasing commercial or residential property anywhere in the world, contact Nicole Tucker, licensed agent with Keller Williams, Dallas Preston Road office at 972-992-8204 or visit my website at http://www.NicoleRE.com.
Nicole Tucker ~ Making Real Estate Real Easy!

An interesting article in Sunday’s World-Herald about the Lincoln-based Archrival Studios that has grown into one of the top youth branding agencies in the nation.  After heaps of local, regional and international awards, a small core of dedicated employees and a worldwide client base including companies like Red Bull Energy Drink, Microsoft, Honda, State Farm Insurance and Pabst Brewing Co continue to “play with the big dogs.”  (read more)

If you love your freedom and want to thank a soldier or help out our military families, here’s a great chance.

Visit Thanks For Being There and leave a Thank You message for our troops. State Farm Insurance is donating $1 to Fisher House for every Thank You message sent to the troops between November 8th and November 14th, 2009. In total, State Farm will donate up to $50,000 to Fisher House.

Fisher House supports military families whose loved ones are undergoing treatment at military or VA medical centers by providing free lodging at 31 locations in the United States and in Europe.

As cnn.com reported, there are a wide variety of high paying jobs for “math wizzes” (if you want to make your math professor laugh out loud, tell them that cnn.com reported that average annual salary for a mathematician is $94,960.  We don’t know where they got that number, but the majority of professors are well below that number!  Although there are notable outliers…).

One job they failed to mention was Secret Agent!

What?!?  you say.

Well, Adrienne Jablonski has passed along the following job information:

The following employer information sessions will be held over the next week.

·         Tuesday, Oct. 27: State Farm Insurance, 1-2pm, Kaufman 232, Free Pizza

·         Tuesday, Oct. 27: The Buckle, 4-5pm and 6-7pm, OMU Traditions Room, 2nd floor

·         Monday, Nov. 2: CIA, 1-2pm, Kaufman 232, Free Pizza

·         Tuesday, Nov. 3: CIA, 12-1 and 5-6pm, OMU Regents Room, 3rd floor

Please pass this message on to your students.

Best regards,
Adrienne Jablonski

IT’S SO OVERWHELMING!

Let’s do a little recap. Sunday night Monica, Larry, Ian, – the cutest baby boy on earth - and Lily the dog, were suddenly displaced by a fire. Our volunteer Fire Department along with several surrounding community volunteer fire departments, EMS and local police saved the little house on Main Street from total destruction.  

With the help of the Red Cross, Monica was able to get her medications for the night. Monica has M.S., and has already been through a lot. Our local grocery store, The Village Market was on hand to help her get some groceries for the night. A big thank you to Judy and Bobbie! MacGyver and Billy Bob secured the house and covered the holes in the roof, since it had started to rain, and has rained everyday since the fire. Miss Laney watched over Lily and Chris, the best baby sitter in the world, gladly took baby Ian to her house away from all the commotion. ( and Sophia made things a little better on Tuesday)

Monica, Larry, Ian and Lily were able to go to Tami’s. (Monica’s Mom’s home.)  Which was a blessing since Tami is move out-of-state in the next two weeks. Funny how things happen! It gives her and Monica sometime together. Things always seem better when Mom is near and I’m a firm believer in, “everything happens for a reason”.

In the past three days, Monica has contacted the insurance company – State Farm - who quickly got a restoration company, Servpro, to go in and remove items that might be salvageable. They cleaned some emergencies cloths for them, and she should be hearing from a contractor with in the next few days. She is a little overwhelmed with all the paper work and running that is involved, but she has had a lot of support for close friends and family. Which is so important when you are faced with a life changing event.

I know Monica, Larry and the baby will make it through all of this. She is a strong little girl! I can see so many new and wonderful opportunities for her. Yesterday, while she sat at my table she told me that one thing she has already learned is that she will no long put importance on gathering useless items. Her hoarding days are over, she said. That is a lesson for us all! It’s not about what you have. Family, friends and life is much more important. There will be so many things she learns from this and so many things she will  be able to share.

I'll help you Monica! Everything is O.K.!

Everything happens for a reason. Monica is perfecting her glass of lemonade and with every sip…..it will get better!

Jackson County economic development officials must sense that the stars are aligned for a $2 billion energy project in Moss Point.
http://tinyurl.com/yh9×526

Of Mississippians unemployed in July, 16,600 gained jobs in August, putting the state’s jobless rate below the national average of 9.6 percent.
http://tinyurl.com/yb5nzsq

ProVia’s ownership since has sold the operation; Exterior Profiles Corp. is assuming outdoor fence, deck and home products production at the site, creating 34 jobs, said Wilson, who reports company officials hope to employ more than 100 people, “as the market recovers.”
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=3192

GreenTech Automotive, Inc. unveiled plans Tuesday to develop and manufacture hybrid, fuel-efficient automobiles on 1,500 acres in Tunica County’s Metro-Mega-site, with an option to purchase more land as needed.  The initial phase of the project is estimated to cost $1 billion and provide 1,500 jobs locally, according to company officials.
http://tinyurl.com/yau2fxm and http://tinyurl.com/y9ozwza

Swoope and his team were ready for downturn and have reacted with more business for state.  Mississippi has made significant gains in economic development despite facing the effects of a national recession, Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) officials said.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2009/10/mississippi-making-significant-strides/

Pearl native founded company that designs wireless sensor systems that drive down power consumption.  Following his education, he worked in Washington, D.C., but Butler said he always had a desire to return to Mississippi, and in 2006, he founded Camgian in Starkville.
http://msbusiness.com/blog/2009/10/camgian-seizes-on-opportunity/

Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) played a key role in the successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket for The Boeing Company today from Space Launch Complex 2W at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., carrying DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 commercial satellite…  The 10-foot diameter composite payload fairing, encapsulating the payload, was fabricated by ATK’s Iuka, Mississippi facility.
http://tinyurl.com/yhp3rn8

Entergy Corporation is the only energy company included in BusinessWeek magazine’s 2009 “Best Places to Launch Your Career” ranking.
http://tinyurl.com/yj34cyw

The City of Tupelo and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will be recognized nationally next month at the National Brownfields Conference for turning an environmentally contaminated area into the popular downtown Fairpark District.  
http://tinyurl.com/ydahdxq

A public hearing is set for Oct. 29 before the Mississippi Public Service Commission to increase the Claiborne County plant’s capacity to 1,443 megawatts, which would make it the nation’s largest single reactor.
http://www.vicksburgpost.com/articles/2009/10/08/news/doc4ace0c6e5708d778634565.txt

Biloxi-Gulfport, Pascagoula and Mobile, Ala. are all attracting new companies and business investment. http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/economic_outlook_for_new_orlea.html

The Link plans to unveil a master plan for the aerospace megasite Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. at East Mississippi Community College, Higgins said. There, citizens can see just what engineers, the Tennessee Valley Authority and others involved with the project have in mind.
http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=3187

After more than two decades of states racing each other for one economic prize after another, the Tennessee Valley Authority launched a program in 2004 that streamlined the giant industrial site-selection process — for communities looking for new jobs and for companies looking for sites to build on. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/11/mega-impact/

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney says he should decide soon whether State Farm can boost homeowners’ rates in three coastal counties.
http://tinyurl.com/ycweuj4

John Turner, director of economic development for Entergy Mississippi, said there’s still “hurt and pain” in the state’s economy.  He said businesses that shelved projects are showing interest and beginning to call again.
http://tinyurl.com/ylc8m7y

MDA will be hosting a renewable energy workshop this month in Vicksburg.  A webinar focusing on the energy-related stimulus opportunities available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will be held on Tuesday, October 13, at 10 a.m.  The full Energy Awareness Calendar is on the website:
http://www.mississippi.org/index.php?id=732

The Mississippi Economic Development Council presents its MEDC Regional Chamber Workshop Series on Tuesday, November 17 in Newton.  Speakers include Shane Moody, CEO of the Destin Area Chamber, Beth Stevens, Executive Director or the Greenwood-Leflore Chamber, Chance McDavid, of the MSU MSCAT team.  Topics include membership retention, membership sales, non-dues revenue, benefits of membership, boosting your membership using social media, and the First Impressions Program.  www.medc.ms

The Mississippi District Export Council presents Export University – Export 101 – An Introduction to Exporting, Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at the Franklin Furniture Institute at MSU.
http://tinyurl.com/yjmbos7

The Mississippi Technology Alliance (MTA) will offer the Venture Coaching Academy in online and in-person classes beginning November 10, 2009.  MTA President and CEO Dr. Randy Goldsmith will lead workshops, webinars and independent study focused on preparing companies for private investment. The one-of-a-kind curriculum addresses the business development needs of high performance entrepreneurs, university-based incubator and tech park directors and experienced managers at general purpose incubators serving innovation-based companies.  Call 601-960-3610 or email sgaines@mta.ms.

MEDC Calendar:
November 17 – MEDC Regional Chamber Workshop, Newton, MS “Connecting With Your Members”- www.medc.ms
December 8 – MEDC Member-to-Member Seminar, Jackson, MS “Existing Industry & Business – A Fresh Approach” with Chandler Russ, Director, EIB Division, MDA

Carol Hardwick, Executive Director
Mississippi Economic Development Council (MEDC)
P. O. Box 3721, Jackson, MS  39207
www.medc.ms
MEDC 2010 Winter Conference . February 3-5 . Hilton . Jackson
MEDC 2010 Summer Conference . July 21-23 . Beau Rivage . Biloxi

MEDC is Mississippi’s professional association of economic development and chamber of commerce professionals. 

With companies struggling to stay a float during these tough times customer service is becoming the deciding factor in customers purchasing decisions.

Survival Insurance is running with its new slogan “Its all about you”, which translates into an all new customer service area that is handling all of Survival Insurance’s clients. The “All about you” campaign was started in September with a bang in the Los Angeles area and has since shown a large amount of success in new insurance business and resigned clients.

Approximately 70% of customers hit the road not because of price or product quality issues, but because they did not like the human side of doing business with the provider of the product or service. Research conducted by The Forum Corporation supports this fact and indicates that 45% of these customers said they switched to another company because the attention they did receive was poor in quality.

“Your customers are your lifeblood. Just as you would for your friend, you must take time to identify, acknowledge, communicate, value, and respond to them and their needs. If you tell a customer you’ll get back to him within a particular frame of time, do it. If you promise to meet him after hours, honor your word…and be on time. This shows him you value his business and his time. It also means you’re keeping track of the details, a personalized touch that means a lot in today’s automated world!” says Sam N., Vice President of Sales Survival Auto Insurance.

“This letter is to let you know how much I appreciate renewing my auto insurance policy. I usually hate speaking to people on the phone especially customer service reps. They usually act like robots and are not friendly or helpful. Sarah is one of a kind. Her sparkle and joy for life and people really showed. She was extremely helpful.” — C. Morrey, Survival Auto Insurance customer.

Instead of the reason that a company is in business at all, today’s customers are most often treated like a nuisance. Products and services
continue to increase in cost. Customer service, on the other hand, continues to decline. Dealing with busy cashiers who seem to have more important things to do than ring up your sale are the rule rather than the exception. It seems that businesses today have forgotten how valuable customers actually are. No one earns a paycheck, without customers.

About Survival Insurance Brokerage
Survival Insurance Brokerage Inc. was founded in 1982, with the sole purpose of providing consumers with the ability to comparatively shop their auto insurance rates with a number of high quality insurance companies with one simple phone call. In a matter of minutes the consumer receives all the competitive information required to confidently make the purchase of auto insurance simple and rewarding, in the form of substantial savings.

The new campaign launched by Survival Insurance is having quite an affect on the public. And, the public is “YOU”, and “It’s All About You”speaks to many different niches of the marketplace.

From the Hollywood couple to mr. and mrs. middleclass America to the all-nighters across California, Survival wants “you” to know that customer service is what we’re all about and what our business has been about for over 26 years.

As a brokerage, Survival shops over 400 insurance companies for their customers which guarantees the lowest rates and best policy terms that can be found.

For years customers have thought their agent represents them when it’s time for a claim. Not so in all instances. They represent the company they work for. Survival agents go to bat for their clients because they want to have them stay and in doing so, the Survival agent can speak for teh customer and the insurance company will listen them the agent before they listen to the customer.

When it comes time for renewing your policy, call these guys…they’re “All ABout Helping You!”

Survival insurance recently launched a new campaign unbder the banner “It’s All ABout You!”.

What’s that mean, you ask? Well, for years there has been broker bashing going on in the insurance community and finally, Survival Insurance, which IS a brokerage, has come out with this campaign as a way to put it’s competitors on notice that there’s nothing more important than servicing it’s customers and one  if not the most imprtant and successful ways has been to shop over 400 insurance companies for the best rates and coverages for them. That’s what it’s all about. Survival agents represent their clients NOT the insurance companies.

It's All About You - hollywood pin up poster

This new email banner being used by many of the Survival agents is getting a great response as the public is drawn in by the imagery and the message that who ever you are, it IS ALL ABOUT YOU! People want to feel important and recognized as being an individual and this new campaign addresses people from all walks of life and some of the images are quite  on the edge and some are pretty mainstream.

It's All About You- The Musician

Survival Insurance has a large customer base of motorcycle riders which this poster speaks to. The company has always found itself catering to the younger crowd and many of the images have that message. Here are a few more;

The Girl Musician

The young couple staring out and needing the best deals...

It's All ABout You....and your family!

It’s all about service and Survival Insurance clearly hits the nail on the head with htis campaign. If it’s all about you…call Survival!

The 100 Black Men of Atlanta’s annual Fitness For Life Family Fair has been rescheduled from earlier this year to Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at B.E.S.T. Academy. The media is invited to attend this event and experience community outreach that combines health education with fun activities. The family health fair is part of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta’s health-and-wellness initiative and a component of its Project Success program.

The 2008 fair was held at the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Atlanta and provided free sports physicals, free health screenings for youth and their parents, fitness workouts throughout the day, and health-education workshops. Kids ages 6-18 participated; the fair served 500 Project Success students, their parents and residents in the surrounding community.

This year’s fair takes place at school’s new location 1890 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy.. In addition to free health, dental and vision screenings, the fair will include prizes, giveaways and fitness workshops for Project Success students, B.E.S.T. Academy students and their parents.  The 2009 Fitness For Life Family Fair sponsors include Aetna, State Farm Insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Atlanta Spirit, Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks.

We are very glad to see a good turnout for our event “Get Green with Your Transportation” in Newark, Ohio on September 30.  State Farm Insurance provided a healthy and appetizing lunch for all the attendees.

While we were enjoying the lunch, Brad Couch from Clean Fuels Ohio gave an informative presentation on alternative fuels, tips on improving fuel economy and non-vehicle options.  Brad also mentioned about using algae as an alternative energy source.

To give you a better perspective on what algae can actually do for us, check out this article about the first algae fueled car that was scheduled to travel from San Franciso to Washington, using 10 days and only 25 gallons of fuel.  It is very intriguing!

Our next event will be on October 15 in Columbus.  More details will be available on our website, Facebook page and LinkedIn group soon.  So stay tuned!

It’s a common question lately. When do the new laws go into effect?

Some go into effect next year.

The Journal Sentinel wrote a story about this a while ago.

Motorists will need to have a policy providing at least $50,000 in bodily injury coverage for one person, $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per accident and $15,000 to cover property damage. The current limits are $25,000, $50,000 and $10,000, respectively. The higher limits go into effect Jan. 1.

Your new policy or renewed policy must include underinsured motorist coverage starting November 1, 2009.

Underinsured motorist coverage, which now is optional, will be required for state drivers on new or renewed policies starting Nov. 1.

Auto insurance will be required starting June 1, 2010.

I hope this answers some of those questions.

When I first saw this on tv I thought it was a commercial for the Red Cross or some kind of non-profit charity organization. Nope, it’s from those assholes at State Farm insurance. Is this truly the worst commercial ever? No probably not, but it is the kind of advertising that makes me want to vomit. It’s filled with fake scenes, fake actors, and fake emotions. This is truly advertising at it’s worst. Here is a suggestion, trying falling behind on you insurance premiums and then see if your good, caring, compassionate friends form State Farm are still there for you.

That’s according to the presiding Sheboygan Judge’s memory from his 20 years on the bench.  The Jury came back with this verdict in my trial yesterday afternoon.  The trial against State Farm lasted about 3 days.

Before trial (this is a topic for another post) and when I returned to the office we did a few searches on Verdict Reporting companies.  From what we can find there were no soft tissue verdicts in reach. 

Now that the trial is over I’ll have more time to post and get back to my ‘old’ self.

Watch for more posts soon.

• Consumer complaints about State Farm Insurance

  … yet consumers think they can go one-on-one with State Farm and get a fair shake. … State Farm Auto Insurance. Auto Theft. Underinsured Motorist Coverage …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/insurance/state_farm.html

• Consumer complaints about State Farm Homeowners Insurance

  … asked what the problem was and I was told from the Insurance company the told me … owners, auto, and life insurance with State Farm, for over 15 years. …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/insurance/statefarm_home.html

• Consumer complaints about State Farm Auto Insurance

  … about State Farm Auto Insurance … one of my vehicle that was insured with state farm insurance … I hit was having medical problems and admitted fault. …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/insurance/statefarm_auto.html

• Consumer complaints about State Farm – Underinsured Motorist Coverage

  So, what is the problem? It’s the insurance. … If you can’t sue the insurance company, like State Farm, for exercising bad …
  consumeraffairs.com/insurance/statefarm_uim.html

• Consumer complaints about State Farm – Auto Theft

  Consumer complaints about State Farm – Auto Theft … For example I have been with this insurance company for 2 years and have always …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/insurance/statefarm_autothft.html

• Sen. Trent Lott Sues State Farm over Katrina Damage

  Sen. Trent Lott Sues State Farm over Katrina Damage … Home insurance typically does not cover floods but the homeless Mississippians …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/katrina_lott.html

• Payback: State Farm Writes Off Mississippi

  … Nixon, Mississippi won’t have State Farm Insurance to kick around anymore. … State Farm is among a number of insurance companies hit with staggering claims …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/02/state_farm_ms.html

• Consumer complaints about

  State Farm Employee Spotted. Firestone Problem Two Years Ago. The Firestone Recall … recall fiasco, it’s an obscure, mild-mannered employee of State Farm Insurance. …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news/firestone_boyden.html

• Consumer Complaints About Insurance

  … private deal with State Farm, which resold totaled cars without salvage titles. … Maryland Fines CareFirst $400,000 Company blames problems on “rapid growth. …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/insurance/insurance.htm

• Consumer Complaints about State Farm Bank

  … Electronics Family Finance Health Homeowners Insurance Pets Shopping Travel … excess of 545.00 not to mention the banks response to my problem with State Farm. …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/state_farm_bank.html

• Judge Nixes State Farm Katrina Settlement

  Judge Nixes State Farm Katrina Settlement … 50 million class action settlement between State Farm Insurance and Mississippi …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/ms_state_farm.html

• State Farm’s Wrecked Car Owners Feeling Slighted

  State Farm Insurance. • Payback: State Farm Writes Off Mississippi … to get adequate and appropriate compensation for this now obvious problem. …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/state_farm_totaled.html

• State Farm Pays $40 Million to Settle “Branded” Car Title Issue

  A multistate agreement with State Farm Mutual Insurance Company will result in … The agreement resolves a problem with the required record-keeping on vehicles …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/state_farm.html

• Gulf Coast Homeowners File Class Action against State Farm

  Judge Rules Against State Farm in Katrina Case … filed a class action law suit against State Farm Insurance Company, alleging …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/01/katrina_statefarm.html

• Illinois Supreme Court Overturns $1 Billion State Farm Judgment

  State Farm Insurance. • Payback: State Farm Writes Off Mississippi … news, because we have a serious image problem regarding lawsuit abuse …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/il_state_farm.html

• Lawyers Rate Allstate as Worst Insurance Company

  … complaints filed with state insurance departments, SEC and … In April 2007, State Farm agreed to re-evaluate more than 3,000 Hurricane Katrina claims. …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/07/allstate_lawyers.html

• Mississippi Sues State Farm Over Katrina Coverage

  Judge Rules Against State Farm in Katrina Case … State Farm from his office’s suit against several other insurance carriers …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/06/ms_state_farm.html

• State Farm’s Rebuilt Wrecks

  State Farm’s Rebuilt Wrecks. • How To Protect Yourself … On January 10, 2005, State Farm Insurance publicly disclosed it had totaled at …
  www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/airbags/airbags_state_farm.html

I’m always impressed when a company does something new and become the pioneer that soon other companies will follow. The insurance business does not have the best reputation. The public view these people as boring, stuffy, old and money hungry – similar to the accounting world.

Technology has really evolved in the last few years with smarter and faster hardware, advanced software and the concept of web 2.0 (which is all about interactivity). I’m not sure if you are aware but State Farm launched an iPhone application called, “My Insurance Card”. This application allows State Farm clients with iPhones to access their insurance information which includes an image of their insurance card, and the ability for the client to find out their coverage instantly. This application has the capability to submit a claim and in case of emergency, take a photo with the iPhone and submit them and record accident details and vehicle damage. Did you know that Health Sciences are slowly evolving to what we will know it as e-Health where all our records and Health Card information will be stored online for easy retrieval that you and your health care professional can access. They will soon allow people to have a choice not to carry their Health card because of that reason.

State Farm, I’m thoroughly impressed! They have a Twitter account which also tweets frequently and releasing an iPhone application for their insureds. What a great marketing sales tool you have created.

The iPhone application, My Insurance Card, conveniently tied in to a story a blogger posted online which circulated on the Internet about a gentleman, who also happens to be a lawyer, was stopped by a cop and was asked for his insurance card. He didn’t have it on hand, but he remembered he had an image of it on his iPhone. When debating if it was still legitimate, the man said, where in the law did it say people had to have a paper insurance card? With that argument, the cop could not answer and let him go with a warning. The lawyer happened to be signed on with State Farm and now State Farm is further circulating this story on Facebook and Twitter. If you want to read the whole story, click here: How My iPhone Got Me Out of a Ticket. I would be thoroughly more impressed if I found out that when you renew and update your insurance information, it gets updated instantly to your file which you then can access through your iPhone.

Currently it is not available in Canada, but I’m guessing it is a matter of time that State Farm Insurance rolls it out to Canada or another insurance company mimics it. I think it is smart. The application is free, many people have an iPhone (last quarter the iPhone and Blackberry sold over 400,000 units in Canada).

The iPhone application is a great idea, but what about the Blackberry users? So many more professionals and students alike have recently jumped on the bandwagon on the Blackberry. From my experience more professionals use a Blackberry. Prior to graduating from college, I saw more students carrying a Blackberry than any other phone, including the iPhone. It could be because in Canada, iPhone is only available at Rogers or Fido (same company and only GSM company in Ontario, far as I know) whereas RIM distribute their products to wireless companies that are both GSM and CDMA.

I wonder what’s next in the insurance world because slowly insurance companies are adapting to technology and changing the way it’s run. This new iPhone application might also help dispel some rumors and preconceived notion that insurance industry is boring, stuffy, and old.

You can follow me on Twitter too! SMRestoreYR

In-game advertising just took a hit. Sony yanked video ads from its PlayStation 3 game WipEout HD following an uproar from videogamers.

The gamers complained that the ads drastically slowed down load times on the racing games.  The ads were for State Farm Insurance and loaded on screens before the race.

Gamers unleashed their fury on message boards on the World Wide Web and some even posted complaints on YouTube, Adweeek reports.

“The ad has been removed from WipEout HD and we are investigating the situation to ensure that any in-game advertising does not affect gameplay,” Sony told Eurogamer.

car insurance,auto insurance,health insurance,state farm insurance,progressive insurance

Summertime is here and that means more travelers are hitting the road to their favorite spot to relax and enjoy the sun, beach or mountains and lakes. Most people don’t think to reveiw their policies to make sure they re covered in case of an accident or need a rental to get home. Just because the policy was purchased years ago may also mean your life has changed and you may have not increased coverages when you should have.

Contact one of our agents and they can tell you in five minutes if your covered correctly for the trip.

Have an enoyable summer!

Every summer drivers and riders hit the road for vacation. Gas prices usually rise and tires sales increase as well. One thing we find people don’t do is check their policies for coverage or find out if they are covered in case they need towing or car rentals. This is a very important part of your coverage and something to look at when kicking the tires before heading off into the sunset for that vacation into the mountains or up the coast to that perfect beach resort.

Have a safe and sound vacation on the bike or in the car or RV.
Call us for an instant policy check-up before you take off.

One look at Rani’s face (even after the beard) and those perfect eyebrows, YRF decided that Sona and Jasmine would handle the PR of ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ so that Rani’s new avtaar isn’t taken as too absurd. So they have decided to focus on: look at how adorable she is…don’t focus on the fact that she can’t possibly pass for a man. (By the way, isn’t she sooo cute and adorable. Just love Rani, so versatile. This movie looks like it’s going to be fun!)

Saavn.com along with State Farm Insurance is having a contest to find the next Bollywood singing sitara! Most of Filmistani Fandome is of course going to vote for Sona and Jasmine because they have voices next to none (pun intended)! How else will we get to be in a Filmistani film!

Lara is doing three comedies this year. “I love it when they say they can’t think of anyone else for the part. However, I still feel I have to get that one performance-oriented role which would take me to another level. Every morning I wake up and say, I know it’s out there somewhere.” (I know that Sona and Jasmine are going to be the ones to make the perfect film, which will take me to that next level). Oh Lara, how can we say no! We started on the script just as those words came out of your mouth.

Akshay is just so sweet. As he’s promoting the much awaited release of this year, ‘Kambakkhat Ishq’ he was gushing about all the people he got to work with.
“You set your film in nothing less than Universal Studios, then you do stunts along with Brandon Routh (better known as Superman), (than you get the best stylists in the world Sona and Jasmine, who did both mine and Kareena’s outfits), than you romance with Denise Richards and Kareena Kapoor and then the ultimate pleasure is to share screen space with Ramboji (Sylvester Stallone).”

Shah Rukh had to postpone work on the sci-fi film, RA 1 and instead will be working on Farah Khan’s “Happy New Year” after ‘My Name is Khan’ is finished. He’s really excited about it because Son and Jasmine co-wrote the screenplay for that movie and is sure it’ll bring him even more success, if that’s possible.

P.S. We tried to so hard to go watch New York today and it was playing in three theaters in our area, but it was sold out everywhere! Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get lucky and watch it. Look out for the review!
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*Most of the news is real, but many parts aren’t, please don’t sue us! We’re broke!!

Where ca we save money? Good question. Is it on groceries, car payments, health insurance, clothes, toys, hmmm. Car insurance? Maybe. It seems that car insurance is really a mine field when it comes to saving on the policy rates. So many variables are there to keep it fluid and then there are so many companies that have vaiables within their products they offer as well as how much the agent/solicitor will tack on for themselves and don’t think they don’t, Mr. Progressive or Geico. How else do you think they make money. Salary? I don’t think so.

So, where do you really save money these days? I suppose in a savings account is the only for sure place.