Insurance Blog

31 Must-Have Items for Your Home Emergency Kit

It can be hard to imagine several days (or weeks) without power, internet or running water. But in the event of an emergency, anything can happen. That’s why your family should have an emergency plan and supplies ready for any type of disaster.

Depending on where you live, a disaster could mean heavy snow, flooding, a tornado or a hurricane. So make your plan personal – no matter what the weather is like in your area, a little preparedness can go a long way.

What To Have in a Home Emergency Kit

According to Ready.gov, a good rule of thumb is to have enough food, water and essential supplies on hand for 72 hours in case you need to evacuate. If it’s likely that you’ll shelter in place, the Red Cross recommends a 2-week supply.

Here’s the good news: You can buy a pre-made kit from a number of retailers online, but it’s also likely that you have many of these items lying around your house already. Grab a large, portable, watertight container to start stashing things away. Start building your kit with the essentials first, and then move on to the “nice-to-haves.”

The Basics

Water (one gallon per person, per day)
Non-perishable food
Flashlight
Extra batteries
Battery-powered or hand-cranked radio
First aid kit and/or trauma kit
Cash and change (in a waterproof container)
Manual can opener
Flares or whistle to signal for help
Dust masks for contaminated air
Wrench, pliers and other tools (to turn off utilities)
Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place (if you are stuck at home, work or elsewhere)
Local maps
Cell phone with battery-powered or solar charger.
Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation

The Extras

Once you’ve got the essentials, personalize your kit based on the needs of your family (including pets!) and the weather conditions where you live.

Prescription medications
Non-prescription medications (pain relievers, anti-diarrhea medication, antacids or laxatives)
Eyeglasses and contact lens solution
Infant formula and supplies (diapers, wipes, etc.)
Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
Important family documents in a waterproof container (copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records)
Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person
Complete change of clothing for each person
Unscented household bleach and medicine dropper (bleach is an effective disinfectant and can also be used to treat drinking water)
Extra food and water
Pet food and supplies
Life raft for areas with severe flooding
Extra blankets and hand warmers for extreme cold
Matches in a waterproof container
Fire extinguisher
Emergency reference material (order these for free at Ready.gov)

We’ve got your back

Uncertainty is part of life, but anxiety doesn’t have to rule your roost. At ERIE, we want to help you feel confident that your home insurance will go the distance if disaster strikes.

Remember: It’s important to protect your home with the right insurance well in advance of any looming forecast. In most places, state regulations prohibit anyone from purchasing a new insurance policy or changing their current coverage at the last minute when catastrophic weather, like a hurricane or severe flooding, is about to strike. So, while you’re in planning mode: See how our home insurance measures up (and request a free quote) – or find a local ERIE agent to answer your questions and design a policy that’s just the right fit for you.

This story was originally published in 2018.

Posted on 29 March 2020 | 9:00 pm

6 Fresh Ideas for a Fun Family Dinner Night

Sometimes, family dinners can start to feel like a chore.

With poor planning, picky eaters and hectic schedules, it’s easy to feel like you’re serving the same meals over and over again.

But with a little creativity, family meals can be an opportunity for both parents and children to build stronger relationships while trying something new. Because meals are about more than just feeding your children. They’re also about the time you spend together – whether you’re finding new ways to have fun or just talking about your day.

To bring some excitement back into your dinners, check out some of these ways to bring the family together:

Plan a movie night: Turn on your favorite film and try making a dinner inspired by the story itself. You might cook chili and cornbread for a Western or get creative by mimicking a meal you see on the screen. Read more in our list of creative ideas for family movie night.
Build your own meal: Give your family the option to create their own dishes – think “Taco Tuesday” or build your own pizza night. Kids will love making their own culinary creations and learning something new. Meanwhile, you’ll benefit from some extra sets of hands.
Fake take-out: A stop at the drive-thru makes picking up dinner easy. But what if you gave fast food a home-cooked twist? Take your family’s usual order and try to recreate it at home. What started as a No. 5 can become a burger with your own family flair.
Teach a cooking class: Teach your kids a valuable life skill. Letting children help cook a meal can get them more excited about eating it, while being involved in the process. The more you do this, the better they’ll be at cooking for themselves when they get older.
Try new cuisine: With an endless amount of recipes online, there are plenty of new meals to choose from if you want to try a different style of food. Opt for stir-fry instead of spaghetti; make breakfast for dinner; or try cooking that meal you love ordering at a restaurant, but have never been brave enough to make at home.
Host a cooking competition: Give every family member the same ingredients and split them into teams. You’ll get a chance to try something new and bring competitive energy into the kitchen. Just make sure everyone is involved in the cleanup process, too!

A new approach can be all it takes to liven up your family dinner. The themes and meals don’t have to be extravagant for everyone to enjoy spending time together.

Making dinner is part of what makes your home a home. And knowing that your home is secure with the right homeowners insurance gives you more time to focus on building memories.Erie Insurance understands how important “home” is, and we’re here to help protect it. Contact your local Erie Insurance agent to make sure your home and everything it stands for is protected.

Posted on 26 March 2020 | 9:00 pm

The 7 Most Unhelpful Things to Say to Someone Who’s House Hunting

Real talk: Buying your first house – or any house! – is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make in a lifetime. (That’s why it matters to do your research about homeowners insurance.)

My husband and I have been house hunting for more than three years. And if your experience is anything like ours… it’s an emotional roller coaster.

As a house-hunter, you’re already stressed by the logistics of the process itself. Finding a buyer’s agent! Getting pre-approved for a mortgage! Scheduling walk-throughs!

But what’s even more exhausting is managing all the well-intentioned comments from friends and family. Suddenly, everyone has an opinion. Many times, you’re stuck politely nodding and smiling like you haven’t heard one of these old chestnuts a thousand times already.

Do any of these sound familiar?

What Not to Say to Someone Who’s House Hunting

Have you found a house yet?
Believe me – when we do, you’ll know. I’ve already got the Instagram announcement drafted on my phone.
But I see “For Sale” signs everywhere!
This one is especially unhelpful. Oh, you mean the ones in neighborhoods I’ll never be able to afford in my lifetime? Or the deceptively cute bungalows that are hiding dangerous old wiring I don’t want to deal with?
You’re still looking? It didn’t take us that long to find our place.
Lucky you, then.
You just need to stop being so picky.
Listen, I’m not expecting a chef’s kitchen with subway tile and gleaming hardwood floors. But buying a house is a big commitment, and I just won’t budge on those things you can’t change – like location or the size of the lot. To me, that’s worth waiting for.
Hey, have you seen this listing?
This one’s tough because it’s usually so well-intentioned! But the fact is, I’m checking multiple apps multiple times per day… and my email is blowing up with MLS updates from our buyer’s agent. If it’s in our price range and shortlist of neighborhoods, chances are we’ve seen it – and maybe even walked through it. But, thanks. (Side note: If someone sends us The House this way and it wasn’t on my radar, I will happily eat my hat.)
You’re not putting 20% down?
Have you seen what we pay per month on student loans? (By the way, if this is you, you’re in good company: The National Association of Realtors® 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reports that the median down payment was 12% for all buyers, 6% for first-time buyers, and 16% for repeat buyers.)
You better hurry up! Interest rates are at an all-time low.
Stress of not finding a house intensifies. Excuse me while I pop another antacid and refresh all my apps. Haven’t checked them in 20 minutes, so maybe something new got listed!

Buying a home can be stressful. Finding the right homeowner’s insurance doesn’t have to be.

With ERIE, you get great protection at a great price – all with award-winning service. Better yet? You’ll have your very own local agent to answer all those random first-time homebuyer questions about how homeowners insurance works and how much coverage you need.

Talk to your local ERIE agent and request a quote for homeowners insurance with guaranteed replacement cost.

Posted on 25 March 2020 | 9:00 pm

Could You Spot These Coronavirus Cyber Scams?

Editor's note: This article originally appeared on The PhishLabs Blog.

By this time, most everyone in the world has heard about COVID-19, a global outbreak that is commonly referred to as the coronavirus. With growing fear and a lack of information, the stock markets have dropped to lows we haven’t seen in years, and organizations everywhere are putting together contingency plans. Like most global events, this scenario creates a perfect opportunity for threat actors to abuse the situation.

Why? Because:

The pandemic has people in a state of fear and irrationality;
The event is recognized worldwide, which means anyone with internet connectivity is a potential target;
End-users are hungry for updates from their company, the media, or third parties regarding the coronavirus, thus adding a sense of legitimacy to the messages sent by threat actors.

PhishLabs has observed multiple threat campaigns using coronavirus to lure victims. The two examples below illustrate common ways threat actors are exploiting it.

Example 1:

Our first example shows a lure that targets the general population by abusing the CDC name.

Visually, the link appears to go to a CDC site; however, mousing over it shows what the sender’s true intention is.

The site goes to hXXps://www.farahii{dot}com/corona/owa.php, which is a compromised ecommerce site. The phishing site has since been mitigated. The sender email address also came from nationalhealthcenter@gravitt{dot}net, which is an email address created from a compromised domain of someone associated with churches in Ohio.

Beyond WHO, the CDC is considered one of the primary sources of current information associated with the pandemic, which makes this lure highly concerning. In the lure, the threat actor has posted a link which they claim has an updated list of coronavirus cases in areas around your city. With a pandemic that spreads as quickly as this one has, most people are going to be curious and want to know just how bad it is in their surrounding area.

Example 2:

As the outbreak grows, we have seen multiple attacks using the threat of the coronavirus in an attempt to get end-users to click on a URL or respond back to the threat actor directly. As you can see in the example above, this lure is posing itself as an absence census (loose translation) in the midst of the coronavirus. This could be an effective lure on a couple of different levels.

The first is that it isn’t something that would necessarily surprise an employee to receive right now. With coronavirus being highly contagious and not preventable, many employees are planning on working from home until we have more information about how dangerous it is and have vaccines to protect us. In addition to this, many people may let curiosity get the best of them and click the link to find out if anyone in their organization has the coronavirus. Top this all off with the fact that this attack is using a legitimate Microsoft program (Office Forms) and you can see how an unsuspecting victim could think this was a legitimate message.

The link in question led to the following URL:

hXXps://forms.office{dot}com/Pages/DesignPage.aspx#FormId=pSCNckQL3UeUcCDzfL8tmlauPpJZd6hHiWrIh3YjTW1UQzlIMDFNN0k2WFhPWVZSRU9FVFBYUFc2Ui4u&Analysis=true

And the sender was maccount@microsoft{dot}com.

Here, the threat actor is using actual Microsoft programs for the entire attack. In place of a phishing site, Office forms are used to host the content, which then sends out an email that uses a legitimate Microsoft email to appear as the sender.

One thing to point out about both of these lures – neither of them is beautifully crafted to imitate a government agency or any specific company. However, that is the beauty of using a worldwide pandemic as your lure, it doesn’t have to be. The inherent fear and urgency associated with coronavirus in everyday life are all that is necessary, and threat actors are aware of this and ready to take advantage. If the virus continues to spread, it’s important to keep this in mind and expect to see an increased number of emails around this topic. If things keep trending the way they are, fear and panic will continue to grow, and as fear grows threat actors are always ready to jump on a malevolent opportunity.

COVERAGE FOR IDENTITY THEFT

Take a minute to think through what you’d need to do if someone stole your identity. You might need to contact credit bureaus, your bank or even the Social Security office or DMV. Maybe you’d have to take time off work to get it all done.

If someone steals your identity, it takes time – and money – to straighten things out. That’s where Identity Theft Recovery Coverage from ERIE can help.

Talk to your local ERIE agent to learn more about what’s included and how to add it to your homeowners insurance policy.

Posted on 23 March 2020 | 9:00 pm

The Beginner’s Guide to Installing a Fence

Good fences make good neighbors. At least that’s how the saying goes.

Planning to install a fence of your own? While it might seem like a straightforward DIY project, rookie mistakes could quickly turn your fence into an eyesore (and an expensive one, at that).

Don’t let this simple project turn into more of a headache than a home improvement. With a little help and proper planning, you can be enjoying your new fence in just a few days. Then, you’ll have some extra privacy and a place for pets to roam free for years to come.

Not sure where to start? Here’s our beginner’s guide to installing your own fence:

1. Develop a plan.

A fence can be a functional and beautiful part of your home. But it requires planning. Save time later by hashing out the details now. Before digging that first post hole, be sure to:

Check utility lines. You don’t want your shovel to take out the phone line. Before you dig, request that your utility company sends someone to mark any underground lines within your proposed fencing area. All it takes is a phone call – and it’s free! Learn more in our post on why to call 811 before you dig.
Know your codes. When building a fence, permits may be required depending where you live. And the regulations for building your fence could change based on several factors including the type of fence, location, height and construction materials. Call your local zoning department (or your homeowners association, if applicable) to make sure you understand any applicable laws or codes before you build.
Notify your neighbors. Many homeowners may find it awkward to tell their neighbors about the installation of a fence. (After all, you’re literally building a wall between your homes.) But having a conversation about your plans early on could prevent disputes from arising once construction begins. Need advice? Read more about how to keep your cool when handling neighbor disputes.

2. Choose your material.

What you’re fence is made of will affect its appearance and price. Every product has pros and cons, so it often comes down to why you’re building in the first place.

Wire, mesh and chain: By far the most economical option, these materials cost approximately $1 to $6 per linear foot. This is a great choice for security, marking property lines and keeping in animals. On the flip side, a chain link fence doesn’t help much with privacy, and some see it as less visually appealing than wood or vinyl. .
Wood: One of the most popular products for fencing, wood is suitable for privacy fencing and has a natural look. Although maintenance is required, it can last for decades with regular upkeep and staining.
Vinyl: Lightweight, affordable and durable, vinyl fences can mimic the appearance of wood or plastic. They’re known to be easy to set up and maintain, but are not great for security.

3. Start building.

After you map it out, grab your tools and double-check your math. Most installations include these basic steps:

Measure and mark. Determine where your posts will go, accounting for any required property line setbacks. Space your posts evenly for the panel installation and be sure to account for elevation changes.
Dig holes for posts. This part takes some muscle, whether you’re using a manual post hole digger or renting a powered auger. Generally speaking, the hole depth should be about one-third of your post height. For example, a 6-foot post needs a hole that’s 2 feet deep. Be sure to check any local laws or codes about fence height and depth. Requirements may differ in areas with high wind or very cold winters, where posts may need to extend below the frost line.
Secure posts in cement. Anchoring your posts in concrete will keep your fence standing tall. Drop in your post and make sure it’s level, then pour in the concrete. Be sure to allow 24 hours for the cement to cure.
Attach panels to posts. Check that panels are secure and aligned correctly. Double-check if your fence has a “finished” side – this usually looks best facing out, or else it may look like your fence was installed backwards.
Install gates and hardware. Hardware should be selected based on the construction materials you’re using and installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

4. Make sure you’re covered.

Once your fence is complete, it’s a good idea to contact your Erie Insurance agent and let them know you’ve made an update to your home. A home improvement project, such as a fence, might increase the value of your home and how much homeowners insurance you need.By getting to know you, your local ERIE agent can make sure you have coverage that fits both your life and your budget. Local service and personal attention is what we’re all about. Learn more about what makes ERIE different.

Posted on 22 March 2020 | 9:00 pm