Category: Uncategorized

It looks like our first days of winter are going to come in like a lion!  Below are important reminders for dropping temperatures and winter weather:

Inside the House

1. Keep your house heated to a minimum of 65 degrees. The temperature inside the walls where the pipes are located is substantially colder than the walls themselves. A temperature lower than 65 degrees might not keep the inside walls from freezing.
2. Check the location for the main water shutoff in your home. And refresh your memory on—or learn—how it works, in case you have to use it.
3. Open hot and cold faucets enough to let them drip slowly. In severely frigid temperatures, keeping water moving within the pipes will help prevent freezing.
4. Check that fireplaces, wood stoves and electric heaters are working properly. Make sure there are no combustible items near the heat sources and watch them closely, especially the first time in the season you use them. A carbon monoxide detector is a good idea as well.
5. Keep your fireplace flue closed when you’re not using it.

Outside the House

1. Keep sidewalks and entrances to your home free from snow and ice. You don’t want anyone delivering Christmas packages to slip and fall.
2. Watch for ice dams near gutter downspouts. Ice dams can cause water to build up and seep into your house. Clear gutters of leaves and debris to allow runoff from melting snow and ice to flow freely.
3. If not winterized, run your swimming pool pump at night when the temperatures are expected to go below freezing. This will keep the water flowing through the pipes.
4. Keep your garage doors closed. This will prevent weather damage to whatever’s stored in there. Plus, if your garage is attached to your house, the home entrance door from the garage is probably not as well insulated as an exterior door so this will keep more heat in.
5. Double check for dead, damaged or dangerous tree branches and have them removed. Even if they looked sound earlier in the year, trees can be affected by ice, snow or wind. When stressed, branches can fall and damage your house or car, or injure someone on or near your property.

In the Event of Problem

1. Don’t wait for frozen pipes to burst. If your pipes are frozen, take measures to thaw them immediately, or call a plumber for assistance.
2. If your pipes burst, first turn off the water. You know now where the main water shut off is, right? Cut off the flow, then attend to the mess and …
3. Properly dry and repair any water damage. This will help prevent any potential problems with mold.
4. Call your insurance professional as soon as possible. He or she will help you understand what’s covered by your policy.

*Information in this article is sourced from the Insurance Information Institute. This article is intended for general purposes only.*

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

2 cans of artichoke hearts in brine finely chopped (remove any tough outside petals are they don’t soften up when cooked)

4 cups of whole baby spinach firmly packed

2 cups mushrooms (I like to use a mushroom mix.  Kroger has
containers of mixed mushrooms)

1 bunch of green onions chopped

½ Tsp. pink Himalayan salt

1 Tsp. black pepper

½ Tsp fresh thyme

1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary (finely chopped)

1 can coconut milk (full fat)

1 large container of ricotta cheese

2 large free range or pastured eggs

1 cup of basil pesto (you can purchase this in a jar or you can make it fresh yourself)

1 Tsp. garlic powder

1 Tsp. paprika

½ cup Parmesan cheese (an additional amount to sprinkle over the top of the lasagna)

Zest of 1 lemon

1 large sweet potato ( I use a mandolin to make very thin slices of the sweet potato)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9X13” baking dish with olive oil.

Using a large nonstick skillet heat ½ of the olive oil over medium heat (add more olive oil as needed during cooking process).

Sauté the chopped artichokes, spinach, chopped green onions and chopped mushrooms (stir often and cook until tender).

Add the salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and lemon zest and cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes until fragrant.

Add the coconut milk and reduce the heat to low and simmer until the mixture starts to thicken.

Cheese Mixture:

Combine the ricotta cheese, slightly beaten eggs, basil pesto, garlic powder, paprika and ½ cup of parmesan cheese and set aside.

Take the prepared baking dish and layer ½ cup of the mushroom mixture to start the layering. Next a layer of the thin sliced sweet potato noodles. Top with a layer of the cheese mixture. Continue layering in this order finishing with a layer of cheese mixture last sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil after 45 minutes and cook an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until the top of is nice and brown.

Remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Finally – The Family Glitch Fix – Affordable Health Insurance for Dependents

The “family glitch” is a term for an issue that affected many from 2014 – 2022. It refers to when family health insurance was offered through an employer, and the affordability of the coverage was based on just the cost for the EMPLOYEE and NOT the cost of the dependent (other family members’) coverage. This “affordability determination” directly impacts the amount of upfront savings the entire family is eligible to receive (known as premium subsidies).  With this in place, the employee could either pay full price in the individual market or pay whatever the employer required to cover the family on the employer’s plan.

Under the new rules for ACA (Obamacare) in 2023, dependent coverage is now based on household income!   This new rule will help to make dependent care health coverage more affordable for an estimated millions of Americans.

If your dependent care coverage is higher than the affordability threshold — 9.12% of household income — you have between November 1, 2022 and December 15, 2022 to sign up for coverage that starts January 1, 2023. Open enrollment ends Sunday, January 15, 2023.

Our team is well-versed in the marketplace plans having enrolled Tennesseans for health insurance since 2010. For assistance in determining your affordability and enrolling in a plan for 2023, call us at 731-288-3540 or email:  lh.department@whiteins.net.

Ingredients:

6 Tbsp. Sesame oil
6 cloves of garlic minced
1 large yellow onion diced
8 green onions thinly sliced
2 tbsp. fresh ginger minced
2 cups of small to medium raw wild caught shrimp tail off
4 tbsp. Sriracha (more or less, depending your preference of heat)
3 cups of shredded green cabbage (use shred setting on food processor)
1 cup of purple cabbage (sliced very thin)
2 cups of broccoli slaw (this is sold in a package in the produce section)
6 tbsp. coconut aminos
4 tbsp. rice vinegar
Diced fresh parsley
4 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

Add 3 tbsp. sesame oil to a large skillet or wok and heat on medium heat.
Add the thin sliced purple cabbage and sauté until it is tender.
Remove the purple cabbage and set it aside.  You will add it last so that it doesn’t turn the whole dish purple.
In the same wok add the rest of the sesame oil and return to medium heat.
Add the garlic, diced yellow onion, sliced green onions and minced ginger.  Cook until soft.
Add the frozen shrimp and Sriracha and stir until the shrimp turns light pink.
Add the shredded green cabbage, broccoli slaw, coconut aminos and rice vinegar.
Toss everything together until well combined and cook until cabbage and broccoli are tender.  Don’t overcook.
Toss in the cooked purple cabbage.
Top with the toasted sesame seeds and a sprinkle of diced fresh parsley.

*I serve this with toasted sourdough bread sticks, but the dish is good all by itself. This makes enough for 2 meals for 4 adults.

It is true – inflation is affecting your insurance rates too. Absolutely another pain point to our monthly budgets. Price is certainly a big issue, but it is also really important to understand how inflation is affecting your coverage levels to ensure that your current policies still make sense for your needs.

For auto insurance, the cost of repairs, car rentals and vehicle replacement prices are all on the rise. Drivers are also back on the road and within 1% of pre-pandemic driving levels. The lack of “being on the road” for almost two years seems to have also affected driving habits. Vehicle fatalities are up 12% and impaired driving, speeding and seatbelt violations are all on the rise. These factors mean more crashes, while the cost of vehicle repairs, part delays and healthcare costs continue to increase. A very unfortunate perfect storm causing the cost of auto rates to go up. If you have not seen your auto insurance price increase yet, it is likely coming. You need to expect and prepare for it. It is industrywide and we are seeing it across the board with many insurance carriers.

• • Supply chain issues are rapidly depleting inventories of new and used cars. Inventories have reached a critical low point, falling 87% between 2020 and 2022. The average price of new cars has risen 14% over the same period, while used car prices have skyrocketed to 55%.

For homeowners’ insurance, building material costs are at what seems to be an all-time high. The cost of materials, coupled with a lack of labor and tradesmen, is a costly combo. At the same time, we are coming off a combined two years of the highest natural disaster losses in U.S. history, accounting for $176 billion in 2020 and 2021 and residential construction materials are up almost 19% since December 2020.

• • The home-building industry is currently facing a shortfall of at least 200,000 skilled trade workers. About 60% of surveyed builders report a skilled labor shortage.

• •  Lumber has played an outsized role in the inflationary trend of building materials, more than tripling in price since March 2020.

What does this mean for your personal insurance policies? My recommendation is to pull your insurance declaration pages right now. Look at how much DWELLING coverage you have on your home. Do you think you would have enough money to rebuild if your home were completely destroyed in a fire?   Check your PERSONAL PROPERTY coverage. Would you have enough money to replace all your belongings? If not, you need to call your agent and talk it through.

Next, look at the coverage limits on your auto policy. If you were in an accident with three vehicles and the police report deemed the accident to be your fault, would you have enough BODILY INJURY coverage to pay the medical expenses of all the passengers in all the vehicles if all were injured? Would you have enough PROPERTY DAMAGE coverage to replace three vehicles? If you are questioning it, call your agent.

We are here to help. If you have questions, never hesitate to reach out!

Tommy Allmon, President

Sources:  Home Builders Institute, National Association of Home Builders, US Department of Commerce, US Department of Transportation, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Consumer Price Index, National Safety Council, New York Times, National Highway and Safeco Administration, American Property & Casualty Insurance Association, Insurance Journal, Safeco Insurance

It has been exactly 85 months since we launched our wellness program. For 85 months our steadfast goal is to make a positive impact in the health of our team, because – to put it quite simply –  our health is everything. I am thankful to Jan for sharing her story. She told me that she had feelings of guilt becoming the Relay for Life Survivor Honoree. Guilty because there are people who have had it worse. Guilty because she is healed. Guilty because she survived. I reminded her, your duty as a survivor is to pay it forward. To encourage others to get a live-saving wellness exam. And to live a changed life, because cancer is the ultimate wake up call. Cancer is cancer and after 33 radiation treatments and a surgery, she has earned the title of survivor.

Below is Jan’s story from the Dyersburg State Gazette. It all started with her routine wellness exam. A wellness exam encouraged by the very wellness program she helped to create. I hope you will join me in honoring Jan and her story by going to get your wellness exam this year.

– Larry S. White, W&A CEO & Cancer Survivor

———-

This Year’s Relay Honorary Survivor Honoree is Jan Jernigan. Jernigan was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) in January of 2016. The second part of her treatment plan ended on April 13th of 2021. Jernigan is celebrating the one-year mark after the disease. Members of the community are encouraged to join Jernigan at the 2022 Relay for Life event and show their support in the ongoing fight against cancer.

Jernigan’s employer, White & Associates Insurance, put a very strong Wellness Plan in place in April of 2015, which emphasized the importance of annual wellness exams.

“I was always pretty faithful about going for my annual exams, but because of our Wellness Plan, I made sure to get them done,” stated Jernigan. “My annual mammogram was scheduled in December of that year at the hospital in Dyersburg. My journey started on December 30, 2015, with my second exam and a biopsy. From that point everything moved so fast, and life was somewhat a blur. My journey continued over the next 3 weeks with a diagnosis of DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ), a visit to West Clinic in Germantown, a pre-op visit to St. Francis Hospital in Memphis and a lumpectomy on January 19th. On February 22, 2016, I started my treatment plan, which included 33 radiation treatments. It was a lot to process. I am very thankful for the relationships with different medical staff that I already had prior to my diagnosis. There were many professionals who helped get my journey underway quickly and get me on the road to recovery. The staff at the Cancer Care Center in Dyersburg was amazing. Kurt and Randi truly are angels. The second part of my treatment plan was medication for 5 years, which ended when I took my last pill on April 13th of 2021.”

“Along the way, there have been so many people who supported me and kept me positive,” added Jernigan. “A great friend, Stella, sent pink roses to me in early March 0f 2016, one rose for each treatment I had left. By April 7th, the last treatment day, they looked pretty ragged, but I kept them and each time I completed a treatment, I took one out of the vase. A great friend, Lynda, mailed a card each week to me to lift me up. I usually got the card on Thursday and really looked forward to that day each week. My mom Virginia, my two sisters Barbie and Joy, and my cousin Deb planned a trip to see other family in Arkansas. We left town on April 8th, the first day of no treatment in six weeks. My work family, White & Associates Insurance employees, wore pink, and my co-worker Cate decorated my door on my last treatment day. They all were truly my daily support system. My church family at Church Grove Baptist Church was the best during my journey. They cheered me on, prayed for me, listened when I wanted to talk and gave the best hugs when that is all I really needed.”

Jernigan had some words of encouragement for those that have been on the same journey to find the cure. She urges women to continue their annual exams, self-advocacy, and reach out for support.

“I tried to surround myself with positive people that would let me talk about my journey only if I wanted to talk about it. I was truly blessed it was caught early,” continued Jernigan. “I really try not to play the ‘what if game,’ but in this case, I have asked myself ‘what if’ I had not gone for my annual exam that year. I am so glad I did. There is one thing I would like you to take from my journey. Please get your annual exams. If you are nervous or scared to go for your exam, call me! I will go with you!”

Ingredients

1 green banana

2 large avocado (peeled and seed removed)

1 can of full fat coconut milk

1 cup of fresh mint leaves

3 tbsp. fresh lime juice

Zest of 1 lime

1 tsp. vanilla

¾ cup granulated Swerve sugar substitute

1 pint heavy whipping cream

½ cup mini chocolate chips or ½ cup chopped pistachios (Optional)

Instructions

Place all ingredients except the whipping cream, chocolate chips and pistachios in a highspeed blender. Blend until smooth.

Use a mixer to whip the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks.

Transfer the avocado mixture into a large bowl.

Gently fold the whipped cream and optional chocolate chips and/or pistachios into the avocado
mixture until well blended.

Place avocado mixture in an ice cream freezer dish and put in your freezer.

You can also divide the mixture in ½ and place in 2 freezer safe containers….one for now and one for later :). You will need to gently stir the ice cream after an hour or so being in the freezer. Do this several times until almost set.  Freezing should take approximately 3 hours.

When ready to eat, take the ice cream out of the freezer and let sit for 15 or so minutes. When storying, keep the ice cream covered to prevent freezer burn.

White & Associates Insurance is accepting applications for a full‐time CSS in Dyersburg, TN. The candidate must be comfortable with heavy computer use. Onsite training will be provided. The position will offer opportunities for career development and advancement.

Established in 1976, White & Associates Insurance is a locally owned and operated insurance agency with 11 locations in West Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. White & Associates strives to provide a “doing more” approach to all aspects of operation including enhancing employee job satisfaction, providing clients with innovative insurance packages and improving the communities in which we serve. White & Associates has been named to the national Best Places to Work in Insurance list by Business Insurance magazine five years running. For more information, visit www.whiteandassociates.net.

Candidate Requirements:

• Possess strong communication skills
• Possess strong computer skills including Excel, Word, Adobe
• Be customer service minded
• Be detail oriented and organized
• Be able to work in a team environment and maintain a positive attitude

Employee Benefits:

We recognize that our employees are essential to the success of the company. We value each employee and believe that it is our obligation to offer more than just a paycheck. Our company full-time employee benefits include:

• Major medical insurance, dental, vision, long-term disability, short-term disability and life insurance
• 14 paid holidays
• Company match 401k
• Rewards health & wellness program
• Fitness center membership reimbursement
• Reimbursement for work related certifications and training
• Highly visible leadership & open-door company culture
• Incentives for community volunteer work
• Annual company-wide recognition event
• 5-day employee appreciation event

To Apply:

Email resume to Human Resources Manager –  Jan.Jernigan@whiteins.net .

Who could forget the “check yes or no” note passing of our grade school days? I am sure my kids would laugh hearing about how we used to communicate with our friends and secret admirers. No cell phones in my day!  It definitely was a simpler time in a lot of ways.

Businesses get the secret admirer messaging too but they are, unfortunately, not the type of note you want to receive: “Dear Business, we have decrypted all of your customer data and blocked access to your computers. You owe us 2 million dollars, or you will remain locked out and will share your data online, including your customer’s sensitive information. Looking forward to hearing back from you! Love, Your Cybercriminal.”

According to Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, in 2020 these notes tortured over 2,400 U.S. organizations. The average ransom in 2021 was $1.2 million dollars and rising. While it is exceedingly difficult to prevent attackers, experts agree on five steps every business should be taking no matter their size.  Keep in mind, the attackers tend to target small businesses who they assume may not have the same robust security measures in place as a mega-corporation.

1. Back up data in offline, off-site systems. This will improve the ability to restore data without paying a ransom.
2. Establish multifactor authentication (MFA) protocols. This can prevent a bad actor from accessing your networks or account. Do not allow anyone in your business to be exempt from the protocols you have initiated. P.S. If you haven’t put MFA on your Facebook account, stop reading and do it right now! Instructions here:  https://www.facebook.com/help/148233965247823
3. Conduct security training and testing. Human error is still the most common way for cybercriminals to gain entry. Enforce robust password protocols, disallow non-sanctioned electronic devices and test employees frequently to ensure they do not click on suspicious email links or attachments.
4. Implement thoughtful access control. The more access granted, the more leverage an attacker has when compromising an employee’s credentials. Only allow access to information that is relevant to their job.
5. Test your incident response plan. Anticipate and prepare for operational, legal and communication issues that arise during an attack, including sending immediate notification to your insurance agent and cyber insurer. Your cyber insurance company can quickly deploy experienced incident response resources to take the crucial steps necessary to protect your business. And, because decryption and data restoration can take weeks, cyber policies also can cover business interruption, reputational damage, extra expenses and data restoration services.

I hope you only got the good “love letters” this Valentine’s Day.   If not, never hesitate to call us and enact that cyber policy!

Tommy Allmon,
President, White & Associates Insurance

*Information in this article is sourced from Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and iamagazine.com. This article is intended for general purposes only. *