Posted by Victoria Milson | October 31, 2011

Keep Your Home’s Lights Safe and Save Money

Be sure to light your home the right way.

Electric lights are such a fixture of our everyday lives that we really don’t give them much thought. But every year, more than 28,000 residential electrical fires cause an estimated $1 billion in damage, according to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). So those simple lighting projects deserve a little more attention.

According to the USFA, many electrical fires are the result of faulty electrical outlets and wiring. Bad cords, plugs and switches are other culprits. That’s why the best time to think about lighting is when you’re having it installed. Doing it properly can help prevent electrical fires.

For example, make sure your electrical circuits can handle the kind of lighting you’re installing. This is usually best left to a professional—especially if you’re putting in outdoor lighting, which must be installed even more meticulously to address weather challenges.

If you’re dealing with existing circuits, especially in an older home, have them inspected for bad wiring or other defects, especially if your lights flicker for no reason or your light switches are hot. And when you buy light fixtures or other electrical products, look for products tested by a recognized authority, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL).

Also, be careful about cords. If a lamp cord is worn or frayed, replace the cord or the whole lamp. Extension cords are another potential safety hazard, particularly outdoors. Be sure to us

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Posted by Victoria Milson | October 26, 2011

6 Tips to Save on Your Health Insurance During Open Enrollment

Now more than ever, you need to take the time to review your health plan to ensure you’re not leaving money on the table. Going on “auto-pilot” during open enrollment season can be costly mistake. A new survey from Kelton/eHealthInsurance shows that workers tend to be lethargic about selecting their benefits for the following year and this can bite them in their wallets. Here are some tips to help you save money on your health insurance.

1. Review all your options. Review every plan available from your employer as soon as you receive your open enrollment packet. For good measure, check your options in the individually-purchased health insurance market, too. While group plans may still provide more robust coverage and will cover pre-existing medical conditions, individually-purchased plans may offer a stronger alternative than they did a couple years ago.

2. Shop smarter. If possible, enroll in a plan that only covers the services you need: It may mean a lower monthly premium. For example, a plan with robust maternity coverage may not be the best match for single guy. And if you don’t care about brand-name drugs, see if you’re offered a plan that covers only generic drugs instead. Choosing

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Posted by Mikayla Stevenson | October 24, 2011

Earthquake in Lorca Spain

Residents of Lorca in the Murcia region of Southern Spain are today surveying the damage after two earthquakes struck in quick succession. There are reports that at least eight people have died and another 167 are injured.

The magnitude-5.2 tremor toppled several buildings in the historic city of Lorca, crushing cars under tonnes of rubble.

Wednesday evening’s 2nd earthquake came about two hours after a 4.4-magnitude tremor. The quake could be felt as far away as the Spanish capital Madrid, and is Spain’s worst earthquake for 50 years.

Our thoughts go out to everyone affected.

It is thought the damage was concentrated around the town of Lorca, which lies in one of the most active seismic zones of the Iberian peninsula. If you are concerned that your Spanish holiday home could be damaged, call your Spanish property insurance company who will advise on the next steps.

Don’t enter any building in an attempt to survey possible damage unless it is safe to do so.

Although this year has seen several devastating earthquakes, those that cause significant damage in Europe are rare. However, you should ensure that your holiday home policy covers earthquake damage, especially if your apartment is insured via a community block policy.

Also check the earthquake excess on your policy, as on some policies it can be a percentage of the buildings sum insured, totalling thousands.

If you need any further advice please call Schofields.

Posted by Gabriella Hopkins | October 24, 2011

‘I didn’t dream it!’ tweets Myleene Klass after wedding


Myleene Klass kept her wedding plans well under wraps, but even she could not resist telling her fans on Friday that she has tied the knot. The TV presenter shared the news with fans via her Twitter page saying ‘I didn’t dream it! My husband and I.’ and attached a lovely photo of herself and beau Graham Quinn in their wedding attire. Most celebrities share the whole build up to their wedding day with their fans, but Myleene chose to do it her way. The nuptials were witnessed by only 16 attendees present – all friends and family – at the private ceremony in Norwich. Myleene Klass and Graham Quinn have been together since 2001 as the couple met while Quinn was a security guard for Klass’ former pop band Hear’Say. The couple got engaged in 2005, but had to postpone their wedding as their first child Ava was born in 2008 and baby Hero seven months ago. Both of their little girls were bridesmaids at their parents’ wedding and Myleene looked stunning in her Kate Halfpenny wedding gown paired with a full length lace-trimmed veil. Later on, Klass tweeted again: ‘Just Married!!!X’. It is refreshing to see celebrities keeping their wedding day a private affair instead of selling it to whichever magazines pays the most for exclusive photos. We wish them all th

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Posted by Victoria Milson | October 21, 2011

Term Life Insurance Online: Compare Plans and Pricing

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Interested in buying term life insurance online? Not sure where to begin? You aren’t alone. We hear from consumers all the time who are looking to purchase life insurance online, but are confused about their options and simply don’t know how to proceed. As with any major purchase, it’s important to compare the products available and the pricing of each. As a general rule, the more life insurance coverage you have, the more costly your premium will be.  It is important to remember that there are hundreds of highly rated insurance providers on the market, and some offer rates that are better suited for you than others.  Do not assume that the lowest price is always the best quote for you.  A licensed life insurance professional can help you through this decision process.

Term Life Insurance Brokerages

Using an online brokerage is one of the best ways to compare term life insurance plans and pricing online. Insurance brokerages work with multiple insurance carriers in order to give their customers the opportunity to select from a host of policies and plans, in other words, they do the work for you. Having access to th

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Posted by Gabriella Hopkins | October 21, 2011

Fisker Got Half-Billion Dollar Government Loan, But Offshores Manufacturing

Theres no doubt the Fisker Karma is a gorgeous car. And as an extended-range electric vehicle , it offers spirited performance while providing the equivalent of 100 miles per gallon.

It employs a powertrain similar to that in the Chevrolet Volt, meaning that although theres an electric motor, it can also operate on gasoline. Once the range of electrical power has been exhausted, a driver can then switch over to a gasoline engine to keep on going, meaning worries about becoming stranded arent exactly worries at all.

While electric vehicles are still searching for a mass market with typical consumers, those with money and fame, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore and Colin Powell have lined up to preorder the American-designed EV.

Fisker has proven so popular, that they were given loan guarantees of $529 million dollars from the Obama administration. Vice President Biden said during the unveiling of the loan that Fisker was a bright new path to thousands of American manufacturing jobs.

And we wish we could agree with that statement, and certainly would be more inclined to do so, had Fisker set up manufacturing in the shuttered General Motors factory in Delaware they initially pegged to produce the car.

Instead, Fisker has moved to offshore and outsource production of their automobiles to Finland, employing 500 Finnish workers to produce their cars.  H

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Posted by Mikayla Stevenson | October 20, 2011

The World First Wander

Well, the first thing I’ve spotted was from Wandering Trader. My first career was actually as a Futures Trader in the Square Mile (and no it wasn’t me that caused the credit crunch before you ask). I spent many years trading the European Futures Markets, so anything trading related will always catch my eye. The Wandering Trader has written a great article titled How Travelling is Breaking my Heart.

We’ve had a couple of great guest posts from amazing writers on our own blog recently. Have you seen them? Travel is one of my favourite things was written by Carrie-Ann Fleming. Carrie-Ann is a keen travel blogger who works for Tourism for All. She’s also a wheelchair user. In this guest post, Carrie explains why she loves travelling and introduces some of the difficulties that face disabled travellers.

Meanwhile, Travel writing – getting started was written by one of our favourite travel bloggers, Quirky Traveller. If you need a bit of help in getting started in travel writing then this post should be your first port of call!

Okay, where to next?

Now one that never fails to make me giggle (and make everybody in the office wonder what I’m laughing at) is from The Telegraph Travel. Number 156 was one of my favourites. Have a look and tell us which you like!

I did a piece on travel photography in a recent World First Wander. I’m a keen photographer, although I have to admit that I’m going through a bit of a creative slump at the moment. It happens some

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Posted by Gabriella Hopkins | October 12, 2011

Health, medicine used by Israel as ‘instrument of control’ over Palestinian people

InthisLancet opinion piece, Ruchama Marton, president and founder of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel writes, “Everything one can say about the health-care system in Palestine was summed up by the physician and political leader Haidar Abdel-Shafi … in September, 1993. He said: ‘We cannot take care of health and education as long as we live under occupation.’”

She writes, “Now, as the Palestinian Authority waits to hear whether the U.N. Security Council will back its bid for full membership, the situation is much the same. Israel has used health and medicine as an instrument of control and oppression of the Palestinian people and leadership in the occupied Palestinian territory,” adding, “There is no way that a future Palestinian state … can handle the health-care system if the Israeli occupation and control continues” .

    This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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