How to turn off your water at the road

by Kisi Watkins

Most people have a master water turn-off valve inside their house, usually in the basement or crawl space under their house. This is good and is often all you need. However, if your house is flooding or severely damaged by an earthquake, you might not be able to get to that indoor valve, and you will be sooooo glad to have learned how to turn off all your water at the road. Even if your house collapses in earthquake, you will still be able to salvage lots of the contents later if you can control water damage, which you will do by turning the water off near the road inside the water-meter can.


To do it, you need two things:

1) a pair of pliers or a wrench to get the lid of the water meter can
2) a sprinkler turn-off key to turn the valve with

Keep a pair of pliers or a wrench inside a glass jar or plastic container hidden somewhere outside where you can easily and immediately retrieve it after an earthquake. Don’t count on finding that ever-elusive gadget inside your house or garage after or during a disaster!

Buy or special order a short sprinkler turn-off key that can live permanently inside your water-meter can. My specially-ordered one is 1 ft. wide across the handle and 2 1/2 ft. long. This is short enough to fit inside the can and tall enough to have the handle stick up out of the can providing leverage when turning off the valve. You will have to measure your own can to see if this size fits for you.

Most of these cans have a dirt bottom, so you could dig a little hole in the corner of the bottom if you need a little more depth to store the key.

You will have to test things out personally to see if your master water valve in the water meter can works like mine. Try the process with your hose or kitchen tap running until you are successful at turning off the water.

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Homeowner's Insurance

"In my Father’s house are many mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2)

Thank goodness. I might be able to continue my insurance profession on the other side. Apparently, there are many mansions to insure and I have been told many of us might be in need of fire insurance!

That being the case, it is timely for us to know how homeowner’s insurance works. Provident living dictates we insure our most valuable belongings. Below is an outline of a typical homeowner’s insurance policy:


Dwelling: The building itself. Brick buildings (70%+) are given discounted rates.

Appurtenant Structures: Any structure not attached to the dwelling, such as storage sheds or fences. This coverage is usually 10% of the dwelling amount.

Personal Property: Your belongings are generally covered anywhere in the world, with limitations on personal property that should be scheduled.*

A good rule of thumb is anything that can be insured on its own (motorcycles, trailers, boats, etc.) will not be covered under the personal property portion of your homeowner’s policy. If you can purchase a policy on an item, then that is usually the way to get that item insured. This coverage is usually 70% of the dwelling amount.

Living Expenses: These are expenses created when you cannot live in your home due to losses from a covered peril. Included are the cost of a motel or apartment; eating at a restaurant, washing your clothing at a Laundromat, etc. Generally, any additional costs created when you cannot occupy your home until reconstruction is completed... up to your policy limits. This coverage is usually 20% of the dwelling amount.

If you have a claim, you will be responsible to pay a per occurrence deductible before the insurance pays anything on the above. Your deductible could be $250, $500, $1000, etc. I personally prefer higher deductibles because of the discounts given.

Deductibles generally do not apply for liability or medical.

Liability: If someone is injured or their property is damaged due to your negligence, your policy will pay up to the policy limits, depending on the exposure of the claim. Typical policies have a $100,000 limit, which is beginning to appear low by today’s standards. You can purchase higher limits, usually either $300,000 or $500,000. Even greater liability coverages can be purchased through an umbrella (excess liability) policy. As your assets grow, increased liability coverage is recommended.

Medical payments to others: If a non resident is injured on your property, even if you are not at fault, your policy will pay up to $1,000 per person for medical expenses. You can purchase additional coverage, generally $3,000, $5,000 or $10,000. Of course, if you are liable, your policy will pay up to the policy liability limits.

Quality homeowner’s policies cover fire, lightening, theft, windstorm, hail, vandalism, falling debris (like a tree falling on your roof), weight of ice or snow that could collapse your roof or building, broken pipes or appliances (the policy should cover damage caused, but will not fix the pipe or appliance),

Unless added, policies do not include earthquake or flood coverages. Either or both coverages can be purchased for an additional premium.

*Scheduled property is also available to insure specific items on an all risk basis. These items include guns, furs, musical instruments, silverware, collections - like a coin or doll collection - extensive electronics, mountain bikes, etc. You usually need a sales receipt or an appraisal to add coverage.

Best Wishes,

Neal Dastrup

1840 North State, Provo UT 84604

P) 801-374-1840 F) 801-377-5615 C) 801-358-4400
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Automobile Insurance

by Neal Dastrup

To gain an understanding of my new calling as the ward Provident Living specialist, I recently read Carolyn Mackay’s newsletter articles, written when she held this position. As you can imagine, I am a little overwhelmed. Unlike Carolyn, I do not have a nursing degree, or any nursing knowledge whatsoever. I have no recipes to share; just some references for good places to go out for dinner. I haven’t a clue as to how to make soap from scratch and my food storage is unscientific. Obviously, I’m in over my head. When Mark Warner dropped in to extend this calling, I told him I was more inclined toward “Opulent Living”, but he didn’t have a church job with that description, so here I am - trying to figure out “Provident Living”...

In all fairness to myself, I might have some knowledge that will be helpful to ward members. I can start by teaching a foundation of financial preparedness: insurance. This will be broken down into four articles - automobile insurance, homeowner’s insurance (including coverage for renters and condominium owners), health insurance and life insurance. These articles will address basic fundamentals and will be written in layman’s terms to make it easy for all to understand. Here goes.

Automobile Insurance

Liability/Bodily Injury: If you are in an accident and it is your fault, you are liable for the claims of the other party. People in the other vehicle are not only entitled to compensation for their “hard losses” (medical bills, etc.), but they are entitled to compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, diminished capacity, and so forth. In other words, all of those loses you would expect remuneration for if the other party was at fault and ran into you. It is my opinion you are not only legally responsible to “make the other party whole”, but you are also morally responsible. Therefore, you should consider carrying adequate limits, not just the state mandated minimum coverages.

Liability/Property Damage: If you are the liable party in an accident, it is your responsibility to pay for repairs to the vehicle (or other property damaged) to return it to the way it was before the accident occurred.

Personal Injury Protection (No fault medical): Regardless of fault, you and the people in your car need immediate attention if injury occurs in an automobile accident. Instead of waiting for negotiations with the other party, your own policy will pay initial medical expenses. The first $3,000 per person of medical bills are paid from PIP, not from health insurance, so do not get caught in the trap of thinking you can go without PIP because you have a health policy.

Uninsured Motorist: According to 2007 claims data, 8% of Utah’s motorists are uninsured, compared to the national average of 13.8%. One thing I see as being skewed in that statistic is that a much higher percentage of people having accidents seem to be uninsured motorist. The only logic that makes sense to me is that uninsured motorists have a higher incident of accidents than insured motorists. This part of your policy allows your own insurance company to pay the claims you incur if you are injured by an uninsured motorist. You could always sue the other party for damages, but what are your chances? If they do not have insurance, they probably do not have much in the way of other assets either.

Underinsured Motorist: Many motorists carry very limited liability coverage. You can protect yourself by bringing the total amount of coverage to a higher, more realistic amount by carrying adequate limits under the UM portion of your policy.

Underinsured Motorist Property Damage: If you do not carry collision (usually due to the age of a vehicle), you can protect yourself from loss if you sustain damaged to your vehicle by an uninsured motorist. There is usually a small deductible ($250) and a maximum limit of coverage ($3,500).

Collision: This part of your policy pays for repair to your vehicle. You will first pay the deductible and then the insurance company pays the rest, up to the fair market value of your car. There typically is no coverage for damage to the undercarriage from driving off road, so you must gain a knowledge of what damages a policy will and will not insure.

Comprehensive: Often referred to OTC (damage to your car Other Than Collision), you typically have coverage for damage to glass and from fire, theft, vandalism, hitting an animal (or pedestrian), and “Acts of the Devil” (my preferred phraseology). Again, your deductible is applied first and be aware companies do not provide “carte blanche” coverage. You are insured only for events described in your policy.

Towing: You can receive reimbursement (up to policy limits) if you have to be towed for any reason. My daughter’s experience a few years ago at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City does not apply, however. You do not get reimbursed if you are towed for illegal parking.
Rental Car Reimbursement: If you are at fault in an accident, you can receive payment toward a rental car while your vehicle is being repaired, up to the limits specified in your policy.

Are you still awake after all that exciting information? The sad truth is people often will not take time to read and understand their insurance coverage until after they have an accident and need the policy to pay out. At that time, it is too late to get coverage adjusted to proper limits. Sometimes people only want “the cheapest insurance” and they usually are the ones who complain when they are inadequately insured after an accident. Seek proper advice and take time to understand your policy. It is time well spent. Remember: It is not just your legal responsibility to be properly insured, it is also your moral responsibility.


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From Carolyn Mackay

This month I have come across something that might interest the more adventurous person and especially those who are looking to save some money. It is a homemade laundry soap recipe. . . . One of my co-workers mentioned she had tried this and I had her send me the recipe. However, please note: I am putting a disclaimer out before I print the recipe, “I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS OUT!” So here goes. . . .

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1 cup Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer)
1 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax
5 gallon bucket

Grate the bar of Fels Naptha. Place grated Fels Naptha in a saucepan and cover with water (approx. 6-8 cups). Heat on low until dissolved. Add 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup Borax and mix well. Pour mixture into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket with warm water, stop when you get within 3 inches to the top. Stir well. As it cools, it will thicken. Use ½ -1 cup per load. Safe for use in H.E. Washers. Yields approx. 75-100 cups.

The Washing Soda is available at Macey’s. The Fels Naptha soap can be found in most stores.

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From Jim Dodds

Preparing for an emergency can be a hassle and sometimes cause headaches. The main reasons that food storage cause these headaches are: 1) Rotating your food and sometimes having to throw stuff away, 2) It takes too long to prepare, 3) You want it to taste good of course, 4) A whole year supply takes up too much room, and 5) The price.

These five things don't have to be a headache. Whether you have none, a little, or a lot of food storage it is worth it to look into the freeze dried method as the food takes care of all these problems and you won't have to worry about them for another 25 years because that's how long they will last on your shelf.


For a free consultation and free taste of the product give Scott a call and you can set up a time to meet.

Scott
(801)836-2857
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