Get Our Monthly E-tips
Receive tips to protect your dreams, while helping keep your family safe and secure. Sign up for our free monthly e-newsletter.
Sign up now! >Advisor
- Stay Alive
When You Drive - 'Recipes' for
Thanksgiving Safety - Happy
Hunting - Be 'Gifty'
and Thrifty - Check Out
Our New Blog - Get 2 the
Dream Game
'Tis the Season to Be Safer on the Road
Stay safe, and save money with these proactive tips.
The approaching holiday season should be time for celebrating your dreams with family and friends.
Unfortunately, it also will be a time for increased road risks. Here's a short list of hazards and tips for avoiding them.
Don't become another statistic
The bad news: The National Safety Council estimates that hundreds die annually in motor vehicle crashes during the holidays.
The good news: By buckling up, driving defensively, and not drinking and driving, you can avoid becoming one of these grim statistics. Get more safety ideas before you hit the road.
Chill out on icy roads
If your travel plans involve snowy, icy and slippery roads, chill out. Reduce your speed and avoid quick turns and stops. Follow these steps to winterize your car, too.
Steer clear of deer
Late fall to early winter marks the deer-breeding season, which also can breed car-deer collisions. Avoid bucks on the road and save "bucks" on accident costs! Heed deer crossing signs and watch for deer especially at dawn and dusk. These ideas and more are listed in our tips for steering clear of deer.
Let us protect your dreams
American Family auto insurance can keep your dreams in motion during the holidays and throughout the year. Learn more about American Family's car insurance offerings, and while you're at it, consider these tried-and-true programs:
Certified Repair Program: If you're in a car accident, our Certified Repair Program will help you get rolling again with repairs that are easier, quicker and backed by a lifetime guarantee.
Auto Rental Reimbursement Program: This program helps pay for a rental vehicle when your car is being repaired due to a covered loss.
Emergency Road Service: When you're stranded, this can help get you and your vehicle back on the road.
Other Articles in this Issue:
Use Our 'Recipes' for Thanksgiving Safety
Keep your Thanksgiving dreams more secure with these safety tips.
Fun family gatherings, sumptuous feasts, parades and football on TV, and, of course, giving thanks … they're all a part of Thanksgiving, celebrated by millions of Americans.
But Thanksgiving also happens to be the leading day of the year in the United States for home fires involving cooking equipment. Not only that, but each year 400,000 Americans succumb to food-borne illnesses on "Turkey Day."
Follow these tips to safely enjoy this year's Thanksgiving holiday celebrations.
Be a cautious cook
- Keep close to what's cooking - avoid leaving the kitchen unattended.
- Don't place food packaging or other flammable items near burners.
- Heat cooking oil slowly, and keep an eye on it - oil can ignite quickly.
- Don't wear loose sleeves when cooking over hot burners.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working. (One-fifth of all Thanksgiving fires occur in homes without working smoke alarms.)
- Designate a "kid-free" zone around the stove or areas where hot foods are placed.
Turkey 101
- Fresh turkey: Buy it one or two days before cooking, and avoid the pre-stuffed kind, which may contain harmful bacteria if not handled properly.
- Frozen turkey: Allow 24 hours for each four to five pounds in a refrigerator set at 40 degrees or lower. If thawing the turkey in cold water, allow 30 minutes per pound. For details, see the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Poultry Preparation Fact Sheet".
- Discard turkey, stuffing and gravy left out at room temperature longer than two hours; if you're in an area with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, discard them after one hour.
- Eat refrigerated leftovers within three to four days.
Let us help protect your dreams
The family members gathered around your Thanksgiving table are probably the most important people in your life. American Family Life Insurance can give you peace of mind knowing that you're looking out for your family's well-being.
Contact your American Family agent today to learn more about our life insurance coverage options: term life insurance (including our SimplyProtected Term Life Insurance policy), whole life insurance and universal life insurance.
Other Articles in this Issue:
Aim for Safety This Hunting Season
For many, the late fall signals a special time of the year: hunting season for deer, pheasants and other wildlife.
Whether you're a hunter or non-hunter, these tips will help keep you safer in the great outdoors.
For hunters:
- Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
- Keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times.
- Be certain of your target, particularly what's in front of it and behind it.
- Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you're absolutely ready to shoot.
- Wear a blaze orange cap, vest or jacket.
- If you're hunting deer in a tree stand, wear a full body harness.
- Use a flashlight to identify yourself as a human in dimly lit conditions.
For non-hunters:
- Wear bright clothing and make yourself more visible to hunters.
- Make noise - sing, whistle or talk so hunters can hear you approaching.
- Know when hunting seasons are, and be particularly alert and cautious when outdoors during hunting season.
- Show hunters courtesy – once they're aware you are in the area, don't unnecessarily make noise to disturb wildlife.
Get more great ideas for staying safe this hunting season by reviewing our hunting safety tips.
Other Articles in this Issue:
Use Our Money-Saving Holiday Tips
Do more with less this holiday season.
Looking for a little more jingle in your pockets? Here are some money-saving suggestions that could make your days more merry and bright this holiday season.
Shop smarter
- Stick to the budget: Set a budget, and try to spend below your estimated cost per gift.
- Save online: Retailers' online prices often are lower and include free shipping. Get online deals on Cyber Monday, the first Monday following Thanksgiving.
- It's in the cards: Thinking about gift cards as presents? Certain retailers and websites sell discounted or swapped gift cards at 5 to 30 percent below the cards' value.
- Black Friday: Get deals on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), but be prepared for crowds!
That's a 'wrap'
- Recycle, re-use and save: Used wrapping paper, re-usable gift bags, or the creative use of magazine pages as a wrapping paper can help you save money.
- Be a real cut-up: Cut up old holiday cards or pieces of wrapping paper to make great gift tags.
Season's greetings
- E-cards are e-conomical: Certain websites offer free email templates for flashy, colorful and fun email greeting cards that you even can customize.
- Pay less with postcards: Postcards cost less and don't require as much postage.
Trim the trimmings
- Lighten up on the lights: Scaling back outdoor lighting displays can lower your electric bills.
- Get the LED out: Be green and save some green with LED holiday lights, which use 99 percent less energy than traditional lights.
Save in other ways, too
You can save during the holidays and all year round with insurance discounts at American Family. We offer car insurance discounts, home insurance discounts and bundled insurance packages.
Other Articles in this Issue:
Check Out American Family's New Blog!
Want to learn more about how American Family Insurance makes the world better place? Check out "Dream Protectors, the American Family Insurance Blog," a new place for us to share stories about how we take care of customers and the ways we are involved in our communities and with the world.
From American Family's efforts to help the National FFA Organization fight hunger, to supporting sustainability through community gardening, to fostering safer driving habits among teens and adults alike, the new "Dream Protectors" blog paints a rich picture of who we are as a company, and what we stand for.
Take a few minutes to read our latest blog posts. It might even be habit-forming!
Other Articles in this Issue:
Enter Our 'Get 2 the Dream Game' Sweepstakes!
Make your ultimate football dream come true.
Enter American Family's "Get 2 the Dream Game" sweepstakes for a chance to win two tickets to the Big Game, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans.
In addition to the game day of a lifetime, our prize package includes:
- Airfare for 2
- 4 nights lodging
- Pre-game hospitality
- And more!
Enter today for a chance to win!
Your dream is out there. Go get it. We'll protect.
Other Articles in this Issue:
