Steve Moranos: Allstate Insurance

When a button battery is swallowed, the saliva triggers an electrical current. This creates a chemical reaction that can severely burn the esophagus within a couple of hours. The disturbing part is that it might not be so obvious at first that there is an issue.... Instead, it may seem like a child has a cold or flu. Repairing the damage caused by button battery ingestion is painful and can involve multiple surgeries. It's a good reason to keep loose batteries locked away and to place a piece of duct tape over remote controls and toys to create a more secure battery compartment. Here's to keeping our children safe!

These days, the majority of teens spend time online. That is why it is vital to help the teens in your life understand appropriate Internet usage and the risks involved with social networking. Open communication. Ask your teen to walk you through their regular Internet routine. What sites are they visiting regularly? Get to know their favorite websites and apps to understand potential risks better. Personal information. Remind your teen never to share personal information... without your permission. This includes their full name, birthday, contact info, school name, passwords, etc. Privacy settings. Make sure your teen has strict privacy settings enabled to protect their photos and updates from strangers. Also, ask your teen only to befriend people online if they know them in real life. Photos. Discuss the types of pictures that are appropriate to post online. In-person meetings. Share the dangers of an in-person meeting with someone they met online. Cyberbullying. Teach your teen not to post embarrassing photos, send mean texts or spread hurtful rumors online, and to report any cyberbullying they witness or become a victim of. Taking time to create this awareness with our teens is so crucial to their safety!

In today's lawsuit-happy world, being sued is a real possibility if you're ever found at fault in a major auto accident or if you experience a serious mishap on your property. That's why carrying higher liability limits and/or a personal umbrella policy makes sense. If you select lower limits to save money, it could end up costing you BIG in the long-run.... Do you own a home? Do you let someone else occasionally drive your vehicles? Do you sometimes drive on icy roads? Do you have young drivers driving your vehicles? It's better to have higher liability limits and never need them than to need them and not have them! May all of the drive-thrus you use already exist before you get there!

Smoke alarms in your home help play an important role in keeping you and your family safe. However, they are of no use if they do not have working batteries. Experts suggest checking your alarms at least once a month to make sure they are working properly. ... Batteries should be replaced every 6 months, and the alarm itself should be replaced once every 10 years.

There’s just something inspiring about the start of the year and that clean slate a new calendar delivers. It’s an opportunity to throw out last year's script and write a fresh new story. Yet, despite the best of intentions, more than one-half of New Year’s resolutions fail. ... How can you improve these odds? Put things in place to help automate your end-result. It starts by making sure that your insurance program is doing all of the things you want for the short term as well as the long term. It's a solid reason to request a policy review.

Here's to the end of 2020! We hope that 2021 is your best year yet. Thank you for being the best part of our agency.

This holiday season, pass down the gift of a secure financial future with Allstate life insurance. Let's talk today and find the right plan for you and your family.