In October, you can count on many things— the leaves changing color, pumpkin spice is back on the menu, and Halloween decorations start to appear everywhere! If you are putting up Halloween decorations this season, you must keep in mind proper fire safety so you and your home can stay safe this Halloween!

If you are fond of candles on Halloween, you might want to try battery operated candles, or there are other options that can be simply plugged in! Candles are extremely dangerous to use and account for over 2% of all fires nationwide! If you are making a Jack-O-Lantern just ditch the candle and put in a battery operated version instead! It’ll last much longer—and lowers the risk of fire substantially!

A lot of Halloween decorations are made of flammable materials, and this would include costumes too! If you have little ones trick-or-treating, be sure to tell them to stay away from heat sources and fire while in their costumes! Dried flowers, cornstalks, crepe paper, and polyester are all materials to watch after, keep heat sources such as lightbulbs and heaters away from flammable objects such as these!

Also, you should regularly check your fire and smoke detectors to make sure that they are working! Also be sure that they are within a range that can detect if your decorations somehow were to catch on fire! If you follow these steps and are vigilant around your home, you too can help prevent a fire this Halloween!

With it being 2021, and most businesses are online in some form or fashion, you as a business-owner will probably have to use the internet in some way! If your business has anything that is stored, managed, or created online you will greatly benefit from having a Cybersecurity Insurance policy! If you have an e-commerce site that is solely on the web you probably will want to have a policy too!

If you have an online presence at all (Social media), you will want to be covered just in case someone is able to engineer their way into one of these platforms! Bigger companies that are publicly traded do this since a post on any platform that harms or misleads the public can be very detrimental to their stock prices, and thereby their company as well! This can still apply to a smaller company since a bad post on social media can sink anyone’s business—even if it was due to a hack!

In short, if you have a company that is online in any way, you definitely need to get Cybersecurity Insurance! You might think it isn’t worth the cost, but if a hack happens to you this might be one of the few lifelines your business might have! Give your insurance agent a call to see what they can do for you!

This year, Halloween activities will be allowed in some communities—but with the pandemic still active out there in the world, we all should proceed with caution! If you have little ones who want to go out and trick-or-treat, or if you find yourself handing out candy, we hope that some of these tips can come in handy!

Wearing a mask on Halloween for yourself and your child shouldn’t be too hard of a proposition! Find costumes that you can integrate a mask into—and since this is the second year of Halloween during this pandemic there are many costumes out there on the internet that have masks built-in! If you want to show some Halloween spirit but don’t want to go all out, there are many Halloween styled masks you can buy on the internet (Or locally!) to choose from!

When handing out candy you should prepare by masking-up and having some hand-sanitizer next to your bowl of candy to use each time you hand some out! When handing out candy try to drop it into the bag instead of making contact with the bag itself, and maybe set-up a masking tape line for trick-or-treaters to stand on to ensure a distance can be maintained! There are many other ways to handle this—be creative and remember that the internet has some pretty good ideas on this subject too!

There are many Autumn-themed activities that you can enjoy safely during the currently ongoing pandemic, things such as hayrides, trick-or-treating, and pumpkin picking are still ways to enjoy the fall season if you’re smart and always plan ahead!  By taking all precautions to help ensure that you and those around you are safe, you can greatly reduce your chances for transmission! Common-sense things such as keeping six-feet from others, taking the vaccine, and wearing a face-mask are all a great place to start!

Many communities will decide for themselves if activities such as Trick-or-Treating will be allowed, but if you do, be sure to mask-up, use hand-sanitizer, and be smart! Activities such as pumpkin or apple picking might also be safely enjoyed if you are following proper precautions, and many establishments offering these activities will have their own rules to follow—but it doesn’t hurt to call ahead and see what is going on!

If you are into the sights and sounds of nature, then fall can be a spectacular season to soak in! There are many state parks and scenic trails that can be enjoyed without much potential physical contact with others—a drive through a scenic trail and some tasty drive-thru can be a great day-trip in the fall! The pandemic doesn’t have to take the fun out of everything that we love, just find ways to enjoy yourself while staying safe!

Working from home can be a brutal business when you are putting in long hours and continually blurring the line between home and work! If you find yourself wound up a little too tight after a day of working from home, we have compiled some more tips to help you feel a little less stressed!

Each day when you reach a good finishing point, whether it be your current assignment, project, or it’s simply 5:00—find a way to make a ceremony of closing up shop for the day! Whether it be organizing your workspace, turning off your work computer, or changing out of your Zoom clothing, make it a point to do so every single time—and make it final! By doing this you will help yourself unwind after just about any kind of day!

This ties into the last tip, but you should consider unplugging your devices—as well as yourself from the digital world! This helps clear your mind, and helps you get ready to just relax! With some professions this might not be possible, but if you can do it you might want to give it a whirl!

Cooking a healthy meal is one of the best ways to unwind after a stressful day at work, whether it be work from home or otherwise! As most of us have probably experienced, when you have a great lunch while at work it can be hard to want to go back since you were able to disconnect in order to eat! By doing this at the end of the day it can help you achieve the same kind of disconnect, but at a more appropriate time—after work! Find a good recipe and help yourself wind down, both you and your stomach will be thankful afterwards!