 Brian Edgren President EHL Insurance |
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Welcome to edition #13 of our client newsletter. We are very pleased to bring you information you can use to help you better manage the risks you face. At the same time, we have received great feedback from you in regard to our publicizing the very good work many of our clients are doing in our community. Most of all, thank you for your business, and for telling your friends about us. We greatly appreciate your referrals! We mail out several $10 gas cards each month as a small token of our appreciation, and from these, draw the name of a winner who receives a $100 gift card. See the bottom of the page for notification of this issue’s winner. Brian Edgren, President EHL Insurance |
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 By Jeff Ogard |
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| The cost of insuring the next generation represents a meaningful portion of a family’s budget. It makes sense that people often inquire about eliminating this expense sooner rather than later. However, to do so prematurely, usually results in higher total premiums at best, and can lead to financial disaster at worst. Looking at total auto insurance premiums for all family members, it almost always costs more for a son or daughter to buy their own policy rather than continue on their parent’s policy. Lower premiums are generated typically by the stronger credit rating, home ownership, and insurance history of the parents. More importantly, a parent’s exposure to lawsuit doesn’t go away automatically just because the child has their own policy.
If you answered “yes” to any of the above, then there is a possibility that you as the parent(s) could incur liability should the driving incident for which this younger driver was responsible, exceed the liability limits on their separately acquired policy. Clearly, there are pitfalls to “splitting off” a child prematurely. However, it can be just as costly to keep them on too long.
If you answered “yes” to all of the above, and yet your son/daughter is still driving a car titled to you, or if they are still insured as a driver on your insurance, you could potentially be personally responsible should liability limits be insufficient.
Knowing when to divide the insurance of your family into separate units is a critically important decision. You, however, as a client of EHL Insurance, do not need to “fly blind” on matters such as these. Our personal risk advisors are very pleased to discuss your individual situation with you, and will help you reduce your total cost of risk in a way that optimizes your overall financial well being. |
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 Hillary Ferris |
 By Jeff Ogard |
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| Hillary Ferris, of our Poulsbo office, is a Personal Insurance Risk Advisor for EHL Insurance and has just joined our team. Hillary is a graduate of Bainbridge High School. She is currently licensed in Property, Casualty, Life and Disability in the State of Washington. She has extensive insurance experience in Connecticut, Texas and Washington. Hillary lives on Bainbridge Island close to her parents, sister, brother-in-law and their two children. In her free time she enjoys being outdoors, spending time with her niece and nephew, reading, puzzles, and attending concerts. |
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 Wally & Margie Harrison |
 By Jeff Ogard |
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Wally and Margie Harrison still recall their visit to Jamaica nearly 30 years ago as part of their volunteer involvement with the Peace Corps. The couple, who were in their 50s, stayed with a family with two young boys. One day, Marge found two rubber bands and when she gave one of them to the kids, the youngsters were ecstatic. “They were delighted; it was a toy for them. They played with rocks and sticks,” Wally Harrison said. That incident stayed with them, and after moving to the Pacific Northwest and retiring, the couple wanted to do something for kids in third world countries. About three years ago, Harrison came up with a simple design of a wooden car that could be easily replicated. They obtained permission from construction companies to pick up their leftover framing materials from building sites. And when a church sent a group overseas who volunteered to take cars for kids in their suitcases, the WallyCar project was officially born. Since then, Harrison and his helpers — he’s recruited several volunteers to make the cars — have distributed more than 5,000 cars to kids all over the world, in 18 countries including Morocco, Chile, Indonesia and Columbia. Harrison still makes the cars in his wood shop in his Poulsbo garage, but one of his friends, who has professional-grade tools, can accommodate a small group at his own shop — so periodically, the group gets together and makes hundreds of the toys. The volunteers include a banker, a retired pharmacist and other professionals. “They all get a big kick out of it,” Harrison said. The Harrisons have been financing the production of WallyCars, which included buying thousands of wooden wheels (the only part not made by the group in-house). This past fall, supporters suggested a fundraiser, so WallyCars set up a table at Central Market in Poulsbo. “The reception we got was tremendous,” Harrison said. “(Store manager) Tom Hall said, ‘Let’s do it again…’ Everybody’s feedback has been great.” The WallyCar effort has not been formalized into a nonprofit because the Central Market fundraiser was the first attempt to solicit financial support; Harrison also said since they only need about $2,000-$4,000 to sponsor the toys, there has not been the need so far to create a formal organization. All donations received go toward purchasing materials like the wheels and dowels for axles, as well as replacing blades and such for the shop equipment. Because construction sites have become far and few between in the past few years, Kingston Lumber stepped up to provide the wood for the cars. The lumberyard gives the volunteers all its scrap pieces. “To them it’s trash and to us, it’s gold,” Harrison said. Since the project’s inception, several locally based nonprofits that work in Third World countries have partnered up with WallyCar to distribute the toys. In some instances, distribution could be a bit more challenging than three years ago since airlines now charge for luggage; the partner organizations receive the WallyCars for free and then are responsible for delivering them. Among local organizations that have distributed WallyCars are Port Orchard-based Etta Projects and Children of the Nations based in Silverdale. The goal is to make and distribute about 2,000 cars a year, but Harrison said they have the capacity to make as many as 4,000. The group is looking for other organizations interested in taking the WallyCars to kids in poor countries, and they pre-screen the groups to make sure they meet an important prerequisite: That the cars are distributed to the kids with no strings attached.
Wally and Margie Harrison said they took this idea on because they really like children — they even moved into a new Poulsbo neighborhood recently so they can be surrounded by kids. The couple, who are surrogate grandparents, said they wanted to do something for children who have nothing. “It’s just evolved,” Margie said. “…We’re looking for more places to go into, and now we have the volunteers to make the cars.” Anyone interested in the WallyCar project may contact Wally Harrison via email: wallyandmarge@hotmail.com Reprinted with permission from Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal; (c) 2011 |
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 Thank you for recommending EHL to your friends and family! For each person or family you refer to us, we will send you $10 in gasoline gift cards, and enter you in our bimonthly drawing for $100 and our annual drawing for $500. We are pleased to announce this issue’s winner. Jason Parker’s name was drawn from all clients and other friends who referred someone to us, and will receive a $100 gift card. We are also pleased to make a $50 contribution on behalf of all our clients to help procure materials for the WallyCars project featured above. |
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