1. PIP (personal injury protection): PIP is what pays for your medical care and wage loss if you are injured. PIP coverage is cheap. Make sure you get the maximum that they will sell you. Your agent should tell you to max this PIP coverage. Five days in the intensive care unit will cost $400,000. If you PIP is $20,000 and the drunk who crashed into you has no insurance, PIP is all you have. Demand the max. Don't be a fool.

2. UM and UIM: Stop. Do not pass "GO". Why? UM is uninsured motorist protection. UIM is underinsured motorist protection. You buy that protection. It is cheap. Why do you buy it? Over 30% of the drivers on Hawaii roads have no insurance. Almost 99% of the drivers have minimum coverage: $20,000. If a minimum coverage driver runs over a working woman with 2 kids, and she has $800,000 in medical bills, a deadbeat husband and no health insurance (please call our congressional delegation and demand a Public Plan for health care reform) she goes on welfare and taxpayers pay. You and me.

3 Bodily Injury - Buy the most that they will sell you.

bodily injury coverage An insurance policy that pays for injuries caused to other individuals in the event of a motor vehicle accident. Described by the notation "a/b" where "a" is the dollar amount in thousands of coverage per person, and "b" is the dollar amount in thousands of coverage per accident. Generally, insurance companies will only the allow purchase of UM/UIM coverage up to the insured's current bodily injury limit.

Your personal assets are at stake. And do you want to live your life with the guilt that you caused a million dollars of losses to a family like yours and you couldn't pay for it? That is why we buy insurance. Not to protect ourselves but to protect those who we hurt..

Following up with last weeks article on the Lumber Bridge ammonia explosion, the Mountaire Farms Plant has been found to have 15 workplace safety violations, nine of them serious. This is the same plant that killed one worker last week and injured several more due to an ammonia leak.

The Robeson county plant that’s about 16 miles south of Fayetteville was fined a total of $19,600 for violations cited in April, said Dolores Quesenberry, a state Labor Department spokeswoman. Those violations included sanitation issues and noise control, and the agency cited nine serious matters and six other violations.

Clifton Swain, 47, of Fayetteville, a maintenance employee, died after ammonia leaked when a refrigeration line ruptured. Swain was a retiree from the Air Force and had worked at the plant since 2001, the Fayetteville Observer reported. Quesenberry said that inspectors are at the plant trying to determine what happened.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is not investigating the incident due to limited resources available to the group. They deem the accident worthy of investigation but can’t commit the extra resources toward further investigation.

The Chemical Safety Board has about 12 field investigators and they are all on as many other investigations currently. There is a team of six agency workers in Garner this week investigating an explosion at the Slim Jim plant that killed three workers.

Holding an internal employee meeting Monday, Mountaire Farms of Millsboro, Del., answered questions about this incident in which four other workers were also injured. Their names and injuries were not released. Two of them were sent to the burn center at UNC Hospitals.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper,Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

BM

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced today that she would leave her post as Alaska Governor at the end of July, fueling speculation that she plans to run for President in 2012. Palin was John McCain's vice presidential pick in the 2008 presidential election. The New York Times reports Palin as saying that she is leaving office a full year and a half before the end of her term because she didn't want to be a 'lame duck'.

"Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that," Palin said.

Republicans and Democrats joined in criticizing the move.

“Good point guards don’t quit and walk off the floor if the going gets tough,” said John Weaver, a former senior strategist for Mr. McCain. “Today’s move falls further into the weirdness category; people don’t like a quitter.”

In Alaska, state Senator Hollis S. French, a Democrat who filed a letter of intent on Wednesday to run for governor, said, “The idea that ‘The going got tough so I decided to quit’ is inexcusable. That is not an Alaskan value. We celebrate the mushers who drive on through the storm despite the hardship.”

The announcement was hastily scheduled on the eve of the July 4 holiday (on a Friday when many had already begun their holiday), apparently to avoid inevitable adverse publicity and criticism.

Political pundits speculate that Palin is leaving because of the difficulty of fundraising and campaigning in the lower 48 United States while maintaining the responsibilities of running the remote state.

Others say that there may be another scandal brewing at home for the governor, whose 16 year old daughter announced a pregnancy soon after Palin was Picked as John McCain's running mate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FcyGk1iBbg

Not having a bounty of hair, I need to make sure I watch out or I'm going to burn that bald spot. I am old enough to remember the days of people actually putting oil on to help burn. I also need as a parent to watch out that the boys use sunscreen. It's important in the few days that we here in the North have a shot at the sun to not ruin it with many unhappy days after. In reading this week I came upon a great list of tips:

Tip #1 Use Sun Block With A SPF Of 30 Or Higher

SPF 30 provides protection for most of the day. For example if you get sun burn in 10 minutes, SPF 30 will protect you for 300 minutes. If you use SP 15, you will be protected from the sun for 150 minutes.

Tip #2 Make Sure To Use A Broad Spectrum Sun Block

Broad spectrum sun blocks protect both UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays are present even when there is no sun and can lead to skin cancers. UVB rays are present when there is sun light out. People tan with UVB and UVB causes sun burn and also cancer if the skin in not protected.

Tip #3 Be Sure To Reapply Sun Block Early And Often

Water breaks down sun block even if the product is water proof. The sun will also break down your sun block over time. Reapply sun block at least once every hour if you are out in a pool. Be sure to use your sun screen daily.

Tip #4 Be Sure To Apply Sun Block Even If You Are Just Resting In The Shade Away From Sun Light

This is because UVA rays are present even when there is no direct sun light.

Tip #5 Be Sure To Avoid Sun Blocks That Contain Oxybenzone

Oxybenzone is a toxic sunscreen that soaks into the skin which might be a contributing factor to skin cancer. Instead look for sunscreen that contains Zinc Oxide or Titanium oxide.

Tip #6 Buy New Sun Screen Every Year

Most sun screen do not protect as well after 12 months because the ingredients start to lose the amount of sun protection that they can give.

Tip #7 Take A Break At Midday

Midday or peak sun is also a good time to get out of the sun and take a break indoors. The sun is strongest between 12:00PM and 3:00PM.

Tip #8 Wear Sun Glasses, Hats And Tight Shirts

Wear UV sunglasses to protect your eyes, hat to protect your scalp and tight shirt to protect your body from the sun.

Tip #9 Take Special Care When Going To The Beach

Sun block may need to be reapplied more frequently since the sand and water reflect the sun creating a stronger UVB ray. Higher altitudes also gives the sun more intensity.

Tip #10 Be Sure To Drink Plenty Of Water

Water keeps your skin hydrated and improves the protection of your sun block.

Follow as many as you can. It will make a difference and make for a better summer.