According to the Providence Journal, the state of Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is 12.9 percent, one of the worst in the nation. Last year, a fifth of all households seeking help included someone who had lost a job in 2008. More than 4 out of 10 said they had to choose between eating and paying a utility bill or the rent. Those facts are saddening and Bucci Insurance wants to do something to help! With your assistance, we are collecting non-perishable food items at our office in Warwick, Rhode Island and then just before Thanksgiving we will be delivering everything to a local food bank as a donation from the entire community. In addition, we will donate $1 to The West Bay Community Action for every new “like” we receive on our Facbook page. Together, we can make a big difference.

According to the Providence Journal, the number of Rhode Islanders using the food stamp program known as SNAP has increased by 40% in the last two years. People who received food serviced by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank have already increased 15% from last year. With so many individuals left without a job, support from the community is now needed more than ever!

If you are looking for a way to get involved this holiday season but don’t have much time, we have the solution! If you have non-perishable food items, drop them off at our office in Warwick Rhode Island and we’ll bring everything to a local food bank as a donation from the community.  Also, for every additional “like” we receive on our Facebook page we will donate $1 to the West Bay Community Action. It’s an easy way to give back so tell all of your friends!

From Bucci Insurance, we hope you are enjoying the holiday season.

How to Create a Positive Image is Bucci Insurance Group’s “how to” pick for this week. Diane Keng, a freshman at Santa Clara University, is one of the few who has already understood the importance of creating a positive image in the social media world. In an article from the Providence Journal, she was quoted saying “Maybe someone will look you up on Facebook before they actually meet you in person. Once first impressions are through, it’s really tough to get back from there.” This is why she suggests creating two accounts; one personal, only accessible to family and friends and the other a public professional. You need to have an idea of how you want the world to perceive you and then portray that through your social media footprints.

Make sure your accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and any other social networking sites reflect the person you want others to see. What you say, post online, and what others say about you allows onlookers to assume things that may or may not be true. Dan Shawable, a personal brand consultant suggests signing up for Google alerts. This helps keep track of when your name is being mentioned on the internet and what is being said.

On professional accounts, post relevant links, friend co-workers, and post pictures about a great event you put on, and talk about what a success it was. Make your page have a voice. In the Providence Journal, it even offered the idea of creating your own website. You can find domain names at GoDaddy.com and create a profile about you, your work experience and blog about your thoughts and ideas. Don’t be afraid to disagree with someone and voice your own opinion. Most importantly, if you decide to do that, keep the site updated! You do not want to be perceived as someone who gives up easily.

With these tips, take control of your image in the social media world and make it a positive one.

Growing up, in my family traveling plans were typically booked at least a month in advance. According to my friends and neighbors that is how it was done in their house too. Today with the speed of the internet, mobile devices like the Blackberry and iPhone, and resources like Kayak and Travelocity, booking travel plans has never been easier. According to a Sunday article in the Providence Journal, Glenn Strachan from Washington, D.C., has admitted to comparing flights on Kayak, booking a flight with AirTran Airways, making a rental car reservation and picking a place to stay- all from his iPhone. He is not the only one. It seems like today, people don’t have the time to wait until they reach a desktop anymore; everything needs to be done here and now.

With the use of an iPhone as a personal travel agent, “travelers are shifting their bookings to the very last minute.” People are going as far as waiting until they land before booking a hotel. This can be contributed to deals found on websites (such as Twitter) that require traveling within a few days to receive the promotion. In this same Sunday article it mentioned a study done by Priceline.com and their iPhone app. The study found that of all their active customers, 82% of them booked their hotel in one day of travel!

Over the past 15 years, the way traveling is booked has completely transformed. It has gone from a long thought out process, to an immediate on-the-go decision. Bucci Insurance wants to know, where do you think technology will take this process in ten years from now?

Worker helping to clean up Warwick Mall - WPRI 12

For everyone that is still recovering from the flood, we haven’t forgotten about you! If you have not already applied to receive help in the recovery process please do so. A recent flood update article in the Providence Journal said that U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is getting off to a slow start. Only 1112 businesses have applied and they are urging the public to apply! They want to continue to help all of the victims of the flood.

On Monday morning the SBA has approved low-interest loans for 14 businesses totaling $729,700, according to the agency. On the other hand FEMA has handed out more than $25 million in grants to individuals. Many people probably think that SBA loans are only available to businesses, but homeowners and renters are also able to apply for the loans. Many people are reluctant to apply for these loans because it takes a lot of time to process one application.

The spokesperson for SBA, Carl W. Sherrill, however is still urging people to apply for these loans. He wants people to apply regardless of how much money they think they need or whether they can even afford a loan. The SBA loan gives business and home owners quick cash that allows them to rebuild before they even receive an insurance settlement. Once the insurance settlement comes the people can use that to pay off the loan to the SBA.

Another factor slowing down the process of receiving loans was that FEMA’s flood insurance program was being discussed in Congress. Businesses can receive up to $2 million in SBA loans, but SBA can only give them $14,000 without collateral. In order to have collateral it has to be covered by flood insurance. FEMA’s flood insurance program has been extended and now businesses can receive SBA loans of more than $14,000.

Please apply for these loans! SBA is there to help the victims; only 112 have applied so far. Applying for this loan will make it easier to start your recovery process. We know that businesses are still getting off to a rocky start after the flood and we want to help. Please continue to call us at Bucci Insurance with any questions you have about your flood recovery process. We would be happy to assist you when working with SBA or FEMA.

Everyone has probably driven when they did not get a full eight hours of sleep the night before, right? I know I have and yesterday the Providence Journal made a point of this as well. Their article was about how driving when drowsy can lead to accidents. Now, most of us do not intentionally dose off while driving; It is just something that happens when we do not get enough sleep, we can not control it. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 90 percent of officers have reported pulling someone over because they thought they were intoxicated, but in actuality the drivers were simply tired. It is crazy to think that being sleepy can cause the same effects as being intoxicated while driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NSF) reported that 100,000 police reported accidents caused by driver drowsiness every year in the mid-1990s. Can you just image how many more accidents are reported today? Today people are on the go even more than they were 10 years ago. Over half the country is probably not getting the recommended eight hours of sleep and then getting up to drive to work in the morning. It is just not safe anymore. At Bucci Insurance we can protect you while driving by providing you with the perfect auto insurance in Rhode Island. When it comes to drowsy driving, we can inform you of ways to prevent it!

First we will inform you of some of the danger signs that AAA pointed out: not remembering the last few miles, wandering thoughts, not being able to focus, drifting across the road, tailing without realizing it, and missing traffic signs. Now, if you have experienced any of those signs you probably did not get a good night sleep. If that happens here are some things that you can do. Pull over you car, ideally into a rest area, and try to take a short walk. If you are still tired, NSF advises people to take a 20-minute power nap. If you are extremely tired, then get a hotel room and go to bed. It is worth it to spend that extra money and get a hotel room, rather get possibly getting in a car accident and endangering your lives and others. Other small steps to adopt are taking regular breaks on long trips, having a driving companion, not drinking sweet drinks, and eating healthy food.

You need to remember also that drowsiness is not just a nighttime occurrence. We can also feel drowsy in the mid-afternoon. An example of this is, one of my friends was driving home from URI and did not get eight hours of sleep the night before. It was around noon and she was so tired that she fell asleep at the wheel and flipped her car into the wooded area on the highway. Luckily, she was safe and did not endanger anyone else, but if she had just slept a little longer and waited a couple more hours to go home it would not have happened. The bottom line is that everyone needs to get a good night’s sleep! It is the best remedy for drowsy driving, and the easiest to do.

The NSF sponsors a whole Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, this year it will be during November 8-14. It is important that we make people aware of this dangerous driving. No one is invincible when it comes to this. Nodding off for only a couple seconds can cause you to drive off the road or cause an accident. We want our customers to be safe. If you have any questions about your auto insurance please call our Rhode Island insurance agency at 401.558.0101 or 877.210.7159.  Now, go get your eight hours of sleep, count your sheep do whatever you have to do to drive safe!