West Bend Provides a Silver Lining.

Keep your kids safe in the car

Busy parents may feel like they’re always on the go. Whether shuttling newborns to doctor’s appointments, toddlers to daycare, preschoolers to birthday parties, or school-aged children to sports or other activities, the proper use of car seats is critical to protecting your children.

September 23 – 29 is Child Passenger Safety Week, a week dedicated to educating parents and caregivers on the importance of properly using the correct type of car seat for their child’s age, height, and weight. It’s a timely message, as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently revised their car seat guidelines to recommend children remain in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their seat.

In a market that’s constantly evolving and may seem oversaturated with options, choosing the right type and style of car seats for your children can be confusing and overwhelming. Luckily, the AAP website, healthychildren.org, has some great resources to help you select and install the best options for you.

Click here for a comprehensive article that includes detailed information on types of seats, installation tips, commonly-asked questions, and more.

Click here for an extensive list of car seats currently on the market, including weight and height limits, as well as manufacturer-suggested retail prices. Near the bottom of the article, you will also find links to all the manufacturers’ websites.

The National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) also provides many great resources for finding and installing the right car seat, including a car seat finder tool and ease-of-use ratings.

West Bend can insure your food manufacturing business

If you own or operate a food manufacturing business, your focus is on creating quality food or beverage products that will delight consumers. You understand the food manufacturing industry is a complex business that involves careful ingredient selection, preparation, and packaging of consumer food products. While your emphasis is on production, it’s also important to ensure your business is properly protected with insurance coverages that meet your specific needs. We may have just the right program for you!

Our focus is primarily on manufacturers of beer, ale, malt liquor, liquor, wine, or dairy manufacturing; food products – frozen, dry, or not dry; meat, fish, poultry, or seafood processing; and pet food. Our focus, however, is not limited to these operations.

West Bend may be a good fit if your food manufacturing business has a thorough quality control program to ensure safe production of food, if ownership and management exhibit obvious pride in the product and property, if you employ a regular workforce, and if you maintain a comprehensive safety and training program. 

If you think West Bend is the right insurer for your valuable business, be sure to talk to your Official Supplier of the Silver Lining. Click here to find an agency near you.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Observed each October since launched in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) strives to raise awareness about the importance of cyber security.

Since 2009, the overriding theme has been, “Our Shared Responsibility,” focusing on the role everyone plays in securing digital assets within their control. The goal is to educate individuals and businesses on security practices that can help protect personal devices, business resources, and the nation’s critical infrastructure from cyber threats. 

The campaign has utilized weekly themes since 2011, with each theme focusing on a relevant topic. Themes have included education, cybercrime, law enforcement, mobility, critical infrastructure, and small and medium-sized businesses. This year’s themes address many important areas.

• October 1 – 5
  Make Your Home a Haven for Online Safety

• October 8 – 12
  Millions of Rewarding Jobs: Educating for a Career in Cybersecurity

• October 15 – 19
  It’s Everyone’s Job to Ensure Online Safety at Work
  
  
• October 22 – 26
  Safeguarding the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure

Click here to learn more about each of these themes.

Click here to learn more about the history of NCSAM and results from last year’s campaign.

Then, remember to be vigilant to cyber threats year round. “Stop. Think. Connect.™” offers additional resources for incorporating valuable security practices into your online routine. This tip sheet covers some basic information and this toolkit offers extensive resources broken down by audience and topic.