Eventually, most of us will be in an auto accident. Hopefully, there won’t be serious bodily injury. (To limit your injury always wear a seat belt!) In any case, it’s good to review what to do before an accident occurs.

1) Stop immediately, but do not obstruct traffic.

2) Assist the injured. Call 911.

3) Secure names, phone numbers, and addresses of other drivers, passengers, witnesses, and any injured persons.

4) Obtain make, model, license numbers of all cars involved. To be most accurate, exchange licenses and registrations. The owner and insured could be different than the driver. Also, get the other vehicle’s insurance company from the registration or insurance card.

5) Make a rough drawing of the scene, showing position of cars, street names and other details. You may want to use your camera phone to record damage to vehicles.

6) Note any police citations and if available, get police motor vehicle crash exchange forms.

7) Don’t hastily accept claim settlements at the scene of the accident.

8) Remain calm, courteous and consistent in your version of the accident.

9) Notify your insurance agent as soon as possible, and where necessary, complete a Massachusetts RMV Accident Report Form.

Here's an accident information form you can print out and keep in your glove box. To find further instructions from the RMV, click here.

To learn more about reporting a claim, getting an Accident Report Form or the status of your claim, use the claims page our web site.

We’re here to help you get the situation corrected as quickly and completely as possible.

We designed Beacon’s web site www.GoToBeacon.com to be a valuable resource for all your insurance needs with links to many other informational sites. But one of the most significant tabs on the site is the billing tab. Here you can link to insurance company sites to review your billing status 24/7 with Safety, MetLife, and some of the other companies we represent. You can pay bills on line with Safety, MetLife and MPIUA. So, you may be able to avoid late charges if you forgot to make a payment. Check it out. Let us know if there are other things you’d like to see on our site.

Everyone who cares for the financial well being of another should consider buying life insurance to ensure death won’t cause financial hardship. In some cases, for example, caring for children, the majority of the financial need may be eliminated when they grow up. So, the need may be covered with term life insurance

But what if the child has special needs and may never be totally self sufficient? Working with an attorney, you may want to set up a trust that is funded upon the death of one or both parents. Unless you knew the parent or the special needs child would die within the term policy’s term, a whole life policy would provide more assurance that the trust would be funded, as intended when the parent(s) died. Also, there would be no need to fund the trust with investments during the parent’s life, avoiding the additional cost of generating tax returns prior to the insured’s death.

Whole life insurance policies ensure one’s financial plans for the beneficiary – be it for a loved one, a favorite charity or a business partner - actually occur the way the policy owner intended it to occur. Whole life, including variants such as universal life, variable life, etc, is a very simple and tax efficient way for one to transfer one’s financial estate to others. Call us to discuss your estate plans and concerns. You’ll be surprised how whole life will allow you to do things you never thought you could do. For more information, check out our life insurance web page.