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Welcome to Our New Website!

Allen Insurance and Financial, the insurance and financial planning services agency based in Camden, has launched a redesigned website.
Created by Pica Design + Marketing of Belfast, the new AllenIF.com features streamlined site navigation, the ability to search easily for products and services and an enhanced agency directory, giving clients and newcomers even faster access to expert information, backed by the strength of Allen’s insurance and financial planning team. A mobile version of the full site is also available.
“As an independent agency, we work for our clients, creating customized solutions for the individual needs of each person, family or business,” said Mike Dufour, executive vice president at Allen Insurance and Financial. “Our strength in that service is the Allen team, 70 people strong. Our website is designed to make our team more accessible and to encourage the community, whether clients or not, to learn more about us and to get in touch.”
“Now, our website can be more a part of our agency’s effort to provide valuable information about our services and encourage the public to call us. Email and online forms certainly are useful as a start, but there really is no substitute for a personal conversation,” said Dufour.
With a focus on helping area businesses and organizations achieve greater reach and response with their marketing efforts, Pica will eventually assist Allen Insurance and Financial with communications that tie into the new site and the agency’s brand messages.
“It is a pleasure to work with such smart and dedicated professionals who are open to finding new and effective ways to connect and partner with their primary audiences in and around our shared communities,” said Pica principal, Robert Dietz.
Founded in 1866, Allen Insurance and Financial serves the insurance and financial planning needs of people and businesses in Maine and around the world from offices in Rockland, Camden, Belfast and SouthwestHarbor. In 2014, the company is proudly celebrating 25 years of employee ownership.

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Dan Bookham Embraces New Leadership Role on LifeFlight Foundation Board of Trustees

Dan Bookham

Dan Bookham

At its January meeting, the LifeFlight Foundation Board of Trustees elected Daniel Bookham, a business insurance specialist and director of business development at Allen Insurance and Financial, to serve as chair. Bookham joined the board in 2012 and has provided guidance around issues relating to fundraising, communications and nonprofit management.
“Dan has been a strong asset to the LifeFlight Foundation since he agreed to come on board in 2012,” says LifeFlight Executive Director Thomas Judge. “He has helped generate support for LifeFlight among his business community connections, and the Foundation staff has gained valuable insights from his media background and fundraising experience from numerous nonprofits in midcoast Maine.”
Since joining the LifeFlight Board, Dan has played an important role in developing the organization’s strategic communications plan, and has been adept at creating opportunities for collaboration with business owners interested in helping LifeFlight. Dan and his wife, Jessie, were integral to the success of the first annual Islesboro Crossing which raised nearly $25,000.
Previously, Bookham served as the executive director of the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce, and held several positions in the broadcasting industry. In the community, Bookham serves on the boards of the Penobscot Bay YMCA, United Mid Coast Charities, the Strand Theatre, and the Camden Windjammer Festival; and is a member of the PenBay Health Care Strategic Planning Committee and America’s Edge, a nationwide organization advocating for investment in early childhood development and education. Bookham is a graduate of the University of North London and the Midcoast Leadership Academy.
Bookham resides in Rockland with his wife, daughter Scout, and their two dogs, making the most of all the cultural and outdoor activities the Midcoast has to offer.
LifeFlight of Maine is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit air medical and critical care transport organization. LifeFlight helicopters, flying at 165 miles per hour, bring lifesaving critical care staff and equipment directly to the patient. Overseen by 21 physicians, LifeFlight has transported more than 16,000 patients from every hospital and nearly all of Maine’s communities and islands since its inception in 1998. The LifeFlight Foundation, also a 501(c)(3) non-profit established in 2003, provides fundraising and communications support to LifeFlight of Maine. If you would like to learn more about LifeFlight, please visitwww.lifeflightmaine.org or call 207-230-7092.

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Joella Rossignol Earns Safeco Insurance® Award of Excellence for Superior Underwriting Skill

Joella Rossignol

Joella Rossignol

Joella Rossignol has earned the Safeco Insurance Award of Excellence, an honor recognizing superior underwriting skill that is achieved by a select group of agents across the country who sell Safeco Insurance.
“Joella is dedicated to providing the protection our clients need at the right price,” said Mike Pierce, president of Allen Insurance and Financial. “Safeco shares that same dedication, and we are thrilled to be recognized as one of the company’s top agent partners.”
Joella has now earned the Award of Excellence four times. The award honors outstanding agents who have developed a solid underwriting relationship with Safeco and whose agencies have qualified for the Safeco Insurance Premier Partner Award, the company’s top recognition program.
“Outstanding underwriting and strong partnerships benefit everyone in the industry — carriers, agents and customers,” said Debbie Akers, vice president for Safeco’s underwriting field operations. “That’s why Safeco Insurance is proud to honor these top agents with the Award of Excellence, the most prestigious underwriting recognition our independent agent partners can achieve.”
Joella is based in the company’s office at 156 High Street in Belfast. She joined Allen Insurance and Financial in 1999.  Read her bio on our website.
In business since 1923 and based in Boston, Mass., Safeco Insurance sells personal automobile, homeowners and specialty products through a network of more than 10,000 independent insurance agencies throughout the United States. Safeco is a Liberty Mutual Insurance company.
Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2012 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 81st on the Fortune 100 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2012 revenue.
For more information about Safeco Insurance, go to http://www.safeco.com/

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Health and Safety Resources for Sochi Olympics

The U.S. State Department says the Olympics are the first large-scale event to be held in Sochi and medical capacity and infrastructure in the region are untested for handling the volume of visitors expected for the Olympics.  Medical care in many Russian localities differs substantially from Western standards due to differing practices and approaches to primary care.  Travelers should consider purchasing private medical evacuation and/or repatriation insurance.  Click to visit the GeoBlue Sochi portal, a valuable resource.
 

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Weekly Market Update – 1/21/2014

Treasuries moved very little last week, trading within a tight range and finishing the week on the lower end of that range. The small inflation number pushed yields lower, mostly on the longer end of the curve. The yield on the 10-year Treasury ended last week at 2.81 percent but bounced back on Tuesday to as high as 2.86 percent before settling at 2.83 percent later in the morning.
WeeklyMarketSummary_21Jan14

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Supporting Waldo CAP’s Heroes 4 Hunger

Waldo Community Action Partners recently received a donation from Allen Insurance and Financial, with the funds going to toward WCAP’s Heroes 4 Hunger program, a program rooted in WCAP’s Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday food box projects.
Those holiday projects are still held annually, with Heroes 4 Hunger expanding the agency’s reach to address food insecurity and obesity in Waldo County year-round using various avenues for opportunity, such as community education and advocacy.
The Heroes 4 Hunger program is an excellent fit with Allen Insurance and Financial’s emphasis on employee wellness and wellness programs for the agency’s health insurance clients.
A multi-service agency serving Waldo County since 1965, WCAP is the largest provider of low-cost and free transportation and early childhood education in Waldo County.
Pictured here are, from left, Keith Small, WCAP executive director and Richard Crossman of Allen Insurance and Financial.

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FDIC FInancial Checklist for Consumers

Any time of year, but particularly the start of a new year, is a good time for consumers to reflect on how they are managing their finances and consider some changes. The latest FDIC Consumer News features a checklist of questions and suggestions that can help individuals better meet their goals.
Is it time for your financial checkup? The FDIC newsletter helps consumers get started on a self-examination of their money-management strategies for saving, spending and borrowing, and taking precautions in areas such as avoiding fraud, managing financial records and being properly insured. The first question on the list asks consumers about their short-term and long-term financial goals, which could include, for example, paying off the balance on a credit card, buying a home or financing a child’s college education. With financial goals in mind, people may be more motivated to save for and achieve their objectives.
Taking your money on a trip: Suggestions cover topics such as alternatives to carrying cash (which, if lost or stolen, can’t be replaced), deciding on which credit cards to take, and tips for hiding credit cards and other valuables from thieves who may target travelers.
Five common misconceptions about FDIC insurance … and what the real facts are: For example, some people mistakenly believe that FDIC insurance coverage is based on the type of deposit — for example, that a checking account is insured separately from a certificate of deposit (CD). The truth is that FDIC insurance coverage is based on how much money each depositor has in one of several “ownership categories” at each bank — single accounts, joint accounts, revocable trusts and so on — not on the deposit product itself. Knowing the facts will help consumers make sure all of their deposits are protected.
A bank by any other name may still be insured: Suppose you get an attractive offer of a deposit from an unfamiliar bank but it’s not listed on the FDIC’s database of insured institutions. Does that mean it could be an uninsured bank, or worse, fraudulent? The answer is … maybe or maybe not. One reason is that insured branches and Internet sites can do business using names that don’t match the bank’s official name.
For information on a financial checklist and more, click over to the FDIC newsletter.

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Continuing Education Program Benefits Our Employees and Their Customers

Chris Wilson, ACSRMeesha Luce, ACSR Leann McKusic, ACSR Holly Hill-Coombs, ACSR

Four members of the personal insurance team at  Allen Insurance and Financial recently achieved the designation of Accredited Customer Service Representative from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

 

They are (clockwise, from top left): Chris Wilson, Meesha Luce, Leann McKusic and Holly Hill-Coombs. All are based in the company’s Rockland office.

 

“The ACSR designation shows our people are well-educated members of the insurance industry,” said Scott Carlson, personal insurance team manager. “Holly, Meesha, Leann and Chris are dedicated to improving their technical knowledge and enhancing their professionalism.”

The ACSR designation program was developed to recognize the contribution made to each customer by the service they are provided through independent insurance agencies such as Allen Insurance and Financial.

 

Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents & brokers with more than 300,000 members. Find them online at independentagent.com.

 

Founded in 1866, Allen Insurance and Financial is an employee-owned insurance and financial planning services company with offices in Rockland, Camden, Belfast and Southwest Harbor, Maine. In 2014, the company will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its employee stock ownership plan. 

 

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Holiday Hours: Christmas 2014

Our offices will be closed for Christmas both Tuesday, Dec. 24 and Wednesday, Dec. 25. Our offices will reopen Thursday, Dec. 26 at 8 a.m.
On New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, our offices are closing at 1 p.m. and will reopen Thursday, Jan. 2, at 8 a.m.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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