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Which used cars are safest for teens?

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] The leading cause of death among young drivers in the United States is traffic accidents. Though people between ages 15 and 24 are about 14 percent of the total population, they are involved in more than 28 percent of accidents involving injuries. Those...

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My password: If only I could put my fingers on it

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Hackers can guess 76 percent of the passwords in a data breach according to Agent & Broker magazine. As noted in recent local and national news stories, people always are scratching at your online door to obtain your data either directly or through...

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You don’t have to be a vegan to eat like one

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] I was a middle-aged, balding guy carrying too much weight when my doctor threw the flag on my cholesterol. With his encouragement, I changed to a vegan diet more than a year ago. Though I am not “a vegan”, I made a personal,...

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How to get your parent’s car keys

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] When I was 14, I’d come home from my morning paper route with the family still in bed, quietly take my mom’s car keys out of her purse and proceed to drive our VW bug in first gear around our yard in Portland;...

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The Penetration Test: Trust but verify

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] While you may have procedures for protecting your computers, actual practices may not be the same. You can trust people all you want but, when it involves critical data, you should verify with a penetration test that policies are being followed. Why all...

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What does one drink too many risk?

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] A new law in Maine, LD 1729, brings into focus the lifetime consequences of operating a motor vehicle under the influence (OUI) – particularly for habitual offenders. The new law now looks at a driver’s ten-year record when considering punishment for felony OUI...

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Are you part of the cover up?

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Skin cancer has been called a lifestyle disease attributable to excessive exposure to ultra violet (UV) rays (e.g. sun burns, deep tans, tanning beds, etc.). Think about that, then consider that Maine and New Hampshire have among the highest rates of skin cancer...

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Anatomy of insurance fraud

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] “Hey, Bob, so sorry to hear about the fire.” Bob replies, “Thanks, but it’s not until tomorrow.” If only perpetrators of insurance fraud spent their time being honest, consumers in the United States could save an FBI-estimated $40 billion a year on the cost...

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What the heck? My rental’s not covered?

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] How often have you rented a vehicle and decided not to purchase the Collision or Loss Damage Waiver? For years, it has been suggested that buying insurance at the rental agency is a waste of our money because we’re covered by our personal...

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Before the wheels on the bus go wobble wobble wobble

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] As we age, the wheels on the bus can begin to wobble. If you’re a driver for your business, what happens if one of those wheels falls off, not due to death but because of a disability? The passengers on your bus depend...

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Clark Insurance 2013 Annual Report

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] In the course of a year, we engage in an array of business, civic and charitable activities in ways that give back to our communities and improve our ability to serve our customers. Please enjoy our 2013 Annual Report as it captures who...

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ka-CHING! Cyber crime notification costs a lot

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] “Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have enacted legislation requiring private or government entities to notify individuals of security breaches of information involving personally identifiable information,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Those states...

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AC Units – the same mold story?

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] More and more, residents of the Northeast are learning what those in warmer states have learned over time – air conditioning makes life more comfortable but also adds an element of risk from mold. For that small percentage of people who are hyper-sensitive...

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We only get two, so let’s be foot-friendly

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] As proud bi-peds in a quadra-ped world, our the feet bear the unusual burden of our entire weight yet allow us to walk, hop, skip, jump and run through life. It’s one of the reasons we need to take care of these two...

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Dog bites can chew you up

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] “Dopey bit someone?!?” Even though he may usually be gentle, that big, slobbering four-legged goofball of a dog actually might have had a bad day, been provoked or had some other reason to sink his teeth into someone’s hand, arm or leg. More...

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Humans cause severe weather? Surprise!

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] It seems that we’re seeing or experiencing more frequent and severe weather events; and fingers are being pointed toward human activities (anthropogenic warming) as a contributing factor. Because of the human and economic devastation caused by severe weather, it is our nature to...

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Happy 50th, now go get screened

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Unless you have had reason to be inducted to the ranks of colonoscopy veterans at an early age, most adults don’t worry about such things until their 50th birthday. What a great way to start the second half century of life! There is...

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It’s not a matter of “if”…

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] During my brother’s respectable forty one years as a Maine banker, he weighed the odds of making loans. He did his home work on the risks facing businesses of every kind, understood the data and researched not just the trends of the industry,...

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Bikes are back so share the road – again

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Bikes are back on the road in greater numbers with some of the worst road surface conditions in recent memory due to our hard winter. Swerving around potholes and debris, cyclists and drivers are likely to be in dangerous conflict but the law...

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Aspire higher to reduce your risk

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] It is estimated that in Maine, more than 200,000 people have “some college” education but have not yet attained their associate’s or bachelor’s degrees. In New Hampshire, there are approximately 146,000 people in the same boat. Yet, census data says people who have...

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