Standard-Speaker from Hazleton, Pennsylvania • Page 22

Inspect home insurance policy yearly typically want to minimize the number of small "nuisance" claims they must process. "Take the largest deductible you think you can manage," says Grace Weinstein in her Lifetime Book of Money Management. "Put your insurance dollars to work against the catastrophic situation, the situation that could impoverish you and your family." Example: Use the premium money saved with an increased deductible to buy extra liability coverage. The policy checkup can also specifically look at ways you might get a premium reduction, perhaps at little or no cost to you. Does the insurer offer discounts for consecutive years with the same policy, or for people who also buy other types of insurance from the same company? Would installation of new security devices or systems, or more smoke detectors, qualify you for a lower premium? Has a new fire hydrant been installed in front of your house, or has some important hazard been removed or diminished? For that matter, is all the background information provided to the insurer correct? Says Schwartzberg: "To ensure the proper premium, the accuracy of the information on which the premium is based is crucial." annual inflation adjustments in the amount of insurance.

"Even with an inflation guard in place," says Schwartzberg, "you should remain vigilant because outside factors, such as improvements to the house or changing construction costs, could cause the replacement cost to rise faster than the automatic increases built into the policy." At the same time, you can check how your policy covers any individual items of great value you own, such as works of art, jewelry or some other family heirlooms. Often, these items need special coverage over and above your basic policy if you want to protect their full value. But the question of any additional insurance is by no means the only subject of the annual checkup. You also may look to see whether you can save any money on premiums, and whether the dollars you spend are doing the job as efficiently as possible. One common way to save is to increase the deductible amount before coverage kicks in.

This will most likely mean that you must bear the risks of small losses yourself. But that may not disturb you if you view the purpose of insurance as protection against disaster, rather than every mishap that may occur. The premium savings can be significant, since insurance companies By CHET CURRIER AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) If you're a homeowner in the habit of giving your property a thorough once-a-year inspection, financial advisers urge you not to overlook the insurance policy. Just as you check the roof for leaks and the foundation for cracks, the experts say it is wise to review your insurance coverage to see whether it has any holes in it. "A home and its contents often represent a major component of a client's net worth," says Murray Schwartzberg, technical manager in the personal financial planning division of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

"Suffering a major financial loss because the homeowner's policy has not been brought up to date could destroy years of sound financial planning." One obvious point to review is whether you have enough coverage. With inflation, the cost of replacing the property may have risen substantially even if its value in the resale market hasn't. So advisers recommend that you consider, if you don't already have it, insurance providing replacement cost coverage, as well as automatic 7T7 Standard Speaker I ONSUMERUTOOD WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1995 Page 22 The Supermarket Shopper caused by super-size carts: Dear Martin Any woman who has children can tell you that pregnancy and big shopping carts are highly incompatible! I recall being eight months pregnant: I had to stand parallel to the side of the cart to put the groceries into and it was a nuisance. My next idea was to pile items on the child's seat This strategy only lasted a few aisles. Even worse was trying to get those groceries out! There was too much baby between me and the bottom of the cart to reach everything.

I had to back up to the end of the belt and walk around the cart. I encourage all supermarket chains to consider expecting moms and have a few smaller carts. Rebecca Barnes, Hampton, Va. Dear Martin I am 5 foot 4 inches and was seven months pregnant with my second child when I went to a Finast store for groceries. My daughter was two at the time, so she sat in the little seat at the back of the cart.

When I got to the checkout, I started to unload my cart onto the conveyor belt. As I neared the items at the bottom of the cart, I could not reach them. I tried turn I recently published a letter from a reader who told of being injured as a result of being forced to lean over a super-size shopping cart to retrieve the last items at the bottom of the cart. Frankly, I have been surprised by the number of letters I have received from readers concerning their feelings about those super-large supermarket shopping carts. I think supermarket operators should listen carefully to what they have to say: Dear Martin Super-sized shopping carts are my pet peeve.

There is no way that a senior citizen can come close to filling one of these monsters. And if you are under 5 foot 2 like me, you can hardly see over the topi Nora Morelli, Leetonia, Ohio Dear Martin I am 5 foot 2 and I have always found it difficult to reach articles in the bottom of those very big shopping carts. I recently had surgery and leaning into the deep shopping cart this last trip to the supermarket was especially difficult. I think store owners should offer us a choice of a smaller-size cart. Mary Martin, So.

Easton, Ma. The next two letters revealed another aspect of the problems ing sideways to move my belly out of the way. It did not help. I wanted to go to the side of the cart to reach in. But the candy racks prevented me from passing.

I finally had everyone in the checkout line behind me back up so I could get to the front of the cart. I then took my daughter out of the cart seat and put her down into the basket of the cart and she finally handed me the cans of soup from the depths of this huge cart For the next few months, I drove a little further and shopped at a supermarket with smaller carts. Kathy in Ohio In considering a request that a supermarket purchase and maintain two different-size shopping carts, it should be recognized that this creates several important issues for the supermarket operator. Obviously, the two different-size carts will not nest together. This means they can't be stored in the same area.

It would be too confusing and frustrating for consumers. This extra space may not be available. Taking care of two different size carts will require more labor. They would have to be rounded up separately. That costs the supermarkets money.

The extra cost will be balanced against a desire to accommodate those customers who, like my readers, are inconvenienced by the super-size carts. Do these shoppers deserve a better class of service represented by offering them a choice of carts? Absolutely- I enjoy my "Lion King" watch so I can understand the disappointment of my reader Martha Ferrall of Martinez, who wrote to tell me that as of the end of March she had not received hers. Martha had ordered it from Kodak last September and her check had been prv. mptly cashed, but over the many months she had heard nothing. I was surprised.

Kodak usually does better than this. I called Kodak and was informed by a representative that the offer had produced a "huge response." In fact, many of the orders were still waiting to be filled, and I was told that Kodak has been communicating with its customers. Why was it that my reader had heard nothing? A second call, this time to Kodak's fulfillment agency got to the heart of the matter. A watch had been sent to Martha Ferrall, but to the wrong address. The fulfillment agent promised to have a "Lion King" watch sent immediately.

I was told that a new shipment of watches will probably com plete the fulfillment of all orders. So those who have been waiting patiently should receive their watch by the end of June. If you would like to check on the status of your order, call Kodak's fulfillment agent, toll-free at 1-800-723-8818. General Electric has several different offers on specially marked packages of soft-white light bulbs. There is a specially priced double-pack with a bonus mail-in rebate.

In another store I found a free night light with a double pack. If you have become a collector of long distance prepaid cards, as so many of my refunding friends have, look for padded mail-in forms with this offer: Long-Distance Calling Card Offer. Receive free longdistance calling card, with 10 minutes free of long distance calling time. With the required form you will have to send the Universal Product Codes cut out from the following GE Lighting products: four Universal Product Codes cut from GE Soft White or Soft White Miser four-packs or three-ways (mixed or matched); or two Universal Product Codes from GE Indoor or Outdoor Floodlights or Spotlights (mixed or matched). Please note that this offer has a limit of two.

It expires Sept. 30, 1995. Jimmy Dean has a specially marked package of chicken biscuits on the refrigerated shelves offering $3 worth of Jimmy Dean coupons inside. That is all it says. If you see these boxes, you should know that you will have to use the coupons soon because the expiration date is June 30, 1995.

There are eight coupons four offering 25 cents off single products, and four 50-cent coupons that require the purchase of two packages. If your supermarket offers double coupons and occasionally runs sales on Jimmy Dean products, this is a real money-saving opportunity. Send questions and comments to Martin Sloane in care of this newspaper. The volume of mail precludes individual replies to every letter, but Martin Sloane will respond to letters of general interest in the column. RECIPE CONTEST MIAMI (AP) The "State of Dessert" is a national recipe contest sponsored by Martini Rossi.

To enter, home cooks must use an "official" food from then-state in an original dessert recipe. In New York, for example, its apples; in Georgia, peaches; in Massachusetts, cranberries. Each state's official, food is printed on the contest rules. The grand-prize winner will receive $1,000. Second- and third-place winners will each receive $500.

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