Have you noticed the popularity of fire pits here in the Mohawk Valley? So many people enjoying a few beverages around the glowing blaze. You can easily buy inexpensive “bowls” to enjoy in the backyard. Many people are installing sophisticated stone enclosures that are permanent fixtures. Are you thinking of buying or installing a fire […]
July 12, 2016
What a beautiful 4th of July weekend we just had! Let’s hope the great weather lasts for all of us golfers, boaters, and swimmers here in Central New York. And if it does, we’ll be turning on our room or central air conditioners. So this is a good time for some tips on home cooling. […]
July 5, 2016
Is there a funnier scene than the one in Chevy Chase’s classic movie, European Vacation, where he and his family are stuck in a London roundabout and can’t get out? For the eightieth time around while his family is passed out from going in circles all day, he points, “Look kids, it’s Big Ben, Parliament.” […]
June 28, 2016
Gas prices are down so we’re looking for lots of folks to hit the road this summer. They’re either enjoying long distance fun or the ever more popular “staycations” where you visit cool New York State destinations closer to home. We hope you will be getting out there, too. And if you’re traveling the beautiful highways of Central […]
June 21, 2016
Kudos to Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi for calling on Mohawk Valley kids to take part in the Assembly’s Summer Reading Challenge. The theme this year is “On your mark, get set…Read!” The goal: get our children to continue reading all summer. You can find out more about the program here. And many of us at SZW […]
June 14, 2016
Our insurance agency has gotten so thoroughly automated these days that we thought it a good idea to ask a Utica area expert on information assurance to our office. We closed for an hour and asked him to meet with our entire staff. We were interested in his ideas on how we could assess our […]
June 7, 2016
Our customers have less to worry about when it comes to a homeowners insurance claim because we have a full time claims representative on staff. Her name is Cathy LeTray (315.792.1383). She is the person you’ll talk to when you call us after a car accident or loss to your home or business. This makes it much […]
May 31, 2016
A friend of ours told us the other day about his son’s 1950s Remington 16 gauge 870 shotgun. It belonged to his great-grandfather and has been passed down in the family ever since. His son lives in Vermont and loves to shoot skeet in the back of the auto parts yard he works at. This […]
May 24, 2016
That’s right, with an estimated population of about 70,000,000 dogs in this country, it turns out that homeowners insurance carriers are paying millions in dog bite losses every year. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute (III) has the cost per bite at around $37,000! A total of over $571 million was paid out for 15,352 […]
May 17, 2016
Motor vehicle corrosion is a billion-dollar problem in the United States, according to the Federal Highway Administration. And, no wonder. Road salt, tree sap, mud, pollution and even dead bugs and bird poop (just ask the folks in South Utica about the crows!) all contribute to a year-round assault on your vehicle here in the […]
May 10, 2016
