I didn't know about a St. Patrick's Day planting schedule for other plants, but both my grandfather and my father always planted potatoes as close to St. Patrick's Day as possible. Of course you must take into account the weather and soil conditions. I watch the 10 day weather forecast closely, and plant accordingly. For instance, seeing that we have several above average temperatures ahead during the next ten days, AND the forecast for rain today, I spent a lot of time in the garden preparing beds for seeding, then planted my first batch of onions and potatoes yesterday (March 13). I also planted a new Red Blaze Climbing Rose. It seems that if the soil becomes saturated and cold weather returns, you can often miss out on optimal planting dates. Right now, my peonies are sprouting up to about 6 inches and my lilacs are full of unopened buds. Another thing I watch for is the leafing of Oak trees- I feel more comfortable in planting warmer weather crops when the Oaks tell me that warm weather has arrived. Ron Z

I didn't check with my insurance company, but the reason we installed the system was for security, not for the discount. I was, however, still disappointed when I found out how little the discount was. I suspect that the security firms are probably inflating this number to make their service more attractive to people who are on the fence.

Boy that's an open ended question. Start with insuring the structure. You'll need basic info on the house, but also the square footage and the year built. Most companies seem to have a real bend on limited electric power (60 amp is bad) and fuses. Could be very different in your neck of the woods...I'm in CT. With the house info your agent will determine an estimated replacement number. Make sure you ask EVERY company how much additional replacement they offer. It can vary from nothing over the face amount up to an unlimited amount of coverage (ie: if the house were insured for 200K and it actually cost $750k to rebuild exact same house they would pay all $750K). Most companies in the last 5 years have limited replacment to somewhere between 120% and 150%. I'd go with a maximum amount I could find...especially in AK, where everything is expensive (from what I hear). You might pay a little more, but I think it's worth it. Replacement on Contents is also very important. Basically it says the insurance company will pay you the amount you spend to replace a lost item...not a depreciated amount. Example, with replacement your 20 year old fridge is lost in a fire. If you go buy the exact same fridge, the insurance pays you the full price. Without replacement, the insurer hands you $50 as that's about what a 20 year old fridge is worth. You'll pay a slight increase in premium for this, but you'd be NUTS not to get it!! Liability...buy as much as you can afford! Most policies come with $100,000 standard and you can add up to $500,000 for a modest increase (around $50/year). If you have your home and auto with the same company (which you should definitely do to maximize discounts) you could also get an umbrella policy. An umbrella is simply extra liability, usually in million dollar increments. There's always some deadbeat looking for a free ride, so you need to protect your biggest asset at all times. Most don't carry them, but I'm writing more and more every day. Deductibles...check either $500 or $1000. You'll save a substantial amount going from 500 to 1000. I don't find going over 1000 to make much sense. If you can save $200/yr from 500 to 1000, then in 2 1/2 years time you've saved the increase in deductible. If you save the same $200 going from 1000 to 2000, you've just doubled how long it will take you to "save back" the increased deductible. Check a couple of 2000 deductibles and you'll see what I'm saying. Flood Insurance...don't bother unless you're in a flood zone. Your bank will be the first to enlighten you if you are. Flood insurance isn't cheap. Most importantly, FEMA is the only horse in the barn when it comes to flood insurance. The reason I say that, is if you don't meet their definition of a flood then they don't pay. Translation, if your basement floods in a heavy rain, but your neighbors doesn't they don't pay. I believe their definition of flood has to do with an affected area having to be a certain number of houses or acreage. If not,then no flood. I've got to bail...sorry. I will check this again tomorrow to see if I've missed anything. In case you're wondering, I've been writing house insurance for almost 20 years.

Keep shopping then. Most preferred companies allow up to 5 days with no prior insurance. Is the surcharge with you for the first term or will it continue and for how long? I always encourage my new business to wait to cancel until they have my policy and are pleased. There is never any reason to jump on a cancellation of a policy until you have proof you are covered elsewhere. Binders are not necessarily what you will want either. A binder shows proof of coverage but the underwriting isn't complete and rates could change. Policy on the other hand is complete for that term. A policy cancellation can be backdated, a good insurance company will generally ask for proof you are covered.