American Insurance Services Agency Blog

Summer is here with temperatures reaching the high 90’s this week. This past Tuesday record breaking temperatures scored over the New Jersey area, with some counties reaching over 100 degrees!

Around 1,500 passengers were stranded for more than an hour on Tuesday on the NJ Transit from New York to Trenton due to cancelations and delays due to heat related issues. Morris and Essex Line and the Main/Bergen/Port Jervis Line were the train lines affected from the heat issues and NJ Transit plans to make up for the delays with adding some local stops to changing schedules this week.

If we thought the heat could not cause any more damage, more than 6,500 PSE & G customers are still without power as of Wednesday morning due to the massive electricity peak that occurred around 5 p.m. on Tuesday evening. The demand on Tuesday was just short of a record made in early August of 2006. As the heat rises so does the temperatures of air conditioners on businesses and residential properties.  At one point over 14,000 were without power in the areas including Elizabeth, Jersey City, Newark, Little Falls, Ridgewood and Elmwood Park. If you are a PSE & G customer, make sure you follow some of their tips in the case that you lose power:

·         Turn off major appliances

·         Have a battery powered radio and flashlight handy.

·         If you lose power, first check your fuse and/or circuit breaker box and main breaker if appropriate. If that is not the problem, and your neighbors also have no power, call PSE&G at 1-800-436 7734.

·         If your fuse or breakers are in a flooded area, do not go near them until the water recedes or is removed.

·         Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed. An unopened refrigerator will keep foods cold enough for a few hours. A freezer that is half full will hold food safely for up to 24 hours and a full freezer for 48 hours.

What if this happened to your business? Are you prepared for potential data loss, technology breakdowns or an inability to access computer systems?

Depending on the nature of your business, it may require additional New Jersey liability or umbrella insurance not offered in general business policies. Professionals are expected to have extensive technical knowledge or training in their particular area of expertise.