Theodore & Associates
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Team
    • History
    • Summerville office
    • Why an Independent Agent?
    • Featured Carriers
    • Trusted Choice® Pledge of Performance
    • Introducing Health, Life & Employee Benefits
    • Our Columbia Office Has Moved!
    • Midlands Green Business
    • Referral Program
  • REQUEST A QUOTE
  • INSURANCE
    • Vehicle Insurance >
      • Auto Insurance
      • Motorcycle Insurance
      • Classic Car Insurance
      • Boat & Watercraft Insurance
      • Motorsport & ATV Insurance
      • RV and Mobile Home Insurance
    • Property Insurance >
      • Homeowners Insurance >
        • How Much Home Insurance is Enough?
      • Renters Insurance
      • Condo Insurance
      • Landlord Protection
      • Flood Insurance
      • Earthquake Insurance
      • Personal Umbrella Insurance
      • Pet Insurance
      • Home Warranty
    • Business Insurance >
      • Condominium Homeowners Association Insurance
      • Cyber Liability Insurance
      • Business Owners Insurance
      • Commercial Property Insurance
      • Commercial Umbrella Insurance
      • General Liability Insurance
      • Commercial Auto Insurance
      • Workers' Compensation Insurance
      • Surety Bonds
      • Specialty Insurance
    • Health, Life & Employee Benefits Insurance >
      • Individuals >
        • Health Insurance
        • Short Term Health Insurance
        • Dental Insurance
        • Vision Insurance
        • Life Insurance >
          • How Much Life Insurance is Enough?
        • Disability
      • Employers >
        • Group Health Insurance
        • Group Dental Insurance
        • Group Vision Insurance
        • Group Life Insurance
        • Group Disability Insurance
        • 401(k)
        • Worksite Marketing Plans
      • Seniors
    • Insurance FAQs
    • Insurance Tips
  • ONLINE SERVICES
    • Manage My Account
    • Report a Claim
    • Applications
    • Customer Reviews
    • Social Media
    • Blog
    • Flood Claim Information
    • Helpful Links
  • CONTACT
COLUMBIA:803.799.9979 SUMMERVILLE:843.871.3950
THEODORE THURSDAYS
blog

How to Choose the Right Life Jacket

7/25/2019

0 Comments

 
​You can lower your risk of drowning by wearing a life jacket — but it can’t be just any life jacket. To truly be effective, a life jacket needs to be the right type and fit correctly.

You probably know you should wear a life jacket when you’re on the water, and you probably know it’s important for kids to wear one, too. (For kids, life jackets typically are required by state law; in states with no law, the U.S. Coast Guard requires anyone under the age of 13 on a moving boat to have one.)

But do you know just how important it is? According to the Coast Guard, drowning causes more than 70% of boating deaths — and more than 80% of victims are found without a life jacket.

Even wearing a life jacket won’t do much good if it doesn’t fit correctly, though. So how do you choose the right one? Here are some tips from experts with the Coast Guard and the U.S. Marine Corps.
​
First, choose the right type for your activities. Gone are the days when all life jackets were just those bulky orange vests you might remember from your childhood. There are different types for all kinds of activities now — including recreational boating, paddle sports such as kayaking or canoeing, even hunting and fishing. Some life jackets have auto-inflation features, so they can be worn more comfortably but still provide protection if someone falls into the water.
  • For recreational boating, vest-type jackets are best, according to the Marines, particularly in calm, inland waters where help isn’t far away.
  • If you’re going to be in rough water, or further out from shore, an offshore life jacket is better, because it’s more buoyant. Some models are even designed to help prevent hypothermia.
  • For activities on the water, such as waterskiing, kayaking, etc., specially designed life jackets provide additional range of motion.

Then, make sure everyone has a jacket that fits properly. According to the Coast Guard, if a life jacket is too big, it won’t keep your head above the water. And if it’s too small, it might not have the buoyancy required to keep your body afloat. Remember, a life jacket sized for an adult will not work for a child. Here’s how to get the best fit.
  • Check the manufacturer’s label for size and weight guidelines.
  • Fasten the jacket correctly, then hold your arms straight over your head.
  • Ask a friend to pull up on the jacket, holding the tops of the arm openings.
  • If there is excess room above the openings, or the jacket rides up over your chin, it’s too big.
  • It’s a good idea to try the life jacket in shallow water before taking it out for activities.

Don’t forget about your pets. Even dogs that are strong swimmers can struggle in open water or get fatigued. So if you’ve got a dog coming with you on the water, the American Kennel Club recommends a life jacket for them, too! Available at pet stores and online, options include vests, which make it easier to swim, and jackets, which provide more buoyancy.

Remember, nobody expects to be in an accident on the water — and if you think you’ll have time to just throw a life jacket on when something bad happens, think again. In most cases of boating-related drowning, the Coast Guard says, life jackets were stowed on board but not worn by victims.

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors by getting out on the water. But no matter what activity you choose, make sure you choose safety — find the right life jacket and wear it!

Reposted with permission from the original author, Safeco Insurance®.
0 Comments

    Archives

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018

    Categories

    All
    Absense
    Act
    Adult
    Agency
    Agent
    Aggresive
    Air
    Alarms
    Alcohol
    Appearance
    Appliances
    Appraisal
    Auto
    Automatic
    Automobile
    Autumn
    Awareness
    Barn
    Batteries
    Beach
    Benefits
    Bicycle
    Bike
    Biking
    Bill
    Bite
    Boat
    Boating
    Bracelet
    Building
    Burn
    Business
    Buy
    Buying
    Cancellation
    Car
    Carbon Monoxide
    Cars
    Carshare
    Celebrate
    Child
    Christmas
    Claim
    Claims
    CO
    Cold
    Commercial
    Common
    Commute
    Company
    Comprehensive
    Computer
    Coping
    Cost
    Coverage
    Covered
    Create
    Creek
    Cyber
    Cyber Liability
    Cybersecurity
    Dad
    Damage
    Dark
    Deadline
    Death
    Decay
    Deductible
    Definitions
    Destruction
    Diamond
    Disability
    Disability Insurance
    Discounts
    Dog
    Drive
    Driver
    Driverless
    Driving
    Earthquake
    Easy
    Emergency
    Employee
    Employer
    Enrollment
    Event
    Exterior
    Facts
    Fall
    Falling
    Family
    Father
    Father's Day
    Faucet
    Financial
    Find
    Fire
    Fire Department
    Fixes
    Flame
    Flameable
    Flames
    Flashlight
    Flood
    Flooding
    Food
    Football
    Freeze
    Freezing
    Fryer
    Furnishings
    Future
    Garage
    Gas
    Gear
    Gift
    Glossery
    Group
    Health
    Healthy
    Heat
    History
    Holiday
    Holidays
    Home
    Homeowners
    Hot
    House
    Hurricane
    Ice
    Illness
    Improvement
    Income
    Increase
    Indemnity
    Independent
    Individual
    Inexpensive
    Innovation
    Inspect
    Inspection
    Insurance
    Interior
    Internet
    Inventory
    Jewelry
    Kid
    Kit
    Kitchen
    Lake
    Liability
    Life
    Life Insurance
    Life Jacket
    Lightning
    Lights
    Local
    Long Term
    Long-term
    Loss
    Lower
    Maintenance
    Materials
    Medical
    Misconceptions
    Misunderstanding
    Money
    Motorcycle
    Natural Disaster
    Necklace
    Night
    Nighttime
    Ocean
    Online
    Open
    Oven
    Party
    Pay
    Pedestrian
    Peril
    Period
    Personal
    Pet
    Plan
    Poison
    Policy
    Pool
    Porch
    Possessions
    Power
    Premium
    Prepare
    Presents
    Prevent
    Prevention
    Property
    Protect
    Protected
    Protection
    Purchase
    Rain
    Rate
    Resistant
    Ride
    Rideshare
    Ring
    Risk
    River
    Safe
    Safety
    Satisfaction
    Save
    Security
    Service
    Share
    Sharing
    Shed
    Shop
    Short Term
    Short-term
    Sleet
    Slow
    Small
    Snow
    Special
    Special Event
    Species
    Spring
    Storm
    Summer
    Sun
    Supplies
    Survival
    Swim
    Tailgating
    Temperatures
    Term
    Terms
    Thankful
    Thanksgiving
    Thunder
    Tips
    Tornado
    Tradition
    Tree
    Trees
    Turkey
    Umbrella
    Underinsured
    Underwriter
    Uninsured
    Unsafe
    Upright
    Visible
    Warm
    Warmer
    Warning
    Watch
    Water
    Watercraft
    Weather
    Website
    Wedding
    Wheels
    WiFi
    Wind
    Winter
    Work

Columbia
3020 Devine Street
Columbia, SC
​29205
803.799.9979
Summerville
204 N. Gum Street
Summerville, SC 29483
843.871.3950
Home
About
​
​Contact
Request a Quote
​Insurance
Online Services
Picture
© 2018. THEODORE & ASSOCIATES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Team
    • History
    • Summerville office
    • Why an Independent Agent?
    • Featured Carriers
    • Trusted Choice® Pledge of Performance
    • Introducing Health, Life & Employee Benefits
    • Our Columbia Office Has Moved!
    • Midlands Green Business
    • Referral Program
  • REQUEST A QUOTE
  • INSURANCE
    • Vehicle Insurance >
      • Auto Insurance
      • Motorcycle Insurance
      • Classic Car Insurance
      • Boat & Watercraft Insurance
      • Motorsport & ATV Insurance
      • RV and Mobile Home Insurance
    • Property Insurance >
      • Homeowners Insurance >
        • How Much Home Insurance is Enough?
      • Renters Insurance
      • Condo Insurance
      • Landlord Protection
      • Flood Insurance
      • Earthquake Insurance
      • Personal Umbrella Insurance
      • Pet Insurance
      • Home Warranty
    • Business Insurance >
      • Condominium Homeowners Association Insurance
      • Cyber Liability Insurance
      • Business Owners Insurance
      • Commercial Property Insurance
      • Commercial Umbrella Insurance
      • General Liability Insurance
      • Commercial Auto Insurance
      • Workers' Compensation Insurance
      • Surety Bonds
      • Specialty Insurance
    • Health, Life & Employee Benefits Insurance >
      • Individuals >
        • Health Insurance
        • Short Term Health Insurance
        • Dental Insurance
        • Vision Insurance
        • Life Insurance >
          • How Much Life Insurance is Enough?
        • Disability
      • Employers >
        • Group Health Insurance
        • Group Dental Insurance
        • Group Vision Insurance
        • Group Life Insurance
        • Group Disability Insurance
        • 401(k)
        • Worksite Marketing Plans
      • Seniors
    • Insurance FAQs
    • Insurance Tips
  • ONLINE SERVICES
    • Manage My Account
    • Report a Claim
    • Applications
    • Customer Reviews
    • Social Media
    • Blog
    • Flood Claim Information
    • Helpful Links
  • CONTACT