Well as we read, watch, and listen to the politicians about Health Care Reform we get more and more confused. One of the biggest problems is that they never have fixed Medicare and if you know anything about health insurance that is how all health care facilities set there billing schedules. So why do they keep wanting to add more to their plate when they haven't finished what they had? Medicare Part D is a mess as well and now they are taking away Private Fee For Service? I don't know it is really hard to see how people that don't deal with health insurance on a daily basis are put in charge of making decisions for the rest of us. Of the 4 candidates or current politicians I have talked to they still really don't even know what I am talking about when I start going into detail of the problem? Oh well all I can say is to make sure and confront your local politician state and federal about what they really know if they don't know tell them to find out!
The other part to this whole thing that is so funny is that they are trying to get the poor and middle class to belive this will save them money. Ok read closly because this is short and simple. They go to government run health care, then they have to rasie taxes to pay for it because it starts to bankrupt the country "like medicare", then the business that are taxed have to raise the cost of their goods and services to the middle class or poor, they end up paying for the increased cost of health care anyway. The other thing they try to talk about the big bad insurance companies who will just end up selling everyone a supplement policy for the government run healthcare plan that is so horrible "like Medicare" that they can't pay the out of pocket cost. Really we end up right back were we are now but end up putting a huge finacial burden on our children and thier children to come? Doesnt make much sense does it?
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Pitt Falls of Insurance in a Small Business
Insurance in a small business can be as important as the owner, the key employee, or the profits it brings in. When I sit down with my clients for reviews we always look at the past year and then what is to come in the next year. So many times the issue of cost of coverage is the first thing the client wants to discuss especially in the current economy. In this post though I want to cover liability, property, loss of income, workers compensation, and the effect it can have on your business.
Let’s start with Liability and how important it is. Most of new or small business owners take this coverage for granted in the fact that they don’t understand what this will do for them. Liability is the coverage that will defend you or pay for most type of situations that you can get into from your type of risk. Just think about this, a customer or person you provide service for doesn’t like what you have done for them or you do something more to them. Without liability coverage your business is exposed or your assets are exposed to the out of pocket defense cost you might face or the out of pocket claims you would have to pay. So the advantages as you can see will definitely out weigh the cost of any coverage.
Property can come in the form of contents, buildings, equipment, or inventory. These things cannot be taken for granted as these are the things that give your business value. Imagine a fire, theft, tornado, and or yes even an earthquake. Without properly scheduled coverage’s on your commercial insurance policy you could be left at ground zero. Now how many of you want to start all over again or have the funds to totally replace these items all at once? Property coverage is protecting what you have worked hard to create.
Loss of income is one of the most confusing policy coverage’s I think there is to explain. This type of coverage is put in place in order to make sure you have money to relocate, buy additional tools to make your situation better, hire temporary employees, rent a temporary location, and the biggest thing to replace any lost sales or revenue you are facing due to a situation out of your control. The hardest part to watch with this coverage is to make sure when setting it up you buy enough coverage to actually cover the loss. It can be expensive but believe me when it comes time to use it you will be glad it is there.
Workers Compensation is mandated differently from state to state so when purchasing it always make sure your agent knows the state laws. This coverage again will protect your business to the point if you don’t have it and your employee gets injured on the job it is up to you to pay. Some states allow you to pay claims up to a certain amount so that it doesn’t affect your policy loss ratio and increase your premiums so always look for that. Some states do not make you have coverage unless you have a certain amount of employees or are in a certain classification such as a contractor. Workers compensation I have found can create some the highest paid claims a business can see as the claim can continue for many years until the employee is either considered healed or decide to make a settlement with the insurance company.
The effect of not having these coverage’s are obvious. The problem I have faced over the last 10 years as an insurance agent is that until a business has one of these claims they have a hard time justifying the expense. This kind of thinking usually ends in too little too late. So remember you spend time with your banker and accountant annually looking at your financial status but spending time with your insurance agent will be just as important.
Let’s start with Liability and how important it is. Most of new or small business owners take this coverage for granted in the fact that they don’t understand what this will do for them. Liability is the coverage that will defend you or pay for most type of situations that you can get into from your type of risk. Just think about this, a customer or person you provide service for doesn’t like what you have done for them or you do something more to them. Without liability coverage your business is exposed or your assets are exposed to the out of pocket defense cost you might face or the out of pocket claims you would have to pay. So the advantages as you can see will definitely out weigh the cost of any coverage.
Property can come in the form of contents, buildings, equipment, or inventory. These things cannot be taken for granted as these are the things that give your business value. Imagine a fire, theft, tornado, and or yes even an earthquake. Without properly scheduled coverage’s on your commercial insurance policy you could be left at ground zero. Now how many of you want to start all over again or have the funds to totally replace these items all at once? Property coverage is protecting what you have worked hard to create.
Loss of income is one of the most confusing policy coverage’s I think there is to explain. This type of coverage is put in place in order to make sure you have money to relocate, buy additional tools to make your situation better, hire temporary employees, rent a temporary location, and the biggest thing to replace any lost sales or revenue you are facing due to a situation out of your control. The hardest part to watch with this coverage is to make sure when setting it up you buy enough coverage to actually cover the loss. It can be expensive but believe me when it comes time to use it you will be glad it is there.
Workers Compensation is mandated differently from state to state so when purchasing it always make sure your agent knows the state laws. This coverage again will protect your business to the point if you don’t have it and your employee gets injured on the job it is up to you to pay. Some states allow you to pay claims up to a certain amount so that it doesn’t affect your policy loss ratio and increase your premiums so always look for that. Some states do not make you have coverage unless you have a certain amount of employees or are in a certain classification such as a contractor. Workers compensation I have found can create some the highest paid claims a business can see as the claim can continue for many years until the employee is either considered healed or decide to make a settlement with the insurance company.
The effect of not having these coverage’s are obvious. The problem I have faced over the last 10 years as an insurance agent is that until a business has one of these claims they have a hard time justifying the expense. This kind of thinking usually ends in too little too late. So remember you spend time with your banker and accountant annually looking at your financial status but spending time with your insurance agent will be just as important.
Customer Service No Questions Asked
I am not one to write letters to the paper but I want to give credit where credit is due. Because of working long hours before leaving on every vacation I sometimes forget a few things when it comes to my trip planning. When faced with a situation that seemed impossible and would most likely affect our whole vacation I only had one option. I called my local banker and asked a favor that would usually get a laugh out of most bank management and a quick I don’t think so. Not this time though, I never got a putdown or a cross word at all. What I got was understanding and an immediate solution. The solution wasn’t easy for him or others he had to involve and after talking with someone on my trip that did the same thing but was not offered a fix which caused them to shorten their trip I realize how fortunate I really was. Everything seemed to work out even though things were close but I put my faith in someone that I have always looked up to and for some reason I was oddly calm right up to running to the plane and boarding at the last minute. In a culture where most people are out for themselves, I was part of a selfless act and it will stay with me as local business owner and encourage me to do the same for my customers as well. Thanks Brad!
Sincerely,
Paul W. Long
Sincerely,
Paul W. Long
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The Need for Life Insurance in Business
Life insurance what can I say. It is one of the most under sold products in a business policy package. Most business people don’t know or don’t want to except the fact that they have a chance to leave this world before all of their business dreams and goals are complete and because of this a lot of business go out as there are no funds to continue when the owner or key person passes on.
In this fast pace world of bidding business policies for the best rate and hopefully the best coverage a lot of P&C agents pass up the life sale because of trying to save premium or they just don’t know anything about life insurance. So with this fact the first thing a business owner can do when choosing an agent or looking for someone to quote their business is look for and agent that sells multiple lines of insurance. This in a lot of cases can also save the business money as many P&C companies also have life insurance departments and will discount the P&C business if a life or disability product is purchased. Now what business person would not want to have something for nothing or even more coverage for a much smaller price to go along with the coverages they are already purchasing?
When it comes to life insurance everyone needs at least a little term on the Key person or owner to cover loss of time or to bring in someone experienced enough to handle the business from the get go. But as businesses grow they also need to look long term and can get some tax breaks for certain kinds of life insurance policies that they buy on the individuals. This kind of problem needs to be reviewed annually just like the liability, auto, property, and work comp policies especially if the business is in a heavy growth mode.
I recently wrote a policy for one of my large customers that was a very structured policy and took us several months to determine the amounts and ways to put it together. In the end the customer had a permanent life insurance policy that he was only paying a reduced premiums on and will take a tax deduction of around 30% on those premiums. If he stays with the policy for at least 5 years and the policy interest rate stays just at the minimum he will still have more cash value than what he put in so that in turn is an asset to the business or if done properly can be a tax free benefit to his heirs.
I don’t want to get you in over your head by reading this article to the point that you want to run down to your local State Farm or Allstate agent to get something like these policies I am talking about. What I am trying to help you with is tell you when it comes to writing your business policies make sure to find an agent that can handle ALL of the needs of your business or who has the connection to give you a FULL review of your situation. In the end remember that you are as valuable as your buildings, contents, or workers so don’t forget to protect the value of YOU!
In this fast pace world of bidding business policies for the best rate and hopefully the best coverage a lot of P&C agents pass up the life sale because of trying to save premium or they just don’t know anything about life insurance. So with this fact the first thing a business owner can do when choosing an agent or looking for someone to quote their business is look for and agent that sells multiple lines of insurance. This in a lot of cases can also save the business money as many P&C companies also have life insurance departments and will discount the P&C business if a life or disability product is purchased. Now what business person would not want to have something for nothing or even more coverage for a much smaller price to go along with the coverages they are already purchasing?
When it comes to life insurance everyone needs at least a little term on the Key person or owner to cover loss of time or to bring in someone experienced enough to handle the business from the get go. But as businesses grow they also need to look long term and can get some tax breaks for certain kinds of life insurance policies that they buy on the individuals. This kind of problem needs to be reviewed annually just like the liability, auto, property, and work comp policies especially if the business is in a heavy growth mode.
I recently wrote a policy for one of my large customers that was a very structured policy and took us several months to determine the amounts and ways to put it together. In the end the customer had a permanent life insurance policy that he was only paying a reduced premiums on and will take a tax deduction of around 30% on those premiums. If he stays with the policy for at least 5 years and the policy interest rate stays just at the minimum he will still have more cash value than what he put in so that in turn is an asset to the business or if done properly can be a tax free benefit to his heirs.
I don’t want to get you in over your head by reading this article to the point that you want to run down to your local State Farm or Allstate agent to get something like these policies I am talking about. What I am trying to help you with is tell you when it comes to writing your business policies make sure to find an agent that can handle ALL of the needs of your business or who has the connection to give you a FULL review of your situation. In the end remember that you are as valuable as your buildings, contents, or workers so don’t forget to protect the value of YOU!
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