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... for the homeowner. What is the second homeowner to do? Does your personal homeowner's insurance cover these damages? Should you go through your rental websites such as Airbnb or VRBO? These issues can cause a lot of stress for landlords. Many times second homeowners may live far away or even in a different state. Welcome to the what if's of managing a home through the online vacation rental marketplace. When renting out a cabin, you do have insurance options.So many families buy second homes in ski towns like Big Bear Lake, California with the hope of renting them out. Popular online vacation rental companies like Airbnb can make the rental process easy. It may sound like a simple way to produce some extra income. When purchasing that ski cabin amidst the pines of the San Bernardino Mountains many homeowners don't think about what kind of insurance do you need for your short-term rental property? Many second homeowners may not even be aware that companies like Airbnb and HomeAway offer their own insurance policies. Airbnb's Host Protection is here to help I decided to rent out my home through Airbnb a few years back. After months of successfully profiting off of my vacant second home, I had no idea what to do when a guest purposely damaged my home. Should I use my personal homeowner's insurance? Should I contact Airbnb and open a claim? My mountain retreat under the tall Jeffrey Pines near Big Bear Lake was my serene cabin to escape to. I decided to rent it out to skiers and travelers for some extra income one ski season. After my renter moved out, I discovered ...

... ? Some people like the adventure of life and don't want to think about retirement. My mantra is Don't think retirement. Think rehirement! ' We live in a world where the average 65-year-old has another 12-20 years to live. Yet many people in this group have only a few thousand dollars in savings. Keeping the mind and body active and the money flowing in are more important than ever. Retirement suits some people, and to them I say bravo. Others prefer to think of this period as achieving financial independence, which has a nicer ring to it because it suggests choice. The word retire' makes me think of a long goodnight. That said, I'd still suggest that you go through the exercise of thinking about and planning your exit strategy. We spend our entire lives climbing a mountain, often forgetting that we'll have to climb back down eventually. What's your exit strategy? How do you want to climb back down the mountain? Work backward from your exit strategy to see if you're on course. Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth, ' defines the entrepreneur myth' of being your own boss. You have an entrepreneurial seizure and decide that you're going to be your own boss. The problem is that going into business for yourself has a very low long-term success rate. Fewer than 10% of new businesses survive. With so much to do — for which you aren't trained and which you often don't even like doing — you have less time to do what you really want. Planning is a vital element in the success of any business. Some people loathe ...

... delayed any longer. Kindly process it without further delay. The letter didn't work. Each side-carrier vs. employer-became adamant. The carrier demanded payroll records, and the president refused to display them. When the agent spoke to the carrier's claims handler, the conversation went like this: Agent: Strictly speaking, of course, you have the right to go to payroll records, but understand the client's view. Three years ago, you changed your computer software and totally messed up his records, costing the accounting and personnel staffs a lot of time and grief. He wanted to drop you-after all, you provide Life-only and you have lots of competitors-but I advised him to stick it out with you. He was loyal to you. You have ample verification that A.B. was full-time. Why make a mountain out of a molehill? ' Company: Well, as we told him in our letter, we are . . . Agent (interrupting): What letter? I never received a copy of a letter from you. Company: Of course not. We never send copies of correspondence to agents because we deal directly with the insureds. In these matters, it's as if you don't exist. No need to get you involved. [THE FIRST TRAVESTY] Agent (seething): I am to get copies of all correspondence. Now let me speak to your senior claims officer. Agent to claims officer: How dare you adopt a policy of keeping agents in the dark, just when they are needed most, at claim time or even worse, when there's a problem with a ...

... , figurines, and so on? 2. Do you own any jewelry? 3. Furs? 4. Valuable camera equipment? 5. Do you frequently carry, or keep in your home, more than $200 cash? 6. Do you have a coin or stamp collection? 7. Do you own any guns? 8. Would you prefer to cover your personal belongings for their full replacement value (i.e., no deduction for depreciation?) 9. Would you be interested in adding Earthquake or Flood insurance to your Homeowners protection? 10.Do you presently have either a burglar, fire or smoke alarm in your home? 11.Would you like an estimate of your home's replacement cost at today's prices? 12.Do you own a second home or any other real property, such as a mountain cabin or farm property? 13.Are you presently engaged in any form of farming or ranching? 14.Do you conduct any business or give private lessons in your home? 15.Do you own any boats, motorbikes, or other recreational vehicles, such as snowmobiles or golf carts? 16.Would you be interested in any Umbrella or Excess Liability policy that extends your Auto and Homeowners liability coverage to $1 million or more? NOTE: COVERAGE FOR QUESTIONS 1-7 MAY BE LIMITED OR EXCLUDED UNDER YOUR PRESENT POLICY. Yes No 1. Do you have Disability income insurance in case you become sick or disabled? 2. Are you concerned about estate taxes? 3. Do you have a Mortgage Redemption insurance policy (which pays off your house in the event of your death)? 4. Are all members of ...

... principals, producers, and the long-term anti-system employees. What can you do about it? Agency principals who actually think they operate the agency can be taught to be system-literate or to depend on someone who is for all transactions. Outside producers present another problem. Those who produce business must, of necessity, gather data. The integrity of that data has never been highly dependable. It is sometimes even void of any known body of insurance fact- but there's a solution. The producer must be equipped with appropriate forms that are native of the system. (In our opinion, any use of nonstandard forms, such as cocktail napkins, would be a breach of the system and therefore not system-friendly.) With the employees who have been with the agency since the original tablets came down the mountain, you're in for a special treat. Anti-system staff personnel will either have to adapt or leave! How do you find out if the system is working? You must audit the resultant transactional flow of the previously mentioned nine components. It must be done as a separate audit system, and should be effected by someone who can objectively examine paper or media trail. In other words, don't let the people audit their own trails. Many agencies use Personal or Commercial lines managers for this important function. A manager can thus learn the strengths and weaknesses of the personnel they're supervising and find training opportunities. The audit format should reflect agency policy concerning how each of the nine functional components is supposed to work. For example, if it is the agency's policy to offer Commercial Umbrellas to each ...

... company operates. Because this is a question that catches the person you're talking to off-guard, you'll get a straight answer. Assume the answer is May and June are never very good, and we just write off November and December. This seemingly innocent piece of corporate intelligence reveals far more than the downtimes. You have also learned that down periods are an entrenched tradition around the place. Everyone has come to accept that sales during one-third of the year are going to be lousy. You might guess that the employees have come to look forward to these peaceful, quiet days of spring and fall. But you also know that nobody has ever thought of developing a marketing program to change this pattern. Remember, when sales go down in the valley, someone is eventually going to have to scale the mountain - without a rope (other than the one around your neck) . May I go with you on a sales call? With this question, you start to make your move. This is the one that separates you from the rest of the pack. It shows that you're willing to take time and go along on a sales call to get a better feel for the operation. There is more to your plan, however. Once you're in the customer's office, you're ready to go to work without saying a word. You should be listening for the 90-10 test. This term means that the customer should do 90% of the talking and the salesperson 10% . If the sales rep's mouth is open most of the time, this is probably a product-pushing sales organization, not ...

... , figurines, and so on? 2. Do you own any jewelry? 3. Furs? 4. Valuable camera equipment? 5. Do you frequently carry, or keep in your home, more than $200 cash? 6. Do you have a coin or stamp collection? 7. Do you own any guns? 8. Would you prefer to cover your personal belongings for their full replacement value (i.e., no deduction for depreciation?) 9. Would you be interested in adding Earthquake or Flood insurance to your Homeowners protection? 10.Do you presently have either a burglar, fire or smoke alarm in your home? 11.Would you like an estimate of your home's replacement cost at today's prices? 12.Do you own a second home or any other real property, such as a mountain cabin or farm property? 13.Are you presently engaged in any form of farming or ranching? 14.Do you conduct any business or give private lessons in your home? 15.Do you own any boats, motorbikes, or other recreational vehicles, such as snowmobiles or golf carts? 16.Would you be interested in any Umbrella or Excess Liability policy that extends your Auto and Homeowners liability coverage to $1 million or more? NOTE: COVERAGE FOR QUESTIONS 1-7 MAY BE LIMITED OR EXCLUDED UNDER YOUR PRESENT POLICY. Yes No 1. Do you have Disability income insurance in case you become sick or disabled? 2. Are you concerned about estate taxes? 3. Do you have a Mortgage Redemption insurance policy (which pays off your house in the event of your death)? 4. Are all members of ...

... 4/30/2013 by Jack Burke This content has not been rated yet. Nearly 20 years ago, as manager of a growing automotive leasing company, I was researching specialty bus manufacturers to represent. It had finally come down to two manufacturers, either of which would meet the service and pricing needs of my clients in the hotel and car rental industries. One was headquartered in my home state; the other was 2,500 miles away, in California. Based on a telephone voice, I chose the California manufacturer. The sales department secretary had a soft, soothing voice and a tremendous telephone personality. Moreover, she was a great storyteller. If you asked about her weekend, she could rhapsodize about the crisp evening air and star-filled skies encountered on a camping trip to the mountains. Whatever the story, it was always captivating. I invariably looked forward to our telephone chats. Why did this anonymous voice make the final difference in my decision? This woman also fronted as the company's customer service representative. Complaints went to her before being processed to the proper department. Since all clients experience problems at some time or another, I knew that any problem calls would receive a warm, welcoming voice, and that her telephonic talents could disarm the most hostile client. Do your clients and prospects respond to voices or effective telephone personalities when they call your office? Do they hear someone rattling off words like a computer printout, or do they experience the subtle nuances of a pleasant conversational voice? The insurance industry spends millions of dollars annually on education, but little is ...

... delayed any longer. Kindly process it without further delay. The letter didn't work. Each side-carrier vs. employer-became adamant. The carrier demanded payroll records, and the president refused to display them. When the agent spoke to the carrier's claims handler, the conversation went like this: Agent: Strictly speaking, of course, you have the right to go to payroll records, but understand the client's view. Three years ago, you changed your computer software and totally messed up his records, costing the accounting and personnel staffs a lot of time and grief. He wanted to drop you-after all, you provide Life-only and you have lots of competitors-but I advised him to stick it out with you. He was loyal to you. You have ample verification that A.B. was full-time. Why make a mountain out of a molehill? ' Company: Well, as we told him in our letter, we are . . . Agent (interrupting): What letter? I never received a copy of a letter from you. Company: Of course not. We never send copies of correspondence to agents because we deal directly with the insureds. In these matters, it's as if you don't exist. No need to get you involved. [THE FIRST TRAVESTY] Agent (seething): I am to get copies of all correspondence. Now let me speak to your senior claims officer. Agent to claims officer: How dare you adopt a policy of keeping agents in the dark, just when they are needed most, at claim time or even worse, when there's a problem with a ...

... 4 feet 8.5 inches has its origins in the specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot. The chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the back ends of two war horses. So the next time you see an odd specification and wonder what horse's derriere came up with it, you might be exactly right. Here's the twist to the story: When a space shuttle is on its launch pad, it has two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters (SRBs) . Thiokol Propulsion makes the SRBs at its factory in Utah. The engineers who designed them would've made them a bit fatter, but the SRBs travel from the factory to the launch site by train. The railroad line from the factory runs through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track is just wide enough to accommodate two horses' behinds. So a major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was determined more than 2,000 years go — by the width of a horse's derriere! Pegi Flahault, CPCU, ARM is the owner of pf enterprises, LLC, which specializes in agency operations. She can be reached at (317) 575-0018 or e-mail [email protected] . Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole lot of ...