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... x No Thanks Loading.. Disaster Recovery: How Working Together Speeds Recovery 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. DISASTER RECOVERY: HOW WORKING TOGETHER SPEEDS RECOVERY You've spent thousands of dollars and hundred of hours developing a sound disaster recovery program. Staff and management are trained to act quickly to mitigate damage and safeguard lives and property. But you may be disturbed to learn that survival hinges largely on something you've had no control over - your state and local emergency management planners. It seems like an obvious match, but the private sector's disaster planning specialists and their municipal counterparts have no history of coordination. That's starting to change, though. The evolving concept in disaster mitigation theory links the life of the community with the health of its businesses. That means communities increasingly see restoring business quickly as the way to save themselves after a crisis or catastrophe. It also means that business owners can become a stakeholder in their local catastrophe response planning programs. BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY ARE INTERDEPENDENT Disaster response planners have realized that communities suffer exponentially after a disaster and that the longer businesses remain incapacitated, the more devastated the community will be. A given area's people form both its customer base and its employee base, so every business that fails after a catastrophe could cause long-range harm to the community's people, economy, and tax base. Yet the traditional model for municipal contingency planning has addressed facility survival, not business continuation. Today's disaster planners now recognize that business survival, not just physical restoration of damaged property, is paramount. To that end, local disaster ...

... look at your present clients to see if there are individuals who have outgrown their present policies. You may have some good prospects for a rollover into a Single-Premium Whole Life policy. Existing Prospects: The magic word is prequalify. To invest in a Single-Premium Whole Life policy, prospects must have a significant sum of money saved. If the prospects don't have the lump sum, there's no use explaining the benefits of the policy to them. But again, be sure they realize that this sum may be generated by cashing in their present Life policies. Standard-vehicle investors: Over $1 trillion is invested right now in standard vehicles such as Certificates of Deposit, passbook savings accounts, money market accounts, and treasury bills. About 75% of your clients and prospects have one of these investments. Municipal bond holders: A substantial number of your clients and prospects invest in municipal bonds-the municipal bond market amounted to $97 billion in 1986. What are the drawbacks? The rate of return is locked in for five to 30 years. The bond may decline in market value and the interest must be reinvested as it is received. Retirees must consider this interest income in determining their income for the year. If they have earned more than the law allows, some Social Security benefits probably will have to be repaid to the government. Clients with IRAs: Approximately 80% of your clients have IRAs-show them how to continue receiving tax-advantaged treatment with this Life policy. Commercial Lines clients and prospects: Don't forget to market the policy to businessowners. Businesses can use Single-Premium Whole Life to meet a variety ...

... current economic conditions. Government bond funds also fit into this category. Although these funds only invest in securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies, they can still be risky. The value of the shares in a government bond fund can rise or fall in relation to fluctuations in interest rates. Investors can even buy shares in a bond fund that only invests in securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, as the federal agency is often called. As is the case with other government bonds, fluctuations in the interest rate can cause a decline in the investor's principal. The interest on government bond funds is subject to federal taxation. In general, however, it will be free of state and local taxes. Tax-Free Bond Funds-The tax-free bond fund invests in municipal bonds issued by cities, states, and other governmental entities. The income from these funds will be free from federal income taxes. As a general rule, only individuals in a high tax bracket would benefit from a tax-free bond fund, since the tax savings on this income offsets the lower interest rate that is usually paid. Within a family of funds, there might be more than one kind of tax-free bond fund. One type will utilize only high-quality municipal bonds; another might use only insured municipal bonds. While insurance will guarantee payment of the interest and principal, the value of the bonds in the portfolio can still fluctuate. There are even some tax-free bond funds that are geared to investors from one particular state. The portfolio is arranged so that the income is also free from ...

...CIGNA opened two new markets: municipalities with less than 10,000 people and ...cy has only signed about a dozen municipalities and a few private ambulance co...

... to small claims court and write off the balance as bad debt. The closer the debt is to $10,000, the more careful you must be in managing your litigation. You need to have control over your lawyer's actions, while recognizing that your lawyer will have no control over some situations. Creative use of additional resources, such as independent paralegals, can help control some costs. Hire the attorney for crucial items, such as court appearances. Hire the paralegal for lesser matters, such as preparing responses to interrogatories. If your lawyer doesn't like this kind of arrangement, get a new lawyer; the business climate for lawyers is much too competitive for any lawyer to determine the client's service level. Debts between $10,000 and $25,000 are the subject of Municipal Court. A lawyer's assistance is highly advisable; the only difference between Municipal and Superior Courts are the amounts being sued over and minor limitations on the discovery process. Consequently, the costs can mount quickly. Again, control over your lawyer is paramount to a cost-effective resolution. When the debt exceeds $25,000, it becomes a matter for the Superior Court, where the discovery rules are much broader and the road to recovery thus longer and much more expensive. The key to minimizing the amount of time spent pursuing a debt depends on how complex the subject matter becomes. In this area, a common defense tactic is to vigorously pursue unlimited discover to broaden and confuse the issues. When the debt exceeds this amount, it's difficult to control the attorney functions because of the attorney's ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Governmental Institutions - Responsibilities Equal Risks 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS - RESPONSIBILITIES EQUAL RISKS Dear (Customer Name): Every government entity, whether a school district or a municipality, has many responsibilities to many people. Because of this, your liability exposure is much higher than average. That's why insurance is so important. (Your Agency Name) knows how to help cover those exposures. We've specialized in insuring government entities for over ( ) years. We know what your risks are and can tell you how to control them - and protect the risks you can't control. The stakes are too high to wait another moment. We'll be calling you soon to set up an appointment to review your insurance program. Or call us today. Sincerely, (Your Name) 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 time & money when you use our directory of carriers, wholesalers and service providers. Negotiate lucrative contracts with carriers and wholesalers. Net result. More revenue for your agency! Clients & Prospects will research you, your co-workers and your agency here. The most comprehensive online insurance industry reference library for - Personal Lines Professionals Commercial Lines Professionals Life/Health & Benefits Professionals Online newsletters and content that you can use for your clients and social media efforts. Ability to attach leads and clients to ...

...alth of Massachusetts and all municipalities in which the Agency has been loca...oker. None of said Customers are municipalities or governmental agencies or en...

... /or profit by taking away from our employees' best interests or those of our customers. The concept of "being fair to everyone always" is simple. However, simplicity doesn't imply that it's easy to accomplish. We see frequent examples of rationalizing actions that are obviously unfair' to accomplish results that might be commendable. The principle of "the end justifies the means" has sounded good and rationale to extremists all over the world to justify what they consider right and just' causes. Similarly, raising taxes impacts one group of people (taxpayers) negatively in order to serve all people. The reality that most Americans face today is that we might not be able to afford to provide the wonderful things we would like for everyone when most taxpayers feel the squeeze of economic pressures. Municipalities and states throughout the nation are feeling the impact of taxpayers acting in their own self-interest, rejecting new initiatives and taxes, both questionable and commendable, simply because they would hurt their "end users.— their families, . Let's translate these concepts into our own lives, both personal and business. Good things happen when people do the right things consistently over time. However, bad things sometimes still happen to good people in the short term. If we stop doing the right things consistently because we face a personal or business downturn, our only option is to do things that we know will harm someone in order to achieve our own goals. For instance, if we face a downturn in profit it's perfectly reasonable to take less income as an owner. We enjoy the rewards of our business ...

... , and provide them with the necessary training, as well as answers to their questions. &# 160 Also, if you or your staff takes any information on the phone, there's no backup of that information. There is still the potential for "misunderstandings" in phone conversations. To alleviate this potential for misunderstandings, I'd recommend that your agency send a confirmation letter out on any additions/deletions/rejections of coverage. &# 160 Some other issues that you'll need to consider with transactional filing include: &# 160 How long should you retain copies of correspondence? Many agencies go with a seven -year period. Consider the statute of limitations when evaluating this issue. The need for a disaster plain in the event that you lose your electronic records either temporarily or permanently. Virtually every municipality has companies that offer off-site storage. Thus, if you lose power, you can be up and running with the same data fairly quickly. You should also do daily backups to ensure the quality and accuracy of your records. The agencies that I've spoken with are sold on the advantages of transactional filing. If you handle training and implementation properly, a decreased E&O exposure could be one of those benefits. &# 160 Curtis M. Pearsall , CPCU, AIAF can be reached at Utica National Insurance Group, P.O. Box 530, Utica, NY 13503, (800) 274-1914, fax (315) 734-2807, or e-mail [email protected] . This article originally appeared in the Utica National Insurance Co. E&O Bulletin and is reproduced with permission. Login ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Do You Pull Teeth Or Prevent Cavities?4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Chris Burand This content has not been rated yet. In this document, Chris Burand tells a modern-day fable that offers a valuable lesson from the world of dentistry. What can you possibly learn from those who pull teeth and cause such great anguish? You're going to have to read it to find out. In the early 1900s a dentist, Dr. J. Daniels in San Pedro, California had a thriving practice. His clientele, for a variety of reasons — including a lack of fluoride in municipal water supply — had bad teeth. He was pretty good at pulling teeth. Whiskey was a very adequate sedative. Toward the beginning of WWII, another dentist moved to town. He started preaching and practicing dental hygiene. He worked with schools to teach children to brush properly. He hired a dental hygienist to clean patients' teeth regularly. As the 1950s approached, Dr. Daniels' business began to decline. His clients were switching over. The new dentist's business expanded. Preventative care was catching on. People began to realize that good dental hygiene was preferable to missing teeth, whiskey or no whiskey. Today, most independent insurance agencies are like Dr. Daniels. He pulled teeth and effectively solved his patients' problems, just as agents help get claims paid. But isn't it better to avoid a cavity in the first place? Wouldn't it be better if our insureds avoided incurring the claim? It's time to start practicing preventative care for our ...