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... the profitable line that it once was. The lack of adequate premium for the values could be a significant reason. After all, the underinsurance statistics mean that insurers are only getting around 70-75% of the premium they need to write Homeowners risks. Who's to blame for this situation? Companies certainly have a significant responsibility because they often rely on telephone conversations to evaluate the value of homes. Although agents should also take a fair amount of the blame, I believe that they're in the best position to fix the problem — and to reap the benefits of doing so. The fact that most agents rely on the limits in their customers' current Homeowners policies to set coverage at renewal means that underinsured homes will continue to remain so. However, the root causes of the problem are additions and renovations. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. When they're planning to put a new deck on the back of their house or to add a new room, chances are that calling their insurance agent to increase Homeowners coverage ranks low on their to do' list — if it's there at all. If you're in a small community where most people know each other, ask your staff to keep an eye out for construction on customers' homes when they're traveling around town. Because your customers probably aren't going to tell you about this new exposure, you need to contact them. One method is to conduct an annual review of every Homeowners account. Lay the groundwork for these surveys by sending Homeowners customers a newsletter (printed or electronic) with articles that stress the need to contact you whenever they ...

... , welding and painting. In building construction, lead is frequently used for roofs, cornices, tank linings, and electrical conduits. In plumbing, soft solder, used chiefly for soldering titanium and copper pipe joints, is an alloy of lead and tin. Soft solder, in fact, has been banned for many uses in the United States. The use of lead-based paint in residential application has also been banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. However, since lead- based paint inhibits the rusting and corrosion of iron and steel, it is still used on bridges, railways, ships, lighthouses, and other steel structures, although substitute coatings are available. Significant lead exposures can also arise from removing paint from surfaces previously coated with lead-based paint, such as in bridge repair, residential renovation, and demolition. With the increase in highway work, including bridge repair, residential lead abatement, and residential remodeling, the potential for exposure to lead-based paint has become more common. The trades potentially exposed to lead include iron work, demolition work, painting, lead-based paint abatement work, plumbing, heating/air-conditioning, electrical work, and carpentry/renovation/remodeling. Operations that generate lead dust and fume include the following: Flame-torch cutting, welding, the use of heat guns, sanding, scraping and grinding of lead painted surfaces in repair, reconstruction, dismantling, and demolition work; Abrasive blasting of bridges and other structures containing lead-based paints; Use of torches and heat guns, and sanding, scraping, and grinding lead-based paint surfaces during remodeling or abating lead-based paint; and ...

... , moldy ceiling tiles, and mildewed carpets) . b) Clean and disinfect non-porous surfaces where microbial growth has occurred with detergents, chlorine-generating slimicides, or other biocides and ensuring that these cleaners have been removed before air-handling units are turned on. c) Maintain indoor air relative humidity below 60% (50% where cold surfaces are in contact with room air) . d) Adjust intake of outdoor air to avoid contamination from nearby soil, vegetable debris, cooling towers, or sanitary stacks unless air is adequately conditioned. ASBESTOS AND RADON Although acute health effects are not associated with asbestos and radon, we mention them due to recent concerns about their health effects. Asbestos may be found in: insulation and other building materials such as floor tiles, dry wall compounds, reinforced plaster. During renovation or maintenance operations, asbestos may be dislodged and become airborne. Evaluation of employee exposure to asbestos will normally be covered under the OSHA Asbestos standard. Radon may occur in the ground beneath buildings, building materials, and groundwater. Chronic exposure may lead to increased risk of lung cancer from alpha radiation. ADMINISTRATIVE IAQ CONTROLS Administrative control practices including programs that change the behavioral patterns of occupants. Minimize Exposure. Exposure should be minimized by limiting occupancy of contaminated airspace, limiting use of offending sources to specific areas or times, or evacuating contaminated areas until they can be ventilated adequately. 1) Isolate, if feasible, areas of renovation, painting, carpet laying, pesticide application, etc., from occupied areas that are not under construction. 2) If possible, perform this work during ...

...f the problem are additions and renovations. Put yourself in your customerR...

... business. Communication skills. Verbal and written communication skills are critical for success. Conduct the proper pre-offer testing in order to determine at what level your candidate performs. So where can you find potential hires? Check out other professional advisory businesses such as banking and finance, teaching, and people in the hospitality and restaurant industry. Generally people with these career backgrounds are customer focused and have above-average communication skills. As always, follow the proper legal interview guidelines during the recruiting and hiring process. 2. CREATE A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT In 1984, Fortune magazine named Jack Welch the Toughest Boss in America. In the prior five-year period, he cut 118,000 people from GE's payroll and pared additional costs by closing uncompetitive factories and selling unprofitable businesses. At the same time Welch was investing millions of dollars renovating the corporate headquarters and upgrading its Crotonville management development center. These moves generated some harsh criticism. But he knew what he was doing. Finding and developing good people were needed to turn GE around. It was a long-term commitment that paid off. Today you don't need to build an entire management training or learning center. People can learn online, with CDs or videos, through instructor-led sessions, and on-the-job cross training. What's important is that education offerings are broad. Include product and coverage, insurance operations and workflow, customer service, and technology. Create a curriculum. Find outside experts or willing experienced staff who can bring knowledge and interest to the subject. Involve as many as possible in the teaching and require everyone to participate in the learning. 3. ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO HELP ...

... agency has a birthday-an anniversary of its founding. 2) Someone new is hired, or you promote someone to a new position. 3) You get an appointment with a new insurance company. 4) Someone in the office earns the CPCU, CIC, or other professional designation. 5) You welcome a second or third generation into the business. 6) Someone at the agency assumes a local leadership role, perhaps as chairperson of a charitable drive or head of a governmental committee. 7) You land a large or new Commercial account (make sure the account is agreeable to a news release) . 8) You name a producer of the month. If you don't have a program like this, start one. 9) You expand your offices, relocate, undertake a historic renovation, or make environmentally positive changes in your premises. 10) You sponsor an insurance seminar. 11) You sponsor a local charity event. 12) One of your producers speaks at a state association convention or an IMMS Convention, or serves on a panel at a community organization function. 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 ...

... to reduce the chances that lead dust will contaminate areas outside the enclosure. A containment structure should be equipped with dust collection and an air-cleaning device to control emissions of particulate matter to the environment. Enclosure/Encapsulation Lead-based paint can be made inaccessible either by encapsulating it with a material that bonds to the surface, such as acrylic or epoxy coating or flexible wall coverings, or by enclosing it using systems such as gypsum wallboard, plywood panelling, and aluminum, vinyl or wood exterior siding. Floors coated with lead-based paint can be covered using vinyl tile or linoleum flooring. The building owner or other responsible person should oversee the custodial and maintenance staffs and contractors with regard to all activities that involve enclosed or encapsulated lead- based paint. This will minimize potential inadvertent release of lead during maintenance, renovation, or demolition. Substitution Zinc-containing primers covered by an epoxy intermediate coat and polyurethane topcoat are commonly used instead of lead-containing coatings. Mobile hydraulic shears can be substituted for torch cutting under certain circumstances. Surface preparation equipment, such as needle guns with multiple reciprocating needles completely enclosed within an adjustable shroud, can be substituted for abrasive blasting under certain operations. The shroud captures dust and debris at the cutting edge and can be equipped with a HEPA vacuum filtration system with a self-drumming feature. One such commercial unit can remove lead-based paint from flat steel and concrete surfaces, outside edges, inside corners, and pipes. Chemical strippers used primarily on the exterior of buildings, surfaces involving carvings or molding, or intricate iron works, can be used in place of hand scraping using a heat gun. ...

... of Workers' Compensation benefits. The nature of this relationship often depends on legal and regulatory distinctions between two types of employer: 1) statutory employers, ' who place employees on their payroll, offer them fringe benefits, withhold employment taxes from their pay, and provide revenue and regulatory authorities with deduction reports; 2) special employers, ' who borrow the services of an employee of another business for a specified time without providing fringe benefits or Workers' Compensation coverage. This article discusses the legal responsibility imposed on both types of employers for paying Workers' Comp benefits. STATUTORY EMPLOYERS: THE RULES OF THE GAME In a typical statutory employer case, an employee of a contractor seeks compensation for a job-related injury from the contractor's employer or principal. These situations occur most often in the building construction, renovation, and installation trades, although they can arise in other industries. The general contractor subcontracts all or part of the work to one or more subcontractors, but may still be liable for Workers' Comp claims sustained by the subcontractor's employees. One key to determining liability is to decide whether the arrangement between the parties is consistent with customary practice industry practice or is simply a device to avoid the potential liabilities of being an employer. According to the Larson Law of Workers' Compensation Paragraph 29.14: The purpose of this legislation was to protect employees of irresponsible and uninsured subcontractors by imposing ultimate liability on the presumably responsible principal contractor. It is the principal contractor who has it within his power, in choosing subcontractors, to pass upon their irresponsibility and insist upon appropriate protection for their workers. This doctrine ...

... To Capitalize Or Not To Capitalize, That Is The Question 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Irving Blackman This content has not been rated yet. Many business owners have questions concerning repair vs. capitalization problems. If Hamlet had owned a business, he might have pondered, To capitalize or to expense, that is the question. A classic Tax Court decision (L & L Marine, TCM 1987-428) on the subject implies that the answer may be found in another Shakespearean paraphrase, A repair by any other name is expensed the same. Run-ins with the IRS frequently focus on issues of capital improvement vs. repairs. Repairs are currently deductible, but capital improvements must be depreciated over a period of years. The pivotal point is whether the expenditure is made to improve, alter, or renovate the property or equipment, or merely to repair it. The Tax Court decision just mentioned says that nomenclature is secondary to the real facts when making the determination. Here's the story. L & L Marine spent money for work needed to continue to qualify six barges for sea duty, classifying the expenditures as repairs' on the books and taking a deduction for the expense on that year's tax return. But L & L's CPA thought the work was a capital expenditure and refused to issue audited financial statements unless the expenditure was capitalized. The IRS was delighted. In its audit of the marine company's tax return, it adopted the CPA's treatment of the expenditure and disallowed the deduction for repairs. But justice prevailed, and L & L was able to salvage the deduction for repairing the barges ...

... could have found and could have afforded such a mega-contractor, but he didn't. He will end up with a better addition, more control over the process and results, and more personal satisfaction by completing this project with local talent — people who understand and appreciate a screen porch, coffee, a rocking chair, and a Lab. My mind was racing. The answer to his business dilemma was not in the pages of any or all the books we discussed, nor in the classrooms of Harvard, or the mahogany Board Rooms of Wall Street. The answers were in the basic simple ideas we discussed over coffee on the back porch. The same leadership and management that had resulted in his acquiring, building, and remodeling a house and finally converting it to a home could be used to renovate and if needed or create an addition to his company. HERE GOES — MY BEST ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE THE LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES I OBSERVED ON THE BACK PORCH. Thanks, Mollie Deux-olly! Leadership is about a capturing a dream. It's about Vision, Values, a Mission, and Standards. To get to my friend's house you cross a railroad track. There are probably 50 to 60 houses on the single road that is this subdivision. The land was once a sugar cane field so there are no trees except for those that formed the fence row. The one exception is my friend's lot. It has literally dozens of trees. The original builder had the vision to plant these trees and my friend and his spouse had the vision and discipline to maintain them when they really were ...