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...ect stamps, fine art or another collection of value, you might think that thes...to determine if you own an item or collection that needs specialty insurance. ...

I hear agents every day tell me that they already have carrier appointments and they don’t feel like they need more. So, why do you need more markets? The answer is quite simple. You want to grow your agency by selling more premium correct while earning more commission.

“If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done. “ This is one of my favorite quotes because I’ve seen it happen.

With 2014 coming to a close, you may be thinking of what you can do to advance your company. The answer is to join a cluster!

In an issue of Corporate Counsel an article entitled It's a Systemic World Out There discusses the EEOC's pursuing large "systemic" cases. For example, in fiscal year 2011 they conducted 580 systemic investigations, filed 84 systemic lawsuits, and settled 35 systemic cases for total $9.6 million. Although your company might not be large enough to be on the EEOC's radar screen, I can tell you that attorneys are also suing small to midsized companies on a class basis. An employee walks into a lawyer's office because they didn't receive their final paycheck, and before you know it they're filing a class-action lawsuit against your company for missed overtime and meal periods. The article provided a few golden nuggets of advice: When responding to an EEOC inquiry, don't use the phrase "pursuant to our consistently applied policy." This only invites a broader request for information. Do not submit more information than is necessary. Conduct your own statistical analysis before submitting data. Do preventative analysis looking for adverse impacts in the hiring, promotion, or termination practices. Validate pre-employment tests. Conduct preventative compensation analysis periodically. Cover all internal analysis with attorney-client privilege. This might be impossible in smaller organizations, but you can certainly retain outside counsel to instruct you on how to conduct such analysis and report back to them. Listen to your employees. As I have always recommended, you should survey your employees, including use of the Employee Compliance Survey that can be found in HR That Works. Invigorate that underutilized internal complaint system. Again, go one step further and ask if there's a problem –don't wait for them to tell you there is one. Stay current with legal trends. This is one reason why HR That Works membership is so valuable. Walk the talk. Are you sensitive to the potential for your practices to cause adverse impacts? Frankly in my experience I can tell you that some business owners could care less about whether a practice causes an adverse impact. All they care about is getting the best employees they can, damn the EEOC. Of course, few companies appreciate a risk until they're hit with it. Finally, the article points out how large corporations can gather the data requested by the EEOC easily because they have such large HRIS systems. However, most companies with less than 500 employees don't have this data readily available, and t collecting it can be an over-burdensome process. This is one reason to make sure that you hire an attorney any time you receive a communication from the EEOC or another regulatory agency.

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As you go about your daily business, insurance fraud is probably one of the furthest things from your mind. However these all-too-common scams, everything from homeowners who report a non-existent burglary to collect on their policies to drivers who stage auto accidents and file injury claims – are criminal acts that you have a legal obligation to report. If you’re aware of, or suspect, a fraudulent act that involves insurance follow these steps: Inform the insurance fraud bureau in your state either through its telephone “hot line” or online. Contact the fraud department of the insurance company involved. Most companies have hotlines for this purpose. If a fraud hotline isn’t available, or if you’re uncomfortable using it, write the fraud department instead. If the alleged fraud involves a medical issue – such as a claim for a non-existent condition – contact your state medical board or chiropractic board immediately in order to protect the complainant, as well as other possible victims. If appropriate, notify other authorities, such as the police (if someone’s life might be in danger) or your local Social Security office (in case of suspected Social Security fraud). Remember that, as a witness, you must report all the details involved: full names, dates, organization, company name, the amount of money involved, etc. Provide any documentation or other information you think might help with the investigation. Be patient. Investigating complaints takes time; it might be months before the investigators have gathered enough evidence to bring the perpetrators into court. A word to the wise. insurance scams costs billions of dollars a year, driving up premiums for everyone – including you.

The holidays are always a hectic time to go grocery shopping! Everyone is getting their Turkeys or Ham and all the fixings. Americas alone eat 675,000,000 pounds of turkey each thanksgiving.