Scott Simmonds - Insurance Newsletter

Insurance from an Unbiased Point of View
www.ScottSimmonds.com

February, 2007

126 Questions to Ask Your Insurance Agent - Insurance buyers often tell me that they are too confused by insurance to even know what questions to ask. I have at least a partial solution in my white paper, 126 Questions to Ask Your Insurance Agent. Download your free copy. Initial reviews are that the info is quite useful - One reader described it as a "do-it-yourself insurance review."

Employee Theft - According to US Chamber of Commerce estimates, 75% of all employees steal . Half of those employees will steal again. The same study estimates employee dishonest losses at $50 billion annually.

The statistic is hard to imagine. Even if you cut the number in half, it's still shocking.

Two actions are a must for any business: building strategies to prevent employee theft and making sure your insurance is in place to protect you from the incidents you don't prevent.

Employee dishonesty insurance an area I commonly find lacking in corporate insurance programs. Either the coverage is absent from the insurance plan, or there isn't enough protection.

I've seen insurance people try to come up with "rules-of -thumb" for suggested limits of employee dishonesty coverage. While such an approach may be simple, it is also wrong.

Look at your operation and your exposures to loss. How much could someone steal before they are caught? I'd multiply that number by at least 10 to be on the safe side. Also, look to the cost of insurance for guidance. Get quotes from your agent at various limits. Look to your financial statements to gauge the impact an under-insured loss would have on your future operations.

Insurance Definitions:

Special Risk - A property insurance policy where all perils (causes of loss) are insured except those that are excluded by the policy. Some common exclusions: flood, earthquake, animals, nuclear, and deterioration.

Self-Insurance - Retention of the risk usually in a formal, calculated way. In workers' compensation, state regulations impose financial and administrative qualifications. May involve reinsurance or very large deductibles to cover catastrophic losses.

Schedule Credit/Debit - Premium adjustment factors applied at the discretion of insurance company underwriters and based upon individual characteristics of the risk. Issues such as managed care, quality of management, loss control efforts, and the insurance company's appetite for the risk are included in the determination of the debit or credit applied to the premium.

Single Payer Health Insurance - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a health insurance plan for his state that strikes me as more liberal than plans offered by many liberals. A recent letter to the editor in the Portland Press Herald carried my thoughts on this and other socialized health insurance plans.

Informative Teleseminars - I've scheduled two teleseminars for this month. Email me to register - Scott@ScottSimmonds.com. I promise a fast paced, information filled 45 minutes with ideas you can implement right away.

February 20 - Best Practices of the School Insurance Bid Process - 10:00 AM to 10:45 Eastern - A free seminar for school business managers and superintendents.

February 22 - D&O Insurance - Make It Work For Your Bank - 10:00 AM to 10:45 Eastern - A free seminar for bank Presidents, CFOs, CROs, and CEOs.

(These sessions are free to insurance buyers. Insurance people are welcome at a $75 fee.)

If you have a topic suggestion for future teleseminars, let me know.

Life In Maine And Other Stuff - The last few weeks have been cold. Several storms have dumped a few inches of snow on the ground. No big north-easters though. I don't think the kids have had a snow day off from school yet. Quite unusual.

I've been rereading Peter Drucker's The Effective Executive. It's one of the few business books published in the 1960s that is still immensely relevant today.

My Rotary Club just approved a new service project. We are giving every third grader in our local schools a free dictionary. It's a part of our efforts to promote literacy. This project was one of my goals for my year as president. The fun part will be distributing the books to the kids - should be in April.

I started work, recently, on my forth insurance designation. I earned the Certified Insurance Counselor designation many years ago. I completed Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter about ten years ago. Last year I added Associate in Risk Management to my resume. I'm now working on the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation. I passed the first of eight examinations last month. It will probably take me five years to complete the designation.

Biggest Insurance Mistakes White Papers - Get my white papers covering the biggest business and personal insurance mistakes. Send a blank email to bizmistakes@ScottSimmonds.com for a copy of the business mistakes paper. Email personal@ScottSimmonds.com for the personal insurance version. No cost.

Your Privacy - I will never sell or distribute your email address to any other person or organization.

Do You Have The Right Insurance? Contact me to discuss an unbiased review of your insurance program. Do you have the right coverage? Can your policies be fine-tuned to improve the protection? Can changes be made to ease the administrative burden insurance causes? Are you getting the service you should from your broker? I can help. Remember, I don't sell insurance so I'm unbiased.

Need A Speaker? I'm pleased to speak to trade, business, or service associations about insurance topics. See my speaker's page.

Please Forward This Newsletter To Your Friends

Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM
Insurance Consulting
Phone 207-284-0085
Fax 802-992-4027
Scott@ScottSimmonds.com
www.ScottSimmonds.com

See My Insurance Blog - www.InsuranceBuzzer.com

Comments regarding insurance policies or products in this newsletter do not constitute an endorsement. I accept no fees of any kind from any company mentioned in this newsletter.