Insurance Consultants Of Maine Newsletter

Insurance Consultants of Maine Newsletter
Scott Simmonds, CIC, CPCU, ARM
June, 2005

Unbiased Insurance Info & Advice
www.endwimpyinsurance.com

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Feel free to forward this newsletter to your colleagues. Comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome. Email: scott@icofmaine.com.

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Mold and Fungus - Damage caused by mold and fungus is now excluded by almost every standard property insurance policy. Liability policies are also excluding claims alleging illness caused by mold. Consider your exposures and what you can do to remediate problems. Talk with your insurance advisor about special insurance policies if the exposure is too great for you to self insure.

Premium Financing - Take a close look at how you pay your insurance each year. Does your insurance company send a bill quarterly or monthly? What's the cost of such payment plans? Are more generous terms available from your carrier?

If you're looking for cash flow help, a quarterly plan may be better than a monthly program. Talk with your agent about what your insurer offers.

If you finance your premium using a premium finance company check the interest rate carefully. You may be better off using your bank's line of credit.

Personal Insurance Tip - Review Your Home Insurance Policy For Windstorm Deductibles - Many coastal homeowner insurance policies include a separate deductible for damage caused by wind. Review your policy or talk to your agent. We are coming into hurricane season. Know your insurance before a storm threatens.

NOTE: For more personal insurance tips see my very popular white paper, “The 20 Biggest Personal Insurance Mistakes.” To get your own copy go to http://www.icofmaine.com/plmistakes.html.

Captive Insurance Plans - In the past six months I have been asked to review several insurance captives, risk retention groups and self insured programs. Some thoughts...

The insurance marketplace is in a period of stable/declining pricing. The capacity of traditional insurance carriers is at a high point. Insurance companies are showing profits and an increased appetite for new business. Sellers chasing buyers will result in a buyer's market.

I'm not saying don't look into the various self insured options. Ask yourself, however, if this is the right time to become an insurance company?

Coverage Hint - Employee Dishonesty - Check your insurance program for employee dishonesty protection. Many insurance buyers have low limits or no coverage at all. Employee dishonesty pays for embezzlement and other dishonest acts by employees. For an event to be covered under standard policy forms there must be theft or destruction of tangible property. Theft of data, customer lists or intellectual property are not a part of most employee crime policies. Check with your insurance advisor.

Coverage can be added to meet your pension / 401k / 403b responsibilities under ERISA too.

Life In Maine And Other Stuff - Last month I mentioned that I had a porcupine in my yard. I got more email about him than any of the other items in my newsletter. (I assume it was a him. No, I didn't check.) Apparently my readers are not just interested in insurance! For you natural history types... The deer are still around, the daffodils are just now past, and I have mowed my lawn three times in two weeks! Lilacs are in their full glory.

It's graduation time! My youngest daughter, Jennifer, is graduating from high school next week. My oldest, Christine, is home from college (now a junior) and working two jobs. Jarred, my 16 year old son, just got an award for his work this year in high school English. He gets it from his mother!

An article recently appeared in the local paper about my great-great-grandfather's violin and my feeble attempts to learn to play. Since then, I have been asked to play at two weddings. Not unless they want Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star!

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Biggest Business Insurance Mistakes White Paper - Get my "20 Biggest Business Insurance Mistakes" ebook in printer friendly form. Send a blank email to bizmistakes@icofmaine.com to receive your no obligation copy.

"The 20 Biggest Personal Insurance Mistakes" White Paper - Great info on making sure you have the right personal insurance. Just send a blank email to personal@icofmaine.com. Your copy will be emailed to you immediately; at no cost of course.

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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. Call 207.284.0085 or email me at scott@icofmaine.com. 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. Call 207.284.0085 or email me at scott@icofmaine.com. Also check out my speaker's page at www.icofmaine.com/ispeaker.html.

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Scott Simmonds, CIC, CPCU, ARM
Insurance Consultants of Maine, Inc.
20 Sofia Road
Saco, ME 04072-9017
Phone 207 284-0085
Fax 801 991-4027
scott@icofmaine.com
http://www.endwimpyinsurance.com

Unbiased Insurance Solutions

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Insurance Consultants of Maine, Inc. is an unbiased, fee-only insurance and risk management advisory firm. We don't sell insurance and never accept fees or commissions from insurance companies or agents.

Comments regarding insurance policies or products in this newsletter are for information purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement. I accept no fees or payments of any kind from any insurance organization or any company mentioned in this newsletter.