Insurance Consultants Of Maine Newsletter

The Insurance Fixer
Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM
June, 2006

Unbiased Insurance Info & Advice --- www.InsuranceFixer.com

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

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Policy Renewal Strategies - The marketplace has spoken! It is almost an imperative. If you want to control your premium, you need to push your insurer and agent with competitive bids every three years.

I don't like saying this! I wish it were not true. However, I have seen it many times over the past year. In general, companies that get competitive bids see their rates / premiums drop and coverage increase. Without competition, premiums seem to stay flat or increase.

Having your current agent solicit bids within his fleet of insurers may result in a certain level of competitive premium quotes. However, to get the best premiums the marketplace has to offer you need the participating agents, brokers, and insurers threatened with losing the competition.

There are a variety of tactics that can improve the results of a bid process. I'm glad to discuss your options.

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Disaster Planning Resource - Calamities strike businesses every day. The big events make the news: floods, hurricanes, mass power failures. Every day, though, smaller disasters hit – fires, wind damage, burst pipes, and the like.

How prepared are you? How secure is your operation? How is your data backup system? Were would you go for replacement services? What would you have to do to respond to a disaster?

How are your employees set to respond to a disaster? One lesson from Katrina is that a disaster plan can only be implemented when your employees are still around. Hundreds of employers found their plans lacking because employees were dispersed or had to take care of their families first.

The Institute for Business and Home Safety has put together an overview of steps that can be taken to plan and prepare for a disaster. Their workbook, Open for Business, and their forms CD are available for free at http://www.ibhs.org/. You can order the workbook sent to you or download the documents and forms. You’ll find their approach straightforward.

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Keys To An Effective Insurance Program - I'm playing around with some ideas for new white papers. Past reports have focused on mistakes insurance buyers make. I'm moving towards an overview of the components of an excellent insurance program. Here's one line of thought.

An effective insurance program includes specific / dramatic actions:

D - Demand Quality Service From Agents And Insurers
R - Review Your Insurance Policies Regularly
A - Access The Marketplace And Competition
M - Manage Your Exposure To Loss
A - Assess The Value In Your Coverage
T - Target Risk Management Objectives
I - Improve Your Loss Prevention
C - Control Your Claims

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Life In Maine And Other Stuff - The bear is back! Some of you will remember the bear who visited my backyard last June. I moved the bird feeders higher and thought the problem was solved. Last week, he / she struck again. We had a small wooden bird house mounted on a heavy metal pole about 30 yards from the house. The "attack" resulted in the pole being bent at a 90 degree angle. Teeth and claw marks could be found on the pole and in the wood of the house. One of my neighbors won't venture out into her yard now. The kids next door are wondering the woods looking for the beast.

For the record, our Maine black bears are usually pretty docile, unless you're a bird house or feeder!

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Forward This Newsletter To Your Friends - Feel free to pass this newsletter on to others whom you think would be interested.

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

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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@InsuranceFixer.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@InsuranceFixer.com. See my speaker's page at www.InsuranceFixer.com/ispeaker.html.

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Scott Simmonds, CIC, CPCU, ARM
Insurance Consultants of Maine, Inc.
Phone 207-284-0085
Scott@InsuranceFixer.com
http://www.InsuranceFixer.com

Unbiased Insurance Solutions

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