Insurance Consultants Of Maine Newsletter

Insurance Consultants of Maine Newsletter
Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM
October, 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. You're getting this publication as you subscribed, downloaded one of my reports, or gave me permission to add you to the list.

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Flood Insurance Changes Needed - Most property insurance policies exclude flood as a cause of loss. The editors of The Standard (a weekly magazine covering insurance issues in New England) recently came out with some very interesting comments on flood insurance.

http://www.spcpub.com/mainpages/flood_update.html

They also quote some interesting statistics: "Almost half (49 percent) of all homeowners in special flood hazard areas (SFHA) carry the coverage, which is smart when you consider that a home located within an SFHA has a 26 percent chance of suffering flood damage during the term of a 30-year mortgage. The average flood claim came to $32,056 in 2004. The average premium was $438."

The fact is that only 1 of 4 floods are in a SFHA and only 1% of homes outside SFHAs are insured for flood.

The insurance industry must find a better way to address the coverage for the damage caused by floods.

Perhaps the government could help by cutting aid to those who have not purchased flood insurance. Reward good choices and penalize bad choices.

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Earthquake Also Excluded - Most property insurance policies also exclude damage caused by an earthquake. On the west coast, most property owners are aware of the exclusion. Folks in the east have the exclusion and don't talk about it much. Most property owners (east or west) should consider the coverage. Even a relatively minor quake can cause massive damage to buildings not built to withstand shaking.

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ICE Your Cell Phone - As a insurance and risk management consultant I am always looking for ideas that make for safer living. A lesson from the subway bombings in London is starting to make the rounds in America. Apparently, in Europe, ICE has been a fixture on cell phones for some time. I'd never heard of it until recently and the people I have talked with hadn't either. We need to spread the word.

ICE stands for "In Case of Emergency." In the directory of your cell phone enter a listing for ICE, then the phone number of someone who could help an EMT or first responder with information about your medical history. Use the phone number of a parent, spouse, friend, relative. If you put the listing as "_ICE" it shows up first on the phone list. In the event of an accident where you are not conscious the EMT can pullout your cell, look at the directory and call the ICE number to get vital medical information or at least then can quickly let your family know which hospital you're being taken to. You can even put listings for ICE1, ICE2, and ICE3.

Apparently this is quite common outside the US. Let's spread the word here! Of course having something in your wallet or purse with vital info is also a great idea.

In a medical emergency every second counts. ICE is another tool we can give first responders to help them help us.

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Loss of Business Income Insurance - There are over100 different ways to structure coverage to provide for the lost profits, continuing expenses, and extra expenses that result from a fire, windstorm, or other insured loss. Is your coverage designed properly? Do you have enough insurance? Will a coinsurance penalty delay and reduce your loss payment? Contact me to learn more. Call 207.284.0085 or email me at scott@icofmaine.com.

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Visit My Insurance Blog – My general thoughts about the world of insurance - http://insurancebuzzer.blogspot.com/.

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Recent Press Comments – There was a small mention of me in a piece in Money Magazine this month - http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/27/pf/kids_insurance_0510/.

Investors Business Daily also picked up some information I use when I mentor kids - http://epaper.investors.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=SUJELzIwMDUvMDkvMTMjQXIwMDQwMg==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom-ibd.

If you want to see the whole career advice piece go to my blog at http://insurancebuzzer.blogspot.com/2005/09/career-advice-from-old-frt.html

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Special Reports Available - Order My Special Reports - Guaranteed To Help You Save Premium Dollars.

SR #1 - Premium Saving Insurance Basics For Small Business - For info see: http://www.icofmaine.com/SR1save.html

SR#2 - Buying and Bidding Your Insurance – For info see: http://www.icofmaine.com/SR2%20Bid%20Buy.html.

SR #3 - How To Save Money On Your Workers Compensation Insurance - For info see: http://www.icofmaine.com/SR3WC.html

Take a look at all my reports and teleseminars CDs - http://www.icofmaine.com/store.html

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Life In Maine And Other Stuff - End of the vacationer’s summer is now here in Maine. It always amazes me that the tourists seem to think that the snows start right after Labor Day. Truth is, September and October are spectacular months here. I'm going to the mountains this weekend and whitewater rafting in a few weeks. Might even have a few lobsters before the snow flies!

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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@icofmaine.com for a copy of the business mistakes paper. Email to personal@icofmaine.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@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.