Scott Simmonds - Insurance Newsletter

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January, 2009
Issue #103 - Since 2000

The Insurance Marketplace

By all indications the insurance market continues to be a buyer's market. Prices are showing no real signs of going up, and competition continues to be strong. More insurers and more agents chasing business is a good thing for insurance buyers.

I have to believe that prices will turn sometime soon. The economy is the perfect excuse for underwriters. However, it isn't happening yet. It has been almost three years now that prices have been dropping.

Bid your insurance now if you have not done so in the past 3 years. Take advantage of the good times. We all know that prices will go up at some point.

From My Insurance Blog - InsuranceBuzzer.com

Unclaimed Property Liabilities

What are your responsibilities regarding unclaimed property?

-Uncashed payroll checks
-Checks to vendors that are uncashed
-Account receivable credit balances
-Unused gift certificates

Business Finance Magazine recently summarized the major points of a book by Tracey Reid, Unclaimed Property: A Reporting Process and Audit Survival Guide (Wiley and Sons, 2008).

The book estimates that only 10% of US companies are compliant with various state laws. By some reports state auditors are going after businesses looking for unclaimed property as a source of revenues. How would your firm do in such a review?

Can you say, "Fines and Penalties?"

Business Insurance Mistake #7

This is from my free ebook, The 20 Biggest Business Insurance Mistakes:

Mistake #7 - Failure to Manage Your Workers' Comp Policy

Managing the components of your workers' compensation policy can yield big savings.

Make sure your employees are properly classified. There are over 600 different classifications. Some have a low premium rate. Some are high. Ask your agent for a copy of your class descriptions. If you have more than one classification, make sure your employees are assigned to the right one.

Ask to review the insurance company’s annual audit of your payroll. These worksheets show the employees allocated to each classification as well as how the payroll numbers were determined. They can be a major source of errors that cost you premium dollars.

Make sure your audits are performed correctly. Has the extra pay for overtime been removed from payroll amounts? Did the auditors recognize the salary caps for executive officers?

Your experience mod is the ratio of your claims to losses expected in companies like yours. It directly affects your premium. Make sure your experience modification is correct. I have found that about 10% of the experience modification worksheets I review contain an error in the data.

Insurance Marketplace - To Bid or Not to Bid

If you have not bid your insurance for a few years, now is the time. In most cases, not bidding your insurance now will result in higher premiums and coverage that is not as broad as it could be.

My booklet, "How to Bid Your Insurance," is now on sale, or download it here for free.

Search Feature

Search my website and blog for any insurance topic. Type it in and get the info you need. If the topic isn't covered anywhere, send me a note. I'm always looking for new insurance topics to pontificate on.

Life In Maine and Other Stuff

Lots of snow! The birds are banging away at my windows and feeders. I have gone through 60 pounds of seed in 6 weeks.

A few weeks ago we lost power in an ice storm for 5 days. I was able to keep my clients happy with my lap-top (and the wireless connection at McDonalds) along with my iPhone. We have lost power for a day or more almost every year since we built our new home 5 years ago. Three times it has been for more than 3 days. A generator is being installed in the next month or so.

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.

Please Feel Free To Forward This Newsletter To Your Business Associates

Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM, CMC
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.