Insurance Consultants of Maine Newsletter
Scott Simmonds, CPCU
January, 2004
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Feel free to forward this newsletter to your colleagues. Your comments, questions and suggestions are always welcome. Email: scott@icofmaine.com


Predictions For 2004
I was recently asked by the Portland Press Herald to put together my predictions for the 2004 insurance marketplace. The article appeared in the January 9th business section. Kinda fun to pull out the crystal ball! See the article here - www.icofmaine.com/pph104.pdf.

Insurance Company Financial Ratings
One of my primary concerns in 2004 is the financial stability of insurers. I utilize the services of Weiss Ratings to provide unbiased, fair interpretations of stability and soundness of insurance companies. Unlike other rating services, Weiss accepts no fees or payments from the insurers they rank. Neither do they remove ratings at the insurer's request like some rating organizations. In short, their ratings are unbiased. Contact me if you'd like information on your insurance company - scott@icofmaine.com or call 207.284.0085.

Funding a buy/sell when disability hits
Buy-Sell agreements are contracts between the owners of a business stipulating that if one dies, becomes disabled or retires the other(s) will buy the business. The tough part is to figure out how to fund the transfer of ownership. Partners should consider funding for all events that remove a partner of the business - death, disability and retirement. I've seen many programs recently with life insurance in place to fund the buy-sell if a partner dies but no disability insurance in force to protect against an accident that prevents an owner from continuing. For most business owners the chance of being disabled is much higher than the chance of death. Make sure your buy-sell is properly funded.

Dog Bites
This newsletter typically covers commercial insurance issues. However, there is a growing problem in personal insurance. Dog owners are finding that their insurance is being cancelled or restricted. In some states certain breads are being "black-listed" by insurers. There are 4.7 million dog bites each year in the US, costing insurers over $1 billion. Dog bites represent one third of all homeowner liability losses. There are two sides to this story. First, dog owners need liability coverage. The other side is that the homeowners insurance for non-dog-owners costs more because of claims of dog owners! Why shouldn't dog owners pay more for insurance like smokers pay more for life insurance? If you are more at risk for a loss shouldn't you pay more?

Mad Cow / Product Recall / Regulatory Shutdown
The recent revelation of Mad Cow in WA has prompted some questions about product recall expenses. In short, if a business must recall a product there is no coverage under most liability policies. Coverage can be purchased through specialty insurers. Similarly, there is no coverage under most insurance programs for the loss of business due to the public's concern either through bad publicity or heightened awareness of potential problems. Further, if a government inspector closes down your operation (a restaurant for example) for a health code violation there is no insurance coverage under most policies.

Revised OSHA 300 Form
The OSHA log of work-related illnesses and injuries (Form 300), is used to track each recordable workplace injury or illness. A revised Form 300 was put into use beginning January 1, 2004. The new form includes several changes, including info on hearing loss and simpler formulas for calculating incidence rates. The revised form is available on the OSHA website - www.osha.gov.

Insurance Mentoring Program
Most of my work with companies is direct, hands on assistance. I spend time on-site with management. For most of my clients I also have direct interaction with their insurance agent. Some companies have asked for less formal assistance. For them I offer what I call insurance mentoring. The program lasts for three, six or twelve months. I assist with all areas of insurance providing unlimited phone and email consultation. Contact me if you'd like to learn more.

Do You Need A Program For An Up coming Meeting?
I'm pleased to speak to groups and associations about insurance and risk management topics. Call on me if you need a presenter! I'm told I actually make insurance interesting. Click here for details: www.icofmaine.com/ispeaker.html


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

Help With Your Experience Modification
Goto http://www.modmanager.com for help understanding your work comp experience modification. Check out this free tool.

Life Insurance
How secure is your life insurance? Do you have the right kind? Is the policy set up correctly? I can help. Call 207.284.0085 or email me at scott@icofmaine.com. Remember, I don't sell insurance so I'm unbiased.

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Scott Simmonds, CPCU
Insurance Consultants of Maine, Inc.
Saco, ME 04072
Phone 207 284-0085
Fax 801 991-4027
scott@icofmaine.com
www.icofmaine.com
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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. We accept no fees or payments of any kind from any insurance organization or any company mentioned in this newsletter.

© 2004 Insurance Consultants of Maine, Inc. All Rights Reserved. We encourage sharing this newsletter in whole or in part if copyright and attribution (including my web address) are always included.