Insurance companies are rapidly changing the way they sell insurance and these changes affect your coverage. First, insurance companies are attempting to remove agents from the process. If you’ve noticed, insurance companies are now seeking to sell insurance to you directly. Many companies encourage you to call or click today; inviting you to order insurance directly online or through a customer service representative at a call center.
This new marketing effort occurred several years ago with the travel industry when major airlines removed travel agents from the process of booking flight reservations. If the trend seen in the travel industry holds for insurance, nearly all insurance will ultimately be sold directly without the aid of insurance agents. For example, a current marketing campaign invites consumers to visit the company online and pick the coverage they want based on how much money they want to spend.
This new marketing trend presents a serious problem. Most people do not understand their insurance coverage. They do not know which coverage to buy and which coverage to omit. If a consumer chooses coverage online with the sole focus of obtaining the cheapest coverage available, the consumer runs a substantial risk that they will choose insufficient or inadequate coverage. In my experience dealing with clients who have been seriously or fatally injured in auto, trucking & motorcycle accidents, most people assume they are covered- often when they are NOT covered.
The insurance agent plays a vital role in assuring that your needs are protected. Specifically, an independent insurance agent can best advise you on the correct coverage to buy. I had a great conversation not long ago with a smart local independent insurance agent, Chris Jordan with Atlanta Insurance LIVE. Here are some of Chris’ bullet points about why independent agents are the best choice for consumers who are looking for new insurance options:
- Choices: Independent Agents represent multiple carriers and can shop the marketplace on the consumer’s behalf to find the absolute best products to meet individual’s unique needs and budgets.
- Long Term Relationships: Independent Agents work for their clients for the long term. If an insured’s premium goes up, or situation changes, then we are in a position to change their insurance situation to match these changes. Relying on one agent or agency to handle long term needs puts consumers at a huge advantage. We represent our clients, NOT the company, and because of that independent agents sincerely have their client’s best interests in mind. In fact, the stronger those relationships become, the more the agency is likely to succeed. This mutual trust is so important because of the critical nature insurance plays in our lives.
- Claims Handling: Independent Agents can serve as a liaison between the insurance company and the customer. Many of us develop very close relationships with our carriers and can help guide our client’s through the claims process.
- Coverage: Consumers who buy insurance directly are often buying coverage through a call center where the individual is licensed in many different states. Insurance laws vary state by state and consumers need to work with someone in their state who is well versed in the local laws to make sure coverage fits the local laws, and also the real risk factors locally.
Take a look at your insurance coverage. Call us today for any questions about your coverage.
I enjoy teaching young attorneys who are just starting their solo practice how to manage their own business. In nearly sixteen years of private practice, I’ve learned by doing and now enjoy sharing my experiences.
Lesson 1. Always watch your own money. Read Accounting for Dummies or any similar introduction to accounting. Understand the following basic accounting and tax concepts:
- Chart of Accounts
- Income, Expense, Asset & Liabilities
- Accounts Receivable
- Accounts Payable
- Employment Taxes
- Self-Employment Taxes
- Payroll Taxes
- FICA and Federal Withholding
- P&L Statements
- Balance Sheet
Taxes
Save yourself a major headache. Have any payroll performed by an outside vendor. For a nominal fee, they will process all required payroll taxes, 941 Payments and will provide appropriate accounting when responding to State or Federal Tax Officials.
Accounting Professionals
If you hire an accountant or CPA, be certain to retain control over your books. Review all work product. Never delegate authority to deposit funds, issue online payments or issue payment from credit card accounts. I would expect the likelihood of misappropriation is small, particularly among the hard working accounting profession. With that said, the old saying goes, “never tempt an honest man / woman…” Fundamentally, no one but you has a true interest in the success of your business. At a minimum, keeping control over important accounting functions forces you to be intimately involved in your books. You should always know where your business stands financially. You cannot have this knowledge unless you are involved in your books. A footnote to busy personal injury lawyers or litigators, you can NEVER be too busy to watch your books. Every time I attempt to avoid this lesson in my own practice, it costs me money; either in the form of fees from overlooked items like missed tax payments or failing to collect a client reimbursement at the end of a big case.
Accounting / Bookkeeping
Without fail, every month reconcile all bank statements, liability accounts, large vendor accounts and Aging Receivables Accounts. Personally review unusual items on any statement to reconcile any discrepancies. Review your monthly P&L Statement to identify where you are spending your money. Reconcile any unusual expenses. Review your income sources to fine tune your business model. If you must delegate the bookkeeping function, insist on seeing full reports on all posting entries.
Got it?
The Senate Banking Committee believes an accord might be possible to get the Financial Reform Bill passed through Congress this year.
Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the senior Republican on the panel, said that he and the committee’s Democratic chairman, Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, “agree on probably 90 percent” of “just about everything” in the legislation.
Read more from the New York Times here.
One of the first questions we are asked by new clients is which insurance company should fix their car. Many people do not realize they actually have two choices. The first choice is to have your insurance company pay for the repairs. The second choice is to have the at fault driver’s insurance company pay for the repairs. Each option has advantages and disadvantages.
As to the first option, you can have your insurance company pay for the repair. This is referred to as a first party claim since you are dealing with your insurance company. The advantage in dealing with your insurance company is that you have an existing relationship with the company as their insured. The disadvantage is that you will likely have a deductible. This means that your insurance company will pay for the repair less than the cost of the deductible. If you have a high deductible- as many people do- then you may wish to pursue a claim against the at fault driver’s insurance company. If you decide to have the at fault party’s insurance company pay for repairs, the advantage is that you will not have to pay for the deductible as you would with your policy.
However, the disadvantage is that you do not have a relationship with the other insurance company. They will feel no allegiance to your needs. Also, depending on the facts of the case, they may delay making a decision on whether to accept responsibility. In other words, they may refuse to pay for the loss. This sometimes happens when there is conflicting eye witness testimony or when their own insured refuses to acknowledge that he or she was responsible. In that event, you could wait a long time before the other insurance company agrees to fix your car. If that occurs, your best option is to file a first party claim with your insurance company so that you can get your car fixed quickly. Many times, an experienced repair shop can make-up dramatic price differences to cover the cost of your deductible by using used parts on cosmetic repairs. And, you can also enlist the help of your insurance company to recover the cost of your deductible from the at fault insurance company.
Uninsured motorist coverage, or “UM” for short, is designed to protect you in the event of an accident. UM coverage is found on your auto insurance policy. It is coverage designed to pay you for your injuries if the other driver involved in an accident with you has insufficient insurance. In other words, if the at-fault driver has no insurance, your UM coverage will pay for your loss. Likewise, if the at-fault driver does not have enough insurance, your UM coverage will pay a portion of your loss.
Think of it this way: your liability coverage protects the world from your actions. Your UM Coverage protects you from the actions of others. UM Coverage is very important because so many drivers have little or no insurance. If one of these uninsured drivers injures you, you need to be protected. Unfortunately, most people have little or no UM Coverage. Compared to your liability coverage, UM Coverage is cheap and a good value.
A good rule of thumb to follow:
• Buy as much UM Coverage as your budget allows. It’s a good investment in you.
• At a minimum, buy no less than the same limits of UM Coverage as you have for Liability Coverage;
• For example, if you have $100,000 in liability coverage, you should buy $100,000 in UM Coverage.
Uninsured drivers are a real problem. Call us for a review of your UM Coverage.
Did you know that your insurance company can change your insurance coverage without requiring your signature? The policy of insurance you have with the insurance company is a legally enforceable contract. Therefore, anytime the insurance company wishes to change the terms of your policy, they must provide you with notice. In fact, insurance companies frequently change their insurance polices by issuing amendments.
These amendments are called endorsements. Endorsements usually arrive in the mail on one page with legal language that is often confusing and out of context. If you do not carefully read these endorsements, you may not realize that the insurance company has made a dramatic change to your coverage. Worse yet, you may be paying the same premium for less coverage. For example, your insurance company could send you an endorsement changing the definition of an insured to exclude members of your household. Such a change would dramatically affect your liability exposure in the event one of your family members causes an accident. In that example, since the insurance company changed the policy to exclude family members, then any accident caused by a family member would not be covered. You would then have liability exposure you did not expect.
This is only an example. However, the economy has created dramatic changes in the way insurance companies do business. I am now seeing many instances where insurance companies are excluding coverage for risks that used to be routinely covered. You should carefully read your policy to understand what is covered. Likewise, you should carefully read any endorsements to understand what has changed. Now more than ever, you need to understand your legal rights to best protect your home and family.
On January 12th, the National Safety Council announced that an estimated 1.6 million crashes are caused each year by drivers using cell phones and texting. The announcement came on the one-year anniversary of NSC’s call for a ban on all cell phone use and texting while driving.
Visit NSC’s website for the full article.
The recalled products include junior strength Motrin, children’s Tylenol grape meltaway tablets, extra strength Tylenol, extra strength Tylenol rapid release gelcaps, extra strength Tylenol PM geltabs, Motrin caplets, extra strength Rolaids fresh mint tablets, St. Joseph Aspirin chewable orange tablets and Benedryl allergy ultratab tablets.
They were recalled from a number of lots because of an “unusual moldy, musty or mildew-like” odor.
You can read CNN’s article here, and check out the McNeil Product Recall website for more information.
Parkers Farm, Inc., has revised their original recall to include a very long list of products as of January 15, 2010. All of the listed food items have been recalled, no matter the date code, due to concerns over listeria contamination. People who own these products should stop using them and contact the manufacturer.
Listeria monocytogenes are organisms that can cause serious illness in small children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. Studies have linked listeria to complications in or the early termination of pregnancies.
The original recall limited the contamination list to foods from specific dates; this updated recall is for all of the listed products in all date ranges.
There have been no reports of illness connected to the possibly contaminated Parkers Farm products. The food items listed on the recall were purchased from several nationwide chains, including Walmart, Aldi, Whole Foods, and Kroger, among others. All products were sold as “Parkers Farm” or “Parkers” label items.
The recall was initiated due to positive results for listeria, in samples taken by Minnesota and Wisconsin state authorities.
The products may be returned, presumable to the store where they were originally purchased, for a full refund. Call Parker Farms at (800) 869-6685 for additional information.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and two distributors, Caramia Furniture and Mother Hubbard Cupboard’s of Ontario, Canada, issued a voluntary recall of the “Diane” drop side crib on Thursday, January 14, 2010. People who own these products should stop using them and contact the manufacturer.
The recall was issued because the slats on the cribs drop-side can detach from the top and bottom rails, posing fall and entrapment hazards to the child.. Obviously this is may be extremely dangerous to the consumer.
There are approximately 1,000 of the cribs in circulation. The cribs being recalled were manufactured from September 2002 until June 2004. For your crib’s manufacturing date, look for a label on the inside of the headboard or footboard. The cribs were sold from September 2002 until approximately December 2005.
Though there have been eighteen reports of slats separating from the crib rails. Thankfully, no one has reported an injury due to this malfunction as of yet.
CPSC would like consumers to contact them with reports of injury due to this product. CPSC’s website website or call (800) 638-2772 for more information.
Owners are being encouraged to contact the manufacturer for a free replacement drop side to attach to their crib, available in March of this year. Contact Caramia at (877) 728-0342 or Carmia’s website.
