Your Friend In Insurance

March 2011 Newsletter

2011-03-29T21:05:00.003-05:00

Insuring Champions

For those of you who sent us a referral in the month of February, Thank You! Everyone who got a quote from G2 Insurance in February was entered into our contest to win free insurance for a year if UW or MU WON a national championship. Unfortunately, neither Wisconsin or Marquette could make it past the Sweet 16. Frankly, I think everyone is a little surprised by the teams that did make the final four. We had alot of fun with the contest and helped out some new friends, so if the opportunity presents itself we will keep doing fun things like this in the future. At least you can watch me make a fool of myself on video!

Client Specials

The very first newsletter I did we got a client and fellow tenant of our building, Squeeze Studio Fitness, to run a special for just our clients. (If you ask Shannon really nice she may still honor it too) In that first email I also said I would try to find more clients willing to share their services or products with you at a discount and I found another volunteer The Venice Club on Calhoun Rd in Brookfield. The owner Antoinette has agreed to a deal for clients of G2 Insurance! I love the food at The Venice Club, if you have never tried the deep fried eggplant you are really missing out! Rather than just attach a coupon that people can use over and over we do need to limit the number of coupons that get sent out. So if you would like to try out The Venice Club or if you simply want to go back, just email me asking for your free coupon. I will email you a numbered coupon to take over and present for your discount! The coupon gives you $5 off a $25 meal or $10 off a $50 meal. Full details are on the coupon. Enjoy!

Good Dog

We get a number of questions each year asking us about dogs and insurance. The most common question is what dogs do insurance companies not want to cover. While every company is different, I can tell you almost every company will say no to the following breeds; pit bull, rottweiler, wolf hybrid, akita, chow, presa-canario, shar-pei or dogs with previous bite history. Now, I am a dog lover, below is a picture of my big dumb lovable lab Jake(and son Connor), and I really do believe it is the owner that makes the dog but unfortunately there are a number of bad owners who have ruined things for those good dogs. The second most common question I get is, what happens if my dog bites somebody? The good news is your personal liability from your home, condo or renters policy does cover your dog's actions. Unfortunately, once a dog does bite someone insurance companies get very nervous because if a dog known to have bitten a person bites another person, the damages are double! So make sure you keep your furry family member on a leash or in a fenced in yard to help avoid any potential problems.

Trivia

So last month I put a trivia question at the end of the newsletter just for fun and got a great response. So I thought I would keep it rolling. While I would have much preferred to have a question about UW or MU making the final four, it wasn't in the cards. But I must admit the NCAA tournament has been interesting this year! Here is the question: Name the mascots of this year's final four teams. Again the first 3 winners will receive a G2 Insurance gift pack. Good Luck!

February 2011 Newsletter

2011-02-25T11:03:00.002-06:00

What is an ice Dam?

Every year we get questions about water seeping in at the roof line and as a result, we have the same conversation a number of times. The conversation usually involves the explanation of what an ice dam is and how one forms. So I thought it might be useful for people to see how an ice dam actually forms and why it is so important to get a roof rake and remove the snow from your roof. Here is a great picture of what an ice dam is:

The one thing this picture is missing is the gutter at the bottom of the roof that is usually the cause of the snow and ice backing up and freezing in the first place. Hopefully the ice dams are behind us this winter, but if you experience any damage please give us a call to start your claim.

I don't need flood insurance, do I?

This is the other question we start getting right around this time of year. With all of the snow melting and the potential for some heavy rains coming in at the same time flooding can be a major problem. While home insurance policies can have coverage for sewer backup or sump pump overflow, there is no coverage for floods. The only place to buy flood coverage is through the national flood program offered by the federal government. The coverage is only for the first floor and above(personal property in basements is not covered) and the premium varies on whether you are in a flood zone or not. The good news is that if you are not in a flood zone the premium is pretty inexpensive, unfortunately if you are in a flood zone the premiums can get pretty crazy. Most mortgage companies will tell you if flood insurance is required when you buy your home, but it may be worth a phone call and free quote if you have never explored it. At the rate Wisconsin is going we will probably have another 100 year flood this year!

Last chance for FREE INSURANCE!

Last month I mentioned our contest for the month of February, where prospects could win free insurance for up to a year! The contest ends on Feb. 28, 2011 so let people know asap. You can get all of the details on www.insuringchampions.com

Super Bowl Trivia

Like most people in Wisconsin I watched with great joy as the Packer's won their 4th Super Bowl recently. I love sports and have been a Packer fan my whole life so it was pretty sweet to go from almost not making the playoffs to winning the whole thing! One interesting item I learned from the non-stop coverage leading up to the big game was a bit of team history. So I thought I would ask everyone a trivia question and the first 3 people to respond with the correct answer will win a G2 Insurance gift pack. Here is the question:

What does the "G" on the Green Bay Packer's helmet stand for?

January 2011 Newsletter

2011-02-25T10:55:00.002-06:00

Christmas Gifts

Every year we have conversations with our clients about the new pieces of jewelry they need to add to the their policy. The conversation usually goes along these lines... CLIENT: Oh by the way I need to add a new piece of jewelry to our policy. US: Ok, when did you get the piece CLIENT: I actually got it as a Christmas gift, I just keep forgetting to call you and add it on. So in order to help everyone remember to give us a call now to add those items on I thought we would throw this little reminder in this month's newsletter and if you are not sure if it is worth adding on just give us a call to talk it over.

Texting Law

Everyone has probably heard that Wisconsin now has a texting law on the books and here are a few details on the law. "No person may drive any motor vehicle while composing or sending an electronic text message or an electronic mail message" The fine in Wisconsin for violating the law can range from $20 to $400, though the actual cost varies on who is processing the ticket. A ticket issued by a State Patrol will cost $187.90 while a ticket from Madison police will cost $101.40. Both result in four points on a Wisconsin driver's license. What's still allowed is very dangerous and demonstrates how limited the law is: *Talking on a cel phone, *Using a cel phone to dial a number, answer a call, scroll through an address book or use other features, *Sending a text message or email while stopped at a traffic light or stopped in congested traffic, *Reading a text message or browsing the internet while driving,&nbs p; *Using a GPS system and amateur radio devices while driving, *Sending a voice activated text message.
Source: State Patrol

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

On March 10, 2010, Governor Doyle signed into law Senate Bill 415, legislation that requires all homes to have carbon monoxide detectors beginning on February 1, 2011. Carbon monoxide is a dangerous, poisonous gas which cannot be detected by human senses. Dubbed the “silent killer,” carbon monoxide claims more than 2,000 lives each year and sends more than 40,000 people to the emergency room in the U.S. alone. At high concentrations, carbon monoxide can be fatal within minutes. Twenty three other states already have laws requiring carbon monoxide alarms in residential properties.

This new law will expand the current carbon monoxide detector requirements to all one- and two-family homes and parallels requirements for smoke alarms for ease of installation. Specifically, this new law will require carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in the basement of the dwelling and on each floor level except the attic or storage area of both newly constructed and existing homes. For new construction, the alarms must be hard-wired in order to be current with national model safety codes. For existing homes, the alarms can be battery operated and can be multipurpose (smoke and carbon monoxide). Dwellings with no attached garages, no fireplaces and no fuel-burning appliances are exempted from this requirement.

Similar to the smoke alarm law, the new carbon monoxide detector law does not have a fine or penalty associated with non-compliance. However, all home inspections will be required to check for carbon monoxide alarms.
Last session, the legislature passed and Governor Doyle signed into law a measure requiring carbon monoxide detectors in all new and existing multifamily units. Beginning April 1, 2010, all existing multifamily units are required to have carbon monoxide detectors. Plug-in alarms are acceptable to comply with this new law in existing multifamily units

$750 Cash Prize

By now all of our Clients should now that we have a referral program and for each referral we give out $10 or $25 gas cards.($10 For personal insurance and $25 for businesses) The second part of the referral program is that at the end of each year we put the names of all the people who sent us referrals into a bag and draw out a name. That lucky winner then gets $750 in cash. We just did the drawing and this years winner is.....drum roll please.... Erma Goodman. I did a quick video for our Youtube channel with Erma and below a picture of Erma accepting the prize.

Free Insurance for a year?

Speaking of referrals, if you have someone in mind you may want to have them give us a call in February. The reason being, we plan on having a very unique contest in February. Since the people who send us referrals already get gas cards and a chance at a big cash prize we wanted to give our new prospects something more than great service and savings on their premiums. Here's the deal: If Marquette or Wisconsin wins the college basketball tournament title, G2 Insurance Services will give up to a free year of insurance coverage to fans who receive a policy quote during February. No purchase is required so even if the person doesn't buy a policy they could still win free insurance for up to a year. You can see the official rules and details or start a quote at www.insuringchampions.com. We are big college sports fans and thought it would be great if not only their team won but they won too!

December 2010 Newsletter Trivia!

2011-02-25T10:54:00.000-06:00

Christmas Carols Quiz

Christmas is in the air and you just may find yourself humming a favorite Christmas Carol. But just how much do you know about these familiar tunes?
Find out with the following quiz.

1. Where was I when I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus?
2. What carol contains the line “O Tidings of Comfort and Joy?”
3. In the song Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, what did Grandma go get?
4. Who kept time with the Little Drummer Boy?
5. How many pipers piping did my true love send to me?
6. What carol contains the phrase, “Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la?”
7. What carol is known as the counting song?
8. What carol demands figgy pudding?
9. What song was originally titled One Horse Open Sleigh?
10. What carol contains the line “Although it’s been said, many times, many ways?”
11. What carol contains the line ”Somebody waits for you, kiss her once for me?”
12. Who first recorded Here Comes Santa Claus?
13. What song does a caroler sing outside of Scrooge’s office?
14. On every street corner you hear what song?
15. What was Brenda Lee doing around the Christmas Tree?
16. In Winter Wonderland, the love struck couple pretends a snowman is who?
Answers:
1. On the Stairs
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. her medication
4. the ox and lamb
5. eleven
6. Deck the Halls
7. The Twelve Days of Christmas
8. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
9. Jingle Bells
10. The Christmas Song
11. A Holly Jolly Christmas
12. Gene Autry
13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
14. Silver Bells
15. rockin’
16. Parson Brown

Christmas Move Quiz

1. In the 1988 film "Scrooged," the character played by Bill Murray is:
a) a cold-hearted banker
b) a cold-hearted TV executive
c) a cold-hearted police officer
d) a cold-hearted politician

2. What's the name of George Bailey's guardian angel in "It's a Wonderful Life?"
a) Ariel
b) Henry
c) Clarence
d) Frank

3. In "It's a Wonderful Life," George Bailey as a boy suffers an injury to:
a) his foot
b) his arm
c) his eyes
d) his ear

4. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is written by:
a) Tim Burton
b) Martin Scorsese
c) Jimmy Stewart
d) Danny DeVito

5. "White Christmas" is set in
a) Colorado
b) Montana
c) New Hampshire
d) Vermont
6. Who plays Bing Crosby's Army buddy in "White Christmas?"
a) Jimmy Stewart
b) Dean Martin
c) Danny Kaye
d) Bob Hope

7. The little girl who's skeptical about Santa Clause in "Miracle on 34th Street" is played by:
a) Natalie Wood
b) Audrey Hepburn
c) Anne Bancroft
d) Sharon Stone

8. Miracle on 34th Street revolves around which department store?
a) Bloomingdales
b) Macys
c) Parisian
d) Neiman Marcus

9. In "Home Alone," a young boy is abandoned when his parents rush to a holiday vacation in:
a) Vermont
b) London
c) Paris
d) New York

10. The 1982 Barry Levinson film "Diner" is set in which city?
a) New York
b) Cleveland
c) Baltimore
d) Boston

11. Which of the following actors was NOT in "Diner?"
a) Kevin Bacon
b) Ellen Barkin
c) Matt Dillon
d) Mickey Rourke

12.What happens to the character played by Tim Allen in "The Santa Clause?"
a) he gains weight
b) grows a beard
c) he gets fired
d) all of the above

ANSWERS:
1. - Answer - (b)
2. - Answer - (c)
3. - Answer - (d)
4. - Answer - (a)
5. - Answer - (d)
6. - Answer - (c)
7. - Answer - (a)
8. - Answer - (b)
9. - Answer - (c)
10. - Answer - (c)
11. - Answer - (c)
12. - Answer - (d)

November 2010 Newsletter

2011-02-25T10:48:00.003-06:00

Should I raise my Home Insurance deductible?

At least 4 or 5 times a week we are asked the question, "Should I raise my Deductible?" During the current economy I think it is more important than ever to look at ways to save a few dollars and increasing your deductible is one of the easiest. Before we can decide what level you should have your deductible at, you need to ask yourself what deductible you are comfortable with, $250, $500, $1000 or higher? Once you decide what level you are comfortable with then we can look at what type of savings a higher deductible might provide. Generally speaking, going from one deductible to the next higher deductible will save about 10% of your home premium. While it is a good idea to see how long the savings might take to "payback" your deductible, you also need to consider the purpose of home insurance. Home insurance is designed for emerge ncies not minor maintenance. So if you are able to handle minor repairs yourself and can also afford $1000 in the event of a major event, then I say go with the higher deductible and save the money, even if the annual savings is only a minor amount.

Why do I need Liability for my small business?

The biggest mistake I see many small business owners make is they assume they don't need liability insurance. They think that because they run the business out of their home, like a daycare, or because it is such a minor amount of sales, like an in home sales business such as Mary Kay Cosmetics, they are covered by their home policy, this is not true. Your home insurance(or condo or renters) will not cover your liability for any businesses. The good news is most home businesses can be added on to a home policy for a very low premium, usually around $50 per year. If you run a business that is a little more involved you can buy a basic commercial liability policy starting around $200 per year. Either policy will give you at least $300,000 of liability coverage for any person who is accidentally injured on your property or because of your actions. While many people will say the chances of something happ ening are slim, it only takes one injury to create a lawsuit which could cost you thousands and thousands of dollars.

Client Deals

One of the features we hope to have in every news letter is a deal we can offer to all of our clients. We recently mailed out a reminder letter to all of our clients about our referral program and at the bottom off that letter was a P.S. with the first deal we were able to secure for our clients. One of the tenants in our new building is Squeeze Studio Fitness, owned by Shannon Carney. Shannon has been very generous with an offer to all of our clients worth over $1000! You can see all of the details by watching a short video on our new Youtube channel, www.youtube.com/tgaumond. So if you are l ooking for a personal trainer or just a great place to work out check out the video and tell Shannon you want the G2 Insurance special when you call.

Crazy Claims

We hear some very interesting stuff when it comes to claims but luckily this was not one of our clients!

Free Gifts with any insurance quotes

2010-11-11T17:02:00.000-06:00

Check out the second video I did for our new youtube channel. Any prospective client that gives me a copy of their policies will get a free gift from me. Just give me a call or shoot me an email to get the process going!

Introducing G2 Insurance Services, Inc.

2010-11-11T16:58:00.000-06:00

Ever wondered who you were talking to when you call G2 Insurance? Wonder no more, check out the video from our new youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/tgaumond

Do you have basic Insurance knowledge?

2010-04-19T15:37:00.002-05:00

Only 45% of Americans feel confident in making insurance decisions according to a new survey done National Association of Insurance Commissioners. 60% of people did not know if their auto policy covered the personal property when stolen from their car or whether or not credit affects your auto insurance premiums. 86% of Americans do not understand the terms used to describe their auto liability limits such as 100/300/100, where the last figure represents the amount your insurance company will pay for the property you have damaged in an accident.

If you are like the majority of Americans and want to better understand your insurance policy give us a call!

Do I need an inventory of my stuff?

2010-04-13T16:17:00.003-05:00

I get asked this question all the time. What happens if there is a fire and all my stuff is destroyed? Do I need an inventory to prove what I owned to the insurance company? The quick answer is no, it is not a requirement, however you are going to need to come up with the list of everything you lost in order to replace it. So while surfing one of my favorite sites I found a nice resource you can take a look at, http://lifehacker.com/5514470/five-best-home-inventory-tools

Lifehacker.com has put together a list of the most popular ways people inventory their stuff. i personally like the idea of a video because you can just redo it whenever you need to and there is no cost but the time it takes to walk around your house, apartment or condo.

Another thing I would like to mention is that this is not only a good idea for you personally but it may also be a good idea for your business. Take the time to make some sort of inventory and then make sure you keep it off premises, it is just like making a backup of your hard drive.

Hope this helps!

Instant Messaging with G2 Insurance is now available

2010-02-06T22:31:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that if you prefer to instant message me I now have a Google Talk account. From my understanding you will need to also have a Google Talk account in order to chat or voice chat with me but it is free. I figured I would add just in case anyone out there feels like they can't get ahold of me easliy enough with our office phones, cel phone, texting, and emails!

We just gave away $750 in cash!

2010-02-03T14:23:00.004-06:00

Every year for the last few years we have run our referral program and handed out a major award at the end of the year. This year's winner is Sue B. Sue won $750 is cash and was very happy to stop in our office to have her picture taken with Tom & Sally.

We are still running the referral program for 2010 and we are now including Health Insurance referrals too! Send in your referrals and maybe I will be giving you a check next year!

Restaurant Insurance

2010-01-22T20:45:00.002-06:00

We write mamy different types of businesses but the one type of business I seem to run into more often are restaurants. We happen to have many of the best companies in Wisconsin to write coverage for restaurants so we tend to write alot of them. In fact we are members of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and attend the WRA Expo each year. This year we have decided to expand our marketing efforts and have even launched a new website www.restaurantinsurancewi.com The whole idea behind the website is to give restaurant owners answers to commonly asked questions. Questions that could mean the difference between a restaurant reopening after a major loss or closing for good. Check out the website and if you plan on attending the WRA Expo stop by our booth!

Dogs and Insurance

2009-10-02T10:36:00.003-05:00

I love my dog. He is a big dumb oaf that loves us with all his heart. His name is Jake and he is about 8 years old(not sure exactly because we got him from another family). He is a yellow lab as you see in the picture and he allows us to do silly things to him like make him lay on the couch while we show how big our son has gotten.

Jake does dumb things all the time like run away, and eat balls of tinfoil that he finds in the garbage. Luckily, Jake has never seriously injured anyone, although he did jump on our neighbor and break the skin which resulted in the City of Milwaukee sending over some police officers to check out the vicious dog we had.

I am mentioning this because I just read the following fact "Dog bites account for 1/3 of all homeowners liability claims" The average cost of a dog bite claim in 2008 was $24,461!!!! That number amazed me, I knew insurance companies were nervous about dogs but now I know why.

The other reason I wanted to write this post is to clarify a common question I get from clients. What kind of dogs will insurance companies not cover? The main breeds which insurance companies do not want to cover are: Rottweilers, Pittbulls, Akita, Chow, Presa Canario, Wolf Hybrids, and Shar-Pei. I personally am of the opinion that all of these dogs might be fine in the right setting, except maybe the Wolf Hybrid, but insurance companies tend to be pessimistic whereas agents tend to be optimistic. The important thing is that if you do have one of these breeds make sure you communicate it prior to getting a policy. The last thing you want is to get a new policy only to have it cancelled when the inspector sees your dog. At which point you may or may not be able to find a new policy willing to cover your breed.

The last thing I will mention is that any damage a pet of yours causes to your own home will not be covered by your home insurance. This is a standard exclusion on Homeowners policys, just ask my parents. My childhood dog, Domer, chewed up almost all of the woodwork in their house causing thousands of dollars of damage and the policy couldn't reimburse them a nickel. Domer survived, probably because my father doesn't own a shotgun, but the house was in pretty bad shape.

Just something for all of you dog owners to chew on. :)

Auto Insurance In Milwaukee

2009-08-17T15:43:00.001-05:00

Shopping for auto insurance in Milwaukee? Try our new website for getting an Erie Insurance quote. www.autoinsurancemke.com. We are an independent agent so Erie Insurance is only one of the many companies we represent but they were nice enough to give us this custom made website.

What do you mean I don't have coverage?!?!

2009-07-28T08:31:00.004-05:00

The other day a friend came in to my office and asked me to run some quotes for him. Of course I was happy to help out but I was happier to see he had copies of his current policies with him. We took a few minutes to go over some of the basic info so I could get the quotes started and one of the first things I noticed was the his wife was not listed on the policies. I knew he was married and asked why she wasn't listed. He asked me if she should be listed or if it makes a difference. To which I responded, YES, YES, YES IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE!

When insurance companies/agents write a policy for an insured there are some very basic things that should always be done to make sure the policy will cover you the way it is supposed to. One of the most basic is always listing husband/wife, engaged couples, or long time partners together on the policy. This ensures that both people who own the property have all of the rights of a named insured. What does this mean for you? If you and your spouse own a home and it burns to the ground, the first thing the insurance company does is pull out their copy of your policy to find out who gets the money. You might have a mortgage company who needs to get paid but aside from that, the money goes to the named insured, i.e. the person listed on the front of the policy. In that same home you may have someone get seriously injured and sue you for their injuries. Again, your company will look at your policy to decide who they need to defend for that lawsuit and the first place they look is the named insured.

So if your spouse isn't listed does he/she have coverage? Yes and no. Every policy I have ever worked with will define "you" as "The named insured shown in the Declarations and the spouse if a resident of the same household". So as long as your spouse is a resident of the house there is coverage. However, if they move out of the house temporarliy for whatever reason, divorce, seperation, has to work in another state for her employer for an extended period of time, they are no longer a "you" and don't get coverage.

Luckily there is a very simple fix. List both you and your significant other on all of your insurance policies, home, auto, boat, umbrella, etc. This way you won't have to worry about it.

Auto Insurance soon to be mandatory in Wisconsin

2009-07-20T20:17:00.003-05:00

In case you missed it, the Governor's budget had a few lines regarding auto insurance when it was passed. Basically starting June 1, 2010 every car on the road in Wisconsin will be required to be insured. Some people don't realize that Wisconsin is one of only two states that don't currently require auto insurance, but starting next year that will all change. You can read all of the details in a Journal Sentinel article http://www.jsonline.com/business/51147942.html. In addition to requiring auto insurance, the budget also requires the minimun insurance requirements to be increased over the next few years.

I have had a few discussions with clients asking me what this will mean for their insurance premiums. In my opinion, it means premiums are going up. If you increase the minimun requirements for everyone then the people with the lowest liability limits are going to need to increase their coverage. Some will decide the increased cost for the new higher limits is too expensive and decide to risk it and not carry any insurance. So the number of uninsured drivers goes up. With more uninsured drivers there are, the more claims that go unpaid increasing everyone's insurance costs. In addition to an increase in the number of uninsured drivers, the insurance companies are also going to see more people buying policies and not keeping them in force. How does this increase costs? Basically an insurance company looks at a new policy as a long term investment. The cost to start a new policy, go through underwriting, issue the policy etc is where the majority of the cost comes for the company. They anticipate the policy will stay in force for 3 years which is about when a company breaks even on a policy, depending on the claims of a client.

Overall, I really disagree with the idea of the government stepping in to make decisions for people. As an agent, I counsel my clients to carry the limits appropriate for their life, family, budget, etc. This is the job of the insurance professional, not the State of Wisconsin. I would love to have every person in Wisconsin insured properly but that is a little utopian in my opinion. The costs associated for the insurance companies and the State of Wisconsin will far outweigh the benefits of a few more people carrying insurance. In fact, the article points out that mandating insurance does not mean an increase in insured motorists. Obviously we are going to have to wait and see what happens with all of the new rules but I am going on the record now as being firmaly against these changes, not just for my agency but for my clients too!

Call me with Google!

2009-07-17T23:32:00.003-05:00

I just added a great feature to the blog, Google Voice. If you want to get ahold of me but are not certain if you should call the office or my cel, now you can just dial one number and it will find me! If for some reason I still can't take you call you can just leave a voicemail and it will send me an email with the message right away.( I have a smartphone so I will get the email right away too) Try it out next time you need to get in touch with me, it is a neat piece of software!

American Family Increases Home Rates

2009-06-19T09:58:00.004-05:00

I was watching Fox 6 news last night while getting ready for bed and they had their Business Journal Minute that gave some details on a rumor I have been hearing for the last few weeks. American Family Insurance is increasing their Home rates by about 10% this year. This comes after an increase of about 11% last year. The Business Journal has the short article here.

While almost every insurance companies makes adjustments on an annual basis, these increases are quite high. Most of the companies we represent are still only adjusting their rates by 1 or 2 percentage points and many of them are midwest based companies too.

Oddly enough the midwest has always been a better place for insurance companies to operate simply because we don't have the hurricanes, mud slides, wild fires, etc that the coasts get hit with on a regular basis. However, the last few years the midwest has gotten hammered with hail storms, heavy rains and bad snow storms.

These types of increases by insurance companies are one of the main reasons we are an independent agency. If one of our companies increases rates by too much we have many other companies that are willing to accept the business at better rates. At least then you as the client just have to get used to a new company, not a new agent and a new company at the same time.

As always, quotes are free and we love referrals give us a call or tell your friends. Every referral earns you a $10 gas card just for sending your friends and family to YOUR FRIEND IN INSURANCE!

Buying/Starting a new business.

2009-06-11T09:10:00.003-05:00

So I just learned a friend of mine is expanding his business and while he was talking about the details it got me thinking of all the people I talk with who have decided to buy or start their own business. Sooner or later the topic of insurance comes up(hopefully before they start the business!) and most of these people have never had to deal with all of the insurance issues a business owner faces. So I thought I would do a quick post on some of the very basics any new business owner might need to consider.

I could go on for hours with all of the details depending on the type of business but lets keep it simple and go over the basic coverages your business would need, liability, property, auto, and worker's compensation. There are lots more coverages to consider but these are the four that are almost always needed in some way shape or form. Lets start with liability coverage.

Liability coverage protects you and everything you own. If you have a business you need to have liability coverage, period. Even if you run a business out of your home like my wife, who is a Creative Memories consultant, there is still liability. If you have a home business you can probably have the business liability extended from your homeowners insurance, but if you have an office or some other type of business you will probably need a General Liability policy. So what does Liability cover? Without getting real technical and putting you to sleep it covers you (meaning the business and employees) and your business location. Lets go one more step. Your location is covered if some gets injured and decides to sue you for their injuries which is pretty easy to understand. But the first part can get very complicated, the business and the employees are covered for operations, finished products, personal injury, advertising injury and completed operations. Basically this means if you get sued because of your products or actions or you cause injury or property damage you should have coverage. I say should because there are millions of situations and I can't cover them all.

The second line of coverage is Property. Now when we talk about property we are talking about property owned by you and the business. A building, office furniture, computers, tools, equipment, etc. Depending on the policy you will usually get the standard coverages for things like fire, theft, vandalism, wind, hail, etc. A big item which most people forget is your income. Many business policies will automatically give you 12 months of lost income coverage if you have a covered loss. So for example, a restaurant has a fire and is out of business for 6 months the insurance policy will pay the owner the lost profit, the additional costs that have not gone away even though the restaurant has, and maybe even the payroll for key employees. This is huge if your business is your only source of income!

The third coverage is Auto. Now many people will say "I don't have a company car so I don't need Business Auto insurance." Not true. Anytime you take your personal car to an appointment or to run an errand for the business you have a liability exposure. If you get into a serious accident on the way to an appointment the other driver may get an attorney who decides to sue you and your business. I always included the coverage for non business owned vehicles on every policy I sell because it is cheap and covers a gap. While it may not be the biggest exposure to your business, it can definitely put you out of business in a hurry if you don't have coverage.

The last line of coverage is Worker's Compensation. Work Comp is required by the State of Wisconsin for any employer that has an employee making more than $500 in any calendar quarter. If you have an employee earning less than $40 per week you are probably running a sweat shop and have other problems. The nice thing in Wisconsin is that the State determines the rates business pay for their Work Comp and also all of the benefits and coverages the insurance companies provide to the employees. The only thing that will change rates is what type of business you do. A clerical employee will cost a lot less than a roofing contractor, for obvious reasons. There are some secrets to saving money on Work Comp that I share with my clients....but you have to talk to me to get those!

So there you have it a very brief summary of what you might want to think about when you venture in the world of business ownership. This is really only the tip of the iceberg and depending on your business things get very complicated which is why my friends and clients trust me to help them navigate the many companies and coverages to find what fits them.

Don't raise my insurance premiums!

2009-06-05T08:07:00.003-05:00

Recently the Joint Finance Committee approved a final version of Governor Doyle's budget which contains a number of mandates that are going to have a major affect on everyone's insurance premiums. Did I mention they did this in the middle of the night? That doesn't seem sneaky at all!

Here is a summary of the issues:

1. A return to joint and several liability, in which you can be forced to pay any millions of dollars even if you were only minimally at fault. Currently, state law mandates that a defendant must be found at least 51% at fault to be found liable. Doyle wanted to reduce that to 1%. The committee will tell you that they listened to the people and compromised by changing Doyle's proposal to 20%. So now, an individual who is 80% innocent can still be held liable for 100% of all damages.

2. Requiring the highest auto limits in the nation. As a compromise, the Democrats agreed to phase in the increases. However, to make matters worse, they added an annual inflationary index that would eventually require the minimums to be raised to odd numbers like $103,624.

3. Allowing stacking of limits for Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist. This is a particular concern for commercial auto. For example, under current law if a customer purchases a limit of $1 million, then that customer is protected up to that limit for any one loss. Under the new proposal, the limit would be determined based upon the number of vehicles that are insured. So, the person who owns a fleet of 100 vehicles, would be able to "stack" all of the limits together and would be covered for, not the $1 million he paid for, but $100 million.

4. Allowing judges and attorneys to give a jury instructions which will unduly influence them and introduce a sympathy factor. A jury is supposed to decide cases on fact, not sympathy.

5. The budget also calls for numerous tax increases as well as fee increases on such everyday items as your cell phone.

I know people don't like thinking about insurance but we all have to pay for it and our Governor is trying to make you pay more by adding in these changes to the budget. If you have a second click on the link, http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/wiia33772441.aspx and fill out the form to let them know you do not want to pay more for your insurance premiums.

Tom

Welcome to the G2 Insurance Services Blog

2009-05-28T09:41:00.000-05:00

Welcome to The Your Friend in Insurance Blog! Over time I hope this blog will become a valuable resource to our clients, associates and friends. I promise not to just post about insurance related topics! I have already lined up some guest posters to help you with financial advice, accounting, printing, computers and many many more. So stay tuned and thanks for being a friend!