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Vol 1, Issue 1 |
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The Bull Stops Here
Saving You Time, Money, and Frustration on Your Insurance
April 2009 ed. # 46 |
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APRIL FOOLS DAY!
No, unfortunately my headline for this April 1st is not true. It's April Fools Day and I thought I would take part in the fun for the day.
That being said, I do have something fun for you. In this issue there is one deception hidden somewhere. If you are one of the first five people to spot it and contact me, you will receive a FREE lifetime membership in my new InsuranceGo2Guy Forum. No fooling!
You can find out more about this forum by reading this newsletter. (HINT - this part is all true) And, the five free lifetime memberships valued at $500 is also true. Contact me by e-mail at dan@danweedin.com and you just may be joining me on the forum.
Be safe.
 P.S. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends and associates. Make sure you use the "Forward E-Mail" button at the bottom of the page to avoid being accidentally unsubscribed. Thanks! |
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Will Cutting Back Break Your Bank
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This is a tough and challenging economy for many businesses. You may be like many business owners and cutting back on expenses. Unfortunately, insurance may be one of them. Don't make that mistake.
According to a recent report I read in American Agent & Broker magazine in March, 59% of agents and brokers responding to a survey indicated that their commercial clients were cutting back on insurance. The same held true for personal insurance, too. The Insurance Research Council projects that underinsured motorists on the nation's highways will increase from 13.7% in 2007 to 16.1% in 2010.
You might be saying, "Dan, I can't afford to be insurance poor. In this economy, I've got to be smart." Smart is actually not cutting back on insurance. It may actually mean increasing it!
Consider how much it will hurt if you have an uncovered loss today because you were trying to cut costs. Are you willing to tolerate that kind of risk?
The most obvious scenarios play out in the least known areas. Consider these examples...
· You choose to go without Employment Practices Liability to save money. An employee sues for wrongful termination or age discrimination after you had to reduce your work force. You may be in the right, but who's going to pay for your defense costs? Who pays if the judge sides with your former employee? The answer is you without insurance.
· You decide to drop your Commercial Umbrella policy this year to cut costs. What are the chances you will have a catastrophic loss anyway, right? The next week your driver plows into another car and permanently disables the other driver. Estimated costs are well over the $1,000,000 auto policy you hold. Your umbrella would have been enough to cover the remaining costs. Was it worth it?
· You decide to intentionally underinsure your property to save money. You tell your agent your inventory is down and give a low value. You suffer a partial loss to property due to a fire. When the insurance adjuster is done counting every lead pencil, you learn that you are being assessed a coinsurance penalty for being underinsured. Even though your policy had enough to cover the claim, you didn't understand the conditions of your policy and got burned (pardon the pun).
Okay, I hope you get my point. You shouldn't cut back on insurance. You might even have to pay more to cover that Employment Practices Liability or Umbrella policy. So how can you offset the cost and better manage your risk? Here are a few suggestions...
· Increase your deductibles. Most businesses have way too low deductibles. Raise them as high as you feel you can go.
· Determine which commercial vehicles don't need physical damage. Often, vehicles over 10 years old aren't worth what you are paying extra premiums for on the comprehensive and collision. Delete this coverage for the ones that it makes sense for cutting.
· Make sure you understand clearly your liability rating basis. If you estimate too high, you will overpay during the year. Yes, you may eventually get it back, but that's no good for cash flow.
· If you haven't recently, bid out your insurance. Your agent may be great but he or she don't represent every insurer. Do your due diligence and check the market. It's still soft (premiums low) and won't stay that way forever.
Don't be penny wise and pound-foolish. Find areas in your business to cut that make sense. Don't jeopardize all you've worked for by slashing your insurance coverage. If you commit to managing your insurance smarter, you will ultimately save money without sacrificing protection.
© 2009 Dan Weedin - All Rights Reserved |
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What's Your Recovery Plan if the BIG ONE hits? |
 "What do you do with 50 employees tomorrow if a disaster strikes today?"
Ask yourself that question and input the right number of employees for your business. The ramifications of being unable to continue operations is a very real danger to survival in the event of a claim. I am proud to be an Agility Recovery Solutions team member. My goal is to make sure you and are able to not only survive, but prosper in case of a disaster. Find out how you can get a 60-day free trial with Agility. No obligation. No risk. Huge reward. |
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March Articles |
Learn how to reduce your exposures to loss, decrease your costs, and save valuable time. Read these new articles available on my blog.
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Changing the Face of Your Business: How to Avoid Employee Lawsuits
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Do you ever worry about the consequences and financial ramifications of being sued by an employee? Think it won't happen to you?
Recently, I had an article published by Resource Nation on the topic of Employment Practices Liability. There are three key ways to avoid this peril and they are spelled out in the article.
To learn more, click here to read my article titled, Changing the Face of Your Business on Resource Nation.
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New and Improved Web Site in April
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As I mentioned last month, I've been spending the last two and a half months laboring over a new and improved web site. Many thanks to Jenn Putnam and Alan Luger at Jennergy for their hard work. We are in the final stages as I write this. By April 15th, I will announce the new site via a press release to all of you. I'm very excited at the new look. More importantly, you will be able to access more information about how to better manage your risk and protect your business and personal assets. Stay tuned!
Please note one other item. Since I also provide an extensive array of coaching services, I'm creating a landing page for everyhting I offer through the web site www.DanWeedin.com. I will have a new URL for the insurance consulting side under www.InsuranceGo2Guy.com. Don't go there yet as it is not live. Just giving you a heads up. I will be keeping the old URL's for those of you who might forget to switch. Regardless, I'm hoping that you will all change my e-mail address in your address books to dan@danweedin.com. This will be the best way to contact me. I will still be getting all the others, but my hope is to consolidate everything to one place.
I'm very excited for the changes. I'm certain you will find them beneficial for you, too.
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Clearance Sale Means Extra Value for You
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Speaking of change, since I'm making revisions to a lot of my branding materials, I'm also making changes to my resources. Currently, I have two booklets available on my store - 8 Really Cool Rules for Better Insurance Buying and Your Personal Insurance Survival Guide. I am coming out with a new and improved edition with new names and different branding. These booklets still have the same value for you, however I'd like to clear them out to make space for the new models. Sound like a car dealer, huh?
Here's my "deal" for you. These booklets normally are $25 and $10 respectively. They are on sale for only $15 and $5, while they last. I've only got a limited number left, so act fast. As an added bonus, I will pay for the shipping.
In 8 Really Cool Rules for Better Insurance Buying, you will learn eight easy steps to saving money on your insurance renewal or if your buying business insurance for the first time. Your Personal Insurance Survival Guide offers everyone a guide to your personal insurance and how you can save money while maximizing your coverages to protect your personal assets.
To take advantage of this opportunity - click here.
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Rave Reviews for Dan Weedin
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"Dan Weedin has the rare capability of helping customers by turning abstract concepts into tangible benefits, bringing an entirely more dramatic sales process to insurance sales and related services."
- Alan Weiss, Summit Consulting - Author of The Million Dollar Consultant (R)
"Dan has handled our multi-state insurance contract renewals for several years as an independent consultant, not as a broker or agent, and assists us on a wide variety of issues relating to insurance coverages, safety, training, and workers compensation. His integrity and ability are of the highest quality and we have achieved measurable results in the form of dramatically lowered insurance premiums and accidents."
- Kyle Kincaid, Vice-President, Parker Lumber Company
"Dan is the greatest insurance mind in the world. He is so talented that he can take the quadratic equation, multiply it by pi (while eating a rhubarb/strawberry pie) and determine the loss ratio for the top five insurers in the world. I'm so proud!"
- Dan's Mom
"Dan is the type of person you can trust in any capacity to make sure things are done right. That's why we hired him to take care of our corporate insurance. He has gone beyond the call of duty..."
-David Rill, President- Rill Tribute Center
How can Dan help your business? | |
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Thank you for your subscription to The Bull Stops Here!
Warm regards,
Dan Weedin
Toro Consulting, Inc.
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