Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

How was your Valentine’s Day?

Of those who didn’t buy shiny things for Valentine’s Day, many purchased electronics, artwork, antiques, wine and furs. All totaled, Valentine’s Day spending equalled approximately $17.6 billion of retail sales, with $4.1 billion of that being spent on jewelry, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Trends report.

Whatever the purchase, be sure to take steps to safeguard and insure your valuables. Homeowners insurance generally covers valuable and precious items such as jewelry, but usually has limits, so it’s important for you to check with us or a Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent to make sure you are covered.

While most homeowner’s insurance policies cover risks such as fire, lightning, and windstorm, they may exclude many events that create financial losses- for example, a claim that is submitted because “my three-year-old dropped my new diamond earrings into the toilet and flushed” may not be covered under a typical policy. To cover these kinds of incidents—or other situations that the insurance industry has dubbed “mysterious disappearance” —you’ll need what’s known as a valuable articles personal property endorsement on your homeowner’s contract. Some homeowner’s insurance carriers also sell stand-alone valuables policies.

Another reason to contact us or your Trusted Choice agent? Typically insurance policies restrict the dollar amount of coverage for individual valuable items in the case of theft ($1,000- $1,500), so you want to make sure that if jewelry is ever stolen, you’re not stuck with coverage that is less than the value of the item.

With valuable items, two of the biggest snags that consumers run into at the time of a claim are proving that an item is missing or stolen and establishing a value for the items. In fact, insurance carriers, when contacted for a claim, sometimes even ask consumers to get a police report for the missing item, even if the loss was not thought to be a theft.

Proving the value of items is very important when it’s time to file a claim. Claims are simpler and faster for consumers when they have photos of valuable items and collections, receipts or appraisal reports, and a written inventory.

Most additions to your homeowners policy or a separate valuables policies can provide:

• Coverage for mysterious disappearance as well as flooding or breakage.
• $0 deductible, which means that the entire replacement cost of that engagement ring is covered.
• Blanket coverage for groups of valuables such as jewelry, crystal, or fine arts.
• “Scheduled” coverage (meaning that items are individually listed) for valuables.
• Coverage for valuables purchased but not yet reported to the insurance agent or carrier.

Need to know what’s best to protect your Valentine’s Day gift? Ask us. 

How safe is private information when stored electronically?

You may not want to know the answer to that question. But if you’re just a bit curious, consider visiting privacyrights.org/data-breach.

The site allows you to scroll through a frequently updated chronological list of reported breaches of private data. Some data is lifted from large companies that most people have heard of. What’s surprising is how many of the breaches occur at smaller organizations.

The information on this site should serve as proof that when it comes to the safety of personal data, businesses big and small must be on alert!

 While it’s the large breaches that make headlines—think Citigroup or Bank of America—smaller businesses may be at a greater risk. They often lack the infrastructure and resources to protect from cyber criminals. 

What does a cyber crime cost? According to the Ponemon Institute’s First Annual Cost of Cyber Crime Study, published in July 2010, a business can expect to pay an average of $204 per customer record that is lost or stolen.

Cyber Crime Defined

According to the Ponemon study, the list of cyber crimes is rapidly growing. While many are aware of common cyber crimes, such as identity theft, the list also includes other crimes that can cause damage to a business’s electronic infrastructure. Examples include: theft of a business’s intellectual property, the creation/distribution of viruses and malicious code, and the publishing of private data in a public forum online. 

Business owners may struggle to keep up with these often-sophisticated threats. Such threats place a tremendous burden on business owners to prevent these losses. Many states have turned to legislation that requires business owners to spend money notifying consumers when a potential breach has occurred.

And some such laws go as far as to require the business owner to help pay the cost of the consumer’s data recovery. In March 2010, Massachusetts became the first state to pass comprehensive legislation requiring business owners to take preventative measures to protect data before the loss happens. Failure to do so can result in fines against the business owner.

Business owners in other states also may be impacted by this law, as it’s designed to protect residents of Massachusetts regardless of where the breach occurs. That means your business, even if located in another state, may be subject to fine if your records contain private information on Massachusetts consumers and those records are breached.

Protecting Your Firm

There are a number of insurance products available to help business owners to deal with the cost of cyber crime. Policies may address both first and third-party losses.

 What is a first-party loss? This is a cost the business owners may absorb to cover the firm’s own expenses caused by a cyber crime. Examples may include:

-  Notification and credit-monitoring for compromised individuals. (Most states currently have laws in place requiring the business to pay the cost of notifying all consumers that may be victimized by a breach. Most laws require these costs to be paid regardless of whether or not the consumer has suffered financial damages resulting from the breach.)

 -  Cost to restore data that has been stolen or damaged.

 -  Lost income resulting from down time caused by a damaged network, lost information or data breach.

 How about a third-party loss? When a cyber crime occurs against a business, other parties also could be impacted. A third-party loss describes costs that appear when others incur expenses that can be attributed to the cyber crime. Examples may include:

 -  Defense costs.

 -  Judgments and settlements for lawsuits brought by customers, employees and other third parties—such as a company claiming its network was damaged by a virus from another infected network.

 -  Costs associated with fines or penalties imposed by a regulatory body.

 Why Coverage is Critical

Cyber insurance is designed to protect a business when costs are incurred due to a cyber crime. Business owners should note that common insurance policies such as commercial property, business income, and general liability often restrict—and in many cases exclude—cyber-related damage.

 Business owners beware: You should be skeptical of enhancements to such common policies designed to address the cyber exposure. These so-called “cyber enhancements” are often very limited and should not be relied upon without thorough examination of an insurance professional.

 Final Note

If you’re a business owner, threats to your data come from a variety of sources. Whether you’re the victim of a random hack, disgruntled former or current employee, angry competitor or anyone else, cyber crimes can serious damage your business. Worse, if the crime results in a breach of private consumer data, state law may impose significant fines that could devastate your firm’s bottom line. For more information about insuring against these growing exposures, call your us or your Trusted Choice Independent Agent day.  Note:  The Turner Agency offers an in house seminar on Cyberbilabilty if you are interested in learning more.

Having a baby can be a very exciting, emotional, and exhausting experience for a family, and while most parents remember a lot of the preparation details — such assembling the crib and installing child-safety locks — updating their insurance may not be the first thing that comes to mind.  Pictured to the left is our own Robin Hawkins and her new baby, Reese. 

Whether you’re expecting, a new parent, or you know someone who is, it’s important to have the right insurance. The Turner Agency wants you and your growing family to be protected from all life’s possibilities, so we’re providing you an insurance checklist – no assembly required! – for expecting parents.

 Health Insurance

1. When you find out you’re pregnant, make sure your health insurance plan covers prenatal and maternity health costs. (An employer with 15 or more employees is required by federal law to provide coverage for pregnancy-related expenses.)

 2. Check your policy to find out if you need preauthorization for certain prenatal or maternity health costs, such as ultrasounds and amniocentesis.

 3. Call your health insurance company to ensure your obstetrician, doctor, and/or midwife and hospital or birthing center are both in-network. If they’re out-of-network, there may be additional charges for your health-care expenses.

 4.  Contact your insurance provider to find out how to add your new baby to your insurance plan. 

Life/Disability Insurance

1. If you and your spouse don’t already have a life insurance policy in place, a new baby is a good time to take out a policy. Most parents have a term life insurance policy, which usually is the least expensive option and provides coverage for a fixed amount of time at a set premium. Usually the beneficiary of this type of policy is a spouse.  However, single parents may want to list a child or a family member.

 2. If you or your spouse become disabled and one of you is the primary breadwinner for the household, you may want to consider long-term disability insurance. This type of insurance will provide your family with financial support if you are disabled and cannot work. Some employers offer this coverage, but you should check to make sure you’re covered and find out if you have enough coverage.

 Homeowner’s Insurance

A baby comes with a lot of new stuff, which means you probably need to update your homeowner’s insurance policy to includ enough coverage to replace everything in your nursery. If your new bundle of joy doesn’t have a state-of-the-art crib or fancy diaper genie, you may not need to increase your coverage, but you should check with The Turner Agency or your Trusted Choice independent insurance agent to find out.

Auto Insurance

Unlike other types of insurance, which go up with a new addition, your auto insurance will likely stay the same. However, a major life milestone, such as having a baby, can be an indicator of increased responsibility, which can actually lead to a decrease in rates. If you’re expecting or a new parent, contact The Turner Agency or your Trusted Choice independent insurance agent to find out if your rates can be reduced.

 If you have any questions, need help getting coverage, or simply want to double-check your insurance policies, we or your Trusted Choice independent insurance agent are happy to help … as long as you don’t ask us to baby-sit! (Well, Anne Turner would probably accept…)

As Thanksgiving approaches, many people will celebrate the holiday by giving back to their community. Volunteering time or services to a company or non-profit organization may be a selfless act of generosity, but these acts of goodwill can also expose volunteers to possible lawsuits if they are making decisions on behalf of the organizations or company. Fortunately, there is a way to mitigate the exposure to lawsuits and continue lending a hand.

A directors and officers (D&O) insurance policy protects directors and officers from liability risks associated with working or volunteering on the board of an organization or company. These risks can include negligent acts or omissions, antitrust violations, wrongful termination, libel and slander, and misleading statements that result in a lawsuit against the company. Whether you’re working or volunteering as a director or officer, it’s important to make sure you’re protected from these risks with a D&O policy.

Directors and officers can be sued by the company or organization they work or volunteer for or by other current or former directors and officers, employees, shareholders, investors, lenders, vendors, customers, competitors, various government officials, such as state attorney generals, the IRS and state and federal labor departments, consumer groups and numerous other third parties. While the entities that can sue a board member are numerous, the situations in which lawsuits can be filed are limitless. Here are just a few examples of real D&O claims from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America:

 * A minority shareholder in a family-owned electrical contracting business sued the two major shareholders on behalf of the company, claiming they breached their fiduciary duties. The minority shareholder claimed that the majority shareholders, by drawing excessively large salaries and bonuses, caused the company to lose money. The court ruled in favor of the majority shareholders, but the defense costs amounted to six figures.

* A mid-sized manufacturing firm hired an employee away from one of its competitors, bringing the person on as an officer. A year later, that new officer’s ex-employer sued the officer and his new firm, alleging that the officer misappropriated trade secrets and violated certain provisions of his termination agreement.

 *The plaintiff filed a complaint against their competitor alleging that a former employee, now working at the competition, engaged in unauthorized use of confidential and proprietary information and committed other acts of unfair competition. As a result, the plaintiff alleged it has suffered irreparable and immediate injury. In addition, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant has possession of its confidential information and intellectual property.

 There are several types of D&O insurance that can protect individuals from these situations. These coverages include corporate reimbursement coverage, which protects directors and officers of a company or organization; side-A coverage for directors and officers who are not indemnified by a firm; and entity coverage for protection against claims made against a company.

D&O policies can also be written to include coverage for employment practices liability for protection against lawsuits for wrongfully terminating an employee or sexual harassment.

Before you start working or volunteering in a director or officer capacity, you should check with the company or organization to make sure it has a D&O insurance policy in place. If you’re serving on a board and you’re unsure about whether you’re protected, contact us or a Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent to answer any questions you have about coverage and risk exposure.

There are over 240 million registered motor vehicles in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. At a given time, as many as a third of those are on the American roadways, and it is estimated that one-fourth of those are being used in the course of work.

Running errands, making deliveries, visiting customers – we all use a car for a variety of reasons. Even for those whose employment is not based on driving, it’s fair to say that your vehicle is an essential part of your employment. This presents an important question: If you are involved in an accident in the course of employment, are you covered by your personal auto insurance policy (PAP)?

Like most insurance questions, the answer depends on circumstance. For example, what kind of car are you driving? Does the car belong to you or someone else? What type of business are you in?

Consider the language found in the typical PAP. At a glance, many policyholders are shocked to see that the PAP appears to exclude coverage for the use of any vehicle in the course of business other than farming or ranching. However, a very broad exception to this exclusion allows coverage for the business use of a vehicle provided it is one of three types: 1) a private passenger auto, 2) a pickup or van, or 3) trailer while used with the aforementioned. This exception suggests that as long as the vehicle is one of these three types, coverage remains intact after the accident.

But policyholders should proceed with caution, since some PAPs are not as generous. For example, some versions may be more restrictive towards pickups or vans, possibly including a gross vehicle weight (GVW) limitation or a clause that restricts coverage to owned pickups or vans only. Be sure to consult your policy before driving any pickup or van for work.

Further, policyholders should understand that any coverage permitted for business use of personal vehicles by the PAP is not intended for these three vehicle categories:

Commercial-type vehicles. The PAP restricts business use to private passenger autos, pickups and vans. While they can be purchased personally, box trucks, tractor trailers, shuttle busses and other commercial-type vehicles do not fit this description; such vehicles require a commercial auto policy.

Furnished or available for regular use. Often called the “company car” exclusion, this provision is dangerous and must be remedied if the exposure exists. The reason is that a typical PAP will exclude coverage for a vehicle that is regularly available to the policyholder but is not specifically insured under the PAP. For example, if you are furnished a company car as a benefit to your employment, make certain that you are covered by your employer’s auto insurance policy. If not, specific action is required to extend coverage under your PAP; it will not do so automatically. The good news is that this coverage change is usually inexpensive and can be done easily; just be sure to request the change now, before the accident happens. While the definition of furnished or available for regular use varies by case, err on the side of caution. Don’t assume that because you don’t take it home with you each night or that you only drive it occasionally you’re in the clear. Regardless, a vehicle owned by your employer could be considered available for your regular use. This exclusion presents a potential gap that is too risky to ignore; your Trusted Choice^® insurance professional can help you take the appropriate steps to close it.  

Vehicles that are the business. A PAP will not cover your vehicle if you use it to carry people for a fee, such as a taxi, limo or shuttle. The only exception is a share-the-expense car pool. And if you’re planning to make a few extra bucks delivering pizzas, auto parts, newspapers or other goods, proceed with caution. Many PAPs also remove coverage for vehicles that are used to deliver food or other types of property for a fee.

While in most cases the PAP will cover you for business use of a personal vehicle, there are situations where it will not. Such situations are not uncommon and, if not remedied, could result in significant financial detriment for you and your family. Consult us for advice on how to close potentially devastating gaps in your PAP today.

 Even before they start school,  many children become involved in extra-curricular activities. Adults charged with getting groups of kids from home or school to the ball field and back home again are usually more concerned with maintaining their sanity than thinking about their auto coverage.  However, hauling kids around could have a serious affect on your coverage.

In an auto accident, drivers can be legally liable for their passengers’ injuries. Most personal auto policies will extend coverage for injuries to passengers when driving your own car. But what if you rent or borrow a large van to take the soccer team out of town for a weekend tourney? While most auto policies will cover your actions in a car that isn’t yours, many contain restrictions on the size and type of vehicle they will cover.

School employees, such as teachers and coaches, who use their school’s vehicles to haul students and players from place to place have another reason to be concerned. In addition to possible size restrictions, there’s a concern with regular usage; specifically, your personal auto insurance policy may not pay for your liability from an accident in a vehicle that is not yours but is provided for your regular use. In addition to uncertainty with whether or not your policy will even respond, another serious concern is adequate limits of insurance. A serious injury to a single passenger could mean thousands of dollars in medical bills and other costs stemming from the injury, and those dollars increase with the more passengers that are involved. There are published accounts of accidents involving adults driving in a car pool in which damages greatly exceeded $1 million.   

Yet, many adults continue to purchase auto liability limits based on the minimum required by state law. In South Caroina the minimum limits are 25/50/25—not likely sufficient when you consider the severity of certain injuries and the number of passengers involved. Remember also that this limit applies for all injuries caused by an accident for which you are liable, including passengers of other cars.

Adults driving kids to athletic and other events should consider maintaining the highest liability limits possible, as well as a personal umbrella policy (click here for more on personal umbrella policies.)  The umbrella can provide much higher limits of liability, some well over $1 million.

Today’s drivers are faced with a multitude of distractions that pose a risk for accidents. Understanding your personal auto insurance could help bring at least a little peace of mind.  Contact us if you have any questions at 288-9513.

The Turner Agency Inc.

Regardless of your feelings about Global Positioning Systems (GPS), they continue to occupy the dashboards of millions of U.S. vehicles each year. The pervasiveness and expense of the technology has drivers asking if their GPS systems are covered bytheir auto insurance. 

Personal Auto Insurance

Whether its finding alternative routes to beat traffic or an Italian restaurant for the family, drivers rely on their GPS to get them places without the stress of winding up who knows where with an empty tank, no cellular service and shrieking children.

If you depend on your GPS to maintain safety and sanity in your personal vehicle, you should call us and request that your auto insurance policy be endorsed to cover the system.  Failure to make this request will likely result in no coverage for the system after a loss. This is because most personal auto policies strictly limit or totally exclude coverage for GPS and other electronic devices in your car that are not used to operate the vehicle. Some policies will offer limited coverage for GPS devices that are built into the vehicle by the manufacturer or even some portable systems; however this is not the case for all policies and those that do include coverage are limited.     Contents in a car that are not factory installed are typically covered under your homeowners insurance. 

Moral of the Story?  Call Us!

Regardless of the level of dependence you invest, losing the ability to use your vehicle’s GPS system because it is damaged in an accident or stolen is frustrating and expensive. Call us to discover how much coverage your current auto policy will offer towards replacing the damaged system. If your current auto policy does not offer any coverage, we can discuss with you how to close this gap.   Call The Turner Agency at 288-9513.

Those that design personal auto insurance policies learned years ago that folks living in the same house will take turns driving the family cars. That’s why auto insurance policies are designed to provide coverage not just for the person specifically named on the policy (you) but also your spouse and family members.

But whether it’s attributable to a child’s dream of independence or a parent trying to save money by pawning off costs on the kiddos, many family members who live in the same house have their own cars and their own car insurance. If this is the case in your home, there is a danger lurking in that folder where you keep the auto insurance policy; a danger that if unknown can be very costly.

Here’s the problem: most policies contain a limitation for the use of a vehicle that is owned by a family member and not specifically covered by your insurance policy. While the limitation may not apply to you or your spouse, it does apply to any other family member who is normally covered by your policy. Consider the following example:

Al and Peg have children living at home—a 19-year-old daughter, Kelly, and 17-year-old son, Bud. Kelly has her own car and car insurance with liability limits of $25,000/50,000/10,000. The first two numbers represent limits that apply to bodily injury suffered by a third party— the first is the maximum per person, the second is the maximum per accident. The third number is the limit that applies to property damage— this could be to another car or any other property belonging to a third party.

Al and Peg have much higher limits of $100,000/300,000/100,000. Bud is still whining that he doesn’t have a car. One night, with her permission, Bud takes out Kelly’s car and causes an accident that seriously injures the other driver. Since it was Kelly’s car, her policy limits will apply. Unfortunately, the cost of the other driver’s injuries is much greater than the $25,000 limit on Kelly’s policy. Bud looks to his parents’ car insurance for help. His search is in vain: Kelly’s car is owned by a family member and therefore not covered by his parents’ policy.

Were the situation different and it was Al or Peg who borrowed Kelly’s, car, the limitation would not apply. Were Bud to borrow the neighbor’s car the limitation would not apply. But since it was a family member’s car and it was Bud driving, the limitation applies. And since Bud has no insurance of his own to turn to, the family could be responsible for the remainder of the other driver’s injuries out-of-pocket.

Unfortunately there is no easy fix for this limitation. The best method is avoidance, but telling the kids not to drive each other’s cars may be more ideal than realistic. If your current household arrangement could make this scary situation a reality for your family, consider encouraging your kids to increase their liability limits to a level more sufficient to pay for a serious injury. This way more of the cost will be absorbed by the insurance company and less by your family.  

 Contact our Personal Lines account managers at The Turner Agency with any questions.  The number is 288-9513.