At a meeting, a speaker asked how to avoid “coverage misunderstandings.” One agent spoke up and said “R.T.D.P.!”  Puzzled, the instructor asked, “What is R.T.D.P.?” the agent replied “I tell my clients to Read The Dang Policy…”  Smart advice, but there is one problem and that is that insurance policies are often hard to understand.  This is why you MUST be insured with a skilled insurance agent.

There is perhaps no better place to start reading policies than the property insurance policy. For example, a standard commercial property insurance policy excludes certain mechanical failure, damage to electrical motors, boilers, compressors, or electrical components caused by a drop in a electrical phase, brown out, power surges, damage caused by an animal, or even unknown causes! But hold up now… Just like the property policy, these policies also have exclusions – like wear and tear.

Wow – think about that, a property policy that does not cover the major components of a building for certain types of destruction. Well, there are just certain exposures that all insurance companies are not willing to cover without a coverage enhancement and premium. To reverse many of these exclusions you need to have a form of Equipment Breakdown coverage (and a great insurance agent).

Sadly, many insurance agents do not review these exposures with their clients. Gladly, that is where we can help.

If you are a banker, CPA, attorney, or other professional that advises businesses in some capacity, share this post. There is a heck of a chance your clients don’t know about this landmine AND an uncovered loss can cost the business owner their entire net worth!

Call me if I can help.

Derek Wirz

423-504-4647

There are so many indirect costs to an employer when an employee is injured and none of these costs are covered by an insurance policy. These costs are not insurable and are not always easily identifiable but do impact the bottom line.  These indirect costs are not always tangible payments either and could be as simple as the opportunity costs, such as loss of potential customers.

The following are some of the examples of indirect costs:

• Potential loss of relationship with customer;

• OSHA and other regulatory fines;

• rescheduling and training staff;

• cost of re-hiring and training;

• loss of employee morale;

• reports and paperwork;

• reduction of efficiency;

• claims handling time;

• loss of productivity;

• equipment damage;

• investigation time;

• supervisory time;

• disruptions; and

• overtime costs.

Pre-Injury Management is perhaps the most overlooked or ignored part of the injury management process and our solutions are the center-piece of our conversations with clients. If the employer does not have a plan, the employer’s direct and indirect costs will skyrocket.

If you are a CPA, lawyer, banker, or other advisory service to industry, chances are those you serve do not have a plan and I can help.

Derek Wirz

423-504-4647

Too many business owners have confidence in their insurance agent and program. May be it is because it is difficult to think about insurance or there are more important things to do, like running the business. Insurance policies are so thick and full of unfamiliar language. Recently I delivered a client’s policy and it was over 250 pages, so let’s face it, it is hard to even read an insurance policy – but it is necessary.

The definition of “luck” is “success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions.”

Recently I was “the insurance agent without the right policy” until my wife asked me to re-look at her business insurance policy and wow was I surprised. She is a property investor with apartments in the region and over the years each time she bought an apartment we simply added the location on to a master policy and never returned to re-review the coverage like I do for my clients. (Do you know the old saying “the cobbler without shoes?” Well, I was the agent without insurance!)

Even though I began my insurance career in my teens, until recently, I do not think that I truly understood the way people feel about buying insurance or renewing insurance. It was difficult for me to look at my insurance program because I also have a business to run and that business requires me to be attentive to my client’s policies. So I really can understand why people avoid making changes to their program – it is difficult to look at your own circumstance (and try to understand all of the policy language).

I urge you to re-look at your coverage this year with a professional agent that cares more about your coverage than a commission. The professional insurance agent’s job is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Do you need to be both; comforted and afflicted? A great professional agent can do that for you…

Call us if we can help you. One of our staff will be the resource for you or we will find the resource for you. We recommend and represent the finest insurance companies in the world like Cincinnati Insurance Company.

Derek Wirz
423-504-4647