R&R Insurance Blog

Learn how to teach your child to stand up to bullies at school - not just words, but with actions.  Educational consultant and author, Dr. Michele Borba provides 6 tips to "bully-proof" your child:

1. Don't look like a victim
2. Stay calm.  Don't react.
3. Say 'no' in a firm voice.
4. Use a stone-faced glare.
5. Leave the scene as soon as possible.
6. Boost self-confidence.

Bullying is a global concern; teaching children how to stand up helps to assert themselves and handle bullies safely.

Learn more about how R&R is helping keep schools safe.

Tax-qualified long term care insurance (LTCI) premiums are considered medical expenses. For an individual who itemizes income tax deductions, medical expenses are deductible to the extent that they exceed 7.5% of the individuals' Adjusted Gross Income. The amount of the LTCI premium treated as a medical expense is limited to the eligible long term care (LTC) premiums.

Wisconsin law allows individuals to claim a subtraction on the Wisconsin income tax return for the amount paid during the taxable year for a long term care insurance policy that covers the individual or his or her spouse.

“Long term care insurance policy” means a disability insurance policy or certificate advertised, marketed, offered, or designed primarily to provide coverage for care that is provided in your home or in an institutional or community-based setting. The care must be convalescent or custodial care or care for a chronic condition or terminal illness. 

Maximum Deductions for Qualified LTC Insurance Premiums Under IRC Section 2012

It is important to note, that if an individual claims the Wisconsin subtraction for long term care insurance, the portion of the medical expense deduction for long term care insurance cannot be used in the computation of the Wisconsin itemized deduction credit.

Wisconsin residents, for more information on long term care insurance or tax benefits for business owners offering long term care as a benefit, please contact Pat Driscoll.

The State of Wisconsin, Office of the Commissioner of Insurance has approved an overall decrease in Workers Compensation rates of 1.36%.  Rates are effective as of October 1, 2012 and apply to new and renewal business only.

New maximum cap per claim is now $186,500! (previously $171,000) 

Rate Level Change By Industry Group Level Change:

• Manufacturing -3.40%
• Contracting -2.40%
• Office & Clerical -4.80%
• Goods & Services +1.00%
• Miscellaneous +2.10%
• Overall -1.36%

A copy of the complete letter from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is available. 

For more information and how R&R Insurance can help lower your Workers Compensation premiums, please visit our website.

Are you protecting the life insurance needs of your children? Sometimes people overlook the need for life insurance for children or grandchildren. This is not to be thought of as morbid, rather we are thinking about future insurability. What about later in life - what if your child were to have a health condition? Buying life insurance could protect their future.

Life insurance for children is also very affordable!
*Note the below table reflects 2012 rates for an annual premium per $1,000 of coverage

Please visit our website for more information on Life Insurance coverages. 

Wisconsin residents can click here for a free life insurance quote.

The Highway Loss Data Institute put together a list of stolen vehicles based on insurance claims for model years between 2008 and 2010. You may be shocked to find that eight of the most stolen vehicles were SUVs or trucks (which also are the most dangerous vehicle for teen drivers)!

Watch a demonstration of how easily it could happen.

1. Cadillac Escalade

2. Ford F-250

3. Chevrolet Silverado 1500

4. Ford F4-450

5. GMC Sierra 1500

6. Chrysler 300

7. Ford F-250

8. Chevrolet Avalanche 1500

9. GMC Yukon

10. Chrsyler 300 Hemi

 Things to remember:

• Park your car in secured parking areas where the vehicle is guarded.
• Always take your keys out of the ignition and bring them with you.
• The longer it takes to steal a car the less likely a thief will take the time to steal it; therefore, consider parallel parking?
• Consider installing an anti-theft device because it will alarm and it will take the thief more time to disbale it.

 Wisconsin residents, learn more about how R&R Insurance can keep your vehicle safe.

As summer heats up, so does the risk of heat-related illnesses.  It is critical to allow the body to gradually adjust to higher temperatures.  Excessive exposure to a hot environment can bring about a variety of heat-related health problems and illnesses.  With the increase in heat-related health problems, so too increases the frequency of accidents.

Amerisafe provides a list of possible heat-related illnesses and tips on what employers can do to keep their employees safe.

Find more information on how R&R Insurance can help keep employees safe in the workplace.

In the blink of an eye your life can be turned upside down by unforeseen events and things can change your life forever.  Today, more than ever, umbrella policies are a way to further protect yourself from those unforeseen circumstances.  Umbrella policies provide a minimum $1 million in additional liability coverage and can also provide some extra peace of mind for events that may seem unbearable.

These stories illustrate how an umbrella policy can protect you:  

• A 65-to-70-year-old couple was traveling home after a holiday weekend, driving in two vehicles, one following the other. A few hours into the trip on a two-lane rural highway, the wife crossed the centerline in the vehicle she was driving and struck another vehicle head-on. She died at the scene. The other driver was a married mother of one who died nine days later. Witnesses were not able to explain why the woman crossed the centerline, and unfortunately, lab samples that may have indicated a medical condition were lost.

The injured woman incurred $250,000 in medical expenses and never regained consciousness. She was employed at the time of her death and her family would no longer benefit from her income.

The couple had $300,000 single limits on their primary policy and a $1 million umbrella which provided some financial security for the husband after losing his wife.

• A business owner was transporting equipment with a semi and trailer on a two-lane rural highway, following a string of vehicles. A truck directly ahead of the business owner suddenly slowed for a left-turning vehicle ahead. The vehicle in front of the truck had already swerved onto the shoulder and stopped to avoid striking the turning vehicle. The business owner veered into the oncoming lane to avoid hitting those in front of him; this caused another collision in which a person was seriously injured and became permanently disabled.

The business owner had $1 million single limits, with a $5 million umbrella. Imagine the value of this claim. Imagine the stress the business owner was going through after this accident. Consider the extra sense of security he had with additional coverage provided by his umbrella policy.

Unfortunately, accidents like these happen every day. People who don’t have the extra coverage an umbrella policy provides also don’t have the peace of mind it provides. They risk losing assets they worked for their entire lives. People who have umbrella policies, and more importantly, have used them, understand the cost is worth every penny.

Learn more about how R&R Insurance can help provide the coverage you need.

According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), fireworks big and small, pose risks. Their report shows children under fifteen years old make up approximately 40 percent of estimated injuries. Please  keep your family safe and don't assume child friendly fireworks should be in their hands.

CPSC gives these tips to those who decide to purchase legal fireworks:

1. Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.
2. Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
3. Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper because this is often a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and that they could pose a danger to consumers.
4. Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities. Parents don't realize that young children suffer injuries from sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees - hot enough to melt some metals.
5. Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.
6. Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not ignited fully.
7. Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
8. Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
9. Light fireworks one at a time, then move back quickly.
10. Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
11. After fireworks complete their burning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding it to prevent a trash fire.

According to the Insurance Journal, the amount of lightning strike claims doubled between 2004 and 2011. Even as the actual number of claims shrank significantly; claim payouts increased.

Lightning strike payouts reached nearly $1 billion in 2011 and the group says fancy new TVs and video games consoles are the reason! Lightning protection equipment in homes were responsible for the 33 percent decline in claims between 2004 to 2011 but the average claim cost rose 93 percent.

Replacement costs on electronics are also on the rise according to the study because earthquakes and floods disrupted many companies' supply chains.

Wisconsin residents, for more information, please visit our website http://www.myknowledgebroker.com

I came across an article by Thomas Adams of the Rochester Business Journal that discusses the big strides being made in baseline testing for concussions.   An innovative new product, The Equilibriate System, once designed to help the elderly is now showing it's benefits in the sports world testing for concussions.

Concussions account for nearly 10% of all high school athletic injuries. “Any movement forward [to protect against concussions] is positive,” said Dr. Welsh, an alternate delegate for the Indiana State Medical Assn. “What I don’t want to see is someone have a concussion that’s missed, and the next one is the bad one.”

For questions regarding Property & Casualty Insurance for Wisconsin Schools, contact Bill Hattendorf.