R&R Insurance Blog

Through R&R's partnership with the Waukesha County Business Alliance, we are proud to support 'Careers Uncovered,' a program aimed at aligning education to high-growth industry pathways. R&R is actively engaged in assisting employees in attracting and retaining top talent.

This new program allows Waukesha County educators the opportunity to visit a local company in one of the largest growing career pathways: healthcare, information technology, construction and manufacturing.

Experiences through the program's events will include:

• General information about the company and career pathways available in the industry
• Tours of the company that include networking opportunities with employees from all areas of business operations
• Round-table discussions with industry leaders.
• Educators working together to reflect and put together an action plan to apply the knowledge they gained to assist with the academic and career planning process.

'Careers Uncovered' supports educators in a handful of ways:

• Gain first hand knowledge of what careers in high growth industries look like in 2018 and see how classroom content and skills are visible in industry settings
• Enhance classroom curriculum with real-world career connections and examples
• Identify career pathways within the industries to assist students in career and college readiness planning, helping students make educated choices for their futures
• Connect with industry leaders to foster mutually beneficial partnerships

To learn more about upcoming 'Careers Uncovered' events, or for additional information, we invite you to contact the Waukesha County Business Alliance.

To illustrate the benefits of rebalancing an insurance program to strengthen wealth protection and better manage expenses, the following example presents a before-and-after comparison for one of our newest valued clients.

Jason and Susan are a successful couple in their early 40’s, with two young children.  They have two autos and a new home in Colgate, WI.  They said they had a good relationship with their previous agent, however during a discussion with their wealth manager realized that they hadn’t had a coverage review in quite some time.  During our initial 30 minute meeting at Jason’s office, we discovered some major coverage deficiencies:  unfortunately a vehicle that had been traded in a few months ago and replaced with a newer vehicle was not accurately updated on their auto policy, leaving the vehicle uninsured.  While that issue was quickly remedied, we also significantly reduced their risk exposure while decreasing their total premium 20% by rebalancing their program as follows:

Savings Opportunities:

• Incorporate an association discount related to Susan’s profession.
• Correct an error on their prior policy related to an auto claim: they were being charged for an “at-fault” accident, despite being rear-ended two years ago.
• Add a valuable discount for having a central alarm in their home.

Program Improvements:

• Decrease their homeowner’s deductible – including wind/hail – from $4,000 to $1,000.
• Add full value replacement cost on their home.
• Add personal injury protection.
• Despite having a recognizable name in the community, they did not have a personal umbrella. The cost to add $1 million of coverage was just $260 annually.  $5 million? Just $500 more.

 

*Client names have been changed to maintain anonymity.

While this time of year brings sunshine and warmer temps, it also comes with the potential of tornadoes and severe weather. Homeowners, renters, business and vehicle owners can find themselves in a financially challenging situation following a spring storm if they haven't checked their insurance coverage carefully.

An article from Property Casualty 360, provides a checklist of best practices for protecting your assets during this season of storms.

1. Verify your home is insured for its current value.
2. Find out what kind of home insurance policy you have.
3. Find out if you have a specific deductible in the event of a tornado or windstorm.
4. Understand the claims process before you have to make a claim.
5. Does your policy have any special limits or policy features?
6. Prepare an inventory of the contents in your home, including contents in additional structures like tool or garden sheds.
7. Find out what kind of coverage you have if there is a power failure.
8. Find out what your limit is for Additional Living Expenses (ALE) and how you can expect the coverage to work.
9. Make sure your car insurance includes comprehensive coverage, for damage such as hail, falling objects and windstorms.
10. Ask if you have coverage for a rental car if your car needs repairs.
11. If you have a vehicle in storage, make sure you haven't forgotten about coverage while it's there.
12. If you sustain storm damage, contact your insurer as soon as possible and start the claims filing process. For customers of R&R, we recommend adding our CSR24 phone number, as well as the phone number for your insurance carrier to your cell phone. This will ensure you have information at your fingertips should an emergency arise. Feel free to contact your Personal Lines agent for assistance!

For more information about properly protecting your family and the assets you've worked so hard to acquire, contact a member of our Personal Lines team.

You have the opportunity to earn a premium refund on your level-funded plan but do you know what to do with it once you get it? Or maybe you’ve already received one - did you know that there are compliance rules to follow to disburse any employee share of that refund within 90 days?

In most simple terms, if employees pay a portion of health care premiums, then they are entitled to a prorated share of the premium refund. Additionally, you must distribute the appropriate funds within 90 days of receiving the refund check.

There are some interpretations being expressed in the consulting community that would suggest a very simple option exists such as “give every employee the same amount.” We strongly discourage this as it relies on comments from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that contradict other guidance by the DOL. It clearly is not supported.

An employer can apply the entire refund check amount toward reducing employee contributions. However, this only eliminates the need to calculate the “split” between the employees and the employer. Unless the employer has paid 100% of the premiums, employers will still need to calculate the appropriate share of the refund for each employee prorated according to the amount they contributed.

There are basically three compliance options available to employers. If you are not familiar with the compliance options that are available to you, contact an R&R Benefits Knowledge Broker to learn more.

Choosing generic drugs over the brand name is generally less expensive. However, many people question whether generic drugs are as good, effective or safe as their brand name counterparts. The perception is that since many generic items found in grocery stores tend to be of lesser quality, the same must be true for medications. Fortunately, in the case of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications, generic substitutes are the equivalent of brand name drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the chemical equivalency of generic drugs to ensure they are just as safe and effective as the brand name drugs they mimic.

“Employees who understand their benefit plans make more informed choices about the medical services they receive, and that benefits everyone.”

 

Talk to Your Doctor

The best way to ensure that you know all you can about a drug you have been prescribed, and its generic equivalents, is to talk openly with your doctor. Below are some suggested questions that you may want to ask.

• Is there a generic substitute for this drug available?
• Are there any drug interactions that I should be aware of?
• Does this medication cause any side effects?
• If I forget to take a dose, what should I do?

Also, make sure your doctor knows about any previous reactions you have had to medications. In addition, be sure to call your doctor immediately if you have any problems or adverse side effects from a new prescription. Choosing generic drugs when available, following your doctor’s and pharmacist’s instructions fully, and talking openly with your doctor will help you make the most of our prescription drug plan. These strategies can help you not only save money on the prescription itself, but also avoid future health problems that could be costly.

To know more about generic and brand name drugs, read here.

Source: Zywave

Cyber criminals, for the purposes of extortion, can threaten to shut down computer systems or erase data, infect a company with a virus, publish private information or personally identifiable information on customers or employees, institute a denial-of-service attack or take over social media. There are numerous examples of these attacks happening day in and day out, to businesses of all sizes.

Travelers has provided the following checklist to help protect businesses from cyber crime:

1. Know your data. A company cannot fully know how much is at risk until they understand the nature and the amount of data they have.

2. Create file back-ups, data back-ups and back-ups bandwidth abilities. This will help a company to retain its information in the event that extortion occurs.

3. Train employees to recognize spear phishing. All employees should learn the importance of protecting the information they regularly handle to help reduce exposure to the business.

4. Do background checks on employees. Background checking employees can help identify whether they have criminal pasts.

5. Limit administrative capabilities for systems and social footprint. The less employees with access to sensitive information, the better.

6. Ensure systems have appropriate firewall and antivirus technology. After the appropriate software is in place, evaluate the security settings on software, browser and email programs. In doing so, select system options that will meet your business needs without increasing risk.

7. Have data breach prevention tools, including intrusion detection. Ensure employees are actually monitoring the detection tools. It is important to not only try to prevent a breach, but to make sure that if a breach occurs, the company is aware as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.

8. Update security software patches in a timely manner. Regularly maintaining security protections on your operating system is vital to them being effective over time.

9. Include DDoS security capabilities. It is important to have the ability to avoid or absorb attacks meant to overwhelm or degrade your systems.

10. Put a plan in place to manage a data breach. If a breach occurs, there should be a clear protocol outlining which employees are part of the incident response team and their roles and responsibilities.

11. Protect your business with insurance coverage designed to address cyber risks. Cyber insurance coverage typically provides protection for costs associated with data breaches and extortion events. The right insurance program will also provide access to skilled professionals to manage the event from start to finish.

Attend our upcoming Cyber Seminar to learn more about protecting your business.

 

As you consider the safety of your classrooms, storage will almost always be a hot button issue with teachers and staff members alike. From textbooks to art supplies, teachers are challenged with organizing their classroom assets and maintaining a functional learning environment, making the most of tight quarters.

We encourage you to take a look at your unique classroom storage scenarios and approach each storage challenge with a focus on safety and injury prevention. As you tour your school classrooms, here are a few questions you should ask.

How Did It Get Up There?

If you encounter supply boxes stacked up to their ceiling, your first concern might be whether those items will fall, and rightly so. But if you are focusing on long-term safety and wellbeing, you also need to consider how those items were stacked in the first place. Did a teacher climb on a chair or desk to stack the items? Did the teacher lift a heavy object over their head? To minimize workers’ compensation claims and injury hazards in the classroom, you’ll need to consider each scenario from every safety point of view.

The R&R Insurance Recommendation

R&R Insurance believes in providing advice and resources to help schools minimize risks in the classroom. When it comes to classroom storage, we often encourage schools to create a storage policy that outlines a few key factors, including:

• Appropriate items to be stored
• Safe storage locations
• Height restrictions on storage items
• Weight limits on stacked items
• Staff assigned to move heavy objects
• Proper lifting procedures

With a policy in place, you can educate your staff members on best practices to help minimize injury and maintain a safe learning environment.

How Will It Come Down Safely?

If you see a hazard in a classroom your first instinct will often be to correct or eliminate the problem immediately. If items are stacked in a classroom, how can you remove those items safety? You might also question how the teacher was planning to safely remove the items and what standards you have in place to appropriately manage such hazards.

The R&R Insurance Recommendation

Focusing on being proactive, R&R Insurance would recommend educating staff members on proper storage protocol. If you draft a policy on who can add and remove items from storage spaces, you can ensure that appointed staff members follow proper safety recommendations. Simple things like using an approved ladder to reach an overhead item instead of standing on a chair, or using proper lifting technique, are very important safety considerations. By placing a focus on proper procedure, you can minimize injury risks in the classroom.

How Heavy Is The Item?

Teachers use a variety of materials to teach and demonstrate in the classroom, each with its own inherent risks. Consider the weight of classroom objects and assess the injury potential of each object.

The R&R Insurance Recommendation

We certainly understand that it is not always realistic to ask approved personnel to manage adding or removing items from storage. Placing size and weight specifications in your storage policy will provide your teaching staff with some flexibility to access items as needed, without asking for assistance. Consider a weight limit that teachers can lift without assistance and set safety protocols for your staff members who are responsible for lifting heavy items.

How Likely Is It The Item Will Fall?

There is always a potential for injury if items in storage have the potential to fall. Improperly stacked items, or awkwardly shaped materials, like microscopes, can often present a challenge for teachers in the classroom. Assessing the potential for injury is an important step in classroom safety maintenance.

The R&R Insurance Recommendation

Maintaining a safe classroom really comes down to properly identifying potential hazards and knowing how to safety manage each unique hazard. Your storage policy is a great place to start so everyone understands that safety is a priority. Educating team members on the details of the policy will provide them with the necessary tools to problem solve when hazards arise and ask for assistance when it is required.

At R&R Insurance, we are committed to helping schools minimize their risks, offering solutions and resources to help build safe environments for staff and students alike.

Interested in learning how R&R Insurance can improve safety in your school and reduce your costs? Request our free safety resources and case studies or schedule a call with one of our School Group Experts, today.

To illustrate the benefits of working with one of the largest independent agencies in the Midwest, the following example presents a recent claim situation for one of our newest valued clients.

Steve is a middle-aged profesional with a beautiful home that he’s proudly invested money into to finish the basement, add a mother-in-law suite, fence the yard, and add additional sump pumps. He and his wife of 15 years also own a boat, 2 cars, and a few pieces of valuable jewelry.

Steve has worked with the same insurance company for years – and had what he thought to be decent coverage for his lifestyle. After meeting with his Financial Planner one afternoon, it was brought to Steve’s attention that he should consider getting a second look at his home and auto coverage. In fact, the Financial Planner recommended he reach out to an independent insurance agency (much different than who he was currently working with) for an ‘apples to apples’ quote as well as recommendations on new options to consider.

After a quick phone call with Tammy Cross at R&R Insurance, Steve knew he was in good hands.

Savings Opportunities:

• Reduced Home Deductible to $1,000 (was $7,000)
• Eliminated Duplicate Boat Liability Coverage
• Premium Savings of over $428 - on top of additional coverage endorsements

Program Improvements:

• Current policy was considerably underinsuring home
• Single deductible, in the event a claim involves both home and auto(s)
• Addition of sewer back-up and ID theft coverage
• Correction of scheduled jewelry and addition of blanket on smaller items
• $1 million umbrella policy

 

*Client names have been changed to maintain anonymity.

Last year was a pivotal year for our customers and our associates here at R&R Insurance.  In 2017, we partnered with one of our carriers, West Bend Mutual, to utilize their in-house Service Team for all of our West Bend Mutual Personal Lines clients.

This added service comes at no additional cost to our insureds and provides customers with immediate answers to billing questions, making changes to policies, expanded hours of transactional service and reporting of claims. In addition, this change allows R&R more time to take on the role of advisor, counselor and claim advocate on our clients' behalf. Below is just one of the many examples of how the Service Center approach is benefiting our customers. 

Service Center Benefits

Konnie has been a licensed agent in Personal Lines with R&R Insurance since 2002. One of Konnie’s clients added a vehicle to his policy several years ago - something he didn't do frequently.  Konnie reviewed the change after it was processed and called the client to confirm. In doing so, she noticed there was a relatively new and important coverage (Car Damage Replacement Cost) missing from the policy. The endorsement provides insureds a new car (with some limitations) should the car be totaled out without any depreciation. The coverage was added to the policy after Konnie’s review for approximately $6 per month.

Fast forward 4 years and about 68,000 miles, when our client was involved in a pretty serious accident. Fortunately, our client walked away with only minor bumps and bruises.  However, his 2015 Lexus was not so lucky - a total loss. The claim was submitted and his insurance carrier promptly paid the claim for his vehicle. However, because of a human error on their part, they only paid out on the depreciated value of the car.  Konnie, who followed-up to make sure the claim was moving along promptly and fairly, caught this error.  Our insured was happy to find out he would be receiving a supplemental check from his insurance carrier that next day for over $14,000!  While we obviously do our best to insure these errors don't occur in the first place, we are fortunate to have dedicated time for our Service Agents to act as advocates, advisors, and counselors for our customers. 

R&R Insurance will continue to be here for you and will always remember that our job is to make sure that we place you with only the best insurance companies. This change is just one example of how R&R is able to better serve our customers. Thank all of for allowing us to be your insurance agency, your advocate and your advisor.

Buying a new car doesn't happen all too often, so it's likely your "What to Do Before I Leave the Lot" list isn't top of mind. It's also common to be picking up your new car on a weeknight or weekend - when your insurance agency is closed. Below is a quick reminder of what to keep in mind when buying a new car.

Bring the following items with you:

• Checkbook
• Title on the vehicle you may be trading
• Insurance ID card on a currently insured vehicle

 

Most importantly - are you covered to drive this new vehicle home?

Generally speaking, most auto policies will give you coverage on a newly acquired vehicle to get the vehicle home and contact your agent as soon as possible. 

• At a minimum, you would have 4 days of comprehensive and collision coverage @ $500 deductible (no physical damage coverage currently on policy) as well as liability coverages.
• The physical damage coverages are expanded to 14 days if comprehensive and collision coverages are currently on the auto policy. Liability coverages would also follow.

 

If possible, always contact your insurance agency before you visit the dealership.

We won't need much time to get your new vehicle added to the policy and have you safely on the road. Here are the quick items we'll discuss:

• Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
• Lien / Lease – name and address, if applicable
• We can offer GAP coverage on your loan or lease
• Car Damage Replacement coverage may be available
• List of safety features on vehicle for possible discounts

Still have questions? As always, your R&R Insurance Knowledge Broker is here to assist!