R&R Insurance Blog

There is a new online system called the eMV Public which is designed to assist Wisconsin residents who purchase or acquire a vehicle and need to title & register it in their name. It's available for autos, light trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles & can be done by visiting the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Website.

In order to use the system, you'll need to have:

• Wisconsin title, signed by the seller(s), including: An odometer reading completed by the seller(s) on the back of the title for vehicles less than 10 model years old.
• A lien release if there is a lien holder listed on the front of the title and the loan is paid off.
• A printer with 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. and the Adobe Acrobat Readers (you may need to adjust the default viewer to use Adobe Acrobat Reader for different internet browsers)
• A Wisconsin Driver License or Identification card, last four digits of your social security number and date of birth.

Note: Never buy a vehicle without seeing and receiving a title signed by the previous owner.

Wisconsin residents, if you have questions about securing insurance protection for your newly acquired auto, please contact us and we'll give you a quote.

On Nov. 7, 2013, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a proposed rule to require certain employers to submit injury and illness reports electronically. The proposed rule does not create additional recordkeeping or reporting duties for employers. Rather, it would dictate how this information must be submitted to OSHA. Summary of OSHA's proposal to require electronic submission of injury and illness reports.

Even though this is only in the proposal stage, you can believe that the information will be used to generate inspections in an attempt to “help”, and will create more targeting of "compliance assistance and enforcement"! The importance of completing the 300 log ACCURATELY will never be more important if/when mandatory submissions start. The main point we stress in our OSHA 300 Log webinars is that most companies are actually over-reporting their injuries on the 300. This was bad to do in the past, but would really be problematic if we get to the point where EVERYBODY is submitting their 300 log to OSHA. (currently not the case)

300 Log webinars:
Gain control over your OSHA 300 Log! Basic questions about the OSHA 300 log will be answered along with tips to keep your recordkeeping compliant and accurate. R&R offers free annual webinars - click here to register.

Originally published November 2013; last updated August 2015

Residing in every WASB members’ offices is a pot of gold. Okay, it’s not really gold, and it’s not in a pot. But it is real money, and can pay dividends for many years. Many districts and CESAs believe the cost of their workers’ compensation insurance has no relationship to behavior, the cost is set by the state, and only the size of the district (i.e., total payroll) changes the cost. None of that is true.

Cause and Effect
Districts that R&R Insurance has worked with are educating administrators, buildings and grounds, food service personnel, coaches, and teachers on how workers’ compensation insurance works. Part of the education process is understanding the elements that contribute to the cost of workers’ compensation insurance:

• Workers’ compensation losses: (also referred to as claims) these are incidents resulting in an insurance company paying medical expenses on behalf of, or indemnity (income-replacement) benefits to, employees injured on the job.
• Medical-only claims: workers’ compensation claims that contemplate seeking medical treatment and being absent from work for not more than three days.
• Lost-time claims: workers’ compensation claims where an injured employee is absent from work for a period of four or more days as a result of the injury or disease.
• Rates by duties: (also referred to as classification codes) these are amounts charged employers by insurance companies per $100 of payroll for employees engaged in certain job functions. For example, class code 8868 is applied to professors, administrators, and teachers, etc.
• Experience modification factor: In trainings, districts should learn how each of these elements impacts their workers’ compensation premium. Through this educational process, employees quickly see how their actions impact the cost of the district’s workers’ compensation insurance.

“One for Three”
The slogan, “One for Three” has a special, but not favorable, meaning relative to a district’s experience modification factor. It refers to the fact that any workers’ compensation claim that flows into the pipeline of information used to calculate your experience modification factor remains in the formula for three years. Claims drive up your experience modification factor and workers’ compensation insurance premium — for three years!

In calculating an experience modification factor, the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau develops expected losses (from workers’ compensation claims) for different types of jobs. Examples showing expected workers’ compensation losses for teachers and other employees versus actual losses incurred are available for local districts.

It has been interesting — and financially meaningful for districts and CESAs — to observe that understanding how workers’ compensation losses impact premiums creates an awareness of the effect of unsafe work practices. With more information, district personnel often change their behavior and a team mind-set between schools can develop. We have stories of custodians telling each other not to lift heavy items without help. During a staff workshop, a teacher volunteered to hang up a chart and grabbed a chair to stand. In unison, the rest of the participants shouted, “Don’t! Get a ladder!” The participants knew that a fall from the chair could likely impact their experience modification factor.

The Next Phase — Training and Committees
Following education regarding how a district’s experience modification factor is calculated, job-specific safety training should be held. Buildings and grounds training involves hazard recognition, ladder safety, and proper lifting and driver safety. Food service training involves slip and fall hazard recognition, proper footwear, handling sharp instruments, proper lifting and hygiene. Administrator and teacher training focuses on driver safety, proper lifting techniques, ladder safety and hazard recognition. Training is then done with group tabletop exercises, presentations by safety professionals, and via computer-based training.

In addition to training, districts should establish safety committees and bring parties together from individual schools and disciplines to focus on employee and student safety issues. Some districts successful in holding down their workers’ compensation costs have used staff from one school to visit other schools within the district, providing a fresh set of eyes to look for potential loss exposure. When districts share safety committee meeting results with member schools, oftentimes, there are positive safety results.

Successful districts have created a culture where safety is emphasized; a culture that tells employees and students their well-being and health is of paramount concern, and it offers the additional benefit of favorably impacting a district’s bottom line through fewer, and less expensive, workers’ compensation claims.

Examples of Success in Two Districts

SCHOOL DISTRICT #1 had consistently bad losses. No one in the district was truly paying attention to the problem. Their experience modification factor increased for several years in a row. When the administrators realized how much money could be saved regarding workers’ compensation costs, they implemented educational pro- grams. The district saved $54,000 in premium each year by lowering their experience modification factor.

SCHOOL DISTRICT #2 identified a job type within the district that was generating most of their losses. The district focused on the troubled area and let the employees know that the cost from their depar tment was a problem. They used various methods to change behavior, which resulted in increased safety awareness and a $10,745 annual savings. This savings was 17 percent of the workers’ compensation premium.

Hattendorf is a practice leader with R&R Insurance School Practice Group. You can contact him at Bill.Hattendorf@rrins.com or 262-953-7128.

Article as seen in the September 2013 issue of "Wisconsin School News"

This just in: Aunt Betty finally makes a decision regarding the company's equipment upgrade - she decided that she'd rather keep things as they are - at least for this year. Ugh! You can't do anything about it either - because you're gone. You - the business owner - died unexpectedly and didn't have a business continuation plan in place.

Aunt Betty is used here ficticiously to describe an inherited ownership of a company to anyone you most likely did not intend to be an owner/decision maker. Most likely someone who doesn't have any clue about making decisions in your stead.

So what should you have done? You should have set up a Buy-Sell Agreement to ensure that your share of the business passed along to the appropriate people, and taken care of your family financially in the process.

It’s not easy thinking of one’s own demise – but you really have to if you want to protect what you’ve worked so hard for – your family, your business. If you don’t want “Aunt Betty” making the decisions when you pass away, take some time to have your business valued and come up with a plan to buy Aunt Betty out, and take care of her financially! Life insurance is a great vehicle to fund such a buy out!

R&R offers free business valuation plans as a complimentary service to any business owner wanting more information about their business and how to ensure it’s longevity, and adequate funds for their family’s well-being. The service is provided by attorney resources R&R contracts with – again at no charge to you.

R&R Insurance, in fact, is a perfect example of a successful business continuation plan. One thing is for certain, the face of R&R would be much different today, had we not had that proper planning, and I’d be more than happy to share our story with you if you are interested. Don’t leave things to “Aunt Betty”. If you’ve been contemplating additional estate planning or have questions on the perpetuation for your family business, please don’t hesitate to call me at (262) 953-7246. Wisconsin businesses should contact Tom Driscoll for more information about business valuation, Buy-Sell Agreements and estate planning.

What if your boat was attacked by a shark? What if your home becomes possessed by ghosts or demons? We all know that the movies are far-fetched and mostly fictional. There are some instances, however, where the story is based on historical facts. With it being Halloween week, we asked ourselves if some of these scenarios are viable. Taking scenarios from movies, we did a little digging to determine if the incident or damage would be covered under a homeowner's insurance policy. Of course you would have to refer to your own policy or independent agent to determine coverage in any of these circumstances. Here’s what we found:

Jaws (1975): Assuming that you have your boat insured on a watercraft or homeowners policy. If your boat was attacked by a shark and it consequently sank as a result, we would surmise that this would be covered and that your boat and its contents would be replaced - subject to your deductible. This is also assuming that you were not renting your boat to someone, or using the boat for “business” as is the case in the movie. This may be a good time to speak with your agent about life, health and disability insurance.

Amityville Horror (1979): If your home was overrun by flies, the cost to exterminate and remove the flies is not covered by homeowner’s insurance. The same goes for damage done by rats, squirrels, or other rodents. Insurance companies see these types of things as the homeowners' responsibility to maintain, and don't cover them in most cases.

Frankenstein (1931): Since the experiments were performed outside the home, in an abandoned watch tower, the damages done to the lab would not be subject to a homeowners policy. A P&C or businessowners policy would be needed to cover the "work". Knowing the resulting product – Frankenstein himself, there is a sure bet that there would be a product liability issue.

The Shining (1980): This home is actually an Inn, which would be insured under a businessowners policy. If the business owner were to break down his own door with an axe, this would be considered an intentional act by the named insured and not covered by the policy. If committed by someone other than an insured, it would be covered as vandalism and malicious mischief.

Poltergeist (1982): There are several damage issues in this film that would need to be addressed. First, if your home was intentionally or unintentionally built on an unmarked graveyard you would not have any coverage assistance for changing your location. Homeowner's policies do not cover land. Secondly, if a tree falls on your house due to Windstorm, Hail, Weight of Ice, Snow or Sleet - the damage would be covered up to stated limits in the policy. Third, if your home completely disappears into a vast void of nothingness, this would most likely be classified as "settling or shrinking" and therefore would not be covered under your homeowner's policy. The “mysterious disappearance” clause would not apply in this situation!

The Exorcist (1973): If someone slips and falls on your property, say for instance down a flight of stairs, the medical expenses, missed paychecks, pain and suffering would be covered under Premises Liability. Premise Liability covers the legal responsibility that property owners have for injuries that occur on their property due to slip and fall accidents.

Halloween (1978): In many cases, homeowners insurance will cover the cost to clean up after a trauma, homicide or accidental death. It is not the responsibility of Law Enforcement, Fire Rescue, EMS or Medical Examiners to clean up after an incident.

The Purge (2013): As stated above, clean up services are most likely covered, subject to your deductible. Side note: If you have a very expensive, or out-of-the ordinary, security system on your home, you should have this appraised and itemized on your homeowner's insurance policy.

Ghostbusters (1984): Any damage caused by a paranormal extermination service, such as green slim, should be covered by the exterminator's liability policy assuming the damage occurred as a result of the services that they performed. Additionally, any marshmallow fluff falling from the sky would be covered under "objects falling from the sky", and therefore clean-up for your home after a Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man explosion would be insured.

These again are unlikely scenarios dreamt up by the movie industry. We sincerely hope that none of this happens to anyone, and that you would never even have to research the topic. We are just a little poking fun at the movies.

Wisconsin residents, if you would like information about insuring your home, your boat, your business or your own little Ghostbusters, please contact a knowledgebroker and we'll be happy to help.

Wisconsin residents beware: Roofing scams have been blanketing local areas. Anyone soliciting business door to door for this type of work is most likely a SCAM!

Storm chasers have been known to blanket an area hit by hail or wind damage and look for unsuspecting homeowners. They’ll pass out leaflets, show up unannounced, and offer a free inspection. The scammers know the claims process with insurance companies, and based on the square footage of the roof, they can figure out how much it will cost to put on a cheap new roof. The catch is that the storm chaser does the bare minimum to replace the roof and usually pushes the homeowner to move forward with the repairs before the insurance company has a chance to inspect the damage.

The homeowner is then left with a poorly constructed roof and a claim that potentially could be denied by the insurance company..

Precautionary Steps Before Hiring a Roofing Contractor:

• Research the roofing company
• Insurance companies should inspect damage BEFORE work begins
• Ask for qualifications - they should be an accredited company - not just show logos of the products they use which is what this flyer also shows
• If you do need a new roof, shop around for at least 3 quotes to ensure you are getting the best price and service
• Do NOT provide money upfront - they may say it is needed to purchase supplies but it is all part of the scam

Wisconsin residents looking for help contacting your insurance company, please contact a knowledgebroker before beginning any repairs.

Preparing to hand out Halloween candy for trick-or-treating? Having people on your property is always risky, especially strangers dressed in costumes! Proceed with caution to make sure you minimize your Halloween scare:

• Trips and falls that take place outside your home - this will be covered by your liability coverage, and your insurance will pay for your defense coverage too. If you need more coverage, consider buying an umbrella policy, which will go above your home and auto!
• Smaller injuries - this will be covered by medical payment coverage, which is a no fault coverage and could provide protection for a smaller injury. Need a reminder on what is included in your policy? We can help!
• If you turn your dwelling into a haunted house and open it to visitors for payment - your home insurance will not likely cover this because you are running a business. (Businesses operating haunted houses require their own insurance.)
• Stolen / damaged decorations - this would be covered under your personal property limit, subject to the applicable deductible but you may want to determine if it's really worth pursing a claim.

Four things homeowners can do to keep the 'treat' in trick-or-treating:

1. Take extra effort to eliminate tripping hazards on your porch and walkway.
2. Check around your property for low tree limbs, support wires, or garden hoses that may prove hazardous to young children rushing from house to house.
3. Pets get frightened on Halloween. Keep pets in a safe area to protect them from cars or inadvertently biting a trick-or-treater.
4. Glow sticks, light sticks, or battery-powered lights for jack-o-lanterns are preferable to real flame candles.

For more information on how R&R can help you with your home insurance protection, visit our website.

We recently learned of an unfortunate Waukesha family who got into a terrible stinky mess with a family of skunks. The skunks made a home for themselves under their deck. The smell was so terrible that the family had to move out of their home. They hired an extermination company that repeatedly had to bomb the area under the deck, which didn't work to remove the skunks. They finally had to remove the deck completely, clear out the skunk's home, and then replace the deck. The claim was well over $20,000 to exterminate, repair the deck and clean all home items that still reeked of skunk spray.

That got us wondering about how a homeowner's policy would respond to this type of loss. It turns out - the damage is covered by your homeowner's policy - Here is the technical answer found on PropertyCasualty360.com:

Is a skunk a rodent and therefore excluded under the homeowners’ policy? Is there coverage for any of the damage caused by the skunk?

The standard homeowner's form excludes coverage for damage caused by vermin, rodents, birds, or insects. Birds and insects are readily identifiable; it's the rodents and vermin that cause the problem. “Rodent” is a scientific classification; according to Merriam Webster Online a rodent is any of an order (Rodentia) of relatively small gnawing mammals (as a mouse, squirrel, or beaver) that have in both jaws a single pair of incisors with a chisel-shaped edge.

Biologically speaking, every living thing is classified by Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species, so once you determine a creature's order, you know whether or not you have a rodent. For the record, skunks are not rodents, so there is coverage for skunk damage to the dwelling.

Over the years, R&R Insurance has been asked to insure some pretty unusual things, and for the most part, our carriers are able to accommodate these "special requests". Here are a few of the items that we are proud to insure for our Wisconsin residents:

• Animal Skull Collection
• Wild Animal Mounts
• Perfume Bottle Collection
• Hat Pin Collection
• Toy Soldier Collection
• Old World Christmas Ornament Collection
• Collection of Lincoln Items

Insuring items like these requires a rider that accompanies your homeowners policy to basically insure the contents of the collection for the established value.

One interesting request we had been to insure a party wagon and tractor that was to be ridden from Dodge County to Lambeau Field for a Packers game. We didn't end up writing this insurance because of excess liability involved with a "party" wagon. Still, our agents get a kick out of the interesting, and sometimes outrageous, requests they get!

Candy's favorite holiday is Halloween! So, what candy do Americans enjoy the most? This ranking was based on the sales of candy units weighing less than 3.5 oz, which includes most candy bars. According to the National Confectioners Association, 72% of all candy spending this Halloween will be on chocolate. Let's see if you were able to guess any of these:

America's favorite Halloween Chocolate:

10. Almond Joy

9. Milky Way

8. Hershey's Cookies N' Creme

7. 3 Musketeers

6. Twix 4 to Go

5. Kit Kat

4. Hershey's

3. Snickers

2. M&M's

1. Reese's

Last year, more than $16.6 billion was spent on chocolate in the United States. We hope you get some of your favorites in your trick-or-treat bags this year! Happy Halloween and learn some tips to keep trick-or-treating safe.

For information on how R&R Insurance can help with your insurance protection, please visit our website.