Spring 2015
VIEWS AND NEWS
Changing Your Address Means Changing Your Insurance
May is National Moving Month and every year more than 40 million Americans
will move, according to the American Moving and Storage Association. As you
pack up your belongings and move across town or across the country, make sure
you don’t forget to “pack” your insurance coverage.
Value is offered at no additional cost, but may only cover your belongings up to 60
cents on the dollar. If you opt for the Full Value, make sure you have an up-to-date
estimated value for the belongings you’ll be moving. If you have an accurate and
comprehensive home inventory, this shouldn’t be too difficult of a task.
Home Sweet (New) Home
When you move from an apartment to a house or house to house or apartment
to apartment or condo to… well, you get the idea… your homeowners or renters
insurance won’t follow on its own. Because a homeowners or renters insurance
policy takes into account factors such as the building material used to construct
your home, fire prevention systems like smoke detectors, sprinklers, etc., moving
to a new home means that these factors could very well change, and as your risk
changes, so should your insurance.
If you’re renting a truck or a van for the move, the rental company may offer you
some coverage. One argument for taking the coverage is that if something does
go wrong and can be covered by the rental policy, a loss would not reflect on your
own insurance coverage, but again, the coverage they offer may not be enough to
replace or repair damaged or lost items. Talk to your agent about how your existing
coverage would respond to a loss.
Depending on whether your move is
across the street or across the country
it’s important that you discuss your
move with your agent.
Is my stuff covered during the move?
Let’s say that you’ve got everything
but the kitchen sink (which you’ve left
for the people moving into your old
home) packed into the truck for the big
move, but there’s an accident with the
truck and as a result antiques, carefully packed china and the 60” flat screen are all
damaged beyond repair. Are you covered?
Well, that depends on whether you’re moving the items yourself or have contracted
with professional movers and where you’re moving to. If you use a professional
moving company, under federal law interstate movers are liable for the replacement
value of lost or damaged items, so if you’re moving from North Dakota to
North Carolina the moving company is liable for your stuff. However, they may
present you with different options for coverage, including Full Value or Released
Value. According to the US Department of Transportation, Full Value is more
comprehensive coverage but it may cost more out of pocket, whereas Released
Mind the Gap
You have coverage for the contents of your home under a standard homeowners or
renters insurance policy, so the best option to protect those contents is to make sure
that there is no gap of time between the expiration or cancellation of your policy
on the home you’re moving out of and the effective start date for the policy for the
home you’re moving into- one way to do this is to have the new policy start the day
you are planning on moving. Not only would this help provide coverage for your
contents, but it would also provide you with personal liability coverage during the
time of the move.
Because Trusted Choice agents have the ability to work with multiple insurance
companies, they can work to help you find the coverage that’s right for your new
place and for getting you and your stuff there. If you’re moving out of state, ask your
insurance agent if they’re licensed in the state you’ll be moving to, and if they aren’t,
ask them if they are able to refer you to another agency or use the Find an Agent
locator for a Trusted Choice agent in your new hometown.
Courtesy of
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Changing Your Address Means Changing
Your Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
30th Anniversary of Neil-Garing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Employee Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Celebrating 30 Years of Service: It’s been a pleasure to serve you.
From the start of the agency in 1985, Neil-Garing has maintained the core values
that John Neil and Roger Garing established 30 years ago. It is our dedication
to taking care of our clients, staff and carrier partnerships that has provided
longevity in an ever-changing industry. We believe it is not always about the
bottom line, but meeting or exceeding the customers expectations.
We stand behind our mission statement - Neil-Garing Insurance is dedicated
to the highest degree of professionalism and ethics in the sales and service
of insurance products. We are committed to providing a continuing role of
leadership in the insurance industry while maintaining our sensitivity to the needs of our customers. We
seek to foster a spirit of cooperation between our customers, companies, and employees realizing that
our interests are not adverse, but common. Our primary goal is service.
Attention Allied Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Ready for Summer Fun? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Negligent Hiring & the Importance of
Criminal Background Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Thermography Helps Business Prevent Loss. . . . . . . . .3
Protect Your Home and Community From Wildfire . . 3
Stress Relief Tips for the Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
Editor: Angie Urban
[email protected]
Co-Editor: Lynn Stillings
[email protected]
Employee Earns
Professional Designations
Jenny Hughes, Commercial Lines
Account Manager, successfully
earned her Certified Insurance
Service Representative (CISR)
designation. This program
covers Commercial and
Residential Property, Personal Auto, Commercial
Casualty and Agency Operations. Neil-Garing
believes that the insurance profession is best served
by those who acquire and maintain a high standard
of professionalism by meeting the education
requirements of the CIC, CISR, and ARM programs.
Congratulations and good work to Jenny. Her
commitment to education and career development
serves our customers well!
Attention Allied Customers
Please note when making payments with Allied
Insurance, your account number may have
changed. Please check you’re billing statement
to verify your account number, prior to making
a payment.
If you have questions, please contact your agent.
Ready for Summer Fun?
If you dropped coverage this winter on your car,
motorcycle, camper or recreational vehicle be sure
to call your agent to have your coverage reinstated,
before you head out for summer fun.
Negligent Hiring & the Importance of
Criminal Background Checks
Negligent hiring is defined as the failure of an
employer to exercise reasonable care in hiring
an applicant in light of the risk created by the
position to be filled. The increase in the number
of lawsuits based on the tort of negligent hiring
has resulted in businesses being under a greater
responsibility to use due care in selecting
employees.
A great deal of information, such as credit
records, work history, military records,
education records, and criminal history is
available to employers willing to invest the
time and resources in screening job applicants.
The failure to check criminal records is the
most common reason for employer liability in
negligent hiring cases.
Employers are not required, as a matter of law,
to conduct an investigation into the criminal
background of a job applicant. However, for
employees who have close contact with persons
due to a special relationship, current case law
emphasizes the importance of a thorough
investigation into their background.
Employees in this “special relationship” category
would include: workers in day-care centers or
nursing homes; workers that have contact with
the public, such as security guards and hotel
personnel; and workers providing services in
customers’ homes, such as cleaning or repair
personnel or salespersons. For these employees,
the investigation should include a criminal
history check.
Businesses that use contract services (or
partners) to perform such “special relationship”
job functions may be liable for the criminal
actions of the contract agency’s workers. As
such, they should require the contract services
to perform the same background screening,
including criminal history checks, which they
perform on their own workers. Additionally,
they should require a hold harmless and
indemnification agreement in the contract
with the service for the actions of the service’s
employees.
Employers may also be exposed to liability if,
after hiring a worker, they subsequently learn
that the worker has a criminal history, they take
no actions against the worker after learning of
the criminal past, and the worker assaults a third
party. Under such circumstances, the employer
may be subject to a lawsuit from the third party
based on the tort of negligent retention.
At the federal level, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has
mandated that an applicant cannot be denied
employment solely on the basis of a prior criminal
record that is unrelated to job performance. The
conviction’s nature and severity, as well as jobrelatedness, should be considered along with
the applicant’s age at the time of conviction.
Furthermore, an employer may not inquire
about misdemeanor convictions, which are
more than five years old, or arrest records.
The following actions should be taken into
consideration when evaluating potential hires:
• Conduct a complete criminal and
background check on all potential hires.
• Background check should include federal
and state check, as well as a county check in
the place of employment.
• Do not hire people whose past behavior
and reputation can be used against them in
a court of law. Even if the business and the
employee are innocent, a successful defense
may be impossible.
• Do not allow information, e.g., having a
gun permit, to become a shortcut for a full
background and criminal records check.
• Perform periodic background checks on all
employees in sensitive positions.
• Employment agreements with key
employees should include a clause that
allows for termination if the employee is
convicted of a criminal activity.
In the State of Colorado, state and county level
records are available by mail, phone, or fax from
the Colorado Bureau of Investigation: http://
www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDPS-CBIMain/
CBON/1251622108363
It is often more efficient and cost-effective to
utilize a third party screening agency to provide
criminal background checks. There are a wide
variety of security screening agencies to choose
from. Neil-Garing clients who are also Fireman’s
Fund Insurance policyholders are eligible for a
discount on screening services through Aurico
Reports: https://www.auricosecure.com/aurico/
loginffic.asp
Courtesy of
Thermography Helps Businesses Prevent Loss
In 2014, Fireman’s Fund risk services consultants
began using thermal imaging technology to help
identify potential risks for commercial clients.
Forward Looking InfRared (FLIR®) cameras can
read the intensity of infrared radiation given off
by an object and convert it to a digital temperature
reading. Using the cameras, our risk consultants
can detect temperature anomalies that may signal
hazardous conditions that could be mitigated
before a loss occurs.
The infrared technology greatly advances the
value of loss control surveys. Risk consultants
can now look more deeply into and behind the
structure of building materials. They can also
review the operating conditions of electric/
mechanical systems to reveal a potential risk of fire
or other damage. Additional applications include
inspecting buildings for excess moisture caused
by blockage or leaks in piping and equipment.
Although the use of infrared technology is not
new to the insurance industry, companies like
Fireman’s Fund are now using it more and more
to add better service and greater protection to
their policyholders. “Using thermal imaging
cameras in our risk mitigation surveys, we can
offer powerful risk management insights and
expertise that ultimately impacts the customer’s
bottom line,” says Scott Steinmetz, Commercial
Lines AVP, Risk Services.
Circuit Overload
During a recent inspection at Power & Telephone
Supply Company in Memphis, Tennessee,
Risk Consultant Jim Pippin scanned a breaker
panel with the FLIR camera. The digital readout displayed 113°F for one particular breaker,
causing concern because it was 31° warmer than
the other breakers. Two additional breakers in a
separate panel read 39° and 45° degrees warmer.
Jim also found a damaged electrical outlet in
another area of the building.
“When breakers operate at temperatures
above adjacent ones in the panel box, it
may indicate an overloaded circuit, a
loose connection or a bad breaker,” Jim
explains. “This can lead to disruption in
electrical service or even cause a fire.”
The photo shows the temperature
difference between the “hot” breaker
and the others in the panel box. A hot
reading stands out well against cooler
backgrounds and may indicate an
electrical hot spot, which may be a potential fire
hazard. Cooler temperatures may indicate a wet
area from a leaking water pipe or water intrusion
from a roof leak.
Since the two buildings Jim surveyed contained
over $33 million in property and contents, these
problems required immediate attention. The
policyholder hired a qualified electrician who
confirmed the issues and repaired the electrical
components.
Advanced Technology Enhances Service
Infrared surveys are a value-added service
for current and prospective commercial
policyholders
with
property-driven programs
such as Historic Trust, real
estate and manufacturing.
Fireman’s
Fund
risk
services
consultants
provide customers with
a detailed survey report
that includes thermal
and digital images of any
problems detected, and a
recommended course of
action for addressing them.
Mitigating risk not only saves the policyholder
from business disruption caused by a large loss,
it also saves the time and expense to get their
business back on track.
If you are interested in learning more about this
technology, or arranging a thermo graphic review
for your business, please contact your agent.
Courtesy of
Protect Your Home and
Community From Wildfire
With the lack of moisture this spring, the
likelihood for a wildfire could escalate earlier
this year.
Please see these helpful hints from the FEMA:
• Remove pine needles and dry leaves from
within 5 feet of your home.
• Sweep porches and decks to clear pine
needles and leaves.
• Keep wood piles 30 feet from your home.
• Develop and practice a home evacuation
plan, and create a family communication
plan. This will help everyone
know what
and resources:
to do if there is a fire. www.usfa.fema.gov
Remember with winter weather and
snow comes early spring runoff and the
threat of flooding. A typical homeowners
policy does not include flood insurance,
and many flood insurance policies
require a 30 day waiting period prior
to becoming effective. Please call your
agent today for more information on
obtaining a flood insurance policy.
For More Info
www.usfa.fe
and resources:
www.usfa.fema.gov
For more information refer to these resources:
www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/focus
www.usfa.fema.gov
www.usfa.fema.gov for more information
www.usfa.fema.gov
PLEASE DON’T BE CAUGHT WITHOUT COVERAGE
We all get busy. It’s easy to set a bill aside and remember to pay it at the last minute. Unfortunately, sometimes
the mail can be slower than we expect, and premiums don’t reach the insurance company on time. The result?
Cancellation!
201 Centennial, 4th Floor
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Phone: 970-945-9111 or 800-255-6390
Fax: 970-945-0576
Email: [email protected]
Be sure to allow enough time for potential mail delays and for the company to post your payment well in advance
of the due date.
Mail your payment using the billing stub or invoice copy, and the envelope provided by the company so it reaches
the correct address.
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
GLENWOOD SPGS, CO
PERMIT NO. 90
Visit Us On The Web:
www.neilgaring.com
The insurance policy forms the contract between the
insured and the insurance company. The policy may
contain limits, exclusions, and limitations that are not
detailed in this newsletter.
Stress Relief Tips for the Workplace - Part 2
Stress is something that every person deals with.
In our last issue, we gave four stress relief tips for
the workplace. Below are the five remaining tips
to help lower your stress levels at the workplace.
5. Exercise
Whether at home before work, or on a break,
make sure to get time in for exercise. Getting
exercise is an essential part of ridding your body
of stress. Try to find some time during your day to
get in some exercise. The University of Maryland
conducted a study in 2012 showing that exercise
not only helps reduce current stress, but may help
stave off future stress as well.
6. Eat Stress-Reducing Food
Even if you already eat well, consider taking an
orange with you to work. A 2002 study at the
Center for Psychomatic and Psychobiological
Research, University of Trier, Germany found that
a dose of vitamin C helps the body cope during
stressful situations.
Upcoming Events
7. Think Ergonomics
Take an outsiders look at your workspace. Is your
seating arrangement comfortable? Is it healthy for
your body? Ask your employer about bringing
in an exercise ball to sit on. While it may not be
proven to help your posture, it won’t hurt it - and
encourages core movement during the workday.
8. There’s an App for That
There are many de-stressing apps available on
your phone. Download a few and use them when
you feel the stress levels rising.
9. Organize Your Day
If you feel distracted or overwhelmed, write down
a to-do list or a general schedule for your day. The
act of actually writing down the list by hand will
help you remember tasks more than typing them
on a computer, and will help you organize and
focus your thoughts, which will decrease stress,
according to Patrick E. McLean’s “Defense of
Writing Longhand.”
Courtesy of
Neil-Garing is offering a free ERISA
COMPLIANCE SEMINAR on Tuesday
May 19th, 2015. If you provide any company
sponsored benefits plans, ERISA does apply.
This free seminar will be held at the Glenwood
Springs Community Center, 100 Wulfsohn
Rd, Glenwood Springs, CO.
We will be offering morning and afternoon
sessions. Seminar will include presentation
by ERISA consultant Chris Martie and will
include time for questions and answers.
Morning Session: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Afternoon Session: 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Refreshments will be served.
For more information please call our benefits
department at 970-945-9111.