Insurance Insights: The Cleary Insurance Blog
The Cleary Insurance blog covers insurance, risk management, and financial planning for New England businesses and individuals. Our team of licensed advisors and specialists publishes regular articles on commercial and personal coverage, employee benefits, life and financial planning, and insurance compliance. Browse recent articles below, or use the category filters to find topics relevant to your business or personal situation.
How to Burglar-Proof Your Air Conditioner
Window air conditioning units can provide quick cooling to any room in a home, but they are also a target for burglars. Instead of just sliding the unit in, homeowners should take extra measures to protect the window. Once applied, the window will be fully operable during seasonal weather when the air conditioner is no longer needed. Some of the extra security measures can still be used on the windows when the air conditioning unit is no longer in place. Moreover, when your air conditioner is not well maintained, its parts become more prone to damage and can easily break with slight pressure. That is why it is critical to schedule AC maintenance on a regular basis. You could also choose to invest in AC maintenance agreements, which are essentially a contract between a homeowner and an HVAC contractor in which the contractor agrees to perform a list of services on your air conditioner a certain number of times (usually once or twice) per year for a set fee.
Other than that, here are a few pointers to keep in mind – Install an air conditioner bracket to the outside of the unit. The bracket not only supports the air conditioner, but it attaches to the bottom of the unit and the house, making it harder to move the air conditioner. Nevertheless, it might be a good idea to install an AC bracket while the AC installation expert (who you might have hired from companies offering AC installation in Port St Lucie, FL) is installing your appliance. This can ensure that both the brackets and the air conditioners are installed properly.
Anyway, if you are installing the bracket by yourself, add a sliding window lock to each side of the window frame. Depending on the type, the locks are bolted or screwed in. They prevent burglars from sliding the window up and down. Attach the lock into the frame just above the window. Tighten it securely.
Measure the length from the side of the unit to the wall. Purchase and attach a steel corner brace to each side of the air conditioner. Connect the other end to a secure section of the wall. Use screws or bolts to secure the brackets in place. This prevents thieves from pushing the air conditioner in or pulling it out. However, if you are not an expert in installing an AC bracket over a window air-conditioner, you may want to consider other options like a mini-split A/C system (learn more here “why you should consider installing a ductless mini-split“).
Coming back to brackets installation, screw-in plastic vent flaps directly to the window frame. If the air conditioner is smaller than the window, plastic vent flaps need to be pulled tightly to cover up the holes. This is a vulnerable spot for burglars. Use three or more screws to attach it directly to the window frame.
Install a small window sensor alarm. Magnetic controls set above the air conditioner will go off if the unit is moved or the window is opened. The high-pitched noise will alert anyone in the home and likely scare the burglar away.
Burglars will most often take the path of least resistance. It is important to add measures to prevent home break-ins and protect of your home.
Trusts Can Help Your Legacy Live On
Discussing death with anyone is never a pleasant aspect of financial planning, but it’s certainly one of the most important. While no one likes to discuss his or her own mortality, many wonder how they’ll be remembered. Perhaps you want your legacy to live on through the work of a charity, or desire to bypass the probate that is associated with a will. Whatever the reason, a trust may be an excellent option to consider.
Trusts, simply put, are a way to transfer assets and property into one legal entity. One of the biggest benefits to a trust is that when properly established, probate court and legal costs associated with a will can be avoided. A trust provides greater protection than a will against legal action from anyone who is unhappy with the distribution of assets and decides to challenge it. Also, a will is a matter of public record, while a trust, when established properly, is not.
Many important uses of trusts do exist. Trusts can minimize possible conflict between heirs when an estate is being settled, set out how assets are distributed to beneficiaries, who inherits property, as well as who has the right to use it and under what conditions, and how and when money is disbursed for children or grandchildren’s educational expenses. A charitable trust is a popular way to transfer assets such as money, real estate, or art, and designate that they eventually be given to a specific organization. Trusts can also help manage your clients’ affairs if they become unable to do so. Many set up trusts to prepare for the possibility that they may become disabled or ill before their death, and thus unable to manage their assets properly.
Aside from a will, trusts provide additional options for making certain that a legacy lives on. Trusts can help manage property and assets and make sure they are distributed after death according to your wishes.
(Re)Gaining Employee Loyalty
Position yourself for future growth
As the economy continues to improve, employee loyalty is on the decline. According to the recently released MetLife 9th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends, employee loyalty has declined year-over-year and how now reached a three-year low. Yet many employers may be caught unaware by this downward trend. Employer responses show they assume employees feel as loyal today as they did three years ago.
While employers of all sizes saw productivity gains over the past 12 months, proving that many were able to “do more with less,” this short-term gain may have come at the expense of employee loyalty. More than one-third (36%) of employees hope to work for a different employer in the next 12 months.
“Worker loyalty has been slowly ebbing over the last several years, and it is important that employers take action to turn the tide around. The short-term gains employers realized from greater productivity appear to be short-lived and now pose bottom-line challenges as key talent considers other employment opportunities that have arisen as a result of the improving economy,” said Anthony Nugent, executive vice president, U.S. Business, MetLife. “There is no doubt that the rebounding economy will bring more opportunities for employees, especially the high performers. A well-architected benefits offering will play an increasingly important role in retaining employees and positioning organizations for future growth.”
Benefits Build Loyalty
The Study found that employers’ top benefits objectives remain the same as last year: 1) controlling health and welfare benefit costs 2) retaining employees and 3) increasing employee productivity. However, declining employee loyalty indicates that, without careful evaluation, steps to achieve one objective may negate efforts in another area.
Helping your clients understand the factors motivating employee loyalty is key. While employers recognize that salary and wages are one of the most important drivers of employee loyalty, there is a significant lack of awareness of how other benefits are also driving loyalty. For example, 59% of surveyed employees said non-medical benefits such as dental, disability and life insurance are extremely important loyalty drivers, while only 37% of surveyed employers say the same.
* Flexibility and Choice: While nearly all workers were impacted by the recession, they were at different ages and stages of life when it hit. This is translating into workers having different priorities and views about what their benefits should include. Voluntary benefits can help address the diverse employee needs and increase the perceived value of the company’s benefits program. Flexibility and choice through voluntary benefits are a way to deliver personalized and customized benefits to drive loyalty while still managing the bottom line. Perhaps surprisingly, employees across the board highly value these benefits – in fact, nearly two-thirds (61%) of employees report that they value them as a way to obtain benefits that meet their personal needs.
* Communications and the Generations: While a third of employers in the Study said that changing employee communications is not a current priority, communicating effectively is related to improved benefits satisfaction. Among employees who said that their employer improved communications over the past year, 65% felt their employer was loyal to them, compared to 33% of employees overall. Leveraging social media and providing benefits information on mobile devices is one strategy for improving communications for younger employees. While employers seem slow in adoption, the Study found that 42% of Gen Y employees and 38% of Gen X employees would be interested in accessing and receiving benefits information through social networking sites. Similar percentages of Gen Y and Gen X employees are interested in having information available through mobile devices.
* Holistic Health/Financial Wellness: Since employee lifestyle choices contribute significantly to health care costs, disability costs and productivity, it is not surprising that the number of employers offering wellness programs continues to grow. Taking a holistic approach to employee health is a way to address financial health as well. The Study shows that employees who say they are not in control of their finances are more likely to report poor health. Employees are clamoring for help – 52% report being interested in receiving financial advice and guidance through the workplace, and this increases to 81% among those who acknowledge that financial concerns have impacted their workplace attendance or productivity.
* Retirement – Employees Need a Map and Directions: When it comes to retirement planning, both now and in the future, employees need both guidance and access to protection. Over 60% of Baby Boomers indicate they are behind in saving for retirement. The Study also found that approximately half of employees who are behind in saving for retirement are interested in their employer automatically enrolling them in a savings program such as 401(k). In addition, employees have expressed an interest in receiving some, or all, of their retirement income in the form of guaranteed income. However, only 15% of employers said they currently offer annuities.