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.
Client Spotlight: Charles River Aquatics
This Spring we are pleased to spotlight our client Charles River Aquatics. They are an organization committed to helping children develop life skills through swim lessons. Their main objective is to provide an atmosphere conducive to development and personal growth for individuals of all ages. They teach water safety, foster sportsmanship and fair play.
The Charles River Aquatics teaching philosophy is designed to introduce children (ages 3 and up), to the thrill of learning how to swim efficiently and promoting a healthy lifestyle through aquatic activities.
Please click here to read more about Charles River Aquatics.
Changes in Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Rates
Presented by Michael Regan
The Commissioner of Insurance recently approved a general revision of Massachusetts workers’ compensation rates that was effective April 1, 2014, applicable to new and renewal policies. There was no change to the overall rate level; however most individual class rates will change to reflect industry group differentials.
This may not necessarily be a bad thing for you! Depending on the classifications used for your workers compensation policy the rates may increase or decrease within a range for any particular industry.
Workers’ compensation rates were last raised in 2001 by one percent. Although Loss of Wage coverage has not changed, medical costs, as we all know too well, have been skyrocketing and workers compensation rates have not kept pace. Given the recent political climate, there has not been an appetite by regulators to approve any increases.
After many years of asking for relief and not getting any, the insurance industry took a harder stance on writing workers compensation policies in Massachusetts. Some existing accounts were receiving non-renewal notices and new business was scrutinized by underwriting with a fine tooth comb. The end result was a spike in business to the Massachusetts Workers Compensation Assigned Risk Plan.
Some may see the allowance for rate changes within industry ranges, as a fig leaf offering between regulators and carriers. To the public there is no overall change, but it allows the carriers to get some rate relief in specific industries and classes that have been troublesome and the changes may better predict workers compensation losses. Bear in mind that not all rates will increase. In fact many are decreasing. For example; the rate per $100 of payroll for Electrical Wiring (code 5190) was $2.84 and is now going down to $2.74.
If you would like to review the effect of these changes on your policy please click on the following link https://www.wcribma.org/mass where you can look up the rates as well as see what other changes may impact your business.
At Cleary, we will evaluate your business exposures and work with you to develop a comprehensive plan to safeguard your business. Give us a call today at 617-723-0700.
Top 9 Garage Door Security Tips to Prevent Break-Ins
Garage doors are a common weak point when looking at security in a whole-home approach and an easy target for thieves. Garage doors are not only a weakness, but provide criminals a shelter once inside. To the casual passerby an open garage with a work truck pulled up to it doesn’t look out of place or scream break-in.
Securing your garage door doesn’t just mean the roll-up door; as you’ll read in the article below, you have to look at every entrance point as a vulnerability. Not that any loss to your family isn’t devastating, but one that occurs through a preventable measure just shouldn’t happen.
History of Automatic Garage Door Openers
When the first generation of automatic openers came out they all featured the same code. You can imagine the security risk by having one of these openers. Thieves could just drive a neighborhood pushing their purchased transmitter and if you had the same brand as they did; jackpot!
The second generation of openers increased their security by featuring dip switches that could be set by the owner to a unique combination. While this did increase security, most owners would leave the default setting on and guess what? Jackpot! Another security risk of the second-gen openers is that a code grabber could be utilized to gain access to your system. A code grabber device works by locking onto your signal and memorizing it. Then, all a thief would have to do is re-transmit the code and they were in.
Modern automatic garage door openers now feature rolling-code technology, where your remote will transmit a brand new security code each time you press your remote. There are over 100 billion codes, so the likelihood of a code grabber working is very slim. Be sure that your opener features this rolling-code technology! If need be, talk to your garage builder to include this technology in your opener.
Here are the top 10 most important things you can do to secure your garage.
- Don’t leave the garage door remote in your vehicle – If a thief breaks in to your car and steals the remote he has a way into your home.
- Invest in a keychain remote opener – Stop using that remote you clip to your visor and get a keychain remote opener that you can leave on your keys.
- Keep it locked – Put a deadbolt on the door between your house and garage; is it really that much of an inconvenience to have to use a key each time you come home?
- Make sure the door from your garage into your house is as secure as your front door – Ensure you have a strong, sturdy door made out of solid-core wood or reinforced steel and install an Anti-Kick device like the Door Devil on it!
- Don’t leave your garage door open – It is amazing how many people just leave their garage door open all the time. It’s just inviting someone to pop their heads in and grab something.
- Install a wide-angle peephole in the door between your house and your garage – You’ll at least be able to see what’s going on if you hear a strange noise; rather than opening the door to find out.
- Frost or cover your garage windows – Don’t do thieves any favors by enabling them to see when your vehicle is gone, a better idea would be to replace the door with one that lacks windows.
- Make sure your garage door is in excellent condition. If needed, contact local garage door repair companies for maintenance. Also, padlock the throw latch on your garage door when you’re out of town. If you don’t have a manual lock on your garage door, you can use a c-clamp tightened down on each side of the door track to effectively “lock” down the door. It’s similar to those small window track locks you can buy for your home interior windows.
- Don’t neglect maintenance on the mechanical parts of your roll-up garage door and keep an eye out for corrosion.
- Don’t forget the door from your garage to your house; check the frame, locks, hinges and any replaceable items. If needed, get in touch with Overhead Door Company or a similar firm in your area to upgrade the doors for added security.
Concerned about your personal insurance coverage? At Cleary, our experienced Personal Lines department will work with you to evaluate your insurance needs, identify exposures, and create a customized insurance portfolio. Give us a call today at 617-723-0700.