Tag Archive | insurance
January 10, 2012  

Large California Traffic Ticket Fines Effective 01/06/2012

If you’re a California driver, pay close attention to this one. The Golden State of California is broke and is looking for ways to pay some bills. Aside from raising taxes like our brilliant politicians up in Sacramento like to do as a “solution” to all our fiscal problems, they looking to the highways to generate some revenue for their pockets.

Take note of the following California traffic ticket fines which took effect on Friday, 1/6. Sorry, I’m a few days late on this. I received this information from an email. Apparently, these details were taken from an article in the L.A. Times. I tried to find it but no luck. If you come across the story, please send to me so I can give some credit to where it’s due.

Rumor has it that the California Highway Patrol is under pressure to issue a lot more tickets than last year with at least 30% increase in fines over 2009, so beware of radar guns, highway and traffic cameras installed everywhere and the tougher enforcement of parking rules.

Traffic Ticket Fines (Effective 01/06/2012)

  • VC 12814.6 $214 Failure to obey license provisions
  • VC 14600(A) $214 Failure to notify DMV of address change within 10 days Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.
  • VC 16028(A) $796 Failure to provide evidence of financial responsibility (insurance) Note: This fine may be reduced with proof of insurance on or after the violation date.
  • VC 21453(A) $436 Failure to stop at a red signal.
  • VC 22349 $214 Unsafe speed, 1 to 15 miles over the limit.
  • VC 22350 $328 Unsafe speed, 16 to 25 miles over the limit.
  • VC 22450 $214 Failure to stop at a stop sign.
  • VC 22454(A) $616 Passing a school bus with flashing red signals.
  • VC 23123(A) $148 Driving while using a wireless phone not hands free, first offense.
  • VC 23123(B) $256 Driving while using a wireless phone not hands not free, each subsequent offense.
  • VC 23123.5 $148 Driving while using a wireless device to send, read or write text.
  • VC 23124 $148 Minor driving while using a wireless phone.
  • VC 22500 $976 Parking in a bus loading area.
  • VC 22507(A) $976 Violation of disabled parking provisions, first offense.
  • VC 22507(B) $1876 Violation of disabled parking provisions, second offense.
  • VC 26708 $178 Unlawful material on vehicle windows.
  • VC 27150 $178 Adequate muffler required.
  • VC 27315 $148 Mandatory use of seat belts.
  • VC 27360 $436 Mandatory use of passenger child restraints. Note: This fine may be reduced by completing a court authorized child seat diversion program.
  • VC 27400 $178 Headsets or Earplugs covering both ears.
  • VC 27803 $178 Violation of motorcycle safety helmet requirements.
  • VC 34506 $616 Commercial Driver – Log book violation.
  • VC 4000 $256 No evidence of current registration. Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.
  •  VC 4159 $178 Notify DMV of change of address within 10 days. Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.
  • VC 5200 $178 Proper display of license plates. Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction.
  • VC 9400 $178 Commercial weight fees due. Note: The fine may be reduced with valid proof of correction

So what do you think? Will these California traffic ticket fines convince you to be more cautious on the road?

-JK

January 6, 2012  

My Business Will Be Closed For Termite Fumigation. Am I Covered By My Insurance?

I received an interesting call this week from a client with a really unique question, definitely the first I had ever been asked this one: “My business will be closed for three days for termite fumigation, am I covered by my business insurance?”

Not a bad question actually.

This insured is a local hair salon which is located in a four-story building where the ground floor consists of retail shops and the upper floors are all residential condominiums. The building needs to undergo termite tenting and the business on the ground floor will be forced to close their doors for three days. There are three businesses total, but one of them is a restaurant and the homeowners association can only afford to pay one days worth of income for the restaurant, and the restaurant only.

What about the other two days and the other two business tenants??

This is when my client called to ask if his policy would provide such coverage.

The answer to this question is unfortunately, no. There is no business income/interruption coverage provided by a property insurance policy. The tenting of the building for termite fumigation purposes is not a covered cause of loss. Not to say that there are no carriers out there who offer some kind of special endorsement for something like this, but it’s very unlikely. I am not aware of any myself and even ran it by the carrier underwriter to be certain.

However this homeowners association decides to handle it has yet to be determined, but insurance isn’t the solution to the business closures in this scenario.

–JK

December 31, 2011  

2011 Blog In Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,000 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

December 23, 2011  

Cool Christmas Stuff

Looking for some cool Christmas decorations, Christmas decor, Christmas  ornaments, Christmas recipes, or general Christmas ideas? Here’s a compilation of some of my favorites which I found online. Enjoy…

Book Tree

"Redneck Christmas Tree"

Santa Pancakes (Link to Recipe)

Santa Claus Crackers (links to recipe)

Mustache Christmas Ornament

Santa Hat Brownies

Click to see Dogs in Christmas Hats

Merry Christmas for Every Smoker

Personally, I love the Dollar Store

Printable bottle gift tags in case, you've given up shopping and are just giving away all your wine

 

December 20, 2011  

A Cab Fare Can Be A Lot Like an Insurance Premium

Picture this scenario: You’re at a party with friends drinking alcohol throughout the night. It’s getting late and time to start thinking about making it home. You drove to the party, but driving home after having a “few” drinks? Hmm….decisions decisions. You might not be wasted or anything, but what if you get behind the wheel to drive? Are you willing to take that risk?

The irrational side of your mind is telling you “This is going to be a good $40-$50 just to get home.” Then, I’m going to have to get up tomorrow morning and get a ride from someone to pick up my car.”

The logical side of your brain tells you “What’s $50 bucks compared to getting pulled over and slammed with a DUI and going through ten years of hell and torment and spending tens of thousands of dollars in penalties for making a stupid decision?”

What decision would you make? Have you made in this situation in the past?

This scenario got me thinking about how a cab fare can be a great analogy for buying insurance.

Calling the cab to get home in this sequence of events is a lot like buying insurance. With insurance, you are spending a small amount of money (an insurance premium) that you don’t necessarily want to pay, but do so to protect your livelihood. With a cab fare, you’re paying the price to make it home safely. It kind of sucks having to spend that money on an insurance premium or cab fare when you can technically use it to buy those new Nike shoes you’ve been eyeballing on Zappos.

If you choose the alternative, to play with fire and drive your own car, you are taking on a serious amount of risk. This is a lot like NOT buying insurance.Yeah, you may get lucky and make it home fine, but if you get pulled over, or hit someone, you can be screwed forever, possibly for life!  You want to save some money and avoid the hassle of paying your insurance premium, but if you suffer a loss, your business could be done for good.

Ask yourself, are you in a position where you would rather “save your money” and not buy the necessary insurance to protect your business? By paying the monthly premium, you’re protecting you and/or your business from otherwise serious risk.

Trust me on this, should you decide not to purchase insurance and suffer a loss, you’ll really be wishing you can turn back the clock and pay that monthly insurance premium to save your business.

Sadly, many learn the hard way when it comes to purchasing insurance. That monthly insurance premium is nothing in comparison to what you might be paying for a loss when you’re not insured. Think ahead and consider buying it now before it’s too late! Take that cab home instead of getting behind the wheel and putting yourself at risk.

-JK

December 11, 2011  

Change Brings Opportunity

Lately I noticed it’s been difficult for me to write about insurance all the time here. Yeah, I love what I do and I love to share what I know about insurance with others, but how much can I possibly write about it and keep people even the least bit interested in reading this blog? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and finally decided tonight that I don’t want to write ONLY about insurance anymore here. Yeah, I will continue to do so, but I am going to change it up a bit. With change brings opportunity.

Besides insurance, there a lot of other cool things that I encounter everyday that I have an opportunity to share with others…..local restaurants, stores, businesses, products, events, people, places. The opportunities are endless. So this is what you’re going to start seeing a lot more of from me- change in what I write and share here. No longer is this blog about sharing insurance  topics only. You’re going to see all kinds of stuff about the local Southern California community and things that need to be shared and for you to know about. Maybe I can open your eyes to new things, or hear from you about what you like and I should try for myself.

Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to do so! I look forward to the opportunity of hearing from you too.

-JK

November 28, 2011  

Back To Work!

Happy Monday morning! I hope you all had an outstanding Thanksgiving.

I spent most of the weekend in Lake Arrowhead, CA with my family just as we have done traditionally for the past 30 years. My family has a place there, so we’re up there at least a handful of times a year to kick back and relax. It was great to get a few days to sit back, watch a lot of football (USC 50- UCLA 0), and eat more than we can handle. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

View of Lake Arrowhead from our balcony

My Family- from L to R: Me, Joanelle (my fiance), Dad, Mom, Julie (sister), Pat, Tom (brothers)

My fiance Joanelle and Me

What about you? How did you spend the Thanksgiving weekend?

–JK

November 16, 2011  

Happy Hour Networking Tomorrow Night, 11/17, In Redondo Beach

Anyone in the Los Angeles area who’s interested in doing some happy hour networking in the South Bay, let me know. We have a small group meeting at 5pm in Redondo Beach at Bouzy Gastropub at Chez Melange. The address is:

1611 South Catalina Avenue
Redondo Beach, California 90277.
 
All are welcome. Please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested. Thanks!
 
–JK
November 9, 2011  

Your Workers Compensation Insurance Premium Likely To Increase in 2012

Are you a California business concerned about your workers compensation insurance costs? Well get ready to see some premium increases in 2012.

On Friday, November 4, 2011, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones approved new workers’ compensation insurance advisory pure premium rates for policies that renew January 1, 2012 or later. This decision will likely mean a substantial increase in the price employers pay for workers’ compensation insurance compared to what they paid last year for identical coverage.

  • The average pure premium rate approved for January 1, 2011 was 4.66
  • The average pure premium rate approved for January 1, 2012 is 6.34
  • This is an average rate increase of 35.87%

Even though all of the rates for the 490+ standard classifications are increasing in 2012, it is important to know that not all rates will increase uniformly by 36%.

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California, which tracks trends in the workers compensation insurance market and advises the state, had recommended an average $2.33 per $100 of payroll in the summer. The state insurance commissioner can adopt what the Rating Bureau suggests or offer his own recommendation. Workers’ compensation insurers, in turn, use the recommendation as guidance when setting rates but they are not bound by it.

Pure premium or “base” rates reflects only the estimated cost of benefits and insurer loss expenses. They don’t account for other carrier expenses.

The insurance market as a whole has been very soft over the past several years with rates on the decline. Insurance industry professionals have been waiting anxiously to see when the tides will change and the pendulum will start swinging towards a “hard” market with increasing insurance premiums. There has been a lot of speculation as to when the market will turn, but this workers compensation pure premium increase is a good indication that the tides will start turning in 2012.

Against the theme of a terrible economy and many small businesses in trouble, it will be interesting to see how all this plays out.  Business owners- keep a close eye on your 2012 workers compensation insurance policy renewals.

–JK 

Sources: WorkCompare.com, Sacramento Business Journal

October 30, 2011  

Los Angeles and Orange County Halloween Events 2011

Happy Halloween! For those looking for details on Southern California Halloween events, look no further. I put together some links to help you in your search. Find out about pumpkin festivals, street fairs, public trick-or-treating events, and haunted houses in Los Angeles and Orange County:

My Pumpkin Carving Skills...

While you’re at it, here are some Halloween safety tips courtesy of Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America

Prevent Accidents: Remove or move lawn furniture, or any other obstacles, to avoid accidents or damage. Ensure your home’s entry is in good condition, free of loose or broken pieces on stairwells and walkways to avoid trick-or-treaters’ injuries on your property.

Fire Dangers: Prevent fires by making sure pumpkins containing candles are placed at a distance where a child’s costume cannot be ignited or a curious guest may tip it over. Extinguish all candles before going to bed and use battery operated lights wherever possible.

Costume Safety: Be careful with costumes. All disguises should be made from flame-resistant materials and shouldn’t be too long or contain sharp accessories. Try to avoid masks that may obscure vision and try to use hypo-allergenic make-up instead.

See and Be Seen: Encourage each trick-or-treater and adult chaperones to carry a flashlight. Apply light-reflecting material to costumes.

Don’t be a Scary Driver: Drive sober, slowly and even more carefully than usual on Halloween. Watch for children who may be running or wearing dark costumes in the road.

Power in Numbers: When walking, travel in groups and cross only at corners and crosswalks—never between parked cars—and stay on well-lit streets.

Unwelcomed Guests: Scare away potential property vandals who often use the chaos of Halloween night to strike by keeping outdoor lights on.

Pet Safety: Keep pets inside. Warn your children to stay away from animals as they go door-to-door. Halloween night can be stressful, even on the friendliest dog or cat or other creatures.

Candy Inspection: Cavities aren’t the only candy-related risks on Halloween. Inspect all children’s treats. Never eat unwrapped items, collect candy only from those you know and ask the local police department if it offers a candy x-ray and/or inspection service. Throw away any suspicious candy.

–JK

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