Business Interruption Insurance

In a time like the current pandemic of COVID-19, we are all experiencing some serious interruption. As individuals, it’s come in the form our personal relationships, children’s schools, sports, social events, networking, and even the everyday errand of running to the grocery store. Those restrictions are inconvenient and may be aggravating but in the end, not totally life changing. After all, some may even be enjoying the forced slow down and more time at home with their families.

But for businesses, it’s a different story. Think about your favorite restaurant, retailer, hardware store, caterer or event venue… your dentist, your hair stylist, your daycare and your gym. Think about how difficult it would be to tell employees of 20 years that you can’t afford to pay them or that you have to close the doors. Think about the students that work hourly to pay their way through school and support themselves, already living paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet.

This is a tough time, no doubt about it. It’s terrible. And it’s forcing business owners to look anywhere and everywhere for options. One avenue business owners are exploring is Business Interruption coverage on their commercial insurance policy, which is what we’d like to clarify.

Unfortunately, in most cases, this type of coverage does not apply to any type of disease or outbreak. In the event of a natural disaster or man-made crisis, this coverage would help protect businesses against financial losses if they had to suspend operations or operate at a reduced rate/capacity.

Some of the things Business Interruption typically covers are:
• lost revenue
• rent and lease payments
• mortgage payments
• other loan payments and taxes
• employee payroll or relocation costs

This coverage may not extend for the situation we’re in right now but it’s comforting to know it’s there when applicable. If there’s property damage, closure, or lack of operations that does qualify for coverage, this could get a company back up and running rather quickly. Suffering from economic shock and financial losses is stressful enough, so the silver lining in those situations would be that this is there to help.

There really isn’t a great solution or magic answer to how we’ll recover from this Coronavirus situation but if we can stay positive, band together, and help where we’re able… surely, we’ll come out of it okay and as best prepared as we can be to get to work on recovering.

Cybercrimes happen every 14 seconds… is your business next?


Cybercrime is a big business, in fact 58% of cyber-attack victims were small businesses in 2018. If your business is attacked, the damage could cause financial strain or cause you to close the business. The lost revenue due to system downtime, the money spent attempting to remediate a breach and the reputational damage can really add up. While spending time and resources on making sure your network is secure and up to date is extremely important, it’s equally important to provide training for your employees. The top cybersecurity threat to small businesses is internal, because employees mistakenly let the cyber criminals in. While cyber threats change daily, the two most common we’ve seen recently are:

Ransomware– A virus downloaded via employees clicking on phishing links that is intended to bring business to a standstill, by locking up data with a demand for extortion money or else… the complete destruction of all data.

Funds Transfer Fraud- Hackers manipulate businesses or their clients to wire money into the hacker’s bank account. Simply put, money is accidentally wired to the wrong place.

 

Can it happen to you?

If you don’t think it can happen to you, we encourage you to think again. In the last week, two Florida cities have been hacked and over $1 million dollars were paid in ransom to gain access to their system. The details for these are below:

Lake City, Florida

“The mayor of Lake City told CBS 47 Action News Jax on Tuesday that the small city in northern Florida would give the hackers $460,000 to hand back control of email and other servers seized two weeks ago. I would’ve never dreamed this could’ve happened, especially in a small town like this, Lake City Mayor Stephen Witt told Action News Jax.â€

Riviera Beach, Florida

“The leaders of Riviera Beach, Fla., looking weary, met quietly this week for an extraordinary vote to pay nearly $600,000 in ransom to hackers who paralyzed the city’s computer systems.â€

 

It’s projected that by 2021, cybercrimes will cost $6 trillion worldwide. This activity will not slow down as we increase technology use, it will only become more complicated. Please call your account advisor today to discuss cyber protection for your business.

Don’t be fooled by surprise medical bills this April 1st!


Yes, it’s April 1st but don’t be fooled!

If you’ve ever heard “Be your own advocate!†when it comes to health care, or ever been in a situation where that would apply… you know how true it is. Things are happening in health care. Big things. And while some of them are huge innovations, strides with technology and more knowledge than medical professionals ever dreamed of… there’s still a bit of a dark side that the average consumer needs to be aware of. Billing. Womp womp.

Now before this gets misconstrued as a negative connotation of doctors, nurses, hospitals or anything else specific to the medical world, we are not by any means speaking generally or negatively about all things health-related. This is simply a warning to patients to pay attention.

Here are some quick stats from a healthline study to ensure that we are providing facts rather than opinions on this:

  • Up to 80% of medical bills have errors
  • Nearly 1/3 of Americans learn that their health insurance doesn’t pay what they expected
  • 59% of the time Americans are contacted by debt collectors is for an outstanding medical bill
  • 16% of Americans’ credit report includes medical debt totaling over $80 billion

Instead of pointing the finger at medical professionals or facilities for over charging, let’s discuss a few ways you can prevent being on the receiving end of those not so fun surprise charges:

  1. Speak up. If you don’t understand a procedure, diagnosis, treatment plan or medication, find your voice and use it. Ask questions. Make notes. Do some research. You know your phone is close by, look it up online and educate yourself. Yes, you should trust the licensed and very well educated professional that spent a lot of time in school to do this for a living but understand what they’re telling you and be sure you’re on board.
  2. Price shop. Find out if certain facilities perform procedures for less and why. This is common with teaching hospitals. This also applies heavily to prescription drugs. Don’t just use the pharmacy closest to your house because it’s convenient and they have a drive-thru. Look at goodrx.com or call around to others to see what their cost is. Now obviously, keep in mind that if you have health insurance, there may be certain pharmacies they work with or providers that are in or out of their network. But don’t just default to the most popular or most convenient. Your wallet will thank you.
  3. Request details. Ask for an itemized bill/Explanation of Benefits. Keep documentation for your records. Don’t just pay whatever you’re told without knowing what exactly it’s for.
  4. Channel that feisty preteen 7th grader in debate class that we know is still in you and fight for yourself. It might amaze you at how much health care providers are willing to negotiate if you can come to an agreement of either a payment plan, pay in full discount or overall reduction if it can be justified.

Your health is not a game and you can’t put a price on a medical necessity… so you should by all means get the best care possible. However, a little awareness and self-advocacy can go a long way and may even help facilitate a more proactive approach to good health… now that you’ll be able to afford it.

Health insurance and tax forms… sounds exciting, huh?


Another year’s gone by and it’s time to file your taxes again. But what do these 1095 forms mean? What we said in our tax form blog last year still stands true. To refresh your memory, visit our site here for some good information on the various 1095 forms: https://mcgriffwilliams.com/blog/1095-tax-forms/ or even another one we did prior to that: https://mcgriffwilliams.com/blog/health-insurance-tax-forms/.

Good stuff, right? That was all pertaining to individual under 65 health plans. When it comes to Medicare, there are so many glorious things that happen when you’re finally eligible to switch over. Yes, you’re another year older but these days, many people look forward to that birthday in particular. Your health insurance rates typically go down when you transition from an individual plan and the coverage may even get better. It’s a great system that seems to run very smoothly.

There is one thing that you may not know though… you’ll still get those aforementioned tax forms in the mail. If you’re on Medicare, whether it be an Advantage plan or a supplement, you may still receive a 1095 form. The only difference now is that you aren’t required to submit it when you file your taxes. Hold on to this form for future reference if needed, it’s really just for your records.

Things are ever-changing in the health insurance and income tax world so if you ever have questions or concerns, we are happy to help. Give us a ring at (352)371-7977 or email [email protected].

Do You Have Enough Life Insurance?


When you consider your workplace benefits package, how much value do you see in your employer offering life insurance? This coverage can oftentimes be overlooked or undervalued but it can be very beneficial to your loved ones in the event something were to happen to you. Then there’s the question of whether or not the coverage your employer provides is enough. According to most experts, the answer is no.

There are several things to take into consideration if you depend on employer-sponsored coverage alone, especially if you are responsible for the care of others. The biggest mistake most people make is that they do not truly understand their need for life insurance and do not realize that the amount they have is inadequate. More individuals than ever before are using their employee perk as sole coverage over buying outside coverage, according to LIMRA. If you have a family, outside coverage will aid in paying bills, debts, and future expenses that employer-sponsored coverage could not fully pay.

Do not worry if you haven’t purchased life insurance separately because it’s not too late and we’re here to help! Those who are single, mostly debt free, and do not have dependents will probably be fine with their work coverage. Determining if you need more coverage is the first step.

At any point in the process, you can give us a call at 352-371-7977 and speak with Nick Deas, our resident life insurance expert. Nick can help you determine what type of life insurance your lifestyle requires and how much coverage you’ll need. Although discussing life without a loved one can be very difficult and a topic many people avoid, it’s extremely important to be prepared and all on the same page. Feeling confident and comfortable with your family’s financial stability can bring a lot of peace to an otherwise negative subject.