Month: April 2023

Is an insurance policy enough?

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Business Insurance |

 

We can probably all agree that it’s the responsibility of the business owner, decision maker, HR or Office Manager to be sure the business is protected in the best way possible. Protected in the form of locking the doors and setting the alarm at night, but also protected in the form of knowing that everything will be okay in the event of an unexpected disaster.

Some may argue that you can only prepare so much but having confidence in the state of the company and reassurance that you did everything you could to sustain even a major curveball you can’t put a price on that. But is having a good insurance policy enough? Sure, it would help with damages to your building. Or to your company truck. Or if there’s a break-in, a fire, water damage Insurance is hugely helpful in lots of ways. If an employee gets hurt, if they make a mistake on a jobsite, if someone steals from you We could be here all day with those examples.

But even if you understand the value of insurance, max out your coverage, and are the most adequately insured business owner in the county Is it enough to truly protect you and keep the company running successfully? Here are a few other things to consider if you’re searching for that confidence that you’ve really done all you can to fulfill your responsibility of fully protecting what you work so hard for.

  • HR Support
  • ERISA Compliance
  • Safety Plan Management
  • Employee Retention
  • Cybersecurity/ADA Compliance
  • Safe/Distracted/Defensive Driver Trainings
  • Fleet Maintenance Program

Stay tuned for more to come as we dive into each of these categories and share ways you can implement more of this in to your company culture.

Will the property insurance crisis in Florida really get worse before it gets better?

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Home Insurance |

 

The cost of reinsurance for Florida property insurers has increased over 100% in the past 4 years. It is projected that reinsurance will go up another 50% at the time of renewal on June 1st.

If you’re wondering what reinsurance is It’s essentially insurance for insurers. It transfers risk to another company to reduce the likelihood of large payouts for a claim. It’s an extra layer of protection that allows insurers to remain solvent by recovering all or part of a payout.

This system worked great for a while, but now those reinsurance companies are much less interested in the potential risk that Florida property brings. Just in the past 6 years, over $807 billion (with a B) has been paid out in weather related disasters. So, as you can imagine, those reinsurers’ risk appetite for our beautiful state has diminished. The impact of that fallout will be different for each carrier, but significant rate increases are still expected.

From an insurance perspective, we had a rough year in 2022. Rates were at an all-time high, underwriting guidelines were more strict than ever, carriers were going out of business, and our home state was hit with some strong storms causing lots of damage.

Unfortunately for all of us, the reality is that yes it may get worse before it gets better. We expect this summer, typically the busiest time of year for real estate, to be tough when it comes to home insurance being attainable and affordable. We’ve weathered some major storms, quite literally, in the insurance industry before and well… this too shall pass. We also had two different reform bills passed last year giving us hope for change that will benefit all Florida residents moving forward. And it isn’t like we have a choice to avoid it since it’s still likely a required piece of home buying/selling transactions.

The good news is that we are in this together. We want to help get to closing and for all homeowners to feel confident that they’re adequately protected. Our biggest piece of advice to anyone looking to purchase a home is to START THE PROCESS EARLY when it comes to insurance!