Key Man Insurance

“Key Man” Insurance

Losing an important employee who plays a large role in the company is a very tough ordeal for the whole organization. There is a large risk that the whole operation may be affected or hindered. For these situations there is the “Key Man” Insurance. It is intended to protect the company from a loss of the “key employee”. Unlike the traditional disability insurance wherein the employee is the recipient of the benefits, here in “Key Man” Insurance the company is the one who would reap the benefits. The insurance vehicles for key man insurance can take two forms: Disability insurance or life insurance. Even if you are your company’s only “key man”, you should consider taking out key man insurance on yourself.  If there is anyone in your organization that you could not operate without or who's skills and experience drive your profitability then you might want to consider purchasing this type of insurance.

Insurance Market

Here is a good short article about insurance pricing from the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers.  It is definitely a buyers market right now with pricing being driven down by fierce competition in the industry.  We are seeing unprecedented drops in premiums tied to increased coverage.  Because of this, I am careful to select 5-7 insurance markets for each of my accounts so I can find the best combination of coverage and pricing for my customers.  I can't guarantee that there isnt a lower price out there somewhere, because it would be impossible to cover every market.  However, I feel that I am doing my job by approaching a good number of companies for each account so we know that our pricing is competitive among the top insurers for each industry.  In this type of market, buyers have to be aware that there are insurance companies out there that are trying to buy business by offering extremely low rates.  Some of these companies are dangerous to do business with because they have likely cut out portions of coverage or they might be financially unstable and trying to collect whatever premium they can because they know there are people out there who will choose them solely based on price.  Sooner or later the market will turn and pricing will start to tighten up and maybe increase.  When that happens, you will find much more value in having a relationship with an insurance broker who understands the coverage forms and rates and can negotiate a good product.

COUNCIL SURVEY SHOWS COMMERCIAL PROPERTY/CASUALTY RATES
MELTING IN SUMMER HEAT WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19, 2010
"It’s the same old story," said Council President Ken A. Crerar. "Carriers continue to fight aggressively for new business as capacity flows into the market. It’s like someone forgot to turn off the spigot. No one seems to know when the reservoir will dry up, but in the meantime, it’s definitely a buyers’ market."
Commercial renewal pricing for small, medium and large business accounts continued to decline in the second quarter, compared with the first quarter of the year. Large account rate declines were again slightly more than the other accounts, but pricing for all account sizes was soft, according to The Council’s survey data. All individual commercial lines included in the survey experienced rate decreases, compared with the previous quarter. – Excess capacity chasing market share in the commercial property/casualty marketplace has resulted in another quarter of declining renewal pricing, according to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers’ second quarter Commercial P/C Market Index Survey. On average, renewal rates dropped by about 6 percent in the second quarter, compared with a 5 percent decrease in the first quarter of 2010.  Brokers across the country reported that capacity was plentiful for all lines:
"New carriers continue to enter the marketplace, further driving rates down. The capacity seems endless at this point."
"Carriers have lots of capacity for new business, but also don’t want to lose renewals. If there’s competition they will lower price."
"Appetite for premium is at a desperate level. New capacity continues to come into the market (inexplicably) and there is not enough premium to feed all the mouths."
"There is an abundance of capacity for D&O and other management liability coverage. Carriers are seeking to maintain market share by cutting premium and expanding coverage."
Buyers found good deals not only on pricing last quarter, but on terms and conditions as well, according to survey comments. "Carriers are open to improving deductibles, terms and conditions in hopes of being able to keep premium flat," said one respondent. Another broker saw "lower deductibles, broader coverage terms, more liberal terms." Still another remarked that there are "generally broader terms, no additional restrictions in coverage."
There was no notable change in customer demand for insurance in the second quarter, the brokers said. Only 26 percent of those surveyed said demand was up – about the same response as in the first quarter.
The economy and credit crisis remain the top concern of brokers across the country.

Travelers Insurance - Prized Possession (Dog Commercial)

I thought this was a clever commercial.  Travelers is a good company that does a great job with their advertising.  I liked this commercial because every person has prized posessions in their life that they spend almost every waking hour thinking and worrying about.  Insurance is a good way to protect the things you value.  Hope you enjoy the video!

How to Review Your Homeowners Insurance Renewal Statement

For most of us, our home is our single largest and most important investment. Many of us have poured thousands of dollars and countless hours into maintaining, improving and (hopefully) paying off our homes. Many people own their homes free of any mortgage. These assets are pure equity. Certainly its worthwhile to invest 15 minutes a year to be sure it's properly insured.

Thankfully, the insurance company offers you a perfect reminder and opportunity in sending out your annual renewal statement. Even if your insurance is paid by your mortgage company as part of your impound account, the insurance company still mails you a statement of renewal every year to update you with your current coverage limits and deductible.

Here's a few important steps you can take to be sure that HOME SWEET HOME is properly protected.

1. Check the basics. Check your name, address and any other description of the insured property. Make sure there's been no change of vesting or ownership that needs to be updated. Check your address to be sure no numbers are transposed.

2. Check the mortgagee clause. Here's where you can be sure that the current mortagee on your home is listed correctly. Check the lender, address and your loan number. Be sure there's no old information there. Maybe you had a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) or a second mortgage that no longer applies. Be sure to get them removed.

HEADS UP: Whenever you have a significant claim, the mortgage company will be one of the payees on your claim settlement check. Just that alone can be an inconvenience. But it becomes a major hassle when one of the institutions listed no longer has a vested interest in your home. The insurance company is bound by contract to include the mortgage company on all settlement checks beyond a stated threshold.

*3. Check the coverage on your home (dwelling or building). This is without question the single most important coverage to examine, consider and adjust whenever necessary. Having been an agent during the two raging firestorms in San Diego, CA in this decade, I can tell you that underinsured homes are just NO FUN! Two of my clients lost their homes in the 2003 fires and fortunately they were both adequately insured. (we call all our homeowner clients once a year to review their coverages and suggest improvements and adjustments) But I can tell you that there were literally hundreds of people in the area that were not so fortunate. Many were underinsured by over $100,000! Contractors were giving rebuilding bids on homes for $400,000 with insurance policies with limits less than $300,000. See if that doesn't tweak your financial well-being just a little. Here's the solution.

Get an accurate rendering of the square footage of your home. Check county records, take a look at zillow.com, call your favorite Realtor, or get a tape measure and do your thing. Usually you don't include the garage in this calculation. Once you get your square footage, then you need to determine the building cost per square foot in your area for a home like yours. Call a local contractor for a quick estimate or you can call your insurance agent. Average costs in San Diego run about $200 per square foot. With that, a 2000 square foot would take about $400,000 to rebuild. Custom homes can be significantlly more. For a more complete discussion of this, check out: How Much Homeowners Insurance Do You REALLY Need?

Your contents coverage is usually 75% of the amount you have on your home. For example, if you have $400,000 on your home, you'll have an additional $300,000 to cover your personal property (furniture, clothing, dishes, TV, collections, shoes, tools, etc) Usually this is enough, but think through it anyway. If you have antiques, art, collections of any kind then you may need more. Ask your agent for help if you need to.

4. Look at your Personal Liability Coverage. This is the coverage you need when you get sued. Little Johnny runs across your front yard and trips on one of your sprinklers and ruins his chances to become America's Next Top Model and his parents sue your for $250,000. Make sure you don't scrimp here. It's not too expensive to get $500,000 or even $1 Million of liability coverage. If you have $100,000 or less, you could be setting yourself up for a mess just waiting to happen. Put a really big checkbook between your assets and someone who sees an injury as a lifetime paycheck. You might even consider a Liability Umbrella.

5. Check your 'special limits'. This is a REALLY BROAD subject that I just can't do justice to here in this post. Simply stated, there's limits on many things such as cash, computers, cameras, jewelry, furs, goldware, silverware, tools, etc. Call your company and ask for a review. You can increase many of these limits for just a few dollars a year. Sometimes the available increase isn't enough. That's the perfect time to consider a Personal Articles Floater (or it's called many different names) It's a policy that's designed to place stated amounts of coverage on many items from jewelry, business tools, iPods, hearing aids, cameras, musical instruments and on and on. If you have more than 'the average Joe' of ANYTHING, then check this out FOR SURE!

6. Check your deductible! This can be a tremendous cost-control tool in your insurance spending. Simply stated: The larger your deductible, the greater your savings. Usually you can save close to $100 per year just by going from a $500 deductible to $1000. Pick the largest number you can stand without losing sleep at night and ask your agent or company the savings you'd realize by changing. If you have a $250 or smaller deductible, it's definitely time to change it UP! Keep in mind that you usually hit a point of 'diminishing returns' once you get to $4000 or more. This means that you'll save less and less for each additional $1000 you choose. It might make sense to go from $1000 to $2000 if you save $85 a year by doing so, but not from $5000 to $6000 if you only save another $21 by making that jump.

Monitoring your insurance costs and coverages can result in a lot of savings AND peace of mind. Be sure you keep notes and file your thoughts and changes from year to year. These recoreds will make your annual call quicker and easier each year.

Feel free to contact me anytime if you have questions.

Till next time...


It's a Good Life !

Insurance Agents

"There are worse things in life than death.  Have you ever spent an evening with an Insurance Agent?" 
-Woody Allen

The above quote is a common misperception of how people view Insurance Agents.  I thought I would take a minute to address my recent poll results.  Hopefully the next one will produce more response.  The question was asked.. What are insurance agents likely to be doing when not at work?  Unless you know some insurance agents personally it would be hard to say.  Let me give my quick insight into the personal life of an insurance agent:

I was introduced to the insurance business by my father who works in my same office right across the hall.  If you were to ask most insurance agents why or how they got into this type of work they would very likely tell you that it was a family member.  My grandfather started an insurance agency in Ogden, Utah which is run today by my uncle.  My father started with them and eventually was offered another opportunity and decided to join another agency.  We now have several generations of insurance agents working in the area.  I was never pressured into following my father's footsteps into this industry.  I think the things that appealed to me were the opportunities to make a good living, the flexibility of an open work schedule, the good people in the business, and the ability to work with and get to know people across all industries and organizations.  Now that you have some background info on me, what is the answer to the poll question?  Obviously, there is no correct answer.  I was looking to gather info on a perception more than anything. 

I have been able to meet alot of insurance agents by being involved in the industry.  My father has spent the past 25 years or so serving on various boards and committes of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America and has just completed his year as the National President of this organization.  Being involved with this locally and traveling with my father has allowed me to meet alot of people in the industry.  In general, these are very good people who although they spend time on the golf course can usually be found reading through policies and contracts, serving in a community or industry organization, and taking classes to further their knowledge.  Every Trusted Choice Agent makes a pledge of commitments to their clients which you can read here http://bit.ly/bEQN5V. 

It's true, insurance isnt the most interesting or attractive industry in the world.  But actually, most insurance agents don't get into the industry because they love insurance.  They get into the industry because they are usually very diverse people that like to be involved with many different things.  For me, the long and competitive hours of prospecting and presenting are generally rewarded with an afternoon of golf or a couple hours in the mountains or on the lake.  The late nights of reviewing a contract or returning emails allow us to take a vacation with the family and be there with our children when they have a baseball game.  I also enjoy the Exchange Club and other organizations I participate in that allow me to be involved with my community and give back to those who I can help.  Yes, we spend long hours studying insurance concepts and forms but in the end it turns out to be a very good job with many benefits.  I love insurance because it allows me to meet and work with many outstanding people and gives me the freedom to do the things that I want to do, whatever those things may be.

ALL IN

What do you think of when you hear the term "All In"?  I think of a poker player who is so confident in his ability to win a hand that he is willing to put all of his chips on the line.  I also think of an entrepreneur who is so confident in his ability to make his business work that he is willing to put all of his resources and the livelihood of his family on the line to make it happen.  There are many people in our business community who have committed everything to building a successful business.  This is what it takes.  You have to be "all in".  There are many factors we can control when it comes to building a successful business such as hard work, providing good service, fulfilling a need, developing good products, and hiring quality people.  Essentially, we are able to choose the hand we are dealt.  That is what makes our country great.  Every single person has this opportunity to bring something innovative and new to the table and build a successful enterprise.  However, there are a lot of people who are not willing to put it all on the line.

There are certain risks that we have no control over which scare people away from seizing the opportunity to go "all in".  We sometimes get caught up in thinking:  What happens if I go all in then my building burns down?  What if I hire the wrong person who steals money out of my company and sabotages the organization?  What if someone sues me because I did something wrong or didn't perform my work perfectly? What if my products are no good and cause damage to someone of something?  What if an earthquake or other natural disaster puts me out of business?

Fortunately, there are insurance answers for these questions.  This is why we buy insurance.  Sometimes after several years of running a successful business and never having to deal with something going wrong, we start to think that we are somewhat invincible and that all those things we worried about when we started the business are no longer a threat to us.  So we start to cut back on our insurance spending, commit to larger deductibles that we may or may not be able to meet, and shop our policies so competitively that we take the value of a quality agent out of the picture because we no longer need someone looking out for us.  All of a sudden, we just want the lowest premiums attached to somewhat decent service so we can get our insurance certificates to the people that request them.  When was the last time you sat down with your insurance agent and discussed every business exposure you could think of and looked at insurance options before deciding to retain those risks or transfer them to an insurer?  When you let a new agent work on your insurance, are you looking for a lower price on the same product or are you looking for what they can bring to the table as far as advice, knowledge, and superior service?

If you are "all in" with your business as many people are these days, let's get back to the basics.  Let's make sure you are properly insured.  Let's make sure you know what your exposures are and what options you have.  Let's make sure you know what risks you can and can't afford to retain.  Let's make sure you are getting the knowledge and advice you deserve from your insurance agent.  Please give me a call if you feel like it would be valuable to you to have an in-depth discussion on protecting your business assets and liabilities.  If you are a client of mine, let’s spend a little extra time this next year discussing your options as we always do but taking some time to brainstorm and think about the things we might have missed or haven’t discussed before.  I would encourage everyone to go “all in” because that is where success is found; but don’t do it without knowing what your uncontrollable risks are and creating a plan to protect yourself.

Termination Mistakes to Avoid- EPLI Insurance

Shared by Employers Advisor Network (slightly modified), here are a few reasons why employers lose when taken to court by an employee. Good to be aware of and think about these things:

1. The Jury Pool- It is likely that the jurors have never held an Executive or Managerial position. As a result, the jury box generally consists of people who will judge your company from the perspective of the employee rather than the employer. Many employees tend to have an "all bosses are villains and all employees are victims" mentality.

2. Employers focus on justifying rather than taking responsibility. When we make a mistake we should admit it and try our best to render a solution.

3. Failure to document- Judges and juries expect to see proof. If you ever have any question about an employee you should document everything. Poor performance, failure to comply, attempts to work it out, etc. This will go a long ways in swinging the votes.

4. Inconsistency- Do your best to treat all employees the same. Inconsistency in how you have treated people within your company will create distrust.

5. Somebody gets caught lying- Employers will often ignore, bury, or deny conduct that they consider to be potentially damaging. If the plaintiff finds out about a lie it could be potentially devastating. It is best to get everything out in the open and work from there.

6. They never received or signed an agreement- Failure to create and retain and employee/employer agreement can lead to potential problems. An agreement should set forth rules of conduct, expectations, pay, hiring/firing procedures, disciplinary actions, etc. and should be retained on file for all employees and former employees.

7. Being overly agressive- When presenting a case it is best to present both sides of the issue fairly rather than attacking the other side from the get-go.

The fact is, there are many more ways to lose at trial. Employers are the underdog. Even if you win, you are losing a substantial amount of time and money in defense. If you lose a case, it can be real big. The best defense is to have strategies and tools in place designed to prevent the filing of claims in the first place. Purchasing Employment Practices Liability Insurance is a great way of transferring this risk. Most insurance carriers that sell this insurance will make recommendations and help implement proper strategy. A litigious society puts all businesses big or small at risk.

Commercial Property

I was lucky enough to be able to spend the last half of last week in a Commercial Property insurance course and just wanted to address some issues that some of you might find to be of value.

1.  Now days, some Agents are looking for an easy way out and writing business on a Business Owners Policy for those types of business that can fit under this form of insurance.  Basically, it was originally designed for small businesses to give property and general liability coverage with some built in features that make it easy to manage.  It is usually a less expensive way to get some great coverage.  Well, since the insurance market has become so competitive over the past couple years, many companies have expanded their guidelines to write this type of policy for larger businesses.  Sometimes up to $20m in sales. While there is generally nothing wrong with the policy, it can be very limiting in coverage if it is not endorsed correctly for the needs of your business.  In other words, if the agent doesn't take the time to find out what limits and coverages you need, then you are getting coverage limits designed for small business which might not meet your needs even though you fit into the program. 

2.  Do you know what types of claims are excluded from your commercial property insurance?  Standard policy forms generally exclude the following:
Earthquake, Flood, Property Away From Premise, Property of Others in your Care, Custody, or Control, Ordinance or Law, Vacancy (certain exclusions along with penalties for properties vacant >60 days), Employee Dishonesty, etc.

The reason for most exclusions on the commercial property forms is because there is generally a different policy designed to cover these items which requires its own specific underwriting.  There can be big differences in the insurance companies policy forms as far as what they include and what has been removed from the policy.  For price shoppers, this is really something to consider because with insurance as with most anything else, you usually get what you pay for.  Insurance rates are down significantly so if your premiums are down, don't assume that you are losing coverage- that is not my point here.  More than anything, if your looking for a better price, BE CAREFUL.  A good quote that has to do with comparing your insurance (or anything else for that matter) solely on price:

It’s Unwise to pay too much…
But it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.

- John Ruskin

Remember, the best way for me to do my job is to know your business.  A couple hours spent every six months or one year along with constant communication about changes, operations, etc. will go along way in helping me do my job as an insurance agent.  Additionally, this is why a long-term business relationship with your insurance agent can be valuable to you.  Let's spend more time talking about your exposures and what types of policy options we can provide you with to meet your needs.  Keep in mind that not all risks are going to be worth it to you to transfer to an insurance company, but you ought to have the information so you can make those decisions as an Owner or Executive.

Protect Your D's and O's

Oh yes, Directors and Officers. Why would I buy D&O Insurance?

The basic principle is that companies and their shareholders are best served by knowledgeable Directors and Officers who take strategic risks based on the information that is reasonably available to them at the time the decision is made, without the threat of personal liability. But what about the Business Judgement Rule? Won’t that protect me?

From the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, “Directors and officers must act within their authority and within the powers given to the corporation. They also have the duty to act with due care. Their duty of loyalty requires them to act in the best interests of the corporation as a whole. Most management actions are protected from judicial scrutiny by the business judgement rule: absent bad faith, fraud, or breach of a fiduciary duty.” As practical as that proposition may sound, it is still within the power of states and individual companies to deny such executives indemnification for claims that arise out of their well intended efforts. As a result, D&O insurance exists.

The most sought after D&O’s are concerned with the quality of a companies insurance program because under state law, their personal assets are at risk as well as their hard earned reputation. Therefore, companies with quality D&O coverage are most suited to attract the best directors and officers to serve the corporation. D&O insurance is usually purchased by the company itself even when it is for the sole benefit of the Directors and Officers.

In terms of basic state corporate law (at least in the U.S.A.), directors and officers of a corporation can be liable if they damage the corporation by breaching their duties and contracts to the corporation, mix personal and business assets, or fail to disclose conflicts of interest. Even innocent errors in judgement by an executive can bring D&O insurance to the forefront of the matter in defending and settling the claims.

My purpose in this post is not to go into the various claim scenarios, policies available, exclusions, etc. but to make you aware of this risk (mainly pertaining to any corporation). There are many insurance products out there for D&O coverage and some include a package of other coverages as well that would maybe include Employment Practices, Crime, Fiduciary Liability, Workplace Violence, or others.

Umbrella Policy

Here are a couple thoughts on the Commercial Umbrella Policy.  This is a policy that most businesses carry because some agent told them it was good to have and most of the businesses they communicate with have one as well.  But do you know what the purpose of it is?  Do you know how big it should be?  Do you know how it works?  Try to picture in your mind an actual umbrella that protects you from the rain and I think we might use this to paint a mental picture of how this policy functions.

First, you only use it when it rains.  When the sprinkles turn to rain drops, then to hail, it's time to pull out the umbrella and protect yourself.  When you find your business in the middle of a lawsuit that could settle for far more than your underlying insurance limits, this is where the umbrella policy kicks in.  It provides extra limits on top of your standard liability limits (Most commonly $1 million per occurence).

Second, how much do you need to protect?  Are you by yourself in the rain or do you have your family of 8 with you?  A Commercial Umbrella policy can be as large as you want it to be.  The good news is, the first million is always the most expensive.  Beyond that, it gets cheaper for each additional million $ in coverage you choose to add.  What it comes down to is:  What is at stake?  How much is the business worth?  Beyond what point are you willing to take on the risk?  Sometimes I refer to the Umbrella Policy as sleep insurance.  You can sleep well at night knowing that whatever claim may be brought against you will be sufficiently covered and settled by your insurance company.  Ideally, you would carry an umbrella big enough to protect the whole family.

Last and MOST IMPORTANT...Pay attention here...This is something that is frequently misunderstood.  The insurance company that writes the Umbrella policy first looks at what the underlying protection is and requires that the full limits of that underlying protection be in place at the inception of this policy.  So, as a business owner, the first thing you should do is have the same annual date on ALL of your commercial policies.  This is something that is frequently misunderstood because most agents don't take the time to explain the ramifications of moving an effective date to improve your pricing on one piece of the pie.  They just want the pie.  I won't go into all the examples of why this could be a problem but I am happy to explain individually in more detail.  The other thing is that all of your insurance policies should be with the same insurance carrier whenever possible.  One example:

X Insurance Company underwrites a Commercial Umbrella Policy.  They agree to write a $5 million umbrella policy over the underlying coverages already quoted by their own company.  These underlying coverages might include General Liability, Auto Liability, Employer Benefit Liability, Professional Liability, etc. They have agreed to write the Umbrella policy based on the fact that they know the terms & conditions of the underlying insurance because it is also written by their company.  The Umbrella policy is written under the assumption that these specific underlying coverages will be maintained throughout the policy period.  Local Business enters into an agreement with X insurance company to provide all this insurance.  6 months later, here comes Stud insurance agent.  Stud promises Local Business that he can save them 20% on their Commercial Auto insurance.  The owner decides that sounds pretty good and allows Stud to bring them some quotes.  The next day, Stud shows up with a quote for the Auto insurance and sure enough, he has lowered the price dramatically.  The owner decides it is his best option to cancel his current policy with X Insurance half way through the year and move this piece of the insurance business.  Stud is thrilled because he just picked up a piece of business and is walking away with his commission.

Here's what Stud never explained to the owner about moving this policy:  The limits may have been slightly modified to bring premiums down, the terms and conditions with his company are different than those written by X Insurance, the financial rating is slightly different, the deductibles have changed a little bit, etc.  So what happens when Local Business has a huge Auto claim 3 months later and tries to use the limits of their $5 million Umbrella Policy?  Remember the conditions under which the policy was originally written?  These additional limits of protection will no longer be available above the limits of the Auto policy.

Unfortunately, these are the types of things that all to often go unexplained to a business owner.  The owner gets sucked in by low rates without considering the drawbacks because they don't understand insurance contracts.  This is why you have an insurance agent that is a trusted advisor instead of a "Stud".  This is why you should look for an agent that will openly discuss and take time to explain these things to you.  This is one of the many, many examples of why you shouldn't make decisions about your business insurance solely based on price.

A NEW YEAR

AS FAR AS WORK GOES, THIS IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR- THE FIRST OF JANUARY.  IT MEANS NEW OPPORTUNITIES, NEW GOALS, AND A FRESH MARKET.  EVERY BUSINESS WILL DEAL WITH THEIR INSURANCE SOMETIME IN 2011 AND HOPEFULLY THIS MEANS MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ME TO DO MY JOB AND PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN THIS PROCESS.  I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR AS I AM ENTERING MY FOURTH YEAR IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY AND THIRD AS AN AGENT.

I ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO MEETINGS WITH MY CLIENTS AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP THEM THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR AS THEY DEAL WITH CHALLENGES AND CHANGES IN THEIR BUSINESSES.  I HOPE THAT THOSE OF YOU WHO READ MY BLOG WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO AS I STRIVE TO USE IT AS AN AVENUE OF FEEDING INFORMATION TO YOU AT YOUR CONVENIENCE.  I WILL THEN BE ABLE TO BETTER SERVE YOU AS WE DISCUSS ANY QUESTIONS OR TOPICS IN FURTHER DETAIL AT OUR MEETINGS.

I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR!!