Insurance for Healthcare Regulations including HIPAA for Doctors, Healthcare Providers and other Medical Facilities

    Healthcare providers such as physicians face many risks and challenges practicing in the United States today. A recent CNN survey of primary care physicians said that nearly half would seriously consider getting out of the medical profession in the next three years. They constantly have to keep up to date on the changes in their profession. Physicians also need to constantly monitor their relationships with the Healthcare Insurance providers. They have to pay close attention to State and National legislatures to see what new regulations they have to comply with. For instance, Massachusetts recently passed a new statute regulating all companies that collect and store any private information of its citizens.

    The United States today is as litigious as ever, and lawyers and doctors are still not the best of friends. As new laws get passed by the legislatures, mostly lawyers, new risks are presented to physicians. Privacy is one of the biggest issues in the media. The healthcare industry is far from immune from this issue. In fact there has been numerous acts passed specifically regarding the medical and healthcare industry's regulation of private information.

Legislation such as HIPAA, EMTALA and STARK has caused many headaches for healthcare providers since their enactment. I am not going to be able to help alleviate those headaches, but I will be able to provide an insurance policy that will help those providers sleep a little easier at night. This new program provides defense cost coverage and coverage for civil fines and penalties in regards to healthcare regulations and other proceedings.

    These policies offer payment of defense costs and civil fines for billing errors, including fraud and abuse, voluntary reporting, Qui Tam and commercial payor claims. They also cover HIPAA, EMTALA and STARK. The policies have limits for solo physicians up to $1,000,000 and up to $5,000,000 aggregate limits for physician groups. These policies should name the employees, directors, trustees, officers and the entity as an insured in the definitions page of the policy.

    Network security and Privacy liability insurance is also a very important issue for physicians and other healthcare providing agencies. Network security and Privacy liability insurance is a policy which covers the company against suits due to invasion of privacy and computer hacking. We've all heard the horror stories of different corporations losing laptops, or having private information stolen including Sears, TJX, the Veterans Affairs Administration and the University of Miami.

All companies that collect and store non-public information of their clients should make certain that they have certain procedures in place. For one, everything needs to be reviewed by an expert in computer security. But secondly, even the best laid plans can go awry, that is why every one of these companies also needs to have a privacy liability insurance policy. Healthcare agencies have more personal and private information than anyone other entity including the government. That is why it makes the most sense for those agencies to have the insurance.

    Doctors have a bad view of insurance. They hate health insurance because they never get paid. They hate casualty insurance because it costs too much. And they are correct on both accounts. However, privacy liability insurance policies and the defense coverage for regulatory actions are reasonably priced. Underwriting for these policies is based on how many doctors are in the practice, gross revenue and what you have done to mitigate against these risks, among other things.

    For a free quote, and to speak with a privacy liability insurance expert, please contact Andrew Cohn by calling, 786-382-6833 or emailing, acohn@alcrisk.com. You can also visit the ALC Risk Solutions website at www.alcrisk.com.Andrew has had articles published by the Insurance Journal and Website Magazine regarding privacy liability insurance. Andrew will also be speaking about privacy policies and other insurance matters at the Social Network and Internet Dating Conference in Miami, January, 2009.

Insurance for Healthcare Regulations including HIPAA for Doctors, Healthcare Providers and other Medical Facilities

    Healthcare providers such as physicians face many risks in the United States today. They constantly have to keep up to date on the changes in their profession. Physicians also need to constantly monitor their relationships with the Healthcare Insurance providers. They have to pay close attention to State and National legislatures to see what new regulations they have to comply with. For instance, Massachusetts recently passed a new statute regulating all companies that collect and store any private information of its citizens.

    The United States today is as litigious as ever, and lawyers and doctors are still not the best of friends. As new laws get passed by the legislatures, mostly lawyers, new risks are presented to physicians. Privacy is one of the biggest issues in the media. The healthcare industry is far from immune from this issue. In fact there has been numerous acts passed specifically regarding the medical and healthcare industry's regulation of private information.

Legislation such as HIPAA, EMTALA and STARK has caused many headaches for healthcare providers since their enactment. I am not going to be able to help alleviate those headaches, but I will be able to provide an insurance policy that will help those providers sleep a little easier at night. This new program provides defense cost coverage and coverage for civil fines and penalties in regards to healthcare regulations and other proceedings.

    These policies offer payment of defense costs and civil fines for billing errors, including fraud and abuse, voluntary reporting, Qui Tam and commercial payor claims. They also cover HIPAA, EMTALA and STARK. The policies have limits for solo physicians up to $1,000,000 and up to $5,000,000 aggregate limits for physician groups. These policies should name the employees, directors, trustees, officers and the entity as an insured in the definitions page of the policy.

    Network security and Privacy liability insurance is also a very important issue for physicians and other healthcare providing agencies. Network Security and Privacy liability is a policy which covers the company against suits due to invasion of privacy and computer hacking. We've all heard the horror stories of different corporations losing laptops, or having private information stolen. All companies that collect and store non-public information of their clients should make certain that they have certain procedures in place. For one, everything needs to be reviewed by an expert in computer security. But secondly, even the best laid plans can go awry, that is why every one of these companies also needs to have a privacy liability insurance policy. Healthcare agencies have more personal and private information than anyone other entity including the government. That is why it makes the most sense for those agencies to have the insurance.

    Doctors have a bad view of insurance. They hate health insurance because they never get paid. They hate casualty insurance because it costs too much. And they are correct on both accounts. However, privacy liability insurance policies and the defense coverage for regulatory actions are reasonably priced. Underwriting for these policies is based on how many doctors are in the practice, gross revenue and what you have done to mitigate against these risks, among other things.

    For a free quote, and to speak with a privacy liability insurance expert, please contact Andrew Cohn from Internet Risk Specialist, the technology division of Wilson, Washburn & Forster Insurance. Andrew Cohn has been specializing in the unique risks of the technology and life sciences industries. Andrew has had articles published by the Insurance Journal and Website Magazine regarding privacy liability insurance. Andrew will also be speaking about privacy policies and other insurance matters at the Social Network and Internet Dating Conference in Miami, January, 2009.

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance for Start-Ups and other Private Companies

    Venture capitalists invest millions of dollars into start-ups and small businesses hoping that they will take off and be the next Google or Facebook. From my understanding they look over the business proposals and the presentations and financials and hopefully do a lot of due diligence in selecting their investment companies. But, why don't they take a better look at the insurance?

    Directors and Officers Insurance
(D&O Insurance) is insurance important for both public and private companies. Public companies all need and have Directors and Officer Liability Insurance, but many private companies do not. But private companies are exposed to securities litigation when they have investors, including venture capital investors. Directors and Officers Liability Insurance is necessary to protect the personal assets of the officers when these claims happen. D&O Insurance covers the defense costs, settlements and judgments associated with these claims.

    If you are a start up firm looking for insurance, and hopefully you are talking to Andrew Cohn at ALC Risk Solutions, your agent should be asking you if you have or are looking for investors. You are out there every day and night working on your business and trying to sell it. You sell it to potential investors, you sell it to potential clients, you sell it to the media, you sell it to whoever is in the elevator with you at that moment. Doing all this selling you might slip up, or you may have an investor that perceives something different from what you are doing.

    If you are a venture capitalist, requiring directors and officers liability insurance is a no-brainer. Some venture capitalists just give the money, and for you, if you have a problem with the management of the company, you have a wallet to sue in the insurance company. Think about it, if these start-ups had real money, they wouldn't be coming to you for a $100,000 investment. If they mismanage the company, and it goes under, you're out your capital. With the insurance you can try to file suit.

    Other venture capitalists invest money, and also make sure that they are named a director or officer of the corporation. Now this is the really tricky spot. You invest $100,000 in Company XYZ and are put on the board of directors. Company XYZ gets other investors and eventually they mismanage the venture into the ground and everyone is upset. XYZ never had money and now has less. But you, the venture capitalist, one of the directors of the XYZ Company does have money, has money to lose. Require the coverage.

    Here's the final reason to get Directors and Officers Insurance, it's relatively cheap. It really isn't very expensive for the coverage it is providing. As a small to midsized private company you really present a much lower risk in the insurance company's eyes compared to the publicly traded corporations they normally deal with. So if you're a venture capitalist giving hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of dollars to new ventures, require that they spend some of that money on their Directors and Officers Liability Insurance, and recommend that they speak to Andrew Cohn at ALC Risk Solutions.

    Lastly, not all D&O policies are created the same. You need an expert like Andrew Cohn atALC Risk Solutiont to read over the definition of "insured", does it include all past and future directors, officers, international functional equivalents, members of a board of manager, employees, and advisory committees. Make sure it has Spousal and Domestic Partner Liability. Why? A lot of new ventures are started with one spouse working a "real job" and the other playing with their new venture company. Make sure the "real worker" is protected financially as well. Make sure coverage is worldwide, if you're a local entity that has no plans to branch out, they maybe this isn't a factor, but in the age of globalization most companies are now global, and it doesn't cost more for your insurance to be. You should also review the "insured vs. insured" exclusion language. Is your policy a "duty to defend" or "defense reimbursement"? Can you afford to front the bill and be reimbursed? There are a whole lot of clauses, terms and conditions to be mindful of. You really need to deal with an expert like Andrew Cohn at ALC Risk Solutions

Three F’n Percent Follow Up

This morning I get into my office and I see that the number one headline on CNN behind, the picking of the head of the new economic recovery panel is "Durable Goods Orders Drop Sharply". Third place is "Consumer spending Drops 1%". This is crazy, the world must be ending. This must be the worst we've seen since the great depression, or maybe even the worse we've seen since the repealing of the Bank of The United States by Andrew Jackson. But here's the key to staying positive in this economy, Read the Articles. But wait, it's actually a two step process. Step one, read the article, step two, think about what it says.

Article one, "Durable Goods Orders Drop Sharply", the headline when you click on the scary link says, Biggest durable order drop in 2 years. My god, two years, I remember how badly off we were when we found out that durable goods orders were so low 2 years ago. I remember those harsh winters of 2006 after the October 2006 durable goods report. Come on media, stop with your scare tactics and report the news.

The second article "Consumer spending Drops 1%", has two key things it reported on. One, consumer spending dropped 1% in October, partially due to people saving up for their holiday spending. The second thing they reported, in the penultimate paragraph was "Personal income, however, rose 0.3% in October, following a 0.2% rise in the previous month. Economist had expected a 0.1% rise." (CNN) And finally the last paragraph talks about how prices are starting to come back down slightly.

My conclusion is simply read the media articles for the facts and come up with your own conclusions. The Weather Channel makes money during Hurricanes and Blizzards; CNN makes money during bad Economies, War and Elections. Sadly Americans have all but forgotten the wars in Iraq and especially Afghanistan, so CNN all but stopped covering them. The election is over, and they want to make us worry. So they need more than anything for this economy to keep sucking.

3%...Three F’n Percent

That's what's screwing up the economy right now. 3% of homes are struggling with foreclosure. 3% of homes has taken down Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Wachovia, Freddie Mac, Franny Mae, Indymac, Washington Mutual, Countrywide, and is close to killing Citigroup, General Motors and Chrysler. 3%! 3% of homes have tightened everyone's wallets from Wallstreet to Mainstreet. This has drove people to depression and anxiety and has caused them to make decision in which they are betting against the United States of America and the world's economy from recovering.

    One thing we here is job loss. "Job Loss is the worst it's been in 8 years." "Unemployment is Sky Rocketing." "Employment is the worst it's been since 2001." Well, I was around way back in 2001. I didn't notice that it was that bad. We didn't have experts calling for bailouts and stimulus packages. We were too worried about terrorism and wars. If we're as bad as we were in 2001, then we're not doing that bad. 2001 wasn't a Great Depression.

    I'm not saying that the United States and world isn't having economic problems right now. If you've lost a job, or lost your house, or can't afford medical care, or to put food on the table, this is a crisis. But what is going on now is a self-fulfilling of the prophecies that were blown out of proportion by the media. This type of article, one that is saying that we aren't doing that bad, one that is positive about the Country and World and the economy will not get picked up by the main stream press. This article is John McCain's "the fundamentals of the economy are sound". I voted for Barack, and I think he is going to lead us out of this rut. But, McCain was right. The fundamentals of the U.S. economy is not AIG or GM. The fundamentals the US economy are working hard, entrepreneurship and good old fashion hard-nosed, hard-headed idealism. An ideological belief that we are the best in the world. We might screw up, but we get back up. We have the best the Earth has to offer, and we've melted the talents of cultures across the world. We have freedom and the ability to go from nothing to something.

    So what's the answer? Work hard, act like the economy is fine. That doesn't mean spend like an idiot. Take this as a lesson, but live your life. During the Cold War people had bomb shelters and bunkers and bought gold and commodities like the world was ending tomorrow. They're still waiting and their bomb shelter is obsolete. So sell bomb shelters and commodities to idiots that think the world is going to end with this crisis. Or go out and do some networking, write a blog, cold call, just sell some business. The world isn't ending tomorrow and we've got a job to do.

Miami Business Networking’s New Blogspot

I will now be doing most of my blog about business networking from my new blog, http://miaminetworking.blogspot.com. I like this new link. I'm posting some of my old content on there right now. However, in the future I hope to have an active, up-to-date blog about my weekly business networking meetings including upcoming events, new groups, and other great tips. Http://andycohn.blogspot.com will still be up, this site will remain how it always has with mix of business networking and insurance and risk related topics, however, I will focus more attention on the business networking side for http://miaminetworking.blogspot.com. Thank you for reading, and keep on reading and networking.

Andrew Cohn of Internet Risk Specialist to Speak at 2009 Social Networking Conference and Internet Dating Conference

Press release from: Internet Risk Specialist

(Miami, FL) - Andrew Cohn head of the Technology Insurance division of Wilson, Washburn & Forster Insurance, Internet Risk Specailist in Pinecrest, FL. Andrew has developed and runs the website, www.internetriskspecialist.com and andycohn.blogspot.com. He will be speaking at the 2009 Social Networking Conference and The Internet Dating Conference. The Social Networking Conference and Internet Dating Conference will held January 22-23, 2009 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Andrew Cohn specializes in insuring internet and technology companies throughout the United States. He runs the website, www.internetriskspecialist.com and the blog, andycohn.blogspot.com. Andrew has written articles for various publications including "Making the Case for Internet Liability" in The Insurance Journal and "Insurance 2.0" for Website Magazine. Social Networking Conference 2009 Miami is expected to be the largest gathering of executives from the online community industry. The event will discuss: online community business models, global business strategies, venture capital, new mobile technologies, marketing of social networks, online community software, partnerships, legal issues, background search and payment systems. You can learn more about the conference at www.snc2008.com The Internet Dating Conference will discuss: Business strategies, new technology, online dating software, social networking software, partnerships, venture capital, legal issues, mobile, traditional marketing, background search and payments. And their link is www.idate2009.com ALC Risk Solutions is headed by Andrew Cohn. Andrew graduated from the University of Miami. Andrew specializes in writing insurance for technology companies and marine companies. He has been published by The Insurance Journal, Website Magazine and The Pinecrest Tribune. Andrew regularly updates his blog at andycohn.blogspot.com. Andrew will also be speaking at the Internet Dating Conference in Miami, January 2009, about Contingent Bodily Injury Insurance for Internet Dating Websites. Andrew is the Vice President of the Pinecrest Chapter of Business Networking International. He also serves on the membership committee, development committee and the 20s and 30s committee at Temple Beth Am and he serves on the Real Estate Speaker Series and The Network: 20s Committee for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Andrew is also a member of The West Kendall Business Association and is involved with Next Miami, Refresh Miami and the MIT Enterprise Forum. Andrew Cohn President ALC Risk Solutions Internet Risk Specialist 786-382-6833 acohn@alcrisk.com www.internetriskspecialist.com www.alcrisk.com http://andycohn.blogspot.com

Internet Risk Specialist

October 15, 2008, marks the launch of the new website, www.internetriskspecialist.com. Internet Risk Specialist is the new site for the technology division of ALC Risk SolutionsInsurance. At Internet Risk Specialist we will be able to provide the risk management and insurance solutions for technology companies across the United States. ALC Risk Solutions is a full service commercial insurance agency specializing in Property and Casualty Insurance including Property, General Liability, Professional Liability, Workers Compensation and Employee Benefits.

Internet Risk Specialist will be focusing on the technology industry. This includes companies that manufacture technology from computer chips to medical devices, computer service companies that offer computer consulting, website development, online advertising, Payment Card Industry compliance, IT Auditing and much more. Internet Risk Specialist will also be focusing on Telecommunications companies including Internet Service Providers, Satellite uplink/down link facilities, Network Access Points, cabling companies. Internet Risk Specialist will also provide the insurance solutions for internet based companies. This includes Internet Dating Companies, internet based applications, job search sites, classified sites, auction sites, meeting sites and much more.

Andrew Cohn runs Internet Risk Specialist which is the technology division of ALC Risk Solutions. Andrew has been published by The Insurance Journal, Website Magazine, Go South Magazine and The Pinecrest Tribune. Andrew will also be speaking January 2009, at the Internet Dating Conference in Miami on the issues of Bodily Injury liability for internet dating companies. Andrew was a finalist in the Liberty Mutual Risk Innovator of Year Award for 2008. Andrew blogs at numerous blogs including http://andycohn.blogspot.com. Andrew is Vice President of the Pinecrest Chapter of Business Networking International. He is also involved with the Committees for the Real Estate Speaker Series and The Under 40's Network for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. He is also on the Development Committee, Membership Committee and 20s and 30s Committee at Temple Beth Am. Andrew is active in Next Miami, Refresh Miami and the MIT Enterprise Forum.

A Positive View on the Economy

    When the real estate market was going up faster than a space ship, someone told me that the bubble was about to burst. They said, "You know it's reached its peak when you hear grandmothers and barbers talking about it". Well, maybe the same applies to the bottom. You now here the grandmothers and barbers talking about how bad the economy is, so it's probably about to start back up.

    Obviously, I'm not an economist. But, I think what our country needs right now is just some optimism. We need to stop focusing on what got us here, and focus on what will get us out. On Rosh Hashanah, my Rabbi, Terry Bookman, gave a great sermon on "Imagination". He quoted the leadership consultant Michael Hammer, "When memories exceed dreams, the end is always near." Well this is mainly a tech and business blog, so my message is to encourage the inventors and the dreamers out there to keep dreaming, keep inventing. Monetization is important, but remember, it's not even a word. Who would've thought facebook, could be profitable? But as Thomas Friedman says in The World is Flat, "Imagination can't just be about reruns. It has to be about writing our own script." We need to start building and scrapping our way out this recession/depression.

    Things are bad right now. But, if you work hard, you can help get this country back on its feet.

Inviting Visitors to BNI

    Over the past 6 months our BNI Chapter has grown tremendously, and it has contributed to more referrals and more business for everyone in the room. We want to keep growing, but we want to continue to add quality professionals. Over the next six months we need to focus on bringing in 1 visitor per member, per month. So that in 6 months if we initiate one of those visitors per month, we will have 50 members and 50 visitors passing at least 50 referrals each meeting.

    How do you invite visitors?

    Don't talk too much when inviting a visitor. The more you might talk them out of it. Seeing is believing, get them in, the meeting will sell itself, and if it doesn't they aren't the right fit. Never say the following things until you are asked when you invite someone:

1. 7:00 AM
   
2. Breakfast
   
3. Weekly Meetings
   
4. Networking – usually associated with MLM
   
5. JOIN – you are not getting them to join, you're asking them to attend
   
6. Meeting Agenda – just get them to come, they do not have to understand the structure before hand, they will see it for themselves.
   

What Should You Say?

The recommendation from Jeff Stay, the director for BNI Miami Dade is to say this line, verbatim:

"John (insert the real name of the person you are inviting), I am working with a group of local business people who are looking for a plumber (insert the profession of the person you are inviting) to give their business to. Would you like to come and meet some of my colleagues?"

The Dirt Lawyer, Tim Sander tells people, "How would you like 45 trained sales persons marketing your business for you for free?" Adam Levy says,

"The key thing for me is to carefully select the right people you think would really would benefit and fit in to BNI.  Selection is key.  A visitor to our meeting/ group has got to fit in to our group's personality.  You can't fit a square peg in a round hole.  Once I get someone on my mind, I don't let up.  I make a phone call, invite them to view the website and to an upcoming meeting.  If they do not attend, I call a couple more times until they tell me they are too busy or not interested.  If they don't mention either one of those reasons, I invite again and tell them that they cannot pass up this type of opportunity.  I stay on it. That is my approach."

    The 7am Objection

    For some reason a lot of people are opposed to meeting at 7am. Everyone here knows the benefits, or they just like getting up early. But reiterate it for the potential visitor.

• You beat the morning rush hour
  
• You are out of the meeting and on your way to work by 8:30
  
• You start one day of the week off enthusiastically and with a good breakfast
  

The Attendance Objection

Some people are concerned about attending a meeting each and every week. We do not want to down play attendance; we want to show them that it is important enough to make it part of your routine. If there is a legitimate reason why the person cannot attend, they probably would not be a good fit for the group. For instance, if the person is a single parent and the only person available to take the children to school each morning, this might not be a good fit. But, some people think they are busier than they really are at 7am. Get these people to the meeting, if they don't get why it's important after coming to the meeting, cross them off the list, we don't want them.

The Referral Objection

Another reoccurring object is the fear of not being able to bring in referrals each and every week. Just like attendance, we do not want to down play the importance of bringing referrals, because that is why we are here. You need to tell these people that the referrals will come when you meet with the people in the chapter on the 1 on 1s. They will tell you how to pass them a referral, and it will just come. Also, bringing in a visitor is just as good as a referral, because now that person can become a referral or give a referral, even if they never join.

Visitors are the key for our group's survival and for the growth of our businesses through BNI. Visitors that become members open up over 250 new contacts for reoccurring referrals each week. But, even visitors that do not become members provide us with a one-time shot at referring business to us from their contacts, and they themselves can become someone's best new client. The goal is 50/50/50. We need 50 visitors per month, from 50 members, passing 50 referrals each meeting, and we need it in 6 months. It all starts with visitors.

Insurance for Internet Dating and Social Networking

Countless numbers of people have found love, friendship, and business contacts through social networking and internet dating sites. However, we also hear of the horror stories involving people that are physically harmed. You, the owners of these very profitable websites, are constantly balancing the risk vs. the reward of operating your company.

Right now you are trying to mitigate your risk by making your site as safe as possible. This is a great thing, because no one wants your clients to get hurt more than you. Social media is not a zero sum game when we're talking about assault and battery. Your client loses and you lose. One person gets hurt and it could all be over. Can your company withstand a multimillion dollar lawsuit?

Well finally there is an insurance solution for internet dating and social networking websites. It comes in the form of an endorsement to some internet liability policies for contingent bodily injury coverage. Internet liability insurance is the policy that covers a company for their internet activities. For the most part this covers invasion of privacy and intellectual property infringement. For more about internet liability insurance please read my article titled, Insurance 2.0 in Website Magazine's Issue 11.

http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/articles/internet_liability_insurance.aspx

Many internet liability policies have many specific exclusions in there for bodily injury, property damage, violations of statutes and regulations, mass communications, and other hot-button items. But, some of these exclusions can be taken out my endorsement. You need to read your policy and discuss with your agent, the full list of exclusions and endorsements. The Contingent Bodily Injury Coverage Endorsement deletes the exclusion found in many policies for claims of bodily injury brought against the insured company. So what does this mean in real life?

XYZdating.com operates like many other dating website. Users post their profiles and can chat and meet up if they choose. Two users schedule a date. On the date there is a sexual assault. The criminal proceedings take place, but the victim also decides to launch a civil suit against XYZdating.com. XYZdating.com may or may not be found liable in the suit. However, even if they are not found liable, defending the suit could cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars. This endorsement provides the duty to defend and a sublimit for any reward settlement.

This is a very basic example but it could easily take place with dating websites, social networking or business networking websites. And the endorsement can be added to some internet liability policies. There are other very important endorsements and conditions that should be taken into consideration for social media website and dating websites. I hope to have future articles going over Intellectual Property Infringement, and how it relates to User generated content. Also making sure you have coverage for regulatory action including violations of local, state and federal privacy acts. As well as cyber extortion, crisis management and public relations expense, business income for network interruption and privacy liability including paper documents.

Andrew Cohn will be giving a presentation on the topic of Bodily Injury coverage for Internet Dating and other forms of social media at the 6^th Annual Internet Dating Conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center, January 22-23, 2009. For more information please go to www.idate2008.com/innerpage-miami.php.

For more information about obtaining internet liability insurance for your company please contact me, Andrew Cohn at alcohn@wwfins.com .

 

Globalization: Insured

    A-Z Technology, Inc. is very conscious of its domestic risk exposure, and the CEO and CFO have made sure to fill every gap possible with an insurance product. They obviously have their property insurance, general liability, workers compensation, car insurance, professional liability and they even have internet liability and network security liability. They're starting to grow, but the policies keep renewing, and the premiums keep growing so they feel safe. However, now A-Z Technology has starting to grow outside of the United States.

    It was only a little bit at first. A trip to Brazil to make the sales pitch for 4 days. Then they got the account in Columbia which had their two employees over there for 3 weeks. And now they have the call center in Chile that is saving them a lot of money. The principals didn't think much about it, until the one day that they got the call.

The call center manager was in Chile and decided to rent a vehicle. He was tired of relying on the taxis and public transportation, and he knew his way around by now. Well, he got into an accident. He's a little banged up, the other driver was hurt more severely, and your employee was at-fault. What do you do now? Can you call up your car insurance to cover the accident in a rented vehicle in another country?

This is where you need to make sure your global exposures are properly insured by your global insurance. Just think about all of the obstacles of driving in another country: Jet lag, Unfamiliar roads and signs, different speed limits, rules, and regulations, and an unfamiliar vehicle.

This type of coverage is called Hired and Non-owned Automobile Liability Insurance. On top of this there are other coverages that companies need to take into consideration. For one, you need property insurance. In the example above the company actually had a physical location which could be insured for building coverage, and in addition they have equipment and other business property which can be insured as well for theft, fire, vandalism, windstorms, lightning, ect. You probably also have property-in-transit which you would want to insure including samples and equipment. You also have general liability concerns. Just like someone can fall in your office and sue you in the United States, the same can apply overseas.

In the example above your employee was hurt. You need to think about how that employee will be insured for in the recovery process. Foreign Voluntary Workers Compensation covers U.S. employees while they are working overseas. In addition to the normal workers comp coverage, foreign voluntary workers comp also pays repatriation and evacuation expenses to get your injured employee safely back into the United States. Foreign Voluntary Workers Compensation is not a regulatory benefit like Statutory Workers Comp, which is regulated by each State. However, Foreign Voluntary Workers Compensation is a promise to pay the equivalent of regulatory benefits, should the loss fall outside the state/country statutes or regulations.

Lastly, A-Z Technology, Inc. should consider having Kidnap and Ransom Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance for their employee benefits. Nobody wants to think about it, and no one thinks it can happen to them, but it does happen, and it happens to someone. Kidnap and Ransom Coverage helps in the process of trying to negotiate with a person's captor in the event this would happen. The insurance can also pay requested Ransom amounts, and pay for any events that do occur.

For more information about global insurance please contact me, Andrew Cohn at (786) 382-6833 or email acohn@alcrisk.com. For more information about Global Insurance coverages and other insurance coverages visit our the ALC Risk Solutions website at www.alcrisk.com. 

General Liability vs. Professional Liability for Manufacturing Companies

    Most people have a good understanding of the needs for professional liability or errors and omissions insurance for the industries that provide the public with services. Lawyers need professional liability, Doctors need malpractice and insurance agents, engineers, computer consultants and stock brokers all need errors and omissions insurance. Likewise, there is a general consensus that if you are manufacturing, fabricating or assembling a product you need a commercial general liability policy which includes product liability. What a lot of risk managers, CFOs, owners of manufacturing companies and insurance agents for manufacturing companies fail to realize is their risk exposure for Professional Liability Insurance as a manufacturer of a product.

    Companies that manufacture technology tend to have a huge professional liability exposure, but most companies that manufacture a product whether it would be considered technology or not have the exposure as well. As the operator of Internet Risk Specialist I see technology companies all the time which should have this coverage. But at ALC Risk Solutions we deal with companies in all industries that manufacture, assemble and fabricate products whose liability extends past the general liability's products liability definition.

To fully understand the gap of coverage, you need to understand what the commercial general liability policy covers. A commercial general liability insurance policy general will cover the company for suits brought against the company for a number of things: Bodily Injury, Property Damage, Advertising Injury and Personal Injury. As you can see, there is no coverage listed in there for "Financial Damage".

Let's say you manufacture computer servers. You have a product liability policy. So if the server catches on fire and causes the loss of life, the loss of property or a bodily injury to a customer, your policy will protect you. But what if that server catches on fire at a stock broker's office right after a client put in an order to sell $1,000,000 worth of stock which was about to tank and be worthless. Who does the stock broker's client sue? Who does the stock broker blame? What if it really was an error or omission on your company's part which caused the server to catch on fire?

Think about the product that your company manufactures. Does your product enable others to make money? Would your product failing cause your customers to not make money? If your product was to fail, explode, implode or malfunction due to an error or omission, or perceived error or omission on your part, what will happen? If you only have a product liability policy, than you are partially self-insured.

Some of you may be saying, "My carrier offered me a professional liability quote, and it was more than my general liability quote". Well your carrier has been insuring you for a few years now and they probably have a decent understanding of your business. If they charge you $2,000 for products liability and $4,000 for professional liability, maybe that's because they know that your professional liability exposure is two times as great as your product liability exposure. It might be even more than twice as great, but they know you're not going to buy it if it's that expensive so the insurance company is taking a little risk with providing the quote.

So now your thinking, "Great I have this huge exposure, revenues are down, insurance was too expensive last year, how can I afford to buy more coverage?" Well, the good thing for you as a manufacturing company is that this is a soft insurance market. Insurance companies are stepping over each other, and some are even taking underwriting losses to write accounts and get them on the books. So as a business owner, CFO, risk manager, this is a good time to shop around your insurance, get the General Liability down, scrimp and save on the workers compensation, beat down the property insurance quote and apply the savings to the professional liability insurance. If you're agent can't do it, give me a call. I am Andy Cohn with ALC Risk Solutions in Miami, FL. You can contact me by email at acohn@alcrisk.com or by phone at (786) 382-6833.

Saving Money on Your Cargo Insurance

    Writing any property and casualty insurance in Miami is always going to be a little trickier than other parts of the United States. Miami has a higher exposure to natural and human hazards including, but not limited to, hurricanes, tornadoes, theft, vandalism and fire. This makes the cost of insurance, and therefore, the cost of doing Business in Miami a little tougher. At ALC Risk Soltuions, we focus on writing insurance for niche markets. We have an agent that focuses on social services and another on health services and another on aviation risks. I specialize in writing insurance for the technology and the marine industry. A major part of the marine industry is Cargo Insurance. ALC Risk Soltuions is also an independent agency. This means that we do not have one single insurance company that we go to when we are looking to write your Cargo Insurance Policy, we go to many different companies that we know have specialized departments for dealing with Cargo Insurance.

    When you are looking at Cargo Insurance the main thing to be concerned about is quality of the company. If the agent does not provide you with the A.M. Best rating you can find it by going to www.ambest.com. Another concern company's face regarding cargo insurance is the cost. But, this is where you have to be careful. You should look at the upfront premium, but more importantly, you should be looking at the rate, and whether the policy is auditable or flat. An "Auditable" policy means that at the end of the year the company will ask you for a report of all of the shipments you made last year. If you went over what you projected, they will charge you additional premium based on the rate that was quoted.

    For example, you project on your application you are going to ship $10,000,000 worth of computers from Miami to Columbia. They give you a rate of $0.25 per $100 shipped. Upfront you are charged a premium which is minimum and deposit of $25,000. At the end of the year, you did better than expected, and you shipped $15,000,000. The extra $5,000,000 will be charged at a rate of $0.25 per $100. You know owe an additional premium of $12,500.

    If you had projected that you would've shipped $15,000,000, your rate might have been $0.20 per $100. This would've been a minimum and deposit of $30,000 and you would've saved $7,500 that year.

    Non-auditable policies are harder to find, however, at ALC Risk Soltuions, we do have access to a market that is writing Flat, or Non-auditable policies. However, these policies are only for companies which are shipping one type of good. So, if you are only shipping fitness equipment, or only shipping automobile parts, or only shipping kitchen appliances, ect, you may qualify for a Flat policy. This means that if you project $10,000,000 and ship $15,000,000 you do not get hit with an audit, you just have to adjust your policy accordingly next year.

    There are many other ways to save money on your Cargo Insurance policy. For a free consultation with me, Andrew Cohn of ALC Risk Soltuions in Miami, FL, please email me acohn@alcrisk.com or call (786) 382-6833. ALC Risk Soltuions is an independent insurance agency specializing in writing insurance for niche industries including technology, marine, cargo, manufacturing, health services, non-profits, social services and the food industry.

Laser Sharp Networking

The key to successful networking is being laser sharp when you are meeting with your groups. The groups you're in are your sales team, and you are their salesperson. It's good for them to have a general idea of what you do, but it's even better if they know specifically the name of the person and company you're looking to meet. Every meeting you should look up the names of a few companies you want to meet. Find the name of the company, a general idea of what they do, and the name of the person you need to contact. You can find this by using the division of corporation's website. You can also use LinkedIn, to find out in advance if they are on Linkedin, and if you know anyone in their network.

For example, I specialize in writing insurance for technology companies and marine companies. This week I am looking for a referral to the owner of Axerra, Inc. and Da Vinci Systems, LLC both are in Palm Beach County. That is my laser sharp commercial.

You should also change things up. If every meeting I only talked about technology insurance, eventually, people wouldn't think of me as the commercial insurance agent, they would think of me as the tech guy. But, I don't just want technology companies to insure, I want other kinds of business as well. So, talk I'll talk about technology and marine businesses 70% and other businesses 30%. Everyone still knows I specialize in technology and marine, but I'm able to talk about new markets.

A recent example of this is that our firm is now representing a company that only insures public entities. At my meeting this morning I mentioned that I was looking to meet with the people in charge at local municipalities and I got a great response.

Another good idea is to paint a picture for your sale steam. If you don't have a specific company you're looking, describe a recent client. But use great detail. You don't have to give the name and address, but give every other detail. Make them really understand what an ideal client for you look like.

Lastly, people ask a lot of times to tell them how they can send me business at a networking group. I sometimes here people answer this buying giving the same useless response, "I work with yada yada yada with over 10 employees". Next time someone asks you this, tell them a few buzz words that will help them pass you a referral. For me, buzz words would be technology, manufacturing, marine, workers comp, products liability, errors and omissions, professional liability, internet liability, cyber liability, ect.

In conclusion, make sure your sales team knows how to send you business. Keep changing up your commercials and be laser sharp.

The Art of Small Talk

This morning's educational minute was a summary of Keith Farrazzi's chapter in his book, Never Eat Alone, The Art of Small Talk. In this chapter he talks about how important it is to be a good conversationalist when you are at a business networking meeting. As a commercial insurance agent with Wilson, Washburn & Forster and head Florida Technology Insurance I constantly am attending networking events. I find these types very useful in accomplishing my goals at these events.

Farrazzi talks about the main things you need to do:

• First, give the person a hearty smile. It says, I'm approachable
  
• Maintain a good balance of eye contact. 100% = Creepy. Less than 70% says that you are disinterested and rude
  
• Unfold your arms, and relax
  
• Nod your head and lean in – but not too much where you are invading personal space
  
• Lastly, touch people. Touching is a powerful act. Just a little grab on the elbow when you shake hands breaks the gap.
  

Another aspect of the conversation Farrazzi talks about is developing conversational currency. He recommends doing this by keeping up on current events and cultivate your knowledge of niche interests. This includes specific hobbies like cooking, wine, sports, travel, collectibles, movies, music, ect.

Lastly, Farrrazzi warns not to monopolize the conversation, "share a passion, don't preach it".

Internet Liability Insurance, Cyber Liability Insurance, Privacy Insurance

There has been very little in the history of the world that has revolutionized the world so greatly and as quickly as the Internet. The Internet has allowed anyone and everyone with a computer to access information from anywhere in the world, and has allowed everyone to create their own content have it accessible to anyone in the world. In a perfect world, there would be no limitations on the greatness, which this could enable. Doctors, scientists, researchers, and philosophers from anywhere in the world has the ability to converse with colleagues on the other side of the world. Over our lifetime the world has become a lot smaller.

 
 

However, doctors and scientist striving to better the world are not the only ones with access. There are plenty of people on the Internet with malicious intent. Everyone has heard stories of hackers gaining access to different websites and obtaining private information, and holding companies hostage with their abilities.

 
 

The Internet has also created a whole new venue for companies and individuals to make careless, but costly mistakes. These mistakes when not made on the Internet like a "personal or advertising injury" have usually been covered by insurance in a Commercial General Liability Policy. However, many general liability insurance policies exclude a company's actions on the Internet.

 
 

Internet liability insurance covers very specific wrongful acts as defined by the policy forms:

 
 

·        Infringement or unauthorized use of any advertising material, copyright, slogan, trademark, ect through the internet.

 
 

·        Failure to protect private or confidential information of others from unauthorized access on or through the Internet.

 
 

·        Making known to any person or organization material that violates a person or organizations right to privacy or publicity right.

 
 

·         Plagiarism or unauthorized use of a literary or artistic format, character, or performance through the Internet.

 
 

·           Failure to prevent the transmission of a computer virus to authorized users of your website or any of your private communication networks such as customers, suppliers, or supporters, on or through the Internet.

 
 

Take a second to digest that last bullet point. As protection software advances as viruses advance, can you imagine that there may be an instance that a company could get sued for not properly updating their virus protection, thus causing everyone that legitimately uses the site to download a computer virus.  Is there anyway you can be 100% that a hacker will not install a virus on your website?

When purchasing this relatively new insurance product you must make sure of certain things. First, that your agent knows what he's talking about is getting you the correct coverage. Secondly, make sure that the territory definition is global. If it is not, what will protect you form someone in Indian or China accessing your site and bringing suit against you in the US?

 
 

Lastly, you need to make sure that the company that is providing your Internet liability insurance is adequate. You need know, how long have they been providing technology insurance? How long have they been in business? What is their A.M. Best rating? Are they admitted? These are all key questions to consider when purchasing Internet liability insurance. But do not let this scare you away from protecting your company's assets from this immerging threat.  You know that the Internet is dangerous, but it can be a great tool that can grow your company like the greats of Google, and Yahoo, just make sure your properly protected.

 
 

Contact Andrew Cohn from Wilson, Washburn & Forster Insurance in Miami, FL for a quote at alcohn@wwfins.com or (305) 666 - 6636 ext. 132

Understanding Workers Compensation Insurance

As an insurance agent I find that a lot of business owners are confused about how workers compensation insurance works. Workers Comp is a highly regulated insurance program which protects employees and employers in the event of work place injury. If an employee is hurt on the job, workers compensation will pay their medical expenses and up to 66% of their loss wages. If the worker dies because of a work related accident a death benefit will be paid to the beneficiaries.

So who needs to have workers comp? In the State of Florida, if you are a Construction Company you must have workers comp if you have one or more employee than is not an officer of the company working for you. In an industry other than construction if you have four or more full or part time employees you must have workers compensation, this is excluding officers of the corporation or partnership. If you are a farmer, and have five regular employees and/or twelve or more other workers for seasonal agriculture labor lasting thirty days or more, you must have workers comp.

Money can be saved for the company through the use of safety programs and drug free workplace programs. Another way for companies to get money back is through dividend programs. Many workers comp insurance companies offer a dividend program, which will give you money back at the end of the year based on your loss ratio. This is usually on a sliding scale and can be pretty significant. If you are currently not receiving a drug free work place credit, safety credit or a dividend you should contact your agent and see how you can. If you are not receiving a dividend, safety credit or drug free workplace credit and would like to save money on your insurance, please contact me, Andrew Cohn at Wilson, Washburn & Forster Insurance.

Cargo Insurance vs. Property Insurance

    In Florida, we live in paradise but we pay for it. One of the more literal ways we pay for is in the price of property insurance. The whole country is now aware of our property insurance problems. Homeowners Insurance gets the most attention, but business owners really see it in the property insurance rates for their buildings and business personal property. Last year I was in St. Paul, Minnesota for a seminar at Travelers Insurance for technology insurance. There were agents there from all over the country. One lady from Wisconsin was telling me that she was competing to write a large building and she received a $0.045 rate. What that means is that for every $100 of insured value, the insurance company is charging 4 ½ cents. At that same time I was seeing property rates come down to $3.00 in Miami from up as high as $4.00. Even our property rates excluding windstorm are higher than 4 ½ cents.

    In Miami we have to worry about the wind, the rain, the storm surge, but on a more constant basis we have to worry about all other perils. Maybe in Wisconsin when there's a fire, it's just a fire, but in Miami, a lot of times its Arson. We also have a lot more thefts, vandalisms, auto accidents, ect.

    So that is the back drop on why rates are so high in Miami. Now, what can you as a business owner do? If you're a wholesaler, distributor, exporter, importer or freight forwarder you can save a lot of money insuring your goods. The rates on insuring goods in warehouse are a lot less expensive than insuring stationary business personal property. You need to insure cargo, but you're probably paying for it through a freight forwarder or your distributor.

Insurance for Internet Dating and Social Networking

Countless numbers of people have found love, friendship, and business contacts through social networking and internet dating sites. However, we also hear of the horror stories involving people that are physically harmed. You, the owners of these very profitable websites, are constantly balancing the risk vs. the reward of operating your company.

Right now you are trying to mitigate your risk by making your site as safe as possible. This is a great thing, because no one wants your clients to get hurt more than you. Social media is not a zero sum game when we're talking about assault and battery. Your client loses and you lose. One person gets hurt and it could all be over. Can your company withstand a multimillion dollar lawsuit?

Well finally there is an insurance solution for internet dating and social networking websites. It comes in the form of an endorsement to some internet liability policies for contingent bodily injury coverage. Internet liability insurance is the policy that covers a company for their internet activities. For the most part this covers invasion of privacy and intellectual property infringement. For more about internet liability insurance please read my article titled, Insurance 2.0 in Website Magazine's Issue 11.

http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/articles/internet_liability_insurance.aspx

Many internet liability policies have many specific exclusions in there for bodily injury, property damage, violations of statutes and regulations, mass communications, and other hot-button items. But, some of these exclusions can be taken out my endorsement. You need to read your policy and discuss with your agent, the full list of exclusions and endorsements. The Contingent Bodily Injury Coverage Endorsement deletes the exclusion found in many policies for claims of bodily injury brought against the insured company. So what does this mean in real life?

XYZdating.com operates like many other dating website. Users post their profiles and can chat and meet up if they choose. Two users schedule a date. On the date there is a sexual assault. The criminal proceedings take place, but the victim also decides to launch a civil suit against XYZdating.com. XYZdating.com may or may not be found liable in the suit. However, even if they are not found liable, defending the suit could cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars. This endorsement provides the duty to defend and a sublimit for any reward settlement.

This is a very basic example but it could easily take place with dating websites, social networking or business networking websites. And the endorsement can be added to some internet liability policies. There are other very important endorsements and conditions that should be taken into consideration for social media website and dating websites. I hope to have future articles going over Intellectual Property Infringement, and how it relates to User generated content. Also making sure you have coverage for regulatory action including violations of local, state and federal privacy acts. As well as cyber extortion, crisis management and public relations expense, business income for network interruption and privacy liability including paper documents. For more information please contact me, Andrew Cohn at alcohn@wwfins.com .

 

Staying in Touch Emails

The saying "out of sight, out of mind" is very true for sales people. One simple, non-intrusive way to stay in touch with your contacts is by sending interesting articles. Recently, my friend David Sampedro mentioned in a networking meeting that he was speaking in Philadelphia to a group of Personal Injury attorneys about dog biting. The next day, I saw an article in The Insurance Journal about the amount of claims that result from dog bites. It seemed only natural for me to send him this article and he really appreciated it.

Sending an article, especially via email, is a very easy way to tell your clients, friends, and associates that you are thinking about them, and in turn, it makes them think about you.

Mass Email = Massive Mistake

Be careful with mass emails. I tried to avoid them at all costs. If you are sending out a newsletter it is fine to send it to a distribution list, but if you're trying to really reach out to people it just looks impersonal.

If you are going to send out a mass mailing, use a distribution list so your contacts names are hidden, or put the addresses under BCC. This isn't necessary for sending emails to a particular group. But, if you are sending a newsletter, or an update to a group that could consist of BNI, Chamber, and your office, it could make some people angry.

So just remember: 1. Respect everyone's privacy in group emails. 2. Don't send group emails.

Where Does Your Business Come From?

The main goal of business is to increase the sales of your product or service. In great economies it should be easy to get business. But during economic down turns, people are still buying your products and services, there are just less of them. How do you drive business? There are many different ways to do that. There is advertising in media, internet advertising, direct mailing, networking, cold calling, newsletters, ect. Networking has been very successful for me, but not nearly as successful as direct mailers to niche markets. Are there different strategies that work for one industry, which would or wouldn't work in another industry? For instance, we have always stayed away from the Yellow Pages. We figure if they're calling us from the yellow pages, they got turned away from a lot of agencies before they reached "W".

So what networking groups really work for you?

What media advertising really works?

Have you tried internet advertising, and what was your experience?

Do you do mailers, and if so how?

Do you cold call, or go door to door?

Most Useful Websites for Business

I'd like to talk about the websites that I find most useful for doing business in and around South Florida. I encourage everyone to submit comments on what websites they find useful and why.

1. Linkedin - This is a social networking site designed for the business word. What makes linkedin useful is, if you have a prospect, or even a client that you want to establish a relationship with them. If they have linkedin, you can find out if any of your other connections know them, and you can ask them to introduce you. It also has a great question and answer section, and its supposedly good for job searching and hiring.
2. SunBiz.org - This is the government website that provides you with the corporate information for all corporation registered in the state of Florida. It tells you the mailing address, the officers' names, the FEIN as well as incorporation documents.
3. Miami Dade Property Appraiser - Each county has their own property appraiser's website, but most of them enable the user to search by address, folio number or owner's name for any property in the county. It usually tells you who owns the property, their mailing address, the age of the building, the square footage, the last price it was bought for and when, and some other pertinent information.
4. Google maps or Maps Live both of these sites show you sattelite shots of properties any where in the world. Google maps has a feature called "street view" which enables you to view the property from the street from some more important streets. Maps Live has a feature which gives you a 3D view of the buildings. Both are great for property, and area research and directions.
5. Business Buzz with Ed Gorin and Network Miami by Brian Tannenbaum. Both of these blogs have great information about the networking groups in South Florida. They list many of the business associations, philanthropy groups, and social groups in the area, and Business Buzz gives a complete list of events.
6. Spock.com This is a search engine in the beta version of its development. However, the site is used for looking up people, and it searches the different social networking sites including MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Webshots.
7. The South Florida Business Journal. I subscribe to the business journals daily email list. They give me the top 10 headlines everyday. I read the interesting ones, and I email the ones that I think my clients and contacts would be interested in to them. For example, I have a client that sells rebar. I saw a rebar company in Broward was being sold, and their truck leasing company was being bought. I sent them both articles and they were very happy to be informed about it.
8. Entrepreneur.com, even more specifically this link goes to Dr. Ivan Misner's collumns on the site. It offers many great articles by the founder of BNI. The website as a whole is also a great link.

How to Generate Business in Non-Business Situations

Like many people, my life is very busy with all of the groups, organizations, causes, clubs, and associations I am apart of. At the moment, I get my business strictly from my business networking groups. I get many things from my social, religous and philanthropic associations, but one of them is not business. I did not join these groups to get business, but, that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be able to provide my services for the members of these groups and the groups themselves.

So, how do you approach the subject of business, in non-business settings?

Do you approach religious groups differently from sports clubs, or philanthropies from alumni associations?

What is the best way to bring up the subject of what you do, if it has not been brought up?

When I brought the question up at my weekly BNI meeting, I got a variety of responses. Harvel Jackson, from the Kitchen, Bath and More Store, recommended to attend the events of the organizations where there is alcohol involved. It got a laugh, but people do tend to open up about work, and talk about their services and product providers in this type of situation.

Another member, Gloria Anderton with Capital Mortgage, recommended going up to people you recognize, especially when it feel uncomfortable. You never know what could come of that. Victor Morales from Southern Trust Securities, said that it is ok to bring up what you do in social settings. He said a good way to do it is by asking other people what they do. One of our prospective new members, Dustin Petty with A-Max Air Conditioning, suggested doing work for the organizations for free. If this works for your industry, the members of your group with see what you do, and try to give back to you, for helping them.

Lastly, our illustrious member, Vincente de la Vega, recommended treating all business relationships like a love relationship, and just make sure you that you are giving everything you can, and then you will be rewarded.

* * *

I plan to discuss this topic in upcoming networking groups, and post the responses on this blog. If you have any suggestions, please let me know and I will gladly post the response and give you credit.

Giving Referrals/Getting Referrals

I recently started doing something new on appointments that will hopefully enable me to give and receive more referrals, and create a stronger relationship with my clients. I call it my "Referral Sheet". I have 5 categories of questions I ask my clients, and I try to get five referrals listed under each.

It looks like this:

What types of companies do you provide services/products for?

Industry	Company
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

This will hopefully enable you to refer business to your client. Also this shows that you're interested in helping their business, and it will help you understand what your client does better.

What types of companies refer business to you?

Industry	Company
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

This again is that you're looking to grow your client's business.

What other business services/products do you use?

Products/Services

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

This is where you try to get referrals for your other clients, and business networking associates

What trade organizations are you involved in/What publications do you read?

Organization/Publication

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

You ask this, so that now that you were able to sell to one entity in this industry, you can try to sell to others in the same industry and become a specialist. Second, it will help the client think of other people they know in their industry they could refer you to.

Who could I speak to about my services?

Name	Company	Phone Number/Email
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Now you've asked for 25 names, and hopefully it has triggered in their head 25 people and companies they can refer to you to talk to. In turn, you've also hopefully received at least 5 referrals for your network.

Property and Liability Insurance

This past week I had the pleasure of being trained by the Terremark staff at the NAP of the Americas. For those of your who do not know, the NAP of the Americas is a data center in down town Miami. Data centers are very important for my technology and enterprise clients. Another term for Data Center is Collocation. This is a site in which a company stores its servers.

I never claim to be that much of a techie, but if you're even remotely interested in technology you need to take a tour of this facility. The giants like Google, CBS and Facebook have cages filled floor to ceiling with servers on top of servers. These different services you can get from the NAP. You can simply get a cabinet which looks basically like a large gym locker. You can store your servers in there, and connect to the internet. You pay for the space, the electricity you use, and the bandwidth you require. You can do this, or you can go all the way up to highly managed hosting, which the geeks there can explain to you.

Being in the insurance business I know how hard it is to insure your business interruption. This is the loss of income from your business being unable to operate due to a covered peril. At the NAP they have certain guarantees in your contract that will pay you if you suffer a loss of internet connectivity, power, or if their environmental change to a certain degree. I specialize in insuring technology risks, so I definatley see the benefits of using a facility such as the NAP.

Please contact me if you would like to learn more about the NAP, and to take a tour.