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Steve Brooks Insurance Services eNewsletter
Phone: 800-915-3090 |
Safeguarding the interests of you and your family
September 2009 |
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Dear Friends,
We trust this eNewsletter finds you and your family well and in good health.
The summer has flown by, but the local fires are still smoldering, and the threat of flooding in many of the burned areas becomes a real concern. We cannot stress enough how important it is for you and your family to take inventory of your home and business property & belongings, to examine the potential risks you might be subject to (fire, flood, earthquake, theft, etc.), and to reach out for assistance if you need it. If you want, there is a company that will come to your home and professionally film your home and all of your valuables. Check them out at: www.repinteractive.com and contact Steven@repinteractive.com and mention that you are a client/friend of Brooks Insurance to receive a discount.
Here at Brooks Insurance Services, we are always available to discuss your insurance needs... and in addition, we can provide you with outside resources in the areas of construction/remodeling, auto repair, disaster preparation & restoration, and legal services.
In this issue, we look at a report on California's rising car theft & fraud rates, background screenings, the Cal-Fair Initiative, the $600,000 dog, and more!
Thank you for your valued business.
With kind regards and thoughts of safety,
Steve M. Brooks, CIC, CPIA
Founder/President
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| California Sees More Car Theft Fraud |
California Department of Insurance commissioner Steve Poizner just announced in Los Angeles that recently compiled statistics show that financially desperate residents and
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scam artists may be committing more automobile insurance fraud to cash in on insurance money.
The Department of Insurance has seen an increase in suspected auto arson and auto theft fraud referrals last year.
"Many Californians are facing a host of financial challenges in today's economy, but I want to remind everybody that you will only compound your problems if you break the law and commit fraud in search of a quick fix," said Commissioner Poizner in a statement. "Department of Insurance investigators have seen an increase in suspected automobile arson and theft fraud cases recently, and our enforcement experts are working hard to crack down on anyone attempting to skirt the law for financial gain."
The department saw an alarming 31 percent increase in suspected vehicle arson fraud cases in 2008 as compared with referred cases in 2007. Overall, the department received almost 300 additional suspected vehicle theft and vehicle arson cases statewide in 2008 than in 2007.
The department received approximately 200 more suspected vehicle theft fraud case referrals in 2008 than in 2007.
While the total number of suspected fraud case referrals received by the department for all automobile fraud categories (including inflated damages, vandalism and hit and run,) has remained relatively constant since 2007, suspected vehicle arson and theft referrals have noticeably increased.
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| "CAL-FAIR" Initiative - Why It's Important |
CAL-FAIR: Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates
THE PROBLEM:
Drivers Are Not Eligible for Their "Continuous Coverage" Discount If They Change Insurers
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THE SOLUTION:
The Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act
The Continuous Coverage Discount Act, currently circulating for California's June 2010 statewide ballot, corrects that inconsistency and ensures that all drivers who continually maintain their automobile insurance are eligible for this discount even if they change insurance companies. More choice. More competition for California consumers so that drivers can shop around for the lowest auto insurance rates without being punished if they want to change insurers.
This common-sense measure allows all insurance companies to offer the expanded continuous coverage discount to drivers, including new customers, for obeying the law and having maintained their auto insurance.
Drivers who continually maintain their auto insurance coverage deserve this discount and the savings it provides.
This measure will increase competition, which will lower rates and result in reduced premiums, while providing California drivers with more options and choices in their insurance coverage.
This will not affect California's extensive low cost and assigned risk auto insurance program, which ensures drivers have access to affordable auto insurance.
We invite you to learn more about this important initiative at www.cal-fair.org
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The $600,000 Dog!
A millionaire in northern China paid four million yuan (600,000 dollars) for a dog and ordered 30 luxury cars to come to the airport to greet her and the animal, |
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local media reported.
The woman and her new pet -- a black Tibetan Mastiff -- flew into Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, a report on popular news portal sohu.com said.
A convoy of 30 black Mercedes-Benz cars, led by two sports utility vehicles, drove to the airport Wednesday to pick up the pair, who had arrived from the Tibetan-populated province of Qinghai in China's northwest.
Photos of the event posted with the report showed a committee of dog-lovers holding up a long red banner welcoming the mastiff to Xi'an.
The millionaire, who only gave her surname as Wang, said she and a friend had spent a long time searching for an original Tibetan mastiff.
"Gold has a price, but this Tibetan mastiff doesn't," the young woman said, according to the report.
China's economy has developed at a fast pace, creating with it an increasing number of millionaires.
Research by the Hurun Report, a magazine that tracks China's wealthiest, revealed in April that 825,000 people had personal wealth of over 10 million yuan (1.5 million dollars), or 0.06 percent of the population.
The vast majority of these millionaires have said the global financial crisis has not had any impact on their lifestyle, the research said.
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Reducing Vulnerability to Crime From Those You Trust:
ACE Private Risk Services |
High net worth individuals confront exceptional risk challenges because of their relative wealth, lifestyle and public profile. Published research and anecdotal evidence indicate that the affluent are more vulnerable to a range of crimes perpetrated by financial advisers, contractors and domestic employees than average income earners.
Such crimes include so-called Ponzi
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schemes, identity fraud, embezzlement, property theft, kidnapping and ransom, and child molestation, among others.
These risks can be reduced through specialized background screening services, conducted by a security firm that specializes in vetting individuals.
Nevertheless, no amount of background screening can eliminate all potential loss exposures. While standard insurance policies absorb some of these risks, high net worth individuals are advised to secure broader coverage with higher limits of financial protection. Such specialized insurance programs include the ACE Platinum Portfolio.
Only a handful of insurance companies have the ability to underwrite and absorb the risks presented to high net worth individuals by crooked financial advisers, contractors and domestic employees. These insurers typically package together a range of different insurance policies and endorsements to the policies to offer comprehensive protection. ACE Private Risk Services, on the other hand, offers these coverages within a unique portfolio. Five separate insurance policies - homeowners, automobile, valuable collections, watercraft and umbrella - are combined in the ACE Platinum Portfolio. Imbedded in each of these "modules" are optional coverage features, such as an endorsement for Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) within the umbrella policy and Family Security Coverage within the homeowners policy.
The objective of the novel portfolio approach is to cover all the bases. A standard personal umbrella liability insurance policy, for example, does not transfer the risk of a fraudulent sexual harassment or job termination claim filed by an unscrupulous domestic employee. Purchasing the optional EPLI endorsement as part of the ACE Platinum Portfolio covers this loss exposure. Similarly, a standard homeowners insurance policy does not address expenses such as attorney fees related to the kidnapping of a child by a contractor or a domestic employee or the costs of resolving identity fraud perpetrated by a financial adviser, such as lost income resulting from time taken off from work to attend to the matter.
There are many other benefits to this specialized service, so please contact us if you would like more information.
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| Homeowners Insurance - Rate Hikes?
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California homeowners facing insurance rate hikes
Late last year, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner approved a 6.9% increase in homeowner insurance for the state's biggest insurer, State Farm Mutual, and a 4.1% hike for third-ranked
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Farmers Group Inc.
A request for a 6.9% increase at No. 2 Allstate Corp. is pending.
A spokesman for Poizner characterized the premium increases that he had approved as negligible compared with a series of rate cuts that began in 2006 under former Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi (now California's lieutenant governor) and continued into Poizner's tenure, which started in 2007.
For example, premiums fell 18% at Farmers in 2006, 20% at State Farm in 2007 and 28% at Allstate in mid-2008.
Reductions approved by Poizner saved policyholders an estimated $700 million, the Department of Insurance said.
But even as insurers were rolling back rates, pressures were building to raise them again.
A first wave of wildfires early this decade, combined with the housing boom, led to greater-than-expected increases in rebuilding costs, said Bob Deverereux, a State Farm spokesman.
Faced with potentially catastrophic losses, Allstate opted in 2007 to limit its risk by no longer seeking new homeowner insurance customers in California, spokesman Peter DeMarco said.
Although California for now remains a competitive market for homeowner insurance, consumer advocate Bach is concerned that more companies could follow Allstate's lead and partially or completely pull out of the state. That's what happened in Florida after a rash of powerful hurricanes.
"I'm worried that people are going to have fewer choices," Bach said, and be forced into a state-backed, insurer-of-last-resort plan that provides extremely limited coverage.
A smaller insurance market with poor coverage could exacerbate the underinsurance problem after fires that wipe out entire neighborhoods, Bach said.
Last year, Poizner proposed legislation to encourage insurers and policyholders to ensure that dwellings have enough coverage to pay for their reconstruction.
The bill, Poizner's spokesman said, failed to gain traction and was dropped.
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| STEVE BROOKS INSURANCE SERVICES |
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Steve Brooks Insurance Services, Inc. is a full service, Independent Insurance Agency, offering California Automotive Insurance, California Homeowners Insurance, as well as Renter, Condo and Earthquake coverage.
We have access to the products and services of over 20 A+ Rated Insurance Companies.
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