Quality coverage for every escape—this is what freedom feels like!
You work hard to enjoy your time on the water. Natwick Insurance through Progressive Boat coverage works hard to ensure you have the protection you need to enjoy every moment at sea. 321-735-0381 Natwick Insurance "Insurance Solutions with Personal Service" SMALL ACCIDENT FORGIVENESS If you have a claim that costs $500 or less, your premium will not increase. LARGE ACCIDENT FORGIVENESS If you’ve been with us for at least four years and haven’t filed a claim in the last three years, we won’t count an accident against you at your next renewal. SIGN & GLIDE® ON-WATER TOWING If you break down, we’ll pay for an on-water tow as well as jump starts, fuel delivery, disentanglement's, and soft ungroundings. Annual policies start as low as $100.* Ask today about Progressive Boat coverage and how it can work for you. 321-735-0381 Natwick Insurance located in Satellite Beach, FL. *Annual premium for a basic liability policy is not available in all states. Natwick Insurance 321-735-0381 info@natwickinsurance.com https://www.natwickinsurance.com/boat-insurance.html
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If you have workers' compensation then you have an annual work comp premium audit. This info graphic shares the 4 things you need to know about workers' compensation premium audits and the different ways audits are conducted.
Call Natwick Insurance to help you with your Workers' Compensation and if you need help with your annual audit we are ready to help! Donnie Torok is our Work Comp Specialist - you can reach him directly at 321-270-8398 Natwick Insurance, Inc. 321-735-0381 Providing Insurance Solutions with Personal Service Since 2006 *Graphic provided by Employers Insurance Company Workers' Compensation 101... Did You Know? Today, with limited exceptions, businesses are required to provide workers' compensation benefits to employees. Failure to meet your state workers' comp system requirements can potentially lead to severe regulatory penalties. Check out our info graphic 'Workers' Compensation 101' then call me so we can make sure you have the right Work Comp coverage. Ask me about Dividend Plans to save money too! Call Donnie Torok Direct at 321-270-8398 He's Your Work Comp Specialist Donnie Torok Licensed Insurance Agent - Natwick Insurance 2018 Hurricane Season is upon us... are you ready? Hurricane Season is from June 1st to November 30th. As you can see good ol' Mother Nature didn't waste any time starting off the 2018 Hurricane Season getting a head start before the official June 1st start date. The Gulf Coast has already been reminded of how important it is to be prepared from Tropical Storm Alberto during Memorial weekend. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasters predict a near or above normal 2018 Atlantic hurricane season. In fact their Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a 75% chance that the season will be near or above normal. "With the advances made in hardware and computing over the course of the last year, the ability of NOAA scientists to both predict the path of storms and warn Americans who may find themselves in harm's way is unprecented," said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. "The devastating hurricane season of 2017 demonstrated the necessity for prompt and accurate hurricane forecasts." NOAA's forecasters predict a 70% likelihood of 10 to 16 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which 5 to 9 could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 1 to 4 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). As you can see it looks like we are going to have a busy season, it is important to make sure you, your family and/or business are protected before a storm is named... Once there is a named storm many carriers will close their markets and will NOT write policies to protect you if you wait until then. The Team at Natwick Insurance is here to help you make sure you are protected with the right insurance this season! You can call us at 321-735-0381 to take a look at your policies to make sure you have the right coverage at the best rate to protect you this Hurricane Season. You can also visit us online at www.NatwickInsurance.com. "Insurance Solutions with Personal Service"Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday, sending lava shooting into the air in a residential neighborhood and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearby homes. Hawaii County said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island. Footage shown on local television showed lava spurting into the sky from a crack in a road. Aerial drone footage showed a line of lava snaking through a forest. Resident Jeremiah Osuna captured drone footage of the lava burning through the trees, a scene he described as a “curtain of fire”. “It sounded like if you were to put a bunch of rocks into a dryer and turn it on as high as you could. You could just smell sulfur and burning trees and underbrush and stuff,” he told Honolulu television station KHON. Lava fountains were shooting 150 feet (46 meters) in the air, and molten lava spread out over an area about 200 yards (183 meters) wide behind one house in Leilani Estates, Big Island resident Ikaika Marzo told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser . “It sounds like a jet engine. It's going hard,” he said. Officials said there is no way to predict how long the eruption will continue. Asta Miklius, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory, told The Associated Press that there is quite a bit of magma in the volcano's system. “It won't be just an hours-long eruption probably, but how long it will last will depend on whether the summit magma reservoir gets involved,” she said. County, state and federal officials had been warning residents all week that they should be prepared to evacuate, as an eruption would give little warning. Officials at the U.S. Geological Survey on Thursday raised the volcano's alert level to warning status, the highest possible, meaning a hazardous eruption is imminent, underway or suspected. The county has ordered evacuations for all of Leilani Estates, which according to the 2010 U.S. Census has a population of 1,500. Hawaii Gov. David Ige also mobilized the Hawaii National Guard to assist with evacuations and security. Ige also signed an emergency proclamation providing state money for response efforts. There are about 770 structures in the subdivision where lava is flowing. Nearby community centers have opened for shelter. Ranson Yoneda, the recreation director for a Pahoa community center, was readying the gymnasium for evacuees after it was selected as a Red Cross evacuation center. He said so far, about 15 people have arrived, some with animals, and they are hungry for information. “They just want to know what's going on because they were told it's a mandatory evacuation,” he said by telephone. The U.S. Geological Survey said new ground cracks were reported Thursday afternoon. Hot vapor emerged from a crack and spattering lava began to erupt. Scientists said areas downslope of the erupting vent were at risk of being covered by lava. Leilani Estates appeared to be at greatest risk, but scientists said new vents and outbreaks could occur and it's not possible to say where. The eruption comes after days of earthquakes rattled the area's Puna district. A nearby school was closed due to the ongoing seismic activity and several roadways cracked under the strain of the constant temblors. The Puu Oo crater floor began to collapse Monday, triggering a series of earthquakes and pushing the lava into new underground chambers. The collapse caused magma to push more than 10 miles (16 kilometers) downslope toward the populated southeast coastline of the island. USGS geologist Janet Babb said the magma crossed under Highway 130, which leads to a popular volcano access point, on Tuesday night. Hawaii County Civil Defence Agency closed the area to visitors on Tuesday and ordered private tour companies to stop taking people into the region. Most of Kilauea's activity has been nonexplosive, but a 1924 eruption spewed ash and 10-ton (9-metric ton) rocks into the sky, leaving one man dead. Puu Oo's 1983 eruption resulted in lava fountains soaring over 1,500 feet (457 meters) high. In the decades since, the lava flow has buried dozens of square miles of land and destroyed many homes. The Team at Natwick Insurance pray for the safety everyone affected by Hawaii's Kilauea volcano eruption. Original Story Credit: The Associated Press / Insurance Business Magazine Photo Credit: CNN Nearly one in eight U.S. motorists are driving around uninsured and putting insured drivers at greater risk in the event of an auto accident, according to a study.
The study, directed by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) and co-sponsored by The Hanover Insurance Group, found that 13 percent of all U.S. motorists were uninsured in 2015, up from 12.3 percent in 2010, following a seven-year decline from a high of 14.9 percent in 2003. When an uninsured driver is at fault in an accident, insured drivers or their insurance companies often are left to pay for the resulting physical damage and health costs. Similarly, an underinsured driver may not have high enough policy limits to cover all costs of damage. “The results of the survey sound an alarm,” said Daniel Halsey, president, personal lines, at The Hanover. “Uninsured motorists represent a significant risk to insured drivers.” Halsey said the average cost of an uninsured motorist claim is about $20,000, excluding any physical damage to the vehicle. Despite the fact that 49 states require car insurance, some drivers choose to drive without coverage. The number of uninsured motorists varies by state, ranging from a low of 4.5 percent of all drivers in Maine to a high of 26.7 percent in Florida, according to the Insurance Research Council. Mississippi, New Mexico, Michigan and Tennessee are with Florida in the top five states based on rate of uninsured motorists, while North Carolina, Massachusetts, New York, and Maine have the lowest rates. Despite the recent increase in the countrywide rate, several states experienced significant declines. Oklahoma’s UM rate in 2015 was 10.5 percent — 15.4 percentage points lower than in 2012. New Mexico’s fell from 29.8 percent in 2006 to 20.8 percent in 2015. However, twice as many states saw their UM rate increase as decrease from 2010 to 2015. “While some states saw significant drops in their uninsured motorists rates, overall, the rate is increasing nationwide,” said Elizabeth A. Sprinkel, senior vice president, IRC. “This can mean added risk for all motorists.” The Hanover used the results to urge drivers to discuss uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage with their independent agents. Generally, it is a good idea for motorists to have the same amount of uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage as bodily injury coverage, according to the insurer. The IRC study, Uninsured Motorists, 2017 Edition, examined data collected from 14 insurers representing approximately 60 percent of the private passenger auto insurance market in 2015. Let Natwick Insurance take a look at your commercial and personal auto insurance to make sure you have the right coverage to protect your family and business. Call 321-735-0381 or visit www.natwickinsurance.com. Article Found Here: https://www.mynewmarkets.com/articles/183214/insurance-research-council-rate-uninsured-motorists-rising-nationwide Federal Flood Insurance Average Premium to Rise 8%. According to The Insurance Journal, you can expect Federal Flood Insurance to go up! A typical premium charged by the National Flood Insurance Program is slated to rise about eight percent in the coming year, with the estimated average premium going from $866 to $935. When various surcharges are added, the total average amount billed a policyholder will increase to $1,062. However the premium hikes are likely insufficient to keep the program from sinking into debt, according to a recent government report. The higher premiums and other changes for new businesses and renewals began April 1, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in a bulletin summarizing NFIP program changes effective April 1, 2018. The changes bring the NFIP in line with provisions of flood insurance reform laws including the Biggert Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014. The 2012 and 2014 flood insurance laws’ requirements behind the premium and surcharge increases include:
On March 23, the NFIP was reauthorized until July 31, 2018. The extension was included in the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill signed by President Donald Trump. The disasters of 2017 created one of the busiest years for the NFIP to date —by the end of last year, FEMA said the NFIP had paid out more than $8 billion in flood insurance claims during 2017. Last October, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law a hurricane and wildfire disaster relief bill that provided $16 billion in debt relief to the NFIP, which was about to run out of money to pay claims from hurricanes because it had reached the $30 billion limit on its ability to borrow form the U.S. Treasury. According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report issued last fall (National Flood Insurance Program Financial Soundness and Affordability), these latest premium increases are unlikely to keep the NFIP from eventually falling into the red again. That’s because the NFIP’s current approach to setting premiums has underestimated how much its claims will cost by about $1.1 billion and legislated surcharges are about $300 million shy of covering the premium discounts given to certain properties, according to the CBO. CBO concluded that the overall NFIP shortfall is largely caused by underpricing in coastal counties, which account for three-quarters of all NFIP policies nationwide. The difference is largely due to legislated subsidies built into the NFIP and FEMA’s rate-setting system, both of which it says favor coastal policyholders. Yet despite being favored in pricing, the number of coastal homes with flood insurance has been falling, according to a report by The Associated Press. Why the decline? The report cited rising premiums and banks not enforcing the requirement that any home with a federally insured mortgage in a high-risk area have flood coverage. The House has passed several reforms of the NFIP but the Senate has not advanced any measures. Article found on Insurance Journal link to original article: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2018/04/02/485019.htm Roofers, contractors, and other high-risk class codes undergo a lot of scrutiny when it comes to securing a workers’ compensation policy in the State of Florida. The process to secure and bind coverage will also take more time. The precursor to getting coverage for these businesses is prior coverage. Three (3) years prior coverage with favorable loss runs (low to no claims) is what it will take for a carrier to consider coverage. This seems like double talk – how can you get a workers’ comp policy if you’ve never had it? If your business does not have three years prior coverage, you will need to seek coverage through the FWCJUA (Florida Workers’ Comp Joint Underwriting Association), employee leasing organization, or a PEO. If your business has not had three years prior coverage, contact our office (321-735-0381) to discuss the best recommendation. If your business has had 3 years prior coverage, we can submit an application. Workers’ compensation insurance cost is directly related to the type of work your employees do and how much you pay them to do it. The questions we ask you will help classify your workers and accurately calculate the rate of insurance. Workers’ comp insurance is auditable – that means that the insurance carriers will review actuals numbers for payroll compared to the estimated payments made through the policy year. Here’s a list of most of the data we need to consider an application:
Once we submit applications for coverage the carriers will review the information we provide, and ask any questions they may have on the data we provide. Roofers, tower climbers, and other higher risk classes will have an extra step – the carrier will schedule an inspection. During the inspection process will be the demonstration of their personal protective equipment, fall control, and overall safety. They will visit a roofer at a jobsite, tower climbers will be met at a tower, etc. Once all checks out, we will be given a formal quote and approval to bind coverage. Any billing plans available from the carrier will be presented. If you work with a payroll company, our office will work with them to coordinate the process. Binding coverage will require signing the applications – wet signatures are accepted but not digital signatures. Once coverage is bound it will take up to a month to receive the actual policy. Once we have the policy in hand we will be able to offer certificates of insurance as required by your GC’s and the local municipalities where they perform your work. Prior to renewal, we reach out to our clients to review your data to be certain that your renewal is rated to accommodate any business growth or slow down. It’s part of making sure that there are no surprises when it comes time for your audit. We can help answer any audit related questions each year. The goal is to be certain that there are no big surprises or extra money owed while covering the risk. In closing, it’s easy to see that workers’ compensation insurance can be frustrating for a business owner. At Natwick Insurance we take time to ask tough questions so we can best understand your business. We strive to know your business as well as you do so we get you the best coverage for the best price to reduce your risk. Written By: Donnie Torok - Insurance Agent at Natwick Insurance, Inc. 321-735-0381 The holidays are a special time to share with family and friends. Below is a list of precautions to keep the season cheerful. The Natwick Insurance Team wishes you a Safe & Happy Holiday! General Safety
Fire Safety
Burglary Safety
Food Safety
Driving Safety
Great news for Florida small business owners! If you would like to learn more about the upcoming work-comp rate reduction or how your business can save even more with dividend reward plans or premium credits the Natwick Insurance team is ready to help.
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