 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
| Back
to To The Point list To the Point/December/2004 • The holidays are here. The pace is picking up. The stores are opening earlier and staying open later. The traffic seems heavier at this time of year. We seem to be more edgy and the fuses can be considerably shorter. And who can forget the obvious stress. Yet, we always look forward to this time of year. It has a hold on us. We seem better prepared to do battle with storm just to get to a holiday event. And then there’s January 1. It’s always welcome. While going from one year to the next is quite artificial, it has a positive effect on most of us. It’s a chance to renew optimism, put the unpleasant behind us, and look forward with anticipation. All that’s quite an accomplishment. No wonder we look forward to this time of year. • And speaking of optimism, it’s healthy. Dutch scientists studied people in two groups — optimists and pessimists— depending on their answers to a series of questions on morale, relationships and outlook on life. After nine years, the optimists in a group of 65-85 year olds had a 55 percent lower risk of dying than the pessimists. They also contend that men in particular benefit from a positive attitude. And that’s the way it should be. By living longer, optimists make life easier for everyone around them. • Very much to the point. Workers’ Compensation continues to be one of our primary concerns at Mosinee Insurance because this coverage will result in unnecessary costs unless it’s given the proper attention. At the recent Annual Conference and Symposium of the WorkComp Advisors Institute, three major threads ran through the sessions. 1. Reducing Workers’ Comp costs depends on a better understanding of the coverage. It begins by recognizing that Workers’ Comp isn’t like any other insurance coverage. The costs of job-related injuries are ultimately paid for by the employer—not the insurance company. Today’s claims drive future premiums. Reducing claims and the costs involved reduces costs. Because of the complexities of coverage, it’s easy for costly mistakes to occur. If left undiscovered, the employer pays more. 2. Reducing medical costs for job-related injuries depends on effective case management. This involves setting up policies and procedures that go into effect the moment an injury occurs. It involvesarranging a medical care relationship, taking steps to communicate to the injured worker that the company cares and getting the worker back on the job as quickly as possible. 3. Utilizing proper hiring practices. Even if you are certain that your current procedures are adequate, we have guidelines available for comparing what you’re doing now with industry standards. These are just a few examples of the need to be proactive with Workers’ Compensation coverage. Both our sales manager, Judy Jacobs and I are Certified WorkComp Advisors. If you would like to know more about ways to improve safety and the management of job-related injuries, either call us at 715-693-2100 or visit our Workers’ Comp website at www.comp-save.com. • Health savings accounts or HSAs. Employers are expressing interest in knowing more about HSAs. These savings accounts are sheltered from federal income taxes and are available to those who have health insurance plans with deductibles of $1000 for an individual or $2000 for families. Policyholders can set aside up to $2650 per individual or $5250 per family in 2005. Once the deductible is met, the plan generally covers above 80% of the health costs until the policyholder has reached an out-of-pocket maximum for the year: $5100 for individuals and $10200 for families in 2005. At that point, the full coverage kicks in. The savings account can be drawn on for out-of-pocket medical costs as required. What isn’t used one year can be rolled over for use in future years. Since they’re owned by individuals, HSAs are portable. They can take their HSA with them when they retire or change jobs. If you want to have more information, please contact us. • Thoughts about Angels and Devils. One of the big consumer-electronic stores announced recently that 20% of its 1.5 million daily customers are Devils—and it’s time to get rid of them. According to the company president, Devils are real trouble. They buy deeply discounted merchandise and some even resell super low-priced items on eBay. That’s not all. Devils apply for rebates and they return merchandise. Worse yet, Devils take up too much space in the aisles that should be available to Angels, the desirable customers. While every business has its share of difficult and even “interesting” customers, should we classify people as either “good guys” or “bad guys”? Do we want employees eyeballing customers as either Angels or Devils and then treating them accordingly? Even more to the point, do we want customers to say to themselves, “Do they think of me as an Angel or a Devil?” Treating everyone with dignity and respect isn’t just learned in school or church. It’s the foundation of good business. Maybe businesses can get so big or so focused on other values that they deliberately stray from what brings customers through their doors: the belief that they will be treated fairly, honestly and with respect. It isn’t that some businesses get too big for their britches. They can get too big for their customers, too. This may be something we might think about this time of year. Best regards,  Tom Helbach Back to To The Point list |
For
more information, click here.
|
