2021 COVID-19 Update from Rick Rolfs, President of Rolfs Insurance Services

We begin the new year hopeful that business operations will normalize not just for our agency but for everyone else as well. Unfortunately, while some of our staff continue operations at our Pembroke Pines office, we are still not accepting office visits for the foreseeable future. As always, we are available via phone, email, our website, and are also contactable via a majority of social media websites (including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn).

Thus, we’d like to take this opportunity to put faces to our names for those of you who have not yet visited our website or social media pages. The core of our staff is located on the our team page of our website. Here, we have included head shots of ourselves and a short snippet explaining who we are or what we do. Vicki handles the majority of our commercial lines operations while Kyle handles the majority of our personal lines operations. Of course, I am also involved in all departments of the agency’s operations with my assistant Lee. Bonnie, my wife, is our receptionist and fields the majority of our phone calls. Admittedly, this page is slightly outdated. As many of you are aware, Ralph Russo is enjoying retirement and is doing well.

Late last year, with great pride and pleasure we welcomed my son Ryan to the business. We are overjoyed to have him on our team. He is knowledgeable and a strong addition to the agency. It’s a good possibility that some of you have already met him on the phone as he is part of our core team that is still working from the office.

Our agency’s off-premise producers have also remained strong during this crisis. Nancy, Jon, Kevin, Bill, Maria, Frank, Ray, and Patricia are invaluable assets to our agency.

Luckily, none of our staff has contracted the COVID-19 virus at this time. We expect the availability of vaccinations to greatly help in getting our office operations back to “normal.” Please be safe in 2021 and beyond, and do not hesitate to give us a call at 954-251-3312 to discuss insurance, with questions, or to keep in touch. We wish everyone wellness and success in the year ahead.

2021 COVID-19 Update from Rolfs Insurance Services

Below (from left to right): Lee, Vicki, Nancy, Kyle, Ralph, Rick, and Bonnie

A ring from a loved one. A bracelet handed down through generations. A watch or necklace marking a special occasion. Every reason why you treasure a piece of fine jewelry is a reason why it should be insured. However, calling it “jewelry insurance” may be a stretch. You don’t need a separate policy to insure your jewelry. You just need to ensure you have the right personal property coverage from your homeowners, condo, or renters insurance. Jewelry coverage helps protect the investment you’ve made in your favorite pieces by helping you replace them if you experience a loss that’s covered by your policy. But, the coverage is only for certain instances and set dollar amounts, so double check what coverage you have and learn more about insuring jewelry below.

Know What Your Existing Insurance Policy Covers

If you already have personal property coverage as part of a homeowners, renters, or condo policy, you likely already have some form of protection for your jewelry. The typical insurance policy will cover you, up to your policy limit, for jewelry that’s stolen or damaged in certain incidents, such as a fire at your home. However, the typical policy will not cover everyday damage, such as a stone falling out of its setting.

In addition to knowing when you’re covered and when you’re not, it’s also important to know how much you’re covered for. Your insurance policy may cover each individual piece of jewelry at a set amount, such as $1,000 per piece. Or, it may cover your jewelry collection as a whole, such as $3,000 for all pieces. Check your policy or schedule an insurance review with a local agent to better understand what kind of jewelry coverage you have.

Calculate the Value of Your Jewelry Collection in Today’s Dollars

To determine whether you have enough jewelry insurance, you need to know how much your pieces are worth. Keep in mind that your pieces may be worth more now than when you bought them. The value of precious metals and precious stones can increase over time, so have your pieces appraised about every three years.

Use these appraisals, as well as receipts for recently purchased items, to add up the value of your collection. Then compare it to how much jewelry replacement coverage you have on your homeowners insurance, condo insurance or renters insurance.

Decide Which Items Require Additional Coverage

If the jewelry coverage on your policy is lower than the value of your collection, you’ll likely want to purchase additional coverage. For example, you may have a $2,000 pair of diamond earrings, a $7,500 engagement ring and an insurance policy that covers jewelry loss – no matter how many pieces – at $3,000. If both pieces are lost in a single incident, you’re short $6,500 of coverage.

To fill this gap, you can insure high-value items individually, as part of your homeowners insurance, condo insurance or renters insurance. This is known as “scheduling valuables” or adding a “rider” or “endorsement” to your policy. To do so, you will likely need a recent receipt or appraisal establishing the value of each item.

Once scheduled, if an item is damaged or lost in a covered incident, you’ll be covered for the full scheduled amount. Typically, scheduling an item also gives you broader coverage. A lost stone that isn’t covered under your homeowners policy, for example, is likely covered under a policy rider.

Catalog Your Jewelry in a Home Inventory

Once you arrange coverage for your high-value jewelry, it’s important to create a home inventory or update an existing one to catalog your valuable belongings. This isn’t as important for your scheduled pieces because your insurance company has a record of their value. However, for any unscheduled pieces that are lost or stolen, you’ll want a record of their worth.

Ideally, your home inventory will include photos, receipts, appraisals, descriptions, brand names, etc. of all valuable personal property, not just your jewelry. That way, if there’s a loss, you’ll already have the documentation needed for a personal property claim in place.

A home inventory can be as simple as a Word document (save it to the cloud or a flash drive in case your computer is damaged or stolen). Or use a Web program or mobile phone app, such as the home inventory app, to help you catalog your belongings.

Insuring jewelry is easy and affordable, so talk to an agent or carrier. You may pay as little as $10 a year for each $1,000 of coverage. So, if you get something special for Valentine’s Day this year, in addition to flashing it to your friends, think about protecting it, too.

Pembroke Pines, FL, September 5th, 2020 – Rolfs Insurance Services retains its Best Practices status, once again becoming a part of an elite group of independent insurance agencies around the United States. This status comes by participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) Best Practices Study group. The annual survey and Study of leading independent insurance agencies documents the business practices of the “best” agencies and urges others to adopt similar practices.

Since 1993, the Big “I” and Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based management consulting firm, have join forces to study the country’s leading agencies in six revenue categories. The agencies comprising the study groups are selected every third year through a comprehensive nomination and qualifying process and awarded a “Best Practices Agency” designation. The agency was nominated by either an IIABA affiliated state association or an insurance company and qualified based on its operational excellence.

The selected Best Practices agencies retain their status during the three-year cycle by submitting extensive financial and operational data for review each year. This is the second year of the current three-year study cycle, where over 1,000 independent agencies throughout the U.S. were nominated to take part in the annual study in 2019, but only 262 agencies qualified for the honor. To be chosen, the agency had to be among the 35-45 top-performing agencies in one of six revenue categories.

Rolfs Insurance Services was founded in 1997 and offers a wide range of insurance products including personal and commercial lines of property and casualty insurance as well as life and health coverage with professional guidance and advice.

For further information, please contact Rick Rolfs of Rolfs Insurance Services at 954-251-3312.

Founded in 1896, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing more than 25,000 agency locations united under the Trusted Choice brand. Trusted Choice independent agents offer consumers all types of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products—from a variety of insurance companies.

Boat and RV insurance just got better. There are exciting new product offerings for Florida boat and RV owners.

RV: Expanded protection because roaming homes need steady coverage*

Progressive’s Pest Damage Protection℠ — Provides coverage for damage to motor homes and non-stationary travel trailers caused by rats, mice, insects, birds, other non-domesticated animals, or other rodents and vermin.

Progressive’s Roof Protection Plus ® — Provides coverage to repair or replace the vehicle’s roof if it malfunctions, even if the cause is wear and tear. This coverage also includes damage to other parts of the vehicle caused directly by the roof’s malfunction.

Increased acceptability for boats:*

• Horsepower — Up to 700 HP for single engines/1,400 HP for twin engines on cruisers, motor yachts and ski/wake boats with inboard engines
• Engine Configuration — Triple engines are now acceptable on certain outboard motor boats

Progressive’s Hurricane Haul Out coverage — Reimburses for 50% of the cost incurred to haul out a boat due to tropical storm or hurricane conditions.

Boating Safety

Here are some boating safety tips for when you’re out on the water.

Choose the right types (and sizes) of life jackets—and make sure everyone wears them.
There are different types of life jackets for various activities, such as vest-type jackets for calm, inland waters, offshore jackets with additional buoyancy designed for rougher water, and even some made for waterskiing, kayaking, etc. Think about what you’ll be doing, where you’ll be headed, and who will be with you, so you have the ones you need. (Click here for a great guide.)

Each individual on board (even pets) should have a life jacket that fits properly, and most important, they should wear it at all times—there probably won’t be time to throw one on when something bad happens unexpectedly. According to the Coast Guard, in most cases of boating-related drowning, life jackets were on board but they weren’t worn by victims.

Make sure you have other key safety equipment on board.
There are plenty of other items you should have (or consider having) on your boat to increase safety. Fire extinguishers are required on most boats, even small vessels, so make sure you have the right type and that you know how to use it. If you have an enclosed area on your boat, you should install a carbon-monoxide detector.

Cell phones don’t always work well when you’re out on the water, so a VHF radio can ensure you’re able to call for help—it might be a good idea to get an emergency position-indicating radio beacon in case you get lost, too. And finally, you should always carry an anchor and signal lights, even if you aren’t planning on being out at night.

Use common sense, both before and after you launch the boat.
Keeping your boat’s systems and equipment (including safety gear, of course) in good shape is the first step to preventing problems, so put in the time to perform inspections and maintenance tasks as needed. Then, before any trip, no matter how quick, check the weather. Look for wind and small-craft advisories in particular.

When you hit the water, the fun can begin! But keep in mind that a quiet, enjoyable day can change in just an instant, too. So don’t speed. Don’t drink or allow excessive distractions. Remember that there are other people out there too, and that when everybody does their part, boating is a lot more fun—and a lot safer—for us all.

*Coverages and discounts may vary. Products and programs may not be available for all situations. Please contact or call us at 954-251-3312 for more information.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season has begun (June 1st to November 30th, 2020). Now is the time to create or update a disaster plan in preparation for severe storms and hurricanes. The following links include various resources from government agencies, our advice for protecting life and property, and additional insurance related advice for the hurricane season.

FEMA hurricane season guides for everyone and for businesses

• For individuals: How to Prepare for a Hurricane (13 MB)
• For businesses: Hurricane Toolkit (6 MB)

Getting ready, forming a hurricane plan, and what to do in the event of a storm

Below are links to articles which I’ve written that provide further guidance for the storm season.

• A Plan for Before & After the Storm (also contains a list of insurance carrier claims phone numbers)
• Preparing Property for a Storm
• Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Ready.gov/hurricanes

More resources provided by Ready, a National public service campaign, can all be found at https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes which has been updated with additional helpful information due to the Coronavirus.

At its heart insurance is simply the transfer of risk for a premium.

An insurance policy is a contract of indemnity which means an obligation by a person (indemnitor) to provide compensation for a particular loss suffered by another person (indemnitee). Indemnities form the basis of many insurance contracts; for example, a car owner may purchase different kinds of insurance as an indemnity for various kinds of loss arising from operation of the car, such as damage to the car itself or medical expenses following an accident. In an agency context, a principal may be obligated to indemnify their agent for liabilities incurred while carrying out responsibilities under the relationship. While the events giving rise to an indemnity may be specified by contract, the actions that must be taken to compensate the injured party are largely unpredictable and the maximum compensation is often expressly limited. The question is, how does the academic definition of insurance translate into the real world?

The true essence of insurance is claims handling.

One of the common covered perils under a property policy, such as homeowners insurance, is theft. A theft is evidenced by forcible signs of entry or exit from the location in which the loss occurred. This evidence can include things such as a broken window, a pried open door, or scratches or marks on a window or door frame where a thief attempted either entry or exit from a location. If these physical signs are not present then a loss may be categorized as mysterious disappearance.

Where a property policy typically provides coverage for theft it does not insure against mysterious disappearance.

Personal inland marine as well as commercial inland marine type policies which specifically schedule or provide blanket coverage to objects generally do grant coverage for mysterious disappearance. Property which is scheduled on a personal inland marine floater generally include jewelry, fine arts, silverware, furs and other items which usually increase in value over time. The mechanism by which an insured or insurer agree to the value of these objects is an appraisal which typically must be updated every two to three years. Commercial inland marine policies which are designed for items that are in motion such as contractor’s equipment, tools and other mobile machinery are scheduled and a value assigned so that a loss may be properly covered.

These are the types of nuances in coverage that we at Rolfs Insurance Services strive to explain and educate our clients to be sensitive to.

Open communications and conversations where we get to know our clients’ needs are key to developing a proper plan of insurance in order to provide correct coverage. Please do not hesitate to give us a call or send an email with respect to this or any other issue where you may have a question. If you have any family, friends or other acquaintances that may need assistance with any insurance question we would be happy to provide assistance.

The application for insurance is a transfer of information from a prospective insured to an insurance carrier. The representations made by the person seeking insurance are considered by the insurer in determining whether or not an offer of coverage will be extended and if it is, what premium will be assessed. The information contained on the application document forms the basis of the policy/contract which comes into play at the time of a loss. Essentially, the application paints the picture of a risk which is reviewed by an insurance company which offers coverage and charges premium for the exposure revealed in the document.

An application is divided into several sections.

General information is requested such as the name of the insured as well as mailing and physical address of the risk along with contact information including phone number, email address and alternative contact numbers. The real meat and potatoes of the underwriting begins with the description of the risk wherein it is classified in terms of acceptability to an insurer. Typically, the next section of questions deals with the rating basis wherein the level of exposure for the risk is determined. For instance, service businesses are typically rated based on payroll whereas manufacturing or distribution businesses are typically rated based on gross annual revenues.

The role of the agent is to assist the applicant in completing the application.

Often times the agent will ask the questions of the prospective insured and fill in the answers based on the responses. Applications for certain lines of insurance, such as professional liability, are commonly completed by the applicant themselves as the questions are nuanced and germane to that individual’s specific field of expertise. The bottom line is that the person signing the application bears the responsibility of reading the document thoroughly and making sure that all of the information disclosed is accurate. At Rolfs Insurance Services we try to make this process as fluid as possible. Reviewing the questions and discussing their significance with our clients allows for the development of a relationship and understanding which creates the foundation for a trusting relationship.

Workers Compensation Costs Can Be Managed by Following These Simple Rules

Every employer can take these 8 simple steps to help control their costs related to workers’ compensation insurance.

1. Hire the best person for the job

Take time to find the right employee for your workplace. Use tools like employment applications, reference checks, drug screens, motor vehicle records checks and background checks.

2. Establish a safety program

Develop policies, procedures and rules. Provide your employees with the necessary training, proper tools and personal protective equipment to do their job safely.

3. Enforce safety rules

It is not enough to train employees and provide them with the proper tools. Routinely remind employees to work safely through the use of workplace audits, safety meetings, toolbox talks, annual training, etc.

4. Provide immediate medical care

Have pre-arranged medical facilities for your employees to go to in the event of a workplace injury. Be prepared to provide transportation for non-emergency injuries. For emergencies call 911. Always require a post-accident drug test to be administered.

5. Report all injuries immediately

All injuries should be reported to FCBI within 24 hours of the occurrence. Ongoing communications with your injured employee and the claims adjuster is extremely important.

6. Investigate all accidents and near misses

Review the accident to find out what happened and take necessary steps to make sure it does not occur again.

7. Provide Light Duty employment

Once an employee is released to return to work, regardless of what capacity, be prepared to offer light duty.

8. Certificates of insurance

Never allow another company to work for you unless they have provided you with a valid certification for Workers’ Compensation insurance.

Get a quote for workers compensation insurance, or contact us for more information regarding workers compensation insurance and the associated insurance costs pertaining to specific business operations.