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News & Views: A Good Craft Beer
Newsletter – Tuesday, October 16, 2018
I like beer. Of course, I like wine, scotch, and whiskey, but I really do like beer. Maybe beer drinkers are so loyal to the beverage because it is what most of us drank when we were young’uns (whether above or below the legal drinking age). Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating for underage or excessive drinking, rather, just an acknowledgment of a good adult beverage in moderation. And since moderation is always called for, then why not treat yourself to better than average?
Thankfully, there are some really great beers on the market today, unlike in my youth when cheap was all that mattered. Sometime early in this century, a craft beer revolution was started. This was an entrepreneurial time. What could be better than getting paid to do the thing you love? Or in some cases, following your passion whether you got paid or not?
Even now, I will always go for the ‘local’ beer over the national brands. Partly to support local, but mostly because I believe where craft and passion intersect, labor turns into art.
So does that mean that the passionate and committed people at the Tuscano Agency are the craft revolutionists of the wholesale insurance industry? By golly – we might be on to something! I recently listened to an interview with Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. In so many words, he said success comes to those who keep their eye on the customer, not the competition. I think that is a great way to describe craftsmen of any trade, and I believe that describes Tuscano to a capital T.
Fall has finally arrived in Western Pennsylvania! The furnace kicked on over the weekend, and I had to dig out a sweater to wear to church! Of course, it would be great if someone could turn off the great spigot in the sky! Anyone interested in private flood insurance?
With winter around the corner, I am really excited to announce that Tuscano has a new market for GL on snow removal contractors. This has been a very difficult class of business to place in the last few years, which is why this is such great news. The tail for claims is long and in a legal environment where everything must be someone’s fault, these contractors have been hit hard, and often without justification.
Are you looking for a GL market to place a snow removal contractor or a landscaper with snow removal operations? Read on. This binding market is not for your very large operations (we’ll get to those, keep reading); they are limited to parking lots with no more than 80 spaces. The contractor needs to have been insured AND in business under the same name for a minimum of three years with recently valued loss runs to support the submission. On top of that, we will need to confirm that the wording in their contracts clearly states they are only liable for their negligence. Minimum premium starts at $5000 per plow in PA, CT, and MA and $2500 in NH. At this point, we are not able to offer the program in New York or New Jersey.
For accounts that don’t meet these conditions, we do have brokerage markets that start at $25,000 and can easily run to $50,000. For bigger operations, this is still a premium you can sell. We also write excess coverage for snow removal contractors. Call a Tuscano casualty underwriter - they can advise you on what markets might be an option and what they’ll need to work on your account.
Stay warm and dry!