Gift Yourself These Insurance Coverages for the Holidays - Why Extra Insurance Coverage May Be Useful This Season – and Beyond

The holiday season gets busy. With so many professional and personal obligations to attend to, it can be hard to not let the stress of the season seep in. While you are busy ensuring your shopping list is complete and making arrangements to spend time with loved ones, you should take a few minutes for a little “me time,” too.

This can mean unplugging, spending some time in nature or giving yourself a gift of peace of mind, such as insurance coverage. Yes, insurance can make for a practical gift that keeps on giving all year long. Consider the coverages below to help minimize your worries this holiday season and beyond.

Trip Insurance

If you plan to travel this holiday season, you may want to add trip insurance, also known as travel insurance, to your itinerary. Such a policy can help cover you if unforeseen circumstances, such as a medical emergency, interfere with the travel plans you so flawlessly put together.

Depending on what you purchase, travel insurance can help protect you against financial loss associated with trip cancellation, lost luggage, medical expenses and more.

Roadside Assistance and Rental Car Coverage

When we Southerners venture north to see relatives during the holidays, trouble can ensue. We’re not used to driving in snowy conditions, and we’ve only heard about putting chains on tires. And, all of a sudden, we’ve gotten ourselves stuck in a snow embankment in Ohio.

This is where rental car and roadside coverages on your auto policy can come in very handy (whether you drive in snow regularly or just occasionally). Say a curb was hiding in that snow embankment and you now have a flat tire. Roadside assistance can help you with the tire to get you moving again. However, if your car needs to visit the shop, your policy may help cover the cost of towing your vehicle and renting another so you don’t miss out on the festivities.

Identity Theft Protection

With all the online shopping you're doing this year, don’t forget to protect yourself from the ever-growing threat of cyber crime, such as identity theft. Make sure you are shopping with a reputable company and on a secure website. If in doubt, stop what you are doing and leave the site. Remember, never open an email or click on a link in an email from someone you don’t know.

I also suggest checking with your independent agent to see if coverage for identity theft is available as an add-on to your policy. Such coverage is often extremely inexpensive and can help with the costs of recovering from identity theft. These costs may include legal fees, lost wages and more related to the recovery process.

The bottom line is: While you absolutely love making someone’s eyes light up with the perfect gift, it’s important to take care of yourself, as well. Talk to your independent agent about insurance options and insurance coverages to help increase your protection this holiday season and beyond.

Happy holidays from all of us at Bob Lancaster Insurance to all of you!

Contact us for all your Insurance needs! (321)725-1620 

Bob Lancaster Insurance

Serving Florida since 1964

Payroll Issues - Replacing Employees Costs Big Dollars

The cost of employee turnover is alarming for many businesses. The latest statistic available from the  Employment Policy Foundation suggests the average cost of turnover to employers is $13,355 per full-time private-sector employee replaced. Keep in mind, this study was done several years ago so chances are this figure has risen considerably. Still it is enough to be troubling.

An important question: How do you come up with a realistic figure for turnover costs in your business? Here's an example,

A. Annual pay for the position, $18,000B. Annual benefits, taxes and insurance cost for the position, $ 5,400C. Total pay, benefits, taxes, insurance (A plus B), $23,400 D. Percent of first year that new employee is unproductive, 25 percentE. Cost of unproductive time (C times D ), $5,850 F. Recruiting costs (such as advertising), $500G. Management cost to recruit, interview, train, supervise new employee (first year hours[50]times hourly management rate, $50, $2,500Estimated turnover cost(E plus F plus G)....................$ 8,850

Using this figure, calculate what this could mean for a business with 100 employees and a turnover rate of just five percent a year. Such an employer would replace five employees at an average replacement cost of $13,355... for a total replacement cost of $66,775.

Now imagine if this business had a turnover rate of 20 percent. The employer would have a total replacement cost of $267,100 ($13,355 times 20).

How did the Employment Policy Foundation calculate turnover costs and arrive at the average $13,355 figure? 

The Washington, DC-based research group included the price of recruiting new applicants, selecting replacements, training new employees, and lost productivity expenses caused by departing staff members and incurred by new employees.

The result pegs the turnover costs at an average of 25 percent of an employee's annual income.

But an "average" turnover cost can be misleading. The Foundation's study breaks the costs down by industry, to get a clearer picture.

Average Turnover by	Industry
Information industry	$18,615
Financial activities	$17,315
Professional business services	$14,975
Construction	$13,935
Manufacturing	$13,880
Education	$13,020
Other services	$11,975
Trade/ transportation	$11,820
Leisure/ hospitality	$6,495

"The loss of productivity during position vacancy and the diminished productivity during a new employee's transition period are significant aspects of the total cost of turnover," according to the Foundation's President, Ed Potter. "Companies that are able to reduce their turnover rate have a significant competitive edge.

Contact us for all your Insurance needs! (321)725-1620 

Bob Lancaster Insurance

Serving Florida since 1964