Risk & Business

In a recent report from the National Society of Actuaries, the life expectancy for Baby Boomers, GenX and Millenials has dropped 6 months. Now I know what you're thinking, "who are these actuaries and what do they know?"  Actuaries are those people that take all of the big data that is out there and figure out insurance rates as well as life expectancies for the insurance industry. Currently a 65-year-old man can be expected to live to his 86th birthday. A woman at the same age gets a few more years, to 88. For Millennials, a 25-year-old man has a 50/50 chance of seeing age 86 and 11 months and a Millennial women has a 50/50 chance to see age 90. Here is the bad news. These projections are 6 months less than the same projections from last year. The actuaries have seen the numbers decline because the health of people overall has deteriorated. Obesity, liver disease, stressful living, are all factors that are reducing life expectancy. It remains to be seen if this is a tre...

Small business owners need to understand the difference between what insurance companies consider  water damage versus flood damage. This is important because water damage may be covered under standard property policies. Flood damage is usually not covered and has to be bought from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). So let's simplify what you should know. If water comes up from the ground, runs off from heavy rains,  or inundates areas around lakes, streams, rivers, or oceans, then it is considered flood and is not covered by standard property insurance. When pipes rupture accidentally, building damage allows rain in, or internal water containers burst or crack, this is considered water damage and is usually covered. With this simple way of understanding the difference, it is clear that every business needs a flood insurance policy to protect their property.  Flooding from rain, and over flows of bodies of water continually surprise business owners when their ...