Call: 863-763-7711
1. Chances of a Loss - According to the National Safety Council, 48 out of 100 individuals between the ages of 40-65 will become sick or disabled resulting in the inability to work. These are greater odds than having a home insurance loss (1 out of 300), an auto loss (1 out of 250) or a life insurance payout (28 out of 100). Protect your most valuable asset…the ability to earn income with a disability income policy.
2. Social Security –Based on the strict definition of disability, nearly 7 out of 10 claims submitted to Social Security are turned
down. In cases when benefits are granted, they are often in small amounts ($1,111 average monthly income in 2011) and a
5-month waiting period needs to be met first.
3. Coverage From Employer – According to the National Safety Council, only 10% of disability accidents and illnesses are work
related. The other 90% are not meaning they would not be covered by workers compensation. Most employers do not have
short-term disability coverage and those that do usually cover losses lasting 6 months or less.
4. Savings – 80% of American workers will exhaust their savings in only 2 months after becoming disabled, and one year of disability can wipe out 10 years of savings. Payments from a disability income policy can be used to pay for clothes, groceries, a mortgage payment and medical bills without having to dip into your life savings.
5. Broad Coverage – Auto-Owners Disability Income policy provides worldwide coverage, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while onor off the job. Class AAAA will have “own occupation” until age 65, while AAA and AA will have it for 5 years. Occupation Class A & B will have “own occupation” for 2 years.
6. Guaranteed – As long as premiums are paid the policy will stay in force until age 65. Even if the insured changes to a more
hazardous job, he or she can keep the original occupation class and the original policy. Once issued, coverage cannot be
cancelled by Auto-Owners because of poor health, past claims or a change to a hazardous occupation.
7. Retroactive Waiver of Premium – There is an automatic waiver of premium built into the policy at no additional cost to the insured. When a disability has lasted 90 days or longer, the policy remains in effect and the insured does not need to make
premium payments until disability is over. Any premiums which were due and paid during that time period will be refunded.
8. Partial Disability – At the end of a period of total disability for which benefits were paid, Auto-Owners will pay the insured ½
the loss of monthly income if the insured is partially disabled and that disability requires you be in the care of a doctor.
Benefits will be paid up to 6 months.
9. Discounts –A Life Multi-Policy Discount is given on eligible personal and commercial lines policies also insured with
Auto-Owners. Personal lines discount is 5%, commercial discount is 2% and they are available in most states. A $1,000
minimum monthly benefit is required to receive the discount.
10. Recurrent Disability – Automatically included at no additional cost. If disability recurs from the same or related causes, it will be deemed a continuation of the previous disability unless you have been actively at work for six months or longer.
Courtesy of Auto-Owners Insurance
Did you know...
According to the Insurance Information Institute, dog bites accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claims paid out in 2010, costing nearly $413 million. The average cost of a dog bite is approximately $26,000 and continues to steadily rise. Not all dog liability claims are caused by bites. In some cases a friendly dog can jump up on a neighbor and knock them down; oftentimes causing an injury and significant medical bills.
Dog Owner Liability
There are three kinds of law that impose liability on dog owners:
1. Dog-bite statute: The dog owner is automatically liable for any injury or property damage the dog causes, even without provocation.
2. "One-bite" rule: In some states, the owner is not held liable for the first bite the dog inflicts. Once an animal has demonstrated vicious behavior, such as biting or otherwise displaying a "vicious propensity", the owner can be held liable. Some states have moved away from the one-bite rule and hold owners responsible for any injury, regardless of whether the animal has previously bitten someone.
3. Negligence laws: The dog owner is liable if the injury occurred because the dog owner was unreasonably careless (negligent) in controlling the dog.
Florida’s statute on dog bites (767.04) does not have a one-bite rule. Even though your dog’s never bitten anybody before does not mean that you’re not responsible for the injuries caused by the dog. Florida has a strict liability against dog owners. A dog owner is strictly liable for any of the injuries or death caused by their dog to somebody else.
There are a few exceptions, but for the most part strict liability is the rule. There are two ways in which a dog owner could be found not strictly liable. First, any damage caused by the dog is going to be reduced by the victim’s own negligence. If the victim antagonized the dog and the dog, for whatever reason, bit that person, a jury can apportion a percentage of fault to the victim. The other way that a dog owner can protect themselves from liability is by actually posting a sign that says "bad dog." If they display the words "bad dog" outside their property then for the most part the owner’s not going to be held strictly liable unless they were independently negligent in causing the injury.
Courtesy of St. James Insurance Group
If your business is a corporation (INC) or a limited liability company (LLC), you should have already received an email message from the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. In the subject line of the email, it will say “Notice to File 2012 Annual Report for:” and list the name of your business.
This is not junk or spam email. This is your official notice from the State of Florida (and the only one you will get), reminding you to file your 2012 Annual Report with the Division of Corporations.
The Annual Report is used to confirm that the information the state has on file about your business is still accurate and up-to-date. It is also your opportunity to report any changes with your business to the state, like a change in address or adding a corporate officer. Please note: You file your Annual Report with the State of Florida’s Division of Corporations; it is not filed with our office.
Annual reports have to be filed online at www.sunbiz.org by May 1, 2012. There is a link to this website in the email you should have received from the state Division of Corporations. All business entities must file their Annual Report with the state by May 1st to maintain “active” status (the annual report requirement does not apply to sole proprietors or general partnerships). Payment can be made by credit card, check or sunbiz account.
If you do not file your Annual Report by May 1st, you will be charged a $400 late fee. This late fee cannot be waived, so please make sure to file this report now.
When you go to www.sunbiz.org to file your Annual Report, please make sure there is a banner at the top of the screen that says “Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations.” If not, you are not on the official state website and could be the victim of a scam. Also, please be very skeptical of mail or emails you get from companies offering to file your corporate minutes with the State of Florida. A company called Compliance Services has sent out notices called “Annual Minutes Requirement Statement Directors and Shareholders” and wants $125 to satisfy your annual minutes requirements. These notices are not fromthe State of Florida, and corporate minutes are not required to be filed with the state.
Federal Unemployment Tax: Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA tax) is figured quarterly, but the FUTA tax return (IRS Form 940) is filed only once a year. The deadline for filing this form for the 2011 tax year is January 31, 2012. However, if you have deposited all your FUTA tax when it was due, this deadline is extended to February 10, 2012.
Even though Form 940 covers a calendar year, you may have to deposit your FUTA tax before you file your return. You determine when to deposit your taxes based on the amount of your FUTA tax due each quarter. If your FUTA tax is $500 or less in a quarter, you can carry it over to the next quarter and make no tax payment for that quarter. You continue carrying your tax liability over until your cumulative tax is more than $500. At that point, you must pay the quarterly tax that is due.
If your FUTA tax for the fourth quarter of 2011 (plus any undeposited amounts from earlier quarters in 2011) is more than $500, you should deposit the entire amount by January 31, 2012. If it is $500 or less, you can either deposit the amount or pay it with your Form 940 by January 31, 2012. You must also include any additional taxes owed for credit reduction with your fourth quarter deposit (please see below for more details).
Because Florida still has loans from the federal government that we haven’t paid back, Florida is a “credit reduction state” which means that Florida businesses lost .3% of their federal credit for the 2011 tax year. This means you may have to pay more FUTA tax when you file your Form 940 for 2011. Check the box on line 2 of the Form 940 and fill out Schedule A (Form 940) to determine how much additional tax you owe due to the credit reduction. If you have already filed your Form 940 and need to file an amended return to include the additional taxes owed, you can use the form you already filed. Please see the instructions for filing an amended return on page 4 of the 2011 Instructions for Filing Form 940, available from www.IRS.gov.
State of Florida Unemployment Tax: State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) is calculated and paid on a quarterly basis. Most businesses pay a tax rate that is determined in large part by their own experience. The maximum tax rate is capped by state law at 5.4%.
Because the state unemployment trust fund continues to borrow from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits, Florida businesses are going to see their unemployment taxes for calendar year 2012 increase dramatically. For 2011, the tax per employee for those employers at the minimum tax rate was $72.10 per employee; for 2012, it is going up to $171.70 per employee.
In addition to this increase of around $100 per employee, Florida employers will again pay a special assessment of approximately $13 per employee to make payments on the interest owed to the federal government for money loaned to Florida’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.
You should have received your 2012 unemployment tax rate notice in the mail from the Florida Department of Revenue in December. The notifications of the interest payments will be sent in February 2012. The first quarterly unemployment tax payment will be due April 30th. The special interest assessment will be due June 30th.
