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W. E. Davis Radio Spots
 A Personal Story.
W.E. Davis Insurance.
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Health Insurance Dependent Age to Increase July
1, Insurance Department Available as
Informational Resource
The Ohio Department of Insurance posted a
short article on the new rules regarding young
adults staying on their parents health
insurance. This gives good information if you
have a child who may need to remain on the
parents’ health insurance. The new law goes into
effect July 1st 2010 and extends the eligibility
age to age 28. An estimated 20,000 additional
young adults may have coverage access under this
law.
» Learn More
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Health Literacy Basics
As part of the health care overhaul, there is
a new movement out of Washington to improve our
understanding of health issues. From the press
release put out by the Department of Health and
Human Services: "According to research from the
U.S. Department of Education, only 12 percent of
English-speaking adults in the United States
have proficient health literacy skills. The
overwhelming majority of adults have difficulty
understanding and using everyday health
information that comes from many sources,
including the media, web sites, nutrition and
medicine labels, and health professionals.
Health literacy refers to the capacity to
obtain, process, and understand basic health
information and services needed to make
appropriate health decisions." We can look
forward to public education campaigns to help us
decipher "medicalese" and become partners with
our health care providers in our own care.
»More
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ATVs and Personal Insurance
Recently it has been brought to our attention that language adopted last year in the most recent transportation budget (HB 2) now requires all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and off road motorcycles to be registered with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV.) This change will have an impact on how these vehicles are covered under personal insurance programs. In most cases your homeowner policy will cover vehicles used to service your premises provided the vehicle is not required to be registered by the state. Once they must be registered, they would be excluded from the liability portion of a standard homeowners policy. In these cases, they are treated as motor vehicles and must be separately scheduled on an auto policy. One piece of good news is that the BMV has indicated that the Ohio financial responsibility requirements do not apply to ATVs as long as they are not being operated on any public roads. The registration language was added to the transportation budget last year at the request of the farm owners who wish to be able to identify operators of these vehicles when they are trespassing. If you own an all-terrain vehicle and would like more information,
please contact our office.
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Out of State Workers Compensation
Our office would like to update you on recent changes in workers’ compensation (WC) law that may affect your business. Ohio law has recently made changes that prohibit workers injured outside of Ohio from receiving benefits in more than one state for the same injury. As a result of these changes, the Ohio BWC is no longer offering reimbursement to other states’ WC administrators for claims processed outside of Ohio. And since some states require local coverage for all work performed in-state, regardless of whether coverage exists in Ohio, there is a risk of exposure in situations where workers are injured and file for benefits in a state in which no local coverage exists. This is most prevalent in the state of Kentucky, but is spreading to other states.
Amidst this changed landscape, you may have insufficient out-of-state workers’ compensation coverage. Attached is also a summary of recent changes to Ohio WC law and how additional changes to Kentucky WC law may affect employers doing business in that state. These changes highlight the need for you to obtain cost-effective out-of-state workers’ compensation coverage for your workers who travel into or through states requiring local coverage. If you have workers that go outside the state of Ohio,
please contact us. We have the ability to add out of state coverage for most of our carriers.
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Attorneys Top List Of Most Dangerous Drivers
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Attorneys and judges may be sticklers to the word of the law but it seems they are not quite so adherent to the rules of the road, topping a list of the top 10 most dangerous drivers by profession.
A study by online U.S. insurance company
insurance.com found 44 percent of attorneys
claimed a prior accident when looking for a car
insurance comparison quote from insurance.com.
The findings were based on accident claims as a
percentage of quotes in which drivers need to
give details of their driving record.
Second in the list came financial
professionals followed by government workers
while the study found the least dangerous
drivers were athletes, with only 17 percent
reporting prior accidents, and homemakers at 24
percent.
"Professions that demand multi-tasking -
being on the phone, moving fast on a tight
schedule - are prone to more distractions and,
from there, more accidents," said Sam Belden,
insurance.com VP, in a statement.
"Though the job of a homemaker demands
multi-tasking, young children are often along
for any car ride and when children are involved,
people tend to take their time and use greater
caution."
He added that homemakers and athletes also
tended to be off the road during rush hour.
Following is a list of the Top 10 most
dangerous drivers by profession:
- Attorney / Judge
- Financial professionals
- Government worker
- Bartender or Waiter
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- Business professionals
- Dog groomer
- Marketing / Advertising professionals
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- Barber / Stylist
- Coach
- Nurse
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Aetna Offering Employee Assistance Programs, Other Help to All Affected
by Haiti Earthquake
The devastation of the earthquake in Haiti is
having a worldwide impact. Friends and family
members are frantic to learn about and help
their loved ones in Haiti, and massive volunteer
efforts are under way. One of our health
insurance carriers, Aetna, is taking steps to
reach out and help all of our members – those in
Haiti and their loved ones elsewhere – through
this disaster.
Employee Assistance
Program Available
Aetna has opened its employee assistance
programs to all members, employees and their
families who may have loved ones affected by the
earthquake in Haiti. They also are providing
helpful
information in a flyer format.
Aetna Behavioral Health is offering its
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to all Aetna
plan sponsors, regardless of whether or not they
are Aetna EAP customers, during this time of
need. Aetna members can contact Aetna EAP 24/7
for telephonic consultation, support,
information and referral to a full spectrum of
resources including community-based,
governmental and relief agencies.
Aetna's EAP professionals have experience
dealing with traumatic events from both an
organizational and individual perspective. In
addition to providing direct support to members,
employees and their families, EAP workplace
consultants are ready to provide consultation to
Aetna’s employer customers to help them address
the needs of their workforce.
Aetna Global Benefits’ International Health
Advisory Team is also available 24/7 as a single
point of contact to provide members with
additional support, which includes the
coordination of medical evacuations. This group
of AGB-dedicated nurses is focused on providing
the highest level of care and can be reached by
calling the International Service Center.
Aetna’s international or U.S.-based
customers, members or employees who need help
can reach Aetna at the following toll-free
numbers.
- Aetna Global Benefits International
Service Center and International Employee
Assistance Program: 1-800-231-7729
(toll-free) or 1-813-775-0190 (collect)
- Aetna U.S. Employee Assistance Program:
1-888-AETNA-EAP (1-888-238-6232) or
866-843-6323 (for the hearing impaired)
- Aetna U.S. Member Services:
1-800-443-AETNA (1-800-443-2386)
Help for Those in Haiti
We are reaching out to our customers with
employees in Haiti to offer medical evacuation
for those injured and other assistance. For
families filing a life insurance claim, Aetna is
expediting the claim payment process and
extending claim submission dates.
Aetna Group Life is helping families in need
during these tragic circumstances by expediting
the claim process, extending deadlines for
filing claims, and modifying procedures such as
those for collecting evidence of insurability to
speed payment. Aetna Disability and Absence
Management is expediting the claim processing,
extending deadlines for filing claims, and
modifying procedures to speed payment for those
members affected by the recent tragic events.
- Aetna Group Life: 1-800-523-5065
- Aetna Disability and Absence Management
– 1-866-537-7628
Aetna’s employees are also reaching out to
help. The Aetna Foundation has initiated a
dollar-for-dollar match for employee disaster
relief donations to help the relief efforts in
Haiti. Aetna’s Community Relations group has
activated its 47 Aetna Volunteer Councils to
engage with relief agencies to respond to this
disaster by collecting goods and funds and
offering other assistance.
John Koetz, President of
W.E. Davis Insurance adds:
While the health and safety of those affected
by the devastating earthquake in Haiti is first
and foremost in our minds, this tragic event
should give us pause to think about our own
preparedness.
Catastrophes can happen in the blink of an
eye and how we have planned before a disaster
could mean the difference between life and
death. There are many fine recourses on the net
regarding earthquake and other disaster
preparedness and we encourage you to explore
those. We provide a partial list below to get
you started. However, the key is to DO
SOMETHING. Don’t wait for a catastrophic event
to have basic supplies and necessities in your
home a head of time.
You should also check your insurance policies
to be sure you can be made whole if a natural
disaster affects you. We can help in this area.
Just call our office and we will review your
coverage with you. While we try to include
Earthquake in most of our policies, but the
majority of other insurers do not. And flood
insurance must be added by separate endorsement
on all policies.
Please do what you can for those affected in
Haiti.
Resources:
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New BMV fees added for late
license and plate renewals
Our agency would like to remind our clients
and friends that new late fees are in place for
drivers license and vehicle plate renewals. The
new Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV)
requirements call for transactions to be
completed within seven days of the expiration
date or be assessed $20.00 per transaction.
If one of our clients has two cars and a
license renewal, they would be assessed an
additional $60 if the renewal is 7 or more days
past their birth date,” said John Koetz,
president of the agency.
To avoid late charges, we would like to
advise all motorists to renew plates and their
drivers licenses on or before their birthdays.
Former renewal regs
Prior law gave Ohio motorists their entire
birth date month to renew plates and licenses.
The new BMV regulation only provides a 7-day
window before assessing a late charge.
Revised BMV fee list
Click here for a list of BMV service fees
currently in effect.
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Economic Stimulus package includes help for those on COBRA
 The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1)
known as the economic stimulus package was
signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009.
Included in the law are provisions that provide
a COBRA premium subsidy to certain qualified
beneficiaries. The subsidy also applies to
certain health care continuation as required by
state law if it is comparable to COBRA.
»More
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W.E Davis clients avoid the rate increases reported by the Ohio Department
of Insurance.
A recent Business First article reports that
Ohio automobile and home insurance rates are
experiencing some increases. We are happy to
report that most of our policy holders have not
seen these increases and some have seen their
premiums decrease slightly.
Insurance Department: Ohioans to pay more
for auto, home insurance
New data from the
Ohio Department of Insurance indicate
average insurance rates charged by the state's
largest automobile and home insurers ticked
upward in 2008 and likely will follow suit this
year.
Ohio’s top 10 private auto insurers increased
their rates an average of 0.8 percent in 2008,
while average rates from the state’s 10 largest
homeowners insurance companies rose about 7
percent last year. The rate of increase in
homeowners insurance premiums in 2008 was the
steepest in five years, the department said.
Changes in auto insurance rates are linked to
medical costs, weather-related claims, number of
cars on Ohio roads and vehicle repair costs,
while changes in homeowners insurance rates
typically are related to building and material
costs and weather-related claims, the department
said.
Despite last year's increases, the department
noted Ohio continues to enjoy lower premiums
than most other states. Ohio has the 13th-lowest
auto insurance premiums and sixth-lowest
homeowners insurance premiums in the nation,
according to the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
The department expects premium increases for
2009 likely will be in line with those
registered last year.
Source: Business
First of Columbus
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Insure.com Unveils the Most
and Least Expensive Popular Cars to Insure in
2009
 Car
InsuranceDARIEN, Ill., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Car insurance premiums can add substantially
to the annual cost of operating your auto.
Insure.com has calculated the average national
premiums to insure the nation's 20 best-selling
vehicles.
Average annual insurance premiums for the top
20 selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2008.
Vehicle Average annual premium
| 2009 Honda Odyssey $1,216 |
2009 Chevrolet Malibu $1,355 |
2009 Nissan Altima $1,427 |
| 2009 Honda CR-V $1,240 |
2009 Ford Fusion $1,363 |
2009 Toyota Tundra $1,432 |
| 2009 Ford Escape $1,245 |
2009 Ford Focus $1,369 |
2009 Chevy Silverado C/K pickup $1,481 |
| 2009 Ford F-series pickup $1,275 |
2009 GMC Sierra pickup $1,383 |
2009 Toyota Camry $1,506 |
| 2009 Honda Civic $1,329 |
2009 Chevrolet Cobalt $1,384 |
2009 Toyota Corolla $1,538 |
| 2009 Honda Accord $1,331 |
2009 GM Pontiac G6 $1,386 |
2009 Dodge Ram pickup $1,553 |
| 2009 Chevrolet Impala $1,348 |
2009 Toyota Prius $1,396 |
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Marie Trudeau of W.E. Davis
Insurance Agency is quoted in Massage Therapy
Journal
 Massage
therapists need to think about insurance
coverage before opening their doors. Marie
Trudeau, a certified insurance counselor with
W.E. Davis Insurance Agency in Columbus, Ohio,
explains how different insurance products
benefit massage therapists.
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