Matt Lehmann, VP and
Marc Dorman, President

Moran Insurance
696 Ritchie - Severna Park, MD 21146
P: 410-544-3422
F: 410-544-6834www.moraninsurance.com
info@moraninsurance.com

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Happy Holidays from The Moran Team!

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Worth Reading

Selections from the best articles seen online this month.

Ten Critical Success Clues
By Leslie Fieger, ZeroMillion.com
 
Fieger maintains that she can predict with 95% accuracy the likelihood that a person will be successful, using 10 critical clues. For example, a winner’s attitude, she says, is characterized by high self-esteem, a positive outlook on life, a feeling of gratitude, a sense of great personal destiny, a willingness to learn and the will to do what is necessary. Anyone can discover this through self-analysis and shape their destiny by design, according to Fieger.

Get Ready to Hire Generation Z
By Penelope Trunk, OpenForum

Gen Z is about to enter the workforce, and this new breed of workers calls for new recruiting tactics. For starters, forget email and plan your hiring strategy around smartphone apps and social networking tools. Ditch outdated views about college degrees, as Gen Zers have embraced do-it-yourself and alternative types of education on a large scale. Recognize that Gen Zers are independent thinkers, so pitch them projects rather than titles.

BOOK REVIEW
The Recession-Proof Business, by Victor Cheng

There are two ways a business can behave in a bad economy: the first way is to withdraw and hope to sit it out; the second is to step on the gas.

It's probably true to say that in most cases, option two is your best bet. After all, a recession can actually be the best time to win market share. While all your competitors are cutting back, you can grow.

Cheng's book will help you do just that.  The book is a blend of good business practice (important at any time for winning companies; vital during a recession) and advice about re-inventing your business to make it meet customer needs during these times and therefore prosper.

A large chunk of the book focuses, quite rightly, on marketing as the key to growth and, unfortunately, the area where many businesses cut back during tough times.

This book is worth reading, whether you are booming or struggling right now.

Ted Turner founded CNN.

December 2011                                                                Happy Holidays

STRATEGY
What You Need to Know About Workers' Comp

Before the federal government stepped in during the early 1900s, the only recourse an injured employee or their family had was to launch a lawsuit against an employer.

At that time, employers felt they did not have an obligation to continue to pay employees who'd been injured on the job.

Pittsburgh Survey

The Pittsburgh Survey, a detailed study done in 1907-08 of living and working conditions in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, had a special impact on job safety and health.

A major topic of the study was industrial accidents.

The study found that injured workers and survivors of those killed on the job bore the economic brunt of accidents, even though most were the fault of employers.

Authors of the study agreed that, for reasons of social equity, employers should bear a substantial share of the economic burden.
The theory behind this strategy was that it would give the employers more incentive to eliminate the causes of accidents.

Legislation

In the early 1930s, labor standards started taking shape.
The government quickly enacted legislation that created a minimum wage.

Health and Safety

By 1970, health and safety in the workplace came to prominence.
So did fair labor standards.

Workers' compensation policies were eventually created to give both employers and employees protection and satisfaction.

How It Works

For a work-related injury, an employee may sue the employer or collect medical payments.

The employee does not get both options.

To reflect this, workers' compensation policies limit the liability available to an employer if an employee sues.

The policies also classify all employees based on their job descriptions.

Employees Rated

Each employee is rated based on the degree of risk of injury and the amount of payroll the employer pays that group of people.

For example, a roofing company will have roofers on the road all day for various jobs, as well as clerical people in the office. Roofers are rated more highly because their job poses more of a danger.

There is a greater likelihood that a roofer in the field would incur a severe injury than a worker in the office, who is in a relatively safer environment all day.

Requirements

Workers' compensation coverage is a requirement in every state whether an employer has one worker or hundreds.

No matter what kind of business you have, let your insurance agent help you find the best policy to meet your needs.

Agency News: 

Congratulations to Providence Center for 50 years of providing important services to adults with developmental disabilities and for improving our community. Find out more about there wonderful organization at http://www.providencecenter.com/ . 

 
Moran Insurance believes in supporting community organizations. We have partnered with Hospice of the Chesapeake to create awareness of the value their organization provides to our community. In support of this effort, Moran will donate $500.00 to this wonderful organization when we reach 500 “likes” to our Facebook page.  Please take a moment to join us on Facebook to help this great organization.
www.Facebook.com/Moraninsurance. 
Thank you for helping us achieved our 500 like goal that benfits Hospice of the Chesapeake.

Winter driving tips:https://www.iwif.com/safety-university/safety-tip-sheets/safety-tip-sheets/driving-safety/winter-driving.pdf
 
Refer a friend campaign: Refer a friend for an insurance quote and be rewarded with a $10.00 gift card and be entered into our I-pad giveaway drawing.
 
Congratulations to Account Manager Lisa Vann who is celebrating her 4year anniversary with the Moran Agency.

MANAGEMENT
5 Ways to Make Good Use of the Holiday Lull

If you're not working in a retail environment, chances are the holiday season is a slack time for you.

This annual slowdown can be a good opportunity for you to catch up, evaluate the past year and prepare for the one ahead.

Following are five ways you can make the holiday slowdown work for you and your business:

Update Processes and Install New Software: This is a great time to identify new processes and programs that can help you work better, faster and more efficiently. Take advantage of the December lull to research what's new and to train yourself and your staff on new programs and methods.  

Get Organized: There is something cathartic about cleaning and organizing your work area. Get rid of the junk and go through your files to be sure they are in order. Delete old emails and shred redundant copies of documents.

Update Marketing Plans and Materials: Take stock of what you've got in the way of materials and plan for what you need. While you're at it, update your database and map out a strategy to contact these prospects in the year ahead. Take a dive deep into the websites of your peers and competitors, including those that offer similar products and/or services and those that compete for budgetary resources.

Conduct a Year-End Review: By taking careful stock of what you did well and what you need to work on, you can begin to craft a plan for making changes that will serve your business well.

Get a Head Start: Get going early on year-end bookkeeping tasks and tax preparation work. This information is crucial to making decisions for next year.

If you use some of your downtime through the holiday season to do these activities, then you can hit the ground running in January, focused and productive.

You'll also be more prepared for whatever 2012 may bring.

STRATEGY
How a 'Big Idea' Makes a Big Difference

The best businesses always have something bigger than the pursuit of profit...they have an idea behind them.

The unfortunate passing of Apple's Steve Jobs rekindled what it means to be a visionary. For Apple, it was superb design and flawless functionality. They then turned an idea into an empire worth more than the U.S. Treasury.

All businesses can benefit from a vision statement. It keeps your business plan focused and it helps set you apart from the competition.

Coming up with the big idea can be tough. To develop your vision statement, consider what led you to start your own business. If it wasn't a desire to improve upon an existing idea, then consider what frustrations you have with like products or services. Ask yourself what you're going to promise, how you're going to deliver, whom you're going to deliver to. Remember to factor in how you meet psychological needs - a powerful selling point that keeps customers coming back.

It's just as important to know what your business isn't about. This is crucial if you're a small business just starting out, as owners tend to be eager to please and overspread themselves into areas they don't excel in and can't deliver on. Overreaching also compromises your business integrity.

A solid vision statement that gets across a company's big idea can really drive your business forward by offering a goal and communicating what benefits you offer customers. It also plays a huge role in developing your brand.

INSURANCE
Joining a Board? Make Sure You're Properly Insured

Proper insurance coverage for directors and officers is needed by organizations both large and small.

People don't want to take on these types of positions if they know their personal assets could be at stake if they were to be sued.
Directors' and officers' coverage provides that protection. Such a policy ensures that the personal assets of a director or officer of the corporation are protected.

Liability is often an issue when corporate decisions are made and somebody feels they've lost money or they’ve been harmed in some way.

Nonprofit organizations like social service and mental health agencies, condo associations, private schools, day care centers, churches and other religious organizations, and youth sports organizations are all examples of groups that would benefit from a directors' and officers' policy.

Many people want to volunteer their time on such nonprofit boards, but they may not realize they take on the legal responsibilities of these positions.

In a nonprofit setting, claims can arise from an alleged wrongful termination or a perceived mismanagement of the organization's funds.
Both can be financially devastating without a proper directors' and officers' policy in place.

In addition to the liability coverage it provides, the directors' and officers' policy will pay to defend all claims. Defending a lawsuit can cost several hundred thousand dollars. Be sure to find a policy where the defense costs are covered in addition to the limit of insurance.