Insurance News

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] A benefit of age is that you often know what you don’t know but are wise enough to find out. A recent article from Bloomberg News indicated that in 2012, nearly 25 percent of new companies were started by people between the ages...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text]As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) unfolds, more people will gain access to health services and prescriptions. The Act also reduces the risk that individuals will go bankrupt due to medical bills. Children will be able to stay on family health plans until...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] According to a 2012 Consumer Reports study, 37 percent of respondents cited “fuel economy” as the most important consideration when buying a car. Quality was a distant second at 17 percent and safety was listed by 16 percent as their most important attribute. We’d...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Small businesses in Maine have seen continued improvement in the cost of their health insurance policies since Maine’s health reforms were implemented in 2011. In the last three months of this year, one in four small employers saw their health insurance rates actually decrease...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Company holiday parties are about to hit high gear which warrants words of caution for employers and revelers alike. From an insurance perspective, be sure to check your liability coverage well before the party begins and take all reasonable precautions to avoid an...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Business leaders attending the USM Corporate Partners breakfast last week learned that leaving the workforce any time soon seems less and less likely for an increasing number of baby-boomers. Since 2001, the percentage of full time workers over age 65 has been growing...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] This story is a short version of a longer and sadder tale. Mom was still working into her 70s but decided, on her daughter’s advice, to place her assets in an irrevocable trust of which her daughter would be the trustee. Mom was,...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] In May, Turner Barker merged with Clark Insurance and will now be doing business under the Clark Insurance name. This is a merger of two of the oldest insurance agencies in Portland, Maine creating one of the largest and most versatile insurance agencies...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Here are two truths: First, we tend to like people who show an interest in us and what we think. Second, we all enjoy receiving praise and recognition. Neither of these simple interpersonal exchanges costs a nickel yet they can be the best investment...

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] The trouble with trucks is not necessarily the trucks. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), about 10 percent of highway deaths involve a large truck but 70 percent of the victims are in a passenger vehicle. When the two collide, there...