Volume 3 Issue 6

June 1, 2013
DONOVAN INSURANCE SOLUTIONS
Prepare or peri sh b y Pa u l Do n o v a n
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Prepare or Perish
1
Essential Health
Benefits

2
Top 5 EAP issues 2
Encouragement
Chronicles
3
More Trivia 3
6 Insurance Stories
making News
4
2013 FL Hurricane 4
Inside this issue:
Yeah, I know I'm ugly... I said to a bartender, 'Make me a zombie.' He said 'God beat me to it.
Rodney Dangerfield
Our family grew up with National Geographic magazine in our home. For
over 100 years, the magazine has been a staple for amazing photographs and
stories helping to bring foreign worlds and wonders to our doorstep. They
have even evolved to having a dedicated channel available on cable and
satellite. While watching this station, I stumbled upon a program called
Doomsday Preppers. Apparently, there are groups of people throughout our nation that firmly
believe the collapse of our culture is immanent. They believe mankind will move from a common
standard of living for most, to a select number of prepared survivalists. Therefore, they are taking
steps to protect themselves against potential types of chaos such as; political disintegration, plague,
economic downturn, and the various natural events created via mother natures wrath.
Now before we all say, Coo Coo, these people do have one thing right. They are planning for events (albeit to the
extreme) that could occur. In the insurance world, we call this behavior, risk management.
Risk Management involves methods to reduce frequency and severity of losses including
exposure avoidance, loss prevention and loss reduction techniques. While the likelihood of a
zombie apocalypse seems remote, most businesses and households should take prudent steps to
limit their losses from tangible threats.
Floridians know that June 1st starts the first day of hurricane season and preparations should be employed now, to avoid
potential loss later. In business, loss prevention involves planning, managing resources, coordinating communication,
business continuity, and employee assistance. The response to emergency situations and incident management can have
an immeasurable impact on a companys survival, reputation and longevity.
The affects of hurricanes are all to real. Several years ago the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active in
history, spawning what insurance people know as, The Three Witches - Rita, Wilma and Katrina. The loss of life and
property is a clear reminder that pro-action is better than reaction. Quite frankly, with advances in weather detection
equipment, hurricanes provide plenty of time to determine the most prudent action. If you have any questions or need
additional help for your home or business please go to http://www.inthpa.com or http://www.fema.gov. Remember,
preparation through education is less costly than learning from tragedy.
country.


P A G E 2
I N S U R A N C E NE WS Y O U C A N US E
Essential health benefits By Brad Smither
With health care reform, fully insured small group and individual health plans on and off the Ex-
change/Marketplace must cover essential health benefits (EHB) beginning January 1, 2014. The
department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that its aim is to balance affordability, com-
prehensiveness, and state flexibility in the development of EHB. To support fulfilling this aim, HHS
instructed each state to select an existing health plan as a "benchmark" to establish the services and
items included in the Essential Health Benefits package for 2014 and 2015.
States chose from one of four benchmark health insurance plan options:
1. the largest plan based on enrollment in any of the three largest small group products in the state
2. any one of the three largest state employee health plans
3. any one of the three largest federal employee health plan options &
4. the largest HMO plan offered in the states commercial market

The default for states that chose not to set a benchmark is the small group plan with the largest enrollment in the state.
For 2016 and beyond, HHS will reassess the proposed benchmark process.

Please note: how each states defines small group. Currently, groups with up to 50 employees are classified as small
group. In 2014, some states may raise the limit to 100. In 2016, the standard for small group will be the national defini-
tion of 1-100 employees.

Essential health benefits under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will include the following general
categories:
- Ambulatory patient services
- Emergency services
- Hospitalization
- Maternity and newborn care
- Mental health and substance abuse disorder services (including behavioral health treatment)
- Prescription drugs
- Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
- Laboratory services
- Pediatric services, including oral and vision care
- Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management

Reform says that plans of all sizes that cover benefits designated as Essential Health Benefits, including self-funded
plans, must cover these benefits with no annual limits or lifetime maximums.
"Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.
G. K. Chesterton
Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream. Malcolm Muggeridge
According to a poll by ComPsych Corp the top 5 Employee Assistance Programs issues include; Work related stress
and anxiety, balancing family responsibilities, financial pressures, weight management and depression. For years
disaster assistance and drug & alcohol ruled most EAP programs. Now they dont even rank in the top 5 concerns.
The importance of EAP programs for employers can help keep employees engaged and productive. This can improve
retention and reduce turnover. If you would like more information, please call us.
Top 5 Employer assistance Program (EAP) Issues
P A G E 3
V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 6
Tri vi a v i a t he mi nd of P aul Donovan
Encouragement Chronicles B y P a u l D o no v a n
Politics: Poli a Latin word meaning many; and tics meaning bloodsucking creatures.
Robin Williams
Having visited Pinehurst Golf course in North Carolina, I noticed they had a display of golf balls that
spanned many years. The transformation revealed how the addition of one significant element, made the
balls fly further. The first golf balls had smooth covers. Legend has it that a young avid golfer experiencing
financial difficulties played with a beat up golf ball. His playing partners noticed their smooth covered balls
did not fly as accurately or as far. Thus the creation of the dimpled covered golf ball. Todays golf balls
have as many as 432 dimples! These rough spots enhance the balls accuracy and distance. So it is with
life. Rough spots have a tendency to sharpen our performance. Keep that in mind the next time you start to
feel sorry for yourself.
1. According to world demographics what country has the lowest birth rate per capita?
2. What is the largest city by population in the world?
3. Can you name the 6 capitals of the following foreign countries? Canada, Finland,
Sweden, Singapore, Jamaica & Australia?
4. What is the lowest point on earth both on land and at sea?
5. Who was the fattest U.S. President and how much did he weigh?
6. This U.S. President served only 1 month before he died in office?
7. Who was the first President to throw out a baseball on opening day?
8. Memorial Day was 1st observed to honor our Civil War dead on May 30th 1868 (later all of our countries patriots),
however, Memorial day was not officially recognized as a Federal holiday until what year? Hint - after 1969
9. Name the athlete associated with their famous nickname: Bergy, Galloping Ghost, Pistol, Splendid Splinter, The
King and Broadway.

10. What word in the English dictionary is almost always pronounced wrong?
11. These four words (Month, Orange, Silver, & Purple) share a similar
characteristic, what is it?
12. Name all the members of the The Monkeys rock band.

13. If April showers bring May flowers then what do May flowers bring?
(see pg. 4 for the answers)
The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.
George Carlin
1. Thieves stole $45 million dollars from numerous ATM machines and dozens of banks in more than 20 countries in
less than 12 hours. This is the largest, fastest cyber liability crime in world history (May 10, 2012).
Thankfully the culprits have been caught (the ring leader passed away 1 month ago).
2. Tornadoes rampage through the Midwest leaving billions of dollars in destruction of property and priceless
lives. The May 16th through May 29th outbreak may go down as the most active tornado month in the
Midwest ever. The loss of lives to children and adults is most painful. Estimates for property loss from the
Moore OK tornado alone are as high as $3.5 billion.
3. In-Utero injuries could become another risk exposure for employers. If a pregnant employee experiences a
workers compensation injury that potentially harmed the fetus, can the baby sue the employer after its born? So far, it
has depended on the jurisdiction of the court (and whether or not workers compensation or liability claims are invoked)
as to whether or nor compensation could be awarded. Be on the lookout for new legislation addressing this issue.
4. FL based Citizens Ins. will transfer up to 60,000 policies to Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Co. The company
has already assumed 54,000 policies under a separate takeout agreement and this will reduce Citizens exposure by an
additional $16 billion. More importantly, the agreement will cut potential assessments on Floridians by $439 million in
the event of a 1-100 year storm.
5. The Bloomberg spying scandal confirms cyber-liability risk is evolving faster than we can manage it. The
rule of thumb is that technology doubles every two years. Be on the lookout for insurance companies and
brokers to start elevating the importance and strategies to combat this growing problem.
6. The battle over rate hikes imposed on the NFIP flood insurance program for policyholders in Louisiana is
intensifying, with the big prize being the Senate seat now held by Mary Landrieu, D-La. Attempted delays of enforce-
ment have the soon departing Senators seat in the crosshairs. Politics have no relationship with insurance right?
Pg. 4
Six Insurance Stories Making News
Trivia Answers from Page 3:
1. The Vatican (yes its a country). 2. Tokyo, Japan, 3. Capitals - Ottowa, Helsinki, Stockholm, Singaporesame as Country, Kingston, & Canberra. .
4. The Dead Sea on the border of Jordan and Israel and the Marianas Trench Pacific Ocean. 5. William Howard Taft 350 lbs+ 6. William Henry
Harrison the 9th President of the United States. In office. March 4, 1841 April 4, 1841. 7. Also William Howard Taft 8. 1971, 9. Patrice Bergeron,
Red Grange, Pete Marovitch, Ted Williams, Arnold Palmer and Joe Namath! 10. The word wrong. 11. No words in the English language rhymes
with these words. 12. Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Michael or Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, Davey Jones and Micky Dolenz. 13. Pilgrims
We can be reached at
10 N. Pinellas Ave
Tarpon Springs, FL 34689
727-935-4858 (Office)
877-226-9304 (Fax)
727-656-5371 (cell)
DonovanInsuranceSolutions.com
E-mail: Donovan.solutions@gmail.
Florida Hurricane prediction 2013
The average for the Atlantic hurricane season from June to November is 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three
major hurricanes. This year NOAAs expects 1320 named storms, 7-11 hurricanes and 3-6 major hurricanes. Their
outlook for the Eastern Pacific and Central Pacific basins is expected to be calmer than usual, with a 70 percent chance
of experiencing 11 to 16 named storms, five to eight hurricanes, and one to four major hurricanes.
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing
had happened. Winston Churchill
We salute our veterans on Memorial Day and thank them for the precious freedom they have secured for
each and every one of us. Without them we would not exist as a free country!
NOAA expects more and stronger
Atlantic born hurricanes this year so
please prepare ahead of time and dont
be lulled into a false sense of security
just because activity has slowed since
2006. Whether youre a business or a
homeowner, planning ahead can save
you money, headaches and possibly
life.