DONOVAN INSURANCE SOLUTIONS

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Volume 5 Issue 3
March 1 2015

t h e wa r o n C o m m o n S e n s e

by Paul Donovan

Inside this issue:

When I was a kid I remember a lot of things that are no longer options
anymore. We would walk home from the bus stop unsupervised, drive

The War on
Common Sense

Top 10 Diet Quotes

Top FL Work Comp

Questions

Encouragement
Chronicles

Interpret the Irish

Trivia

our epic snowball fights or skiing we had fun. In the summer time my friends and I would play

6 Ways to Reduce
Business Ins. losses

sports, fish or goof off in the surrounding woods and train tracks all day until dinner. We werent

Insurance News

with no seatbelts in our 67 Chevy, go to restaurants and fly on airplanes

with the option to request non-smoking sections. Our dog was never
leashed and my friends and I spent all day outside riding our bikes with
no helmets. In the winter we would hop the fence of the Coastguard
station (located on the top of the biggest hill) and bring our sleds to the top and ride down all day
long. We would grab our skates and head to the pond with our hockey sticks and play pick-up
games (no helmets) till we couldnt feel our faces anymore. Whether it was building snow-forts for

concerned about dirt and disease, we knew there would be a shower at the end of the day.
On rainy days we would take the bus to the mall or go to a movie telling our parents,
Heading out to the mall ma, be back later.
Flash forward to today and times have changed since I was a kid growing up in the 70s. It
seems as if nobody is allowed to have good old fashioned fun anymore.

Parents are

hyper-sensitive about their kids getting hurt in any way shape or form for doing anything that
has the slightest risk. Its inconceivable that kids could play sports or walk to the bus stop without adult guidance.
Heaven forbid a pre-teen child is left alone at home while a parent is gone for an hour (= police visit). Dog owners are
being fined and jailed if they dont have insurance or if the appropriate warning signs arent posted. You cant walk 5
feet without an anti-microbial hand pump soap dispenser being forced upon you. Attorneys advertise against the
slightest offenses and insurance coverage is available for almost everything. Neighborhoods and governments are
forbidding all types of activities under the fear of and expense of litigation. Couple all of this with Orwellian cameras
in every hand making privacy and the slightest perceived infringements becoming public knowledge posted to the web
instantly. I am clearly not against reasonable safety precautions or technology, I just want a little common sense. Life
used to be much less complicated and there were less rules and more freedom. Young people today are ..oh MAN, I
just realized I sound like my parents.

"The Budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of
officials should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome will
become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of living on public assistance." Cicero 55 BC

PAGE 2

INSURANCE NEWS YOU CAN USE

Top 10 Diet Quotes

1) My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are
three other people. Orson Welles
2) I don't stop eating when I'm full. The meal isn't over when I'm full. It's over
when I hate myself. Louis C. K.
3) I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is two weeks.Totie Fields
4) What's the two things they tell you are healthiest to eat? Chicken and fish.
You know what you should do? Combine them, eat a penguin. Dave Attell
5) I told my doctor I get very tired when I go on a diet, so he gave me pep pills. Know what happened? I ate faster.
Joe E. Lewis
6) The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day you're off it. Jackie Gleason
7) I feel the same about airplanes the way I fell about diets. It seems to me that they are wonderful things for other
people to go on. Jean Kerr
8) The dieting wars have got to stop. Lady Gaga
9) Why is it that people who shop in health food stores never look healthy. Amy Sedaris
10) You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six. Yogi Berra

"Irish Toast - May you die in bed at 110 years, shot by a jealous spouse.
FL Workers Compensation 7 Questions and answers
1. How long after an accident does an employee have to report it to the employer? Answer: As soon as
possible but no later than 30 days or your claim may be denied.
2. How much is an employee paid? Answer: Typically, benefits are paid bi-weekly at 66 2/3rds % of
your average weekly wage. The average is calculated from the previous 13 weeks earned prior to the injury. Income
taxes are not paid on this money unless you return to light or limited duty under care of an authorized doctor.
3. How long does an employer have to report an accident to the insurance company? Answer: As soon as possible but no
later than 7 days. The Ins. Co. then has 3 days to send a brochure explaining rights and responsibilities.
4. Does the employee have to pay any of their medical bills? Answer: No, all authorized bills should be sent to the
insurance company for payment.
5. How is an employee paid if they lose time from work? Answer: FL law states that an employee is not paid for the first
seven days of disability. However, if the disability extends over 21 days, you may be paid for the first seven.
6. Can an employee receive both social security and workers compensation checks? Answer: Yes, however, an offset or
reduction in work comp benefits may be applied because the total combined can not exceed more than
80% of your average weekly wage earned prior to the injury.
7. If a claim is settled with the insurance company and the condition gets worse later, who pays for future
medical care? Answer: Once settled the employee is responsible for all future issues.

"All unemployment compensation should be tied to a job training requirement. The fact is, 99 weeks is an
associate degree. Newt Gingrich

VOLUME 5 ISSUE 3

PAGE 3

En courag em en t Chroni cl es

By Paul Donovan

A professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. He picked up a very large and empty
mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls . He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the
jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if
the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. All the students
responded 'yes.' The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents
into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.. 'Now,' said the
professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls
are the important things, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions and
if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other
things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else the small stuff. 'If you
put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes
for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that
are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your
children. Spend time with your family, take time to get medical checkups, take your spouse out to dinner,
play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf
balls first, the things that really matter, the rest is just sand. One of the students raised her hand and inquired
what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, The Beer just shows you that no matter how full
your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

Everything will be alright in the end. If its not alright then its not the end. Irish wisdom

Interpret the Irish

by Paul Donovan (just the messenger)

1. It was too cold to be in the nip

a. A bed or nice place to sleep

2. Like a cow looking over a white-

b. Extremely generous

washed wall

c. Vacant expression, clueless, not too bright

3. Theres great craig (pronounced crack) to be found in that

pub on the corner
4. And that my bogtrotter friend, is called electricity
5. The jammy Donovan is married to her
6. His car is banjaxed like youve never seen
7. The bartender was feeling flahulagh after he got the big tip.
8. I was so langered I woke up in a different township.
9. If youre not out of the scratcher in 5 youre in trouble.
10. Janey Mack, that politician told the truth!
11. Wait till you see the spondulicks our insurance company is
charging.

Answers on next page.

Please feel free to verify
the answers

d. Money
e. Fun or great time
f.

A person from the country or rural areas

g. Utter disbelief or WOW.

h. Drunk or extremely inebriated
i.

Broken or severely damaged

j.

Exceedingly lucky

k. Nude or naked

Pg. 4

6 Ways to reduce your business liability Risk

About a year and a half ago my friend was leaving a seminar after work and tripped in the
parking lot of a business over a speedbump hitch that caught her high heel. The lots parking
lights were blocked by overgrowth of trees and the speedbump had been blackened by repeated
tire use. She suffered severe facial and knee trauma and is still in recovery today. The question
arose, when a slip or fall occurs on the premises of a business, is the business owner liable for
injuries sustained? The answer depends upon several considerations. Was the business negligent and if so by what
percentage? The negligence of the business to offer a safe environment, plays a large part in the percentage of liability. Here are six ways to reduce your businesses exposure to negligence.

Ask your insurance agent and ask for loss control services to inspect your premises. This is a free service.

Prepare a regularly scheduled sweep service of your premises and record/document potential hazards.

Use appropriate signage during inclement weather concerning potential risks of slip and falls.

Check displays and stack merchandise at appropriate levels, and post notice for customers to ask for assistance.

Check floor conditions for cracks, un-level surfaces and chips that could be potential trip zones where footwear
could get caught.

If theres an accident and a customer is injured, make an accurate report of the matter. For example, in a slip and
fall not only is what may have been on the floor important, but notice what kind of footwear the customer was
wearing. Were they flats, heels, tennis shoes or a slippery type of sandal? Take pictures.

All accidents cannot be prevented, but the effort to maintain safe conditions will show that reasonable care was
exercised.

P.S. The next day when my friends co-worker returned to the hotel to retrieve her vehicle (left there

so that she could drive her home after the incident) the hotel was trimming the trees below the light, installing new
path lights repainting and repairing the speedbump.

Everybody has a problem, is a problem or has to live with a problem. Sam Shoemaker
Insurance News Making Headlines
1. A deadly bacteria strain that is resistant to antibiotics may be responsible for
infecting up to 100 patients from a UCLA hospital
2. This is a picture of the backyard sliding glass doors from my sisters house in
Massachusetts. Yes, thats SNOW and its hammering the northeast.
3.

FBI close to discovering the hackers that breached Anthem health insurance
company that exposed personal data of up to 80 million customers

4. Good News. Insurance company losses were at their lowest level since 2009 with only $33 billion. Compared to
2011 which totaled $126 billion.
5. Kidnap & Ransom rates proposed increases for Christians due to increased threat of being kidnapped in 3rd world
nations.
6. U.S. Medicaid enrollment up 18.6% since 2013. Medicaid & CHIP covers nearly $70 million people now (1 in 5).
Under Obamacare the government picks up 100% of the tab for additional Medicaid enrollees.
Medicaid is the largest share for state budgets and continues to grow. As populations age, Medicaid
also picks up the tab for patients who are in nursing homes.
7. If you own a second home in Florida, you're going to be paying more for flood insurance than
people who reside there full-time. Non-residents will see a $250 surcharge and potential increases of
up to 18%. Full time residents will only see a $25 cap surcharge.
Answers to page 3 Trivia: 1. K, 2. C, 3. E, 4. F, 5. J, 6. I, 7. B, 8. H, 9. A, 10. G, 11. D