|
 |
Examining Insurance Policies: Post-Sept. 11 Brought to you by The CPA Report September 2002 (Originally published Jan. 2002) Further complicating the post-Sept. 11 recovery is the fact that insurance policies are frequently nearly incomprehensible, even for experienced business or financial persons. Expert commentator Lee Slavutin of Stern Slavutin-2 Inc. earns his living from deciphering incomprehensible insurance language and terms for accountants and their clients. Joining The CPA Report, Slavutin explains how to revisit insurance policies and addresses the role of the CPA in insurance. Slavutin emphasizes in Estate & Financial Planning: Post-September 11th Insurance Issues that revising and examining insurance policies is extremely important.
Says Slavutin, "Just as the IRS would come in and do an audit of your tax return, you should be doing a voluntary audit on your life insurance, your property insurance, your disability insurance, and making sure all those things are properly done."
"I think the really important step is becoming aware of what you have," he adds. "Changing it is so easy. But the real problem is not changing it; the real problem is being aware that you need to change it." Slavutin outlines a handful of things to examine in insurance policies, including personal liability, property coverage, business interruption, beneficiary designations,and umbrella insurance (Slavutin says many are "grossly underinsured" for umbrella insurance).
One question Slavutin addresses that many businesses close to disaster zones such as the World Trade Center may be asking: do insurance policies exclude acts of war or terrorism?
Generally speaking, says Slavutin, life insurance policies do not. In contrast, the property and business insurance and liability insurance policies often do have some kinds of exclusions.
Of course, policies vary so it is important to read the fine print of each policy with a trusted adviser. In fact, Slavutin believes an important adviser for anyone examining -- or simply setting up -- an insurance policy is the CPA.
"In my experience, maybe 70 to 80 percent of the business from our clients is where the CPA is probably the primary financial advisor," says Slavutin. "He or she doesn’t have to earn a commission to advise a client, they can still earn their usual fees. However, they do have to provide the advice [without necessarily recommending a particular product]."
Concludes Slavutin: "The insurance broker brings knowledge and expertise; the CPA brings his or her relationship, and the two of them can combine and provide a wonderful team. The CPA doesn’t have to know the ins and outs of the insurance, but he’s initiating the process. He’s performing the service, which is so important."
The entire interview with Stern Slavutin is available through the The CPA Report segment, Estate & Financial Planning: Post-September 11th Insurance Issues. Other topics addressed in the segment include the impact September 11 has had on the insurance industry and how to choose an insurance company. Access the multi-media presentation and transcript free of charge, or earn NASBA-approved CPE credit for the one-hour segment.
For more information on The CPA Report, click here.
2002 SmartPros. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
