[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] Comedian George Carlin created a wonderful routine of kids trying to stump their priest. “Hey Father, can God make a rock so big that not even he can lift it? Gotcha there, Father.” That paradox always comes to mind when listening to experts...
[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] Being in the business of insurance, we bristle at any act of fraud. We all pay for it. On some occasions, though, the perpetrator is so dumb that their apprehension is good for a laugh. Most often, however, those who cold-heartedly perpetrate insurance...
[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] Come August, it will be 80 years since the passage of the Social Security Act. Proposed and passed under the Administration of Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, this income safety net has served hundreds of millions of Americans. By the end of the year,...
[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] Though the calendar says spring is less than a month away (March 20th), New Englanders may start wishing for a late arrival to allow snow and ice to gradually melt. Why? Though the weight of snow and ice already may have caused havoc...
[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] Feeling cold? A recent presentation at the USM Corporate Partners breakfast showcased the views of three major players in Maine’s heating industry. They addressed the price and market dynamics of heating oil, natural gas and alternative fuels. With the state’s residents experiencing a...
[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 a matter of public policy, our state and federal governments have recognized that it doesn’t do anyone any good to have nursing home or in-home expenses wipe out savings intended for retirement. For example, if a husband’s stroke required extended nursing home...
[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 Affordable Care Act provision to heavily tax “Cadillac” health insurance plans is scheduled to be implemented in 2018. Employer-sponsored health plans that exceed a federally-determined cost will be taxed 40 percent of the amount above the threshold. The question will be: Who...
[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] Though the amazing little aspirin has long been touted as a good preventive measure against heart disease, new information suggests it may have a measurable impact on reducing the risk of certain cancers. With approximately 40 thousand tons of aspirin consumed annually around...
[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] “Give me a one–handed economist,” demanded a Harry Truman. “All my economists say, ‘on the one hand…on the other.’” The poor president wanted clarity instead of ambiguity as he assumed a post-war economy. Today, with volatile energy prices, unfavorable demographics and income disparity,...
[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 price of liability claims shows up in the cost of the products and services we buy as well as directly through insurance premiums. It doesn’t mean that premiums collected today will be paid out anytime soon. On the contrary, liability insurance is...
