Its in the news, cyber attacks, What information do you retain in your computer about your wine club members? Credit Cards, home address, birthdays; all the items can be used to attack someones identity and they might get them from you. What is your exposure if you are hacked? What kind of protection do you have? Are you on your own? The answer to most of these questions is really scary. Most companies do not provide cyber protection. The good news is there is a product out there that addresses these problems head on. You can buy protection from cyber attack and not have to worry as much about the effects of being hacked. Cyber liability comes in several forms and can protect you from Website publishing liability and security breach liability. They can also provide protection for the following: Business income for web site, business computer coverage, extortion threats, interruption of computer operations, security breach expense and public relations expense. Premiums vary from company to company s ...

Yes, Here it is again. Our motto " Insurance stinks until you need it" Here is another story about insurance premiums and why we hate them until something happens. This story is about an insured with a renters policy. He hated paying the premium for his contents coverage. Everytime we talked it was let's lower the amount I certainly don't need that much. Go ahead and lower it by half I will still be OK. Being a bit stubborn I talked with him each time and told him I did not want to have something happen and have him come up short on a claim check than I figured he already was. Well one afternnon on the way home from work I saw smoke in the air. It was coming from an area where I had several clients so I drove out to see if I could help. The house my client was living in was totally engulfed in flames. Nothing was going to be saved, A total loss. The claims process went quickly and he did his inventory. When it was aded up he was underinsured by a small amount but he ended up getting the entire policy limit. H ...

New and improved wine grape cluster freeze program. Rural Community Insurance Services has changed its grape cluster freeze program. This program is an add on for those carrying multi-peril crop insurnace. The program has been changed to add freeze coverage that attahces now at inflorescence and ends at verasion. Prior there was a five leaf requirement. This gives the grower an added level of protection. The maximum coverage for this program is $800 per acres and the rates are 2% for acerage with frost protection consisting of flood or drip irrigation;wind machines;helicopters or heaters. For vineyards that have dry bare ground, disced ground, a cover crop or significant weeds between rows the rate is 3%. The last day to buy this insurance is January, 31, 2102 for the 2012 crop year and premims for this program are payable at the time of application. This is another layer of coverage for vineyard owners to protect against the temperature uncertainty. Freeze being a serious problem with grapes, this can off se ...

Rental Re-imbursement is an option for auto insurance that gets little mention and often is not explained to the client. For a small premium, you can get anywhere from $15 per day up to $90 per day for a replacement car, if you are in an accident.The coverage is usually only for 30 days. This is a re-imbursement coverage. You have to present the bills to the adjuster to get paid. It is regardless of fault, you cause the collision and your company pays for your rental. This can also apply if there is a question of liability and the other carrier does not offer any rental coverage for you. You can use your coverage until they get it resolved. Body shops are very good in this area but a major repair can still take most of the 30 days and cost you out of pocket without this endorsement. Many of my clients drive pickups and try renting one of those for a resonable price.Rental treimbursement can be a big help for the person needing a truck to survive. When should you not get this coverage. Some households have thr ...

Let's go huinting, Lets take the ranch ATV's and go up in the back country. Sounds like fun and happens all the time, but did you know that the farm policy no longer provides coverage for liability when the ATV leaves the property. Yes it is covered on the ranch after all it is a piece of ranch equipment. What do I do about it you may wonder. ATV's can be endorsed for recreational vehicle usage. The endorsement gives you that liability coverage off the ranch. Now that hunting trip is only a problem if you can't find any game. For those of you where the ATV never leaves the property this is not an issue. Check your policy to see how your ATV is covered. Also there are still a few three wheel ATV's out there. Did you know they are specifically excluded on most ranch policies. So if you have an old three wheeler, it would be a good time to retire it permanently and avoid an uninsured loss. Lastly, if you have employees using them, have that safety talk every once and awhile. You would be surprised at the number ...

I always enjoy a good concert especially at an interesting venue. The symphony of the Vines is performing at the San Migul Mission on January 14th at 8PM. Wish I could do a review for you, but I can tell you the concerts I have heard them play a very well done and play to the venue quite well. The concert on Saturday is going to include Vivaldi, Mozart and Handel. Those composers in the mission hall should be glorious. Hope tp see you there. Ted Hamm Insurance supports the arts. Let us know about your event at 805-238-1818

Do you want a higher price for your grapes from the crop insurance program? Then take advantage of the contract price endorsement. The contract price endorsment allows you as a grower to increase the government set price by 100%. The requirements are very simple; First the contract has to be in writing and signed before April 30th, second the contract election must be made before sales closing January 31 and finally a copy of the contract must be in the crop insurance agents office by April 30. We have seen crops with multiple contracts. These crops get a blended average of the contract prices assuming they are not all the same. We end up doing some math but we can tell you what that number will be. A simple example: Cab Franc has a price of $1000 per ton in crush district 8. If you have a contract for $2250, you can increase the insurance price to $2000 or 100% of the district 8 price. Of course had the contract price been $1500 you could only increase the price to the $1500. It may not seem like a big deal ...

Our adopted motto here at Ted Hamm Insurance is "Insurance Stinks Until you Need It" No statement is more true. I hate to pay my insurance bills as much as anyone, but here is my story. I went to a music rehearsal on a Tuesday evening and noticed my left leg was getting weak. Stubborn as I am, I went home thinking I had pulled something earlier. The next morning the leg was not working and the right leg was getting the same feeling. Off to the emergency room where the doctor was as confused as I was. Good doctor that he was he called in a specialist who on the spot told me I had Guillian Barre. Not a fun thought but lets get it treated and get out of here. Well over three days and several plasmapharisis treatments later, I was a lucky guy and ready to go home. No after effects fortunately, except for the bill. I paid the deductible and the co-payments and the insurance took care of the rest. Now for the interesting part, I tallied up all the health insurance premiums I had paid up to that point and realized t ...

Ask any one what is the most important feature of their auto insurance and most of the time the answer revolves around the car. I want my car fixed if its in an accident, What happpens if it gets stolen? or maybe I need it to get my registration. Although these might be valuable they are not nearly the most important. First and for most California Drivers should be looking at their liability coverage. You can recover from the loss of your car but what if you cause a serious accident, then what. With medical costs as hiogh as they are, can you recover from injuries for which you are responsible that exceed $100,000? This needs to be considered when you get a quote that promises saving money on your auto insurance. We have seen accidents where the medical bills for the other party have been as high as $400,000 and more. These have been serious accidents and the emphasis is on accident. With liability limits of $100,000 per person and $300,000 for the accident, that can leave your personal assets at risk. As a y ...

We here at Ted Hamm Insurance recognize the holidays bring several interesting and different challenges. Time to put up the decorations and that invlves using a ladder most times. First rule of ladder safety is to inspect your ladder. If the braces are damaged or broken don't use the ladder. Replace it right away. The rungs should be tight and have no cracks in them. Yes that means I go all the way back to wooden ladders. Once the inspection is complete, the second rule of safety is to make sure the ladder is set squrely on the ground or floor so that it will be balanced when you get on it. A step ladder shuld have all four brace points level and secure so the ladder doesn't wobble and fall over. As well as having the ladder square on the ground you should also be in the center of balance for the ladder. Don't reach out from the ladder to the point of being off balance. The fall doesn't hurt but the stoppong does. Finnally pay attention to what you are doing. My last ladder accident was because I forgot to ch ...