The Underwriter's Insider March 2017

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IN THIS ISSUE March 2017 Vol 13 Issue 3

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AMAZON ECHO VS. GOOGLE HOME IN A VIRTUAL STANDOFF For decades, we have seen science fiction movies in which people talk to computers. Dave spoke to HAL. Michael Knight was assisted by KITT. Captain Picard directed “Computer.”

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7 GOTTA GET SUMMER GADGETS! I just love summer. Aside from the longer days, jaunts to tropical locales, weekend barbeques and balmy nights out on the town, it’s a season during which my thirst for innovative and utilitarian gadgetry is thoroughly quenched.

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TO FIND ACTUAL CASH VALUE LABOR AS WELL AS COMPONENTS MUST BE DEPRECIATED No component of a property exists without the labor to make it. If depreciation is used to determine actual cash value the materials and labor used to make the home and its component parts must be depreciated.

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STATE FARM MUTUAL CLOBBERED WITH AUTOMOBILE LOSSES IN 2016 Bloomington, IL - State Farm Mutual Insurance, the largest auto insuror in the country, lost $7 billion.

LLOYD’S OF LONDON APPOINTS BRUCE CARNEGIE-BROWN AS CHAIRMAN In February, Lloyd’s of London announced it was appointing Bruce CarnegieBrown as chairman of the mega-insurance marketplace.

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FLORIDA DIVISION OF WORKERS’ COMP LAUNCHES ONLINE EMPLOYER COVERAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

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“Ensuring that Florida businesses have proper workers’ compensation coverage is crucial to the success of the entire workers’ compensation system,”

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Whenever Democrats don’t agree with a policy employed to fight terrorism, the first words out of their collective mouths are often, “It’s an ISIS recruiting tool!”

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MORE BAD NEWS FOR WELLS FARGO CLIENTS Now the scope of the investigation has opened to a cover the period from 2009 to September of 2016

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FT. LAUDERDALE AGENCY EMPLOYEE ACCUSED OF STEALING $1,000,000+ Summerlott allegedly created and submitted dozens of fake electronic invoices. Summerlott would then prepare company checks tied to Fairway’s company account to pay these fabricated invoices.

BUT IT’S AN ISIS RECRUITING TOOL!

CALIFORNIA BUSTS MAJOR STAGED COLLISION INSURANCE FRAUD RING California announced a major auto insurance fraud ring takedown today, which was operating in San Diego County.

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$15 MINIMUM WAGE? CHECK OUT THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES... Wendy’s has just announced it will be installing kiosk in thousands of locations in “at least 40 cities and states around the country.”

NEW! DOWNLOAD & VIEW PDF: HERE!


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FLORIDA CFO JEFF ATWATER TO STEP DOWN EARLY TO TAKE POST AT FAU

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Jeff Atwater announced he would be stepping down as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer to take a position at FAU.

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ODD FAKE CHECK SCAM INVOLVED FLORIDA DFS

Commissioner of Insurance D a v i d Mattax has been elected secretary treasurer of the National Association of Insurance C o m m i s s ioners

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Consumers who receive an unexpected check from the Department of Financial Services that seems suspicious should not cash it.

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WHITE PRIVILEGE FEEL THE GUILT... White Privilege: Just another form of racism being pushed by the Far Left and guilty Whites Liberals.

UNBELIEVABLE VINTAGE ADS This month we highlight the first commercial computer: The UNIVAC

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THE ADVISOR: OFFICE NON-FRATERNIZATION POLICY MAKES SENSE? The Advisor weighs in on the collision of romance and office policy.

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ITS ISIS, DAMMIT, NOT ISIL!

TEXAS INSURANCE COMMISSIONER ELECTED NAIC SECRETARY-TREASURER

AMTRUST FINANCIAL SERVICES, COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF AMERIHEALTH CASUALTY INSURANCE AmTrust builds presence in workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

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WAS YOUR TV SPYING ON YOU? VIZIO FINED $2.2 MILLION FOR COLLECTING VIEWING HISTORIES WITHOUT USER CONSENT VIZIO, Inc. and an affiliated company have manufactured VIZIO smart TVs that capture secondby-second information about video displayed on the smart TV.

FEATURES 5 6

Kim Komando Barry Zalma

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Advertising

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Inside Track

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Insider Advisor

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Classifieds

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Say What?

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Back Issues

FREE CLASSIFIEDS! HELP WANTED — POSITION WANTED 4 — SALE ITEMS

CLICK HERE!

Official U.S. policy changes on the semantics of terrorist organization.

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FIVE COOLEST MUST-HAVE CAR ASSESSORIES Great YouTube video addresses the latest technologies and gadgets.

Cover Photo Credit: Ron Manera, Senior Editor


MARCH 2017 INSURANCE • POLITICS • TECHNOLOGY • PEOPLE

A Publication of AdMax Corp., Inc. Corporate Offices P.O. Box 31551 Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33420 Ron Manera, Publisher/Senior Editor Join Me On Linkedin: HERE Follow Me On Instagram: @rmanera 561.718.0745 • ron@insurmedia.com

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March 2017


TECHNOLOGY

AMAZON ECHO VS. GOOGLE HOME IN A VIRTUAL STANDOFF

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Really Cool Info - by Kim Komando

or decades, we have seen science fiction movies in which people talk to computers. Dave spoke to HAL. Michael Knight was assisted by KITT. Captain Picard directed “Computer.” The computers were smart, personable, and (usually) did what they were told.

Here are some highs and lows about both devices. For more details about the two devices, click here for my handy side-byside feature comparison chart.

When Amazon’s Echo hit the market two years ago, this dream came true – sort of. The Echo was an affordable, futuristic device that responded to voice commands. You could talk directly to “Alexa,” ask her questions, and get immediate responses. The Echo is clearly not full-on artificial intelligence. But this little black cylinder has wowed customers. Now there’s Google Home, a similar device that rivals the Echo in every way. As these hightech machines vie for dominance, the natural question is: Which one is better? I’ve tried both Amazon Echo and Google Home, and I can tell you that there are benefits and drawbacks to each. www.underwritersinsider.com

but they would probably look best on a Swedish shelving unit. The Amazon Echo is 9.2 inches tall, and it looks like a small black tower with a blue circle that lights up on top. The device has seven microphones, so it easily picks up sound from any direction. It nicely complements the Echo Dot, a separate device that looks like a hockey puck. The Dot is designed to help you deliver voice commands in other locations in your house. The Google Home is 5.6 inches tall and shaped like a small vase. Its main body is white, but the base’s color can be swapped.

Form factor

Google Home looks kind of like an air freshener, and Amazon Echo looks kind of like a Pringles container designed for Darth Vader. But both are very slick devices that should look right at home in any domicile.

Both devices were designed to look sleek and sophisticated, like small modernist sculptures. Their Voice Commands simplicity makes them seem appropriate just about anywhere, See Kim Komando Pg 44 Table of Contents

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INSURANCE & THE LAW

TO FIND ACTUAL CASH VALUE LABOR AS WELL AS COMPONENTS MUST BE DEPRECIATED Expert Analysis & Commentary by Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE the Nebraska Supreme Court was asked to determine whether, when calculating ACV, the insurer can depreciate the labor part of its determination because he definition of the term the plaintiff argued labor can’t “Actual Cash Value” (ACV) depreciate. has been difficult for insurers over the last few decades. Join Barry Zalma’s new Blog: States and insurers define it http://www.zalma.com/blog differently. Some insurers, attempting to avoid the diverse state decisions define ACV in the policy wording. INTRODUCTION

No Component of a Property Exists Without the Labor to Make It

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The U.S. District Court for CAN LABOR BE DEPRECIATED the District of Nebraska has certified the following question TO REACH ACV? to this court: “May an insurer, In Rosemary Henn, Individually in determining the ‘actual And On Behalf Of Others Similarly cash value’ of a covered loss, Situated v. American Family depreciate the cost of labor when Mutual Insurance Company, the terms ‘actual cash value’ and Supreme Court of Nebraska, 295 ‘depreciation’ are not defined in Neb. 859, No. S-16-597 (2/17/17)

the policy and the policy does not explicitly state that labor costs will be depreciated?” The question arises from a putative class action filed in the U.S. District Court involving a dispute over the interpretation of a homeowner’s insurance policy. Rosemary Henn asserts claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, violations of Nebraska’s Consumer Protection Act, fraudulent concealment, and equitable estoppel. Henn argues American Family Mutual Insurance Company (American Family) wrongfully failed to compensate her and others similarly situated by depreciating labor costs in calculation of ACV for loss or damage to a structure or dwelling under its homeowner’s insurance policies.

Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, practiced law in California for more than 43 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer. He now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant and expert witness specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He also serves as an arbitrator or mediator for insurance related disputes. He founded Zalma Insurance Consultants in 2001 and serves as its only consultant. 6

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The parties, contrary to the jurisprudence in Nebraska, agreed that actual cash value is replacement cost minus depreciation, but disagree as to whether the labor component can be depreciated. BACKGROUND In September 2011, Henn submitted a homeowner’s claim under her insurance policy issued by American Family. The claim was submitted due to damage that occurred to her home’s roof vent caps, gutters, siding, fascia, screens, deck, and air-conditioning unit during a hailstorm.

or depreciation, or describe the that the issues could be resolved methods employed to calculate as a matter of law. The U.S. District ACV. Court certified the question to the Nebraska Supreme Court. American Family provided Henn with a written estimate that ACV ANALYSIS was “based on the cost to repair Both parties agree that or replace the damaged item with depreciation is an element of an item of like kind and quality, actual cash value. But Henn less depreciation.” The estimate argues that the language in the further stated that “replacement policy does not unambiguously cost” was the “cost to repair the allow for labor depreciation damaged item with an item of and that American Family’s like kind and quality, without depreciation of labor resulted in deduction for depreciation.” underindemnification of her loss.

No component of a property exists without the labor to make it. If depreciation is used to determine actual cash value the materials and labor used to make the home and its component parts must be depreciated.”

The policy provides that “[i]f at the time of loss, … the building is not repaired or replaced, [American Family] will pay the actual cash value at the time of loss of the damaged portion of the building up to the limit applying to the building.” The insured has two options for recovery following a covered loss: (1) receive “the actual cash value at the time of loss of the damaged portion of the building up to the limit applying to the building” or (2) receive the full replacement cost value upon completion of the repair or replacement of the damaged property. Under both options, the insured will first receive an ACV payment. The policy does not define ACV www.underwritersinsider.com

A court interpreting an insurance policy must first determine, as a matter of law, whether the contract is ambiguous. In an appellate review of an insurance policy, the court construes the policy as any other contract to give effect to the parties’ intentions at the From the replacement cost time the writing was made. of $3,252.60 American Family subtracted $276.67 in Where the terms of a contract depreciation, to arrive at an actual are clear, they are to be accorded cash value amount of $2,975.93. their plain and ordinary meaning. American Family then subtracted But when an insurance contract Henn’s $1,000 deductible, is ambiguous, we will construe leaving her with an actual cash the policy in favor of the insured. value payment of $1,975.93. The A contract is ambiguous when a depreciated amount includes word, phrase, or provision in the both material costs and labor contract has, or is susceptible costs. of, at least two reasonable but conflicting meanings. While After Henn filed suit American an ambiguous insurance policy Family filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that See ZALMA Pg 43 the policy was unambiguous and Table of Contents

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NEWS

7 GOTTA GET SUMMER GADGETS (IT’LL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT...)

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just love summer. Aside from the longer days, jaunts to tropical locales, weekend barbeques and balmy nights out on the town, it’s a season during which my thirst for innovative and utilitarian gadgetry is thoroughly quenched. Indeed, there’s a myriad of totally awesome tech that are particularly well-suited for the summer lifestyle. Here are a few relating to lawn care, skincare, entertainment and edibles that I’ve found to be particularly pleasing.

Photo Credit: Rachio

Rachio Smartphone Sprinkler Controller (www.Rachio.com) $249.99 Take control of your watering this summer with Rachio, the Smart Sprinkler Controller that gives you control of your sprinklers and watering bill right from your smartphone! The Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller changes the way people water since it makes running sprinklers easy and convenient while also saving on water usage and money. Rachio automatically creates a customized watering schedule using local forecasts, soil and plant types, sun exposure, and more while keeping water conservation and landscaping health in mind. It’ll help keep your yard lush and green all summer long. Go ahead, make your neighbors green with envy with Rachio.

VocoPro KaraokeDual System Photo Credit: VocoPro

for SmartTVs and Tablets (www.VocoPro.com) - $229 Here’s a way Karaoke singers can sound their best at home using their mobile tablets and SmartTVs. VocoPro’s KaraokeDual system is a powerful digital “boom box” with high-quality effects to provide the best possible sound. Users can connect to the system through Bluetooth and stream karaoke audio tracks wirelessly.

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bout the author: Branding, business and entrepreneurship success pundit, Merilee Kern, MBA, is an influential media voice and lauded communications strategist. As the Executive Editor and Producer of “The Luxe List International News Syndicate,” she’s a revered brand and consumer product trends voice of authority who spotlights noteworthy marketplace change makers, movers and shakers. Merilee may be reached online at www.TheLuxeList.com. Follow her on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/LuxeListEditor and Facebook here: www.Facebook.com/TheLuxeList

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NEWS Or, connect the KaraokeDual to an Internet-connected Smart TV using the available digital optical input and access thousands of tracks through YouTube, or popular karaoke apps like “Karaoke Channel” or “Red Karaoke.” Even sing duets with the system’s two wireless vocal microphones bundled in the package. Each mic has the controls built right into the handset for maximum convenience. For more than two decades, the VocoPro name has been synonymous with professional karaoke systems, and still holds the number one spot for high-end professional karaoke products. The company prides itself on providing industryleading customer service. Now that’s music to my ears.

the background. Now that’s super easy with the fashionable iBasics Tote Bag with Built-in Speaker, which allows you to make your own background music while carrying your favorite outing essentials, including wet towels and bathing suits since the bag is waterproof. In addition to the detachable battery-powered speaker that plugs right into your audio source, the cute clear blue-tinted tote bag also features a large main zippered compartment and a small zippered side compartment for your smartphone and other small electronics.

convenient, compact design to permanently remove hair from head to toe with ease. Simply target the treatment area and let the Flash&Go Express do the rest with gentle pulses of light that disable hair growth at the root. In only two-to-four sessions, the company reports that most users experience visually diminished hair that is comparable to results produced by professionally administered procedures. The best part is you never have to deal with ingrown hairs, razor burn or refill cartridges again! Go ahead, be stubble free forever and make shaving a thing of the past with the Silk’n Flash&Go Express.

Photo Credit: Silkn

Photo Credit: Silkn

Silk'n FaceFX Anti-Aging Device (www.Silkn.com) - $149.00

Silk'n Flash&Go Express Hair Removal Device (www.Silkn. com) - $299

Photo Credit: Overstock.Com

iBasics Tote Bag with Built-in Speaker (www.Overstock.com) - $50.00 Speaking of music, nothing beats a perfect picnic or beach outing like your favorite tunes playing in www.underwritersinsider.com

During those sunny summer months, anti-aging skincare should remain top of mind lest Of course, in preparation for a day those UV rays get the best of at the beach or pool requires some you. Luckily I found the Silk'n at-home anti-aging grooming, including dealing FaceFX with unwanted body hair. Now device that uses a synergistic you can kick old-school razors combination of red light therapy to the curb and say goodbye and deep thermal heating to to unwanted hair forever with stimulate collagen production, help from the Silk'n Flash&Go diminish the appearance of fine Express. The FDA-cleared device lines and wrinkles, and provide uses patented Home Pulsed See 7 Gadgets for Summer Pg 14 Light (HPL) technology and a Table of Contents

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NEWS

Eligible Manufactured / Mobile Homes Include: Replacement Cost coverage on contents is included in price. Also, we can write ANY AGE home and there is NO 4-Point inspection required. • • • • • •

Limits between $6,000 - $75,000. Max TIV of section A,B,C and D total $120,000 Must be tied down to HUD regulations. Owner occupied or tenant occupied and must be used exclusively for residential purposes Applicant must be gainfully employed or retired. Wind eligible if located greater than 5 miles from salt water. (Does not apply to Tampa Bay) All Florida counties eligible for wind except for Dade, Monroe, Broward, Palm Beacch & Panhandle Counties

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Image Credit: Creative Commons

Policy Options: Policy Form Flexibility: HO-3, HO-8, DP-1 and DP-3 Forms Wind Deductibles available from 2%, 3% or 5%

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NEWS

STATE FARM MUTUAL CLOBBERED WITH AUTOMOBILE LOSSES IN 2016

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loomington, IL - State Farm Mutual Insurance, the largest auto insuror in the country, lost $7 billion in combined loss and expense ratio nation wide in 2016. The ratio was 118%.

on auto lines for a number of reasons - although smart phone use and distracted driving are at the top of the list.

million profit for the year, thanks to other profitable lines written and it’s net worth jumped to Allstate, Geico and $87.6 billion The loss figure was the worst in Travelers Insurance from $82.7 State Farm HQ in State Farm’s 95 year history on have all announced billion on the Bloomington, IL comes on the tail of a $4.4 billion rate hikes - as State values of its auto underwriting loss in 2015. Farm did in Illinois last year. insurance operation as well as holdings in several other major Auto insurance carriers have In spite of record auto losses, companies including Walt Disney, shown deteriorating results State Farm did eke out a little $400 Johnson & Johnson and IBM.

LLOYD’S OF LONDON APPOINTS BRUCE CARNEGIE-BROWN AS CHAIRMAN

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ne of the most prestigious jobs in the insurance universe is undoubtably the chairman of Lloyd’s of London, a position held by John Nelson since 2011. Nelson is due to retire in May 2017.

where he had established himself as one of the key players in European debt markets. The appointment is crucial for Lloyd’s as they move ahead to form a new European subsidiary in the wake of Brexit.

In February, Lloyd’s of London announced it was appointing Bruce Carnegie-Brown as chairman of the mega-insurance marketplace.

Commenting on his appointment, Carnegie-Brown said, “I’m delighted to be joining Lloyd’s of London and to have the chance to work with a very talented group of market Carnegie-Brown had spent 20 professionals who all share a years at financial firm JP Morgan passion for enhancing London’s www.underwritersinsider.com

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position as the preeminent global centre for structuring and placing complex insurance risk” Lloyd’s CEO, Inga Beale, DBE, said, “I am looking forward to working with Bruce. His wide ranging experience across insurance, banking... will offer Lloyd’s a unique perspective on how we conduct our business and succeed in today’s marketplace. As we move forward out plans to modernise the London market... Bruce’s March 2017

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NEWS

FLORIDA DIVISION OF WORKERS’ COMP LAUNCHES ONLINE EMPLOYER COVERAGE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

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ALLAHASSEE, Fla. – To assist Florida business owners with obtaining workers’ compensation coverage to protect their employees from the detrimental impacts of on-thejob injuries, the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation has launched an online insurance company database called the Coverage Assistance Program (CAP). This new database allows employers to easily search for insurance companies that are actively offering workers’ compensation policies for their industry type. “Ensuring that Florida businesses have proper workers’ compensation coverage is crucial to the success of the entire workers’ compensation system,” said Tanner Holloman, Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation. “Employers can use the information provided in the CAP to inform conversations with their insurance agents and to help facilitate a smoother, faster policy purchasing process.” The

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Division

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Workers’

The Underwriter’s Insider

Compensation works to ensure that injured workers have adequate access to timely medical care, that claims are adjusted and reimbursed timely, and that health care providers are compensated fairly for electing to participate as a workers’ compensation care provider. The Division also aims to provide the

resources necessary to help all participants in the process remain in compliance with Florida workers’ compensation laws. To access the Coverage Assistance Program, click HERE. To learn more about Florida’s workers’ compensation program, click HERE.

Position wanted: Field Rep/Special Agent Experienced, licensed (2-20) P&C field rep available to work from Florida East or West Coast. MGA experienced but would consider Carrier or Premium Finance Position. Recent FSU Grad with Risk Management Course Work Please write for resume: candidate88@yahoo.com Table of Contents

March 2017


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March 2017

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NEWS Continued From Page 9

7 GOTTA GET SUMMER GADGETS

overproducing sebaceous glands. With regular use, visible results can be seen in as little as three to seven weeks and is a great way to put your best face forward.

Photo Credit: Silkn

Silk'n Blue Acne Treatment/ Prevention Device (www.Silkn. com) - $149

Photo Credit: Overstock.Com

Nostalgia Electrics Vintage Collection Old-fashioned Another way to save face this 6-quart Wood Bucket Ice Cream season is with a device called Silk’n Maker (www.Overstock.com) Blue, which is a revolutionary $93.45 new way to treat and prevent acne. The clinically proven, Create your own chocolate ice dermatologist-recommended cream, peach frozen yogurt, and FDA cleared Silk’n Blue at- vanilla gelato and more with home device combines the the Nostalgia Electrics ice cream synergistic power of blue light maker. Designed to make up to emitting diode (LED) technology six quarts of dessert (ice cream, and infrared (IR) heat radiation. frozen yogurt or gelato) at a time, The device offers a safe, drug- this adorable Vintage-styled free, non-invasive, gentle and electric ice cream maker features effective way to combat the root an old-fashioned woodgrain The aluminum causes of both present and future appearance. acne. By simply pressing the canister is rust-resistant and, device down on problem areas, with hits large capacity, you the blue light penetrates the skin can entertain several guests to destroy bacteria that lives deep or family members in one go. beneath the skin’s surface, while Use ingredients right from local the IR heat initiates deep tissue market for fresh homemade warming and dehydrates the oil- treats this season and beyond! 14

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March 2017


MORE BAD NEWS FOR WELLS FARGO CUSTOMERS

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expected to turn up. Wells Fargo is expected to release the new data ahead of its annual meeting on April 25th.

Now the scope of the investigation has opened to a cover the period from 2009 to September of 2016 and more affected customers are

The banking scandal, which broke last year, has resulted in the firing of thousands of bank employees as well as four midlevel executives. The customer abuse was determined to result from “aggressive sales targets” pushed by managers. Bank employees were opening the fraudulent accounts to reach award levels.

euters is reporting that even more Wells Fargo customers may have been affected by the recent scandal where up to 2.1 million customers had previously been identified as having checking and credit card statements opened without their knowledge or permission over a period of several years.

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The then CEO of Wells Fargo, John Stumpf resigned over the scandal and eight senior executives including CEO Tim Sloan and CFO John Shrewsberry will receive no annual bonuses for 2016. The bank agreed to a $185 million settlement last September as multiple government probes, lawsuits and internal reviews damaged Wells Fargo’s reputation. The bank said it does not expect any “significant financial impact,” as result of the expanded probe.

March 2017

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47 th LAAIA Annual Convention August 2-5, 2017 Diplomat Resort & Spa Hollywood Education. Trade Fair. Connect.

“The Preeminent Event of the Year” What you will Experience  3 Days of CE Classes  Network with over 1,000 Industry Professionals  Trade Fair with over 100 exhibitors  Nightly Dynamic Networking Events  Domino Tournament  Charity Golf Tournament

Booth and Sponsorship opportunities are still available! Contact Soraya Regalado, Association’s Executive Manager, at soraya@laaia.com or via phone at 305-477-1442.

Don’t Miss This Great Event! /LatinAgents 16

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/LAAIAFlorida March 2017


Rent This Space! Want Your 1/3 Page Message To Hit Over 120,000 Industry E-Mails Per Month For As Little As View Rate Card Here! Request More Info Here!

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Position wanted: Field Rep/Special Agent Experienced, licensed (2-20) P&C field rep available to work from Florida East or West Coast. MGA experienced but would consider Carrier or Premium Finance Position. Recent FSU Grad with Risk Management Course Work Please write for resume: candidate88@yahoo.com

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GMA LLC 407-706-0245. MATT@PROADVISORS.INFO Table of Contents

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NEWS

FT. LAUDERDALE INSURANCE AGENCY EMPLOYEE ARRESTED FOR STEALING $1 MILLION+ FROM EMPLOYER

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ORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – prepare company checks tied to Chief Financial Officer Fairway’s company account to pay Jeff Atwater today these fabricated invoices. Doing announced the recent arrest so enabled Summerlott to retrieve of Jennifer Summerlott, a the fake payments and divert licensed Customer Service them to a personal bank account. Representative, following a scheme that allegedly bilked her In addition, DIFS’ investigation Ft. Lauderdale-based employer, found that Summerlott refinanced Fairway Insurance Group, LLC 40 insurance policies that Fairway (Fairway) out of more than $1 clients had previously paid in million. Summerlott is accused full. As a result, Fairway received of orchestrating an elaborate checks from third-party financing Image of Jennifer Summerlott posted on Linkedin profile scheme to defraud her employer agencies to cover the cost of the through the use of fake insurance insurance premiums. Summerlott invoices to reroute company The subsequent investigation used those payments to cover up funds for her personal financial revealed that between 2010 the massive company losses that benefit. and 2015, Summerlott allegedly accrued as a result of her fake created and submitted dozens invoice scheme. Summerlott served as the of fake electronic invoices that accounts payable and commercial were supposedly from various Summerlott was arrested February lines manager for Fairway 27, 2017, and transported from 2006-2015. In 2015, Summerlott allegedly created to the Broward County Jail. account irregularities were and submitted dozens of fake She has been charged with noticed by other Fairway electronic invoices. Summerlott four first-degree felonies, staff members who, after including organized scheme would then prepare company checks suspecting that they to defraud, grand theft, tied to Fairway’s company account to might have uncovered criminal use personal ID and insurance fraud, reported pay these fabricated invoices. Doing so diverting insurance trust their findings to the enabled Summerlott to retrieve the fake funds. Fort Lauderdale Police payments and divert them to a personal Department. The case This case will be prosecuted bank account.” was referred to insurance by the Broward State fraud investigators within Attorney’s Office, 17th the Department of Financial insurance companies that Judicial Circuit. If convicted, Services’ Division of Investigative regularly conducted business with Summerlott faces up to 30 years and Forensic Services (DIFS). Fairway. Summerlott would then in prison. 18

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NEWS-OPINION

BUT IT’S AN ISIS RECRUITING TOOL! by Senior Editor, Ron Manera

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Image Credit: Creative Commons

henever Democrats don’t agree with a policy employed to fight terrorism, the first words out of their collective mouths are often, “It’s an ISIS recruiting tool!” Somehow, there is never any data to counter the absurdity of that remark. Former President Obama assured us that using the phrase “radical Islamist terrorism,” would be an ISIS recruiting tool. Sure, Barack, that makes sense. Some young Muslim in Syria, let’s say, is watching ISIS burn a fuel-soaked enemy combatant alive in a metal cage. Just then, he hears from a friend that our president referred to ISIS or Al Queda as radical Islamist terrorists. Well that just put the young man over the edge and he and a dozen of his friends immediately joined the militant death cult. The latest American “outrage” to cause massive ISIS recruitment, according to the political left, is President Trump’s move to temporarily ban immigration from 7 predominantly Muslim countries those that showed an elevated risk 20

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Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba

of terrorism, until we could figure worst of the worst. GITMO is no out how to properly vet those that country club, but it is a humane, wished to come to our country. clean, facility where we have gone out of our way to respect the Now I’m just trying to envision the detainee’s Islamic religion. They are scenario the left insists exists where offered ethnic food and excellent a potential ISIS recruit is watching medical care, soccer fields and the radical terrorist group slaughter recreational facilities. These radicals innocents in the street, destroy who would kill any of us if given the entire urban centers and run a sex- opportunity, routinely return to the slave ring on the side. That potential battlefield when released. ISIS recruit and his buddies, I guess, is just pushed over the edge, Yet we are to believe that ISIS is outraged, after learning that we are recruiting based on the existence not openly inviting terrorists into of GITMO while it is well known that our country. Right. prisoners held by ISIS are brutalized, tortured, raped and murdered The silliest postulate on the ISIS sometimes by the most gruesome recruit theory involves Guantanamo possible methods. In reality, GITMO Bay Naval Base, GITMO, is a secure is the ultimate containment facility facility for the containment of the and we need to fill it up. Table of Contents

March 2017


NEWS

CALIFORNIA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER BUSTS MAJOR STAGEDCOLLISION INSURANCE FRAUD RING Nine Defendants Bilked Insurance Companies out of $125,000

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Image Credit: Creative Commons

AN DIEGO, Calif. — The San Diego County District Attorney's Office and California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced a major auto insurance fraud ring takedown today, which was operating in San Diego County. Nine defendants have been charged with 34 felony crimes including filing fraudulent auto insurance claims. Six defendants were arrested on January 31, and police are searching for one more. Two people received notices that they have been charged and must appear in to court. "When cheaters scam insurance companies, law abiding citizens end up footing the bill," District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said. "Our insurance fraud team did an excellent job collaborating www.underwritersinsider.com

with the California Department of Insurance and Highway Patrol to dismantle this crime ring."

joint task force is dedicated to investigating all forms of auto insurance fraud and is supervised by the California Department of Insurance. It is Operation Persistent was a made up of law enforcement two-year investigation that officers from the Department uncovered a web of fraudsters of Insurance, the San Diego who victimized insurance District Attorney's Office, and companies over several years. California Highway Patrol. The ring used various schemes The National Insurance Crime to file 34 false insurance Bureau also provides support claims for auto property to the task force. damage. The schemes included staged collisions, nonexistent The San Diego ring made collisions, using already false insurance claims totaling damaged vehicles, and phony approximately $200,000. vehicle thefts. The defendants bilked 12 insurance companies out of about $125,000. Victim insurance companies include: Allstate, Access, GEICO, Infinity, State Farm, Rental Insurance Services, Fred Loya, Nationwide, Alliance, Farmers, Nations, and Travelers.

The crimes were discovered thanks to the diligent efforts of the San Diego Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force. The Table of Contents

"Insurance fraud can directly impact the lives of law-abiding people and staged collisions

See Fraud Ring Busted Pg 24 March 2017

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THE INSIDE TRACK - BREAKING NEWS Cockroach Nightmare

Image Credit: Creative Commons

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woman living in India woke up one night with a “crawling sensation” in her head. A visit to M.N. Shankar, the ear, nose and throat physician at Stanley Medical College in Chennai, India turned up the reason after she had visited several clinics without result. Turns out she had a real, living cockroach living in her nose. The 42-year old woman described the ordeal, “I could n o t explain t h e feeling, but I was sure it was some insect. There was a tingling, crawling sensation. Whenever it moved, it gave me a burning sensation in my eyes.” The squirming insect was removed with a small forceps and a suction machine and the woman is dong fine. Watch the vid above if you actually want to see the procedure... 22

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Obamacare in Death Spiral

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etna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini remarked last month that the Affordable Care Act “is in a death spiral,” predicting many of the few remaining insurers will pull out of the market in 2018 after Humana announced it would be leaving the marketplace next year. Aetna, which lost $450 million in the ACA marketplace last year and remains in only 4 states this year is considering a

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reduction in it’s participation in the ACA plans. Supporters of the ACA point to a few million folks that have insurance under Obamacare that had no insurance before. What they fail to point out is 1) Many of those folks don’t want the insurance and were forced to purchase it or pay a penalty under the personal mandate, and, 2) many of those policies have $5,000+ deductibles and huge co-pays on top of substantial premiums making them virtually useless to the policy holders.

March 2017


THE INSIDE TRACK - BREAKING NEWS Homeowner Loss Trends By Peril

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Image Credit: Creative Commons

ix years of data collected by LexisNexis shows trends in losses on homeowners insurance. Wind losses went way down - by 53% over a 5 year period - frustrating climate

hysterics who love to point to an alleged increase in extreme weather. Hail losses also went way down by 26% during the same 5 year period. Fire losses, which have been steadily declining for years, declined a little in frequency while increasing slightly in severity - possibly an inflationary causation. Losses related to non-weather water losses remained stable. www.underwritersinsider.com

$15 Minimum Wage?

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ccording to The Huffington Post, “at least 40 cities and states around the country” had recently enacted minimum wage laws - and a number of additional cities and states are looking at similar measures in the coming years. While the leftists pushing these new laws were applauding themselves for their activism, many of the companies most affected by the new laws were making other plans - that didn’t include hiring minimum wage workers. Wendy’s has just announced it will be installing kiosk in thousands of locations in “at least 40 cities and states around the country.” Forbes announced that McDonalds will be soon arranging the “nationwide roll-out of touchscreen selfservice kiosks. In a video the company released to Table of Contents

showcase the new customer experience, it’s striking to see employees who once would have managed a cash register now reduced to monitoring a customer’s choices at an iPad-style kiosk.” Conservatives have been warning for years that doubling the minimum wage would cost jobs - lots of them - but leftist activists knew better... Reportedly, the kiosks will not join unions, require no sick days or personal days, need no smoking breaks, will never require family leave, transgender rest rooms or health care, overtime or workers’ comp, nor employer funded social security or medicare. Meanwhile, hundreds of large retail outlets, including Home Depot, Costco, Walmart and others are installing self-check lanes by the thousands as banks are rapidly increasing exterior ATMs as the teller population shrinks. They got their $15 per hour. Now all they need is a job. You will never hear a liberal take responsibility.

March 2017

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NEWS

FLORIDA CFO JEFF ATWATER TO STEP DOWN EARLY TO TAKE POST AT FAU

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n February 10th, Jeff Atwater announced he would be stepping down as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer to take a position as vicepresident of strategic initiatives as well as CFO of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. Atwater was elected to the office in 2010 and won re-election in 2014. He would not have been able to run again in 2018 due to term limits. Continued From Page 21

FRAUD RING BUSTED have taken the lives of innocent people in our state," said Jim Abele, Border Division Chief for the California Highway Patrol. "The California Highway Patrol is dedicated to reducing collisions, vehicle theft, and insurance fraud. The San Diego Automobile Insurance Fraud Task Force partnership provides a needed focus on auto-insurance crimes and enables better sharing of case information among fraud fighters." Defendants 24

include:

“I am honored to join FAU in such a significant capacity,” Atwater said in a statement. “While I would have preferred to embrace this opportunity at a later date, the timing of crucial university initiatives warranted Perez, 26; Darice Orozco, 37; Oscar Vargas, 31; Jesus Diego, 31; Roberto Ramirez, 27; Abel Ramirez, 31; Maria Linares, 24; Juan Augustin, 30; and Francine Moreno, 25. Maria Linares and Juan Augustin will be arraigned February 3, at 8:30 a.m. and Jesus Diego and Yesenia Perez will be arraigned February 7, at 1:30 p.m. All arraignments are scheduled in Department 12 of the downtown courthouse.

Abel Ramirez, Roberto Ramirez, Oscar Vargas and Darice Orozco were arraigned Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. Their next court date is February 10, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 53 of Yesenia the downtown courthouse.

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an accelerated transition.” Previously, Atwater had sought the position of president of FAU. It will be the task of Florida Governor Rick Scott to appoint a successor to fill the remainder of Atwater’s term.

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March 2017


NEWS

ODD FAKE CHECK SCAM INVOLVED FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

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ALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Financial Services has recently become aware of a scam in which consumers receive fraudulent checks that are made to appear as if they have been issued by the Department. In some cases, checks appear to be signed with a forged signature of Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. These fraudulent checks have been received and reported by consumers who were not expecting to receive funds from the Department.

www.underwritersinsider.com

So far, five checks have been reported to the Department from consumers in Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Currently, no fraudulent checks have been reported by Floridians. The checks, with varying values between $1900 and $4000, have all been deemed fraudulent by the Department’s Office of Fiscal Integrity, which investigates the misuse of state funds. A scan of one of the fraudulent checks is attached.

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The Department frequently issues checks for a host of reasons, including unclaimed property payments, but the Department will not distribute a check to a consumer without first notifying them. Consumers who receive an unexpected check from the Department of Financial Services that seems suspicious should not attempt to cash it but should report it to Department’s Office of Fiscal Integrity by calling (850) 413–5514.

March 2017

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ANALYSIS-OPINION

WHITE PRIVILEGE FEEL THE GUILT... I lost all appetite for breakfast, I hadn’t realized the truth had here I was, on a short She hadn’t been holding up the never been told about the Africanvacation to the west coast museum - it was all those other American experience - even after of Florida, relaxing with my white racists. decades of Black History Month! I girlfriend on a Saturday morning had always been under the crazy impression there were in a little breakfast bistro. thousands of qualified, The food was good, the educated Black academics service midlin, but I made and historians willing and the mistake of picking up able to tell the story - even a free little newspaper on if White academics (90% the way in - something to of whom are committed glance at while waiting for Progressives) were my eggs: Florida Weekly. somehow unable to do so. By Ronald Manera, Senior Editor

Image Credit: Creative Commons

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condemning the rest of her race.

Foolishly, I did more than glance. A few pages in, I ran across an opinion piece by one Leslie Lilly, a blond-haired middle-aged lilywhite woman seemingly overwhelmed with “White Guilt.” Ms. Lilly, evidently a committed Progressive, had penned a little self-exculpatory rant about the new Smithsonian Museum of African American History.

And, I wondered, if White folks never heard the story of the horrors, injustice and immorality of slavery, Now if you have any reservation how come 500,000 of them died about a museum being build fighting over the issue? Why my with $ millions of taxpayer dollars, own great, great grandfather, there can only be one reason: Captain Kees led a charge for the Racism. White Privilege. Union Army at Gettysburg, taking a bullet to his pocket watch which saved his life. I wonder what She claimed, “If those who “story of the nation’s past” he’d objected to the museum been missing? were a tad defensive, it was I say self-exculpatory because because America already had she couldn’t help gushing over While Leslie Lilly-White fails to a standardized version of the so-called “White Privilege” as the explain what part of the “African nation’s past — as told by white reason the museum hadn’t been Experience” was left out of the people.” built sooner - but, of course, she “standardized version told by had personally evolved beyond Ah ha! Until that moment, when White people”, but her racist rant all that, and felt redeemed in continues: 26

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March 2017


ANALYSIS - OPINION “To be fair, as the push to build the museum became more insistent, some white folks changed their hearts and minds; and thankfully so. They deserve our praise. To overcome racial bias, they had, in effect, to overcome themselves.” So the museum was finally built - but only because White racists finally “overcame themselves.” The patronizing, hidden bias, the rank disrespect for Blacks so often shown by Liberals was just oozing from Lilly-White’s pores. In her world, Blacks could only have a museum with the approval, permission and assistance of Whites. They could not possibly have succeeded without it.

York Times explains in a recent article: “Whiteness means being a part of the group whose appearance, traditions, religion, and even food are the default norm. It is being a person who, by unspoken rules, was long entitled as part of the ‘us’ instead of the ‘them.’” She writes the crisis in white identity is about the slice of the white electorate losing its place in line.”

much of the West. But why? Lily is seemingly convinced it’s because of some mysterious unearned essence, because they are a “group whose appearance, traditions, religion, and even food are the default norm.” But why did it become the “norm?” Privilege = Winning Social & Economic Strategies

Yet it’s really not even that complicated. Whites, and I include Asians here, have chosen winning Trump Derangement Syndrome economic and social strategies Aha! “It’s about the slice of the that often out-performed the White electorate losing its place social and economic strategies of in line.” Lily-White was afflicted those groups with whom they’ve with the hysteria seen in so many been in intense competition Liberals since the ascendency for centuries. There has been a of Donald Trump. Somehow, competition, and one group, at Trump’s popularity (this was least for now, seems to be in the My eggs were cold and I’d lost before the election) was a “white- lead. If it’s a privilege, it’s a hardmy appetite, but Lily-White’s selflash,” an over-reaction by ordinary won, fully-earned privilege. loathing continued: Whites to 8 years of Black Obama and his clearly racially biased Now if you are a member of “...because white superiority positions. that group and you want to feel and privilege are ingrained in horribly guilty about winning, well the majority culture.” Because for Liberals, it’s never you go right ahead. But please, about policy - it’s only about Lily, don’t expect me or anyone “Its beneficiaries need never identity politics - in this case else to do the same. Yet the race state the obvious. If you are racism. White conservatives and is still being run and the “privilege” white you are presumed White middle-Americans would of being out front is up for grabs. superior to anyone whose color have just loved Obama’s ultra-left doesn’t make the cut. You show policies if only he’d been White “White” Just Another Brand up and go automatically to the like them. Utter nonsense, of When you boil it all down, and front of whatever line you are course, but this describes their somebody really should do this for in. It is affirmative action by group-thought fairly accurately. Lily-White, it’s all about reputation; default. Who wants to give that it’s all about branding - a subject I up — even if it’s a perk you never Let’s be fair to Lily. Whites have know something about. asked for or heartily disavow?” achieved a social and economic dominance in America - and See White Privilege? Page 35 “Amanda Taub of The New www.underwritersinsider.com

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March 2017

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LAWNMOWER DUI ARREST VIDEO A very bad day for a drunken Redneck on his way to the store to buy his wife a beer... What could go wrong?

Missing Election Night? Watch Smug Rachel Maddow And A MSNBC Analyst Get It So Wrong!

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Instagram! Follow Me: @rmanera

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UNBELIEVABLE VINTAGE ADS

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othing illustrates the changes in our national culture better than vintage ads from the Mad Men era or earlier - many of which would be considered over-the-top sexist, politically incorrect, dangerous or just plain dopey today.

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his computer offered for sale by Remington Rand UNIVAC, in March of 1951 requiring a semi-trailer to transport “used 5,000 vacuum tubes, weighed 8 tons, consumed 125 kW of power, and could perform about 1,905 operations per second running on a 2.25 MHz clock. The Central Complex alone (i.e. the processor and memory unit) was 4.3 m by 2.4 m by 2.6 m high. The complete system occupied more than 382 sq ft of floor space,” according to Wikipedia. For all it’s size, and cost ($6 million) the first commercially available computer was many thousands of times slower than an iPhone 5. Amazing. March 2017



“The Final Authority on Everything!” WARNING!

The Advisor has been known to be politically incorrect and may send certain Millennials scurrying to their safe space. Also not recommended for Progressives who are easily offended. Please read at your own risk.

Non-Fraternization

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’m a divorced guy in my thirties and I own a medium-size general lines agency near Birmingham. With 12 employees, men and women, I’ve maintained a strict non-fraternization policy in the agency because I’ve seen the problems that can arise from inter-office romances and I’ve twice had to terminate employees for violating the rule. Now I’ve fallen in love with one of my customer service people. She’s beautiful, single, smart and everything I’ve been looking for in a woman. We’ve spoken and she’d like to date. If I breach my own policy by dating 30

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ADVISOR

that simply keeps evidence of the romance out of the office. Nevertheless, if you date your CSR, you’re going to look like a jerk, having fired people for doing the same thing. But, Well, this ain’t Dear Abby, but hey, at least you’ll be a happy I’ll give it a shot. First, your jerk! non-fraternization policy is a mistake. Half the couples My Pictures Suck on the planet have met each other in the work-place. Your an you give me some policy isn’t going to stop simple tips on improving inter-office romances; it will my photography? I’ve just only make certain that much bought a very expensive effort will go into keeping digital camera and my them hidden from you. pictures don’t look a whole Change your policy to one this employee, I’m going to look like a jerk. If I let this opportunity slide, I may miss out on my soul-mate. Initials Withheld, Birmingham, AL.

C

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March 2017


lot more impressive than turn the camera on its end! with the camera turned on they did before. I keep If you are taking a picture its end. Second — move in on reading long articles on the of a car – keep the camera your subject — fill the frame! subject, but I don’t seem horizontal! More people turn Many a great photo was turned to mediocre to pick up anything because the subject useful. R.P., Orlando, More people turn good ended up occupying FL photographs into bad snap- about 10% of the Follow these four shots by failing to orient the camera photograph. You don’t need to get in as much than any other. If you take the tips and you will possible of the lake notice an immediate normal mix of photographs, about as or the sky or the trees improvement in your 60% of your shots should be taken behind your subject. images: First, notice If you want picture of with the camera on end.” how all cameras take the lake, take another rectangular pictures and not squares? That’s good photographs into bad shot and make the lake the so you can accommodate snap-shots by failing to orient subject. Third, composition vertical subjects as well the camera than any other. is important. When taking as horizontal subjects. If If you take the normal mix of pictures of people, for you are taking a picture photographs, about 60% of See Release Me Pg 34 of a person standing up – your shots should be taken www.underwritersinsider.com

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March 2017

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220/440 Lic. Ins Agent Needed - Boca FREE CLASSIFIED RULES: Submit all ads online at: www.underwritersinsider. com/classifieds. Ads must be less than 501 characters plus a title line. Eligible free classifieds include help wanted, position wanted, personal ads, agency for sale/purchase, or the one-time sale of an item or items. Place Ad HERE! REGULAR CLASSIFIED RULES: Submit all ads online at: www.underwritersinsider. com/classifieds. Only $1.00 per word, including title line and response info. Payment must be received prior to print date. Ads run 3 mo.

Experienced Administrative/Accounts Executive Norcross based fast-growing Insurance Agency needs Experienced Administrative/ Accounts Executive with 2 years experience in Insurance Field. Proficiency in computers required. Please e-mail resume to girish_talati@hotmail.com 16-7

Help us expand our Agency (From Home)!! We are seeking an energetic professional to work parttime in a virtual capacity assisting us with recruiting and supporting professional sales agents across the United States and Canada.For detailed information on our company and this non-sales virtual opportunity please contact us today with the following link http://apply. harvardbenefits.com/269541 16-10

FREE CLASSIFIEDS! HELP WANTED — POSITION WANTED 4 — SALE ITEMS

CLICK HERE! 32

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440 or 220 in Boca Raton, Part Time or Full Time Experienced or Trainee; Agent and Customer Service Rep in family owned agency in Boca Raton. Full or Part time. (Flexible Hours) Personal Lines CSR; salary plus bonus. Commercial Agent; 50% commissions and residual. Most important Florida markets and several national markets available. We can compete with the “Big Boys” with our national affiliations. Email your resume to agencyops@gmail.com. or FAX to: 561-416-7221. EOE 17-2

Tampa Area Commercial Producer Agency Established 2006 seeks Outside Commercial Producer. Cutting Edge tech! Generous Comp and Possible Equity Buy In. Experience and FL 220 a must! Resume’ to info@nusurance.com 16-10

Experienced CSR Wanted - Broward Co.

Join our team... A & H Insurance is looking to hire a motivated team member to quote, write & service new & existing customers. Must have active 440 License (we will pay the pre-licensing course for the right candidate) Bilingual a must! Fax resume to:954-251-1423 or email: darlene@autohomeins. net 16-7

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Looking for inside / outside lic. experienced sales rep. Must know QQ/QF, Semcat and other software packages. Efax resume to 954-908-7001. Great office. Regional Outreach Coordinator wanted

Looking for professionals who would like to help individuals save on their monthly prescription cost on average 15% for brand name and 55% on generic, while earning a residual income. loucei@msn.com 16-7

Seeking 220 & 440 Insurance Agents in Florida & Georgia! Well established We Insure agencies are experiencing growth and are looking for experienced 220 and 440 insurance agents statewide in both Florida AND Georgia. Active 220 or 440 license required and preferably 2 to 5 years experience in Personal Lines and/or Commercial Sales. Please send your résumé to: Megan.null@weinsuregroup.com

16-1

Field Underwriter As a field underwriter, your job is to meet prospects who have responded to a direct mail campaign asking for more information on our products. When you meet with them you will be determining their eligibility for our products and helping them decide what is best for them. There is no cold-calling required as you are Reply with resume to for immediate consideration with same day response. fieldunderwritersfl@gmail. com 16-10

March 2017


Outside Ins Sales Rep - Must be licensed South Palm Beach Co. Need home based / office outside insurance sales rep. Must have experience cold calling, networking grps and referrals a must. Most know how to type up and prepare a propert commercial risk including acords, loss runs, etc. Pls efax resume and reference list to 954-9087001. jonathandrausch@hotmail.com 16-11

Licensed Sales Producers - Norcross Norcross based fast-growing Insurance Agency needs Licensed Sales Producers in GA, FL TN SC NC TX IL and OH states for marketing 401k plans, Life Insurance products as well as Health Insurance plans. Proficiency in computers required. Please e-mail resume to girish_talati@hotmail.com 16-7

Experienced Agency Marketing Representative Mature, 2-20 licensed agent, experienced in both commercial and personal lines underwriting and sales. Has a following of brokers/agents throughout the State of Florida. Looking to market insurance products through independent agencies and brokers. toogreatt@yahoo.com 16-6

Looking to buy a P&C agency in PB county. Please call

Property & Casualty Sales Agents Tampa Bay Area The Auto Club Group is seeking P&C sales agents who have… •An active Property and Casualty Insurance License (220) or an active (20-44) A minimum of 1 year successful P&C sales experience and a stable employment history a Strong phone sales and prospecting skills •Ambition and drive We offer a competitive compensation to include: Medical, dental, vision, 401(k) and more... deemorgan@aaasouth.com 16-5

MORE CLASSIFIEDS

561-584-0732

Efax: (561) 829-2055 17-3

Help us to expand our Agency (From Home)!! We are seeking a super energetic and motivated professional to work in a virtual capacity assisting us with recruiting and supporting professional sales agents across the United States and Canada. For detailed information on our company and this non-sales virtual opportunity please contact me at: Nicole.lang@harvardbenefits.com Nicole.lang@harvardbenefits. com

Now Hiring All Positions Independent Agency Hollywood, FL Independent agency in Hollywood, FL. We are hiring for all positions, commercial & personal lines agent/account manager/processors/receptionist/bookkeeper. 220/440 experience preferred but not required. cpenate@newmanins.com

Urgent! 2-20/4-40 COMMERCIAL LINES MIAMI DOWNTOWN LOOKING FOR A 2-2O OR 4-40 TO HANDLE COMMERCIAL LINES WITH 1 YEAR EXPERIENCE, PERSONAL LINES KNOWLEDGE AND NEED TO SPEAK FLUENT ENGLISH & SPANISH WITHOUT PROBLEM - DOWNTOWN MIAMI SEND RESUME: DOLORES@JONRAYINSURANCE.NET 305-883-4604

16-11 www.underwritersinsider.com

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16-7 March 2017

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Cont’d... 2-20/4-40 COMMERCIAL LINES MIAMI DOWNTOWN

North Atlanta Personal LInes Producer Wanted

LOOKING FOR A 2-2O OR 4-40 TO HANDLE COMMERCIAL LINES WITH 1 YEAR EXPERIENCE, PERSONAL LINE KNOLEDGE APPRECIATE , NEED TO SPEAK AFLUENTLY ENGLISH AND SPANISH, WITHOUT PROBLEM TO WORK IN DOWNTOWN MIAMI SEND RESUME

We offer a Cobb/Cherokee work environment with access to many top companies. base + commission, extensive marketing support and a strong referral program. The candidate would acquire an equity position in the agency within a few years based on experience and results. This is a sales and marketing driven position and involves management of a small staff within a commercial oriented agency. presidentsac@yahoo.com 16-9

DOLORES@JONRAYINSURANCE.NET PH: 305-883-4604 16-9

Continued From Page 31

ADVISOR example, most amateurs center the heads in the photo – leaving four feet of sky above their heads and cutting their bodies off at the knees. Determine what your actual subject is and center it up close in the photo. If you can’t fit the entire person in the photo, shoot from the waist up or do a portrait. Never cut off a picture at a joint - like an elbow, ankle or knee. If you’re posing a group shot, count to three before shooting to lesson 34

The Underwriter’s Insider

the chance of closed eyes or odd faces. Try shooting from unusual angles for more interesting photos. Get down on one knee or stand on a chair. Fourth, take more available light pictures (no flash), inside by a window, for example or in even lighting outside. Unless you have expensive equipment and can “bounce” flash off the ceiling, most flash pictures have a cold, washed-out feel. The one exception is fill-flash, where you use your camera’s flash to supplement available light when your subject is in the shadows and the background is brightly lit. Table of Contents

Medicare Supplement Agents Wanted. Tampa and Tri-County Area No sales experience required, will train upon appointment. Need Health and Life License.Great Commissions with 'A'rated Company. Many other insurance products to offer with this great company. Commissions are paid for life and transferable to beneficiaries. Please contact: Charlotte T. Kocian - GA email: agent.char@yahoo.com 16-9

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OPINION Continued From Page 27

A brand exists in the mind of only one thing: Cheap junk from the consumer. It’s made up of a hated enemy. the sum total of all you’ve ever heard, all you ever learned and It’s hard to imagine a worse all you’ve ever experienced brand, a worse reputation. about a particular automobile, Yet today, some of the finest Why would you pay three times TV set, restaurant, football team automobiles, cameras, electronics as much for a Mercedes Benz as or ethnicity. It’s a completely and technology all made in you would for a Chevy? Branding. unconscious, automatic process. Japan are happily purchased by Reputation. Why would you Americans consumers. For many pay more for a Sony TV, sight And that’s where so-called “White products, the Japanese brand is unseen, than for a Spark-O-Matic Privilege” is born. “White” is a now considered a mark of status TV? Branding. Reputation. Why brand just like Sony, Ford, Nike and high quality. As Individuals, they are welcome in our society would you prefer a Ruth Chris or Calvin Klein. and no one has to be compelled steak, sight unseen, over a Denny’s steak? Branding. Yet it’s really not even that by government to hire them. Reputation. Why will the complicated. Whites have The Japanese never whined New England Patriots chosen winning economic about their brand deficit. emerge next season They didn’t demand a with the “privilege” of and social strategies that often out- political solution. We a winner? Branding. weren’t forced to buy their performed the social and economic Reputation. Are any of stuff. America certainly strategies of those groups with these disparities unfair or never assumed the mantle whom they’ve been in intense global of guilt for the brand deficit unearned? competition for centuries. One group, the Japanese had clearly earned in WWII, nor was Your Brand’s A Winner? at least for now, seems to be in the there any concept of “White Now What... lead. If it’s a privilege, it’s a hard-won, Privilege.” It’s clear what Ms. Lilyfully-earned privilege.” White would have you How did they achieve this do if you find yourself miracle; this incredible turnConsider the Japanese Brand a beneficiary of the brand, the a-round in their brand? reputation, of being White. She’s I often think of the Japanese in Japanese understood doing it herself. You beat yourself the context of branding. Shortly The like a dog. You amass enormous after World War II, the Japanese what Lilly-White and American guilt. You walk with your head were, perhaps, the most hated Liberals never will: They had held low and apologize for being and despised race in America. a marketplace problem - not a White at every opportunity After Pearl Harbor, the Bataan political problem - and so their while accepting complete Death March and too many solution was simple: responsibility for the brand atrocities against American They relentlessly improved deficits of the other groups that POWs to list, many Americans their products! chose less successful economic carried deep and personal biases against these Asians. In the 50s and social strategies. America, “Made in Japan” meant

WHITE PRIVILEGE?

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March 2017

35


Notable Quotes In The News

SAY WHAT? Don Draper Alive?

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e’d be in his 80s (now) and there ain’t no way that guy is getting into his 80s without a massive lifestyle shift, which maybe he did at the end of the show, but I don’t think that stuck. I don’t think that zen moment of understanding anything really stuck.”

Hillary, (don’t you miss her?) never growing weary of her tired, sexist, identify politics and, along with the entire Democratic Party, not having a clue why she lost the election. U.S. Women’s Chess Champ Makes Courageous Decision

Award-winning Actor Jon Hamm who played Madison Avenue advertising executive Donald Draper in the hit series Mad Men during an interview on a recent episode of The Rich Eisen Show. The show was set in the 60’s.

Oh God, She’s Back...

Image Credit: Creative Commons

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need strong women to step up and speak out. We need you to dare greatly and lead boldly. So please, set an example for every woman and girl out there who’s worried about what the future holds and wonders whether our rights, opportunities and values will endure.”

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y participating, I would be forced to submit to forms of oppression designed specifically for women. This is a post for those who don’t understand why I am boycotting FIDE’s decision. I think it’s unacceptable to host a WOMEN’S World Championship in a place where women do not have basic fundamental rights and are treated as second-class citizens. For those saying that I don’t know anything about Iran: I have received the most support and gratitude from the people of Iran, who are facing this situation every day.”

espite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that, yes, the future is female….Just look at the amazing energy we saw last month as women organized a march that galvanized millions of people all over our country and across the world. Now more US Women’s Chess Champion Nazi Paikidze than ever we need to in an interview with Marie Clare magazine stay focused on this year’s explaining why she will not be able participate conference: Be bold. We in a Women’s World Chess Match to be held in 36

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March 2017


Iran - governed by radical Islamists who hold Tom Feeney, president and CEO of Associated and oppress women . Industries of Florida, in a statement proposing a workers comp bill that would have injured employees paying for their own attorneys as Germany: Immigrant rapists well as other changes.

just need to be included...

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n particular rape and the sexual abuse of children in bathing establishments have given us grave cause for concern. The perpetrators are, for the most part, immigrants.”

Promises Made; Claims Paid

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romises made by an insurance policy are kept by the professional claims person. Keeping a professional claims staff dedicated to excellence in claims handling is cost-effective over long periods of time. A professional and experienced adjuster will save the insurer millions by resolving disputes, paying claims owed promptly and fairly, and by so doing avoiding litigation.”

From a private German police briefing leaked to the media showing officers trying to cope with the 1 million, mostly Muslim, immigrants Chancellor Angela Merkel had allowed in the her country over the past year. Unbelievably, a “professional swimming association in Germany has suggested training migrants to become swimming lifeguards as a means of reducing Noted claims expert and Insider contributor sex attacks at swimming pools,” saying it would Barry Zalma explaining his philosophy on the be “an inclusive measure that would benefit proper handling of insurance claims. everyone,” according to Heatstreet. You just gotta love that “inclusion” stuff. Like training It’s ISIS, Dammit, Not ISIL bank robbers to be bank guards. It is this type of utter nonsense that has Europe on the path to he Pentagon has instructed cultural and political suicide. defense officials to use the acronym ISIS, not ISIL, when referring to the New FL Worker’s Comp Bill Proposed Islamic State, abandoning the convention of the Obama administration and embracing e are proposing a bill that the term preferred by President Donald will help injured workers Trump.” to get healthier while relieving Florida employers from severe rate pressures From a recent Washington Post story. It and a court system that is on the fritz. This seemed ex-President Obama was the only legislation will allow Floridians to avoid person on Earth that insisted on calling ISIS unnecessary, costly and time consuming “ISIL,” a peculiarity that had always irked litigation and to get benefits into the hands current President Trump - and your editor... of injured workers as soon as possible.”

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HERE BILL CLINTON’S 1995 STATE OF THE UNION Clinton’s Position On Immigration Was Almost Indistinguishable From Trump’s Position The Liberal Hypocrisy Knows No Limit...

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NEWS TEXAS INSURANCE COMMISSIONER ELECTED NAIC SECRETARY-TREASURER

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ommissioner of Insurance D a v i d Mattax has been elected secretarytreasurer of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which establishes standards and conducts peer reviews for insurance regulatory agencies across the nation.

positions with the NAIC since he was appointed commissioner by Governor Greg Abbott in 2015. He also serves on the executive committee for the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.

important issues facing insurance regulation in the coming years,” Mattax said.

Before being appointed commissioner, Mattax spent 23 years at the Texas Attorney General’s Office and represented the Texas Department of Insurance in legal issues including receiverships, ERISA cases, rule making and enforcement actions. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice before the four Texas “I look forward to working with Federal District courts, Fourth and the NAIC leadership and my Fifth Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeal, Mattax has held several leadership peers in other states on the many and the U.S. Supreme Court.

AMTRUST FINANCIAL SERVICES, COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF AMERIHEALTH CASUALTY INSURANCE (the “Company” or “AmTrust”) today announced that the Company has completed t h e acquisition of AmeriHealth Casualty Insurance Company (“AmeriHealth Casualty”) from Independence Health Group, Inc. (“IHG”) for approximately $92.8 million in cash. In 2015, AmeriHealth Casualty generated EW YORK, March 01, gross written premium of 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) approximately $116 million. -- AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:AFSI) “We are very pleased to welcome

AmTrust builds presence in workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

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AmeriHealth Casualty to the AmTrust group of commercial property and casualty companies,” said Barry Zyskind, Chairman, President and CEO AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. “With the addition of AmeriHealth Casualty’s operations serving small-to-medium-sized businesses and municipalities, we have expanded our presence as one of the largest workers’ compensation carriers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.” March 2017

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INSURANCE & THE LAW building, the income derived from the building’s use, the age and condition of the building, its obsolescence, both structural and functional, its market value, and will be construed in favor of the the depreciation and deterioration insured, ambiguity will not be to which it has been subjected. read into policy language which is plain and unambiguous in order Both the market value test to construe against the drafter and the broad evidence rule of the contract. There is no legal consider all the other “facts requirement that each word used and circumstances” shown by in an insurance policy must be the evidence that affected or specifically defined in order to be had a tendency to establish the property’s value. unambiguous. Continued From Page 7

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The Nebraska Supreme Court has set forth three approaches to determining actual cash value: 1. Where market value is easily determined, actual cash value is market value, 2. If there is no market value, replacement or reproduction cost may be used, 3. Failing the other two tests, any evidence tending to formulate a correct estimate of value may be used.”

Henn argued that the depreciation of labor is illogical because labor does not depreciate. Actual cash value, as defined by this court, is not a substantive measure of damages, but, rather, a representation of the depreciated value of the property immediately prior to damages. For purposes of indemnification, actual cash value must not equal the amount required to complete the repairs or replacement of the property. Instead, actual cash value is intended only to provide a depreciated amount of the replacement cost to start the repairs.

loss. The property is a product of both materials and labor. The term actual cash value is not ambiguous in the policy. The unambiguous definition of actual cash value is a depreciation of the whole. As such, the insured is not underindemnified by receiving the depreciated amount of both materials and labor. The Supreme Court concluded that: “A payment of actual cash value that included the full cost of labor would amount to a prepayment of unearned benefits.” Payment of the full amount of labor would amount to a prepayment of benefits to which the insured is not yet entitled. Depreciating the whole is merely one way to arrive at a value that represents the depreciated value of the property to which the insured is entitled. Payment of actual cash value, which depreciates both materials and labor, does not underindemnify the insured.

Under both the market value test and the broad evidence rule, all The Nebraska Supreme Court will relevant evidence is considered usually apply the third approach in determining the value. Both usually referred to as the “broad materials and labor are elements evidence rule.” Determining the The Nebraska Supreme Court that help establish the value of actual cash value of the property involved the insured and insurer has employed the market value the property immediately prior to may consider every fact and approach as part of application the time of loss. Actual cash value circumstance which would of the broad evidence rule. Both applies to the insured property as logically tend to the formation of materials and labor constitute a whole. a correct estimate of the building’s relevant facts to consider when value, including the original establishing the value of the cost, the economic value of the property immediately prior to the See ZALMA Pg 45 www.underwritersinsider.com

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TECHNOLOGY Continued From Page 5

KIM KOMANDO The million-dollar question: How well do they respond to the human voice? In both cases, you activate the device by saying its name: For Amazon Echo, you’d say, “Alexa, what time is it?” For Google Home, you’d say, “OK Google, what time is it?” As long as you’re speaking clearly, both devices should recognize your question and tell you the time. The big difference is the devices’ frame of reference: Amazon Echo connects you to Amazon Assistant, which is a powerful tool for lots of questions, such as “What will the weather be tomorrow?” and “What year was ‘Dr. Zhivago’ released?” Google Home connects you to the oceanic knowledge of Google. You will be astonished by how much Google Home knows, and you can even ask followup questions. For example, you might ask, “What year did Charles Lindbergh first fly across the Atlantic?” Then you could ask, “Where did he land?” Google Home should remember the previous question and know you are still asking about Charles Lindbergh. 44

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Neither system is going to turn the vast Google infrastructure it into your virtual best friend. The leans on. Amazon Echo answers who, when and what questions, such But no matter which one you pick, each device will sing you Happy Birthday on request.

For Amazon or Google to answer your questions on demand, it has to be listening all the time. According to Amazon, when Alexa detects its wake word and glows blue, it streams “a fraction of a second of audio before the wake word” to the Amazon’s servers and closes once your command has been processed. That fraction of a second gets saved along with your main command.”

as weather forecasts, sports updates, and measurement conversions. Much of the time, Echo will politely admit to being confused. Google Home appears to be a bit smarter because of Table of Contents

Music Streaming Many customers get so wrapped up in the interactive abilities of Echo and Google Home, they forget that these devices started out as audio speakers. Here’s the bottom line: Bluetooth speakers will never sound as good as cord-based speakers. True audiophiles will balk at all Bluetooth speakers, no matter how high-tech, because they can never capture the clarity of their predecessors. That said, these are very nice speakers for casual listening, and they can fill a room with music. Both devices can stream music through the usual services – Spotify, Pandora and TuneIn – and each device has its own music service: The Echo connects to Amazon Prime Music and Google Home connects to Google Play. Other Talents Google Home is very impressive, putting the “smart” in “smart speaker.” But Echo has a twoyear advantage, and Amazon has spent this time cultivating its third-party support. March 2017


TECHNOLOGY With Echo, you can connect to Audible, track down your missing phone, play games and order items on Amazon.com. In smart homes, you can even dim the lights and switch on your security system. With 3,000 individual skills, Echo has come a long way in a short time. It’s incredible how much power you can access by saying, “Alexa…” Google Home can also connect to smart appliances and a bevy of apps, but it hasn’t refined its network as much as Echo. Google may catch up, but for the moment, Echo is clearly leading the charge. Privacy Issues For Amazon or Google to answer your questions on demand, it has to be listening all the time. According to Amazon, when Alexa detects its wake word and glows blue, it streams “a fraction of a second of audio before the wake word” to the Amazon’s servers and closes once your command has been processed. That fraction of a second gets saved along with your main command. Google Home operates in a similar way. It constantly listens for the phrase “OK Google.” Once detected, its LED lights activate and the recording is sent to Google’s servers.

how these devices are always Continued From Page 45 listening and also tell you the steps to delete your recordings. Click here to learn more about this now. ZALMA OPINION For more reviews of hot new The term “actual cash value” is products, be sure to listen to my unambiguous and depreciation national radio show or download of labor does not lead to my podcasts. Click here to find it underindemnification but, as on your local radio station. You the Nebraska Supreme Court can listen to the Kim Komando concluded, failure to depreciate Show on your phone, tablet or labor would provide the insured computer. From buying advice more than the policy promised to to digital life issues, click here for pay. No component of a property my free podcasts. exists without the labor to make

ZALMA

What questions do you have? Call my national radio show and click here to find it on your local radio station. You can listen to the Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet or computer. From buying advice to digital life issues, click here for my free podcasts.

Copyright 2017, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.

it. If depreciation is used to determine actual cash value the materials and labor used to make the home and its component parts must be depreciated.

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Learn about all the latest technology on the Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. For her daily tips, free newsletters and more, visit her website at Komando.com

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NEWS

WAS YOUR TV SPYING ON YOU? VIZIO FINED $2.2 MILLION FOR COLLECTING VIEWING HISTORIES WITHOUT USER CONSENT VIZIO Collected Viewing Histories on 11 Million Smart Televisions Without Users’ Consent

it installed software on its TVs to collect viewing data on 11 million consumer TVs without consumers’ knowledge or consent.

The stipulated federal court order requires VIZIO to prominently IZIO, Inc., one of the world’s disclose and obtain affirmative largest manufacturers express consent for its data and sellers of internet- collection and sharing practices, connected “smart” televisions, has and prohibits misrepresentations agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle about the privacy, security, or charges by the Federal Trade confidentiality of consumer Commission and the Office of the information they collect. It also New Jersey Attorney General that

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requires the company to delete data collected before March 1, 2016, and to implement a comprehensive data privacy program and biennial assessments of that program. According to the agencies’ complaint, starting in February 2014, VIZIO, Inc. and an affiliated company have manufactured VIZIO smart TVs that capture second-by-second information about video displayed on the smart TV, including video from consumer cable, broadband, set-top box, DVD, over-theair broadcasts, and streaming devices. In addition, VIZIO facilitated appending specific demographic information to the viewing data, such as sex, age, income, marital status, household size, education level, home ownership, and household value, the agencies allege. VIZIO sold this information to third parties, who used it for various purposes, including targeting advertising to consumers across devices, according to the complaint.

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FREE!

NEWS The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (3824357). Like the FTC on Facebook (link is external), follow us on Twitter (link is external), read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news According to the complaint, VIZIO and resources. touted its “Smart Interactivity” feature that “enables program offers and suggestions” but failed to inform consumers that the settings also enabled the collection of consumers’ viewing data. The complaint alleges that VIZIO’s data tracking— which occurred without viewers’ informed consent—was unfair and deceptive, in violation of the FTC Act and New Jersey consumer protection laws.

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Political memes now the most common like the one below trending on Instagram

The $2.2 million payment by VIZIO includes a payment of $1.5 million to the FTC and $1 million to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, with $300,000 of that amount suspended. The Commission vote approving the complaint and proposed order was 3-0, with Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen issuing a concurring statement. The FTC filed the complaint and order in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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