The New Year Is Upon Us!!

January 6, 2013 – Orange County, California

We, at PJO Insurance Brokerage, would like to take this time to wish everyone in Southern California and around the country a Happy and Healthy New Year!

In looking back, I have to think that I am not the only one who believes that this past year has gone by way too quickly. It seems like only yesterday I was sitting down to write a blog about the coming year of 2013, but, as they say, time flies when you are having fun!

As you look back over the past twelve months, it is our hope that your company was successful in achieving all of its sales and profit goals and also able to keep your expenses under control, which is no easy feat these days. In reviewing our overall past year, most of the news was of the good kind; our sales were up at a decent percentage from last year, but our expenses ran a little high. That happens when there are unexpected surprises, and, let’s be honest, that is the last thing we want to see hit our books, and even though we ended up with a positive increase in our overall account tally, unfortunately, we saw some clients and friends close their doors, which is not good for anyone. In going over this past year, analyzing what we did right and what we did wrong, our business plan includes looking for ways to improve on the positive strides we made and to minimize the wrong decisions, so they will not adversely impact our bottom line.

An area that was a vital part of our company’s marketing plan this past year was our website and social media presence. Over the past year, the results from this one area of marketing has been very rewarding and one in which we are committing more time and resources into ensuring they continue to be a valued source of leads and revenue. Competing in the world of commerce today, having a major website and social media plan is a must if you want to reach as many potential clients as you would like; this is not an area you want to ignore or skimp on. Having a prominent website and social media presence just may be the difference between succeeding in the business world or having to close your doors.

As you work on your company’s plan for 2014 and begin to look at your sales projections and expenses, the experienced Orange County business insurance professionals at PJO Insurance Brokerage would welcome the opportunity to review your current insurance policies, reviewing the coverages on your current policies in detail, looking not only for possible missing or overlooked coverages, but also exploring ways to possibly reduce your overall costs of insurance.

The first area to review is your property insurance. Over the past year, have you added or reduced your overall property inventory, equipment, office contents? You would be wise to take a complete inventory of all of your property and consider whether your insurance coverage is what it should be, or is it more than you really need. When reviewing your payroll figures for the upcoming year, make sure that you can keep your staff on a full time schedule; otherwise, it may be wise to sub-contract out those jobs. With worker’s comp and payroll taxes rising these past few years, you may save some money by subbing out certain tasks. Also, in many instances, policy premiums are priced higher on payroll versus using sub-contractors. In addition, we can explore adding other coverages that you may not currently have but should seriously consider, such as EPLI, Cyber Liability Insurance, D&O, E&O and Umbrella Insurance. With the vast variety of businesses that exist in the Southern California marketplace, there are that many types of insurance coverages available. Discussing them all at this time would be nearly impossible, so it is our suggestion that at least once a year it makes excellent business sense to sit down and review your insurance coverages in detail.

In the coming year, if we, at PJO Insurance Brokerage can be of any service to you by reviewing your current insurance program or designing one that will fit your particular business, we welcome the opportunity to be of service.