Hard to Believe 2014 is Almost Here!!

First and foremost, from all of us at PJO Insurance Brokerage, we would like to wish you a Happy New Year!

I assume I am not the only one who thinks that this past year has gone by extremely quick. It does seem like only yesterday I was writing a blog about the coming year, 2013, and, as they say, it went by way too fast.

As you review the past twelve months, it is our sincerest hope that you hit all of your sales and profit goals and kept your expenses under control, which is not an easy feat these days. In reviewing our past year, there was generally good news, our gross sales were up at a decent pace from last year, but expenses were a little high. Unfortunately, there were a couple of surprises, which, lets be honest, we, as business owners, never want to see hit our books, and even though we ended up with a net increase in accounts, we saw some clients and friends close their doors, which is always difficult.

In reviewing what went right and what went wrong during the past year, I hope that we can continue to improve on those positive moves we made and to look for more ways to minimize the negative things so they will not seriously hurt our bottom line.

One area that was an important part of our company this past year was our website presence and marketing. It is one area that has served us well and one on which we plan on putting more resources and time into making sure it continues to be an excellent source of leads and revenue. In today’s world of commerce, having a complete website is a must to reach as many potential clients as you would like, and this is not an area you want to ignore or skimp on. Having a prominent website and a social media presence in the coming years just may be the difference of succeeding in the business world or
closing your business.

As you map out your plan for 2014 and start to look at sales projections and expenses, the trusted professionals at PJO Insurance Brokerage would be happy to review your current insurance policies, reviewing all your coverages, looking not only for possible lapses in coverage but also for ways to possibly reduce your overall costs.

The first area you may want to look at is your property insurance. Have you added or reduced your overall property inventory this past year? Take a complete inventory of your stock and business personal property and equipment to see if your insurance coverage is what it should be, or is it more or less than you really need? When you look at your payroll figures for the coming year, it would be beneficial to keep your staff working on a full time basis, otherwise, you might look to sub-contract out certain jobs. With the rising costs of workers’ comp premiums and payroll taxes, it might be more cost effective to sub out some jobs. Also, in many instances, policy premiums are actually higher based on payroll versus using costs for sub-contractors.

In addition, we can look at coverages that you may not have but would be wise to acquire such as EPLI, Cyber Liability Insurance and Umbrella Insurance. With the many types of businesses that exist in today’s marketplace, there are just as many types of insurance coverage, so it would be nearly impossible to discuss them all. So, at least once a year, it makes good business sense to sit down with and go over your insurance coverages in detail with a licensed insurance professional. In the coming year, if we, at PJO Insurance Brokerage can be of any service to you, reviewing your current insurance program or designing one that will fit your particular business, we welcome the opportunity to work with you.

Written By:

PJO Insurance Brokerage
By Patrick O’ Neill
4103 E. Prickly Pear Trail
Phoenix, Arizona 85050

Office: 480-248-7495
Fax: 480-248-7493