frustration!

“LinkedIn is like a huge Chamber of Commerce in the Cloud” – I’ve preached often to my listeners. You have the ability to connect with people that can help grow your business, and in turn your bottom line, so much quicker than 10 or 20 years ago! Take advantage of it!

• Imagine being able to have access to a group of like-minded individuals all looking to help each other. LinkedIn can do this.
• Imagine being able to find someone who knows your #1 prospect – you know that one who has been on your “hit list” for 5 years. LinkedIn can do this.
• Imagine being able to search by zip code, by industry, by key word and find individuals or companies who are in your target market. LinkedIn can do this.

Oh but it gets better…

Psst…Here is LinkedIn’s biggest secret – the biggest bang for your buck: The power is not necessarily found in those you are directly connected to (your 1^st level), but in your connections’ connections. Yes it’s your 2^nd and 3^rd level of connections that you should be looking at. Let’s face it, you somehow already know the majority of people on your first level – now take a look at who they are connected to. I bet there are a few potential clients hidden in there somewhere! In fact I will go out on a limb and say I guarantee there are some potential clients hidden in there. Simply ask the person on your first level to introduce you, better yet – have lunch with both of them. Talk about a warm lead – illusive no more.

I’ve met so many fascinating people on LinkedIn, more importantly I’ve learned from my connections and their connections and their connections.

Here are my last LinkedIn tips for the day:

1. Create a power profile – what makes you different than everyone else? Why should people connect with you? Time to pat yourself on the back.
2. Connect with people that will help grow your business and work those connections.
3. Join groups, interact with them.
4. As for recommendations and use them to get new clients and referrals!
5. Update and post often.

Connect with me – I’m always looking to learn a few more things, and connect with a few more cool people! http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindydonaldson/

Chris Garlasco, Owner & Managing Partner – Founders Insurance Group

Unless you have been living on a deserted island in the Pacific, it would be hard to miss the explosion of technology that has been taking place over the past few years. A big part of this explosion has been related to how we record and communicate information. One doesn’t have to be that old to have witnessed generations of new technology appear and sometimes disappear right before our eyes. It seems like just yesterday that we were kids watching black and white television, and in my case, the Dark Age prior to cable. In the case of my mother, she thinks of it in terms of pre-television. At the same time we have more than one generation that doesn’t know what life was like without a handy cell phone. We even have a generation on the rise that knows nothing of the days prior to Facebook. In-between my mother’s generation and today’s youth, we saw the beginning of the PC, the fax machine, a GPS, tablets, e-readers, smart phones, and of course, the internet. The actual list is longer than could ever be presented in this forum.

When it comes to today, we can feel the power of our ability to share, transmit and store data like never before, yet at the same time, we all get a sense that we are just barely scratching the surface of what’s yet to come. We can remember when a “cloud” was something that gave us shade from the hot sun, not a warehouse full of data.

Like all technological advances, the potential for improving our society is often mirrored with the potential for misuse and abuse of the very technology that improves our lives. History is filled with examples of the benefits and misuse of new technology.

The thing that captures my attention in this current era is the speed at which this new technology is reaching the consumer. At the risk of sounding like an aging grandparent, I often wonder if it is all a bit too fast. The collection, use, and communication of information seem to be outpacing society’s ability to digest and review the long term effect of how we currently share information. The rule of law seems to always be just one step behind and I fear that the illusion of privacy is simply that…….an illusion.

EBay routinely monitors its community’s use of communication for misuse. Most of us have experienced something that we reviewed on line showing up later in the form of advertisements or pop up screens. It currently is being debated in Washington as to how private your emails are when it comes to the IRS. I often wonder exactly how private are your privacy settings on your favorite social media site?

Certainly there are far more qualified people to discuss and write about some of the concerns I have mentioned. So the question is, why am I writing about this and what does it have to do with your insurance?

In addition to the threats to your privacy, there are an emerging number of people that are willing to sacrifice their privacy in lieu of saving some money. So the question that I have for each person reading this diatribe is, “how much privacy and possibly how much freedom are you willing to sacrifice in an effort to save a few dollars?” What is your privacy worth to you?

There are two instances that immediately come to mind in the insurance world. The first centers around the new devices that can be placed in your car to monitor your driving habits. The one that is likely the most well-known is “Snapshot” from Progressive Insurance Company. But they are not alone. Companies like Travelers and Safeco (A Liberty Mutual Company) offer similar products and with the perceived success of Snapshot, it is safe to say that other companies will follow suit. There has also been some discussion of requiring a “black box” type device in your car to allow police departments to gather data at the time of an accident. Some car companies may already be doing it. Of course, like the insurance devices, the idea is to keep you safe and keep you or society from overpaying. However, while the roads are in the public domain, your car is private property.

There was an outcry recently over the national drugstore chain, CVS, gathering information on their employee’s personal health as part of a “wellness” program. Of course CVS claims that this isn’t required, but a hefty surcharge ($600) on the employee’s health insurance will be levied for those that don’t participate. With the advent of the Affordable Care Act, it is reasonable to believe that this is just the beginning of a new trend. Those of us that live near New York City, and many of us that are not, are familiar with the battle over soda sizes. People took sides in the heated debate which often led to one group claiming that it didn’t want to cover the cost of another group’s lifestyle. The Affordable Care Act reaches directly or indirectly to the health insurance and health care of every American.

Our ability to mine data and track behavior is at an all-time high and we are just at the beginning of what may be a long term discussion (or battle depending on your point of view) In the case of your auto insurance, which already asks for your credit information, or your health insurance, Americans are increasingly going to be asked to decide, “How much extra money is your private information or freedom worth?”

It is said that everyone has a price. I know what mine is, do you?

Have a great day!

Chris Garlasco

We split up into 4 teams – mine is made up of Cheryl Plawecki, Bryan Johnson and David Coons (my better half – yes we encouraged non Founders people to join us) We are “Mission Slimpossible” – thank you Mr. Johnson for our name J By the way – we plan on winning this thing!

Today we had to weigh in and take our measurements – it wasn’t pretty and now I realize why my summer clothes are just a little more than snug. How does that happen…Ok I know how it happens, I’m just trying to make myself feel better about my added winter poundage. We all know that being accountable to someone else helps in any change of behavior – so we are using an online tracking tool so people can diary their daily food and exercise. No excuses! I’ve set up a points system so even those that don’t need to lose any weight can win by giving up a bad habit, sharing healthy recipes, taking on a new fitness challenge, gaining muscle weight and more!

We also tapped into our insurance carriers to get some cool SWAG – pedometers, water bottles, tape measures, fitness balls, exercise bands. We are ready to rock!

Wish us luck, or better yet why not start your own wellness challenge?

For me – besides fitting back into my summer clothes – I just want to be healthy.  This pic is post Litchfield Hills Road Race last year – I vowed I wouldn’t do it again, but hey – maybe I should!

Happy Trails!

Mission Slimpossible Team Member

June Russell, Founders Platinum Accounts Manager

Kudos to Founders June Russell on her Leadership Northwest Project – Gone to Market!

June and her team members have created a passbook promoting Farmers’ Markets in Litchfield County.

Visit any of the participating Farmers’ Markets in the 2013 season and have your passbook stamped during your visit. Passbooks are available at all the markets – just ask one of the vendors! Once you have completed the entry form by obtaining 8 stamps, submit your form to one of the vendors at your local market. Each market will draw a winner on 9/15/2013 awarding a $25 credit to their market.

Participating are markets in the following towns: Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, Norfolk, Thomaston, Torrington, Watertown and Winsted.

The intent of the Leadership Team is to educate people regarding the many benefits of shopping locally.    Supporting local farmers markets strengthens our community by helping the local economy and our families.  A large percent of the money spent at markets stays in the area.   Local food is more nutritious, studies show how quickly produce loses nutritional value once harvested and some food can travel up to 1500 miles before it reaches our supermarkets.   “Know where your food comes from and who is growing it.”

At many markets, there are a variety of resources and information: tastings, recipes from chefs, information and suggestions on what to do with an overabundance of products – e.g., canning, oven roasting potatoes, etc.

To learn more about “Gone to Market” visit the Leadership Northwest table at the  NW CT Chamber of Commerce Home and Business Expo on April 6^th and April 7th  Location: Torrington Armory, 153 So. Main St. Torrington, CT 06790. Project members include Kim Hanson, Amber Perez, Vee Phonvichith and June Russell.

No Farms…No Food!! Support your local farmer and enjoy the fruits of their labor!

Visit us on:

Just a quick note from all of us at Founders.  We are especially proud to sponsor the Irish Tenors at the historic Warner Theatre on March 13, 2013.  If you haven’t gotten your tickets – hurry as I’m sure this will be a sell out!

For a sneak preview – listen to them here!

Slán go fóill!!

Cindy Donaldson

Director of Marketing & Sales, Founders Insurance

Cindy Donaldson, Director of Marketing & Sales – Founders Insurance Group

Good morning!

We have some pretty cool things happening at Founders Insurance Group!  I know you are thinking -
“What can possibly be cool about insurance?”

If you haven’t already heard, we are in the middle of our first Fan Sweepstakes!

Don’t miss out on the fun – be a Founders Fan!

Click below to learn more or view my YouTube video ( no laughing please!!)

Cindy Donaldson, Director of Marketing & Sales – Founders Insurance Group

In my book there is a silver lining to just about everything if you are willing to look for it.  Hurricane Sandy produced many – communities rallying to help one another, neighbors stepping in and even strangers offering food, water and shelter.  I was inspired to write this post after I received this letter from one of our clients, Monica Bay.  Here is her “Sandy Experience” and her “Silver Lining Story”.

Thank you Monica for sharing and thank you Garma Waldron for taking care of our clients.

Garma Waldron

Here is Monica’s letter…I want to thank Travelers for your fast, thorough, and above-the-call-of-duty service when my car was totaled during Hurricane Sandy, on Oct. 29, when my parking lot

at 97th & First Ave. merged with the East River in New York City. First and foremost to my agent Garma Waldron who oversaw every nuance of the transactions, giving me prompt, accurate guidance.

I had a hunch that my car might be doomed when NBC’s Chuck Scarborough said on Tues. 10/30 there was some flooding on the FDR. Wednesday, 10/31 I decided to walk over and check out my car — at first glance, the car looked fine. Then I opened the door. (The rest, as they say, is history). It was full of water. I loved that car, I had just put in a “moon roof,” but I realized that others faced heartbreaking tragedies; it was, after all, just a car. I pulled a few items out, walked back home and called Garma.

That set the wheels in motion. Saturday, Nov. 3, Bill Thomas met me at the car, did a thorough inspection, and helped me gather the few remaining salvageable items in the car. He showed me the engine, explained why the car was totaled, and even found my favorite pair of sunglasses that I forgot to retrieve. On top of everything else, and definitely above-and-beyond the call of duty, he drove me (and my soggy parka, dog barrier, and license plates) back to my apartment.

Bill Thomas from Travelers

Thomas promptly called with follow-up info, and my case was transferred to Stephanie Holland in Travelers’ “totals” dept., after arrangements were made to tow away the car.

Garma monitored everything. Stephanie returned all my calls faster than my mom does. She clearly and capably described processes, what to expect, and never seemed rushed or in a hurry to get to the next call (and I knew she had to be flooded with calls). Barry Weiss, my Ford salesperson, was already scouring for a replacement car, and helping me understand how Travelers’ would be evaluating the worth of the car. (I had a brief panic attack when I was worried that I might be — ironically — “under water” on the loan, but he quickly assured me that was not the case.)

Meanwhile, I had another problem. My mother was coming for Thanksgiving week, on the 18th, and I needed a rental car that would get me up to my Lakeville CT cottage with my dog and cat, and be able to drive to Bradley to pick up mom.

Garma and Stephanie told me that I could get a car with no out-of-pocket costs, and verified that it was fine to upgrade and pay a modest difference fee. That’s when Brian Gumpel and Nuno Marques stepped in. Of course, even without a hurricane, rental cars are hard to find when 80% of the Upper East Side deserts the city the Friday before Thanksgiving. When I first called Enterprise, Nuno apologized, and said he had no cars at all. I started to panic, and dove into my sob story about how I absolutely needed an SUV, and he stopped me — “Hey, you are with Travelers. Don’t worry, I’ll make this happen.” And he and Brian did so.

So Friday morning 10/16 I headed north and went right over to meet Barry. Three hours later, I had a replacement car that met all of my wish list items (except the color, but I can live with that), thanks to Barry Weiss’ wizard skills and Garma’s quick paperwork.  (He’s now at Rhinebeck Ford, should any of you need the world’s best car sales person.) So I called Brian, (from Barry’s desk) and said, “Hey, I know you are sold out of cars in Manhattan — and I just bought a car — would you like me to drive the rental back to the city so you can rent it?  Or alternatively, I can leave it at Torrington or Kingston.” I will never forget his cheerful reply:  ”Monica, you can drop it off at either Torrington or Kingston, with no drop off fee, because you are with Travelers.”

So Saturday, (10/17) we drove to Kingston, handed over the keys, and the entire cost was about $57.

Meanwhile, Stephanie had been working on paying off the loan. When I arrived back from Kingston, there was a FedEx envelope carefully secured at my door — with my check. Eighteen days  from claim to check — when you were dealing with no doubt thousands and thousands of claims — and every single person was superb, from start to finish.  You can’t beat that.

The only tiny glitch in the process was that it took Citizens Bank several months to finally send me the “you are paid in full” letter, but they were helpful. It took just one phone call, where they said, “Yes, we’ve received our guarantee letter from Travelers,” and they told me to ignore the computer-generated letters and phone calls I would (and did) receive, and promised me it would not affect my credit rankings.  Last week I got a $68 check from them, so I’m officially done.

Meanwhile, there are still cars without license plates at my parking lot. The next time a hurricane is on the agenda, I’m driving the car up to Lakeville and parking it somewhere with no trees or nearby water!

Again, I can’t thank everyone heartily enough. You made what could easily have been an impossible, slow, difficult, contentious situation into a fast, competent, compassionate, helpful, positive experience. I tell everyone I know about Travelers’ fabulous customer service. Thanks so very much to Garma and the national team. And to Enterprise and Barry Weiss. You all were an amazing safety net for me, and I am so very grateful.

And yes, Barry got me a Mariner with a moon roof. I’m learning to tolerate the color silver

With gratitude,

Monica Bay

NYC & Lakeville, Ct.

Chris Garlasco, Owner & Managing Partner – Founders Insurance Group

The internet offers lots of fun facts about the cost of things back in the 1980′s. Some sites conflict with others, but here are a few fun facts that should offer the “gist” of things back then.

In the early 1980′s, a first class postage stamp was 20 cents! The average cost of a dozen eggs was 86 cents. The average annual full time salary was $16,135 and the average cost of a gallon of gas in 1984 was $1.21. The average cost of a loaf of bread in 1983 was 66 cents! The minimum requirement for auto insurance coverage was 20/40/10.

Flash forward to 2013 and we find that while everything has changed, the minimum requirement for auto insurance has remained at 20/40/10. In laymen’s terms, that is a requirement of $20,000 of liability coverage per person with a maximum amount of coverage at $40,000. The “10″ represents the amount of property damage coverage. The $10,000 of property coverage minimum was reasonable as the average cost of a new car in 1984 was about $6,600.

So, for a host of reasons, some of which I have discussed in other blog entries, the Connecticut mandatory minimum limit of auto insurance coverage has not been raised for a very long time, yet we know that this was a coverage that was designed for a bygone era. The minimum coverage amount should have gone out with acid washed jeans!

Most responsible independent insurance agents try not to offer minimum liability coverage or at the very least, offer it with some very stern warnings. The Founders Insurance Group has a very limited number of these policies on the books and we do not offer it except in the most extreme cases. We understand, like most agents, that we live in a difficult economy and occasionally the minimum is all that a customer may be able to afford, however we would not promote that coverage level in any way. Even though it satisfies the state’s outdated minimum requirement, it will do little in the event of an accident.

There is a company that has started advertising in Connecticut called “Good2Go.” It is a company that we want to bring to your attention because it speaks to a bigger problem in the auto insurance market. A problem that consumers should be on guard for as it relates to their own insurance. Good2Go advertises itself as a company that specializes in minimum limit auto policies. Many places have sold minimum limit policies for a long time, but Good2Go seems to take it to the next step by marketing minimum limits as a great thing. Good2Go even has a mascot call “MiniMo” that helps to promote the purchase of minimum limits. MiniMo states on the company’s website “Pay the minimum you need to get legal. That’s me (MiniMo). While the promotion of minimum limits coverage isn’t illegal it can be a danger not only to the folks that they insure, but to all drivers. Companies like this will make the claim that a little is better than nothing, but I would question how many drivers insured by companies like this realize that they may have assets to protect beyond what the state minimum offers. I would also question if these drivers understand the potential risk that they are taking with their own financial future. I cannot say whether or not Good2Go explains these liabilities to their customers. I do know that they pride themselves in not asking too many questions as their website states, “Our team doesn’t ask for your whole life story….”

So, why should this company and companies like it be of interest to you? The fact is that minimum limit drivers are being subsidized in the form of higher rates to drivers that are carrying more realistic amounts of coverage.

Think of your car for a moment. If you happen to own a newer vehicle, the chances that the value of your vehicle is over $10,000 (the state minimum) are pretty high. So if you’re new car cost you $20,000 and one of these drivers is at fault in totaling your new car, the additional $10,000 needed will come from your policy! Your insurance company may choose to go after the “at fault, low coverage” driver to get their money back by attaching wages or other assets of that driver, but that may be fruitless. As a result, your insurance company in its rate making process must account for the number of uninsured and underinsured drivers in the state.

The bottom line is this; a portion of your insurance premium is being paid to subsidize other drivers that are not carrying a responsible amount of coverage. An increase in the state minimum coverage requirement would also be beneficial to your rates, but that isn’t likely to happen any time soon. In addition to paying additional premiums, you may also need to carry additional coverage to protect yourself, which of course means higher premiums. Promoting the purchase of minimum coverage is something we all should be concerned about.

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For many, this day means no work or no school and the meaning behind the holiday is lost. Alas, people still need insurance so here I sit penning away a blog post at Founders Insurance Group!

A comment was made to me yesterday about this holiday celebration: “Why Dr. King, why not Rosa Parks?” I’ve really been thinking about that question – ergo the blog post.

For me, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is not just a celebration of Dr. King’s legacy but really about our country’s civil rights movement. Where we came from, what we’ve accomplished and where we still need to grow as a country. What many people now take for granted on a daily basis was simply a dream 50-60 years ago: Integration in schools, equality on the job….being able to sit at the same lunch counter with someone of a different ethnic background. Today’s generation would find these things hard to fathom – but in my parents’ generation this was simply “how it was”. Let’s face it; there are parts of our country today where people say “That’s just how it is”.

People like Dr. King and Rosa Parks are proof that one person can make a difference in the world. That one person can affect change. Nothing happens without action, or repeating past behaviors will change nothing. To quote Albert Einstein: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Cindy Donaldson, Director of Marketing & Sales – Founders Insurance Group

So today, let us celebrate difference and equality. Try something new, open your mind to another culture, help a neighbor, do a nice deed or take a stand on something you believe in.

Embrace our melting pot we call America.

Cindy Donaldson

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 4,300 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 7 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.