Greetings

Dear Readers:

The new year is well under way and, frankly, we are happy that 2009 is behind us. Thanks to the support of our customers and the hard work of our people, our company managed to have a solid year. We know it will take some time for our economy to recover, but we are encouraged by some signs that better times may be coming later this year.

We are always amazed at our ability and the ability of our customers to continue to find ways to respond to challenges. For our part, we invest a significant amount of time and dollars to keep our people educated about the insurance industry, but we don’t stop there. We also make a substantial ongoing investment to make sure our people understand your industry and the challenges you are facing. We are active participants in local, state and national organizations that support your industry, and our people regularly attend seminars and webinars to stay up-to-date on current issues that affect you.

Our mission statement says, “Our goal is to consistently exceed the expectations of our customers.” We want you to know that in these tough economic times, we continue to be committed not only providing the services you expect, but also looking for ways to help you be more successful.

Sincerely,

John Cline and Mike Wood, Founders

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What's New

As you probably know by now, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) new safety initiative, CSA 2010, is scheduled for nationwide implementation by year-end 2010. This initiative has far-reaching significance for the trucking industry. The way data is compiled and formulated using CSA 2010’s new Safety Measurement System (SMS) is significantly different from the current SafeStat system. Cline Wood is continuing to help get the word out about this important new initiative

Feb. 10-12: David DeBolt, vice president of loss control services at Cline Wood, presented “CSA from the Business Side” at the National Tank Truck Carriers Association Winter Membership and Board Meeting in Longboat Key, Fla.

Feb. 28, 1:45-3 p.m., and March 3, 7:30-8:45 a.m.: Tom Dickmeyer, CEO of Cline Wood Agency, was a co-presenter at the Truckload Carriers Association 72nd annual convention educational series, Trucking in the Round, in Las Vegas. Tom and Greg Feary, managing partner of Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, explored how to make your fleet a desirable risk to the insurance industry under the new CSA 2010 regulations in a presentation titled, “Purchasing Insurance – The Impact of CSA 2010.”

Related industry news:

Read more about CSA2010 on the FMCSA web site.

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Out and About

If you’re at any of these events, please stop by to see us:

April 7-8: National Tank Truck Carriers Association Annual Safety and Cleaning Seminar, Renaissance Hotel, Nashville, Tenn. — David DeBolt, vice president of loss control services.

April 13-14: Kansas Grain and Feed Association Annual Convention, Topeka, Kan. — Matt Koster, producer, and Gary Coady, vice president of agribusiness.

May 3-6: American Trucking Association National Accounting and Finance Council’s Annual Meeting, Amelia Island Plantation, Jacksonville, Fla. — Tom Dickmeyer, CEO, will be a speaker.

May 10-12: National Tank Truck Carriers Association Annual Conference and Tank Truck Equipment Show, Marriott Hotel, Chicago, Ill. — John Cline, co-owner and David DeBolt, vice president of loss control services.

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The Faces of CWA

Meet Steve Griffith
Unit Manager – Large Truck

Whether it’s your spouse, a good friend — or your insurance agent — the ability to listen well is a highly sought-after trait.

And that’s what the large trucking clients that Steve Griffith serves get. “I try to be a good listener first and foremost,” says Steve, who is one of the unit managers in the large truck division at Cline Wood. “After hearing and identifying the client’s needs, I work hard to make sure we meet or exceed their expectations. Follow-through also is important, making sure nothing falls through the cracks. When a client has a question or service issue, I try to be as responsive as possible and get back with them as quickly as I can. I want that client to feel like he or she is my only customer.”

Steve has been part of the Cline Wood team for seven years, but he has been in the insurance industry 36 years, about 16 of those serving trucking companies. “I wish I would have spent my entire career at Cline Wood instead of just the last seven years,” he says. “At Cline Wood, I get to work with a great group of people. I am treated with respect and given the latitude to do what’s best for my clients. Everyone at Cline Wood strives to provide first-class service, and that sets us apart in the industry.”

Steve and his wife, Shirley, have been married nearly 35 years. They have two adult children plus a well-loved West Highland Terrier. In his spare time, Steve enjoys taking a daily run, golfing with his brothers and playing tennis with friends from college. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, attending a Bible study group and cheering on the MU football team.

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News You Can Use

Bad Behavior Can Lead to Slips and Falls
Gary Coady, Vice President of Agriculture

While slips and falls might make for good slapstick comedy, in real life they are a serious and costly business. According to that National Safety Council and Bureau of Labor Statistics, slips and falls are the third largest cause of workplace injuries and the leading cause of death in the workplace. The average cost of a slip and fall injury is $28,000, including medical bills, physical therapy, and missed wages. A death from an on-the-job slip and fall is estimated to cost an average of $940,000 — on top of the victim’s family’s loss and trauma.

Want to step up your safety program? Want to help reduce injuries in your workplace, or even in your home? Start with slips, trips and falls.

As you may have already experienced, winter weather provides a challenge to staying on your feet. As we get closer to spring, the constant freezing and melting creates prime conditions for slippery surfaces of ice and mud. Although these situations will always present a challenge, the key to reducing injuries from slips and falls is changing bad behaviors.

Behaviors that lead to falls

Many behaviors can lead to slips, trips and falls. Most of these behaviors are the result of impatience or bad habits that have perpetuated over the years. Here are some behaviors that might be putting you at risk for an injury:

• Wearing the wrong footwear. Good footwear should grip the heel firmly, allow free movement of the toes, have a low wide-based heel and have a fastening across the instep to prevent the foot from slipping when walking.
• Walking too fast or running. This exerts more force on a slippery surface, making it harder to stand your ground.
• Rapid changes in direction.
• Distractions. It’s a simple as watching where you are going before you take a step.
• Carrying materials that obstruct your view.
• Wearing sunglasses in low-light areas.
• Failure to use handrails.

Falls from vehicles and equipment

Many injuries occur in the simple process of getting in and out of trucks, or on and off tractors, machinery, wagons, trailers or truck beds. Here are some ways to practice good behaviors to avoid slips and falls:

• Metal steps have a low amount of friction, which becomes even lower when they are wet, muddy or oily. Keep the steps clean and dry.
• Whenever climbing a vehicle or machine, have a good hand-hold before stepping up.
• Always face the vehicle or equipment when mounting and dismounting. When stepping down backward, you step down on the ball of the foot, which is more stable. When stepping down forward, you land on the heel, increasing your chances of falling, twisting an ankle or knee, or suffering some other injury.
• Always keep three of your four limbs in contact with a ladder or vehicle — either one hand and two feet, or two hands and one foot. Only one limb should be in motion at any one time.

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Partner Spotlight:
ServiceMaster Catastrophe
Cline Wood researches and partners with some of the top companies in the industry, taking the guesswork out of determining which company to hire when a service is needed.

The professionals at ServiceMaster Catastrophe are experts when it comes to rebuilding your business in the face of disaster. They have the training, knowledge and understanding of how fire, smoke, mold and water can affect the structure and contents of your business, and can quickly and effectively inspect, assess and mitigate damage, putting you on the road to recovery.

Registration for their pre-loss planning program is free and enables you to register your company’s loss-planning protocol in ServiceMaster’s computer system. For example, if you have special handling instructions for a loss that is under or over the amount of your insurance deductible, you can share those instructions ahead of time so their crews will know what to do if catastrophe strikes. If you ever have a need for their service, your request goes to the top of their list when you’re in the pre-loss planning program.

Debbie McClendon is the dedicated ServiceMaster representative for all Cline Wood clients. She is personally involved in every Cline Wood account to ensure you are taken care of properly and that the communication lines are open among you, your insurance agency, and any other parties involved. For more information about ServiceMaster or the pre-loss planning service, contact Debbie at 816-763-6677, dmcclendon@servicemastercat.com, or visit www.servicemastercat.com.

ServiceMaster is one of the largest restoration companies in the country with 3,500 locations in all 50 states.

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Transportation

Better 2B Safe
By Cheryl Fennesy, Vice President – Transportation

Texting is a great way to get a quick message to someone … but not while you’re driving. That’s why the Transportation Department has recently banned the use of texting for drivers of vehicles weighing more than 10,000 lbs.  The regulation was announced in late January and went into effect immediately. 

Drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750. Many states already ban texting while driving any type of motor vehicle, and many more states are considering a ban. This is a trend we expect to see continue as safety advocates lobby for texting bans and, in many cases, bans of cell phone use all together. In fact, in December, President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing federal employees not to text or use their cell phones while driving government-owned vehicles or equipment.

Texting is dangerous because it takes a driver’s attention away from the road. Research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting. At 55 miles per hour, that equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road.

We recommend all drivers find a safe place to pull off the road before using their cell phones in any way. Your safety and the safety of those on the road depend on it.

Related industry news:

Read the Transportation Department announcement of the new texting ban.

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The Safety Zone
A look at safety issues by David DeBolt,
Vice President of Loss Control Services

Remember Hours of Service? Sure you do! We’ve written about this issue a lot, always closing with “you haven’t heard the last about this topic.”

Well, with all the attention being focused on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) new safety initiative, CSA 2010, we should be mindful that another assault is being made on the current Hours of Service. Depending on whom you talk to or what you read, the FMCSA either cut a deal with the usual lobby organizations or as part of a political payoff, they “voluntarily” offered to revisit the existing Hours of Service regulation.

Quietly and with little fanfare the FMCSA has reopened the Hours of Service issue, and at this time is conducting four “listening sessions” throughout the country to solicit comments from trucking and other interested parties. Eventually they will publish a Notice of Proposed Rule Making, which will define in published form what changes, if any, they propose to the current regulation.

Stay tuned. You still haven’t heard the last about this topic.

Related industry news:

Find more information about Hours of Service regulations on the FMSCA web site.

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Agribusiness

Do You Need Equipment Breakdown Coverage?
by Clarissa Orlich, AFIS, Marketing Account Manager, and Beth Owens, Marketing Executive

Agricultural businesses today depend on various types of equipment to operate efficiently. When that equipment breaks down, it can have a significant impact on your business. Repairs are can be costly, and losses can be compounded by down time, spoiled perishables and/or lost income.

Insurance coverage specifically for the breakdown of equipment is available and has three components. Coverage pays for the physical damage to covered equipment, damage to other property of the insured caused by the covered equipment, and loss of income due to damaged equipment and/or damaged property.

Traditional property policies are not designed to cover the breakdown of critical equipment such as:

• Mechanical equipment, such as pumps, ventilation fans, and motors.
• Electrical equipment, such as scales, transformers, panels and cables, and generators.
• Communication systems, such as phones, and security and fire alarm systems.
• Refrigeration and air conditioning, such as compressors.
• Boilers and pressure vessels, such as hot water heaters, heating boilers, and fire suppression systems.

Equipment breakdown coverage protects against the following causes of loss that are typically excluded or limited in property policies:

• Loss or damage caused by, or resulting from, artificially generated electric current — including electric arcing — that disturbs electrical devices, equipment, appliances or wires.
• Mechanical breakdown, including rupture or bursting caused by centrifugal force.
• Power surges.
• Motor burnout.
• Boiler damage.
• Operator error.

Here are some actual examples of equipment breakdown losses:

• A circuit-board failure caused controls for pumps that automatically dispense liquid cattle-feed supplements to fail. The pumps turned on and stayed on throughout the night. Approximately 483,333 pounds of liquid spilled all over the floor. The total paid loss was $31,506 [The Hartford].
• A 600-foot-deep well pump on a farm broke when a three-inch tube failed. The total paid loss was $41,000 [The Hartford].
• A firm was hired to engineer the recently installed condensing system at a dairy. The transfer of the product from the holding tanks to the transport tanker was miscalculated. When the loss occurred the pumping system was calibrated to pump the product into the tanker at a rate of 10 gallons per minute. At this rate the product spoiled by the time the tanker was filled. The total paid loss was $92,494 [Travelers].

Consider equipment breakdown coverage as an important element of your insurance program. Contact your Cline Wood representative today to discuss your options. In many cases the insurance provider can add equipment breakdown coverage to your existing package policy. When that’s not an option, we have carriers that provide equipment breakdown coverage on a standalone basis.

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