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New
Laws On Dog Confinement
Ohio
recently enacted a law requiring dangerous or vicious dogs
to be confined. The new law has the following definitions:
- "Dangerous
dog" - means a dog that, without provocation has chased
or approached in either a menacing fashion or an apparent
attack, or has attempted to bite or otherwise endanger any
person, while that dog is off the premises of it's owner.
- "Vicious
dog" - means a dog that, without provocation has done one
of the following: Has killed or caused serious injury to
any person. Has caused injury, other than killing or serious
injury, to any person or killed another dog. Belongs to
a breed that is commonly known as a bull dog.
If
you have a dog in one of these categories your homeowners
in most cases no linger provides you with coverage! For a
copy of the new law, stop in our office or give us a call;
or, go online to the State of Ohio under Ohio Revised code,
Sec. 955.11
New
All-Terrain Vehicle Laws
New
law changes coverage for all-terrain vehicles, including snowmobiles
and off-highway motorcycles. The
Ohio Legislature has passed HB611, a law requiring the registration
and titling of most all-purpose vehicles. These include ATV'S,
snowmobiles and off-highway motorcycles.
Vehicles
that are subject to motor vehicle registration are generally
excluded on a homeowner policy. These need to be insured on
an auto policy. If you have any questions, we have copies
available in our office, or give your agent a call.
About
our Lodi Office
If
you've called in to our office in the last two months you
may have heard a new voice. Renee Terhorst has joined our
agency and will assume Pat Emmons' customer service responsibilities.
Pat will be retiring from full-time work after 29 years, becoming
our receptionist in the afternoons allowing her to work slowly
into retirement. We are happy to benefit from Pat's many years
of experience.
Renee
is a Cloverleaf graduate (she wouldn't tell me the year!).
She and her husband Brian live in Westfield Township with
their two children, Ryan and Robert. She has been very active
in Lodi Buckeyes Youth Football and the Lodi Cub Scout Pack
3451.
Renee
has many years of experience dealing with customers, having
spent ten years with the law firm of Laribee, Hertrick & Kray,
and three years with the Medina County Clerk of Courts and
Domestic Relations Court.
If
you know Renee, stop in and say hello. If you don't know her
please take a few minutes the next time you call or stop to
introduce yourself.
Local
Agent Among Top In Field
Progressive
Auto Insurance names customer service rep of the year runner-up:
Michele Filous, a customer service representative (CSR) with
the Padgett-Young & Associates Insurance Agency of Lodi, has
been named among the top CSRs in Northeast Ohio. Progressive
Auto Insurance, one of the largest auto insurers in the country,
name Ms. Filous as a runner -up in its 2000 Independent Agent
Customer Service Representative (CSR) of the Year competition.
Congratulations Michele!
Coverage
Limitations on Business Property
Most
homeowners policies provide coverage on property used for
business, but only up to a certain amount. The typical policy
language allows for coverage up to $2,500 on property, on
the residence premises, used at any time or in any manner
for any business purpose. So, for example, the computer in
your home the kids do homework and play games on 80% of the
time, but that you use occasionally to write a report for
work, is subject to this limitation. Also, note the phrase
"on the residence premises". For property taken off premises,
such as tools the carpenter takes to the job site or the laptop
computer the salesman takes on the road, most policies only
provide coverage up to $250 or $500.
Another
important point regarding business property is that a homeowners
policy will not cover an outbuilding (detached garage, barn,
shed, etc.) if it is used in whole or in part for any business
purpose. So the contractor who stores tools and materials
in his detached garage has a dollar limitation on the business
property and no coverage on the building itself.
Please
be aware of these limitations and call us if they present
you with any concern. In most cases, additional coverage can
be added to address specific needs.
How
Recent Supreme Court Decisions May Affect You
Companies
Announce Increased Premiums
- Some
companies have announced increased premiums for commercial
auto and umbrella policies.
- Other
companies, such as Travelers, have announced they would
stop writing new commercial and umbrella policies in Ohio.
- For
many of our customers, new forms will have to be signed.
If you receive an insurance form to sign for Uninsured-Underinsured
Motorists Coverage please sign it and return it to the company
as soon as possible.
In
the Scott-Pontzer case, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that
an employee, not engaged in his employer's business or driving
a vehicle owned by the business, could collect Uninsured-Underinsured
Motorist Coverage from the employer's auto policy.
Commercial
Automobile policies were never designed to provide insurance
coverage to employees while driving their personal automobile
for non-business activities.
In
the Linko Case, the Supreme Court seized power from the
Ohio General Assembly by amending the Ohio Underinsured-Uninsured
Motorist Statute with regard to consent forms that auto insurance
applicants sign. This case exposes automobile insurance companies
to liability never intended or expected by them or the Ohio
General Assembly.
Both
of these decisions are affecting your auto premiums for the
future.
Further
Congratulations!
At
a recent staff meeting Ron Roach and Michele Filous were honored
for 15 years of employment with Padgett-Young.
Changing
Vehicles? Are you Covered?
Please
call us as soon as possible whenever you acquire a car. Don't
rely on the dealership to notify us. (Too often it doesn't
happen.) It is your responsibility to notify us. Most policies
now only provide coverage for 14 days if that auto replaces
one you currently have on the policy.
Home
& Flower Show
We
would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you that
stopped by our booth to say hello. The winner of our drawing
this year for the safety basket was Mrs. Bessie Fitzwater,
Congratulations Bessie!
Long
Term Care Reality
Chronic
illness . . . injury . . . old age. When basic activities
of daily living like dressing, bathing or eating loom as challenges,
you or someone you love may need long term care. Arthritis,
Parkinson's disease or a degenerative condition such as Alzheimer's
disease may create a need to depend on them for personal care.
Imagine not being able to care for yourself. It's a real concern
and it happens all too often. Recent reports about long term
care may surprise you:
- An
estimated 43 percent of Americans over the age of 65 will
spend some time in a nursing home during their lifetime.
(Working Women, September 1997)
- The
average nursing home stay is 2.2 years. (Health Care Financing
Review, Fall, 1996)
- The
average annual cost of a nursing home stay is over $40,000
and can exceed $100,000 in some parts of the country (Wall
Street Journal, March 31, 1999)
- Care
at home can easily exceed $20,000 annually (Long Term Care
Group, Inc., 1997)
If
you would like to hear more about long term care, please give
us a call.
Keeping
Tax Records?
How
long should you keep your personal tax records? You've stored
years of tax data and every year you dared yourself to throw
away those old documents. But, to be on the safe side, you
continue to maintain your mountain of tax details from years
gone by. Here are guidelines to help you decide which tax
records to keep.
General
Retention Periods
The
IRS generally has up to three years after the original due
date of your return (or the date the return is filed, if later)
to access additional tax. Thus, if you filed your 1997 individual
federal income tax return on or before April 15, 1998 deadline,
the IRS generally has until April 15, 2001, to assess a tax
deficiency against you. If you file your return after the
original due date of April 15, the start of the three-year
time frame shifts to the date you filed the return.
However,
this does not mean you should dispose of your tax records
after the three-year period is up. Instead, copies of your
tax return and other evidence that you filed a tax return
for each year should be retained indefinitely. Why? Because
if you fail to prove you filed a tax return for a particular
year, the IRS can assess tax for that year at any time in
the future.
However,
from a practical standpoint, retaining the details of each
tax return for six years after the return is filed should
be adequate, since the IRS may extend the three-year assessment
period to six years if more than 25% of your income in a particular
tax was omitted from your return.
Property
Transactions
Records
of property you purchase and will likely sell in the future
(including investments) should be kept for at least six years
after the tax year the property is sold (not just six years
after the date of purchase). The reason: These records may
be needed to substantiate your adjusted tax basis in the property.
For example, let's say you purchased a commercial building
in 1980, made significant capital improvements in 1987, and
sold the building in 1998. If your 1998 tax return is audited,
you may have to produce records evidencing the purchase in
1980, and the amounts spent on capital improvements in 1987,
to be able to substantiate the property's cost basis used
in calculating a gain or loss in the 1998 sale.
Lost
or Destroyed Records
Keep
your most important tax records in a safe deposit box, or
in a fireproof cabinet at home. If the records are lost, look
for ways to reconstruct them as soon as possible, so that
you will be prepared for any IRS questions that may come your
way.
NEWSLETTER
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