Risk Services Of Arkansas - August 2022

Risk Services Of Arkansas - August 2022

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A TRIP TO REMEMBER Colorado Is More Than a Winter Destination

Is there anything more enjoyable than going on a summer vacation? When many people think of summer vacations, they imagine heading out to the coast to relax on the beach or heading to Disney World to have an exciting trip with their family. In August 2021, my wife and I had the opportunity to explore a location that many people would probably consider more of a winter destination than summer: Vail, Colorado. In the summer, the ski lifts still run, but they don’t take you up the mountain so you can ski. They provide a quick route up the mountain so you can hike to your heart’s content. To say the views were beautiful would be an understatement. My wife is an avid hiker, but I don’t particularly like to hike. I would much rather run to get my exercise. However, my opinion changed when I considered the scenery I viewed while hiking around Colorado. You’re over 10,000 feet up in the air and you can see for miles. It’s simply majestic. Another great thing about Vail in the summer is the weather. In the middle of the day, the temperature stays in the 70s, so it’s pretty refreshing. At night, the temps will drop to the low 60s, so a jacket is necessary. But since we were coming from hot and humid Arkansas, it was simply awesome to be wearing a jacket on a summer night. As a matter of fact, we didn’t even break a sweat while hiking all day due to the comfortable temperatures. All of our time wasn’t spent in Vail, though. Beaver Creek is just over 10 miles from Vail and is beautiful in its own right. It almost feels like an escape from the real world with how immaculate everything is there. We also rented bikes,

transported them to the top of Vail Pass, then rode them down the mountain. We learned that biking is really easy when you’re riding downhill, especially if you’re going down a 10,000-foot mountain. One of the coolest experiences for me (but not for my wife) was learning more about the 10th Mountain Division while visiting their museum in downtown Vail. The 10th Mountain Division trained in and around Camp Hale, which is near Leadville Colorado, in 1943 and 1944, where they learned how to live, sleep, climb, ski, and fight in the adverse cold, snowy mountain conditions. In late 1944, the 10th was shipped out to Italy to fight the Nazis who had lots of fortified strongholds in the Italian Alps. During five months of ground warfare, the 10th was opposed by nearly 100,000 German troops. They were able to destroy five German divisions, which effectively dismantled their defensive perimeter in Italy. The division had its own share of casualties during the battle, but those who returned home left a massive impact on the ski industry in America. The 10th Mountain Division veterans started at least 62 ski areas in the U.S., including Vail and Aspen. Last year’s trip to Vail was full of fun, great weather, and history. Even though Vail can be an expensive area, you can get a lift ticket and enjoy a day of hiking while spending a minimal amount of money. If you’re looking for a respite from the summer

–Brad Johnson President, Risk Services of AR

heat and humidity, we highly recommend traveling to Vail or anywhere else in Colorado.

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SHOULD YOU USE VIDEO- BASED MARKETING? YES! HERE ARE 3 TIPS TO GET STARTED People spend most of their time at home now more than ever. This is one of the reasons video-based marketing is becoming so popular. It allows your audience to engage with you and influencers and learn about your products, and it will enable customers to shop while watching your videos. Here are ways you can incorporate video-based marketing into your business. 1. Use your resources. Before you go live or create a video, you want to ensure you have proper lighting, good equipment like lights and cameras, and editing software. Even though this may seem like it wouldn’t make that much of a difference, your video quality will influence your customers more than you think. 2. Take advantage of social media. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have options where you can share both prerecorded and live videos. More and more people spend their time on social media, so meet your customers where they are. Create something engaging that complements what you’re trying to sell. Your videos don’t need to be long. However, by making longer livestream videos, your clientele can post comments while you’re live. You can answer questions and engage more with your audience this way. 3. Tell stories. Storytelling is one of the key strategies business owners are using to engage and relate to their customers. It helps you build a stronger and more meaningful relationship with your audience and makes them feel valued. So, begin brainstorming what stories you would want to tell. Is there a specific reason you created, or are advertising, a particular product? Share these experiences with your clients. If you’re not selling an item, you can create videos to simply build a connection with your market. This will keep your business at the forefront of your viewers’ minds. These are only a few of the many ways you can begin using video- based marketing within your business plan. It will help you boost your retention rates and allow you to connect with your customers in a way that is the most convenient for them. So, smile for the camera; you’re about to go live!

Over the past few months, we have seen the effects of inflation take a toll on our grocery stores, gas stations, and just about everywhere else. But there’s another area inflation is hitting that many people are unaware of: homeowners and business insurance. According to a new survey from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), a majority of insured homeowners have not taken the necessary steps to ensure their insurance coverage is keeping up with rising inflation and increased building costs, which could leave policyholders uninsured if a disaster strikes. In addition to APCIA’s survey, a study conducted by Selective Insurance found that only 43% of business owners have increased their business insurance policy limits to account for inflation. The study also found that nearly 40% of business owners do not fully understand the scope of their insurance coverage. This means they can’t properly assess if they are fully protected or not. Additionally, 1 in 4 business owners have not purchased any insurance for their business, which could quickly spell doom if they are hit with any property damage or liability claims. The pandemic provided an opportunity for many homeowners to expand on their current abode, but the APCIA survey found that less than 40% of homeowners who remodeled updated their home insurance to account for the changes. Only 30% of insured homeowners have purchased more insurance or increased their coverage limits to compensate for rising building costs. “It is critical that homeowners make sure they have the right amount and right types of coverage during this period of significant inflation, but unfortunately, our survey shows that many individuals may not be properly prepared,” said Karen Collins, assistant vice president of personal lines at APCIA. “Our survey found that about two-thirds of homeowners may be without key additional coverages, such as annual inflation adjustment, extended replacement cost, and building code/ ordinance coverage that can better protect them in these challenging market conditions.” If you have not reviewed your homeowners or business insurance during the past few months, now is the time to do so. You don’t want to wait until disaster strikes. Make sure you, your family, and your business are protected.

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Cleaning Up America’s Lakes

One Nonprofit’s Mission

their home and their planet, and in turn, people should ask themselves how they are choosing to contribute to preserving our environment today.” Now that Clean Up the Lake has fully cleaned Lake Tahoe, they have their sights set on more lakes in dire need of a deep clean. They plan to head to Donner Lake, Fallen Leaf Lake in the Tahoe Basin, and June Lake next. If you plan to head to a body of water over the next few months, try to make an effort to clean up after yourselves. Trash and litter can leave a lasting impact on our environment, and lack of care can be detrimental to preservation efforts.

litter that weighed in at 25,281 pounds. Divers circumnavigated the lake, removing any plastic or glass they could find while also pulling out lost engagement rings, wallets, Nikon film cameras, lamp posts, broken-down engine blocks, and cordless telephones. “Over the past year, despite winter weather, COVID-19, and wildfire-related challenges, our dive team has been in the water at every opportunity to complete this unforgettable effort,” said Colin West, founder and executive director of Clean Up the Lake. “Ultimately, what we hope people remember is the length that one group of individuals was willing to go to in order to protect

Whenever you head to the beach, river, or lake, you’re sure to stumble upon some trash either along the shore or in the water. It’s incredibly upsetting to see the beautiful environments in our country become cluttered with trash that has no business being in these areas, as this litter can have a negative impact on the environment. That’s why one nonprofit organization has made its mission to clean up America’s lakes. For the past year, the nonprofit Clean Up the Lake has been pulling up submerged trash from Lake Tahoe. As of May, they have fully restored the full 72 miles of the lake’s shoreline and sub-shore. They collected 24,797 pieces of

Solution on Pg. 4 Have a Laugh!

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1501 Mart Dr. Little Rock, AR 72202 501.666.6653

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INSIDE This Issue

My Trip to Vail Last August page 1

Meet Your Customers Where They Are Why You Should Review Your Insurance Coverage page 2

Removing the Litter From Lake Tahoe page 3

3 Ways the Traditional Conference Room Is Changing page 4

Transform Your Workplace Exploring the Evolution of the Meeting Room

face meeting, adding more dynamism to a conference room can increase productivity levels and ease employees back into the workplace comfortably. New Locations Most conference rooms are found in building amenities or sometimes even outside. Exposure to nature tends to spark creativity and reduce stress levels, so companies are opting for open- air workspaces. Natural ventilation breaks the traditional flat, four-cornered room and offers employees a change of pace. Creating a place for employees to escape the typical workplace environment allows them to clear their minds and come up with new conclusions or ideas. Technological Upgrades Conference rooms have accommodated the new workflow with videoconferencing and updated camera, screen, and microphone placements.

The conference room is perhaps the least favorite space in the modern office. It’s the place where countless workers have nodded off, shared eye rolls, or secretly checked phones held in their laps. The old-school space is getting an upgrade, as the design has contributed to some of these responses. In the early days of the pandemic, management was quick to make changes in the conference room to adhere to safety guidelines. But since the return to the workplace was postponed, again and again, bigger changes are taking place. A Brand-New Design Instead of the traditional formal, rectangular room, companies are designing new spaces that can transform and become hyperflexible. Thanks to movable partitions, companies can create a space that grows or shrinks depending on need. Whether it be a hybrid or face-to-

In most conference rooms, the screen is in the front center of the room and employees must turn their heads to face it. Companies are now placing screens along the sides of the room so they can view meeting attendees from any angle. Cameras and microphones are mounted on walls or ceilings to capture responses from in-person attendees for the benefit of videoconferencing attendees. Meetings are essential for effective collaboration in the workplace. As our world is constantly changing, companies are evolving functional workspaces to improve productivity all while creating a space for employees to thrive.

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