Hide! Here Comes The Insurance Guy: A Practical Guide to Understanding Business Insurance and Risk Management [Paperback]

Rick Vassar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2006

If you are ready for simple explanations, practical solutions, and time-tested strategies that will reap huge savings in insurance costs, then Hide! Here Comes The Insurance Guy is here to help!

Author Rick Vassar, certified as an expert in the commercial insurance arena, writes from a risk manager’s perspective as he tackles the often confusing field of commercial insurance with his real-numbers–real-solutions strategy.Developed not just as an initial learning tool, but also as an ongoing resource for experienced managers as well as the uninitiated, this simple guide will help busy executives and business owners reduce expenses in their current programs. Vassar will teach you four distinct steps to controlling your insurance costs:

• Understand the language, understand the process
• Know the players, know how to better manage the process
• Develop a strategy, develop a plan to maximize coverage for minimal cost
• Invest the time, invest in real financial benefits

With a fresh perspective, Hide! Here Comes The Insurance Guy provides insight into an industry that is constantly evolving and changing, and shows how you can potentially save your company millions of dollars in insurance costs!

www.vassargroup.com

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rick Vassar, CPCU, ARM, AIS, ARM-P, has been a commercial risk manager for over twenty years and has published several articles on the risk-management process. He is founder and president of The Vassar Group, specializing in risk-management consulting. Vassar resides in Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595386083
• ISBN-13: 978-0595386086
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,521,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Insurance > Liability

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Olly olly oxen free! Come out, come out, wherever you are!", December 17, 2007

By 

Kevin Quinley "GeezerJock" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hide! Here Comes The Insurance Guy: A Practical Guide to Understanding Business Insurance and Risk Management (Paperback)

No need to hide from THIS insurance guy. Somebody once said that a New York accent was the most effective form of birth control known to man. Others might nominate as an effective contraceptive any tendency to talk about insurance.

Author, risk manager and consultant Rick Vassar has penned an illuminating primer on insurance and risk management in his book, "Hide! Here Comes the Insurance Guy." The title is a take-off on the notion that, for most people, meeting with an insurance person or discussing coverage is as much fun as a root canal or proctological exam. Vassar tries (successfully) to cushion the blow and counter the stereotype by presenting insurance and risk management principles in a straightforward way that can profit any business professional.

Part of his theme is that most companies have risks that are overseen by someone whose title is not "Risk Manager." Most companies do not have risk managers but all companies have risk and need to manage it. For these risk managers without title or formal portfolio, Vassar's book is an indispensable primer and guide. Reading and heeding his advice will save businesses much money, frustration and Excedrin-consumption.

Vassar divides his book into three main sections. Part I discusses business strategies to even the playing field between policyholders and insurance companies. Part II walks through the major basic forms of insurance coverage for most any business. Part III rounds out with a useful; glossary and index.

Vassar's target audience is likely not the Fortune 500 or Fortune 1000 risk pro who attends the annual RIMS Conference. There is no highfalutin discussion of enterprise risk management or views from 50,000 feet above ground level. If you are seeking information on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance or the risk management implications of global warming, look elsewhere. The storefront risk manager, though, will find a wellspring of effective tips and tricks between these covers.

Vassar's focus is practical and hands-on, leavened with a self-deprecating sense of humor. Did I say "humor"? Yes, though few comedy clubs are likely to feature an Open Mike night for insurance reps, Vassar takes the human antipathy toward insurance and turns it into a source of mirth and amusement. (Some end-of-chapter checklists would have been a nice addition to the text, but this is a minor quibble.)

So run -- but don't hide - and get your copy of "Hide! Here Comes the Insurance Guy." Get out from under the desk. Leave the closet and face your fears. Insurance may not be fun, but Rick Vassar has come as close to anyone in blending sharp wit with moneysaving insights.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The inside scoop, July 16, 2007

By 

Hermes (The Open West) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hide! Here Comes The Insurance Guy: A Practical Guide to Understanding Business Insurance and Risk Management (Paperback)

The fact that you are looking online probably means that like me you couldn't find a single book on insurance at the bookstores or the library. Amazing considering how many people are employed in the insurance industry. Even most of the books online are just statistics textbooks.

That's why I was so happy to find "Hide, here comes the insurance guy." It is a readable, entertaining explanation of the players and the lingo. It explains the many conflicts of interest you are likely to run into dealing with your broker and pays for itself right there. Each point is explained with a quick example that is no more info than you need.

I recently did the career change thing and now find myself working in insurance. This book brought me up to speed in about a week and saved me years of learing things the hard way. Highly recommended.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good, quick, useful, intelligent read..., August 15, 2006

By 

Teresa J. Milas - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hide! Here Comes The Insurance Guy: A Practical Guide to Understanding Business Insurance and Risk Management (Paperback)

I loved this book. It's funny. It's approachable. It helps one understand business insurance in a way that makes sense, and is not boring. Read it! I learned a lot.