Palisadian-Post inancial
PALISADIAN~POST THURSDAY, JAN
Time to 'Audit' Personal Insurance Policies
By NICHOLAS KAHRILAS
Special to the Palisadian-Post
n these economic times, com-
I panies and individuals alike
are taking the time to critical-
ly evaluate their assets, income
and expenses. One item too com-
monly overlooked, however, is
insurance. Whether it is a policy
that is significantly overpriced, a
dangerous gap in coverage, or
more recently, a policy held by a
carrier on the verge of bankrupt-
cy, a full audit of your coverage
can often save you money and
provide you with significant
peace of mind in the future.
In our professional life, insur-
ance is something we pay regular-
ly, complain about oft~n, but eval-
uate seldom. Policies are kept in a
fIle cabinet collecting ·dust. They
have never been read, much less
been evaluated to determine if
they continue to adequately cover
your risk profIle. In many cases,
no one, not even your insurance
Nicholas Kahrilas is chief executive officer at Platinum Legacy. R;ch Schm;ttlStaff Photographer
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agent, has a present awareness of
whether your existing policies are
consistent with the specific risk
profIle and tolerance of your orga-
nization. In most cases, gaps in
coverage have developed that can
expose you and your company to
unneeded risk. Unless you have
competitively bid out your organi-
zation's total insurance needs in
the last few. years, you are proba-
bly missing out on an opportunity
to make significant improvements
in coverage, cost or both. Both
the life and the property and casu,
alty insurance markets are incred-
ibly "soft" right now and the
result is a competition among car-
riers for your premium dollars.
As individuals, it is even rarer
that we take the time to read or
review our insurance needs. Most
of us have not taken the time to
re-evaluate policies we have held
for some time to determine
whether they are needed any
longer. In many cases, policies
that were purchased even five
PAGE 19
years ago can be replaced with
new policies providing better cov-
erage for significantly better
cost. In some instances, life poli-
cies can be a source of significant
profit for people over the age of
70 when these policies can be sold
into the life settlement market.
This year, we should all take the
time to wipe the dust of those old
policies and conduct a complete
insurance audit. Whether you are
an individual with an old life poli-
cy you haven't thought about in
years or a large organi7.ation that
hasn't had a thorough outside
insurance audit in far too long, it is
unlikely that there has ever been a
better time to take a critical eye to
such expensive asset.
(Pacific Palisades resident
Nicholas Kahrilas is chief execu-
tive officer at Platinum Legacy, a
financial and insurance manage-
ment firm in Beverly Hills. Con-
tacts: 310-887-4300, ext. 223;
and www.paltinumlegacy.com)