• Home
  • About Us
    • Affiliations
  • Company Profile
  • Services
    • Service Plans
  • Taxes
  • Website Links
  • Media
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Affiliations
  • Company Profile
  • Services
    • Service Plans
  • Taxes
  • Website Links
  • Media
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • FAQ

The Back Office Talk

Ten Strangest Things Ever Insured

6/2/2016

0 Comments

 
10. Death by Falling Coconut.  Apparently this is a real thing!  In the tropical islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, monkeys, at the direction of their owners, will retrieve coconuts from trees and them promptly throw them at their humanoid overlords.  Heads up, flying coconuts are very, very dangerous.
9. Loch Ness Monster.  A Scottish whiskey company offered a reward for proof of the legendary creature's existence.  The company purchased an insurance policy to cover the cost of the reward.  A recent discovery in the lake turned out not to be the elusive reptile, but rather a prop from a Sherlock Holmes movie from the 1970's.  Keep searching everyone!
8.  Body Hair.  Tom Jones had his chest hair - yes, chest hair, insured for 7 million dollars.  
7. Aliens, werewolves and vampires.  60,000 policies have been issued to protect against an alien abduction or the bite of a supernatural monster.  Be gone, evil beast.  I'm protected by Mutual of Saturn.  Director Stanley Kubrick, while filming 2001: A Space Odyssey, was concerned about having the existence of alien life proven before the film's release and tried to obtain and insurance policy to cover the cost of the film.
6. Breasts & Legs.  No, not the Colonel's secret recipe.  Actually body parts.  Mariah Carey had her legs insurance for 1 billion dollars.  Heidi Klum also had her legs insured, but because one had a tiny scar, it was valued at half of the other leg.
5. Lottery winners.  This protects companies from having all of their employees quit after winning the lottery.  You can quit!  Who will serve the omelets?
4. Tongues.  Rocker Gene Simmons, of KISS, had his tongue insured for 1 million dollars.  This is actually quite a common form of insurance.  Coffee tasters, wine tasters and chefs will insure their ability to taste from loss of income if their taste buds are damaged.
3.  Paternity Suits.  David Lee Roth bought an insurance policy to protect against any and all paternity suits.
2.  A Virgin Birth.  Three sisters from Scotland purchased a policy to cover an immaculate conception.  The Catholic Church took issue with the policy, which was subsequently rescinded.  In 1999, another young lady, named Mary Murphy, had a policy, in anticipation of the coming millennium and the second coming of Christ.
1.  Zombie Apocalypse.  This policy will cover the cost to clean up in the event  of a zombie virus outbreak.  It will cover the cost to clean the curtains after your boyfriend is eaten by a horde of undead cannibals.  

So beware and be prepared for these inevitabilities.  This has been another post of The Back Office Talk.

0 Comments

We're hear to talk about something that nobody can live without - Money!

6/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Things that Americans are suddenly buying more than ever
  • Bowls.  These are the new plates.  They are Instagram friendly.  You certainly can't have a meal without taking a selfie of it first and posting it to the world for posterity's sake.
  • Legal Marijuana.  Americans are buying more of this than they are of bottled water.  A whole host of entrepreneurs have stepped into this market - Whoopi Goldberg being the latest ganjapreneur.  She's started a company to provide access to medical marijuana to women.
  • Stuff in Canada.  Due to a weakening of the Canadian dollar, imports from our neighbors to the north have become more attractive.  We just hope that they don't export Justin Bieber.  We'd rather they keep him.  
  • Adult Diapers.  As the baby boomers enter into the golden years, this market has exploded.  
  • Fast Food Hot Dogs.  Burger King has entered into a hot dog war with 7-Eleven and Checkers/Rallys with the launch of the Whopper Dog.  The hot dogs are not very appealing... they probably should have put them in a bowl.

Minimizing tax burdens should be a priority for everyone.  Understanding the difference between taxable and non-taxable income is key

Examples of taxable income:
  • Your salary, less any money put into a retirement plan.
  • Interest on bank accounts
  • Interest on all bonds except municipal (tax-free) bonds
  • Dividends on investments
  • Severance pay, bonuses, and sick pay from your employer
  • Unemployment compensation
  • Tips
  • Capital gains on mutual funds and other investments
  • Bartering, royalties, gambling and lottery winnings
  • Most withdrawals from an individual retirement account or annuity

Examples of non-taxable income:
  • Money contributed to retirement accounts such as your 401(k) or IRA
  • Gifts from anyone (subject to limitations)
  • Disability income on benefits you paid with after-tax money
  • 401(k) money rolled over into another plan
  • Child support receipts
  • Money received by you as repayment for a loan
0 Comments

    Darren Higgins

    With 20 years of accounting and business administration experience, Darren's work has covered the business spectrum including accounting, financial analysis, human resources, and facilities management.
    ​
    Darren has a range of industry experience including construction, real estate, travel, personal services, marketing, and non-profit businesses.

    Archives

    June 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

​The Back Office Team, LLC
52 Patterson Village Ct, Patterson, NY 12563
Email: dhiggins.tbot@gmail.com
Phone: (845) 224-7936