He was born on June 28, 1951, in Litchfield, IL, the son of William 鈥淏ill鈥� and Rosezella 鈥淒oll鈥� Franzen. Tom married Karen Coatney on October 6, 1972, and they shared 52 wonderful years together.

Tom鈥檚 career in the insurance industry spanned nearly 50 years. He served as Vice President of Scheller Insurance Agency, Inc. for almost 40 years and was the President of Thomas F. Franzen & Co., an insurance and risk management consulting firm.

Tom enjoyed sharing his skillsets and insights through numerous civic and volunteer roles such as being a Board member of HSHS St. Francis Hospital (serving as chairman for four years), and former Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Litchfield, IL Economic Development Coalition.

He was a valued member of the Board of Directors for the First National Bank of Litchfield for over 20 years. A dedicated risk management consultant and advocate for the 果冻传媒, he was highly respected by the Board, members, and staff.

Tom found joy in riding his motorcycle, golfing, hunting, fishing, and making cherished memories with his family. His faith was of utmost importance to him, and he loved engaging in conversations with everyone he met.

He is survived by his wife, Karen, and two daughters: Jennifer (Jeff) Franzen-Ballard of Hazel Green, AL, and Sarah Franzen of Normal, IL. He also leaves behind three grandsons: Jeffrey Franzen, Chase (Jordan) Ballard, and Matthew Ballard.

Please join the Association in offering condolences to the Franzen family. We are exploring meaningful ways to honor Tom鈥檚 memory. If you have any suggestions, please reach out to Steve at Steve@FarmEquip.org.

Memorial Arrangements: Services will be held on Saturday, November 16, at the Methodist Church of Mt. Olive, IL. Visitation will be from 12:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., with a memorial service immediately following.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the Methodist Church of Mt. Olive or doing something kind for someone, as doing so was in his very nature.

Visit to read the full obituary.

In my last article, we discussed property exposures. Now, let’s focus on something new, unpredictable, and hard to plan for: will it lead to property damage, third-party liability, or both? Will it affect our company鈥檚 reputation with customers and vendors? How did it happen, and who鈥檚 responsible?

We鈥檝e covered insurance to value, setting general liability, auto limits, and adding umbrella coverage. We can buy workers’ comp, crime, and D&O insurance, and feel secure. But this exposure is like a ghost鈥攊t comes and goes, leaving us wondering, 鈥淲hat just happened?鈥�

If you guessed cyber liability, you’re spot on. If you have a device connected to the internet, you鈥檙e exposed鈥攁nd the risk could be much larger than you imagine.

Large businesses like retailers, manufacturers, and financial institutions have all been victims of cybercrime, but small businesses and individuals aren鈥檛 safe either. All 50 states, the federal government, and many foreign countries have cyber liability reporting requirements. Could you be required to report? And, what about your customers? Are they required to report?

Cyber incidents are happening more frequently and with greater impact. Someone in your organization opens the wrong email, your systems go down, and your financial data is encrypted. They demand a ransom. Do they have access to your bank accounts? HR says they might have employee info. Now you鈥檙e asking, 鈥淲hat just happened?鈥� and “What do we do now?”

For property, liability, and workers’ comp losses, you call the insurance company. But now you’re wondering: Do we have cyber coverage? Are our limits high enough? Do we have coverage for fines and penalties? Heck, is our own data even covered?

Cyber threats are real and can come from anywhere. And while you handle all this, your business still needs to run!

If you have any questions, contact Tom at Tom.F.Franzen@gmail.com. Tom Franzen is the retained Insurance/Risk Management Consultant for FEMA Services, Inc. Franzen has 45 years’ experience on both the company and agency sides of the business.

Sales Success Takes GRIT: Dean Lindsay
Joint Opening Breakfast Session
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 8:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
Now, more than ever, sales success takes GRIT. In this humorous and engaging program, award-winning business author, Dean Lindsay will share how a heightened focus on Goals, Resilience, Intention and Trust (GRIT) can help you achieve increased sales success in a world of change. Lindsay is the popular host of the business program, 鈥楾he DEAN鈥檚 List,鈥� airing on the C-Suite Network TV and has been hailed as an 鈥極utstanding Thought Leader on Building Priceless Business Relationships鈥� by Sales and Marketing Executives International.

Revolutionizing Talent in the Modern Workforce: Chris Czarnik
General Business Session
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Chris Czarnik has transformed hiring and development in the workforce. As a former military officer and seasoned HR manager, his journey began with a vision to redefine job search methodologies. Recognizing the substantial shifts in workforce dynamics and demographics, Czarnik redefined the talent acquisition process. This process reduces the turnover rate. His book, Winning the War for Talent, isn鈥檛 just a publication, it鈥檚 a manifesto for change, guiding over 3,500 organizations nationwide. He is a strategist, an innovator, and a trusted advisor, reengineering the structure of talent management.
After his General Session, Czarnik will lead an interactive breakout session and will dive deeper into innovative techniques for winning recruitment strategies. Get your recruitment and retention questions answered and take home strategies for finding the very best talent.

Election Overview: State Tax, and Budget Policy Update: Bill Kramer
General/Business Session
Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, 9:00 a.m.-10:15 a.m.
Bill Kramer will provide an overview of the November elections with a focus on the partisan makeup of the states. He will also present an update on the Farm Bill and how the election could affect legislation, taxes and your business. Kramer serves as Vice President and Counsel for MultiState. Recognized for his legislative and policy knowledge, he oversees the firm鈥檚 research services, advises clients on strategic government affairs initiatives, and develops and manages coalitions and associations.

Insurance Coverage/ Claims Overview: Tom Franzen
Breakout Session Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Tom Franzen serves as FEMA鈥檚 retained Insurance/Risk Management Consultant. He will lead a breakout session on how to be certain you have the right amount of insurance coverage and how to prepare for a property loss. While we all hope to never experience one, large property losses are sometimes a part of life. Franzen will walk through the process of filing a claim efficiently, allowing you to focus on getting your business back on track as quickly as possible. The insurance claim process can be daunting鈥� being prepared and knowing what to look for are key. Don’t miss this timely presentation so you know what to expect if it happens to your business!

Registration is open. Click here to register. Click here for a current list of attendees.

In our previous article, we talked about coinsurance, which is found in almost all commercial property policies. Before that, we discussed insurance to value, which became more important during COVID due to rising building material and labor costs. If we鈥檙e not careful, we could end up sharing the cost of a loss as a coinsurer鈥攏ot a good thing! So, how do we avoid this?

Here are three ways to handle coinsurance:

Inflation Guard Endorsement: This option increases your coverage by a percentage, typically 2-3% per quarter, to keep up with inflation. Many insurers, including Sentry, offer different percentage and time options. While this helps, it doesn’t eliminate coinsurance entirely.

Agreed Amount Endorsement: With this option, you and your insurer agree on the value of your property annually using a “Statement of Values” form. This endorsement suspends coinsurance for that policy period, meaning you won鈥檛 be affected by coinsurance in the event of a loss, as long as your values are accurate.

Reporting Form Option: This applies to things like business property, inventory, and work in process, but not building coverage. You report the value of your property on a monthly or quarterly basis, paying only for the coverage you need. However, reports must be timely and accurate. If no one on your team can handle the reporting, this may not be the best choice.

By working with your agent or broker to choose the right option, you can avoid costly surprises related to coinsurance in the event of a property loss.

Next, we’ll shift to another topic鈥攐ne of my favorite exposures. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions, contact Tom at Tom.F.Franzen@gmail.com.

Tom Franzen is the retained Insurance/Risk Management Consultant for FEMA Services, Inc. With 45 years in the insurance industry, Franzen has experience on both the company and agency sides of the business.

In my last article, I promised to delve into 鈥渋nsurance to value鈥� and 鈥渃oinsurance,鈥� and discuss options to work within the 鈥渃oinsurance鈥� requirements.

When insuring your commercial property, consider your buildings and personal property through two avenues: 鈥渁ctual cash value鈥� and 鈥渞eplacement cost,鈥� not 鈥渕arket value.鈥� Market value, the cost to purchase the property, doesn鈥檛 correlate with insurance values, which are based on 鈥渓ocation, location, location.鈥�

Actual cash value (ACV) is defined as replacement cost less depreciation for age. Few properties are insured on an ACV basis because when your building is destroyed or damaged, you want things replaced new for old, without depreciation.

Replacement cost coverage is the cost to replace with like kind and quality at the time of the loss.

As material and labor costs rise, replacement costs increase, necessitating higher insurance levels to meet policy provisions like coinsurance. We鈥檒l explore coinsurance further in the next article.

It鈥檚 rare to lose an entire building or all business personal property. So, why can鈥檛 we just buy enough coverage for probable losses? For example, if we have a $1,000,000 building at replacement cost, a likely loss might be $200,000. Why not just buy $200,000 of insurance coverage? It doesn鈥檛 work that way.

Insurance policies require full replacement cost coverage, 100%, or allow lowering coinsurance to 80-90% of the full replacement cost, making us co-insurers.

The principle behind this is that many people paying premiums cover the losses of a few. This has always been a fundamental insurance principle.
When your agent or broker discusses insurance to value and coinsurance, pay attention. If they don鈥檛 mention these terms, ask why and consider finding a different insurance representative.

If you have any questions, contact Tom at Tom.F.Franzen@gmail.com.

Tom Franzen is the retained Insurance/Risk Management Consultant for FEMA Services, Inc. With 45 years in the insurance industry, Franzen has experience on both the company and agency sides of the business.

Commercial insurance policies have many components, including commercial general liability, product liability, commercial property, commercial inland marine, commercial crime, and business auto, among others.

In this piece, I鈥檓 going to focus on something near and dear to our hearts: commercial property. I鈥檓 not talking about real estate, which typically doesn’t blow away, burn up, or get damaged by lightning or hail. I鈥檓 talking about buildings, business personal property, raw materials, work in process, finished goods, property of others, inland marine coverage, and cargo coverages. In future articles, I鈥檒l also address business interruption and extra expense coverage, which are considered property coverage under business package policies, and discuss endorsements that can enhance commercial property forms.

When we talk about commercial property, we also need to discuss valuation or 鈥渋nsurance to value.鈥� Many of us have seen our 鈥渞eplacement cost鈥� valuation for commercial property increase. Why is this? Well, consider the cost of a 2×4, which has gone up by 400-500 percent, along with increases in wiring, roofing, and labor. All of these factors cause our 鈥渞eplacement cost鈥� values to rise significantly to meet the required 鈥渃oinsurance鈥� requirements. More on coinsurance and how to deal with it will be covered in a later article.

The cost to replace almost everything has increased and shows no signs of decreasing. Expect the insurable value of your business property to rise, along with the required insurance coverage values.

Your insurance policy is a contract that requires certain things, and 鈥渋nsurance to value鈥� is one of them that we must adhere to. More on property coverage, 鈥渋nsurance to value,鈥� and 鈥渃oinsurance鈥� will follow.

If you have any questions, contact Tom at Tom.F.Franzen@gmail.com.

Tom Franzen is the retained Insurance/Risk Management Consultant for FEMA Services, Inc. With 45 years in the insurance industry, Franzen has experience on both the company and agency sides of the business.

Every year, we face the challenge of renewing our insurance policies, and prices are rising despite having few claims. So why do we need insurance?

It’s a great question. While insurance premiums are indeed rising and have become a significant expense for our company, insurance is essential because it provides financial coverage for potential losses covered under our policies. This means that insurance will pay for losses that are specified in the policies.

These losses could include:
鈥� Liability claims covered by general liability, business auto, and umbrella liability policies.
鈥� Statutory liabilities like workers’ compensation coverage for employees.
鈥� Employment-related practices liability for issues such as sexual harassment or hostile work environments.
鈥� Property coverage for buildings, personal property, business income, and extra expenses.

All these potential exposures can place a significant financial burden on any business. Most companies choose to transfer these potential financial losses to an insurance company by paying a premium based on their exposures and experience.

In future editions, we will explore many aspects of insurance coverage, including what is covered and what is excluded, the conditions of the policies, and how to make informed decisions about which insurance companies to use and which agents to work with.

If you have any questions or comments, contact Tom at Tom.F.Franzen@gmail.com.

Tom Franzen is the retained Insurance/Risk Management Consultant for FEMA Services, Inc. With 45 years in the insurance industry, Franzen has experience on both the company and agency sides of the business.