CLA Insurance Announces 25 Year Anniversary, Celebrates at the Clean Show

Oakbrook Terrace, IL – May 21, 2013 – In a market riddled with mergers, acquisitions and name changes, it’s becoming increasingly rare to encounter a company celebrating 25 years in the insurance industry. But that’s just what CLA Insurance announced today.

CLA Insurance 25 Year AnniversaryFor 25 years CLA Insurance has provided superior insurance coverage to the self-service laundry industry. Formed in 1988 by the national Coin Laundry Association (CLA) to meet the unique needs of its members, CLA Insurance is the association’s most popular member benefit to date and has averaged a 95 percent customer retention rate over the past three years.

“Upon CLA Insurance’s 25th anniversary, we would like to thank the thousands of insureds whose support has made this insurance program the association’s flagship benefit,” says CLA President and CEO, Brian Wallace. “Thanks also go to the CLA volunteer leadership who had the foresight 25 years ago to make the investment to create this program with the express goal of helping CLA members access high-quality, affordable insurance for their laundries. ”

Like any organization, the company has seen some changes over the years, but two things remain the same: its vision of providing affordable coverage to CLA members, and the voice at the end of the company’s telephone. That voice belongs to Ruby Burch, Executive Coordinator for CLA Insurance, who has been with the organization for over 20 years.

“It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here almost since the beginning, but I am still very excited about CLA Insurance as it continues to grow and expand the coverage offered,” says Burch. “Almost daily, I speak to someone, who has heard from someone, who has heard from someone else, about the insurance program. There is a lot of enthusiasm going around, and I am glad to be a part of that enthusiasm.”

To celebrate the big milestone, the company revealed that they will be attending the biennial Clean Show, the world’s largest exhibition for the garment and textile care industries, in New Orleans, June 20-22.

Burch will be located at the CLA Booth (#2043) during the Clean Show and will be offering Express Quotes to attendees, comparing laundry owners’ current policies with that of CLA Insurance. She will also be able to compare CLA Insurance with other carriers to make sure laundry owners receive the best rate.

“The CLA Insurance program is here to serve our members, whether we write their policy, or not,” explains Burch. “There is great satisfaction for me when I can work through various insurance needs with laundry owners to see how we can make things better.”

To learn more about Coin Laundry Insurance, visit CoinLaundryInsurance.com.

The CLA Publishes Whitepaper, Announces Gold Book Research Series

Oakbrook Terrace, IL – May 7, 2013 - The Coin Laundry Association released today the first installment in a series of whitepapers that are geared towards helping self-service laundry owners become more successful and more profitable in the laundromat business. The whitepaper is also the first component in the association’s larger Gold Book Research Series which will include exclusive laundry industry surveys, whitepapers, and other members-only tools.

WhitePaper_cover“The Gold Book Research Series really plays into the mission and legacy of the CLA and focuses on providing our members with the latest research and information that they cannot get anywhere else,” explains Brian Wallace, CLA President and CEO.

Available exclusively for the CLA’s members, the Research Series whitepapers will take a deep dive into an array of topics that laundry owners often encounter when operating a small business.

The first whitepaper, “Deciding When to Replace Laundry Equipment,” examines what factors laundromat owners should consider when replacing costly equipment. Some of the questions examined include:

  • What constitutes “old, outdated equipment?”
  • How do utility efficiency improvements inform the decision to re-equip?
  • What is the “payback” on replacing equipment of a certain age/condition?
  • What are the tax benefits to consider when looking at this capital purchase?
  • What are the vend price implications of upgrading equipment?
  • What are some common scenarios in which it doesn’t make sense to re-equip a laundry’s equipment?

“While laundromat equipment and a lot of other important topics are covered in our magazine, PlanetLaundry, the whitepaper series will take these topics several steps further and address nearly every aspect that a laundry owner should consider on any given subject,” says Wallace. “Through both PlanetLaundry and members-only materials, we hope to continue providing the industry with the best educational information available.”

Join the CLA and gain access to members-only content and exclusive surveys.

What’s next?

This summer, the association plans to expand the Research Series by publishing the findings from its latest Laundry Customer Profile Survey, and also the 2013 Annual Industry Survey, both of which were designed jointly with Readex Research, a nationally recognized independent research company.

In addition, the CLA is prepping its latest whitepaper, “The Laundry Owner’s Guide to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)” which will help laundry owners to understand the ADA and what it means for their business.

About The Coin Laundry Association

Established in 1960, the Coin Laundry Association is the only national trade organization that services the self-service laundry industry. The association’s primary goal is to advance the industry for laundry owners and their business partners, along with the consumers that benefit from using a local laundry.  The CLA currently counts approximately 2,300 store owners/investors among its membership.

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6 Steps to Lower Insurance Premiums

As an individual laundry owner, what can you do to protect your interests and keep your insurance premiums as low as possible in today’s market?

1. Shop your insurance every year. It takes time and effort, but it really does pay to shop around each year. Rates change; coverage changes; loss experience changes; the quantity and quality of insurers offering policies to coin laundries change; and so many other factors affecting what you pay for insurance change each and every year. As an independent, multi-carrier agency, CLA Insurance shops the market for you each year.

2. Self-insure small property claims. Past claims history affects what you pay for insurance, and sometimes it is in your long-term benefit to pay the smaller property claims out of your own pocket. It can be frustrating to pay it yourself, but keeping a clean record can go a long way to saving you money year-in and year-out. Of course, slips, trips, and falls and other incidents involving potential liability such as injuries to a customer or employee is another story, and should always be reported immediately. Do not try to self-insure a potential liability claim. Whether you’re dealing with a property claim or liability claim, take advantage of your agent’s expertise. If you are unsure, give your agent a call before reporting a claim to the carrier.

3. Update your values. It is important to update your policy each year, especially the values for business personal property. If you have a replacement cost policy, make sure that the values called for in your policy are sufficient for replacing all of the equipment and leasehold improvements in your store. Remember that you as the insured set the values being covered, not the insurance company. If you are insuring the business personal property at $100,000, and after a fire you determine that it will cost $200,000 to re-open the store, your insurance company will never pay in excess of the policy limits. Never skimp on the values in order to save on your premium – when a loss comes it pays to be adequately covered. The same advice goes for those of you who own your building – keep in mind what it would cost to rebuild, not the market appraisal value for sale of the building.

4. Understand your policy and check for accuracy. Make sure that your agent helps you to fully understand what is covered and what is not covered under your current policy. Review the policy from time to time to make sure that it covers all the exposures you currently have with your business. Rely on your insurance professional to ensure that your business is carrying all the protection it needs to survive a disaster. Also, check for accuracy because it is your business. Be sure that your agent used the correct information when having your policy rated and underwritten. Make sure your policy accurately reflects your hours of operation; the number of hours that the store is attended; and the construction type of the building that houses your store. Inaccurate underwriting information can lead to denied claims coverage down the road.

5. Know the financial strength of your carrier. Using an insurance agent who has experience and expertise in your industry is very important, but it is only part of what you need to look for when placing your insurance. The quality and strength of the insurance carrier responsible for standing behind your policy can mean the difference between surviving a loss and being left to shoulder the burden yourself. Insurance carriers are rated for financial strength by a number of services including A.M. Best. These ratings are expressed by a letter grade ranging from “A++ (Superior)” to “F (in Liquidation).” To check on the financial strength of your carrier, visit ambest.com.

6. Make your store safer. Undertake a plan to make your store as safe as it can be. Safety doesn’t happen on its own; you have to take the lead. Start with a self-administered safety inspection and take a look at your store environment from the inside out.

Keep Your Dryers Running Smoothly, Profitably And Safely

Just because you own a self-service laundry doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a mechanical guru. Perhaps your expertise and “comfort zone” lie in sales and marketing or customer service or the financial end of your business or in one or more of the other various facets of operating a coin laundry in today’s marketplace.

That’s OK.

But it doesn’t mean you’re off the hook – clearly, you can’t simply neglect this portion of your business. And one segment that requires the most constant attention are your dryers. Letting these crucial and expensive components of your business fall into disrepair due to neglect can cost you many times over.

It can cost you customers, because dryers that don’t dry will not be tolerated by your walk-in clientele more than once. It can cost you service charges, because someone has to take care of the routine maintenance chores if you don’t. And, as a worst case scenario, it can cost you your entire laundromat, because faulty dryers can ignite a fire that could burn your facility to the ground.

If you’re all thumbs when it comes to the mechanical aspect of your business, this is for you. Here’s what you need to do to keep your dryers drying safely and efficiently:

First of all, dryer lint screens and thermostat bulbs should be cleaned at least twice a week, preferably before and after your heavy periods. Also, check your lint screens for holes or tears.

Belts and chains should be checked at least once a month. Inspect the belt for slack, and oil the chain, if necessary. The rear chain drive should be lubricated twice a year, but take precautions not to over-lubricate. (Note: When oiling motor bearings, use Turbine oil or 20W motor oil. When oiling chains, use 20W motor oil.) Remove lint from the motors periodically. And, of course, be sure that all makeup air vents are clean and unblocked.

Check your trunion housing bearing periodically. This can be done by opening the door and pushing up on the inner cylinder. If you find more than a quarter-inch “give,” shut the machine down for repair.

Here are some other dryer components to keep an eye on:

Dryer timers. These are replaceable in a relatively short amount of time if you know how, so take the time to learn. Keep several timers in stock. When a customer complains that the dryer won’t start, and it’s the timer at fault, you then can quickly replace it and start machine. Later, the old timer can be repaired and placed into your parts inventory.

Thermostats. These are switches that “turn off” when they have reached a preset temperature. They are about an inch in diameter, and shiny on one side with two push-on terminal lugs on the other. There is usually one switch located above the burner box to turn off the gas valve when an extremely high temperature is reached. It normally operates only when airflow ceases due to a broken drive belt, too much lint on the lint trap or a blocked exhaust flue.

Other thermostats for different drying temperature settings are grouped together in contact with the airflow between the basket and the exhaust. One wire is common to each of these, while the other connection goes to the gas valve via the temperature selector switch. Thus, one thermostat is in circuit at a time, depending upon the setting of the switch knob, which controls the air temperature.

To test these (when the dryer is cold), remove the wire from one terminal and connect a continuity tester across the two terminals. The needle of the meter should deflect fully or the buzzer should sound. Now put a cloth, which has been in boiling water, on the metal cap of the thermostat or pass a flame across it. The meter needle should return to zero or the buzzer should remain silent.

If a dryer is operating properly, but it is too hot or too cold on one heat setting, the cause is likely to be a faulty thermostat.

Thermocouple. This is a length of thin copper about 23 to 24 inches long with a bulb on one end that sits in the pilot gas flame with a screw fitting at the other end for connecting to the gas valve. Unless the bulb is heated, the gas valve cannot pass gas through. Thermocouples can become burned and inoperative, but sometimes only need to be cleaned and properly refitted to the gas valve. You should probably keep a spare on hand. If the pilot flame is hard to light or pops out often, the thermocouple is usually at fault.

Gas valve. This is the assembly in the gas pipeline that has the red button to press to light the pilot flame. It also has an electromagnetically operated valve that turns the main burners on and off. This valve will not operate until a chain of switches is turned on. The chain includes the door switch, motor centrifugal switch, burner box thermostat, temperature-selected thermostat and timer contact.

In addition, of course, the pilot flame must be alight, and heating the thermocouple. So, if the basket is rotating, but you are not getting heat, it could take a series of steps before you trace the fault.

The gas valve solenoid makes an audible “clunk” when opening, so listen for that sound when making tests.

Safety mechanisms. When it comes to dryers, all machines should stop tumbling immediately upon opening the door. Be sure all kill switches are in proper working order.