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The last thing you want to focus on when starting or running your business is what could go wrong. While you aren’t necessarily going to face struggles right away, if you aren’t covered with a good insurance policy, you’ll likely experience some issues down the road. Since running a business is risky, you should plan on being prepared to handle anything that comes up with the proper business insurance policy. But how do you avoid spending too much? Here are some tips that could save you some money on your insurance plan.

Know What You Need

Not every business needs the same amount of coverage. It all depends on what your business does and the risks involved. At the minimum, most businesses are required by law to have policies for workers’ compensation, unemployment, and disability insurance. But that’s just the minimum. When looking at how much coverage you need, you can start by looking at general liability insurance which will cover your business for any third-party damages, legal defense costs, and reputation damage from libel, slander, or copyright infringement. In addition, also consider a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) to cover your business’s property and typically cover more for less money that a general liability policy. Other coverages will depend on the nature of your business, which your insurance agent can discuss with you your options in more detail related to your situation.

Increase Your Deductible

For most insurance policies, not just business insurance, you can lower your premium by increasing your deductible. Paying a higher deductible means less money the insurance company will have to pay after you make a claim on your policy. Because of this, insurance companies are willing to offer coverage at a lower price. Your agent will be able to discuss with you whether or not this would be a favorable decision for your business and the pros and cons of each choice.

Bundle Your Policies

Bundling your policies means that instead of buying separate policies for every type of coverage you need, you can purchase a package that will offer the same coverage for a lower price. Think of it like going to a restaurant. If you order an entree, side, and drink separately, you’ll end up paying a bit more than if you had ordered the combo that includes those items at a lesser cost. Bundled policies are the “restaurant combos” of insurance.

Be Safety-Minded

The higher the risk of injury at your business, the higher your insurance premiums will be.The safer your work environment is, the better deal you’ll get with your insurance. To get a better price, follow all safety recommendations from your insurance company such as enforcing safety precautions to avoid having your premiums raised to cover the extra risk.

Review and Update Your Coverage Every Year

As your business changes, so will your coverage needs, which means you should review your policies each year around the time of renewal to see if there are better options for either coverage or price. Also, by reviewing your policy with your agent, they will be able to make sure you aren’t paying for any policies that you may have needed for the previous year but not the upcoming year.

Consult with Your Independent Agent

Remember when you are reviewing your policies or looking at what kind of coverage to get for your business, consult with your insurance agent to help you shop for the best deals. They know insurance policies inside and out and will be able to guide you through making the best decisions for your business. If you have any questions or think you could be spending less on insurance for your business, give us a call today.

Owning and running your own business is an extraordinary achievement. The last thing you want is for that business to undergo any sort of harm, including burglaries. Break-ins can be expensive, stressful, and traumatic. They can even result in some businesses closing due to such high costs on top of the loss of whatever merchandise was stolen. There are various steps your business can take in order to prevent burglaries as best you can. By installing lights outside, keeping your exterior neat, reinforcing doors, installing alarm and video surveillance, and establishing a community watch, you can feel confident that your business is protected as much as possible.

 

Install Adequate Lighting

Adequate and secure lighting will deter many burglars away from your business. To ensure your business has preventative lighting, install lights in areas that are not in plain view. Often enough, this is where burglars will gain access to the inside of the building. Be sure to use durable, well-examined lighting so that your lights are both reliable and will stand the test of time. It’s also best to install these lights inside bulb cages that can prevent them from being easily broken, whether by a burglar or the elements. Finally, be sure you’re maintaining your lights and replacing them when they come out. Installing protective lights won’t do you any good if burnt bulbs aren’t replaced.

 

Exterior Maintenance

On top of ensuring your exterior is well lit, there are other preventative steps to take in order to impede burglars. Although you most likely already do this, shrubbery and trees should stay trimmed and neat — especially those in close proximity to the building — because they can provide excellent cover for someone attempting to break in. Your windows are also an easily accessible entrance into your building. Burglar resistant glaze can be purchased from various security companies. This glaze is built to hold against burglars attempting to break in, and is a wise investment as broken glass can ruin merchandise and is expensive to replace. This brings us to the next point, which is not to place valuable merchandise in your business’s windows. Unfortunately, paying customers are not the only kind of person this will attract, so it’s best to avoid the strategy altogether.

 

Burglar Proofing Your Door

Doors are another important factor in preventing break-ins. Having a sturdy, protective door will prevent many burglars from causing any harm to your business. Generally speaking, solid-core wood or reinforced steel will do the trick. In addition to this, installing deadbolt locks with heavy duty strike plates (the attachment to the door in which the lock itself goes into) will increase the security of any entrances very well. Of course, also be sure that the door hinges are located on the inside of the building so that they cannot be removed from the outside by potential burglars.

 

Purchase an Alarm System

An alarm and video monitoring system is the fail-safe plan to ensure that damage is minimized in the event of a burglary or break-in. With technology becoming more affordable every day, there is no reason why your business shouldn’t be reinforced with both types of security. Alarms are also versatile in use. They can be used to protect the perimeter or area of your business, where alarms are placed around the building and generally cover the outside surface of it. Area alarms will protect the inside of the building and are usually motion detectors of some kind. There are also object alarms which can help to protect against specific, valuable items like a safe. If any of these alarms go off, they will alert trained professionals who will contact the owner of the business and local authorities immediately to prevent as much damage as possible.

 

Video Surveillance and Monitoring

Another aspect mentioned above is video monitoring. These services used to be fairly expensive, but prices have dropped significantly as new technology is developing. For a perfectly reasonable investment, business owners can install surveillance on the inside and outside of their building. You can even go back and review the footage as often as you want, because these systems can store massive amounts of footage. Some are even saved directly to cloud databases, in which unlimited amounts of video can be stored digitally. This isn’t just great for preventing burglaries, it can also help you and your staff feel safer throughout the day. Anytime handling money is involved, robberies are a possibility both during working hours and at night.

 

Community Watch

Just like developing a good relationship with your neighbors at home, business owners should get to know those working in nearby buildings. By doing this, local businesses can keep an eye out for suspicious activity in the area. Much like a neighborhood watch program, this is a community system that has mutual benefits for anyone involved. Any time you get the opportunity to keep your community safe, do so! These tips are geared towards small business owners, but they’re also applicable to homes and anywhere else susceptible to burglary. Families can take similar steps to keep themselves safe from burglars. By doing so, they can feel secure in their own homes as well as their small businesses.

 

Big life events like burglaries are stressful, and having financial strain on top of emotional distress can be disastrous. It could mean the difference in whether or not your company stays afloat. Make sure you have the right coverage in place so you don’t have to worry about that if the time comes. Our risk managers are trained in these areas and can help you when assessing what kind of coverage will fit your needs. Take the time and think about what’s important to you. Give us a call today and let us help you in any way we can.

Buying a home isn’t as exciting of a process as it may look like on HGTV. It involves a lot of paperwork and finances to bring you to that happy closing day. But if you haven’t purchased home insurance yet, you’d better start shopping around. For most homeowners, lenders are required to help them obtain the home of their dreams, unless you happen to have enough cash to purchase the home in full. However, if you are like most people, here’s what you need to know about buying home insurance before closing.

 

Do I Have to Buy Home Insurance Before Closing?

Just in case you are still thinking you can get out of home insurance, yes, you do have to purchase it for at least a year in order to close on your home. In order to protect their investment (your new house), lenders will require you to cover your home against disasters. Until you have paid off your mortgage, your lender as the stakeholder has the right to hold possession of your property to protect what is technically their property. Home insurance is designed to protect both you and the lender, which is why lenders typically will not agree to lend you the money for your home until they know it will be protected. Plus, keep in mind that there are some advantages to paying homeowners insurance up front at closing, as you can sometimes exclude that premium from your closing costs.

 

How Much Coverage Do I Need?

Home insurance policies can protect your physical house, your belongings on the inside, and the cost of medical expenses for a person injured on your property. The amount of coverage you need typically depends on your lender. However, the general rule is that you need enough to cover the cost of rebuilding your home from the ground up in case of disaster.

 

A standard home insurance policy will protect you against:

• Damage from the weight of ice or snow
• Explosions
• Falling objects, such as tree branches
• Fire
• Frozen plumbing, heating, AC, or other household systems
• Hail, windstorms, and lightning
• Smoke
• Theft and vandalism
• Vehicles

 

By having homeowners insurance, you and the lender are protected in the event that the house is damaged or destroyed. Additional coverage can also be added such as flood or earthquake insurance, depending on your situation.

 

Types of Homeowners Insurance

Replacement-cost policy–  This type of policy covers the current cost to replace your home. For example, if you were to buy an older home that has unique features, the cost to restore it may be higher. A replacement-cost policy runs about 10 percent more than a cash-value policy but will cover the cost of rebuilding.

 

Cash-value policy– This type of policy costs less than a replacement-cost policy and covers the market value cost of your home and its contents. So rather than reimburse you the amount you paid for something, you will only get back its depreciated value amount.

 

While some types of insurance may be optional, homeowners insurance is a must if you want to own a home. You do always have the option of finding ways to reduce your premium such as by adding security systems, storm shutters, or deadbolts.

 

We’ll shop around for you to find the best policy with the right coverage and price. Let us know how we can help you by giving us a call today.

No matter what sort of business you run, accidents can always happen. Even in a “safe” office environment, an employee could be badly burned from a pot of coffee or slip on a wet floor. Since an accident could happen at any time, you’ll want to already have a worker’s compensation plan in place before rather than after an incident. To make sure you have all your bases covered, here are the steps you should take when an employee gets injured in the workplace.

Seek Immediate Medical Attention

Regardless of if you think the injury is minor or not, medical attention must be provided to the employee to assess the damage. Remember that safety always comes first and the faster you get professional help, the more likely your employee is to recover faster from their injury. Having it on record that you promptly sought medical care after an incident will also reflect positively on you if a lawsuit is attempted.

Keep a Record of the Accident

Accidents usually happen so fast that no one remembers the story correctly, but the second the excitement subdues, talk to everyone who witnessed it. Even if a coworker wasn’t watching the injured employee specifically, they may remember some detail that will be of use later. You will need to write down their statements of what happened, from the accident to the aftermath, as well as take pictures of the scene that caused the accident to happen. File these records away in case the employee ever tries to come back and sue you over the incident.

File the Workers Comp Report

If the injury is bad enough, your employee will likely claim workers compensation for the doctor bills. If they choose to file, as is their right, you are legally required to provide them with a form and report their claim to your insurance agent. This claim is the most important reason your business should have workers comp in place, because it will save you financially from any fees and costs that come from the injury claim.

Stay On Top of the Claim

Once your employee files for workers comp, your insurance agent will request some documentation and evidence of the accident (this is where your record-taking and pictures of the scene will come in handy). During this time, you should be open with your agency about all the details of the situation as well as check in on your employee to make sure they are recovering well.

Prevent Future Accidents

If an accident happened once, it will likely happen again. Prevent a repeat incident by looking at what caused the first injury and making adjustments. If the building was responsible, preventative measures may include a simple repair. If the injury was a result of lack of training, a company-wide education class may be in order. You could also take this time to ask your employees about other possible dangers around the workplace. For instance, maybe they need better equipment or more safety items such as gloves or masks. By taking proper precautions, you can eliminate future workers comp claims and injuries, thereby making your workplace a happier environment for your employees.

Welcome Back Your Employee

Once your employee has recovered from their work-related injury, you are legally required to allow them to return to work at your business, regardless of whether their claim was successful or not. The injury was likely not their fault and they shouldn’t be punished for something they couldn’t control.

By having workers compensation in place, you can protect both your employees and your business. And since your employees are essential for your business to keep running smoothly, you should want to protect them as best as you can. If your business is operating without workers comp or you need help deciding which policy to choose, give your insurance agent a call today and they will discuss the best options for your industry and number of employees.

So, your teen is ready to get their license. It’s an exciting time for them! And maybe for you too, although you may have a number of concerns when it comes to adding a less experienced driver to your insurance plan. There’s the matter of their safety, whether or not they will break certain rules and restrictions on the road, as well as how they will affect your car insurance rates.

Keeping a teenage driver covered under an insurance plan can be extremely expensive, but going without insurance is not an option. While adding a teen driver may be pricey and stressful, there are many ways to lessen the cost. Below are just a few ways you can keep costs down while sending your new driver out on the road.

Mentor by Practicing Good Driving Habits Yourself

If you’re not practicing good driving habits yourself, how can you be your teen’s best mentor? To avoid additional costs, you’ll want to do everything in your power to help them avoid an accident. Have your teen strictly follow safety practices when driving such as putting their phone away, limiting distractions, and buckling up. Make sure they know and follow basic rules of the road every time they drive with you, and hold yourself accountable as well.

Increase Your Liability Coverage

You’ll probably want to increase your liability coverage before your teen even gets behind the wheel. The car they will be driving is in your name, so that means YOU are liable for whatever happens when they’re on the road. Because they are just learning to drive, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have the right coverage plan in case you are held accountable for something you did not do. While you probably do not wish to add an additional amount to your bills, liability will literally save you should a bad accident and subsequent lawsuits occur.

Have Them Drive an Older or Used Car

Because teenage drivers are at a greater risk of getting in an accident, it would be wise to have them drive an older or used car. The car shouldn’t be so old that it’s not up-to-date regarding safety, but having them drive in a well-running vehicle that’s a bit older could save you a great deal of money in the future. These cars are much less expensive to repair should damage occur to them.

Enroll in a Driver Tracking Program

Today, a number of insurance companies provide small devices that monitor driving habits and patterns. These trackers can tell how fast you’re going, the distance at which you break, and other important factors that can give your teen insight as to how they are regularly driving. With this type of information feedback, teens should be able to recognize where their driving could use improvement. Once your teen begins implementing better driving habits, you may see your monthly rates gradually decrease.

Ask About a Distant Driver Discount

When the time comes for your teen to head off to college, they may not take a vehicle with them. Less than half of teenage drivers head off to college with a car in tow. If your child falls into this category, you may be able to get a discount during the time they are away and not driving. In many instances, they don’t have to be very far from home to qualify for a distant driver discount. Check with your insurance provider to see if your teenage driver qualifies you for this type of discount today.

As soon as your teenager begins to think about driving, you’ll want to inform your insurance agency so that your son or daughter can be added to your current plan. This way, they will be covered throughout the experience of learning this important life skill. Make sure they are under the right car insurance plan by having them covered with Life Stages Insurance Agency. To get started, give us a call and let us insure you for all of your major life moments.