Questions to Ask Your Small Business Insurance Agent When Purchasing General Liability Insurance

Questions to Ask Your Small Business Insurance Agent When Purchasing General Liability Insurance

Commercial General Liability Insurance is one of the most commonly bought types of small business insurance. But many small business owners still have lots of questions about what it is, why it’s needed, and how it works. Here are answers to the top five questions we hear from our small business clients about general liability coverage.

1. What does general liability insurance cover?

General liability insurance covers claims of bodily injury or other physical injury or property damage. In the event of a covered lawsuit, such policies will typically pay for a legal defense as well as compensatory, general and punitive damages.

A typical general liability insurance policy covers:

- Bodily injury and property alteration liability: If a visitor is hurt on your premises, or you or your employee injures some or restitution property on your client’s premises.

- Personal and advertising injury: Certain offenses you or your employees commit in the course of your business, such as libel, slander, disparagement or advertising copyright infringement.

- Medical expenses: Applicable medical costs if someone is hurt and needs medical treatment due to an happening on your premises.

- Premises and operations liability: Bodily injury and property alteration sustained by others at your premises or as a result of your business operations.

- Tenant’s liability: Claims of alteration due to fire or other covered losses caused by you to premises that you rent.

Please note that this list includes typical coverages afforded under some policies. Be sure to analyze your own policy carefully for any exclusions, limitations, or any other terms or conditions that might affect your coverage. The terms and conditions of your policy will prevail.

2. Why do I need general liability insurance?

Even if you don’t anticipate to ever grappling a claim, General Liability Insurance is a smart, affordable investment in your company’s future. Accidents do happen, and people who are hurt or whose property is dilapidated will anticipate compensation. Even though such accidents might be no fault of your own, you’ll still be held financially responsible for them, and it only takes one such incident to break the bank for most small businesses.

In the event of certain types of lawsuits, even if you feel you’re not at fault, you’ll likely spend a hefty sum trying to establish it in court. For covered suits, general liability insurance pays for a legal defense and any settlement award, up to the limits specified by the policy.

Additionally, many client companies will have contract stipulations that mandate that their business partners or vendors carry general liability coverage. Such contract stipulations protect the client from incurring any costs in the unlikely event that someone or something should be hurt or dilapidated in the course of your business relationship.

If you’re still not sure if you’re one who needs general liability insurance, there’s no cost to talk with an agent or broker for advice and a no-obligation quote.

3. How do I determine how much coverage I need for my business?

Your insurance agent or broker can help you assess the potential liability for your business, which varies depending on the type of industry your business engages in, as well as other factors.

Your location is one consideration, as courts in some says have historically made higher alteration awards than those in other states. Businesses in those says might wish to think about carrying general liability insurance with higher coverage limits.

Lower-risk businesses, such as bookkeeping firms or IT consultancies, might feel comfortable with lower coverage limits, while businesses in higher-risk fields, such as construction, might need more coverage. For small businesses with less risk, a combined general liability and property insurance package might be a cost-effective option. Such dual policies are known as a Business Owner’s Policy or BOP.

4. I’m worried that the coverage limits on my general liability policy aren’t high enough. What can I do to be sure I have enough coverage if I get sued?

If you’ve got a million general liability policy, but you’re worried that you’ll be sued and your legal costs and court-ordered settlement could be even higher than million, you might wish to buy an excess liability insurance policy. What is this type of insurance? Also known as umbrella insurance, excess insurance is an affordable way to wage additional coverage when the limits of insurance on an underlying policy are exceeded.

For instance, if you have million in general liability coverage, but a court orders you to pay .5 million in compensation, the right excess insurance policy would pay for the difference of 0,000. In addition to general liability policies, an umbrella insurance policy also adds coverage to your hired and non-owned auto liability and employer’s liability insurance policies, at no additional cost. However, umbrella coverage does not apply to professional liability insurance.

For contractors and consultants, some clients require excess liability insurance in their contracts to ensure that their vendors are financially capable of paying a massive alteration honor in the event of a lawsuit. Client contracts might also require other types of insurance, such as professional liability or workers’ compensation.

5. How can I reduce my risk of having to file a general liability claim?

While it’s good to have general liability coverage, it’s even superior when you don’t have to use it. There are several ways you can cut your risk exposure and reduce the chances that you’ll grappling a lawsuit:

- Provide proper training for all employees and subcontractors.

- Institute country policies, processes and procedures appropriate for your line of work.

- Inspect your place of business for hazards that could result in injury.

- Maintain your office space, furnishings and equipment in top condition to reduce the risk of injury or property damage.

- Ensure that smoke detectors are operational and emergency exits are clearly marked and unobstructed.

- Restrict access to perilous areas or equipment to authorized organisation only.

Ask your insurance agent or broker for additional tips on how you can reduce your risk.

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Benefits of Using Mortgage Calculators

Purchasing a home can be a difficult process especially for first-time home buyers. Not only does it take knowledge of the housing market and how it works, but it also can be a lengthy process with several steps along the way. Of course, nothing is more depressing for individuals than to get halfway through the process only to be turned down for a home mortgage. This is often due to the fact they don’t have the financial resources or credit to get the size of mortgage they need to cover the cost of the home they want to purchase. Individuals and families can prevent this from happening to them by utilizing mortgage calculators.

There are many benefits to using mortgage calculators. Many people benefit by using them to figure out what they can anticipate their monthly mortgage payment to be on a house. They can go around to various open houses and see what is available. Afterwards they can then go home and run the different prices of apiece home they liked through a mortgage calculator to determine how much they would pay apiece month. This helps them to know what houses are inexpensive given their financial resources.

Another benefit of using mortgage calculators is the fact that individuals and families can estimate how much they will spend on interest. Different mortgages offer different interest rates and different payoff periods. Individuals can plug in different interest rates and payoff periods to see how it affects their monthly payment. By using a mortgage calculator, individuals or families might realize they can cut their 30 year mortgage to 25 by increasing their monthly payment by $150 each month.

Many mortgage calculators also wage consumers with the option to compare costs for buying a home or renting it. Depending upon your age, lifestyle, where you live and other factors it can be more of an advantage for you to rent. This is particularly true if you are someone who isn’t interested in remaining in one location for many years. A mortgage calculator grants you to swiftly see if renting or buying is the superior option for you.

The fact mortgage calculators are provided to individuals and families for free is also beneficial. Lending companies and organizations want individuals to be successful in purchasing their new home, thus they wage them with a mortgage calculator to help them find out what they can afford. Several businesses offer a mortgage calculator for you to use for free, and you can find one by simply searching for it on the Internet.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using one of the many mortgage calculators acquirable on the World wide web and through financial organizations. No one wants to have their new home under foreclosure. You can prevent this from happening to you by using a mortgage calculator to ensure you can afford the home you purchase. By doing so you can enjoy your home for many years to come without having to worry about how you’re going to pay for it.

Purchasing Auto Insurance in Pennsylvania

We recently represented two clients involved in a automobile accident. We sat down in our office with the driver and passenger. We asked the driver what type of insurance policy he had purchased, and specifically whether he had bought “full tort” and whether he had bought “uninsured motorist coverage.” Our driver client told us that he thought he bought “full coverage” but beyond that he had no intent what we were speaking about. The passenger in the automobile lived with his grandmother who owned her own automobile and had it insured. The passenger client did not own his own car. The happening occurred when the driver of another automobile crossed over the center line of traffic and hit the automobile in which our two clients were traveling, head on, causing injuries to both of them.

The other driver, (the “at fault” driver), was uninsured, which meant that he did not carry auto insurance coverage on his car. He was also “judgment proof” meaning that even if we went to court and obtained a judgment against him, he owned no property or had no other insurance which could pay the court judgment.

As it turned out, our client who was the driver client had bought an automobile insurance policy which was “limited tort.” He also did not buy “uninsured motorist coverage.” Our passenger client’s grandmother had bought a full tort policy and had bought uninsured motorist coverage. We were therefore healthy to make a claim for the passenger, but not for the driver.

Why? In Pennsylvania, when purchasing an auto insurance policy, there are numerous options to consider. Insurance companies are willing to sell you an insurance policy, but they don’t go on to explain which coverages are superior and which coverages are worse.

By far, there are four major parts of your auto insurance policy that you must understand: liability coverage, uninsured motorist coverage (UM), underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) and full tort/limited tort coverage.

Liability insurance protects you and your assets if you cause injury to someone else in a automobile happening where you are at fault. Your insurance company will defend you, and will hire an attorney for you, at no cost to you, if a lawsuit is filed against you, in order to pay the hurt mortal up to the limit of the liability coverage that you purchased.

Full tort coverage means that you and your family members have unlimited access to the court system to seek compensation for individualized injuries from a automobile wreck. Limited tort means that for a lower premium, usually about $100-$200 less per year, you and your family members have a very limited access to the court system if you are claiming compensation for individualized injuries following a automobile wreck. In real terms, if a mortal who has bought limited tort coverage does not have debilitating and disabling injuries, e.g.; broken bones requiring surgical repair, herniated disks in the spine requiring surgical repair, then they have no claim. There are very few exceptions to limited tort coverage. Full tort coverage is not limiting at all. Full tort coverage is the superior coverage, hands down, and should be the only choice when purchasing auto insurance in Pennsylvania. When the insurance agent or the insurance company has you sign on documents requesting either full tort or limited tort coverage you have to specifically sign for the coverage you want. Our suggestion is totally to buy full tort coverage. Make sure that you sign the proper portion of the form the agent or insurance company provides you for full tort coverage. The form can be somewhat confusing and therefore it is crucial when signing the form that you know what you are purchasing. Or course, if you have any questions about what or where to sign, we’ll help you.

Liability coverage is usually listed on your auto insurance policy declaration page as “bodily injury” coverage, and is reflected as follows: $15,000/$30,000.

When bodily injury coverage is expressed that way it means that you have bought liability coverage in the amount of $15,000 “per person” hurt in the accident. The $30,000 number means that there is $30,000 acquirable in total for any number of people who were involved in a automobile happening who are seeking a claim against you. So, for instance, if there are three people involved in the accident, and you were at fault in the accident, and all three people have filed suit against you, the most any one mortal could get from your insurance policy would be $15,000, and all three of the hurt people would have to divide the $30,000 in acquirable liability coverage from your policy. A $15,000/$30,000 policy is the minimal amount that can be written in Pennsylvania. Of course, you can ask for and buy much higher aggregates of coverage by requesting that from your agent or insurance company. In this example, if any one person’s injuries exceeded $15,000 in value, (in other words if the jury awarded the hurt mortal an amount of money that exceeded $15,000), or if the entire claim of all the people involved in the happening exceeded $30,000, you would be responsible for the amount that your insurance policy did not cover you for in liability coverage.

How about uninsured motorist coverage? That protects you and your family in the event you or your family members are hurt in a automobile wreck by an “uninsured motorist.” An uninsured motorist is the bad guy/at fault driver described at the top of this article. An uninsured motorist might also defined as a drunk driver who doesn’t carry his own coverage, or by a hit-and-run driver who flees to scene of an accident. Therefore, if you bought uninsured motorist coverage on your automobile insurance policy, your insurance company steps into the shoes of the at fault driver and you can make a claim for compensation for your injuries and restitution up to the limits of the amount of coverage that you bought in UM benefits.

How much coverage in uninsured motorist coverage should you purchase? As much as you can afford and as much as the insurance company will sell you! Having UM coverage is one very important way that you can protect yourself and your family in a automobile happening case. It can assure you that the medical bills and future expenses caused by injuries from an uninsured driver can be paid for. And here is the huge surprise. You can buy very massive amounts of UM coverage from your insurance company for a very small amount of money. Why won’t insurance companies tell you this? Because they don’t make a lot of money on the insurance premiums for UM coverage, but it is a great coverage for you. Think about the fact that by some estimates close to 50% of the driving population in or around Philadelphia is uninsured. That means if you or your family members are involved in a automobile accident, you stand a very high chance of being hurt by someone who is uninsured.

How about underinsured motorist coverage? UIM coverage protects you and your family in the event the at fault driver did not carry enough insurance coverage. Let’s state the at fault driver had a $15,000/$30,000 liability policy. And, let’s state you and your family members all had injuries that exceeded $30,000 in value. Under that scenario, you would be healthy to collect $30,000 in coverage from the at fault driver’s insurance policy ($15,000 maximum per person) and then you would be healthy to make a claim against your own insurance company for UIM benefits up to the amount that you bought in UIM benefits. The same rules apply in terms of how much UIM coverage you should buy as with UM coverage. Purchase as much as you can afford and as much as the insurance company will sell you. It is a very affordable buy for you, the insurance company doesn’t make a lot of money on that coverage, and they don’t tell you about how valuable it is.

UM and UIM coverage is not mandatory in Pennsylvania. It is optional. That means when you are sold an insurance policy in Pennsylvania unless you ask for this coverage, you won’t be healthy to get it. The insurance company or the agent will simply have you sign a form stating that you “waived” the coverage. Don’t abandon UM or UIM coverage. And make sure you complete the form and sign off for UM and UIM coverage.

The same is true with full tort coverage. Unless you know to ask for that coverage the agent or the insurance company probably won’t offer to sell you that coverage. Instead, they will have you sign a form saying that you “waive” full tort coverage, and instead they will have you sign off on and buy limited tort coverage. You don’t want limited tort coverage. You want full tort coverage.

There are other coverages that are also acquirable when you buy an insurance policy in Pennsylvania. None of them are as important as the ones that we just discussed. However, you should also be aware that under Pennsylvania law, your auto insurance policy covers medical expenses for you or your family members who are hurt in a automobile accident. The minimal amount of medical coverage is $5,000, but you can also buy higher amounts. It is always a good intent to buy additional amounts of medical coverage, but you should also keep in mind if you have health insurance benefits your health insurance benefits will come into play in the event your $5,000 in medical coverage is “exhausted” or paid out. Medical benefit coverage is mandatory in Pennsylvania, meaning the insurance company must sell you at least $5,000 in medical benefits.

Income loss benefits provides coverage for lost consequence in the event you miss time from work following an accident. This is an optional coverage. The insurance company does not have to sell it to you. Again, you have to know to ask for this coverage. Pennsylvania law permits reimbursement of 80% of your gross income, typically up to $5,000 in income loss benefits. You can buy higher amounts if you ask the insurance company or the insurance agent to sell you higher amounts of income loss benefits.

Collision coverage and comprehensive coverage are also optional. Collision coverage grants you to be reimbursed the “book’ value of your automobile if dilapidated in an accident. Comprehensive coverage is the insurance benefit on your policy that granted you to be paid for the value of your automobile if it is stolen. Both of these coverages carry deductibles, meaning that if you have a $500 deductible and the “book” value of your automobile is $1,000 your insurance company will pay you $500. Raising the deductible on your collision and comprehensive coverage will lower your premium.

Rental coverage is also optional. Typically your insurance company will sell you rental coverage at something like $25 per day. What they don’t tell you is that if your automobile is in the shop for fixes for more than approximately 30 days they won’t pay you for the additional days that you are using a rental car. For this reason, we advise all of our clients to do their very ideal to limit the use of a rental automobile following a automobile accident.