If you drive a vehicle, you are required by law to have insurance. But why do we need it?
Consider hitting a car and injuring three passengers. If both your vehicle and the other vehicle are valued at $20,000 and considered total losses, and each passenger has medical claims of $20,000, this quickly adds up to $100,000! That’s an amount I don’t even want to think about having to plan for in my annual budget! Fortunately, there’s insurance! {Read More…}
According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), roughly seven people died each day in U.S. home fires in 2013. Having a fire escape plan is quintessential and the implementation of such a plan is critical to ensuring a safe evacuation in event of a fire emergency. Here are some helpful tips to follow for preparing your home and creating and implementing a plan.
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Take a moment to review your exposures with your independent insurance agent and allow him or her to offer you the proper coverages – such as water backup of sewers and drains – that are needed to protect your home.
Here is a story about a thunderstorm rolling through an area causing power outages along with water-related issues due to the amount of rain that fell in a short period of time. Can you guess what happened?
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Windstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires are just a few examples of extreme weather events that occur throughout the United States on a regular basis. It is often difficult for even the experts to predict the impact and severity of these events. While the last thing anyone wants to think about is one of these events affecting them personally, it is very important to be prepared for a worst case scenario and have a plan in place. It is crucial to understand the area you live in and the potentially harmful events that could affect you and your community.
Here are some basic steps you can take with your family to try and prepare as much as possible. {Read More}
Holidays also evoke a sense of celebration…and drink specials at your favorite bar or restaurant. Whether it’s the champagne of New Year’s Eve, the green-tinted cocktails of St. Patty’s Day, or the margaritas of Cinco de Mayo, the commercial underwriter in me sees the potential risks for the establishment involved.
Most of bars and restaurants are full of celebrators on these days and it’s great for business – if you have the proper liquor liability coverage and controls in place. In my experience underwriting liquor liability coverage, most establishments recognize the need for this coverage, but many do not recognize the need to have all of their servers complete a certified alcohol awareness training course. Here are the top three reasons all servers need this important training: {Read More…}
This phrase and its variations can strike fear into a person’s heart in ways that few others can. Is someone reading your e-mails? Do they have your credit card information? Do you use the same password on any other sites, rendering them vulnerable?
Let that last question sink in a bit. If you use the same password on multiple sites and that password is compromised anywhere, every site where you use that password is compromised. {Read More…}
When customers enter a restaurant or food establishment, they expect an attentive wait staff, friendly service, tasty food, enjoyable atmosphere and, most importantly, a clean environment. The health inspector has a major influence on your business’s good standing, but in today’s digital environment, you must also be mindful of what customers write on social media sites. The best approach to maintaining your good reputation and keeping customers coming back is to practice proper restaurant food safety. Here are some basic food safety tips to follow. {Read More…}
When driving home from work this week, I came face to face with a distracted driver. The driver was looking down, eyes off the road, texting!
Recent studies have shown drivers are more distracted, which accounted for 3,179 deaths and 431,000 injuries in 2014. It is even estimated that 1 in 4 car crashes involved cell phone use. Take a look at a recent survey that was posted in USA Today. {Read More…}
It’s next to impossible to watch any type of TV programming without seeing a commercial advertising how you can save money on your insurance. So should you really purchase your insurance policy based upon the cheapest price?
Before I elaborate on this, allow me to ask you a different set of questions:
If you’re like most people, you probably answered these questions with a resounding “no.” Then why should making a decision on your insurance policy be any different? {Read More}
At its core, the industry is a people business. It’s a promise to fulfill the duties set forth within the insurance contract and an important promise customers rely on. Effectively fulfilling that promise and keeping the company and ongoing concerns where the role of the commercial underwriter comes into play. The underwriter must evaluate all aspects of the risk, and determine the acceptability of the risk, policy terms, and an appropriate price.
No matter what your interests are, the industry has a role for you. A poll of other insurance professionals revealed that I’m not alone. When asked what their favorite part of their job is, the most common answers were: {Read More}