Coverage that protects your biggest asset.
Your home is more than a structure. It holds your memories, your investment, and your sense of stability. Erie Home Insurance in Alexandria, VA, provides dependable coverage designed to respond when unexpected damage or liability concerns arise. Backed by the financial strength of Erie Insurance, O’Brien helps homeowners secure practical protection that reflects both property value and real-world risks.
Choosing Erie House Insurance in Alexandria means aligning your coverage with a carrier recognized for steady underwriting and reliable claims handling. From dwelling protection to personal liability coverage, policies are structured to address the risks homeowners face daily. Through its partnership with Erie Insurance, O’Brien focuses on clear communication and customized options that help eliminate uncertainty.
Strong protection anticipates both major and minor setbacks. Thoughtfully structured Erie Home Insurance in Alexandria, VA, helps safeguard your property and financial well-being.
Balanced coverage helps reduce unexpected financial strain when incidents occur.
Owning a home requires planning for long-term responsibilities. With dependable Erie House Insurance in Alexandria, homeowners gain coverage built to adapt as property values and lifestyle needs evolve. Backed by Erie Insurance’s financial stability, O’Brien emphasizes ongoing reviews and straightforward explanations to keep coverage aligned with real-life changes.
Confidence grows when coverage is structured with clarity. O’Brien, proudly associated with Erie Insurance, continues to guide homeowners through thoughtful policy reviews and dependable service. When it is time to reassess your protection or explore stronger options, a focused conversation can help ensure your home remains well guarded for years to come.
Financial strength, consistent claims handling, and clear coverage structures provide long-term reliability.
Yes, coverage limits and endorsements can be adjusted to reflect rebuilding costs and personal property needs.
Most homeowner’s policies include personal liability coverage to protect against injury or property damage claims.
An annual review or updates after renovations or life changes help keep protection aligned with your home’s value.
Bundling policies may simplify management and provide added value through coordinated coverage options.
As an independent agency, we are here to help you find the right coverage.
The moment an incident occurs, our team is your first call. We take the wheel so you can focus on recovery, not paperwork.
We leverage deep carrier relationships and 30 years of claims experience to ensure you receive every dollar you're owed.
Our claims don't close until you're satisfied. We follow through to complete resolution — no loose ends, no surprises.
While no one can put a price on sentimental value, insuring your prized possessions will help keep them financially protected if they’re lost, stolen, or damaged. A homeowners policy may provide some coverage, but it may not cover the full value of your more expensive belongings. You may need to buy extra coverage.
For personal valuables, the right protection matters. The value of your belongings will determine how much additional coverage you’ll need. There are different options that offer higher limits, which may be more suited to your needs.
This can get ugly. It doesn’t take much water to cause thousands of dollars of damage to your home. Unfortunately, water backups occur through sewers, drains, and sump pump overflows all too often.
Sewer or drain backup may provide coverage in the event of water or sewage backup into your house through sewers or drains, or overflows from inside a sump pump or other system designed to remove water that drains from your foundation.
Identity theft and fraud are a hassle, to be sure, but the effects can go well beyond a few phone calls to straighten things out. You may be faced with hours of effort to repair the damage, costly legal issues, and lost wages as you work through the process.
The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone. Recovery services can help restore your credit and your good name, as well as financial protection. You may even be able to get assistance with the costs associated with child or elder care while you’re working to recover your identity.
Cyber crimes are a very real threat in our digital world. Just like businesses, you are susceptible to cyberattacks, extortion, fraud, and cyberbullying. All of these events can be devastating and expensive to recover from.
Cyber coverage can help cover the costs associated with some personal cyber events. In addition to the coverages found in some Identity Recovery coverage, cyber coverage could include repairing hardware after a virus or assistance with how to respond to a ransomware attack. Cyber coverage also can help with expenses you may incur as a victim of cyberbullying.
The underground service lines leading in and out of your home can become damaged in many ways, including tree roots, animal interference, digging, and vehicle weight. They can also rust, become corroded, or simply wear out. Sewer, natural gas, and propane gas pipelines, as well as electrical wiring, cable, and internet connections that run underground from the curb to your home are your responsibility, and repairing damage to them can be extremely costly.
Besides repairing the actual service line, a homeowner may have to dig up landscaping, driveways, and sidewalks to gain access to the damaged line. Damaged outdoor property like trees, shrubs, and even walkways may require repair or replacement as a result of the service line repair or the service line failure itself. Related loss of use costs may also be covered.
Modern homes are full of contemporary conveniences and complex systems. From heating and air conditioning systems to sump pumps and major appliances to home theater systems, you could be facing large replacement or repair costs in the event of a breakdown.
Some homeowners policies allow you to add additional coverage that protects you in the event of equipment breakdown. This coverage usually protects your major appliances and home systems.
Your home is potentially your most valuable asset and weather events can pose a significant risk for damage. Roofing and siding are particularly susceptible to the elements and having enough coverage is important. However, it’s possible that the same siding or roofing material is not available, leaving you with a mismatched appearance or a costly job to replace it all.
When the same siding or roofing material is no longer available to repair the damaged portion, this coverage reimburses for the cost to replace undamaged siding or roofing with materials of like kind and quality when the damage is caused by a covered loss.
Some types of personal property are subject to limits of coverage under renters insurance policies. These limits vary by the type of property and by what caused the loss or damage. For example, jewelry, bicycles, collectible cards, and coins may have limited coverage or may not be covered.
Obtain a personal floater or schedule your valuable possessions to ensure you’ll have the money to replace them.
You’re responsible if a guest is injured while on your property and you may be required to pay their medical expenses.
Ensure your insurance policy covers this risk. In the event a person is injured in your unit, he or she can submit medical bills to your insurance company. Medical expenses are usually paid without a liability claim being filed against you, with typical limits ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Any improvements or betterments that you have made to your unit are subject to damage.
Be sure to obtain coverage for improvements or betterments that you have installed in your apartment or home.
You may not be able to rent the apartment or home if your landlord or property manager requires renters insurance and you do not have it.
Having a renters insurance policy allows you to provide a certificate of insurance to the landlord or property manager showing that you have the coverage required to rent the apartment or home.
You are responsible if you or a guest in your unit trips and falls or sustains an injury while on your property.
Be sure that you have adequate liability insurance to protect for claims made against you for bodily injury or property damage – such as a slip and fall or other allegation. Liability coverage also provides protection should you become legally liable for unintentional bodily injury or property damage anywhere in the world.
You may take your valuable property outside of your unit. For example, what happens if your laptop or golf clubs get damaged or stolen while traveling?
Be sure to add off premises theft coverage to your policy to cover your personal property while your belongings are away from your home. Auto insurance does not usually cover personal property stolen from your car.
You are required by law to keep your guests’ valuable personal items secure and safe, and you can be held responsible for loss or damage unless caused by an act of nature or the actions of the guest.
An innkeepers legal liability policy can protect against losses to your guests’ personal items when they are being stored in your hotel. Requirements vary by state, including maximum liability per guest, the types of items that are covered, where the item was stored, and the value of the item.
When you own or operate a vehicle for your hotel, you expose your business to liability risks to other drivers, property owners, and your own guests while being driven.
A business auto insurance policy should be maintained if the vehicles are owned by the company. If employees are using their own vehicles at any time as part of their job duties, then hired and non-owned auto liability coverage should be maintained. Both will defend you if you are named in a lawsuit as a result of an employee getting into an accident while working for you.
On average, it’s estimated that three out of five businesses will be sued by their employees. Hotels, just like any other business, are vulnerable from the pre-hire process through to a possible reduction in workforce. Claims can stem from just about anything, such as someone taking a “joke” the wrong way and being offended.
Coverage to protect you against this risk normally comes as a standalone policy. The right coverage is critical to your risk management process as it protects against discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and other employment-related allegations. Typically, the policy will cover your business as well as your directors and officers. Third party coverage is an added option, usually accomplished via a policy endorsement, and addresses claims made by customers or vendors against you from acts committed by employees.
Any establishment that sells, serves, or assists in the purchase or use of liquor is open to a liability claim as a consequence of someone getting inebriated to the extent that injuries or property damage result.
If you are in the business of selling or serving alcohol, it is critical that you protect your business from potential financial losses by being covered by a liquor liability insurance policy. Having the right policy in place could help cover your legal costs, court fees, and any civil or criminal damages stemming from an incident involving liquor.
Is your building subject to severe weather events, fire, or burst pipes? Most are. These situations and others can cause significant damage to the structure leading to costly repairs.
Building coverage protects the permanent structure from most weather perils, burst pipes, a fire, and other losses.
As exposed by Superstorm Sandy and other significant weather events in recent years, flooding can occur in almost any location and to any business. Are you protected?
Flood insurance is not part of any property or liability policy. It is a standalone policy that reacts independently from all other coverage. Whether or not your course is (or is not) in a designated flood zone, consider coverage in anticipation of an unforeseen weather event.
The surfaces, tees, and greens are susceptible to storm damage, vandalism, and other risks.
Make certain your policy contains tee and green coverage and includes the wording “all playing surfaces.” Seek a high limit of coverage ($1,000,000 or more) and make certain there is no per hole limitation.
Your course’s rolling slopes of emerald green are not a product of nature alone. The chemicals used to keep the grass lush create exposures for pollution that can often be overlooked.
There may be a need to protect against tank leakage and other pollution. Look for a complete environmental insurance policy to address all of your exposures, beyond just the normal herbicide and pesticide coverage for over spraying.
You have considerable exposure to damage or loss of golf carts and maintenance equipment caused by accidents on the course or by normal perils of fire and vandalism.
Obtain replacement cost coverage on both the carts and maintenance equipment, as having this protection will lessen the overall financial impact of depreciation.
On average, it’s estimated that three out of five businesses will be sued by their employees. Golf courses, just like any other business, are vulnerable from the pre-hire process through to a possible reduction in workforce. Claims can stem from just about anything, such as someone taking a joke the wrong way and being offended. In addition, key personnel (such as directors, officers, and other board members) may be at increased risk resulting from possible discrimination, slander, and more.
Seek the broadest policies available with the highest rated carriers and have separate limits for both employment practices liability and directors and officers liability. Review all of your liability policies, as gaps or overlaps may occur with third-party discrimination coverage, fiduciary liability coverage, and commercial general liability.
Adequate property coverage is a crucial component of your insurance portfolio. If you lose the clubhouse, you could potentially have a multi-million dollar loss with business interruption and loss of income, including loss of existing golfers as well as potential new golfers.
Make sure your short- and long-term revenues are properly protected. Property limits should meet or exceed the club’s most recent building appraisals. In addition to the limits assigned to the structure itself, consider business income coverage to cover anticipated revenue loss from the normal day-to-day club operations. Also, include other income generating events such as weddings, special golf outings, and other events arranged with outside organizations.
Providing a valet service is convenient for your guests, but damaging a vehicle or property, or causing injury, is a very real risk associated with it.
Obtain a general liability policy to protect your business from lawsuits by a third party. Be certain that a garagekeepers legal liability policy is also in effect with adequate limits to cover any physical damage to a guest’s vehicle or other vehicles on-site. If you are using an independent valet service, obtain a certificate of insurance to verify they have the proper coverage with adequate limits. Also make sure that your business is named as an additional insured under their policy.
Adequate property coverage is a crucial component of your insurance portfolio. If you lose the clubhouse, you could potentially have a multi-million dollar loss with business interruption and loss of income, including loss of existing golfers as well as potential new golfers.
Make sure your short- and long-term revenues are properly protected. Property limits should meet or exceed the club’s most recent building appraisals. In addition to the limits assigned to the structure itself, consider business income coverage to cover anticipated revenue loss from the normal day-to-day club operations. Also, include other income generating events such as weddings, special golf outings, and other events arranged with outside organizations.
Dentists and licensed staff face a high risk of being sued by patients for such things as claiming a wrong diagnosis or treatment. All lawsuits must be defended, regardless of merit. There may also be a time when you are called for peer review, and hiring an attorney familiar with this process may be necessary.
Professional liability insurance, commonly known as dental malpractice insurance, can help with the cost of legal expenses and other damages if a lawsuit is filed making allegations regarding errors in your work. Peer review defense may or may not be covered under standard malpractice insurance, which is important to know before it’s too late.
More and more, people are reporting practices to their state licensing bureau for any number of reasons that are not related to the care you’ve provided. Defending these claims often requires representation by an attorney who has specialized knowledge in this area.
Responding to complaints against your dental license can be very costly. License defense coverage can help cover these costs. This separate coverage is necessary because this type of complaint is separate from lawsuits covered by malpractice insurance.
There may be times when you cover for another dentist in their office. Similarly, you may have a dentist cover for you if you’re going to be away or unable to see patients. There may be other instances where you have independent contractors such as hygienists or dental assistants working in your office.
If your policy only covers you when you’re in your office and there’s a claim against you for work you performed in someone else’s office, you may not be covered. Your insurer needs to know the locations where you work as well as who is working in your office, even when any of these circumstances are on a temporary basis.
Exterior signs associated with your business are vulnerable to fire, vandalism, and weather. Most commercial property policies offer a sublimit of coverage for signs, but it might not be enough.
Evaluate your sign exposures and determine if your existing commercial property insurance policy provides sufficient coverage. If not, increase the policy limit as required.
Your business has a responsibility to protect the property of others when it is left with you. If your dealership includes a repair facility or you temporarily hold a vehicle that belongs to a customer, you could be held financially liable for damages to that vehicle while it is in your care, custody, and control.
You should purchase physical damage coverage, referred to as garagekeepers coverage, designed to help you protect your customers’ property and your business in the event that accidents, injuries, or property damage occurs. This protection covers the costs that arise from unfortunate and unforeseeable events, not bad workmanship, faulty parts, or warranties.
Dealerships face significant pollutant risks through their use of solvents, cleaning agents, paints, and other potentially harmful products. Spills could not only result in cleanup expenses, but you could also be held responsible for damage to third parties, as well as fines.
Pollutant cleanup and removal insurance can help to cover the costs of injuries and property damage that occurs as a result of a pollutant spill or leak. This could include coverage not only at your place of business, but also spills that occur while your pollutants are being transported for disposal. If your dealership has an underground tank, this coverage is a must.
Given the potentially high value of the vehicles you sell and the amount of financial information you collect, your business is at risk for theft. What if one of your trusted employees is found guilty of doing something dishonest as it relates to his or her work with you?
Crime coverage can be obtained in your commercial property insurance, but coverage is very limited. Consider obtaining a standalone crime coverage policy that includes employee dishonesty coverage.
You have many exposures associated with the operation of your dealership, including premises, auto, products/completed operations. Even a single auto accident or mechanic’s error can potentially put your business in financial jeopardy.
Garage liability insurance provides comprehensive coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and other liability exposures as they relate to the operation of your dealership and its parts and service departments.
As much as any business tries to avoid them, mistakes can happen. Whether it’s an error on loan or lease forms or a vehicle’s history is misrepresented, someone could file a lawsuit if they feel they were harmed by your dealership. Even if the claims are meritless, they must be defended.
Dealers E&O can help cover the cost of defense if your dealership is sued. This coverage can also help pay for damages that may be awarded to another party. Policies should cover a range of errors and omissions situations such as title errors, violations of credit or leasing laws, and allegations of negligence in recording a used vehicle’s history.
Your inventory is your livelihood. Cars can get damaged in a number of possible ways, including collisions, weather events, or fire. There’s also a risk that vehicles could be stolen while unattended or under the guise of a test drive.
Dealers open lot (DOL) offers coverage for physical damage to vehicles for specific losses named in the policy, which may include things like fire and theft. Coverage can vary based on how protected or open a lot is and can include driveaway collision for times when your vehicles are in transit to another location and false pretense for when a vehicle is taken fraudulently.
Directors and officers (such as board members) can be held accountable for decisions they make in the performance of their duties. Any resulting lawsuits are typically expensive to defend and can result in potentially large settlements.
Directors and officers liability insurance provides coverage for the legal costs to defend a covered lawsuit and may also provide the money necessary for any resulting judgments.
Typically the policies for the association exclude coverage for the sponsor or holder of unsold shares for the interior of the units they own.
A policy should be maintained to provide coverage for what you are responsible for within the unit, as well as any lost income and lawsuits resulting from acts within the unit.
With technology performing many tasks in today’s world, a breakdown can cause a significant financial burden, including the cost to repair the equipment and any resulting lost income or extra expenses.
Comprehensive coverage provides protection against equipment mechanical breakdown for machinery such as heating and cooling equipment and elevator motors.
Pollutant clean-up is generally excluded from the basic policies. Leaking of a fuel tank can be very costly to remediate.
Environmental insurance provides coverage for clean-up costs and third party lawsuits as a result of a leak from the tank or related pipes.
Crime and fidelity bond insurance is designed to provide coverage to cooperative and condominium associations to protect them from theft of funds or association-owned personal property by an employee, board member and in some cases, the property management firm.
Crime and fidelity coverage is designed to provide coverage for employee dishonesty, forgery and alteration, computer fraud, counterfeiting, and more.
When a fire, theft, or another type of disaster strikes, your commercial property and everything within it can suffer a significant loss. This can have a detrimental effect on your business.
Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns and leases, including things like equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your building or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.
A building under construction is not covered under a standard building insurance policy or a home insurance policy since it is not a complete structure. As a contractor, you may be responsible for unique loss exposures related to buildings under construction such as the theft of building materials and high valued equipment such as generators and compressors.
Builders risk and installation insurance provides coverage for homes or buildings while undergoing construction, until they are completed. The policy covers the contractors’ interest in materials at the job site before they are installed, construction materials in transit designated for the contractors’ equipment insurance–a policy specially and the value of the property being constructed until it is completed.
You’re constantly moving your tools from one job site to another, exposing your contractor business to potential loss due to damage or theft. And without your specialized tools and equipment, your job site may come to a screeching halt.
As a contractor, you need contractors’ equipment insurance – a policy specially designed to protect your tools and equipment on the move. The policy will cover equipment for a variety of losses, including fire, explosion, vandalism, theft, collision with other equipment or objects and overturning. Unlike standard commercial property insurance policies, contractors’ equipment insurance often covers losses caused by floods and earthquakes.
When a fire, theft, or another type of disaster strikes, your commercial property and everything within it can suffer a significant loss. This can have a detrimental effect on your business.
Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns and leases, including things like equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your building or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.
Fire, weather, burst pipes, and other losses are frequent for child care centers given the large amount of physical space required to operate. These losses can cause significant damage to the school’s business personal property.
Business personal property coverage allows the center to replace property that has been damaged or destroyed by a covered cause of a loss. For a child care center, this may include property like chairs, tables, books, toys, materials, and supplies.
If you or your staff drive their own vehicle on business time or you rent vehicles in the business name to travel to meetings, conferences, or elsewhere, you face additional exposure and risk.
Hired and non-owned auto liability protects your staff if they are driving their own vehicle to run errands. Your center or school can be held liable for injuries or property damage if a driver is involved in an accident. The hired liability portion covers rented vehicles when listed in the business name for travel use.
All child care centers and schools are at risk for professional liability claims to be brought against them for negligence.
Professional liability protects your teachers and child care employees. If your staff is sued due to negligence in relation to a child’s safety or for making an error in judgement, your center can also be sued.
When working with children or youth, there is always a risk that staff/owners could be accused of physical, sexual, or mental abuse.
If an employee or owner is accused of abuse, you need abuse/molestation coverage to protect your center or school from the possibility of significant financial loss. Even unfounded lawsuits are costly to defend.
It’s possible that your child care center could incur losses if you offer employee benefits to your team.
The administration of benefit plans can be tricky. Employee benefits liability insurance help cover any losses resulting from many types of employee benefits plans such as health insurance, retirement plans, and more.
Everyone knows that children can be accident-prone. Often they trip and fall, collide with one another, or even knock out a tooth or break a bone, so it is important to obtain a student accident policy.
A student accident policy can cover children’s medical bills if they are injured at the center or on a sponsored field trip or activity. There are two options. Full excess reimburses secondary to the child’s health insurance plan and primary reimburses on a primary basis, regardless of the child’s current health insurance plan.
Commercial auto is necessary if your center has company-owned vehicles and children are transported to and from school and/or field trips.
Commercial auto insurance can protect your center or school if an accident occurs or there is damage to a vehicle.
If you or your staff drive their own vehicle on business time or you rent vehicles in the business name to travel to meetings, conferences, or elsewhere, you face additional exposure and risk.
Hired and non-owned auto liability protects your staff if they are driving their own vehicle to run errands. Your center or school can be held liable for injuries or property damage if a driver is involved in an accident. The hired liability portion covers rented vehicles when listed in the business name for travel use.
Brewing equipment is a significant financial investment. Couple that with an above-average exposure to loss, and selecting the correct coverage here is critical.
Commercial property insurance will indemnify you for property damaged or destroyed due to a covered loss. Selecting an adequate limit of insurance that responds to as many perils as possible negates that risk.
There is a high risk of equipment breakdown in the brewery business. When machines don’t work, beer can’t be brewed. You lose valuable time and profits while repairs are being made.
Mechanical breakdown is typically not covered under a commercial property insurance policy. Rather, obtaining systems breakdown coverage addresses this exposure.
If open to the public, you are responsible for the well-being of visitors. This exposure is amplified if you offer brewery tours.
Given the possible hazards guests can be exposed to, it is important to keep tours confined to safe areas and preplanned routes. General liability insurance provides coverage for bodily injury, physical injury, or other personal injury related claims.
If a bonded brewery fails to pay taxes appropriately, the bond amount can be used to pay the owed taxes as well as any other fees that might accompany the unfulfilled payment.
The brewer’s bond is the cost of admission. They are known by a number of names; alcohol tax bonds, liquor license bonds, ATF bonds, and TTB bonds, but they all perform the same function. Government agencies that regulate breweries require bonds to ensure all taxes are paid appropriately. A knowledgeable insurance provider can help you navigate the bonding process.
What do you do if one of your trusted employees is found guilty of doing something dishonest as it relates to his or her work with you?
Crime coverage can be obtained in your commercial property insurance policy, but coverage is very limited. Consider a standalone policy as well.
Many veterinary offices unknowingly underestimate the costs associated with replacing medical equipment. It’s not uncommon to find out that there is not enough coverage to replace it, and sometimes it’s already too late.
With a business owners insurance policy (BOP), most office equipment is included as business personal property and would be protected in the event of a covered loss. For specialized, high-valued equipment, a separate policy may be required. Your agent or broker can help you to make that determination.
Veterinarians and licensed staff face a high risk of being sued by patients for such things as claiming a wrong diagnosis or treatment. All lawsuits must be defended, regardless of merit.
Professional liability insurance, commonly known as veterinary malpractice insurance, can help with the cost of legal expenses and other damages if a lawsuit is filed making allegations regarding errors in your work.
Damage to vines and trellises can hinder production of your wines, resulting in in loss of product and revenue.
Outdoor vine and trellis coverage protects against losses associated with wind, fire, vandalism, vehicles, and aircraft damage that threaten the growth of the grapes.
Without viable grapes, you would be unable to produce wine. Therefore, protecting your grape harvest should be your first line of defense.
Wineries need crop insurance for the cost of crop damage due to weather, vine/insect infections, fires, floods, and other hazards.
It’s estimated that three out of five businesses will be sued by their employees. Companies are vulnerable during the pre-hire process, throughout employment, and during a reduction in workforce. Claims can arise in any size operation. You can do everything right and still be sued.
Coverage comes in the form of a standalone policy and is critical to your risk management strategy. It protects against discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and other employment-related allegations.
What do you do if one of your trusted employees is found guilty of doing something dishonest as it relates to his or her work with you?
Crime coverage can be obtained in your commercial property insurance policy, but coverage is very limited. Consider a standalone policy as well.
There is always a risk of sudden and accidental equipment breakdown in the winery business, and repair or replacement costs are often high. Equipment breakdown coverage can help pay to repair or replace the equipment. It can also cover losses associated with interruption of the business.
Equipment breakdown is typically not covered under a commercial property insurance policy. Obtaining separate equipment breakdown coverage addresses this exposure.
Automobile exposures are significant, especially if you handle your own distribution. Bodily injury and property damage can put your business at significant financial risk.
Commercial auto insurance protects your fleet of trucks and any other vehicles owned by your winery. In addition, if employees drive personal vehicles for business use, you need hired and non-owned auto liability insurance.
Once the grapes have been harvested and the wines blended, make sure your valuable product is protected no matter where it is. Wine in transit also needs coverage for physical loss or damage.
Inland marine insurance for wineries protects against direct physical loss or damage to property or stock while it is being transported. Talk with your risk manager about different policies for wine that is stored on your property and wine that is stored offsite.
Environmental liability exposures are not just for oil companies, nuclear power plants, and industrial mining operations. Wineries have wastewater and waste management concerns. Depending on the location of the winery, previous use of property may also be an issue.
Strict liability laws apply to the winery industry. Court-ordered injunctions, fines, and cleanup costs can be crippling. Almost all commercial liability policies contain some type of pollution exclusion. Coverage exists for this exposure through a standalone policy.
A farm can be more than your place of business; it can also be your home. For this reason, you need to make sure that what you have worked to build is protected.
Farm liability insurance is designed to meet your farm’s unique needs, often including premises, operations, farm product, pollution, and other farm-specific liabilities.
Every manufacturer faces the possibility that an issue can arise with a product after it has been distributed. A product recall can involve lost time, extra shipping costs, and losses associated with not having a sellable product available for consumers.
Product recall coverage helps pay for costs related to removing recalled, damaged, or dangerous products from the marketplace.
If a batch of wine is spoiled or contaminated due to a refrigeration breakdown, utility interruption, or some other type of foreign substance, a winery has much to lose, including the loss of product and subsequent revenue.
Seek coverage for contamination and spoilage to help offset the costs associated with these events.
Every winery is a significant financial investment; couple that with an above-average exposure to loss, and selecting the correct business property coverage is critical.
Business property insurance will indemnify you for property damaged or destroyed due to a covered loss. You can add endorsements to customize coverage, such as contract cancellation, tank collapse, tank leakage, and mobile equipment coverage.
Damage to vines and trellises can hinder production of your wines, resulting in in loss of product and revenue.
Outdoor vine and trellis coverage protects against losses associated with wind, fire, vandalism, vehicles, and aircraft damage that threaten the growth of the grapes.
Wineries often participate in numerous events throughout the year. Many insurance policies contain what’s known as a designated premises endorsement. At a high level, this limits coverage to the premise named on the policy (the winery). Participating in a Winery Expo or 5k Fun Run? Liability associated with events like those may not be covered..
Make sure you have coverage that extends to any events in which you wish to participate.
Any establishment that sells, serves, or assists in the purchase or use of liquor is open to a liability claim. A lawsuit can arise if a patron gets inebriated at your winery and causes injuries or property damage, even after they leave your property.
If you are in the business of selling or serving alcohol, it is critical you protect yourself from potential financial losses by being covered by a liquor liability insurance policy. Having the right policy in place could help cover your legal costs, court fees, as well as any civil or criminal damages stemming from an incident involving liquor.
Customers and employees who entrust you with private information, such as credit card or social security numbers, put you at risk. If this data is lost, stolen, or compromised, you may be legally obligated to alert those affected by the breach..
Securing a cyber liability policy can cover costs associated with compliance requirements and mitigation expenses, such as data breach notification, securing legal counsel to advise on incident response, credit monitoring services, public relations expenses, regulatory defense, and penalties arising from privacy law violations.
Trucks that are under permanent lease to a motor carrier are typically covered under their liability coverage, which offers protection when the truck is used for business purposes. But what happens if the truck is involved in an accident and is liable for damages caused while being driven for non-business purposes?
Non-trucking liability insurance offers protection when a truck is driven for personal reasons, for example while running personal errands on a day off. It covers medical expenses, property damage, and legal fees related to the driver.
If a truck is damaged in an accident and another driver is not held liable for these damages, the truck’s owner would be responsible for the repairs. The truck’s owner would also be responsible for damages caused in other ways, such as if something falls on it, it is vandalized, it catches fire, or it is stolen.
Physical damage insurance covers the cost of repairs to your own vehicle if it’s damaged by you or it is damaged by some other factor that you cannot be held responsible for. For vehicles that are owned outright, this coverage may be optional. However, if the truck is being leased or financed, this coverage may be required by the bank.
Sometimes a truck is driven without a trailer attached. This could include when the driver is on their way to pick up a load, has just dropped off a load, or is in between loads. When a truck is driven this way under someone else’s trucking authority, a coverage gap can exist if the truck is involved in an accident and found liable for bodily injury or damage to property.
Bobtail insurance is a liability policy that provides coverage for legal fees, damages awarded, and medical expenses for times when a truck is driven under someone else’s trucking authority and there is no trailer attached.
For-hire truckers are often hauling something for someone. For the time that the freight or goods are in the possession of the trucker, the trucker is responsible for any damage to the goods. Whether the goods are damaged in a collision, are spilled off the truck, or damaged during loading and unloading, the expenses associated with this damage can add up fast.
Motor truck cargo insurance, sometimes simply referred to as cargo insurance, may cover the cost of the damaged cargo, removal expenses if the cargo is spilled, lost cargo, legal fees, and freight charges if the cargo is not delivered.
The type of trucking insurance you need can vary based on a number of factors. Private carriers who are hauling goods in their own truck or for an employer will need insurance designed for private trucking. Owner-operators will have different needs depending on whether they are operating under their own authority or under permanent lease to a motor carrier.
Having the right insurance for the situation is essential. For example, an owner-operator under permanent lease to a motor carrier may have their primary liability insurance provided by the motor carrier. However, there are other coverages they’ll want to consider. Additionally, the type of truck, driver experience, and goods hauled can all affect coverage needs as well.
Tow trucks carry a unique risk involving the property of someone else. The tow truck could be involved in an accident and the vehicle it is towing could become damaged. Also, it’s not unusual for a towed vehicle to be stored overnight at the garage of the towing company. In either scenario, special insurance is needed to cover the towed vehicle.
On-hook insurance provides protection in the case of damages to a vehicle while it is being towed. Garagekeepers insurance would cover losses sustained when a vehicle is being temporarily stored at the towing company’s location.
There are times a trailer needs to be handed off from one trucker to another to finish the shipment. The contract that arranges this transfer is known as a trailer interchange agreement. The parties to this agreement would need trailer interchange insurance.
If a trailer is damaged, the trucker currently in possession of it would be responsible for them. Trailer interchange insurance offers protection for these damages for the period of time the policyholder is in possession of the trailer.
Owner-operators under their own authority and motor carriers can find themselves responsible for their mistakes. A customer injury, a delivery mistake or damage to goods, or damage to property caused by their truck or the actions of a driver can all be very costly.
Motor truck general liability insurance may provide coverage for bodily injury and property damage, personal or advertising injury, and other damages caused by the company’s own negligence.
A truck that’s been damaged in an accident will need to be taken off the road for repairs. When the truck can’t be used, the business will lose money.
Rental reimbursement with downtime may cover the cost of truck payments and other bills while the truck is inoperable due to a covered loss. It may also provide reimbursement for a temporary replacement truck.
Property managers must drive to the sites they manage regularly. Accidents can and do happen. If an employee were to get into an auto accident while working, the management firm could be named in a suit by the injured party.
If any automobiles are owned by the property management firm, a commercial auto insurance policy should be obtained. In addition, hired and non-owned auto liability should be maintained in any case to provide coverage in the event an employee gets into an accident while using their own car.
Property management firms have exposures including the need for protection of privacy, data and financial information for their clients. Breach of data can result in costly fees and lawsuits for the association if held liable.
Cyber liability coverage covers fees and lawsuits resulting from the breach of personal data in the event your firm is liable.
As a property management firm, you have access to your clients’ money. Illegal activity such as forgery or theft can occur.
Crime and fidelity coverage is designed to provide coverage for theft of not only money and personal property owned by the firm, but money that the firm has in their custody for their clients.
Property management firms have many exposures that can lead to a lawsuit. Dealing with boards of directors, owners, residents, employees, vendors, and regulatory authorities can and often does lead to lawsuits.
Errors and omissions liability insurance protects property management firms if a client alleges that you were professionally negligent or failed to perform professional duties.
If a fire breaks out, your commercial property and everything within it can suffer a significant loss. This can have a detrimental effect on all aspects of your business.
Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns or leases, including things like equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your property or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.
If your business sells merchandise such as toys, leashes, collars, or other accessories, you are responsible if something purchased at your store injures or kills an animal. If you sell food, there’s always a chance it can spoil or be contaminated.
If items you sell hurt, sicken, or cause death to an animal, you will likely face a lawsuit. Defending against such claims, settling the suit before trial, and being ordered to pay damages can all be very costly. Product liability insurance offers protection for scenarios such as this.
If your business offers pet adoption events, there are a number of things that can go wrong. From event cancellation to property damage and a number of situations in between, you may be surprised to know that standard general liability insurance may exclude these claims.
Businesses that offer pet adoption events should consider special event insurance coverage. You’ll want to make sure that it provides coverage for events that include animals if any will be present. If your event will be held off-site, your policy should take that into consideration as well.
Mobile grooming businesses are on the rise and they require specialized coverage. Not only is your business being transacted in various locations, you’ll also be transporting valuable equipment as you travel around your area.
Standard business auto insurance isn’t enough as these policies typically do not cover any customization made to your grooming vehicle, including tables, sinks, dryers, and the like. You’ll also want to be sure you’re covered wherever your business takes you, whether you’re on the road or parked and providing services at a client’s home.
As much as we try to avoid them, mistakes and accidents happen. For example, an animal can move abruptly and be hurt by scissors during a grooming session or it could fall from the table. Another possibility is that you could perform services on the wrong animal, resulting in a lawsuit.
Professional liability insurance is an important coverage for pet groomers. It can help cover the cost of legal defense should you be accused of harming an animal through a mistake or negligence. If you’re held liable, this coverage could also include payout of damages awarded.
An animal in your care is your responsibility whether you’re offering boarding, day care, training, grooming, or medical services. Regardless of the length of time the animal is with you, you can be held liable if it is hurt while it is in your care, custody, or control.
Animal bailee provides coverage in the event an animal is injured or killed for reasons unrelated to your care. For example, this can include damages arising from fire, theft, escape, flood, or an attack by another animal.
If part of your business includes a non-profit organization such as fundraising and adoption services, you likely have directors and officers. If a director or board member makes a decision that results in harm to the organization, you are open to a lawsuit. Defense against such claims and judgements against your business could result in significant expense.
Directors and officers liability insurance protects your directors, officers, trustees, employees, volunteers, and the entity from any act or alleged act, error, omission, misstatement, misleading statement, or breach of duty.
Many medical offices unknowingly underestimate the costs associated with replacing medical equipment. It’s not uncommon to find out that there is not enough coverage to replace it, and sometimes it’s already too late.
With a business owners policy (BOP), most medical and general office equipment is included as business personal property and would be protected in the event of a covered loss. For specialized, high-valued equipment, a separate policy may be required. Your agent can help you to make that determination.
With an estimated 800,000 healthcare workers suffering needlestick and sharps injuries each year, chances are you or someone you know has already been affected.
Workers’ compensation typically covers the cost for the employee’s initial blood test. That way, any resulting infections can be identified and treated much sooner. Employer’s liability insurance may also be considered to offer additional protection if your employee files a lawsuit. Check with your agent to see if your insurance coverage offers this type of protection.
On average, it’s estimated that three out of five businesses will be sued by their employees. While there is nothing you can do to prevent someone from filing a lawsuit, you can limit the costs of defending a legal claim with proper insurance coverage.
Obtain employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) to protect your practice and its directors, officers, and employees from alleged employment-related acts such as wrongful termination, failure to promote, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
What would you do if a fire impacted the operation of your practice? Or what if a pipe leak caused a system outage or extended downtime? These and other events can destroy your ability to treat patients and bring in revenue, which can have a major long-term impact on the viability of your practice.
Business interruption insurance compensates you for lost income if your practice cannot operate as normal due to damage that is covered under your commercial property insurance policy, such as fire or water damage. This type of insurance covers the revenue your practice would have earned, based on your financial records, had the incident not occurred. The policy also covers continuing operating expenses such as rent, electricity, and ordinary payroll.
What would you do if one of your trusted employees were to be found guilty of doing something dishonest or if you find that the funds have been mismanaged in your pension plan?
Crime and fidelity coverage is designed to provide coverage for employee dishonesty, forgery and depository, theft, destruction, disappearance, and more. Fiduciary liability coverage also meets ERISA requirements to protect the funds in your pension plan.
Have you ever faced billing error allegations by the federal government or private payers?
Errors and omissions liability insurance can provide reimbursement for defense costs, fines and penalties, as well as shadow audit expenses incurred in billing error proceedings brought by government agencies, contractors, and commercial payers. This is typically a specialized type of coverage, so it’s important to check with your agent to determine if your current coverage is sufficient to addresses this exposure.
Doctors and licensed staff face a high risk of being sued by patients for such things as claiming a wrong diagnosis or treatment. Some high claims settlements could even force the office or practice to close its doors.
Professional liability insurance, commonly known as medical malpractice insurance, can protect a doctor and other licensed staff from a lawsuit that could become quite costly.
What happens when your practice faces a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limit of your standard policy?
A commercial umbrella insurance policy provides high limits of insurance, typically between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000. Coverage is extended over your general liability insurance, workers’ compensation, and business auto insurance. It provides a great safety net and helps ensure your practice is well protected.
Your healthcare practice’s refrigeration system may suffer a mechanical breakdown which could cause the supply of vaccines on hand to spoil.
Spoilage coverage can be provided as an added endorsement to your business owners policy. This type of coverage will protect your practice from large costs associated with perishable medicines and supplies.
As a business owner, you’ve worked hard to build a solid practice. But what happens when the unexpected occurs? Are you covered?
A business owners policy is uniquely designed to protect your most important assets, including your practice, its continuation, and your way of life. Discuss the details of this coverage with your agent to ensure that you’re protected.
If you are working as a landscaper on a project where other contractors and vendors are involved, you could be held liable for any damages or injuries caused by the other contractors or vendors, leaving you with costly legal fees and settlement costs. Your business needs to be protected against the risk of some other company, vendor, or subcontractor causing damage to people or property of your mutual customer.
Consider having a contract in place with each entity that includes a hold harmless agreement in your favor. A hold harmless agreement provides that the entity will hold you harmless for any injuries or damage caused by their negligence. In addition, the contract should require that the entity list you as an additional insured on the policy. This may provide you with coverage under their policy or injuries or damage they cause if you are named in a lawsuit.
Your landscaping business uses specialized equipment that’s essential to get the job done and carries a high value. If your equipment breaks, is damaged, or is stolen, you’re not able to do your job. And, because you’re transporting equipment from job site to job site, there’s an even greater risk that something could happen to it.
Mechanical breakdown insurance may provide coverage in the event a piece of equipment malfunctions or stops working. Your property insurance will offer coverage for your equipment while it is stored at your location. Inland marine insurance is helpful as it covers your equipment while it is in transit between job sites.
Your landscaping business faces risks associated with the use of hazardous chemicals. These can include herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Equipment may leak fuel or other hazardous chemicals. Improper use, spills, and other contamination events can result in significant injury or damage.
Environmental liability insurance may offer protection in the event of property damage or bodily injury that is the result of environmental pollutants. Your policy may provide for cleanup and restoration, defense costs if you are named in a lawsuit, and damages that may be awarded to an injured party.
As a landscaper, your business may be susceptible to many risks, such as claims due to bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and more. And, if you hire other contractors to perform work on your behalf, you can be held responsible for any damage they cause on the job.
Medical payments coverage or Personal Injury Protection, depending on where you live, can help cover some medical expenses and funeral expenses of covered drivers and passengers after an accident. The exact requirements, limits, and coverage can vary by state, so it’s important to understand what’s required where you live.
If one of your employees receives an injury or becomes ill due to a work-related occurrence, you are required by law to have the proper coverage in place.
Workers’ compensation protects your employees should a job-related injury or sickness occur during the course of employment. This coverage is required by law and may vary by area, so be sure that you understand your obligations for all physical locations where your business operates in and all physical locations where you hire your employees.
What would you do if a fire impacted the operation of your production line and prevented you from serving clients for a day or more? Or what if a pipe leak caused a system outage or extended downtime, leaving your production line inoperable? These and other events can destroy your ability to serve clients and bring in revenue, which can have a major long-term impact on the viability of your business.
Business interruption insurance compensates you for lost income if your manufacturing facility cannot operate as normal due to damage that is covered under your commercial property insurance policy, such as fire or water damage. Business interruption insurance covers the revenue you would have earned, based on your financial records, had the incident not occurred. The policy also covers operating expenses, like electricity, that continue even though business activities have come to a temporary halt.
As a manufacturing business, you have many exposures associated with your business vehicles–owned or leased. With a fleet of cars, trucks, vans, or other types of vehicles used in the course of business, a single accident can potentially put your business in financial jeopardy.
Business auto insurance provides coverage for vehicles owned or leased by your manufacturing business and provides coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and other exposures, and could include comprehensive and collision coverage as well.
When a gas tank explosion causes an uncontrollable fire, your commercial property and everything within it can suffer a significant loss. This can have a detrimental effect on your manufacturing business.
Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns or leases, including things like equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your building or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.
When a product you manufacture is found to be defective and causes bodily injury or property damage to others, you may be held financially liable. Product recalls can be involuntary (required by a regulatory agency or the government) or voluntary (the manufacturer notices a defect that is unlikely to force an involuntary recall), and can be costly.
Product recall insurance covers expenses associated with recalling a product from the market. Coverage can include customer notification costs, shipping costs, and disposal costs. Coverage generally applies to the manufacturing business itself, though additional coverage can be purchased to cover the costs of third parties.
As a manufacturer, you’re constantly shipping your cargo around the world either by land, air, or sea, which exposes your business to risk as a result of product loss, theft, or damage.
You can purchase ocean marine insurance for your products while your shipments of goods are in transit, whether it’s by truck, rail, air, ship, or boat, and until they reach their final destination.
As a manufacturer, you’re constantly shipping your cargo around the world either by land, air, or sea, which exposes your business to risk as a result of product loss, theft, or damage.
You can purchase ocean marine insurance for your products while your shipments of goods are in transit, whether it’s by truck, rail, air, ship, or boat, and until they reach their final destination.
Losses and lawsuits are quite common in the manufacturing business, and settlements can be substantial. If your business is found to be responsible for damage or injury, you could be facing a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limits of your standard policy.
You should consider purchasing a commercial umbrella insurance policy which provides higher limits, typically between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000, and often broadened coverages. Coverage is extended over various policies, including general liability insurance, business auto, and directors and officers liability insurance.
Accidents can happen to anyone at any time, even those who have been out on the water for years. Personal watercraft insurance is a necessity, but sometimes the limit these policies provide isn’t enough.
Your standard watercraft policy limit could easily be exhausted if you are found to be at fault for property damage or personal injury. An umbrella or excess liability policy can extend those limits, providing you an additional layer of financial protection.
It’s easy to get distracted while driving. All it takes is an incoming text message, a fussy baby, or changing the radio station and your eyes are off the road long enough to crash into a pedestrian, bicycle, or another vehicle. As an owner/operator of the vehicle, you may be held financially responsible for any bodily injuries caused as a result of the accident.
An umbrella or excess liability policy helps extend your coverage to better protect you against these significant costs. It’s the ideal coverage to provide peace of mind, even when the unthinkable happens.
You can be held responsible if you significantly damage another vehicle and/or property. Do you have enough coverage to protect yourself from the risk?
Your standard auto policy limit could easily be exhausted if you are found to be at fault. An umbrella or excess liability policy provides an extra layer of protection once your standard liability limits are exhausted. It’s a cost-effective way to ensure the peace of mind you deserve.
You invite guests over for a pool party and one of your guests dives into the shallow end of the pool and is permanently injured. They hire a lawyer to represent them and after a long legal battle, you and your family are left financially responsible for their injuries. Do you have enough money in savings to cover your legal responsibilities as well as the legal defense costs?
An umbrella or excess liability policy increases your personal liability limits by adding protection over and above your current auto, boat, or homeowners policies – providing real financial value, as well as priceless peace of mind. Excess liability insurance is available either by an endorsement to your homeowners policy or available as separate coverage.
Statistically, your company’s Experience Modification Rate (EMR) has more than a 70% chance of being incorrect. Your EMR is a number used by insurance companies to gauge any past cost of injuries and future chances of risk. In addition, over 80% of payroll audits are done incorrectly. Both factors impact your workers’ compensation coverage.
Trust your insurance advisor and have them assist and advocate during the annual payroll audit conducted by the insurance company. Your agent should also monitor all claims, but especially claims reserved over a $10,000 threshold. Larger claims should have a quarterly report prepared by your insurance agent to let you know the status of the claim. Your agent should work with your insurance company’s claims adjustor to close any claims as quickly as possible.
Your employee may become injured and you might be tempted to rely on someone else to communicate with them. As a result, your employee may be confused by the workers’ compensation process and unsure where to turn.
You and your supervisors need to stay in constant communication with your employees. Your insurance broker can provide some coaching and guidance throughout the process. Above all, your employees should feel that you care about their injuries and that you will be involved in helping them recover. Your direct supervisors play a key role in this process and should be trained to effectively communicate with your employees throughout the injury.
Claims can remain open longer than needed due to poor communication between you and your employee’s medical provider. As a result, you may be unaware that your employee is well enough to return to work on a modified basis.
Get to know the doctors that are helping your employee heal. Your insurance broker should foster this relationship by assisting you in the selection of the medical provider prior to a claim. Meet with the medical provider, interview them, tour their facilities, ask them to tour your location, and explain your return to work program. Job descriptions can be provided to the medical provider and an agreement of services can be achieved. Once a claim takes place, a clear line of communication should be established so you are kept aware of your employee’s status.
Sometimes employees are trained to do a job well, but are not trained to do their job safely. Many work-related injuries can be avoided by effective training.
Your insurance broker should be able to organize monthly training classes. Many insurance carriers offer training tools at no charge and your broker can help you utilize these tools to your advantage. For example, topics such as proper lifting techniques can be critical for many job functions. Also, using tools like payroll stuffers can be very effective.
Are you about to hire your next workers’ compensation claim? In an effort to get a position filled quickly, you may take shortcuts that could cost you thousands of dollars.
Prospective employees should be required to complete a pre-hire physical. A copy of the intended job description can then be given to the medical provider with the physical requirements of the position. This helps to ensure only those capable of doing the job are hired and keeps other employees safe.
When your employees become injured, they may need time to recover. As an employer, you may be tempted to rely solely on the workers’ compensation insurance company and/or your employee’s medical provider to communicate throughout the process. If you do, the process can become unnecessarily prolonged.
As the employer, let your insurance company and your employee’s medical provider know that you have a return to work program in place. Ask the medical provider to refer to the job description that has been provided for the injured employee. As soon as the employee is medically cleared, offer a light duty position and ask them to report to work. If needed, your employee can continue to receive treatment while they continue to recover.
Many employers are concerned about their next OSHA visit. Worried about citations and fines, employers see OSHA as the enemy. Sound familiar?
OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program offers free and confidential safety and occupational health advice to small and medium-sized businesses in all states across the country, with priority given to high-hazard worksites. On-site Consultation services are separate from enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations. Consultants from state agencies or universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards, and assist in establishing injury and illness prevention programs.
Oftentimes employees don’t understand the workers’ compensation process and may be afraid to report a claim for fear of losing their job or impacting a daily count of injury-free days that are tied to an incentive program.
Educate employees on the workers’ compensation system. During the hiring process, consider explaining how workers’ compensation coverage protects your employee when an injury occurs. Your employees should understand that it is their responsibility to report an injury immediately and follow the company’s guidelines for seeking medical attention. Explain your return to work policy and have your employees sign an agreement stating they understand the process.
What will you do if one of your trusted employees is found guilty of doing something dishonest?
Crime and fidelity coverage is designed to provide coverage for employee dishonesty, forgery and depository, theft, destruction and disappearance, and more. Discuss the details of this coverage with your agent to learn more.
If you perform services for others, you are at risk of not doing the work correctly (errors) or not doing it at all (omissions). Lawsuits can arise claiming the error or omission harmed your client and caused them a financial loss.
Errors and omissions liability insurance protects any business that gives advice, makes educated recommendations, designs solutions, or represents the needs of others. Ensure you have this important coverage if you perform services for clients.
As a business owner, you’ve worked hard to build a solid business. But what happens when the unexpected happens? Are you covered?
A business owners policy is uniquely designed to protect your most important assets, including your business, its continuation, your employees, and your way of life. Discuss the details of this coverage with your agent and ensure that you’re protected.
What happens when your business faces a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limit of your standard policy?
A commercial umbrella policy provides high limits of insurance, typically between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000. Coverage is extended over your general liability insurance, workers’ compensation, business auto, as well as directors and officers liability coverage. It provides a great safety net and helps ensure your business is well protected.
Businesses are susceptible to many risks, such as claims due to bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and more.
General liability insurance is an absolute necessity for any business. It provides broad coverage when you are deemed responsible and liable, and will also pay to defend any covered lawsuit or action regardless of its merit.
If one of your employees receives an injury or becomes ill due to a work-related occurrence, you are required by law to have the proper coverage in place.
Workers’ compensation protects your employees should a job-related injury or sickness occur during the course of employment. This coverage is required by law, so be sure that you understand your obligations.
Directors and officers (such as board members) are exposed to increased risk factors and are held accountable for acts that claim negligence in the performance of their duties. Any resulting lawsuits are typically expensive to defend, resulting in potentially large settlements.
Obtain comprehensive coverage to protect senior individuals of your company. Directors and officers liability insurance provides coverage for the legal costs to defend a covered lawsuit and provides the money necessary for any settlement beyond the defense costs.
With technology performing many tasks in today’s world, a breakdown can cause a significant financial burden, including the cost to repair the equipment, the interruption of your business, as well as any lost income and extra expenses.
Comprehensive coverage provides protection against equipment mechanical breakdown. Discuss the details of what’s covered with your insurance agent.
The Internet has spun a whole new web of liability exposures. E-commerce, social networking, cloud storage, and other technologies bring great benefits to large and small businesses alike. But with these benefits also come challenges, including protection of privacy, data, and financial information of your customers.
Cyber liability coverage covers unauthorized access to electronic data or software within your network. It also provides coverage for spreading a virus, computer theft, extortion, or any unintentional act, mistake, error, or omission made by an employee. This coverage is quickly becoming more and more important as you embrace technology to help run your businesses.
An auto accident can cause bodily injury or property damage to others for which you are responsible, potentially putting your business in financial jeopardy.
Business auto insurance provides coverage for vehicles owned or leased by a commercial enterprise and provides coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and other coverages, and includes both comprehensive and collision coverage.
On average, it’s estimated that three out of five businesses will be sued by their employees. While there is nothing you can do to prevent someone from filing a lawsuit, there is something you can do to limit the costs of defending a legal claim.
Obtain employment practices liability insurance to protect your business and its directors, officers, and employees from alleged employment-related acts such as wrongful termination, failure to promote, discrimination, and sexual harassment.
Could your business cause damage to the environment? If so, are you covered?
Environmental insurance provides protection if an environmental catastrophe occurs.
Your business property is a significant financial investment. What if something happens to it?
Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns or leases, including things like equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your building or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.
What would you do if a fire impacted the operation of your business? Or what if a pipe leak caused a system outage or extended downtime? These and other events can destroy your ability to serve clients and bring in revenue, which can have a major long-term impact on the viability of your business.
Business income insurance compensates you for lost income if the business cannot operate as normal due to damage that is covered under your commercial property insurance policy, such as fire or water damage. Business interruption insurance covers the revenue you would have earned, based on your financial records, had the incident not occurred. The policy also covers operating expenses, like electricity, that continue even though business activities have come to a temporary halt.
Physical damage can happen in many ways. As one example, suppose a fire unexpectedly breaks out in the utility closet and consumes the building causing significant damage.
Be sure your condominium owner, association, or corporation carries a comprehensive policy to cover the risk of physical damage. It’s important to know what the policy includes and what it doesn’t, which could range from covering just the shell of the building to including things like floors and walls.
Any betterments, improvements, alterations, or additions made to your condominium are subject to damage. However, it’s important to make sure they’re covered appropriately.
Be sure to obtain coverage for any betterments, improvements, alterations, and additions made to the unit. This includes, but is not limited to, kitchen cabinets, built-in wall units, wall-to-wall carpeting, wallpaper, paint, bathroom fixtures, tile and wood flooring, and more.
Unpredictable losses can occur to your property due to burglary, fire, water damage, storm, and more.
Personal property, such as furniture, rugs, TVs, stereos, clothes, and more may be covered under your basic insurance policy. However, items like jewelry, furs, silverware, antiques, collectibles, and other valuables should likely be insured separately.
If your building owner or association suffers a loss and doesn’t have adequate insurance coverage of their own, they may require you to help pay for the loss via an assessment.
Consider loss assessment coverage to protect yourself in the event of an assessment caused either by a property (building) or liability loss. A range of limits may be available.
You’re responsible if a guest in your unit trips and falls or sustains an injury while on your property or if you cause damage to other units.
Be sure that you have coverage for claims made against you for bodily injury or property damage caused by your negligence, whether intentional or not. This might include damage to other units in the building, perhaps caused by a leaking pipe in your unit or otherwise.
Additional living expenses can be incurred if there is damage to your unit due to a fire, storm, or other event resulting in your need to live at a temporary residence.
Ensure you have the proper coverage in case you need to live elsewhere for a little while. Coverage usually includes hotel bills, restaurant meals, and other living expenses incurred while your residence is being repaired or rebuilt.
You’re responsible if a guest is injured while on your property and you may be required to pay their medical expenses.
Ensure your insurance policy covers this risk. In the event a person is injured in your unit, he or she can submit medical bills to your insurance company. Medical expenses are usually paid without a liability claim being filed against you, with typical limits ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Many people mistakenly think that they don’t need life insurance if they don’t have children or if their children are grown. However, your financial responsibilities fall to your family when you are gone.
Life insurance can replace the income you would usually bring in and help support your spouse or adult children, ensuring your loved ones are able to maintain the lifestyle they’re accustomed to.
If you passed away, would your business suffer? There are many complications and financial issues that can arise due to the death of a business owner. Many people overlook this predicament.
A life insurance policy can keep a business moving along even during tough times, such as the loss of the business owner/partner. Key person life insurance is payable to the company and provides money for training and hiring of a new employee. A buy-sell agreement, funded by life insurance, allows the other partners in the business to buy the deceased’s share of the business, which will provide money for his or her family.
Raising a child can be a rewarding life experience, but it is also very expensive. It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise a child to age 18, with college tuition, fees, room, and board resulting in another potentially enormous expense. If you were to die tomorrow, would funds be available to provide for food, clothing, day care, and educational expenses for your child?
Having life insurance could secure the future for your children if you have an untimely death. With a life insurance policy, there could be enough income to help pay for everything your child might need while growing up.
Many families lease or finance their automobiles these days. If the primary earner in the family were to die, the family could be left with outstanding car payments for years to come.
A life insurance policy would allow your spouse or children to pay off your outstanding debts and spare them the stress of making monthly payments on your car(s).
Once you retire, you will be living off social security, and if you are lucky to have them, a pension or retirement fund, too. But what if the surviving spouse has been relying on you to fund retirement for the couple? Premature death of an earner can affect sources of retirement benefits such as Social Security.
Life insurance can help support a surviving spouse during their retirement.
After your death, any outstanding debt and financial obligations do not disappear. Your home is probably the costliest and most significant property you own. A mortgage payment is a large burden for a spouse or partner to carry.
A life insurance policy would allow your spouse or children to pay off your outstanding debts and spare them the stress of making monthly payments on the home.
An average funeral can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and that’s without unnecessary options or luxurious services. A death in the family is stressful enough; why add the hefty bill of a funeral to that stress?
A life insurance policy can easily cover the cost of a funeral. Your family will be able to think of you and have peace of mind without being burdened by funeral costs.
You do not have to live near a body of water to suffer loss due to flooding. With the changing weather patterns and more damaging storms occurring around the globe, flood losses are becoming more common in places that are not normally prone to flood damage. Your homeowners policy does not cover damage from flood. Could your home be at risk?
Purchase a flood insurance policy to protect your home and covered contents from certain types of flood losses as designated by the National Flood Insurance Program. A flood policy is purchased as a separate policy through the federal program (NFIP) or through a servicing carrier known as a write your own carrier.
When there is substantial damage to your home due to unexpected events such as lightning, fire, or a storm, you may not be able to live in your home until it can be repaired or rebuilt–potentially incurring additional living expenses for lodging, food, and other daily needs.
Ensure that your homeowners insurance policy provides additional living expense or loss of use coverage to compensate you for the additional costs you incur for reasonable housing and living expenses if a covered event makes your house temporarily uninhabitable while it’s being repaired or rebuilt.
Surprisingly, standard auto insurance does not cover personal property or contents stolen from your car.
Most homeowners policies offer an option to include off-premises theft coverage as an endorsement, which covers you for theft of your personal property away from your residence.
Whether entering from outside your home from a flood or from within your home’s plumbing system, water damage is the most common cause of loss to a home. Many policies exclude losses caused by backup of sewers and drains, and all unendorsed homeowner policies exclude damage caused by a flood.
Careful review is essential to protect your home and belongings from all sources of water damage. We recommend coverage solutions from insurance companies that include backup of sewers and drains. Also, identify cost efficient solutions to address the risk of flood damage in the first place.
Collector or classic vehicles often have significant value and require special documentation and unique insurance coverage to ensure they are adequately protected. Even if stored on your property, they are typically not covered under your homeowners insurance.
Insure your collector cars with a specialized insurance company that focuses on and understands the unique nature of collector or classic cars and other vehicles.
Young people are usually very active online. However, using social media and other sites can increase the possibility of them directly or indirectly damaging someone’s reputation and exposing you, the parent, to a lawsuit.
Your homeowners insurance policy includes liability coverage for property damage caused by any member in the family, but likely does not cover rumors or statements that damage a reputation. You may need to seek additional coverage to include liability protection that covers personal injury or defamation.
Most fires are devastating. Besides the emotional impact, the physical damage to your home can be significant. If you lost your home to fire, do you have adequate insurance to replace your home and its contents? Remember, inflation rates on building materials and construction costs rarely track with real estate values. As a result, rebuilding a home can often cost significantly more than expected.
Make sure your homeowners policy contains replacement cost coverage with no cap. This protects you if the cost to reconstruct your home is higher than your current limit of coverage. And, be sure that your insurance includes rebuilding your home to code. Very often, local ordinances and building codes change over time, which may require additional costs.
If you are a connoisseur of wine, you know that it is susceptible to outside environmental exposures that can ruin it. If the collection is damaged, coverage from your homeowners policy is a possible recourse. However, the damage is only insurable if it is a covered cause of loss as outlined in your homeowners policy. A deductible would also apply.
If you have a sizable wine collection, you may want to consider scheduling the collection on your homeowners policy. Doing so expands your coverage and eliminates the deductible in case of a loss. You can also consider unique coverages for wine, such as for spoilage.
When your home suffers damage due to an unexpected event, your personal property is also at risk. Furniture, appliances, clothing, electronics, and other personal items can also be damaged or destroyed.
Your homeowners insurance policy typically covers personal property, including the contents of your home and other personal items owned by you or family members who live with you. Make sure your homeowners policy includes replacement cost coverage for personal property so that you always receive the full cost to replace whatever item is damaged.
Typically, there is a sublimit on homeowner insurance policies for valuable possessions, such as jewelry, furs, fine arts, and other collectibles.
Obtain a personal floater or schedule your valuable possessions to ensure you’ll have the money to replace them.
In the unfortunate event that someone slips and falls while on your property, you and your family may be held liable for any injuries that result.
Your homeowners policy includes personal liability coverage to respond to incidents where injuries or damages occur to a third party where you may be deemed negligent. However, you should consider purchasing a personal umbrella or excess liability policy to provide additional coverage limits to protect your assets in case a lawsuit is brought against you.
If a guest is injured while on your property, even when it’s due to a friendly game of baseball, you may be required to pay any medical expenses associated with their injury.
Your homeowners policy should include medical expenses coverage to take care of injuries and treatment – generally not of a serious nature. In the event a person is injured on your property and requires medical attention, you would be able to submit the injury-related medical expenses to your insurance carrier. Medical expenses are usually paid without a liability claim being filed against you.
The fun that comes with having a trampoline in your backyard can also be accompanied by serious risks, which may not be covered under your standard homeowners insurance policy since coverage varies from state to state and between insurance companies.
You should make sure your homeowners insurance policy covers your trampoline, as many insurance providers refuse to take on trampoline liability and exclude the item from coverage.
You invite guests over for a pool party and one of your guests dives into the shallow end of the pool and is permanently injured. They hire a lawyer to represent them and after a long legal battle, you and your family are left financially responsible for their injuries. Do you have enough money in savings to cover your legal responsibilities as well as the legal defense costs?
An umbrella or excess liability policy increases your personal liability limits by adding protection over and above your current auto, boat, or homeowners policies-providing financial value and security. Excess liability insurance is available either by an endorsement to your homeowners policy or available as separate coverage.
Owning a secondary home has the potential of increasing your liability exposures.
Be certain that you extend the liability coverage under your homeowners policy to include your secondary home. You should also consider including the secondary home under an excess liability or umbrella policy to provide for additional liability limits.
When your vehicle is being repaired or replaced due to a covered loss, you may have to rent a vehicle to get you to and from your daily responsibilities without any interruption. Vehicle rental can get expensive, especially over an extended period of time.
Rental coverage/ loss of use is an inexpensive option you can add to your auto insurance policy to pay for the cost to rent a temporary replacement vehicle or the cost of public or private transportation if your vehicle is ever in an accident. This coverage is available in a variety of daily limits.
When involved in an auto accident, you and your family may be financially responsible for any damage caused by your vehicle to someone else’s property. The amount required, if any, can vary by state.
The property damage portion of your auto insurance policy protects you if your car damages someone else’s property, such as another car, a fence, or a building. In some instances, you may be able to choose your coverage limit, or it may be a standard amount dictated by the insurer or local laws.
What happens when the driver who hit you doesn’t have enough liability coverage? Or, even worse, they take off? Research has shown that this happens more than you might expect. If you’re in a collision with someone who is uninsured or underinsured, you can be left to pay out-of-pocket for damages and medical expenses not covered by the other driver.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist damage coverage may compensate you for bodily injury and lost wages caused by an uninsured motorist, a hit-and-run driver, a driver whose automobile insurance company is insolvent, or a driver who has not purchased enough coverage to pay for damages.
Your automobile can be a fairly costly investment – one that is exposed to many potential losses caused by weather related events, theft, and other circumstances that may be out of your control.
Physical damage coverage can protect your vehicle if it is damaged in an accident (collision coverage), is damaged by something other than a collision (comprehensive coverage) with a vehicle or object or if your vehicle is stolen. This coverage is optional if your vehicle is paid in full, but it is coverage you should consider if you want to fully protect your vehicle.
It’s easy to get distracted while driving. All it takes is an incoming text message, a fussy baby, or changing the radio station and your eyes are off the road long enough to crash into the slowing vehicle in front of you. As an owner/operator of the vehicle, you may be held financially responsible for any bodily injuries caused as a result of the accident.
Bodily injury liability covers your legal liability for a covered accident that involves injury to another person, up to the limit of liability you select. Purchase enough coverage to protect your assets should a claim be brought against you or if you are sued. You should also consider purchasing an excess liability policy which may provide additional limits of liability.
Depending on the severity of the injuries suffered in an automobile accident, whether caused by you or by the other vehicle, it’s not uncommon for healthcare costs to run into the thousands of dollars, with a large portion being out-of-pocket expenses not covered by your health plan.
Medical payments coverage or Personal Injury Protection, depending on where you live, can help cover some medical expenses and funeral expenses of covered drivers and passengers after an accident. The exact requirements, limits, and coverage can vary by state, so it’s important to understand what’s required where you live.
