What is subrogation and when should you waive it? In business insurance, you may find your landlord asking you to waive subrogation. Subrogation is the ability of your insurance company to collect on your behalf from another party. This simply allows you to file the claim with your insurance company. Your insurance company pays the claim, but then pursues the third party on your behalf to collect the funds they have paid.

Typically, this is a good thing. However, in certain cases, as in real estate transactions between a landlord and a business tenant, attorneys typically suggest the waiver of subrogation. The idea behind this is to ensure that if, for example, an employee of your company accidentally causes a fire and destroys the building which houses your business, the insurance company of the landlord will not come after you for the cost of the damages. For this to work, both parties in the real estate contract must waive it.

Always consult an insurance professional and your attorney to ensure you are protected. This article is not designed to provide legal advice, only to make the readers aware of subrogation in business insurance and when it is typically waived to protect both the landlord and business tenant.

This is not only very stressful at a very sensitive time, but is financially devastating. Always contact your health insurance company to get pre-certified prior to going into surgery or any medical procedure. In return, when they have approved the procedure, they will provide a pre-certified reference number that provides you with assurance that the insurance company has looked at the procedure, knows it is necessary and has approved it. This is the only true way of knowing your procedure will be covered and paid by your insurance company.

A little bit of planning can prevent headaches and stress post-surgery or procedure.

Winter Driving Tips

First, at some point in our lives, we have all skidded while driving in the winter on a snow or ice covered road. To maximize traction on the road, have your tires inspected before winter. The tires must be specifically manufactured for winter weather. In other words they must be winter tires or sometimes in some milder climates you may be able to use all season tires. Certainly do not use summer tires, especially in northern parts of the country in the winter. Any skidding or slipping that causes an accident or damage will likely be your fault in the eyes of the insurance company.

Secondly, if you do get into a situation in which you find your vehicle slipping or skidding, the application of brakes may aggravate the situation. The old rule of thumb was to turn the steering wheel into the skid; however, many experts now want the driver to steer wherever you want the car to go. Certainly anti-skid brakes have reduced skidding and slipping incidents because anti-skid releases the brake on the locked wheels to prevent a skid, thus providing traction to regain control. This is one of the reasons why insurance companies give a discount for anti-skid brakes.

Another thing drivers can do to prevent skidding or slipping on snowy or wet roads is to plan your uphill and downhill driving. When going uphill on a snowy road, if you stop and then start again, the chance of sliding is greater. Therefore, plan your uphill climb by keeping enough distance behind the vehicle in front of you so you do not have to stop on an up-slope. On downhill slopes keep enough distance from the vehicle ahead of you to prevent having to apply the brakes quickly, this leads to many accidents because drives are following closely and if they have to stop suddenly on a snowy downhill slope, they vehicle’s momentum prevents stopping on a friction reduced road. In slow moving traffic, if possible always shift down into a lower gear to try and slow the vehicle first before brake application. Experts suggest this will reduce your chances of a driver induced skid or slip.

I hope these small tips help to keep you safe and reduce the risk of a claim on your auto insurance policy. As always, it is a good idea and may help reduce your insurance costs if you take a defensive driving course on an annual basis.

This is usually very inexpensive and is as simple as going to your local hardware store and getting water pipe insulation. I’m certain most people have seen the type of inexpensive insulation I am referring to. It is usually the type that wraps around the pipes and has a Styrofoam-looking appearance. If you are unsure, ask a customer service employee at your local hardware store and they will guide you to the correct type of insulation.

Another thing homeowners can do during severe low temperatures is to go to the furthest sink from the water heater and open the faucet to start a very slow drip. This allows for water to flow preventing still water from freezing and expanding, thus causing a pipe rupture. Some minor preparation before winter may prevent significant damage, expensive repairs and the dreaded insurance claim.

Pension Plans and Survivor Benefits

As a former insurance agent, I helped many clients plan for their retirement and one of the first things I always asked about were pension plans. Typically, when one retires, they are given the option of taking their pension plan at 100% benefit on a monthly basis, or a reduced percentage basis if they want survivor benefits for their spouse. In other words, let’s say you are to receive $5000 per mo nth until death from your pension plan; however, you may be offered a reduced monthly amount, if you want your spouse to continue to receive your pension after your death. So typically if you opt for the full amount and you die, your pension stops with your death; however, if you take a reduced amount, let’s say $3000 per month, your spouse will continue to receive this amount even after your death.

Most individuals take the reduced amount so their spouse can continue to receive financial support. However, this reduced amount may have a severe impact on your quality of life in your retirement, but there is a solution. By taking the full amount and having an adequate life insurance policy, you can enjoy the higher dollar amount of benefit from your pension during your life, and still protect and provide for your spouse after your gone through the life insurance policy. Keep in mind your pension is taxable, typically, life insurance policies are not taxable, thus you are passing a non-taxable benefit to your spouse.

As always, this is general information and you should consult an estate planning/retirement planning specialist to ensure you are financially protected.

Should A Motorcycle In Storage Be Insured?

When storing a motorcycle, it is a good practice to keep comprehensive coverage on your bike throughout the storage period. You may think that it is safe and sound, locked up in a dry location, but insurance is there to protect you when the unexpected happens…and the unexpected usually happens sooner or later. You might think of canceling your insurance coverage while its in storage to save some money, but that might be a very bad idea.

For starters, there may be the unusually warm winter day in late winter where the sun is shining and it’d be a glorious day for a ride. If you’ve canceled your insurance, then you wouldn’t be able to take it out on the road. Some motorcycle riders may take the risk of taking their bikes out anyways, but winter couldn’t be a worse time to take an uninsured motorcycle out of storage. In the winter, there may be unexpected ice patches and there is often snowy slush around curbs and corners. The chance of your bike slipping are simply greater than normal.

More importantly, comprehensive coverage provides protection in non moving type accidents. For example, if your motorcycle falls off its storage mounts, you will be protected. Insurance can take care of other unforeseen problems like theft, fire damage, vandalism, and other problems that can occur while your bike is locked up for the winter.

Is Comprehensive Motorcycle Insurance Expensive?

Typically, comprehensive insurance is very inexpensive. My car costs roughly $13 for a six month period. This is little to pay for protection and should be considered during vehicle storage.

How Insurance Agents Get Paid

It helps to remember that your insurance agent gets a commission for writing your insurance policy. This commission is paid not only during the initial writing, but also subsequent writings. Some insurance agents build up their book of business in hopes that once they have worked hard enough for a few years, they do not have to work as hard or communicate with longtime clients because they rely on their clients to always renew their policies. Well, a good insurance agent will not simply get you to take out one policy and simply rely on you repeatedly renewing it. A good insurance agent will periodically communicate with you to make sure you are still adequately insured and perhaps just as importantly, an agent should use their expertise to help guide you through any shifting insurance needs.

What Should You Expect From Your Insurance Agent?

At minimum, you should be getting a call from your insurance agent during each renewal, and on an annual basis, your agent should be sitting down with you to review your insurance needs because needs can change and you may be paying for insurance you don’t need. You might also be underinsured. Here’s a useful tip: When it is time to renew your insurance policy, get multiple quotes so you know market rates and competitor prices. This way you are armed with current information when you see your agent or get a call from him during the renewal period.

If your insurance agent is not calling you during a policy renewal, or isn’t sitting down with you to do an insurance review, it may be time to fire him. He is essentially collecting commissions on your policies without doing the required work. Find someone that will not only meet your needs, but exceed them. Once you find the right agent, reward him or her with all of your insurance policies.

Property & Casualty Insurance

Property and Casualty or commonly referred to as P&C policies cover damage to property. Property includes the building or structure that houses your business, or it may be the vehicle used in your business and covered in your policy.

Business Liability Insurance Coverage

Liability portion of your business insurance will cover any injury or mistakes made in conjunction with the daily conduct of your business. For example, someone sues your company for an injury incurred while on your premises. The chance of this happening, especially, if your business is open to the general public may be higher then you may think. Some businesses require Errors and Omissions policies in addition to general business liability because of their specialty. For example, a law firm will require general liability and a separate errors and omissions policy for the law portion of the business.

Employee Liability Insurance Coverage

People are a company’s greatest assets and require protection while they conduct business on behalf of the company. A typical business insurance policy will cover employees from being sued while conducting company business as long as that activity is a covered peril or risk. There are other types of insurance policies that covered injury to employees while conducting business on behalf of the company, such as workers compensation insurance. This is a separate policy that must be purchased by business owners; consult with your state to determine if worker compensation is required in your state. If it is not required, it will still be very prudent to get this coverage.

Business Interruption Coverage

Business interruption coverage protects your business in case of loss of income. Keep in mind if the business function is interrupted for whatever reason, i.e. a tree falls and damages your building structure, thus preventing your business from conducting its daily functions for several weeks would pose a significant loss of revenue to the business while expenses would still be incurred. The loss of that income up to the covered amount in your policy will offset this.

With minimal planning, a business owner can generally work through a simple business policy after reviewing the above four areas. However, if still not sure, ask as many questions as necessary to get the answers on coverage needed and the associated costs from your insurance company.

It covers anyone named on the policy, i.e. the named insured, a family member, a spouse, any relative living in the house, and anyone occupying the vehicle. This coverage provides protection regardless of fault for medical expenses. Additionally, it provides protection whether you have another health insurance policy or not.

If I have a health insurance policy from my employer, why should I get this coverage?

Consider this, with medical expense coverage there are no out of pocket expenses such as co-pay, deductibles, co-insurance etc. Also, the portability factor is significant with medical expense coverage because if you change employers, or are temporarily out of work without health insurance, there would be a significant financial burden that can be avoided with this coverage. Additionally, consider that this coverage also protects people riding in your vehicle; which typically are friends, other non-household family members, and co-workers, you would be helping to reduce significant financial burden on them in case of an injury. Furthermore, consider that most often serious injury is a result of a motor vehicle accident, and all of a sudden this coverage makes sense.

An efficient and cost effective way to use this coverage is to take the stacking option on your motor vehicle policy. Stacking allows a policy holder to stack the coverage of the remainder of your vehicles on any given accident. For example, if the medical expense coverage on your policy is $5000, and you have two vehicles, by stacking this coverage, it would increase to $10,000. As mentioned earlier this coverage is relatively inexpensive; usually starting as low as $20 for minimal protection. This coverage is a must consideration and should not be looked over simply because you already have health insurance.

How much life insurance do you need?

For example, the general rule of ten times your salary may not be enough depending on your goal. If the goal is to have enough money for your spouse to continue to work while hiring a nanny to take care of the children, then the general rule may be enough. However, if the goal is provide enough for your spouse to stay home with the children, payoff the house, and have money left over for the kids’ college education, then clearly, ten times your salary may not be enough.

Consider this, if your annual salary is $50,000, over a 30 year working career, you are expected to make $1,500,000, yes that is 1.5 million dollars. Therefore, it is critical to clearly identify your goal of the benefit. This typically requires you to sit down and have a serious discussion with your spouse about what would happen if you were no longer around to financially provide for them. Some families decide that the spouse has a viable career and makes enough to support the family, thus, all they would need is to pay off the home mortgage and someone to take care of the children while the surviving spouse works. Others may want to account for all contingencies such as the spouse going back to school to pursue a viable career, or stay home with the children and have all expenses paid for until the children are in college. There are many options and avenues available to families as they discuss their life insurance needs.

However, ultimately, one key issue arises, that being how much can you afford? Once again, a clear goal has to be established so a cost benefit analysis can be done, and I encourage all families to do just that,: a thorough cost benefit analysis to determine how much you will need, and what you can afford. Clearly, anyone that is a wage earner and financially supports the family should be insured so if a tragic event occurs, the income that is lost can be replaced.