Month: December 2016

A broken water or sewer line can cost thousands to repair. Protect your home and your bank account with the right insurance coverage.

Customers frequently ask if they should buy the water and sewer-line insurance that is offered through the water company. My recommendation is yes, every homeowner should buy the coverage. The minimum package I would recommend is Water Service Line Coverage and the Sewer/Septic Line coverage.

Frequently, customers will find that they have a collapsed water or sewer line only after sewage begins to back up into the house through the toilets or sink. You can imagine the odor and damage caused by something like this. The ensuing damage and repairs may not be covered under your homeowner’s policy and, as a result, cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Here is What You Can Expect:

• Unless your homeowner’s policy specifically states that you have coverage for Water and Sewer backup, you will be on the hook for the damage caused by the sewage that backs into the house.

• Homeowners insurance typically provides coverage for damage caused by a broken pipe, but not for the pipe itself. Furthermore, homeowners coverage does not apply to land, or any costs required to replace, rebuild, stabilize, or otherwise restore the land.

If a pipe bursts in your front yard, there’s a good chance that you will need to have your entire yard dug up to find and repair the damage. You can imagine how these costs will add up quickly if you don’t have the correct insurance coverage in place. Unfortunately, too many Delaware County, PA, homeowners do not have adequate coverage and they are not aware of that fact until the loss occurs.

There are two coverage recommendations I would make for every homeowner in this regard. First, you should carry a minimum of $10,000 of Water, Sewer Backup on your homeowner’s policy. Second, you should purchase the Water, Sewer Line coverage offered through Aqua PA. To purchase both, it would likely cost you about $20 more than you are currently paying monthly, a small amount when compared to the thousands of dollars you will spend if you have a loss without the coverage.

 

Contact Risk Averse Insurance to discuss your Delaware County, PA, homeowners insurance.

Risk Averse Insurance is a PA insurance agency that specializes in providing high-quality insurance products at an affordable price.

 

As our small businesses grow, we get to a point when it is time to start hiring. Nevertheless, finding the right people is only one of the challenges. Another is understanding the costs associated with hiring. Depending on your industry, workers compensation can add a significant cost to hiring. However, the policy provides much needed financial protection for your employees and your business, so it is important to know who needs coverage and how to keep your costs down.

In PA, workers compensation is required of all businesses that have employees, though it is not always clear who is an employee. Therefore, it is important to make sure you are protecting those workers that you are responsible for without taking on the expense of those you aren’t.

 

Do I need Workers Compensation if I pay workers on a 1099?

1099s and W2s are tax forms and aren’t a determining factor in who needs to be covered. The requirement for workers compensation in PA is determined through the courts based on whether there is an employer-employee relationship between you and the injured worker. Here are some factors to consider. If the answer is Yes to any of these, you’ll likely be required to provide workers compensations coverage:

• Do you mandate when and where this person works daily?
• Do you require the number of hours an employee must work each week?
• Is this person working full-time with your business?
• Do you pay hourly wage or weekly salary?
• Do you provide training?
• Does the person do the same type of work as you, such as an electrician doing work for an electrical contractor?
• Do you provide tools, equipment, or materials to this person?

It is better to err on the side of caution. It is likely that the court will lean in favor of the injured employee when determining the relationship.

 

Will I be charged for true sub-contractors that I use?

Now that you’ve established who is a sub-contractor and who is an employee, it is important that you aren’t paying unnecessary workers compensation premiums. If you do not want to pay workers compensation for the sub-contractors that you use, only hire subs that currently have their own workers compensation insurance. And don’t just take them at their word that they have workers compensation, make sure you collect certificates of insurance from all subs. Your insurance company will want to see these certificates at audit. If you can’t provide certificates, you will likely be responsible for the premiums associated with that sub.

 

Call Risk Averse Insurance in Media, PA to discuss workers compensation insurance for your business.

Risk Averse Insurance is an insurance agency in Delaware County that specializes in providing high-quality insurance products at an affordable price.