Month: May 2019

While coverage will vary depending on your specific policy, most homeowners insurance policies will cover a variety of damages caused by a storm. It’s important to know whether your home is covered in the event of a natural disaster, so read on to find out which damages are included in your policy and which ones are not!

 

Wind

Homeowners insurance policies usually cover damages caused by storms with heavy winds including tornadoes and hurricanes, but some exclusions may apply; if you live in a state where windstorms are common, your insurance provider may require you to purchase a separate policy in order to receive compensation for damages of this kind.

Furthermore, many policies include a wind deductible which is more than your standard deductible and is typically a percentage of your Dwelling Limit. For example, if the Dwelling Limit on your policy is $500,000 and you have a 1% wind deductible, then you are responsible for the first $5,000 of a wind claim. If you have a 2% wind deductible in that example, you are responsible for the first $10,000. Unfortunately, many clients are not aware of this when a claim occurs.

Your best bet is to check with your insurance agent to make sure you know the specifics of your policy. For example, what is your deductible on wind damage? Are there any exclusions on your policy? What is the limit of your wind coverage? If you’re not sure what the answers are to these questions, take a moment to brush up on your policy’s information with your agent so that you don’t run into any surprises.

 

Lightning Strikes

Lightning strikes and any fires caused by lightning strikes are covered under a standard insurance policy. Furthermore, if you’re forced to evacuate your home and seek temporary living arrangements such as a hotel as a result of lightning, your homeowners policy can reimburse you for those costs.

Damages to your home as a result of a lightning strike hitting your property can be extremely expensive, especially if they cause a power surge, fire, or explosion. Luckily, it isn’t terribly difficult to prove that the event happened as the aftermath of a lightning bolt hitting the ground is pretty evident. Remember to check your homeowners insurance policy to verify your deductible and limits in case they need to be adjusted.

Floods

Flood damages are not covered under a homeowners insurance policy. If you live in an area that’s prone to flooding, you’ll absolutely want to ask your insurance agent about purchasing a separate flood policy. 90% of natural disasters in the U.S. involve flooding and the costs of these damages can be debilitating. In contrast, flood insurance policies are relatively inexpensive at an annual premium of about $700.

Even if you live in an area like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that is not known for experiencing floods, taking out a policy is a good idea regardless. You never know when a flood is going to come your way.

 

Trees Falling

Here are a few important notes about homeowners insurance and fallen trees:

• If a tree falls but doesn’t hit anything, there’s no coverage.When a tree falls in your yard and does not land on anything, there is no coverage for removal of the tree. Unfortunately, the tree must hit the house or another structure on the property, such as a shed or fence, to trigger coverage under a homeowners policy.
• If your neighbor’s tree falls on your house or in your yard, it is your responsibility.If your neighbor wants to be really nice, they can cover your deductible. However, it will be your policy that pays anything over and above the deductible. Everything from the previous bullet-point still applies.
• If a tree falls on your car, damage to your vehicle will be covered by your auto insurance company subject to your comprehensive deductible.The cost to remove the tree is a gray area and will likely depend on the location of the incident. If it happens at your home, it is likely that you are going to cover the majority (if not all) of the cost to remove the tree from your vehicle.

 

Call Risk Averse Insurance in Media, PA to discuss a homeowners insurance policy for your property.

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

Construction workers face a large number of unique risks on the job on a regular basis. When your employees are operating heavy machinery as a part of their daily routine, you absolutely need insurance policies in place to protect their safety and your business. Below are just a few examples of insurance policies that construction workers can benefit from.

General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance is the most basic type of insurance that any business should have regardless of its industry or size. This policy will provide you with top-notch legal representation and pay for covered damages caused by you or an employee up to the maximum limit provided on the policy. General liability insurance will typically be required when entering into a contract with a third party or pulling permits in a city like Philadelphia.

General liability insurance, however, does not cover the costs of an employee’s medical bills if they get injured on the job. This type of coverage would require workers compensation insurance.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Commercial umbrella insurance provides an additional layer of liability protection for your business in the event of a loss that exceeds the limits of policies you have in place. For example, if you have a $2 million limit on your general liability policy and the costs of a claim end up adding up to $2.7 million, your commercial umbrella policy will step in to make up the $700k difference.

With construction being a high-risk industry, employee injuries and property damages can be costly without sufficient coverage in place. Commercial umbrella insurance will help protect your construction company from major losses and even closing its doors for good.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers compensation insurance is necessary for all business owners who have at least one full-time or part-time employee. If you have “sub-contractors” or 1099 employees, you may still need coverage. These sub-contractors can be considered employees, making you responsible for injuries occurring on the job.

Workers’ Compensation insurance will provide wage replacement and medical benefits to an employee who is injured on the job. In return for these benefits, the employee waives the right to sue you, the employer, for negligence.

Construction workers are on the move for hours at a time using power tools, lifting heavy objects, and working at height; almost 40% all construction worker deaths in 2017 were due to falling. If one of your employees falls off a roof and breaks their arm, you could be expected to pay for their medical bills. A trip to the hospital can be very costly depending on the nature and severity of their injury, so a workers compensation policy will help cover these costs. Furthermore, if your employee decides to sue you after an accident, a workers compensation policy would also help cover the cost of any legal fees.

Call Risk Averse Insurancein Media, PA to discuss workers’ compensation coverage for your business.

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

If you’ve ever been pulled over for a traffic violation such as running a stop sign or driving over the speed limit, you know the dread of seeing those flashing police car lights in your rearview mirror. As you reach for your glove compartment to grab your license and registration, you hope that they’ll just let you off with a warning. After all, you don’t want your car insurance premiums to rise if your insurance company sees the violation on your record.

While insurance may not be your first thought when getting pulled over, it’s something you’ll absolutely have to consider. Unless you go to traffic court and are able to get the points removed from your record, your insurance provider is eventually going to see that you had a violation. As a result, your car insurance premium may rise depending on where you live, the severity of the infraction, the number of points involved.

Your insurance company will likely not know that you got a ticket right away.

If you have your car insurance with a large company such as Progressive or Nationwide, they are certainly not checking your driving record weekly or even monthly. Normally, the only time they’ll really check is when your renewal is coming up to determine your annual premium.

If they notice that you’ve received a ticket for a traffic violation, you’ll be seen as more of a risk to them. As a result, your premium will likely increase depending on how many violations you’ve had as well as the nature of the violation.

Different traffic violations yield different increase amounts.

Violation	Percent Increase	Dollar Increase
DUI/DWI first offense	79%	$1,131
Reckless driving	73%	$1,046
Operating a vehicle in a race (highway racing)	71%	$1,012
Speeding 30+ over limit	30%	$427
Careless driving	26%	$372
Texting while driving	23%	$344
Distracted driving	22%	$320
Speeding ticket 16-29 MPH over limit	22%	$317
Improper/illegal pass	20%	$293
Speeding ticket 1-15 MPH over limit	20%	$288
Following too closely	20%	$284
Improper turn	20%	$281
Failure to yield	20%	$281
Failure to stop	19%	$272
Talking on cell phone while driving	16%	$224
Driving without a license or permit	12%	$178
Driving without insurance	10%	$143
Seatbelt infraction	3%	$47

via insurance.com

There are ways you can avoid high increases.

In the event that you have points assigned to your record, call your insurance company to discuss your options.

One option to avoid potentially high increases in your car insurance premium is to ask your insurance provider if you can raise your deductible. Doing so may lower your annual premium amount enough to significantly soften any blow to your wallet as a result of your traffic violation. Additionally, you may be able to take a safe driving course to get a discount on your premium; just make sure that the course is approved before taking the time to sign up and participate in it.

Many insurance companies also offer discounts for bundling your policies. If you have your car insurance with a different company than your homeowner’s insurance, consider getting a quote to see if moving your homeowner’s policy will save you some money. Additionally, you may be eligible for a discount if your annual mileage is relatively low.

Talk to your agent and make sure you’re taking advantage of all possible discounts they offer.

 

Call Risk Averse Insurancein Media, PA to discuss your business or personal insurance.

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

As a business owner, you have many insurance options to protect your business in the event of damages, theft, lawsuits, and so on. With all these options, it becomes difficult to choose which business insurance policies to purchase vs. which to forego. Two of the many options that you have are general liability insurance and a business owners policy, both of which offer protection for your business but not quite in the same way. Read on to learn the difference between them and decide which is best for your business!

General Liability Insurance

A general liability policy is going to cover your most basic business insurance needs. Also known as business liability insurance, this policy protects you from general claims that any company could face; this includes claims regarding bodily injury, third-party medical costs, advertising injury lawsuits, and more. This coverage is typically required when entering into a contract with a third party or pulling permits in a city like Philadelphia. General liability coverage also provides legal representation and pays for covered damages caused by the business owner or an employee.

Business Owners Policy (BOP)

A business owners policy, on the other hand, typically includes general liability insurance as well as property insurance and business interruption coverage. Commercial Property insurance will compensate you in the event of damages to your business assets caused by fire, theft, or windstorms. Business Interruption insurance steps in to cover your business when it experiences and unexpected catastrophe and must close for a period of time. For example, if a tree falls on your building during a storm and forces you to close while repairs are made, business interruption insurance will help cover any lost wages while your doors are closed.

Business owners policies are great for small and mid-sized businesses as they offer a package of essential policies at a reduced cost. However, it’s important to note that a BOP doesnotcover professional liability, auto insurance, or worker’s compensation losses; these policies must be purchased separately as you will not receive any reimbursement for any losses that fall under such policy types.

Call Risk Averse Insurancein Media, PA to discuss your business or personal insurance.

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