One of the single most contributing factors that have influenced insurance costs for retail and restaurant establishments over the years is slip and fall incidents involving customers and employees.
Insurance Companies, the Legal Community, and Floor Safety
11-03-2010 by adminYoung Driver Car Insurance
04-03-2010 by admin
If you are currently looking for young driver car insurance for the first time, and wondering how much coverage you need. Most advice that have been seen says; take net worth or $100k, whichever is higher. When you get insurance, you are protecting yourself against those rare but really expensive risks. However, with a $100k limit, you might get the impression that you are protecting against the big risks, but not against the really big risks.
What happens if you get into an accident, you have liability coverage for $100k, and somebody in the other car has $500k worth of hospital bills as a result? Your insurance company won’t pay and you can’t afford that much money. So do you go bankrupt and the injured person not get treatment?
One possible scenario is that the plaintiff’s lawyer recognizes that you are uncollectible above the policy limit, and the plaintiff settles in the amount of the policy limit even though it doesn’t cover all of his losses. The greater your income and assets, the greater the risk that somebody will seek an judgment against you in excess of your insurance coverage.
If a person has several hundred thousand dollars of medical bills and the driver at fault has minimal coverage. If the driver has little or no assets beyond the coverage, the injured person often ends up in bankruptcy to discharge the medical bills. Certainly under insured and uninsured coverage is extremely important to have in this era as medical costs continue to skyrocket.
The victim’s health insurance pays for medical expenses except the first small amount covered by the medical coverage (usually only a few k$).
The insurance company pays the victim on the condition that they will not sue. Thus the victim has the choice between taking a certain dollar amount from the company, or going through the risk and expense of a trial. Thus if your net worth is less than your policy limit it is not in the victim’s best interest to sue.
Improvements in car design and increased use of seat belts (which are not superfluous in this era of air bags) has created a context where most people injured in car accidents would still be looking at a $100K claims can involve extremely serious injury or death with potential damages claims being very high. Does all this mean that the streets are full of under insured drivers and that when there is a nasty accident the people involved end up broke? Yes. Worse, the worst drivers tend to carry the least insurance, due to cost and limited availability. It’s not unusual to see habitual drunk drivers with 20/40 coverage.
You can discuss with your insurance agent the relative cost of coverage – sometimes a significant increase in coverage isn’t that expensive as compared to the cost of the policy – or alternatives, such as umbrella coverage. Also discuss uninsured and under insured motorist coverage, to protect yourself. In helping you to find young driver car insurance and the coverage you need compare cheap car insurance.
Where to Get Cheap Homeowners Insurance
19-02-2010 by admin
Cheap homeowners insurance. Does it really exist? Yes … if you know how and where to look. Here’s how to find cheap homeowners insurance the easy way.
What Homeowners Insurance Covers
Structural Coverage – This coverage pays to have your home rebuilt if it’s damaged or destroyed. To find out how much coverage you need, get the square-foot building cost in your area from a builder or a realtor, then multiply that figure by your home’s square footage.
Personal Property Coverage – Your personal property is anything in your home that is not not part of the house structure – clothing, furniture, appliances, electronics, etc. To figure out how much personal property coverage you need, take an inventory of everything you own, then add up each item’s value to get the coverage amount.
Expensive items like jewelry, furs, antiques, and collectables may not be covered under some policies, so you’ll need to purchase extra insurance to cover them.
Liability Coverage – Liability coverage pays for damage done to others and their property when you’re at fault. It also pays for your legal fees if you’re sued. If you don’t have a lot of assets, $100,000 coverage may be enough. But if you do have a lot of assets that you could lose in a lawsuit, consider purchasing at least $300,000 to $500,000 worth of liability coverage
Off-Premises Coverage – This pays for your basic living expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable due to fire or other causes. This coverage is especially important if you live in a high risk area for natural disasters.
Most homeowners policies do not cover floods and earthquakes, so you’ll need to purchase extra coverage if you live in a flood or earthquake zone.
How to Get Cheap Homeowners Insurance
Insurance rates can vary by hundreds, even thousands of dollars from one company to the next. This being the case, the best way to get cheap homeowners insurance is to go to an insurance comparison website where you can compare rates from a number of different companies.
A few comparison sites even have insurance professionals on hand to answer any questions you may have through their online chat service (See link below.)
To get the cheapest rate, make sure to request the highest deductible you can afford, and get all the discounts you’re eligible for.
Get A Great Louisiana Home Owner Insurance Quote
29-01-2010 by adminBefore you set out for your Louisiana home owner insurance quote, prepare yourself for the kinds of questions insurance companies that specialize in home owner insurance policies, especially Louisiana home owner insurance policies, will ask you.
First, you’ll most likely be asked your address. The insurance company may require your full address at first, or it may only require your zip code; however, where in Louisiana you live is important when deciding your Louisiana home owner insurance code.
You’ll also be asked if you want insurance for your home, your condo, a townhouse, a place you rent yourself, or a place you rent to others. This helps the insurance company determine what risks are on the table, as well as coverage you’ll need and want. For example, if you own a home, you may want Louisiana home owner insurance to protect your home and your contents; whereas, if you rent an apartment, you may only want insurance to cover the contents.
Next, the insurance company will ask for information about the home itself, including its age, levels of floors, adjacent buildings such as garages, basement type, roof condition, as well as overall condition of electrical and plumbing systems. Further information will be requested upon the answers to these questions to help the insurance company determine the amount of coverage you’ll need based on the strength and security of your home. Questions that follow may include questions about add-ons and perks such as deadbolts, fire extinguishers, nearby fire hydrants, saunas, hot tubs, and even pets.
The answers to some of these questions are unavoidable; if your home is made of brick, it’s made of brick. If you have a certain number of floors, you have a certain number of floors. You get the idea. However, you can get a cheaper Louisiana home owner insurance quote by making changes such as security upgrades, electrical and plumbing upgrades, and even upgrading your roof.