30 May
2017

10 things to include in your insurance policy (Summertime policy checkup)

Ah, summer’s here! It’s time for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. You might be thinking about going on a summer vacation with your family, or maybe you’re planning on having a stay-cation at home. Either way, summer is a good time to give your insurance policy a check-up. When was the last time you really looked at your policy? Is everything up-to-date? Do you have all of the coverage you need? Do any changes need to be made to your policy?

If the answers to any of these questions are “errr…,” you might want to consider taking a look at your policy. When it comes to “insurance speak” and policies, it might be hard to know where to start. There’s a lot of policy to cover. But not to worry – we’re not throwing you to the wolves! We’ve got a few things about your policy that you can check on to make sure that it’s in good health.

25 May
2017

Why are my tow truck insurance rates going up so much?

by Katelyn Betts | in Business Insurance, Transportation

If you work in the tow truck industry, you’ve probably noticed a few changes when it comes to insurance – namely, the cost of your tow truck insurance premium rocketing upwards. As if tow truck insurance wasn’t pricey enough, it’s only gotten worse. The jump in rates has been enough to make more than a few tow truck companies close their doors.

But why is this happening, and why now? Why does it seem like your insurance company is charging you a crazy rate when just last year things were reasonable? There are several reasons for the chaos that is the tow truck insurance industry, and we’ll try to make sense of the changes that have been affecting towing companies around the nation.

23 May
2017

10 pool safety tips to make sure your pool is ready for summer fun

by Katelyn Betts | in Home Insurance, Tips

Swimming is a staple of summertime. Hanging out around the pool is a fantastic way to stay cool when the temperature starts climbing. If you have a pool in your backyard, you need to be aware of the risks that come along with it. As the homeowner, you’re responsible for the safety of the swimmers. Even though the shining blue water might look completely harmless, there are a lot of dangers that are associated with swimming pools, and you need to know how to manage them.

We’ve come up with some pool safety advice to help you keep everyone safe as they’re having their summer fun.

18 May
2017

Avoid disaster: Tips to improve safety at your retail store

by Katelyn Betts | in Business Insurance, Insurance, Tips

If you work at a retail store, you’re all-too-familiar with the chaos that is the holidays, Memorial Day Weekend, or pretty much any time there’s a big sale. People rush around to do their shopping and it feels like there isn’t enough time—or hands—to worry about keeping everything neat and tidy. When there are customers packed into the store, safety might take a backseat. However, it’s vital to enforce safety over speed and to always keep the floor clear.

There are a few things you can include in your training to make sure that your retail store stays safe both for your customers and your employees. The following are some safety tips that could come in handy around your store.

16 May
2017

How to keep your family safe from the summer sun

by Katelyn Betts | in Home Insurance, Tips

When you were growing up, your parents may have hounded you about putting on sunscreen. At the time, sunscreen might have seemed like an annoying, greasy nuisance, but now that you’re grown up with kids of your own you understand the importance of sun safety. Overexposure to the sun could cause skin cancer, which is the most common type of cancer in the United States. And make no mistake—skin cancer is serious stuff. The CDC says that ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can damage your skin in as little as 15 minutes.

With summer rapidly approaching, it’s crucial that your family makes sun safety a priority. Running around outside, swimming, playing sports, and working outside leave you vulnerable to those invisible (but very scary) UV rays, which, as we said, can cause some serious damage to your skin. To help you keep everyone sun-safe this summer, we’ll go over some tips for sun protection.

11 May
2017

Connected by technology: Are you staying compliant with overtime laws?

by Katelyn Betts | in Business Insurance

It’s hard to know when to draw the line when it comes to phones and laptops. As an employer, you know the drill about making sure your employees are compensated for any overtime work that they do. You know you’d be in hot water if you didn’t pay your employees the proper rate for their extra time. But have you considered the time that they put in at home from their electronic devices?

In our technology-dependent world, we tend to take laptops and cell phones for granted. They’re just a part of life. But when it comes to overtime pay, there are some things you need to know as an employer. Your liability goes up if you ignore the extra hours your staff put in outside of the office when they’re staring at a screen. We’ve got a few tips that you can follow to make sure that you’re paying your employees fairly for the amount of work they do.

09 May
2017

What you need to know if a tree falls on your house, car, or fence

by Katelyn Betts | in Home Insurance

Trees are beautiful. Tall. Majestic. Green. And also very, very heavy. Which is why if a tree falls in the direction of your house it’s terrifying. Trees have the power to cause some pretty serious damage to your home—they’re not picky about which way they fall if a sudden storm or wind gust pops up. They’ll take your house down with them.

This is exactly why home insurance was invented—for situations involving toppling trees. Well, that and some other reasons. Anyways, the good news is that your homeowner’s insurance generally covers damage done to your house by your formerly very pretty tree depending on what caused the tree to fall. As long as it’s a covered cause of loss, you should be good to go. You can file a claim and get your house fixed up good as new.

However, things are usually a bit more complicated than that. It’s one thing if it’s your tree and your house—that’s straightforward. But sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, so we’ve put together some information about some of the thornier situations you might encounter.

04 May
2017

What you need to know about flood insurance for your business

by Katelyn Betts | in Business Insurance, Tips

Nothing is impervious to water. Somehow we don’t think about how destructive little raindrops can be. If there’s a bad storm we think about trees falling, hail pelting windows and cars, branches being thrown around like twigs – you know, the usual. But somehow we forget about the water.

Flooding can happen for a variety of reasons, not just from heavy rain or even hurricanes (although both can create some pretty serious deluges.) Mudslides can cause flooding. So can snowmelt that runs into rivers. There’s also the possibility that nearby development and construction can change the land so that it can’t drain like it should. At any rate, when your building is doing its best impression of a swimming pool, it doesn’t really matter what caused the flooding in the first place. You just want the water out of there.

While we can’t completely shut Mother Nature and her swamps of water out, being prepared can help reduce the damage your business could face from a surprise flood. We’ll explain the basics of commercial flood insurance, but we’ll also go over some ways that you can bolster your business’s defenses against flooding.

02 May
2017

How to keep your pets safe during a disaster

by Katelyn Betts | in Home Insurance, Insurance, Tips

Your four-legged friends are members of your family. Your cat or dog is your buddy, your companion. They’ve snuggled their way into your heart, and the thought of something happening to them during a disaster is devastating. Your pet relies on you to take care of them and to provide for them, and this is even truer during a disaster or if you have to evacuate your home.

To help you keep your pets safe, we’ve put together some tips to follow if you ever have to weather a natural disaster or another emergency with your pet.

02 May
2017

10 tips that will make you a pesticide safety pro

by Katelyn Betts | in Business Insurance

If you work in lawn care or landscaping, pesticides and other chemicals are probably just a part of life. Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides – you name it, you use it. But these chemicals can be very harmful if they’re not handled and stored properly. If you work with pesticides or other chemicals, you need to be safe so you can reduce your chances of exposure.

There are four different types of exposure:

Getting it on your skin: Can lead to dermatitis (irritation of the skin)
Swallowing: Can damage the digestive system and enter the bloodstream
Inhaling: Can cause inflammation of the lungs
Getting it in your eyes: Can lead to visual impairment

Remember, these chemicals are intended to kill living things. That means that they need to be used with caution. Follow these tips to become a pesticide safety pro.

InsuranceHub

Month: May 2017