Annual policy review-stand pat or increase coverage?

Every year small business owners receive their renewal policies, either through the mail or delivered by their agent. As is usually the case, we all tend to look at the bottom line, price, and then maybe peruse the actual coverage provided. While keeping an eye on the bottom line is something all prudent business owners do, it's equally important to carefully review in detail your business insurance policy on an annual basis. The policy may provide coverage for your building, contents, specialized equipment, etc. Have you taken the time to check on current property values in your area? Has the replacement cost of your building possibly increased? Also, while the limit of your contents coverage was sufficient last year has increased sales caused an additional increase in your stock? What about your liability limit? While the limit might have been good enough in the past has your recent increase in sales also expanded your exposures? Any new products introduced? These are some of the questions that are essential to consider while undertaking the annual insurance review. If you are dealing with an independent insurance agent, make sure to discuss with them any new trends or coverages that may be applicable to your particular situation. While the old adage "The more things change the more they stay the same" may apply in many instances, it doesn't always apply to your business insurance policy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Delaware Legislature Preparing To Revisit Dram Shop Liability

Here we go again. Representative Peterson is preparing to introduce limited dram shop liability for consideration. The legislation caps the liability at $250,000 but, as is usually the case, this creates a starting point where limits are eventually increased once it's decided by the powers that be that the current limit is too low. This also puts restaurants, bars, etc, at an increased risk due to the vague wording of the legislation, specifically "reckless" sale of alcohol by the business. Also, you can be sure that if this legislation is passed, that rates will go up commensurately for not only Liquor Liability coverage, but if actual damages begin to be paid out under this law, that insurance rates on the whole will see an increase.
Read more

Get employees back to work quickly to keep work comp costs down

Image
In the past I have spoken to clients regarding a particular workers compensation claim affecting them and have asked if they have brought the employee back to work yet. Too many times the answer is no, they have nothing for that employee to do since said employee is not 100% and unable to perform their specific job prior to their workers compensation injury/claim. The problem with this is that too often employers miss the point that even though an employee can't perform in the position they were in prior to their injury, it behooves the employer to create some type of alternative task/job the employee can do until such time they are able to resume their normal duties. Bringing that employee back to work means that work comp benefits /payments in that particular claim are being curtailed, thereby saving the employer potentially more being paid out, while adding to their experience mod and driving their overall work comp expenses up.
Read more

Important to notify insurance company of potential liability claims

Image
When trying to manage their insurance policies, many business owners make the decision not to turn in potential claims and decide to take care of them on their own. By paying for small claims, such as property damage, etc, they strive to keep claim frequency down and in turn keep renewal premiums down. One area of insurance they should not try to manage though is potential liability situations/claims. Most policy conditions require prompt notification of any potential liability claims to the insurance company and if a claim isn't turned in promptly, the policy language does note that the company can deny a claim due to late notification. It's important to do this early on since information/memories are still fresh and it gives the insurance company time to completely investigate the potential claim. The potential for a liability claim is most likely the small business owner's greatest area of risk, whether they operate a restaurant, cleaning service or any other busi
Read more