I’ve been dealing with the Frank Clarke Agency since January of 2000. All of the staff have been extremely helpful and very professional providing immediate responses to all my needs. Kudos to the staff and I would recommend them for all your insurance needs.
*US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey
Holidays and special events often include celebrations that bring together families and friends in homes across the country. Food, fun, talk, and spirits flow generously and, unfortunately, so do injuries and accidents. Increased drinking leads to increases in personal tragedies and the consequences can be substantial.
Hosts are magnets with regard to party consequences. Hosts are given the credit for the enjoyment that their guests experience at a party. On the dark side, party-givers are also asked to bear partial or full responsibility for guests who cause damage or injury on the way home from a gathering. In other words, they may be sued for contributing to losses caused by alcohol-impaired guests.
Although hosts are often found legally culpable for accidents; the brunt of responsibility has to be faced by the individuals who directly cause a loss. There would have to be strong evidence to support a host being held financially responsible, since any involvement is indirect. For example, Jane provides drinks to Barrie, who then plows into the side of Chris’ car and garage.
While a homeowners policy may offer coverage if a host has substantially contributed to a loss, an insurer may be able to deny a claim for a number of reasons, including:
Hosts who take their responsibility seriously are those who make sure that parties are thrown responsibly, are done as a social (rather than business) event, and that the chances of sending drunken guests on the road are minimized. A good host will make sure that food is available, that a liquor supply under his or her control is cut-off and that impaired friends or relatives are prevented from endangering themselves or others. No celebration should end up with a lawsuit.
Business interruption insurance can be as vital to your survival as a business as fire insurance. Most people would never consider opening a business without buying insurance to cover damage due to fire and windstorms. But too many small business owners fail to think about how they would manage if a fire or other disaster damaged their business premises so that they were temporarily unusable. Business interruption coverage is not sold separately. It is added to a property insurance policy or included in a package policy.
A business that has to close down completely while the premises are being repaired may lose out to competitors. A quick resumption of business after a disaster is essential.
Business interruption insurance compensates you for lost income if your company has to vacate the premises due to disaster-related damage that is covered under your property insurance policy, such as a fire. Business interruption insurance covers the revenue you would have earned, based on your financial records, had the disaster not occurred. The policy also covers operating expenses, like electricity, that continue even though business activities have come to a temporary halt.
Make sure the policy limits are sufficient to cover your company for more than a few days. After a major disaster, it can take more time than many people anticipate to get the business back on track. There is generally a 48-hour waiting period before business interruption coverage kicks in.
The price of the policy is related to the risk of a fire or other disaster damaging your premises. All other things being equal, the price would probably be higher for a restaurant than a real estate agency, for example, because of the greater risk of fire. Also, a real estate agency can more easily operate out of another location.
Extra expense insurance reimburses your company for a reasonable sum of money that it spends, over and above normal operating expenses, to avoid having to shut down during the restoration period. Usually, extra expenses will be paid if they help to decrease business interruption costs. In some instances, extra expense insurance alone may provide sufficient coverage, without
the purchase of business interruption insurance.
Source: Insurance Information Institute
Here is an infographic that tells the story of how often – and who – dogs bite. Click on it to enlarge it. Pretty interesting, huh?
Mechanical breakdown coverage has become more popular in recent years. Twenty years ago only the most die-hard businesses carried this coverage. In the last 10 years, it has become much more common for businesses to carry this valuable coverage. It has even become fairly common to find this coverage added to small business policies. However, it is rarely automatic.
Due to the technical nature of many of the mechanical breakdown losses, it often requires specialists in various types of equipment, whether mechanical or electrical, to settle mechanical breakdown claims. As your insurance advisor, we can explain what is and is not covered by your policy, but we cannot make an accurate assessment of a damaged circuit board in your processing equipment. This takes a specialist.
The mechanical breakdown coverage not only provides coverage for damage caused by an “accident,” but also provides “service interruption coverage.” Let’s start by defining an accident. For a loss to be covered, it must be sudden and accidental and not expected by the policyholder.
In a mechanical breakdown claim, the company representative will first determine if the claim was accidental. A good example of this would be a power outage. Some power outages that cause damage are covered, but again, the requirement that the loss be accidental must exist. The policy will even consider whether the damage first occurred with your utility provider, and what caused their problem. Was the cause of the outage at the power station due to a covered accident defined in your policy? If a cause of loss at your power facility was not within the scope of your policy’s coverage, then the claim was caused by your supplier’s professional actions and there would be no coverage. We would then look for a coverage trigger occurring on your premises, such as a power surge or arching in your on-premises electrical service or equipment.
An optional coverage that you can select is service interruption coverage. This coverage extension will pay for lost income and extra expenses when operations are curtailed following a covered loss.
Starting today, April 1st through May 31st, AAA will be waiving the $10 enrollment fee for all new memberships. Take advantage of this great opportunity and save some extra CA$H on your summer vacation or whatever your future plans are!
Call our office today to sign up!
