What Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars Teach Us about Home Insurance

Reality television isn't just about watching people fight and drink too much; there are some programs such as Antiques Roadshow and Pawn Stars that actually dispense valuable lessons that you can bring into your everyday life. Let’s take a look at a few important lessons these shows can teach you when you’re in the market for home or renter’s insurance. 

·         You may not realize the value of your things: How often has an individual brought a family heirloom into the Antiques Roadshow and been completely shocked at what the item is worth? Often, these people understand that they have an emotional value placed on the item, but few realize exactly how much monetary value it holds. And when people find out that their grandmother’s quilts, their great aunt's portrait, or their uncle's old tea set is worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, the realization that must soon follow is that they have never carried enough home insurance to cover this magnitude of financial loss if the item had been damaged in an insurable incident. Don't wait for PBS's Antiques Roadshow to come to your town before you find out how much your stuff is worth. Instead, have an appraiser come through and look at those items that you think are antique and possibly valuable then adjust your insurance limits as needed.

·         Beauty doesn’t correspond to value: Even the ugliest knick-knack could be worth thousands to the right buyer. Don’t get appraisals on just those items with aesthetic appeal, but on all potentially valuable things.

·         Appraised value doesn’t dictate sale price and may not reflect insurance value: Pawn Stars offers an alternative look at the value of the items we hold on to. While Antiques Roadshow focuses on appraising antiques and collectibles, Pawn Stars focuses on making an offer to buy an item – young or old – that is worth something. Often, the price they buy it for is less than it is appraised for and the appraisal price could even be less than the owner would receive if selling it at an auction with excited collectors. When buying insurance, it’s important to protect the appraised value of items and to consider whether the insurer pays actual or replacement value according to your policy.

Our agents have many ideas about how to get you the best Columbus business insurance coverage to protect your assets. Stop by or give us a call at 614-221-1500 to find out how we can help.

Considering Employment Practices Liability Insurance

The old adage, “You can't please everybody,” is never more applicable than when you own a business and have employees. No matter how fair you are or how safe and supportive a corporate environment you try to cultivate, there will always be employees who do not like your processes, management style, or environment. Some may even accuse you of grievous, illegal violations and take you to court over them. Employment practices liability insurance protects you against various claims that an existing or former employee can bring against you—whether they’re found true or false.
How it Works

When a claim of wrongdoing is levied against you or any of the company’s directors, officers, or other employees, it’s likely you’ll want to defend yourself, your business, your directors or employees against it. Doing so will require that you hire an attorney and go to trial or an arbitrator. This can be extremely expensive and, with the possibility of multiple appeals, could cost more than you can afford even before an assessment of guilt or innocence is ever made. Employment practices liability insurance can help pay for the costs of defending yourself, your company, your directors or employees against the claim.
What’s covered under Employment Practices Liability Insurance?
There are many situations that require defense that can be covered by employment practices liability insurance, including claims of:

• Discrimination
• Sexual harassment
• Wrongful termination
• Civil rights abuses

What is not Covered

Employment practices liability insurance may not cover claims that fall under COBRA, ERISA or the Americans with Disabilities Act when reasonable accommodation must be provided but weren’t. It also may not cover a contractor’s accusation of a breach of contract or employment.

Every business, large or small, that has employees can face claims from past or current workers. Employment practices liability insurance helps make sure that you can defend your company against these claims with minimal expense. When you're ready to look at this important Ohio business insurance coverage, give us a call at 614-221-1500.

Safety Tips for Convertible Drivers

A convertible is a perfect car for summer but if you want to spend those lazy hazy days driving your car rather than nursing wounds you must learn how to safely operate the vehicle.

• Protect your eyes. When driving a convertible with the top down, it’s important that you keep your eyes protected. If you wear sunglasses while driving, that will serve as enough protection. Those who wear corrective lenses will be protected but may want to consider wearing a less expensive pair while driving so that if they get chipped they aren’t so pricey to replace.

• Never stand up. It's important when riding in a convertible or a car with a sun roof that no one is permitted to stand up while the car is in motion. While it’s an iconic move shown in many teen movies, it can result in injury as the standing passenger could be injured by tree limbs or debris. They could also serve to distract you or other drivers and, in the event of an accident, they will not be properly secured in the car or protected by airbags.

• Never raise or lower the roof while in motion. Instead, wait until the car is completely stopped.

• Raise the roof during inclement weather. If it begins to rain or there is lightning present as you drive, you should pull over and put the top up so that you do not ruin your interior or risk injury.

• Protect your ears. Recent studies have shown an increase in hearing loss in many drivers of convertibles who drive over 55 mph with the top down. Use ear plugs to help protect your ears or drive with the top down only in residential areas with low speed limits.

• Secure loose items in the car. When you begin driving with the top down, anything that is loose and light can be turned into a projectile with the force of the wind coming inside. To prevent this and the danger and distraction it causes, make sure everything is secured in the vehicle before you set out.

• Invest in liability, collision and comprehensive insurance coverage. Protect your savings from the expense of auto-related liabilities and damages to your convertible by investing in the right amount of auto insurance. Make sure you select deductibles that you can afford and limits that accurately reflect your potential financial risk.

When you’re ready to look at all the Ohio auto insurance policy options available to you for your convertible and all your other vehicles, give us a call at 614-221-1500.

How to Budget for Insurance Premiums

It would be nice if you didn't have to take your budget into consideration when buying insurance, but unfortunately most families must consider the amount of income they have versus the amount of bills they're already paying when they shop for insurance coverage. However, budgetary concerns should not ever prevent you from buying insurance; they should simply help you better design the policies that you purchase.

Step One: Obtain Rate Quotes If you are in the market for new insurance, your first objective is to obtain rate quotes. By obtaining several different rate quotes reflecting many different coverage options, limits, and deductibles you will get a broad view of the types of insurance considerations you must make and how they each affect your premiums.

Step Two: Adjust Coverage for Your Budget Once you've narrowed down the types of insurance options you can get, you must look at your budget and make adjustments so that the new insurance policies fit. Because insurance policy premiums are static, they are relatively easy to plan for, although you may need to adjust your disposable spending down in order to fit in the new premiums. It's important to note that having insurance is just as important as saving money because insurance policies protect the value of your assets and can often prevent your needing to access your savings to replace damaged property.

Step Three: Watch those Limits It's also important that you do not over insure. The premiums you pay are partially determined by the benefit limits you choose. When you choose a limit that exceeds the value of the asset you are insuring, then you are paying a premium for a benefit that you will not realize after an insurable incident, because the purpose of insurance is to make you whole after a loss, not to create a profit. If you are concerned about how inflation will affect the power of your insurance benefits, you can talk to your agent about special riders and annual reviews that can help you compensate for this.

When you are ready to start exploring your insurance options, make sure you give us a call at (866) 846-4488. No matter how tight your budget is, we can help you find and affordable Ohio auto insurance policy that provides the protection you and your family need.

Businesses Need Flood Insurance Too

Blogs and consumer-focused magazines write frequently about how homeowners need to find out if they are in a flood zone because home insurance doesn’t cover damages caused by a flood—but do you know what other kind of insurance doesn’t cover flood damage? Commercial property insurance.

Where is Your Business Located?
Business property may be different from residential property in a lot of ways, but when it comes to floods, they have many similarities. A business may be located in a flood zone just as a home can be. And if your business operates out of your home, then it shares the same exposure to flood risks as your home does. Either way, it needs a specialized policy that provides structure and contents protection against the damages that a flood can cause.

To determine if you need food coverage, you should find out if your business, whether home or not, is located in a flood zone by visiting floodsmart.gov.

Leasers, Be Ware!
Even if you don’t own the building your business operates out of, you still may need flood insurance in order to protect yourself from the financial damages of losing your computer, equipment, supplies and stock after a storm surge or other flood. So whether you operate your business out of a commercial building that you lease or out of your rented home or apartment, you are still exposed to flood risks. Your landlord may not tell you that you are in a flood zone, so you need to check your area’s zoning information to find out whether you are.

You’ve invested countless hours and dollars into your business. A commercial flood insurance policy protects that investment and may even help you stay afloat while you are dealing with the after-effects of a flood. Give us a call and allow us to look over your whole commercial insurance plan and identify any gaps, including from the lack of a commercial flood insurance policy.Call us today at 614-221-1500 or get a free Ohio business insurance quote.

Comparing Auto Policies and Rates - Ohio Auto Insurance

If you’re looking for a new auto insurance policy, your first instinct may be to compare premiums in order to make sure that you get the best price on your policy. Comparing rates alone, however, does not give you an accurate indication of which policy is the most cost effective, reliable, and best suited to your coverage needs. You can use this list as a guide to comparing policies and to help narrow down your choices:

 

1. Make sure you have comparable coverage options

Take a close look at the coverage options for all the policies quotes you’ve received. Make sure they have comparable features as well as offer you the protection most important to you.

 

2. Ensure you’re comparing similar limits and deductibles

Policy premiums will vary based on how you set limits and deductibles. It would not be a fair comparison putting a policy with high deductibles and low limits up against one with low deductibles and high limits. So when you do your comparison shopping you’ll need to be sure the deductibles and limits on each policy, for each coverage option, are similar.

 

3. Investigate your carrier’s A.M. Best Rating

Your policy is only as good as the insurance company that writes it. When comparing two different policy quotes from two different companies, don’t just focus on price, deductibles and coverages. You’ll want to investigate the 2 carriers A.M. Best rating to make sure they are equal in terms of financial stability.

 

4. Look for a good fit for your lifestyle

If you like to do business online, check to be sure you can contact customer service and make payments on a carrier’s website. If you prefer to talk on the phone, make sure there will be a customer service representative available to answer the phone when it fits into your schedule. Also, check out the different payment options available to you (automatic draft, check, the credit cards you carry, etc.) and choose the carrier that has the options that will fit your lifestyle.

 

5. And, finally, comparing the rates

Now that you’ve made sure  you have several similar policy quotes from different insurers, it’s time to actually compare the rates. Be sure to check out all of the premium types, the annual, semi-annual, quarterly and monthly, so you’ll have a good idea of the differences.
Once you’ve compared, investigated, and narrowed down your choices, you should finally come up with the policy that meets most, if not all, of your needs. Call us at 614-221-1500 for a free Ohio Auto Insurance quote.

What you Need to Know About Home Insurance

We all hear about home insurance on a daily basis. Even though we hear many stories about the importance of home owner’s coverage, how much does the average consumer know about their homeowner’s policy? A recent study shows consumers know more about the contents of their breakfast cereal than their home insurance. Taking that into consideration, let’s take a look at the basics of homeowner’s coverage.

 

Who needs home insurance?

Any homeowner that doesn’t want the financial burden of replacing a home that has been devastated by fire, hurricane, tornado, or other insurable event, needs home insurance. If you have a mortgage on your home, you’re required to have a home insurance policy because the enormous financial responsibility of replacing your home lies with your lender. If you do not have a mortgage, then no one can force you to have home insurance; without this important coverage, or an enormous bank account, you will not have protection against the financial loss that a natural or man-made disaster can cause.
Imagine having to tap into your savings as well as possibly facing tax or early withdrawal penalties in order to rebuild and refurnish a home lost to fire. While you may have the funds to do so, do you really want to risk the feeling of security your savings brings? Instead, with a home insurance policy, you can look to your insurance carrier to cover the costs over your deductible and below your policy limits.

 

What does home insurance cover?

You will have to look at your individual policy to find out the details of your coverage, but your homeowner’s insurance covers many different scenarios. In general, some of the coverages you can expect with your policy include:

• Loss of the main structure.
• Loss of use.
• Loss of outer buildings.
• Loss of contents/ personal possessions.
• Liability coverage.
• Damages to the outer building, contents or main structure.

There are many different classes of home insurance as well as several coverage options to choose from. If you live in a townhouse or condo, you will only have coverage that focuses on the internal walls and contents rather than exterior areas.

 

What does my home insurance NOT cover?

Depending on the choices you make when purchasing coverage, your specific policy may not cover certain events that your friends, neighbors’ and family members’ policies do. You can rest assured that no home insurance policy will cover things like:

• Flood damage.
• Mold removal or damage.
• Bed bugs.
• Everyday wear and tear.
• Acts of war.

Again, it is important not to over-generalize coverage restrictions. To find out what your policy does and does not cover, you should read your actual policy pages or call your agent to review your current coverage.

 

What are policy limits?

One way to control the cost of your premiums is to adjust your policy limits. Policy limits are the maximum amount your insurer will pay toward damages caused by an insurable incident. In home insurance policies, there may be several different limits set for different coverages. For instance, your contents may have a limit of $50,000 while your structure is insured up to $150,000.
While lower limits create a lower premium, they also expose you to additional risk. If your actual damages exceed the amount of your limits, you must pay the difference out-of-pocket. On the other hand, if you choose limits that exceed the actual value of your contents or rebuilding costs, then you will not be paid that excess if you suffer a total loss because the goal of insurance is to make you whole, not to give a profit.

 

What are deductibles?

Another way to control your policy premiums is by agreeing to take on a higher percentage of the financial burden of an insurable loss. You do this through having a deductible. The deductible is the amount that you must pay out of your own pocket for damages. Any financial liability above your deductible, but below the policy limits, is the responsibility of the insurance company. 
For example; during a hurricane, let’s say your roof is damaged. The insurance company assesses the damage, says that they will cover your roof claim, and the total of the damages is $5,000. If your deductible is $1,000, you are responsible for paying $1,000 toward the repair while your insurer pays the remaining $4,000, provided that does not exceed your limit. Homeowner’s policies will, at times, have more than one deductible depending on your regions specific risk.
While home insurance may technically be an optional policy for some, the reality is that few investments will have such affordable protection against a loss. Not only can home insurance help protect your future financial goals; it can also give your family the means to regain comfort quickly after a disaster. Call us at 614-221-1500 for a free Columbus home insurance quote.

JG