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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Business Insurance For Startups

Introduction

Your business is ready to launch, so what insurance do you buy? Money is tight and it is your hide on the line. This article focuses on the insurance choices faced by entrepreneurs working to get a new business running. Three main categories to consider: 1. Required Insurance, 2. Critical Risks, 3. Economic Risks.

Required Insurance

For a new business entrepreneur, a core issue is the insurance required to open the business. These requirements can come from multiple sources.

Landlord - Often a Landlord requirement for a leased location is an early insurance barrier. A typical office, store or other commercial space lease has several clauses that trigger insurance requirements to protect your lessor. Your landlord will want your business to protect him from lawsuits stemming from your operations with Public Liability coverage. Another frequent landlord requirement is to have property coverage for any tenant building improvements. An Indemnity or Hold Harmless Clause will force your insurance company to waive any claim payment collection from your landlord even if they contributed to a loss. Your landlord will also want to be named as an Additional Insured to have access to your insurance policy and to be notified if the policy is cancelled. Before you sign your commercial lease, have your insurance agent read it and prepare a quote to consider.

Bank Loan - A bank loan is also a source of initial insurance requirements. If you borrow with your business assets as collateral, your bank will want it protected. Your banker will want adequate insurance to cover their risk and to be named as a Loss Payee. This forces the insurance company to settle any claim with approval from your banker and also to provide notice if the insurance is cancelled.

Jobsites - Construction trades often have specific jobsite requirements. If you are an artisan subcontractor, these requirements are set by the General Contractor or Jobsite owner. Most construction jobs will require General Liability Insurance. Other requirements can include Business Auto Insurance and Worker's Compensation. The bigger the job, normally, the more intense are the insurance requirements. Before to start to work, get a copy of the insurance requirements and have your insurance agent quote what is needed. Be very wary of any job or General Contractor that is not upfront with these requirements. They will hold your paycheck until the insurance requirements are met.

Government - Legal requirements come up most often with business vehicles. In Texas, there is a minimum auto liability requirement. For larger vehicles, special types of vehicles or passenger carrying vehicles, much higher legal requirements are imposed and special state filing requirements must be met. In Texas, Worker's Compensation is voluntary but most other states impose this as a legal requirement for business owners. State licenses for some trades will impose liability insurance coverage and reporting requirements.

Critical Risks

Once the required insurance is handled, the next focus should be on the risks that are so critical that, without insurance protection, they can destroy the business. Protection for some of these risks may be already in hand with the insurance protection that was required. However, you should still review your overall situation and identify risks that you can't afford to take and can be offset with an insurance contract.

Perhaps you need higher liability limits than are required for your business to be a safe investment. Maybe an asset is so expensive that replacing it would bankrupt the business. Even though it is not required in Texas, Worker's Compensation can be critical protection from the huge risk of an employee being hurt at work. Lawsuits can come from many potential directions. From which risks does your business need liability protection? A legal review from your business lawyer can help identify points of lawsuit venerability.

Even if you cannot fund this added protection at business opening, you should strive to purchase insurance for these critical risks as soon as possible. Until you are able to offset your business-ending risks with insurance protection, your new business will not be a safe investment.

Economic Risks

The third priority is risks that you want to insure because the protection is a good value. Why take a substantial risk, even if you can survive the loss, when you can offset the risk with affordable insurance? Often, the economic risk worth insuring is a business asset like equipment, inventory or vehicles. Consider the trade-off over a reasonable length of time. Ask yourself: is it better to pay an insurance premium and be protected or is it better to save the insurance cost and self-insure for a potential loss? A high property deductible can be a good strategy by taking the smaller risks yourself and shifting only the large asset risks to an insurance company.

Your cash flow may not be sufficient to buy protection for economic risks early but have your list ready to gradually add this productive coverage as you are able. Your long-term profitability will be improved by prudent use of insurance protection for your important assets.

Summary

Insurance should be part of your business plan. Your focus will first be on the insurance requirements that are barriers in the way of starting your business. Beyond these minimum requirements, fund insurance protection for your risks that have the potential to destroy your business. Finally, as revenues become available, enhance your long-term financial outcome by adding protection for your larger assets that can be economically insured. Good luck on your new business venture.

David W. Crump, Ross Gray Insurance Agency
Link to Business Insurance information & quotes: http://www.quoteaustininsurance.com/business

I specialize in Business, Health and Personal Insurance sales and service. A graduate of Texas Tech University (BBA Marketing), I began my career in retailing of Toy, Hobbies and Games. I have been a business owner but changed careers to insurance after selling my interest in a Dallas area Game Store Chain thirteen years ago. Hobbies include Gardening, Music (Bass Vocal) and Stock Investing. See our website at http://www.quoteaustininsurance.com/. Ross Gray Insurance Agency has a 30+ year history serving Central Texas on all facets of insurance. We are located in South Austin at 2404 S. IH-35. We are here to help!

Finding the Best Mexico Insurance Solution For Your RV

For the bold and adventurous RV enthusiast, Mexico can be an RVers paradise. There are hundreds of incredibly scenic and not too crowded RV parks up and down the shores of the Baja Peninsula and Mexico's Pacific coast. The weather is nice, the sport fishing is great, the surf is always up somewhere, and the free-spirited culture makes for a friendly and entertaining community. But before the fun begins, you need to make sure your beloved travel companion, your RV, will be protected with the proper insurance in Mexico.

For those of you not familiar with the rules about Mexican auto insurance, here is your crash course. Mexican authorities, meaning the Mexican police and the Mexican court system, do not recognize US or Canadian vehicle insurance. At a bare minimum, you must get a Mexican liability auto insurance policy to pay for damages you might cause to third parties. If you do not have liability insurance that is underwritten by a Mexican insurance company, you could face a real nightmare if you were involved in a traffic accident. If you are in a traffic accident in Mexico and you can not prove that you can pay for the damages you caused to a third party with a Mexican insurance policy, there is a good possibility that your vehicle will be impounded and you will be detained until you come up with the funds to pay for the damages. All of this hassle can be avoided if you have a Mexican liability insurance policy that demonstrates your ability to pay for the damages. So always purchase a Mexican insurance policy before you drive your vehicle into Mexico.

OK - So now that you understand that you must get a Mexican RV insurance policy, you are now probably wondering where to purchase this insurance, and what coverage do you actually need. This article will give you a road map of how to shop for your Mexico RV insurance.

Is your RV registered in the US or Canada?

This actually can make a huge difference in the options available to you for insuring you RV in Mexico. Many US RV insurance companies have recently introduced special RV insurance programs which actually extend physical damage and theft insurance coverage in to Mexico. Sorry Canadians, at this time there are no Canadian RV insurance companies who extend any type of RV insurance coverage into Mexico, but perhaps this will change in the future. Until then, this portion of the article only applies to US registered RVs.

Some US RV insurance carriers extend physical damage and theft coverage in to Mexico.

So if your RV is registered in the US, you may want to seriously consider getting your US RV insurance through a US RV insurance company who extends physical damage and theft coverage in Mexico. At the time of this article, these companies include Progressive, National Interstate, and AIG. If you go with one of these US carriers, you will only need to purchase a Mexican liability insurance policy instead of a Mexican full coverage insurance policy. Because these US carriers will pay for damages to your RV while it is in Mexico, this alleviates the need for you to also purchase any type of physical damage and theft coverage through the Mexican insurance carrier. A Mexican liability only policy is much cheaper than a Mexican insurance policy which includes physical damage and theft coverage.

Example of cost savings when you have US RV insurance that extends physical damage and theft coverage in to Mexico:

Cost of your US RV Policy for an RV worth $80,000: $800 per year

Cost of your Mexican liability only policy for 6 months: $125

Total Cost: $925

Example of your cost if you have a US RV policy that does NOT extend physical damage and theft in to Mexico.

Cost of your US RV Policy for an RV worth $80,000: $800 per year

Cost of your Mexican full coverage policy (liability and collision / theft) for 6 months: $700

Total Cost: $1,500

As you can see, you can save a considerable amount of money by going with a US RV insurance policy that extends physical damage and theft into Mexico. It becomes a two for the price of one insurance policy.

Tips for shopping for US carriers who extend into Mexico: Make sure to ask how far into Mexico their coverage will extend. Some US companies only extend coverage 25 miles into Mexico, so make sure to ask specifically about this. Only buy a policy that covers your RV for the entire country of Mexico.

If your US RV insurance extends into Mexico, you will still need to purchase a Mexican liability insurance policy for your RV. Do not forget to purchase your Mexican liability policy!

Mexican insurance for Canadian registered RVs

As stated previously, there are currently no Canadian insurance companies who offer RV insurance programs that extend coverage into Mexico. So if you want to physical damage and theft coverage for your RV while it is in Mexico, your only option is to purchase the physical damage and theft coverage through the Mexican insurance carriers. This is not a terrible option, but you will need to do some careful shopping to make sure you are getting quality Mexican insurance for your RV. This option also applies for US registered RVs that are insured with a US company who does not extend physical damage and theft coverage into Mexico.

Where to purchase your Mexico RV insurance

Although you could wait till the last minute to buy your Mexican insurance at the Mexican border, most RVers choose to plan ahead and purchase their Mexico RV insurance through a US or Canadian insurance broker well in advance of their Mexico trip. The internet is the best place to find a company who sells Mexico RV insurance.

Not all Mexico RV insurance is the same!

When shopping for Mexico RV insurance on the internet, you can either get a quote directly off of the website or you have the option to call to get a quote over the phone. This process usually takes only a few minutes. Many of the internet websites for Mexican insurance offer multiple Mexican insurance carriers, so you will be able to compare prices and insurance coverages in order to select the best plan for your situation.

When comparing Mexico RV insurance, make sure to research the following coverages and benefits.
Deductibles: Make sure to understand your deductibles. Some Mexico RV insurance deductibles are based on a percentage of the value of your RV. For rigs valued over $50,000, these deductibles can get really high. Some other companies offer fixed deductibles which will lock in your deductible at a fixed amount regardless of the value of your RV.
Labor rates for repairs made in the US or Canada: Make sure to look for Mexico RV policies that allow you to repair your RV in the US or Canada, and check to see what the hourly labor rate is that the Mexican insurance company will pay for these repairs. Some of the less expensive Mexico RV policies will only pay $20 per hour for US repairs, while some of the better Mexico RV policies will pay $75 per hour or whatever the current US labor rate is. This is obviously the preferred choice.
Liability Limits: With insurance, higher liability limits are always better. It is recommended to get a minimum of $70,000 worth of liability insurance in Mexico, but many policies will go as high as $300,000
Legal Service: All of the quality Mexican insurance brokers will include legal services at no extra charge. Do not buy a Mexican insurance policy that does not include legal service coverage.
Medical Evacuation, Plane Tickets Home, and other Travel Assistance coverages: Some of the better Mexican insurance vendors will also bundle in these travel assistance coverages at no extra charge. These are excellent coverages to have, so it is highly recommended to find a Mexico RV policy which includes these extra travel assistance insurance coverages.

If all of this information has your head spinning with questions, you can always call a Mexican insurance broker and let their customer service people answer your questions. If the vendor has a website, make sure they have a valid insurance license listed on their website, and they should also have links to their Better Business Bureau statistics available. Unfortunately, there are some vendors who are more professional than others, so do some research to make sure you are working with a quality insurance broker who has a solid reputation.

Armed with this information, you should be on your way to properly insuring your RV while in Mexico. Once the Mexico RV insurance is secured, you can then focus on having a fun and exciting RV adventure in Mexico.

plastic surgery san diego

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Business Insurance For Startups

Finding the Best Mexico Insurance Solution For Your RV

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