Do You Know If Your House Insurance Plan Includes Homeowners Liability Insurance?
Whenever the majority of us think about the insurance that we get on our house we generally think about protecting ourselves from disaster. For instance, we would want to ensure that our policy covers us in case of a flood, fire or other natural disaster. However, what many of us do not realize is that there are other types of plan that are available and we would want to make sure that we have these included in our insurance bundle.
Homeowners liability insurance is an example of such a plan.
It is advisable to have this sort of insurance policy quite simply because we are responsible for what goes on in our home. This form of liability insurance would cover you if something should happen to go wrong, either inside your property or even outside of your property. For example, if someone trips and falls at our home as a result of negligence on our part, or any other reason, you may be held liable for their misfortune in a court of law. This type of insurance plan will provide you with cover in this situation.
Of all of the different forms of cover that you are likely to have on your home this is likely the one that is most frequently overlooked. However, the majority of mortgage companies are going to require you to have homeowners liability insurance as part of your policy in order to keep in line with the terms of your mortgage agreement. Naturally, there will be varying degrees of liability cover available to homeowners so you will need to discuss this with your insurance agent in order to determine what would be best in your individual case.
By being covered with homeowners liability insurance you will not only have protection at law in case a person should happen to sue you when they are injured on your property but will also have cover for any medical expenses which may be incurred as a result of the injury. Despite the fact that we all certainly hope that instances such as these would not arise it is clearly possible so you want to ensure that you are covered just in case.
What is a Public Liability Insurance For Events?
There are many different events that require public liability insurance. In order to understand what type of events need this coverage you have to understand what the insurance itself. First, public liability insurance for events protects you or your business from a claim from a patron of your business, (or event). This means if they have a medical accident or sue you for some type of damage it is all covered and you are protected.
So what type of events might require this type of policy? Well that all depends on the size of the venue, the price that you had to pay for the venue, and the amount of people who intend on attending the event. Basically it is for an event that you feel you might need to be protected. For example, if it is a small birthday party for your child that only has 5 or 10 people you may not really need insurance. However, if it is a huge wedding with 500 guests you might want some protection.
What kinds of things could happen that would require you to have public liability insurance for events? Well take the wedding example above. You have five hundred guests; things are going to be crowded. This means there could be a lot of potential for accidents. Someone could spill a drink and before it is mopped up someone else could slip on the spill. A glass could be broken and cut someone. On top of these medical accidents what about damages to their things? Most likely everyone will be inside partying so what about their cars outside? What if one is broken into or a tree falls on one? What if a cell phone is stolen out of a purse? You will want all of these things to be covered. You will not want to pay anymore than you have too out of pocket.
On top of all of this some places require you to have some type of public liability insurance for events before you are allowed to throw an event. These types of policies will cover legal fees. On top of the legal fees that they cover they will pay for medical bills, surgeries, ambulances fees, and other fees that could result from an accident. These fees that are covered under your policy could save you a lot of money in the long run.
Public Liability Insurance for events is a must for anyone who is thinking of throwing a lavish event or an event with a lot of guests. While you may think it will just be friends and family there are a lot of things that could go wrong. Money will often make people do things they normally would not and having that extra protection will provide you with peace of mind. This will enable you to enjoy your event and not stress the things that could go wrong, like the slips and falls. So do not be afraid to shop around and find a public liability insurance for events that works for you.
No Load Term Life Insurance – A Policy That Will Save You Money
No load term life insurance is type of insurance coverage that you may have heard of discussed before, but never really figured out exactly what it entails. This particular type of insurance is just a non-commissioned based form of life insurance coverage.
This actually changes up the options on how you can obtain a policy as well. Instead of having to go through a specified insurance agent, you can actually receive coverage in different ways. You can still purchase the insurance through an agent, but you can also purchase the coverage over the phone or even in an application that you send through the mail.
However, do not think that simply because you’re not seeing an agent or no physical agent is present on the other end that a policy is a no load policy. Regardless if you are purchasing no load term life insurance or any type of insurance for that matter, ensure the “advisor” that you are speaking with is a licensed insurance agent.
The only difference is that the company is not the one that is held liable for paying the advisor that showcased the policy for you. Instead, normally on your first month’s premium there is an amount that states this will be the fee for the advisors costs. However, after the advisor’s costs have been paid many people notice that this particular type of insurance actually has extremely low premiums.
One disadvantage many people would say about the no load term life insurance policies is that unlike a whole life insurance policy where your money builds cash value, you have no cash value with this policy. But, on the upside your premiums are going to be less expensive then with another type of life insurance policy.
With the fees for the policy being less, you can actually set aside your own stash of cash. Or, perhaps start a bank account that goes to your family for funeral or other expenses after you pass away. In fact, this is a very attractive feature that is making a lot of people consider obtaining one of these policies.
Be aware, that not all states offer no load policies, so you will need to ask several different insurance agents or research the laws of your state to see if these policies are allowed where you reside. You will also still have to answer different medical questions and you may be asked to submit a physical in order to evaluate your current medical conditions.
One of the major advantages of the policy is the fact that you have lower premiums. However, many have retorted that one downside was the fact that when it comes to asking questions or filing claims you have to do this on your own, because once the policy is in effect, some advisors do not keep in touch as much as they should.
If an advisor does stay in touch, you may have to end up paying a fee for a service that they render to you. However, if you are a well organized person and would prefer to pay less for your life insurance, this policy would actually suit you well.
Why Self Employed Liability Insurance is Important
Once you take action and start your own business you realize just what is required by being self employed, and eventually getting self employed liability insurance is one of them. Let’s talk about why this is important.
When you are just starting out you realize how much work it takes to build a client list, or to match products to what your customers want, and as you grow the potential for small mishap or accident is always there, but you can take this as an out of pocket expense.
Once your small business has grown into a full time income for you and your family, the reality sets in about all that you could lose with a major accident or incident.
Let’s use the example of a full time, self employed, lawn maintenance business owner. The small business owner takes his zero-turn 44′ riding mower and as he is cutting the grass in the backyard, he run’s over a small object and breaks a small window in the garage, this only cost $20, but what if he had hit a car and caused major damage into the $1000′s.
This incident becomes more than an out of pocket expense, and shows where liability insurance comes in. The self employed owner would be liable for repairs, and this could damage or even cause the small business to shut down.
Talking to your insurance agent, or researching online about the different types of liability coverage should help you realize that the cost of an annual policy would be easier to handle, than all of those sleepless nights wondering about what you would do if something happened where you are liable, and could be facing a potential lawsuit.
Once you have made your business successful and you know that you can build something that can sustain you a full time income is very rewarding, and wanting to protect this asset is only natural. That is self employed liability insurance should be important to you and your family.
The benefits of being properly insured far outweigh any costs that go against your bottom line, and liability insurance is one of them. Most people know the importance of health insurance and auto insurance coverage, but do not fully understand why they should be covered for any incident or accident they may be liable for that does not get covered by these standard plans.
The example I used of the Lawn Maintenance should help you better understand the potential risks of owning your small business, and why you need the protection of this insurance.
Liability Insurance Protects Your Assets
Liability insurance protects you against the nasty consequences of accidents. As you assess your insurance needs, protecting yourself, your family, your home, and your car, you should show healthy respect for Murphy’s Law, expecting that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. And, as it goes wrong, it usually will involve the next-door neighbour’s child.
Liability insurance for your car
The law requires that you carry liability insurance on your car. If you fail to show proof of adequate liability insurance, the government may suspend your driving privileges until you comply with the law. If a law enforcement officer stops you for a routine traffic violation and you fail to provide proof of insurance, you may be taken to jail and your car impounded.
Out there in a big world full of reckless drivers distracted by children and cell-phone conversations, your auto liability insurance is worth every penny you pay-especially your uninsured motorist protection. Setting aside the legal mandate, consider the practical wisdom of liability insurance on your auto: If you caused a little fender-bender, you might absorb the costs of the other motorist’s medical attention and auto repairs. If, however, the unthinkable befell and you caused a serious accident with multiple injuries, how could you begin to afford hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical and rehabilitation costs? This insurance protects not only your body and your body and your car but also all of your worldly assets.
Liability insurance for your home
Your mortgage lender may require that you carry liability insurance as part of your homeowner’s package; but even if it is not required, you should add liability coverage to the insurance on your home.
Keep in mind that your children define “play” as “colliding with toys and each other at very high speeds.” As they become more proficient in their play, they add bicycles, scooters, and skateboards, so that they more easily can achieve spectacular impact with the ground, trees, fence posts, and concrete. When you own children bend, break, and mutilate their bodies in the course of routine play, your medical insurance covers the cost of repairing them. When the obnoxious neighbour’s child sustains an injury on your property, that very same obnoxious neighbour may bring legal action against you for negligence or reckless endangerment. In a civil trial, your more-than-ever obnoxious neighbour may ask not only compensatory damages but also punitive damages. Judges and juries, eager to teach allegedly negligent parents a lesson, may award substantial punitive damages even if it was evil little Johnny Jones’s fault.
Other important liability protections
If you own your own business, your insurance package almost inevitably will include liability insurance, because you want to protect your employees and patrons from accident and injury while they take care of business. As a condition of your insurance, your underwriter may require proof that your business complies with all applicable health and safety codes. If some time has passed since you conducted a safety review of your worksite, you may ask your insurance broker for assistance, assuring that you meet all of the law’s and your policy’s requirements.
Term Life Insurance for Tobacco Users
There are several requirements you must meet when obtaining any kind of insurance. Taking out term life insurance is no exception. For the most part, insurance companies want to make sure you start out healthy before issuing you a policy. Premiums are based on your lifestyle and what your medical history is like. The cost of your premium is based on your age, gender and even occupation. Tobacco use has always been of concern when you are applying for term life insurance .
Tobacco use in any form already sets you apart from non-users. Some insurance companies do not distinguish between the form and frequency of your tobacco use. If you are a person who smokes an occasional cigar you are treated the same as a person who smokes two or three packs of cigarettes per day. Despite this unfair categorization, there are some companies that do make the distinction. The key is to find these select insurance companies that individualize their rates. These select companies base their premiums upon the type of tobacco and frequency of usage. They make a clear distinction between the use of cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, pipes, smokeless tobacco, nicotine gum, marijuana or a nicotine patch to quit your smoking habit. If you smoke marijuana, you must also disclose that you use drugs on your application form.
Lifestyle Discrimination?
While automatic higher premiums set for smokers are seemingly unfair and may even be viewed as lifestyle discrimination, it is also important to understand the perspective of insurance companies. Generally, smokers miss work more often than non-smokers due to respiratory problems. It is believed, although not clinically proven, that smoking lowers the immune system defenses, therefore causing smokers to be more susceptible to certain smoke related illnesses than non-smokers. Smoking has also always been believed to cause premature death. Ailments such as lung cancer, high blood pressure, heart attacks, emphysema, severe asthma, stroke, and other forms of cancer are all associated to nicotine use. Current studies have also found a connection between heavy tobacco use and Alzheimer’s disease. Certainly one can compare the consistent use of a known carcinogen to someone who is employed at a job considered to be “hazardous duty.” Both are subject to higher premiums due to higher risk for insurance companies to carry you.
Tobacco Use and Low Cost Term Life Insurance
If you are smoker who has tried to obtain term life insurance in the past, you have probably been disappointed by the high premiums quoted to you. In recent years some insurance companies have opted to offer low cost term life insurance for tobacco users. Smokers or nicotine users are now eligible for 10, 15, 20 or 30 year term periods at low rates. For example, as long as a smoker is in otherwise excellent health and is at a reasonable weight, he or she may obtain $250,000.00 worth of coverage for about $40 per month over a 10 year period.
The best thing to do would be to research out companies and their policies for tobacco users. By shopping out the different insurance companies, you are sure to find one that does not penalize you excessively for tobacco use. Doing an internet search is the fastest way to obtain a quote online as many companies are now doing “Insta-quotes” that only take minutes. Tobacco users can now afford to protect their families at much more affordable rates and doing due diligence in shopping out your quotes will save you money in the long run.