When Evaluating Business Insurance Needs
Make Intelligent Choices
By Tom Young
You Can
Avoid Making
5 Common Mistakes .
. .
As you look over your business
insurance needs and premiums each year. You may wonder how you can save
a few dollars on your next premium commitment. You can get started with
rock solid information for business
health insurance and a term
life insurance quote from various companies.
Insurance is an
intangible asset.
Therefore, placing a value on it can be
very
difficult
until -
something goes wrong and you need to make a claim. Insurance
specialists from the
best firms highlight the five most common mistakes that business owners
make when evaluating their insurance needs as outlined below:
I. Not Understanding Your Full Risk Profile
When reviewing your business insurance needs, it's essential to determine:
1. Events that could
occur in your business
that would
create adverse impact.
2. What adversity would have the biggest
business impact - in terms of
dollars.
3. How to ensure that you are
adequately covered against these risks.
| An
adverse impact can be
caused by sickness, disability, accidents, theft, death, acts of God, etc. . . All of which can be offset by some type of insurance. (A list of resources is at the end of this article.) Often policy holders will eliminate one feature of a policy by assuming that they can save money. Typically, they will purchase theft, fire and glass coverage, but not take burglary even though it's a relatively minor additional fee. You'll agree - Murphy's Law dictates . . . that the one thing you leave out is the one thing you'll need to claim against your insurance. And it can be for one of the most unlikely items. The strangest story I've heard of is a diner that was robbed of all its frozen hamburger and sausage patties. Although it was never proven, it was suspected that a new competitor diner, just around the corner, decided that they would eliminate some start up costs by obtaining a freezer full of free products! |
II. Being "Cheap" Regarding Your Premium Payments
Don't get "hung out to
dry"
by trying to save yourself a few
hundred dollars on your insurance premium to the detriment of being
fully insured. Being cheap now could end up costing you thousands of
dollars somewhere down the road.
III. Insuring Assets at Depreciated Value Instead of Replacement Value.
It is essential that you
insure your assets for REPLACEMENT value.
In other words, how much
would it cost you to repurchase the items insured if you had to pay the
full price. A common mistake, particularly when purchasing an existing
business, is to insure the assets at the
depreciated value, rather than the replacement cost.
IV. Not Fully Disclosing Everything!
Some people don't believe
it, but . . .
If you don't disclose everything upfront when you sign your
application for an insurance policy, the insurance company is quite
within its rights to not pay your claim. Worse still, they won't even
refund your premium paid to date. Therefore, don't hold back. Disclose
anything relevant to your insurance upfront to save drama and
devastating loss at a later date.
V. Not Listening to Your Insurance Broker
Your insurance broker is
the best person to advise you!
He or she should be well acquainted with all aspects of
business insurance coverage. Having seen
many businesses that are similar to yours, they have seen those
business owners go through the pain that you don't need to suffer. Your
insurance broker will know what works for your type of business and how
to get it for the cheapest possible price. As an insurance agent, they
know the ropes and can maneuver you through the subtleties in insurance
policies which will save you dollars in the long term . . . however . . .
You are wise to
"Look before you leap."
Your wisdom is evident bccause you are actively pursuing online
research before you sit down with your local advisor. You will
have more knowledge and relevant questions so
you can better glean information, compare insurance benefits, rates and
quotes for the following types of business insurance:
Insurance is an invisible
shield that protects you and your family.
You can't see it, but you
will certainly feel the consequences in the event of loss, whether you
are with or without it!
Article Source: http://Articles4info.com
Reference: For in depth definitions of the types of business insurance, business insurance riders and other business insurance addendums please visit online http://www.wikipedia.org/Business_Insurance
