Auto Insurance

3 Ways To Know You’re Getting the Best Deal on Auto Insurance

Auto insurance rates can vary greatly, and that makes many people unsure of whether they’re getting the best deal with their current carrier. If you’ve considered shopping around for a better deal on your auto insurance policy, consider these three criteria when you comparison shop.

Drivers Included

There are many factors that impact rates, but none so severely as a youthful driver. If you have a teenager or young adult on your policy, you may be paying higher rates for to cover driver. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out rates with another insurance agency, but understand that coverage will be more expensive for younger drivers no matter what company you choose.

Vehicles Covered

If you have any vehicles on your policy that carry full coverage, you’ll be paying more than someone who has liability only. Also, lower deductibles can raise premium considerably. Before you jump at the company with the lower rates, make sure what you’re being offered is comparable.

Credit Score

Many customers are unaware that their credit score can impact their insurance premiums. Although the two seem completely unrelated, insurance companies often use it as a metric for rating a customer based on responsible behavior. If you have bankruptcies or carry high balances on your loans and credit cards, you may end up paying more in premium no matter which company you choose.

Shopping around for the best price is smart idea, but you should know why you’re paying those rates before switching to a bargain policy.


Cyberbullying

3 Things To Know About Cyberbullying

Whether it occurs on school property or within the confines of student homes, cyberbullying has become one of the most pressing problems for schools navigating a hyper-digital era. One of the biggest questions surrounding the issue is how it appears in online classrooms, which have become increasingly popular thanks to both the pandemic and a growing number of alternatives to in-person instruction. It’s therefore critical that parents, students, and education professionals work together to identify and manage the issue

1. What It Is

Bullying can be tricky to define, and its lines become even blurrier when it occurs on a digital platform. Cyberbullying is, however, usually defined as negative, offensive, or harmful comments or actions made via electronic format with the intent to intimidate, harass, or threaten the recipient. Common vessels of cyberbullying include text messages, social media, and digital education systems. 

2. Why It’s a Problem 

Even when cyberbullying occurs off-campus, the effects are felt within school walls. Digital abuse tends to be more impactful than traditional bullying, as it is instantaneous and reaches a much wider audience. The rise in online classrooms has brought the issue to the surface, too, due to the way it merges school and home life. 

3. Who’s Responsible for It 

Generally, schools are not responsible for bullying that happens off-campus, but they may be responsible for cyberbullying that’s carried out via school devices. For example, a school or district can be held accountable for bullying that occurs on a school-supplied laptop, regardless of whether the bullying takes place at school or home. 


Thanks to the exponential growth of educational technology, schools expect to see a rise in cyberbullying and must grapple with the new questions it brings to the surface. Regardless of the approach, mitigating cyberbullying in online classrooms is critical to the success of virtual learning.


Insurance Agents

Finding Insurance for Insurance Agents

Professional liability coverage is a must-have in most of today’s trades and professions, especially for practitioners who work for themselves. Insurance brokers and independent agents alike need protection against the everyday errors and omissions that can happen due to unforeseen emergencies or even simple but unfortunately expensive mistakes. Sooner or later, everyone winds up in a situation where a customer makes a claim for damages, whether or not it’s justified. Robust E&O insurance for insurance agents doesn’t just cover those damages, it also helps pay for the costs of litigation where necessary.

Professionals Serving the Insurance Industry

There’s a reason why most insurance advice comes down to working with the experienced agents who really understand your industry, and when you work in the insurance industry, the advice still holds. Your most effective and well-written coverage quotes are going to come from people who have a lot of experience covering the people who sell insurance to others, no matter what kinds they sell. While the kinds of insurance offered vary, the kinds of liabilities faced by agents and brokers are broadly similar across the industry. That makes it easy for experienced players to quote accurate coverage for insurance industry clients. It’s easy to see why you benefit from working with someone whose expertise in this niche goes as deep as your own expertise in yours.


Do Insurance

Do Insurance Agents Need Insurance?

In the same way that a surgeon cannot operate on himself, those in the insurance industry must also find an insurance company to protect them from financial risks. One of the primary coverages is insurance agent E&O, also known as professional liability.

What Is Errors and Omissions Insurance?

An insurance agent is a trusted professional who helps people navigate the complicated world of insurance by advising they purchase policies to mitigate their financial risks. If clients claim an agent gave them bad advice, an errors and omissions policy covers the expenses associated with legal defense. It also  reimburses the client if the agent is found to be at fault.

Who Is Eligible?

The word agent is a general term that means anyone who acts on behalf of another person. Because most people lack the expertise needed to make good decisions about insurance policies, an insurance agent selects coverage for them. Other job titles eligible for insurance agent E&O include the following:

  • Managing general agent
  • Wholesaler
  • Surplus line broker
  • Program administrator

With so many policies at their fingertips, it may seem that insurance agents do not need insurance for themselves. An errors and omissions insurance policy, however, is not just required by law, but also is a smart way for agents to protect themselves.


Dry Cleaning Establishments

How Dry Cleaning Establishments Deal With Maintenance Repairs

If you own a dry cleaning business, you understand how critical it is to keep your machines running smoothly. Faulty equipment prevents customers from getting their dry cleaning back on time. That can result in unhappy customers looking for another establishment for their dry cleaning needs. Calling a repair person to fix a machine can be costly, however. While some instances require a professional to inspect, establishing some simple maintenance routines will go a long way in keeping your machines humming along.

Maintenance Routines for Dry Cleaning Equipment

Watching for certain telltale signs of wear can help you discover small dry clean repair issues before they become a major problem. Set up a maintenance schedule and assign workers to inspect areas that can cause malfunctions, including:

  • Leaking water waste anywhere on or around the machines
  • Worn belts and loose connections
  • Machine parts that vibrate when they shouldn’t
  • Clogged machine workings 

Cleaning your machines on a routine schedule can prevent many potential problems. Consider employing someone who has a mechanical background and is good at fixing things to keep equipment in top shape. It might save you a lot of money on costly repairs in the long run.

While you can’t fix all your machine problems, you can pinpoint many minor issues by conducting routine maintenance on your machines.


Sanitize Books

Should Libraries Sanitize Their Books During the Pandemic?

Cleaning and caring for library books have always been important considerations in preserving collections. Now, however, COVID-19 introduces new concerns for how to keep both materials and patrons safe. Adding library book sanitization to the standard cleaning procedures is imperative in these unprecedented times.

Why Should Libraries Sanitize Books?

The novel coronavirus is primarily spread via droplets in the air from infected individuals. Even so, there is the potential for it to be transmitted when someone touches a contaminated surface and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth.

There is still a lot of uncertainty about how long the virus lasts on different types of surfaces. As such, library personnel need to take precautions to reduce the likelihood that patrons will handle a contaminated book.

How Do You Sanitize Books?

Regular disinfectants are typically not an option for any books. At the most, they may be able to be used on books that are covered with polyethylene or polyester, but this process still misses the inside pages. Using ultra-violet light is another possibility. It does, however, come with essentially the same risks as chemical disinfectants.

The best method for library book sanitization is to quarantine the books. This does require keeping books out of circulation for, ideally, 14 days. Then, when patrons begin checking them out again, curbside delivery is recommended. This should be followed by another 14-day quarantine after the books are returned, and before they are available again for checkout.


General Liability Insurance

3 Questions About General Liability Insurance for Businesses

While general liability insurance for businesses is not required by law, purchasing it can be one of the wisest investments a company makes. It is often only after experiencing a financial loss that the true value of such a policy is fully recognized. Answering three basic questions can prove beneficial when considering general liability insurance.

1. What Is Covered?

General liability insurance for businesses provides protection against claims arising from the daily routine of doing business. Typically, this includes the following:

  • Personal injury
  • Damage to property
  • Advertising grievances
  • Product damage
  • Rental property damage 

2. Who Needs It?

Virtually every business, large or small, should consider a general liability policy. It can provide protection from lawsuits brought by customers, vendors and even the public. For brick and mortar businesses, it’s especially useful because it provides coverage against physical losses.

3. How Much Coverage Do You Need?

Equally important to having general liability coverage is having the right amount. Two primary factors to consider when identifying the needs of your business include the size of the establishment and its loss history.

Investing in the right general liability policy can go a long way in protecting the future of any commercial operation. Talk with an authorized insurance agent to determine the amount of protection required to meet your company’s myriad needs.


Self Insurance

What Is Self Insurance?

Unfortunately, insurance costs are continually rising, and it may not be economically feasible to offer high-quality insurance with a low deductible. This is one of the circumstances where self insuring comes into play.

What Is Self Insurance?

Self insurance is where a company or business does not pay an insurance company to cover their employees. Instead, they assume the risk for their employees. They pay the medical claims for their employees, particularly worker’s compensation claims. There are advantages and disadvantages to self insuring.

Benefits 

One of the main benefits of self insuring is that it allows employers to save money over the long term. It also leaves insurance control in the company’s hands and gives the company a better understanding of where their healthcare dollars go. This helps the company implement safety programs to help reduce their injury costs.

Drawbacks

There are some obvious drawbacks to self insuring. The savings from it take a long time to realize, and the company has a higher level of risk than they would if they were fully insured. Although there is stop-loss protection, there is still quite a bit of financial responsibility that the company has.

Although self insuring may seem like the way to go, particularly if you have high worker’s compensation premiums, it can be risky for large businesses. It is a decision that the company must weigh the benefits and drawbacks very carefully before deciding to do it.


Insurance SEO Strategies

Tips for Insurance SEO Strategies

Search engine optimization techniques improve website traffic from search engines.

Insurance SEO is a necessity for a company to appear in relevant searches. It helps increase the ranking of a business’s webpages, putting its services in front of potential customers.

Content

Consistent, keyword-optimized content helps a website prosper. A company needs to write engaging copy that provides value to clients. For optimal success, pages must contain balanced, targeted keywords based on research.

Online Citations

Citations are any online reference of an agency’s name, address and phone number. The most effective methods to build these include Google My Business, Bing Places and Yelp. All instances of this type of essential information must be accurate and identical. Inconsistencies cause search engines to lower a site’s ranking.

Links

Another crucial element of insurance SEO is link-building. Backlinks are incoming hyperlinks to a company’s site from a different online location. These work as a method of authenticating a business to the search engine algorithm. Pages with many backlinks rank higher in search results.

Email Campaigns

Optimized emails can improve website engagement. These useful emails entice visitors to engage with a company’s content and resources. This value proposition leads to successful conversions.

Understanding how SEO works is vital to building new relationships with potential clients.


protect-your-nonprofit-and-your-volunteers-against-claims

Protect Your Nonprofit and Your Volunteers Against Claims

If you run a charity or other type of nonprofit organization that makes use of volunteers, your regular liability policy won’t protect them if claims are brought against them. Both your organization and your workers could be held liable to costly legal fees and settlements. It’s essential to find the right liability policy to protect all involved.

What Insurance Policy Will Protect Your Volunteers?

Volunteers insurance is the best way to protect your volunteers and your investment. Having adequate coverage also attracts the kind of volunteers you want representing your nonprofit. You can tailor your package to cover the unique needs you face. Examples of coverage include:

  • Personal accidents – With the right coverage, volunteers who are injured while representing your organization may be compensated for medical expenses and damages caused by the accident. If the volunteer is unable to work their regular paying job as a result of the accident, this insurance may also pay a portion of their regular wages.
  • Volunteer boards – If you include a professional indemnity clause in your policy, any high-ranking volunteer board members and directors are protected against claims of negligence, slander or defamation.
  • Public liability – This coverage offers protection to your paid employees, volunteers and your organization in the event of third-party property damage or personal injury.

It’s imperative to understand the coverage offered in your volunteer liability policy so that you are protected in any circumstance.