Do You Need Stop Gap Insurance?

Stop gap insurance, or stop gap coverage, is a form of employer’s liability insurance. If any part of your business operates in a monopolistic state, you need it yesterday. 

What is a monopolistic state?

In most states, employers choose their own worker’s compensation insurance policy. Most of these policies include employer’s liability insurance, which protects employers from lawsuits by injured employees.

However, in certain states, all employers are required to buy their worker’s comp insurance from a designated state fund. These states, nicknamed “monopolistic” because of the state government’s monopoly on worker’s comp insurance, generally don’t offer employer’s liability insurance as part of their coverage. This leads to the titular gap in coverage, as businesses in these states lack the protection against employee lawsuits that most businesses take for granted. 

Which states are monopolistic?

Only the following four states are considered monopolistic:

• Washington
• Ohio
• Wyoming
• North Dakota

A business operating in any of the states listed above needs to purchase stop gap insurance. Large or decentralized businesses with multiple locations should buy stop gap coverage for branches located in monopolistic states. 

United States territories such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also require employers to purchase workers’ compensation from monopolistic state funds. Any business operating in a territory should consider buying stop gap insurance. 

How Septic Insurance Protects Your Business

Working in the sewage and septic business is not always the most glamorous work. Jobs can be dirty, and a number of potential risks are omnipresent — including risks around pollution, employee injury, and more.

For these reasons and other, comprehensive septic insurance is essential in the industry. A thorough insurance policy will ensure your business is well-protected, your workers are safe, and your clients are in good hands.

What Does Septic Insurance Cover?

Specifics of a given septic insurance policy will vary from company to company. Nevertheless, in most cases they should cover standard operations for a septic business. This may include the following:

• General liability and professional liability coverage
• Pollution coverage
• Commercial automobile coverage
• Relevant equipment coverage
• Workers compensation coverage

Other policies — like cyber crime coverage, as well as various excess insurance policies — may be applicable, depending on the specific nature of your business. Your insurer may also be able to assist in reviewing your operations, to help institute better risk management and safety procedures.

Ultimately, whether your business is installing septic tanks, cleaning grease traps, doing wastewater remediation, or similar work, septic and other relevant insurance are essential to keeping your business healthy. Working with an experienced insurer, you can design a policy that sufficiently covers your operations.

Two Great Reasons to Consider Whole Life Insurance

The sages of old have long decreed that death and taxes are two inevitable certainties. Ok, then. But, what they didn’t know was that whole life insurance can be part of a solid financial strategy for mitigating the sting of each. While taxes can be negotiated, death cannot. And, while death cannot be negotiated, life insurance policy structures and premiums can. Premiums come in all shapes and sizes. Premiums, like those of a 20 pay life insurance policy can be satisfied in a relatively short period of time, while other premiums can be amortized over a much longer period. Regardless of how you satisfy your premiums, doing so will satisfy your reasons for paying them in the first place.

Death and Taxes – The Two Great Reasons

On par with the inevitability of death and taxes is the contractual inevitability of your whole life insurance policy – as long as you pay the premiums. A well-structured policy addresses the inevitable by providing:

• Lifetime coverage
• Tax-free death benefits to beneficiaries without probate
• Purchases of policies within a trust to be designated to pay estate taxes upon someone’s death
• Policyholder ability to increase the cash value savings component through tax-deferred interest accumulation, excess premium payments designated toward the cash value and reinvestment of earned dividends into the cash value.

Be confident that you can protect and preserve the fruit of your hard work with a well-designed whole life insurance policy. Start planning today.

Protect Your Nonprofit’s Volunteers

Volunteer workers are the backbone of many nonprofit organizations, and protecting them is an obligation because without their contribution, your work would not get done. Robust risk management solutions for nonprofits need to take into account the unique risks associated with relying on volunteers in addition to paid staff. Those risks change according to the nature of the volunteer workers’ contributions, so you need a variety of nonprofit volunteer risk management resources. A wide range of support helps you calibrate your insurance and safety practices to take care of your volunteers while protecting your organization from the financial repercussions of exposure to financial liability.

Minimize Risks & Modify Practices

The right insurance policy is only the first step to making your organization safe and welcoming for volunteers. It is also essential that your activities follow best practices for safety, no matter what the work of the day happens to be. Using a risk management checklist curated by your insurer or an industry organization is a great way to catch up on the state of the industry practices you should be using. Most of the time, it’s just a matter of a few minor policy changes to bring your organization’s procedures in line with nonprofit volunteer risk management best practices. Following through with those changes may even save you money on your premium costs.

How Builder’s Risk Insurance Protects Your Project

If you are a contractor or a builder, you are likely well aware of the many hazards of the trade. Things can go wrong even for skilled contractors, and unexpected hazards do arise in the course of projects. Ensuring your client has a comprehensive builders risk coverage policy will help ensure building projects are protected in the “under construction” phase, and help you safely bring a project to completion.

What Does Builders Risk Insurance Cover?

Builders risk insurance is generally carried by a property owner, but can in some cases be carried by the contractor working on a given property. Essentially, builders risk coverage protects the physical project being worked on.

This distinction is important: builders risk insurance may cover materials, supplies, equipment, and other structural components of a project that is in progress. However, it will typically not cover workers or contractors themselves, nor “adjacent” risks, like transporting workers or supplies to a building site. Consequently, this type of insurance is only one component of a comprehensive insurance package that protects projects under construction.

As a builder, it may be in both your interest and your client’s interest to carry builders risk insurance. Speaking to an experienced insurer to ensure you are well-protected will help your project come quickly and safely to fruition.

How Small Manufacturers Can Reduce the Risks of High Freight Costs

Manufacturers and retailers are involved with many sectors in the effort to conduct worldwide business. The shipping industry is particularly notable as freight costs rise per the modern economy. Large manufacturers are comfortably set in their ways and can proceed with business as usual due to their staggering leverage. Smaller manufacturers, however, must navigate an ocean of emerging risks. 

Emerging Risks in Shipping

The recent climate has seen small businesses stifle due to shipping congestion caused by increased exports, lack of personnel, and shifting demands. These issues stack atop the ever-present threat of equipment breakdowns and seasonal labor concerns. Many manufacturers are not prepared to be held liable for so many issues at once.

How Insurance Can Mitigate Shipping Risks

Marine industry insurance can help cover the losses incurred as a result of maritime freight incidents. As freight costs increase and the industry continues to face new obstacles, it becomes more and more necessary for small manufacturers and retailers to adapt their insurance coverage to the shifting climate. 

Freight costs are a byproduct of emerging risks in the shipping industry. Large manufacturers have the resources to navigate such risks, but smaller businesses require additional support. The costs incurred by unavoidable incidents involved with expensive freight transport and related issues can be mitigated by a specified insurance coverage policy.

Understanding Workers Compensation Coverage

Employers are generally required to carry workers compensation insurance for their employees, and those premiums can add a substantial amount to your recurring expenses. While some aspects of the policy are mandated, you do have some control over insurance coverage and costs. Understanding coverage options and what affects premiums is important to properly manage your policy. 

What Workers Comp Covers

Coverage can vary depending on where your business and workers are located, so it is crucial that you know what your policy does and does not cover. In most cases, a worker’s compensation policy will pay for medical expenses for treatment and rehabilitation after a workplace injury or accident as well as a portion of lost wages while the employee is recovering. 

Additional Coverage Options

Replacing lost wages isn’t the only consideration if a worker is injured. There is also the risk of a lawsuit against your company. Adding additional liability coverage, such as with a stop-gap policy, can help protect you from these additional expenses.   

How Premiums Are Calculated

Risk factors in your industry, which are largely out of your control, will have a substantial influence on premium prices. However, there are some things you can better manage to keep costs down. For example, improving job-site safety reduces accidents and the number of claims filed, which can directly translate into lower insurance premiums for your business.

Understanding your existing coverage and business needs can help you keep workers’ comp premiums manageable. 

Home Health Care: How To Protect Your Patients and Staff

The healthcare industry has its share of risks. For medical providers who provide at-home services, there are specific risks that you need to be aware of; otherwise, your company could face a variety of claims. To keep your claims to a minimum, you need to invest in risk management in home health care.

What Is Risk Management?

Risk management includes various measures that your company takes to protect your staff and employees. For example, it may include extensive training for caregivers, whether the training is in communication, medical devices, or handling a patient gently. Risk management is meant to reduce insurance claims and injuries.

How Does Risk Management Help?

Risk management allows you and your staff to be prepared for different risks. For example, if one of the most common patient accidents is falling, then risk management can help you figure out how to reduce the falls. Programs that train employees on handling patients or how to ensure that the environment is safe for those with mobility or balance issues are critical.

At a patient’s home, you have less control over the environment. This is why you must have a risk management plan in place, along with appropriate insurance coverages. Accidents happen, but you can do your best to reduce those risks.

Tips on Selecting Insurance for Your Business

Finding the right insurance coverage for your business can seem daunting. You want to make sure you are prepared for any circumstances that come your way, but you don’t want to pay for coverage you will never need. It makes sense to select a comprehensive package that includes the different policies designed to protect your business.

Insurance Packages for Businesses

No matter the size of your company, there are several policies to consider. It’s wise to speak with your insurance agent to ensure you buy the right coverage for your company.

• Liability Insurance – Every commercial insurance package should include protection against lawsuits from both clients and employees. Without adequate coverage, you may be liable for hefty fees and settlements.
  • General liability policies cover clients’ injuries at your facility and damages caused by your employees at the client’s office.
  • Errors and omissions coverage protects against negligence or errors in work performed. 
  • Employment practices liability insurance helps to cover unwanted claims made by employees regarding employment issues.
• Property Insurance – This policy protects your property, the building and it’s contents in the event of a covered catastrophe. Such things as computers, furniture, inventory and business equipment are protected. Personal belongings are also covered under many policies.
• Workers’ Compensation – Required in most states, this coverage protects employees who are injured on the job.

Protect your business with a comprehensive commercial insurance plan.