The holiday season is synonymous with gifting fine jewelry, but it’s also a time of increased travel, which raises the risk of jewelry loss and theft. Shockingly, the number of people reporting lost or stolen fine jewelry while traveling has doubled since 2015, with only 1% managing to recover their precious items. A concerning statistic reveals that nearly a quarter of men and 14% of women have admitted to losing their wedding rings at some point in their marriages. Given these odds, it’s essential to understand how to protect your valuable assets.
Find out more about the crucial role that jewelry insurance plays in safeguarding your precious investments by reading the full article.
1. The Drawbacks of Relying on Homeowners Insurance: Learn why depending on a basic homeowners policy to protect your valuable and sentimental jewelry can lead to frustrating limitations, deductibles, and potentially higher premiums.
2. How Jewelry Insurance Works: Explore how jewelry insurance provides compensation for lost or stolen items, the importance of professional appraisals, and why regular assessments are necessary.
3. Different Loss Settlement Options: Uncover the differences between Agreed Value Loss Settlements and Traditional Repair and Replacement and which option suits your needs.
4. Beyond Jewelry: What Else Is Covered: Discover that while jewelry is the most common item covered, inland marine policies extend their protection to various high-value portable items, providing peace of mind wherever they go.
5. Protecting Your Engagement Ring: Learn why engagement rings are often underinsured and how to best protect your investment.
Don’t leave your precious jewelry vulnerable to loss or theft—find out how to safeguard your valuable assets by exploring the full article. [Read More]
Did you know 9 out of 10 people will fail with their New Year’s resolutions? 50% of resolution makers will fail by the end of January. 2020 was a tough year in many different ways for everyone, so it is more important than ever to focus on positivity and hope for the upcoming year. Maybe it’s time to stop making New Year’s resolutions, and focus on “one word” instead!
The book One Word That Will Change Your Life by Jon Gordon focuses on the idea of choosing one word to focus on as your driving force for the year. Instead of making a New Year’s Resolution (that no one seems to keep anyway), you choose a word to live.
“One Word creates clarity, power, passion, and life-change. The simple power of One Word is that it impacts all six dimensions of your life – mental, physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, and financial. Simply put, One Word sticks. There is a word meant for you and when you find it, live it, and share it, your life will become more rewarding and exciting than ever.” Getoneword.com
Sounds pretty amazing, right? With the end of the year rapidly approaching, instead of creating New Year’s Resolutions that are nearly impossible to attain, why not select one word? It is important to select only one so you can focus on what it means to you. If you are struggling to find your word, here is a simple process I found on http://myoneword.org/pick-your-word/ to find your word.
Determine the kind of person you want to become.
Identify the characteristics of that person.
Pick a word.
For inspiration, here are some words that my coworkers and I considered or selected: joy, more, gratitude, progress, confidence, better, adaptability, hopeful, consistent, stable, silent, disciplined, grace, patience, balance, learn, intentional, love, self-control, purpose, flexibility, perseverance, and contentment.
Once you have selected your word, you will need a daily reminder of your word! You could create a painting with your word and hang it somewhere you’ll see every day. Or find a picture online of your word (I love to search Pinterest to find word pictures) and set it as your computer’s desktop background.
I genuinely believe in the power of Jon Gordon’s “One Word.” I think it simplifies your goals. Focus 2021 on one word, and feel free to share your word in the comments below.
If you’re the proud owner of a new business – or even just kicking around the idea of hanging your own shingle – you’ve probably realized that there is a lengthy list of items and issues to address. From startup capital to suppliers to operational space to legal documents… the list probably seems never ending.
Then, of course, you have insurance.
Despite what you may see or hear, insurance is not a one-size-fits-all product. Rather, in technical terms, insurance is a risk financing mechanism that allows you to transfer some of your risk to the insurance company of your choosing. In other words, you are paying a small cost (in the form of a premium payment) to contract with an insurance company to have them keep you whole in the event of a loss (claim).
So, where do you start?
Think of the most valuable assets that are part of your business. It could be raw materials, inventory/stock, or perhaps a building you have purchased. These are all property-related exposures, so you will need property insurance that corresponds with your exposure. If your business relies heavily on property-related exposures to operate, then what would happen if a disaster struck and damaged part or all your property? Easy: you’d get a check from the insurance company to replace it, right?
Not so fast! What about the income loss you would sustain while you had to wait for your property to be rebuilt, repaired, or replaced? This can be covered under an additional property coverage called business income. Ideally, you’d want to get extra expense coverage included as well, as that would pay for many additional expenses you would incur to get your business back up and running as quickly as possible.
Now that your wheels are turning, you’re probably thinking the same thing that most business owners do at some point: what if I get sued for something??? This is where liability coverage comes into play. You will need what is called general liability to cover you for claims/lawsuits stemming from bodily injury and/or property damage from your products, completed operations, and personal & advertising injury arising out of your business. Injury to your employees isn’t covered by this, however – you will need workers’ compensation coverage for that.
If you’re a professional of some sort, you could also get sued for a professional mistake. This is not covered by general liability insurance but is addressed via a professional liability policy or errors and omissions liability policy. Keep in mind that there is a broad range of industries that are professional in nature, so this coverage isn’t exclusively for doctors and lawyers. This coverage applies to consultants, cosmetologists, marketing firms, accountants, staffing firms, and more!
On the other hand, if you’re a contractor, then you probably have plenty of tools and equipment that are valuable to your business. These need to be covered under what is called an inland marine policy or inland marine coverage part of a package policy, since they are used at various job sites as part of your business. Coverage can also be purchased for equipment you may need to rent as part of a job.
Many businesses use autos as part of their operation. Business auto insurance would need to be purchased for any vehicles you have that are titled to your business. In addition, you will want to consider hired and non-owned auto liability for situations where you need to rent a vehicle for business or an employee needs to use their personally-owned vehicle for business reasons.
Finally, what if you have a REALLY big claim stemming from an auto accident, an injured customer, or some other liability claim? This is where a commercial umbrella comes into play. Umbrellas provide an additional layer of liability protection in the event an underlying policy has its limits of insurance exhausted due to a large loss. You can learn more about commercial umbrellas here, as there is often a lot of confusion as to what they are and how they work.
By no means is this an exhaustive list of insurance coverages, but hopefully it gives you a starting point from which you can work. Contact your local independent insurance agent to learn more and to develop a program that is specific to your needs as a business owner!
The information above is of a general nature and your policy and coverages provided may differ from the examples provided. Please read your policy in its entirety to determine your actual coverage available.
Since October of last year, I always try to have my phone’s ringer turned up if I am not working, and I’m much more adamant about picking up a phone call. Like many people, I?tended to silence my phone a lot because of the constant alarms and alerts. Well, if I would have heard and answered my phone on October 18, 2019,?I probably would have saved my future mother-in-law $1,000 by preventing scammers from gaining access to her PC.
I had just gotten home from a college class, and had put my phone down while doing homework. It was ringing but I didn’t know it. When I finally checked my phone, I saw the missed calls and tried calling my mother-in-law back, but she didn’t pick up. An hour went by before my fiancee finally called me frantic because her mom’s computer got hacked!
I rushed over to their house and immediately? saw the stress in her mom’s eyes. She had fallen victim?to a persuasive speech about her “critical computer problem.” She gave these people money to fix it without even realizing who they were or what the problem was.
Immediately, I changed all of her settings to the strictest possible while making sure all access to the computer through external sources was shut off. As a programmer, I know that if a scammer could get into her PC, they could try to embed something that would give them access to steal more information. One of my concerns was that they could have installed a Key Logger onto her PC. This allows passwords and sensitive data to be sent to them as she typed them on her computer. I fervently searched her system and files, and I found a Key Logger file. I removed it right away.
You may be asking yourself, how did this all happen? How did she get in a position that allowed a scammer into her computer? Well, she is not alone. According to the Microsoft Digital Crime Unit, in 2018, there was a total of $1.5 billion stole from around 3.3 million users due to online scams. She became a part of that statistic for 2019.
In my mother-in-law’s case, she followed a link in Pinterest and a screen popped up saying her computer was hacked and and to call Microsoft. Following random links is a great way to allow an unwanted person into your computer. Never follow a link if you don’t know where it is going, and never ever download things off of random websites.
Of course, the pop up was kind enough to give the number to call in big, bold print. The automated voice at the beginning of the call sounded authentic to Microsoft, so she didn’t second guess. At this point, she was just worried that she would lose all the photos and important information on her PC. Believing she was speaking to Microsoft, they informed her that, due to security reasons, they do not take personal credit cards or PayPal. Her only safe option was to go to the store and buy two $500 Google Play Store gift cards and pay by using those. They gave her a time limit and told her the computer would be wiped clean by the so-called “hackers.” She reluctantly told me that she went to the store and came back with the cards, then used a remote desktop connection to allow them into her PC to “fix” the problem. The Google Play Store gift card numbers were entered in on a text file for her secure payment as the REAL hacker sat typing random commands?into the computer, just like you would see in a movie. When the page went away, he hung? up and was never heard from again.???
A hard lesson learned. Although I still cannot understand how anyone falls for this scheme, it became real that day. I took her through a computer crash course on how to avoid this next time:
Press CTRL – ALT – DELETE.
Open the task manager.
Right-click on the browser.
Press “End Task.”
Boom! Problem solved! Be careful when searching the web and always be wary of who you are allowing to “help” you with your computer issues. If the methodology sounds sketchy, then it most likely is. Always make sure that you have your computer data backed up and your personal info secured on your PC or not on it at all. If you think you have been hacked, contact someone reputable immediately to help you fix the issue.
Another way to protect yourself is to invest in cyber insurance. Many insurance companies offer solutions for both personal and business protection. Contact your independent agent to learn more about these coverages and how they can protect you, your family, and your business from the effects of cybercrime.
Finally, I want to share this video. Many don’t think about the consequences of clicking on a link or attachment in an e-mail that contains a virus, but the ripple effect from that one click can quickly become a tidal wave of trouble! Watch below to learn more about protecting not only yourself, but your place of employment!
This is the time of year I often receive questions about the coverages needed to protect students who are going away for school. These requests are common for parents sending their children off to college for the first time. College campuses won’t look the same this coming fall semester, but growing numbers of U.S. colleges are pledging to reopen, so there will be students heading to college soon.
Courts have long determined that a dependent child away at school is still legally a resident of their parents’ household. In fact, with the policy contracts used by many insurance companies, there are situations where no additional coverage needs to be purchased.
On the most commonly used homeowners policies, a student under the age of 24 is covered by his or her parents’ homeowners policy as long as they are enrolled full-time in school and were a resident of the household before moving out to attend school.
So what coverages apply to your student while they are away at college? First and foremost, they are protected by the Personal Liability section of your homeowners policy for bodily injury or property damage they cause. However, it’s important to note that intentional acts are not covered. Your son or daughter will be facing new responsibilities and exposures, so it’s a great time to consider purchasing a Personal Umbrella policy to provide an extra layer of liability protection for your family.
For all the “stuff” that will be moved into a dorm room, coverage for personal property is available up to an amount that is equal to 10% of the personal property coverage limit on the parents’ policy. Personal property includes things like clothing, small furniture and appliances, and electronics. Of course, the policy deductible would apply in the event of a property loss, such as theft of personal property.
Electronics, such as a laptop or tablet, may be one of the greatest concerns. Some insurance carriers allow these items to be listed separately on the homeowners policy, so that a deductible would not apply to a loss. However, I often discourage this type of coverage on most of these items as I think it’s prudent for policyholders to self-insure smaller losses. Small losses may be looked upon unfavorably by insurance companies, may increase the premium at renewal time, or could even result in coverage being discontinued when combined with other losses.
In some cases, the student (or parents) may sign a lease for an off-campus apartment. While it’s possible that coverage may still be available by way of the parents’ policy, this is often a good opportunity to equip the student with their own Renter’s Insurance policy to ensure that there’s no coverage question. See our blog post for more Reasons You Need Renters Insurance!
Last but not least, we occasionally receive requests to add an apartment building owner to a renters policy. Essentially, this means the landlord is requiring the renter to carry insurance coverage – particularly liability coverage. In these instances, the landlord can be added to the policy as an Additional Interest. This allows the building owner/landlord to be listed on the policy declarations and to be notified in the event that the renters insurance cancels. The Additional Interest endorsement does not provide any coverage to the landlord.
I hope that this summary is helpful to families that will be heading to campus this fall. Be smart, be safe, and best of luck!
The policy coverages described above are in the most general terms and are subject to the actual policy exclusions and conditions. For specific coverage details and policy exclusions, refer to the policy itself or contact your agent.
At the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. we wrote to let you know the steps we were taking to protect our employees, while keeping our commitment to serve the insurance needs of our clients.
It has been two weeks since our agency took the unprecedented step of moving our front-line employees to a remote working environment and limiting all client activity within the office. While we look forward to a return to normalcy, the dedication of our employees and our agency’s investment in technology has allowed us to not miss a step in our transition to a remote service model.
We have learned valuable lessons along the way in implementing this structure, but it has only strengthened our ability to serve our customers regardless of the circumstances. We will continue to improve our processes as we go. Our employees are accessible by email during business hours and our main phone number 860-582-8161 is staffed by a live receptionist weekdays between 8:30 am and 5 pm as usual. Our full team of Sales Executives and Account Managers are ready to assist in any way necessary.
We continue to be in constant communication with our Insurance Company partners. If the current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your ability to pay your insurance premiums, please let us know and we will advise if alternate arrangements can be made.
There are a few homeowner insurance coverages that almost everybody has but very few think about. Personal liability is one of those coverages and even lower on the totem pole is medical payments coverage. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t important (especially this time of year).
For starters, let’s clarify what it is along with what it isn’t. It’s a coverage that covers medical expenses to others. It isn’t a coverage that applies to you or the regular residents of your household.
Side note: many insurance companies, including Central Mutual, clarify this on their policy declarations pages by titling this coverage “medical payments to others.” However, there are still insurance companies out there that don’t specify this on the declarations page, so I wanted to point this out.
Let’s get back to what the coverage is. It will pay for reasonable charges for medical, surgical, x-ray, dental, ambulance, hospital, professional nursing, prosthetic devices, and funeral services sustained by someone as a result of an accident causing bodily injury. Typically, injuries caused by animals owned by the insured will also be covered.
However, if my five-year-old son would have sustained some sort of injury by accidentally swallowing his loose tooth (true story that happened a few weeks ago), there would not have been coverage since he’s a resident of my household.
There are also limitations and exclusions in the homeowner policy pertaining to injuries that are sustained away from the insured location as well as anyone who is eligible to receive benefits under workers compensation, non-occupational disability, or occupational disability.
I mentioned earlier that this coverage is important this time of year. The reason that was brought up is that the most common type of medical payments claim we see is of the slip and fall variety. Unlike personal liability coverage, a homeowner does not have to be legally liable for an accident in order for medical payments coverage to kick in. Therefore, icy and/or snowy conditions create a perfect recipe for medical payments claims.
With this in mind, take a look at the medical payments limit on your homeowner insurance policy and consider whether or not you feel the limit is adequate. It’s quite common to see a $5,000 limit for this insurance coverage and we still run across situations where someone has $1,000 as the limit. Typically, you can increase the medical payments limit from $5,000 to $10,000 for just a few dollars a year, so it might be worth it to provide yourself with a little extra protection in case a guest at your house slips on snow, ice, or a loose tooth.
The coverages here are described in the most general terms and are subject to the actual policy conditions and exclusions. For actual coverage wording, conditions, and exclusions refer to the policy or contact your agent.
Now that it is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, what better time to educate yourself on the current levels of cybercrime around the world. More than half of mid-market businesses have experienced a data breach[1], and more than 175 million individuals become victims of cybercrime annually[2]. In fact, cybercrime is growing so rapidly it is projected to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, representing “the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history,” and becoming “more profitable than the global trade of all major illegal drugs.[3]”
Cybercrime affects individuals, families, and businesses.
Cybercriminals seek out vulnerabilities in our computer networks and online behaviors. Hackers and identity thieves spare no person or business. Particularly vulnerable groups include minor children, college students, senior citizens, natural disaster victims, and small businesses.
What are the most common cyber risks for individuals and families?
As the average person spends more time online, both individuals and families encounter many new cyber risks, from identity fraud to dangerous doxing and cyberbullying. Identity thieves can gather personal information from social media and cyberstalking, as well as phishing e-mails and fake websites to help them impersonate you and/or take over financial accounts.
Other online threats can be both physical and emotional. Doxing—or publishing a person’s physical location and contact information—can result in reputational harm and even threats of physical confrontation. Cyberbullying causes emotional dismay and reputational damage. On dating websites fake profiles get created to “catfish” victims—sometimes for the perpetrator’s personal fun but other times for more nefarious purposes. Finally, cyberstalking can lead to very real—and dangerous—physical stalking behaviors.
What are the most common cyber risks for businesses?
Modern companies run on information technology. Data about customers, employees, sales orders, operations, research and development, and financials are the beating heart of any business. Between cloud software, the Internet of Things, and e-commerce, more business information gets exchanged online than ever before.
The greatest cyber threats to businesses are the theft of company data through a data breach and the disabling of IT networks by ransomware. Many times, cybercriminals gain the information or credentials they need to attack business networks by sending phishing e-mails to employees or executives. These e-mails can look very authentic and appear to come from people inside your company. Cybercriminals spend time researching organizations in order to use social engineering to fool their targets into opening the phishing e-mail.
Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.
This year, the theme of National Cyber Security Awareness Month is “Own IT, Secure IT, Protect IT.” Hackers are always at work—they never rest. There is no time to wait. Take action now to secure and protect your personal identity and business data.
OWN your IT and personal information by educating yourself about cyber threats.
DON’T OVERSHARE personal or financial information on social media platforms.
BE SELECTIVE about who you connect with on social platforms or dating websites.
REVIEW PRIVACY SETTINGS for social media and other applications.
SECURE IT changing your online habits to enhance your cyber defenses.
STRENGTHEN PASSWORDS on computers, devices, and websites and change them regularly.
AVOID PHISHING e-mails and don’t click on links from people you don’t know or e-mails that don’t seem legit. When in doubt, telephone the recipient and ask.
TURN ON MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION to make your logins more secure, especially on any website where you do online banking, bill payment, or shopping.
SHOP SAFELY by making online purchases only from well-known stores and brands and always looking for the https:// in the URL before entering payment information.
PROTECT IT by implementing solutions and services that can increase cybersecurity and monitor against suspicious events.
INSTALL SECURITY SOFTWARE including anti-virus and anti-malware to protect personal and business computers.
UPDATE SYSTEMS to ensure your web browser and operating system have the latest security updates.
IDENTITY AND CREDIT MONITORING services watch for unusual activity 24/7/365, alerting you to any trouble.
BACK-UP DATA regularly to protect yourself and your business from hard drive/server failures and ransomware.
Another way to protect yourself is to invest in cyber insurance. Many insurance companies offer solutions for both businesses and personal protection. Contact your independent agent to learn more about these coverages and how they can protect you, your family, and your business from the effects of cybercrime.
Content provided by CyberScout.
[1] “Small and Mighty—CyberSecurity Special Report,” Cisco, July 2018.
[2] “Norton Cyber Security Insights Report Global Results,” Symantec, 2017.
[3] “2019 Official Annual Cybercrime Report,” Cybersecurity Ventures
If you’ve watched any college football over the past several years, you’ve probably seen multiple commercials from a certain insurance company that likes to show an imaginary college professor walking an individual through a building containing exhibits that represent different claim situations. The commercials show what happened while the professor narrates, then at the end of the story he states, “we covered it.”
Although many of these claim scenarios appear to be unusual, they would likely be covered by anypersonal insurance program – as long as the right coverage is in place.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most common insurance coverages that are often misunderstood. Making sure your personal insurance program includes these can make the difference between having your claim fully covered versus having it denied due to lack of proper coverage.
Comprehensive Coverage: This is physical damage coverage on auto policies that is sometimes referred to as “other than collision.” In short, this coverage protects your vehicle against physical losses that don’t result from a collision (although there is one animal-related exception to this). Perils such as fire, theft, vandalism, glass breakage, and hail are all covered under comprehensive coverage. In addition, if your vehicle collides with a bird or animal, it will be deemed a comprehensive loss rather than a collision loss (this is the exception).
Collision Coverage: This is a little more straightforward, as it covers your vehicle against accidents where the vehicle is “upset” (turned over) or where it impacts another vehicle or object.
Personal Umbrella Policy: Possibly the most misunderstood personal insurance coverage out there, the personal umbrella policy is not a property-centered insurance policy that “covers everything;” rather, it is a liability policy that provides you with additional liability limits (typically in $1 million increments) that extend over your various forms of liability insurance, be it personal liability, auto liability, watercraft liability, landlord liability, etc.
Inland Marine Policy: While personal umbrellas are typically the most misunderstood, inland marine policies are the most confusing because the items covered under these policies usually have nothing to do with marine exposures! These are also referred to as personal articles floaters or scheduled personal property endorsements. No matter what they are called, they can provide protection against losses to unique and valuable items such as jewelry, fine arts, and collectibles that are scheduled, stated, or listed on your policy Declarations Page.
Finally, just in case you were wondering, one of the commercials in the aforementioned series shows a truck crashing into a house. Most homeowner insurance policies would typically cover this, so don’t think that you need some sort of extra coverage for it!
When in doubt about a coverage term or the type of coverage you need, reach out to your local independent agent as he or she is always ready to help.
The information above is of a general nature and your policy and coverages provided may differ from the examples provided. Please read your policy in its entirety to determine your actual coverage available.
This is the time of year I often receive questions about the coverages needed to protect students who are going away for school. These requests are common for parents sending their children off to college for the first time. College campuses won’t look the same this coming fall semester, but growing numbers of U.S. colleges are pledging to reopen, so there will be students heading to college soon.
