Protecting Business Profits

Most families sit down and create budgets. They predict their income to measure how much they can afford now and in the future. Just like families, businesses also rely on predicting their income from sales and production of goods and services they provide. But what if an accident, loss, or disaster occurred that would inhibit their ability to sell their goods or services, or limit the production of goods in their plant? Now what? How will their business survive? There’s still rent and taxes to pay, employees you don’t want to lose, and other ongoing expenses that don’t go away just because your business isn’t running. That’s where something called “Business Interruption Insurance” comes in.

This coverage provides a company with funds to make up the difference between its “normal income” and its income during downtime caused from a fire, storm, water damage, theft, accident, vandalism, or other cause.

A typical policy will cover the cost to repair or replace buildings and equipment, but it does not cover the loss of income the business is likely to experience during its downtime. Business Interruption Insurance will make sure companies have the money for ongoing bills, salaries for key employees, and other expenses. This is certainly one area of protection you don’t want to skimp on.

To find out if you have the coverage, what the cost is, or if your Business Interruption limits need to be reviewed, please contact our office TODAY to discuss it with your Commercial Risk Manager.

Building Vacancies Can Affect Your Coverage

In today’s economic climate, it seems as though more and more businesses are shutting their doors. One minute a business is thriving, and the next there is a “For Lease” or “Closed” sign in the window.

Here’s something you may not realize: If your business “neighbors” move out, or if new “neighbors” move in, you should definitely let our office know. The change in occupancy could affect your coverage. If you own the property and your tenants move on, it is equally important to let us know of the change immediately. Vacant (or partially vacant) properties create a unique set of circumstances that lead to a higher risk, and you need to be aware of the vacancy provisions in your policy so that you don’t run into a “no coverage” situation at the time of a claim. Your coverage should be thoroughly examined to ensure you are getting the maximum protection for your business should damages occur while the property is between lessees.

If you are not sure if we are aware of vacancies in your building, contact our office and we will get the answers for you. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Business Changes... Fast!

Business moves so fast these days! Thanks to technology, it seems mergers, acquisitions, change of location or a variety of other changes can occur now more quickly than they used to.

Although we take measures to visit with our commercial clients often, it’s important that you keep us up-to-speed with your business changes when they occur. Here is a partial list of reasons to contact us before our next scheduled update:

• Change in ownership or structure
• Addition of equipment
• New drivers or vehicles
• Building or property additions
• Increase in inventory or warehouse stock
• Increased (or decreased) security on premises

In fact, whenever there is a change within your organization, it’s a wise move to give us a quick call. We’ll let you know if you will require additional insurance, or if the current policies will need to be updated in some way. A few minutes can give you a lot of peace-of-mind!

Do You Store Client Info?

You May Require Electronic Data Liability!

Imagine this scenario: One of your salespeople stops for lunch. When they return to their car, they see their side widow broken and their laptop is gone! Those thieves now have access to all of your clients’ information, including their payment methods, bank accounts, or possibly their personal identities. Not so hard to imagine, is it?

The theft can spell trouble for your business, not to mention lost time and energy spent trying to protect old data, including your clients’ information. It is very likely that a lost laptop could mean a lawsuit for your company. Without insurance for these events, a business could quickly go bankrupt paying out damages to clients.

Any firm holding sensitive client information on the internet, on computers, or over private networks should discuss adding an “Electronic Data Liability Coverage” to their insurance plan. The purpose of the plan is to pay for the business’s defense and for any settlements or judgments against the business, when clients sue for failing to safeguard their personal information.