BeNew Insurance

Appraisal An appraisal is a structured process in which a trained professional determines the value of an asset to facilitate a financial transaction for business or personal purposes. An appraisal is the process of determining the value of an asset for commercial or financial purposes. Appraisals are commonly used in these three areas: -Small business insurance -Business valuation -Real estate transactions How do appraisals work? An appraisal is often conducted to facilitate business or personal real estate and insurance transactions. It typically consists of three elements: -A highly structured process for valuing an asset from multiple perspectives -A trained, certified assessor who is familiar with the asset and the market in which it will be purchased or sold -A body of professional methods and standards that produce an accurate valuation The appraisal process assesses all factors that affect an asset’s value, including property and asset value, market value, and potentia...

Continuity Date Depending on your situation, your continuity date may be the date your current insurance began or a date far in the past when you were insured with another company. Continuity dates apply to claims-made liability insurance policies, including errors and omissions, professional liability, and directors and officers insurance covers. How far back your continuity date goes depends on whether you maintained coverage continuously: -If you never dropped your insurance, your continuity date will be the date your first insurance policy began. -If you dropped your insurance, your continuity date will be the start date of its successor policy. -If you’ve never had insurance before, your continuity date will be the start date of your first policy. -If an incident occurs before the continuity date, your insurance policy won’t pay for the loss, even if you file a claim under your current coverage. Understanding coverage scope; that is kowing your continuity date helps you und...

Replacement Value It is how much it would cost to buy a brand-new replacement for a destroyed or stolen item. Replacement value is a method for determining what an insurance company will pay you in case your property is stolen or destroyed. It equals the cost of replacing the property. How is replacement value different from actual cash value? Actual cash value is another method for valuing property for insurance purposes. It equals replacement value minus depreciation. Since the actual cash value method results in your insurance company paying less for damaged property, it charges less for this protection. How Does Replacement Cost Property Insurance Work? Remember replacement value is how much it would cost to buy a brand-new replacement for a destroyed or stolen item. Let’s assume someone breaks into your office and steals one of your computers. A replacement value property insurance policy would provide you with funds to buy a new computer similar to the one that was stole...

Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) provides insurance protection for small businesses that hire, manage, and terminate employees. It covers expenses related to employee lawsuits. Employment practices liability insurance covers your legal expenses when an employee files a lawsuit alleging discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, or other wrongful acts. In such cases, your employment practices insurance will provide funds to cover your: -Attorney's fees -Settlement costs -Legal judgments -Administrative and other court costs Businesses in the following industries are excellent candidates for this form of small business protection: -Building design -Consulting -Food and beverage -Information technology -Insurance professionals -Media and advertising -Nonprofits Photo & video Employment practices liability insurance does not cover: -Civil and criminal fines -Punitive damages -Wages you should have paid ...

Fiduciary Liability Insurance Fiduciary liability insurance is a specialized form of insurance that protects employee benefit plan fiduciaries against claims they mismanaged plans or assets. A policy can help pay for a legal defense or losses that arise when fiduciaries: -Make poor investment decisions -Mishandle plan records -Negligently hire plan service providers What does not fiduciary liability insurance cover? Fiduciary liability insurance does not cover crimes or other acts of intentional wrongdoing. It also does not cover embezzlement of a benefit plan’s fidelity bonds or other small business funds. What Does Fiduciary Liability Insurance Cover? -Making improper changes in plan benefits -Wrongfully denying benefits to employees -Providing improper or incorrect advice or counsel to the plan holder (employer) or participants (employees) -Giving advice that benefits the fiduciary but harms the plan holder (conflict of interest) -Making a poor decision regarding hiring plan...

Loss Payee A loss payee is a person or organization listed on an insurance policy’s declarations page that is entitled to receive claim payments before the policy owner due to a financial interest in the insured property. A loss payee is entitled to an insurance claims payment in cases of property damage, despite not being the named insured on the policy. This typically occurs when a small business uses collateral to secure a loan. For example, if you take out a loan to purchase a business vehicle with an auto financing company, the company could require you to put up the vehicle as collateral against your loan. If you fail to make payments, it can repossess the car. The company could also require you to maintain insurance on the vehicle, asking you to put its name as loss payee on your policy. This means if you total the vehicle in an accident, the company will get its money back in the form of a payment from the insurance company. How Do You Add a Loss payee To An Insurance Po...

Open Perils Coverage Open perils coverage is a form of commercial property insurance that provides protection against nearly every type of loss except those specifically excluded in the policy. Open perils property insurance is different from NAMED perils insurance, which only provides coverage for losses specifically listed in the policy. For example, a named perils policy might only cover damage from these perils or hazards: Fire, Theft, Vandalism, Wind. Open perils coverage is also sometimes called all perils insurance or all risk coverage. What Are Some Common Exclusions Listed In An Open Perils Policy? Some common exclusions in open perils policies include: -Floods -Mudslides -Seepage and sewer backups -Power failures -Rust and corrosion -Mechanical breakdowns -Earthquakes -Boiler explosions -Employee theft -Fungus damage -Animal or insect pests -Air or water pollution Note that these are exclusions because you can buy specific covers for them. In conclusion, Open Perils...

Main Types of Disability Insurance There are four main types of disability insurance: short-term disability (STD), long-term disability (LTD), Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), and workers’ compensation, which is covered in other sections. Short-term disability features: -Benefit duration: Three to six months -Elimination period (or waiting period): 14 days or less -Benefit amount: Up to 80% of gross monthly earnings -Source of coverage: Often provided as an employer-provided benefit or purchased independently. Mandatory in some states. Long-term disability features: -Benefit duration: Two years, five years, 10 years, or until you retire -Elimination period: 30 to 720 days, often 90 days -Benefit amount: Up to 60% of gross monthly earning -Source of coverage: Employer-provided benefit or directly from an insurer Social Security disability features: -Benefit duration: For as long as your disability lasts -Elimination period: Six months -Benefit amount: Based on avera...

Homeowner’s Insurance This insurance policy protects your personal real estate and its contents. Just as property insurance protects your commercial real estate, homeowner's insurance can protect your home against structural damage or loss, contents damage and loss, and provides liability coverage. Does Homeowners Insurance Covers Business Property and liability? No it doesn't. For example if you’re a home-based business owner, you may think your homeowner’s policy is killing two birds with one stone by guarding your home and your business. But the truth is that homeowner's insurance policies don't cover business-related property or liabilities. Practical case study: more than half of the businesses in the United States are based out of the owner's home, business owners should know the limits of homeowner’s insurance coverage. Your home might not be open to the public, but that doesn’t mean your home premises are not used for business purposes all the same. I...

Injuries Covered By Insurance A- Personal Injury: -False arrest, detention, or imprisonment: You wrongly deprive someone of their personal right to liberty. -Malicious prosecution: You take legal action against someone without reasonable cause. -Wrongful eviction or entry: As a property owner, you wrongly expel someone from their leased premises or violate their privacy. B- Types Of Advertising Injuries: -Slander or libel of a person or company: You defame by speech (slander) or in writing or pictures (libel) by making false statements. Professional liability insurance would cover this risk for some professions with unique exposures to slander or libel, including lawyers, media and advertising companies, and publishers. -Violation of a person’s right to privacy: You make oral or written statements that misappropriate someone’s name or likeness, intrude on someone’s right to solitude or privacy, or disclose private facts, even if true. -Use of another company’s advertising th...

Per-Occurrence Limit A per-occurrence limit, also known as a claim limit, is a crucial concept in insurance policies, particularly liability insurance policies. It defines the maximum amount the insurance company will pay for a single incident, regardless of how many people are injured, how much property is damaged, or how many claims arise from that incident. Example: Imagine you have a general liability policy with a per-occurrence limit of $1 million. If you accidentally cause a car accident injuring two people, and the total cost of medical bills and lost wages for both is $800,000, the insurance company would cover that amount. However, if the combined costs reach $1.2 million, the insurance company would only pay up to the $1 million limit, leaving you responsible for the remaining balance. Many small business insurance policies limit the amount of money they will pay for a single incident. This amount is known as a per-occurrence limit. Third-party liability policies (poli...

Insurance Quote VS Insurance Premium A quote is not the same as an insurance premium. A quote is a preliminary indication of what an insurer might charge you, based on your application. The premium is the amount you end up paying for a policy, which could be higher or lower than your quote. Both insurance quotes and premiums are important concepts in insurance, but they represent different stages of the insurance buying process: Imagine buying a car. An insurance quote would be like the initial sticker price you see on the car at the dealership. An insurance premium would be the final price you negotiate and pay to drive the car off the lot. Insurance Quote: -An estimate of how much your insurance policy will cost (premium) based on the information you provide about yourself and the coverage you're seeking. -Not a guarantee: Quotes are preliminary estimates and may not reflect the final premium amount after a more thorough review by the insurance company. -Obtained before pur...

Risk Management Process Business risk management is a disciplined approach to understanding and controlling risks. It is much broader than simply buying small business insurance. Here’s what it entails: 1- Identifying your risks: It’s crucial to fully understand the many threats your business faces, including: -Property losses (a fire destroys your main office) -Business interruption (a building collapse shuts down your firm) -Liability claims (a customer sues you for an alleged mistake or omission) -Key-person loss (an important employee suffers a disability or dies) -Employee work injury (a lengthy work-related disability weakens your productive capacity) 2- Risk Analysis and Assessment: Once identified, each risk is thoroughly analyzed to understand its: -Likelihood of occurring (probability) Potential severity of the financial impact (cost) -This analysis helps the company prioritize risks based on their potential impact on the business 3- Developing risk-mitigation plans: ...

Combined Ratio The “Combined Ratio”, also called “Operating Ratio”, corresponds to the arithmetic sum of two ratios: the incurred loss to an earned premium, and the incurred expense to a written premium. Simply explain combined ratio assess an insurance company's profitability. It essentially measures how much money an insurance company pays out in claims and expenses relative to the premiums it collects. Applicable formula: -Combined Ratio = (Incurred Losses + Loss Adjustment Expenses) / Earned Premiums -Incurred Losses: This represents the total amount of money the insurance company pays out to settle claims. -Loss Adjustment Expenses: These are the costs associated with investigating and adjusting claims, such as adjuster fees and legal expenses. -Earned Premiums: This refers to the portion of the total premiums collected that corresponds to the coverage period. (Unearned premiums are those collected but attributable to a future period and are returned if the policy is ...

PREMIUM AMOUNT In insurance, a premium amount is the cost you pay to an insurance company in exchange for coverage under a specific insurance policy. It's essentially the price of your insurance. Frequency of Payment: You typically pay your premium in installments, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on your agreement with the insurance company and your policy type. Factors Affecting Premium Amount: 1- Type of coverage: Different insurance products (e.g., car insurance, health insurance, life insurance) have varying base costs associated with the risks they cover. 2- Risk profile: Insurance companies assess your individual risk profile based on factors like age, health history, driving record, property location, etc. Higher risk profiles typically lead to higher premiums. 3- Coverage limits: The maximum amount the insurance company will pay out for a covered claim is called the coverage limit. Choosing higher coverage limits generally results in a higher premium...

NOSE COVERAGE (Prior Acts Coverage or Retroactive Date) It is an optional add-on specifically applicable to claims-made insurance policies. It provides coverage for errors or omissions that occurred before the current policy period but are reported during the active coverage. First let us understand these two terminologies; -Claims-Made: Coverage applies to claims reported during the policy period, regardless of when the incident happened. -Occurrence: Coverage applies to incidents that occurred during the policy period, even if the claim is filed later. Why Nose Coverage Matters: 1- Gap in Coverage: Without nose coverage, a claims-made policy wouldn't cover incidents that happened before the policy inception date, even if you report the claim during your current policy period. 2- Peace of Mind: Nose coverage offers peace of mind by potentially covering past mistakes or oversights that come to light during your current policy. Nose coverage is particularly relevant for busi...

Vehicle Safety and Maintenance -Read your vehicle’s owner’s manual to understand its maintenance needs -To extend the life of your vehicle and to prevent potential mechanical issues, ensure that you maintain your vehicle according to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule -Have your vehicle checked by a qualified mechanic whenever you notice a change in braking or handling -Consider enrolling in a recognized driver safety course Vehicle safety and maintenance play a significant role in auto insurance. Here's how they are connected: A- Impact on Risk: -Safer Vehicles, Lower Premiums: Vehicles with good safety ratings and advanced safety features (e.g., airbags, anti-lock brakes, blind-spot monitoring) are generally considered lower risk for insurers. This can translate to lower insurance premiums for drivers who own such vehicles. -Poor Maintenance, Higher Premiums: Conversely, poorly maintained vehicles are more likely to be involved in accidents. Insurers may...