Choosing an independent insurance agency allows you to easily reach multiple insurance carriers through a local professional insurance agent near you. With the power of choice on your side, we’ll recommend which carriers best fit your needs and explain the subtleties and differences of your alternatives in clear and plain English so that there are NO surprises or unexpected gaps in the coverage you need. Of course, broader coverage options are always available.
Commercial Insurance
The Umbrella Policy: 3 Reasons You Should Have One
“It is better to walk in the sunshine with an umbrella than to walk in the rain without one.” -Taylor Agency
Owning a business, home, car, or boat can bring lots of fun and great memories. But the more you have, the more you have to lose. Unfortunately, lawsuits have become the norm in our society. They are on the news, in the paper, and even blasted on social media. Businesses can experience a workers’ compensation claim or employment discrimination incident that can trigger a lawsuit. At home, a pool or auto accident can end with you getting sued.
You hope it won’t happen, but how do you protect yourself in the event of a lawsuit? An umbrella policy is extra liability coverage that can be added to your homeowner’s, commercial, auto, or other insurance. This is an additional layer of protection for your assets in the event that you or your property causes damage to another person.
To break it down, here are three major reasons to have an umbrella policy for a home, auto, or business:
- Added protection
- This policy adds protection to business or personal assets. The policy kicks in when the limits on your original policy have been exhausted, which is not hard to do in a lawsuit. Instead of having your home or car seized, your umbrella policy will pay the price up to its limits.
- Broader protection
- It also has broader coverage for a general liability claim that your general liability policy does not cover. Discuss the details of your general liability policy with your agent to find out how an umbrella policy will benefit you specifically.
- Affordable protection
- Most carriers will require you to carry a certain amount of liability insurance on your policy before selling an umbrella policy to you; however, when it is time to purchase an umbrella policy, it is less than $400 per year for $1 to $2 million of protection (Trusted Choice).
Talk to your agent today to find out how you can make sure that you and your assets are adequately covered with the addition of an umbrella policy!
Why Choose An Independent Insurance Agency?
If you are in the market for insurance, what do you look for in a policy? A lower premium? Sufficient coverage? Those are the obvious answers. But, how do you find these things? How many places do you go to find the best one? How do you know that you have selected the best option?
By going through Taylor Agency, you can have your cake and eat it too. You can trust that you are getting the best rates we can find from over 100 different carriers, adequate coverage that will protect your investments, and some of the best customer service around. Taylor Agency is an independent insurance agency. There are several reasons why an independent agency is your best choice, especially Taylor Agency, but we are here to name just a few.
The first thing that sets us apart as an independent agency is that we do the legwork for you. We find the quotes for you instead of you making all the phones calls, hunting down different rates, and entering your information into applications over and over again. Again, we are designated with over 100 different carriers, which means we have the access and the ability to find the best rates and the best coverage for you. We select from the best options and present them to you for you to decide. What if you are not sure what you should choose? Not to worry! Our team has many designations and decades of experience.
Here at Taylor Agency, we understand what kind of coverage you are looking for and what kind of coverage you need to be fully protected. We will be able to make sure that you fully understand what is covered, what it not, and what needs to be. Let us remove your worries and doubts by letting us share our educated and experienced advisement with you. Our staff is experienced and educated in both personal and commercial insurance. Through Taylor Agency, you can protect your home, your business, cars, jewelry, and much more.
The best part is that we have no allegiance to any one carrier, which means that YOU are our interest. Taylor Agency is not bound by one carrier or one policy. We are able to search for the best coverage at the best price for you. We will also re-evaluate coverage each year and present to you the most suitable options for the upcoming year.
We know you have worked hard for what you own. We understand that you are looking to protect your hard work. Let us work hard for you to give you the protection that you deserve. Call Taylor Agency today to get a quote!
Entrepreneurial Risk, The BOP Policy
When thinking about the risks entrepreneurs and small business owners embrace when venturing into commercial business, Taylor Agency’s professional expertise becomes an invaluable resource. Remarkably, our industry offers a specialized policy catered to provide the majority of your coverage needs. We call it a Businessowners Policy (BOP). Now is the time to learn the basics of small business coverage. Call us (843-762-1805), and let us craft the best options to fit your evolving business needs.
Are Uber Riders in SC Properly Insured?
Are Uber Riders in SC Properly Insured?
Do you Uber? Did you know your driver is technically running a for-hire livery business out of his car and is not considered a traditional employee of Uber? Unfortunately, as a livery business, your driver’s personal auto policy becomes unreliable as soon as he clocks in on the app. We already know that some insurance carriers have denied personal auto claims which were completely unrelated to ridesharing after discovering a car was used outside of the usage clause stated on the policy (i.e. a livery business). So who is covering you during your ride? It’s a scary question, and we have answers.
Even in 2017, adequate coverage for ridesharing is still a hotly debated grey area for the personal insurance industry in South Carolina. In fact, very few insurance carriers offer a true ridesharing policy. A ridesharing policy is considered to be a unique “hybrid” between a personal policy and commercial policy, so it is not considered to be the same as a personal auto policy. In states where ridesharing policies are not available, a commercial auto policy should be used to cover all the coverage gaps that a personal auto policy cannot provide.
So whose insurance pays first, or at all?
In a ridesharing accident, the driver’s underlying ridesharing policy is considered to be primary and is triggered first. After the coverage limits are exhausted, Uber’s commercial auto policy will kick in up to $1 million in liability per incident (which includes UM/UIM Motorist coverage). It’s important to note that Uber’s coverage limit is the maximum liability coverage you could have for a traditional personal auto policy without buying additional umbrella insurance. So, that’s good news for you! Even if a driver only has a standard personal auto policy, Uber still covers you personally.
Alternatively, Uber’s website states its own commercial auto policy takes precedence over any personal auto coverage while driving on the app, so Uber only requires drivers to maintain proof of personal auto insurance. Realize that even if a personal auto insurance policy is acceptable to Uber, the ridesharing exposure may be completely unacceptable to the driver’s insurance carrier. As an additional warning to those who hope to pay a lower fare by using ridesharing outside of the app (or on the side), riders risk taking a 100% completely uninsured ride!
Yes, Uber really has stepped up to the plate to fill most of the driver’s insurance gaps as it pertains to you while you are riding, but it doesn’t cover everything. Uber’s Collision, Comprehensive, and Medical Payment coverages drop to minimum coverage or become completely nonexistent as soon as a rider finishes his ride, so the real burden of proper coverage for all of these coverage gaps falls on to the driver and not Uber. To compound the situation further, if a driver’s new car is leased or financed in South Carolina, it may be completely ineligible for ridesharing. We already see some finance companies exclude ridesharing in their loan/lease contracts.
So how does a ridesharing driver get proper coverage?
To properly insure you, other motorists, the driver, and his own car, a true ridesharing auto policy should be in place. If one is not available in your state, a commercial auto policy may be needed. Also, if a vehicle normally requires a commercial driver’s license, South Carolina requires you to have a commercial auto policy. The single most important thing for ridesharing drivers is to be open with their insurance agent about how they really use their cars. Leaning on the expertise of an independent agent to identify all of the auto policy risks for drivers and riders can go a long way in keeping everyone safe.
Now that you know your real risks as a rider, if you are bold enough, next time you are ridesharing, ask your driver if he ever purchased any new additional insurance or confirmed with his agent that his traditional personal auto policy would remain reliable. You may be surprised of the answers you hear!
Stay Safe Out There!
-Taylor Agency
More articles on Uber and other ridesharing coverage:
https://newsroom.uber.com/56463/
https://newsroom.uber.com/insurance-for-uberx-with-ridesharing/
https://www.answerfinancial.com/insurance-center/how-does-car-insurance-work-for-uber-drivers
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/best-ridesharing-insurance/
http://www.all-about-car-accidents.com/resources/what-uber-and-lyft-drivers-need-to-know-car-insurance.html#
Who’s Watching the Claim?
A workers comp claim can be a complicated process. At the very least, calls need to be answered promptly, similar risks at the workplace need to be addressed and interface between the injured, the employer, the insurance company and the treatment specialists needs to be established and maintained.
Employers may wish to designate a claims leader, someone on staff whose duties include claims administration. This gives all involved in a workers comp claim a point person with whom to communicate. Solid, hands-on stewardship of work comp claims builds good will and minimizes administrative setbacks.
Consider appointing a claims leader at your business who is capable of navigating claims from start to finish. We can help you get started. Give us a call.
Source: www.osha.gov
