Active Shooter Risk – Part 2

As we mentioned in part one of this discussion, a strategy for dealing with this exposure involves a significant amount of pre- and post-incident activity. Active shooter programs commonly involve the following:

Non-Insurance Services

Pre-event

Risk Assessment

Employee Crisis Training

During Event

Crisis Management

Second (Event) Responders (those who supplement initial, emergency action of fire, medical and police [first responders] and handle return services and site clean-up.)

Post-event

Counseling Services

Psychiatric Care

Public Relations Disaster Team

Investigation Assistance Funds (Rewards)

Expenses for additional, temporary security measures

Insurance Services

Liability Coverage for Lawsuits due to loss created by active shooting incident

Limits vary from $250,000/$500,000 up to multi-million dollar maximum

Business Income and Extra Expense

Limits vary from $1 million up to $100 million

Emergency medical care

Rehabilitation Expenses

Funeral and Burial Expenses

Marketing for the product targets those who are most vulnerable to this exposure such as Educational institutions, Entertainment organizations, Hotels, Healthcare providers, Religious institutions, Retail organizations, Shows (ex. Fairs, Trade Shows and Rodeos.)

 

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Does My RV Insurance Protect Me When I’m Out of State?

RV Insurance, insuring a RV in Kentucky, KY RV InsuranceRVs mean time spent with family and friends on the open road. They represent adventures and the opportunity to develop lasting memories of time together. Just as you are required to insure your regular vehicle, you are also required by law to carry insurance on your RV. The situation that an RV represents is different than a normal vehicle and your insurance needs will also be different as well. Consider this; an RV is both a vehicle and a vacation home. When you are looking at various insurance options, it’s important to consider the pitfalls that you could encounter while you are away from home. The team at TruePoint Insurance serves the needs of Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee residents. They understand the unique challenges that RV owners face and can show you the options that are available to you.

Policy Options

Just like an auto policy, there are many options, creating multiple alternatives to insuring a Recreational Vehicle.  An RV policy can provide comprehensive, collision, and liability coverage. It will go further to provide coverage for the contents of the RV including equipment such as satellite dishes and awnings. It can also provide protection from accidents involving uninsured or underinsured motorists. You will want to make sure that the policy that you select also provides some roadside assistance. If it is not your primary residence and remains on your property most of the year, there may be discount options available.

RV, RV insurance, KY RV Insurance, TN RV Insurance, IN RV Insurance, rv insurance quotesOk, that’s a bit of a stretch.  I pretty sure your insurance will not cover you that far away from home.  So how far can you go and still have RV Insurance coverage?

Keep it in the United States and your good.  Leave the country and you may not have coverage.  For sure, if you are planning a trip with your RV to Mexico you will need to obtain a special policy.  Otherwise, you will not have coverage while there.

Talk with your agent at TruePoint Insurance about potential savings if you only use the RV for a limited amount of time during a year. If you are in the Fisherville, KY area, feel free to stop by our office to discuss a policy and get a quote. Get ready to hit the road with TruePoint!

Active Shooter Risk – Part 1

Headlines tragically remind us quite frequently that many aspects of our lives have become unavoidably dangerous. Sadly, this danger is due to the whim of individuals and access to weaponry. The deadly risk is the “active shooter incident.”School Shootings

An active shooter incident describes a situation in which at least one person is actively killing or attempting to kill persons in a populated area. Naturally, as we are referencing a shooter, such incidents involve firearms.

Active shootings are becoming more common. Studies made by the FBI between 2000 and 2015 indicates annual mass-shooting events rose from 6.4 per year to 20 per year. Studies also show that most shootings take place within a business or school (educational) environment. The frequency of shootings is accompanied by, on average, an increase in the number of persons killed or wounded per event.

As with any other risk that becomes significant, it is very important to find a strategy to deal with active shootings. Insurance is among the tools helpful with both pre- and post-incident planning. However, much uncertainty exists regarding protection for active shooter losses.

school shootings out of controlFirst, there is customer expectations. Insurance consumers may be under the impression that damage and injury created by shooters are covered. Second, the insurance market is fragmented over the issue depending upon how incidents are interpreted. Coverage may be sought from existing policies that individuals, commercial or non-profit entities may already carry, including General Liability, the Liability portion of Homeowners, or Workers Compensation. On the other hand, responsibility for harm due to a shooter may need to be covered by a form of professional liability policy as the obligation to protect against shootings may be considered as a failure to provide adequate security.

Confusion may also be caused by insurance policies via the silent coverage problem. An insurance form is considered silent when it neither specifically names nor excludes a source of loss, such as shootings. It can be chaotic during the time it takes to clarify coverage gaps.

The insurance sector has a reputation as being slow to react to change. Of course, speed is never at the level that most would wish when new coverage issues arise. However, the insurance market has been stepping up and addressing the serious active shooter exposure. While there is the option of trying to amend standard policies to add protection, other ways that coverage is being addressed are separate policies that supplement insurance protection with a variety of services.

Please see part two for more information on this issue.

 

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Employee or Independent Contractor? – Part 1

w-2 or 1099Business owners have a lot at stake when it comes to determining whether persons connected with their ventures are employees or independent contractors. The largest issue with making this determination involves taxes and insurance.

A business has specific responsibilities for employees, having the legal obligations to withhold and pay certain taxes (Medicare, Social Security) and pay other taxes (unemployment). If a business makes a mistake with classifying employees, it faces the financial burden of paying additional taxes and could well be punished with substantial fines. However, there are issues that are just as critical regarding determining a service provider’s status and insurance. Tax Law Rules

Many forms of both property and liability business insurance define the persons who qualify for protection under a given insurance policy. Property coverage is written for the direct benefit of the first party, the party who owns (or in other cases, has control or custody of) either real or business personal property. Liability coverage is written on behalf of persons defined as insureds, protecting them against harm they may cause to others or for damage they cause to property that belongs to others.

Employees are commonly granted coverage status in a variety of instances. However, coverage typically is not available to independent contractors who are considered unrelated third parties. FYI, under insurance contracts, the second party is the insurance company. Therefore, in many instances, if persons suffer losses under either property or liability policies, it is critical to be certain whether an individual is an employee or is independent.

Employee not independent contracterBecause of the position held by policyholder/insureds and insurance companies, the classification of workers is often in conflict as insureds desire liberal coverage and insurers wish to restrict protection to qualified persons. However, both parties are best served when worker classifications are clear. Premiums charged to policyholders are based on correctly recognizing the parties eligible for coverage. Proper classification keeps coverage affordable and makes the insurance process more efficient. Coverage involving employees should be connected to an applicable business that employs them. Coverage involving independent contractors should be connected to the contractors. In other words, they should secure their own, separate coverage.

In part two, we will discuss methods to determine worker status.

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Insuring A Mobile or Manufactured Home

Mobile HomeInsurers commonly provide coverage for mobile/manufactured homes by modifying a conventional homeowner policy with provisions called endorsements. The endorsements change key definitions and other elements of a conventional policy to fit a mobile or manufactured home situation. The result is a modified homeowner package that protects the home, outbuildings (unattached garages, sheds, etc.) and personal property. They also provide insurance for personal liability. Regardless of the type of home you own or live in, it is important that you learn about the coverage options that are available. You may find that different policies vary considerably in coverage and price.

Coverage for mobile/manufactured homes is generally offered using two approaches. Some policies include a laundry list of items (or perils) that may cause a loss. Other policies protect your home against everything EXCEPT for a host of specified perils. Either approach includes liability coverage that protects you for injuries or losses to others which you accidentally cause.

Property Insurance Needs

Manufactured HomeAny coverage option you choose is likely to reflect the fact that mobile homes are, well, mobile. Therefore coverage is affected by the fact that mobile homes:

  • are able to move under their own power (or are capable of being easily transported);
  • are more susceptible to wind damage,
  • tend to lose value with age.

The mobility of such homes creates a special need to protect the financial interest of the business that lent the money to purchase the home. For example, a mobile home owner who lives in Ohio decides to drive his home to Arkansas. The soon-to-be Arkansas resident “forgets” to mention his plan (and his new address) to his Ohio Mortgage Company. The Ohio lender would be out of luck if the policy didn’t include protection for this whimsical act. Another way in which a mobile or manufactured homeowner policy differs from conventional homeowner coverage involves coverage for unattached buildings. This coverage is usually minimal for, say, $2,000. Such a provision helps keep the premiums for policies lower by avoiding paying claims on very low-value structures. The coverage is likely to be offered on an actual cash value basis. Unfortunately, mobile and manufactured homes tend to lose value over time.

Mobile Home Insurance

The policy is likely to include a provision that requires you to get permission to move your home. Once granted, you’re likely to get thirty days of special transportation protection for collision; sinking, upset or stranding (a special, higher deductible may apply during the move). Another common coverage feature is coverage for your attempt to move the home in order to prevent damage from an insured cause of loss. For example, you move your mobile home fifty feet to get away from a neighboring trailer that is on fire. IMPORTANT: coverage for moving endangered property usually has a modest limit (several hundred dollars is typical) because of owners who may be too heroic or clumsy for anyone’s good.

Liability Insurance Needs

The liability protection connected with mobile or manufactured homes is, for all practical purposes, identical to the liability provided to conventional homeowners. Why? The likelihood of guests to be hurt at your home, or your probability of being sued, tends to be the same. The important thing to remember is that your agent is a tremendous source for getting the information you need to be sure that your home and property are adequately protected at a reasonable price.

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Boatowners Coverage

The insurance approach for covering boats and boating property is quite like what is used to protect cars Boat Insuranceand homes. Essentially insurance is offered on a package basis, meaning that there is coverage for physical property as well as protection against the legal and financial consequences of injuring others or damaging property that belongs to others.

Watercraft Insurance

Property Coverage – Typically a boatowners policy covers:

  • Boats – Refers to property designed to travel on water and includes sails, its permanent equipment, spars and fittings.
  • Boating Equipment – Includes a wide variety of property that is used in conjunction with boats and it includes accessories. Items considered as equipment are property used for communication (radios), navigation, sonar, radar, outboard motors, dinghies, skis and sports equipment (recreational flotation devices) that are towed by boats and similar property. As a rule of thumb, the more related an item is to the ownership and use of a boat, the greater the justification to classify it as boating equipment.
  • Boat Trailers – Trailers used (and designed) for transporting boats (as defined by the policy).jet ski insurance

This property must be owned by the person who is named as the policyholder. There are limited instances when such property that is temporarily in the policyholder’s possession also qualifies for coverage.

Items and situations that aren’t covered include boating property that is used in business activity, losses that involve races or competitions (an exception is made for sailboats) and boats that are used, full-time, as residences.

Liability Coverage – Besides protecting boating property, a boatowners policy also responds to claims or lawsuits caused when another person is injured, and /or when another person’s property is damaged or destroyed. An example would be a collision where the owner of a large speedboat collides with a person on a jet ski, seriously injuring the rider and demolishing the jet ski. The policy would handle both portions of such a loss. The liability portion would also provide a legal defense against lawsuits.

Another important coverage under the liability section is medical payments. This provides reimbursement for, typically, emergency or immediate medical treatment expense. Consider a person who slips on a boat deck and needs transportation to an emergency for treatment of a broken bone or concussion. Such costs would qualify under medical payments.

As is the case with property coverage, there are liability situations that are NOT covered by a boatowners policy, including losses that involve business activity, transmission of communicable disease, unauthorized operation of boating property, intentional acts, and criminal activity.

Boating property is a substantial investment and boatowners coverage is an efficient, affordable way to guard against accidental losses.

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Homesharing – Part 2

Homesharing has been a “thing” for years and its use is growing along with internet applications that facilitate transactions involving making a residence available for short-term rentals. Standard homeowner policies have long been issued under the assumption that a covered residence is usually occupied by the named insured and that person’s family on a full-time basis.

While insurance policies issued for homes, condos, and apartments do contemplate some situations involving other persons staying in a residence, those situations are allowable when they don’t involve financial transactions. Renting for income alters a residential situation into a business. Business activity creates a coverage problem which could result in policies being canceled or claims being denied. Renting all our part of a residence also results in types of losses that are uncovered because they haven’t been contemplated as insurable, residential activities.

Policy wording may exclude coverage for losses when they are directly related to a business. So, protection may be lost for the residence, residential property as well as for liability for damage or injury to others and their property.

Basic HO policies, if they don’t outright exclude losses involve compensated rentals, severely restrict other coverage. However, due to the rising popularity of homesharing, the insurance market is responding with options to provide more protection. A basic policy may be amended to extend protection which does the following:

  • Extend eligibility of a rented residence to continue to qualify for all policy protection
  • Add protection for household contents that might be damaged or destroyed during rentals
  • Extend medical payments coverage to insureds who may be injured by renters
  • Loss of income specific to homesharing activity
  • Add liability coverage for injury to third parties that occur during rentals

However, this additional protection may still fall short of what is needed. The insurance market is now making broader coverage available that handles less common exposures such as ID theft resulting from homesharing, pest infestation caused by renters, liquor liability coverage arising from alcohol served during rentals, extra cost caused by excessive use of utilities, or personal and advertising liability.

Even with special coverage for homesharing, property owners should also be aware of consequences and cost of resolving issues such as breaking local zoning laws, violating residential association bylaws or legal costs of dealing with squatting situations. Homesharing is a popular component of the sharing economy, but participants need to be careful to get proper protection.

 

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Homesharing – Part 1

For a variety of reasons, changing attitudes, objectives and financial situations have created interest in collaborative consumption and the growth in the sharing economy. Homesharing and ridesharing have become major components in this evolving economy. The term can be confusing and have more than one meaning.

Regarding this article, we are discussing commercial arrangements represented by services such as AirBnB. Its premise is to match supply and demand for housing related to traveling. It allows a resident of a home, condo or apartment in one location to provide short-term housing to persons traveling through or vacationing in their locale. The arrangement is facilitated through an online platform that provides the obligations of both parties to the transaction. Therefore, this discussion does not involve situations involving short-term trading or swapping of property in exchange for either similar residential space or in exchange for providing skills or services.

A wide variety of rental situations fall under homesharing, such as the following:

  • Rental of seasonally used property
  • Rental of entire premises for vacationers
  • Rental or part or entire premises for persons attending a local, large event such as racing, festivals, concerts, tournaments, sports championships, etc.
  • Providing space for a special event, such as graduations, weddings, or parties (birthday, retirement, etc.)
  • Renting a portion of a residence while the property owner or regular renter still occupies other parts of the residence

The online aspect is critical as it acts as a portal for providing information on available residences, locations of property, property features, rental costs, available amenities, contractual obligations related to property use and payment of fees, deposits, and, if necessary, damages or penalties due to misuse.

A major motivation for such homesharing arrangements is the opportunity of significant, additional income for underutilized property. However, that creates a problem. What coverage issues exist under residential insurance policies?

 

Continue to Part 2

 

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Insuring Unmanned Aircraft (Drones) Part 1 of 3

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – Part 1

For most of us, our relationship with aviation is passive. We, except for rare instances, are involved in flight as passengers, not as flight crew. We board aircraft, take our seats and allow pilots to transport us, handling all of the complexities of air travel.

Whether air transport involves moving people, goods or both, its efficiency in reducing the time it takes to travel over long distances from weeks and days to hours is rivaled only by its potential severity of losses.

Protection against loss involving cargo or passengers is handled by aviation insurance which is designed to respond to low frequency but high severity accidents. Currently such policies are now being asked to handling an emerging, different exposure; unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

UAVs, aka drones, were developed initially for research, exploration and military use. In recent years, they have been increasingly exploited for personal and commercial use. Initially the potential for loss was low, similar to use of hobby, radio-controlled (RC) planes, copters, etc. But the situation with UAVs is transformative. RC aircraft are used recreationally. They are operated chiefly in wide open, isolated areas with little chance of interaction with persons or property. Losses usually involve damage to the aircraft. Injuries to persons typically are restricted to first aid for cuts, bruises and similar, fairly minor harm. Protection is adequately handled by homeowner policies or by specialty coverage provided by recreational RC flying clubs. That is NOT the case for UAVs.
For more information, please see Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – Part 2

https://www.insuringky.com/blog/insuring-unmanne…ones-part-2-of-3/

 

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Getting the Right Type of Life Insurance for Your Family

Life insurance comes in many forms, term life insurance, whole life insurance and universal life insurance
Life Insurance

No one likes to think about death, but it’s necessary sometimes. Because of this, it’s important to make sure you have the right type of life insurance for you and your family. Heaven forbid if you died an untimely death and left behind various expenses on your family. Not only will they be suffering emotionally from losing you, they will also be suffering financially.

To make sure your family will not have to go through such atrocities, it will behoove you to get life insurance. There are many types of life insurance

The Life Insurance application is the beginning of your process to a life insurance policy
Life insurance application

available; Term Life Insurance, Whole Life Insurance, and Universal Life Insurance lead the way. This makes it vital to consult with some reliable and experienced.  Finding an insurance agent to lead you in the right direction is the first step.

If you live in Central Kentucky or the surrounding areas, there is an insurance company that has highly professional and experienced agents.  These agents work to help you manage all risk.  Don’t underestimate the value of having assistance from someone with insights into other aspects.  When considering life insurance those providing guidance must understand your complete risk profile.

Life insurance policy

TruePoint Insurance can lead you in the right direction by giving you free quotes, consulting with you on the various types of life insurance available, point out all that is covered, and show the amounts covered with these different life insurance choices. That way, you can properly choose the right one that’s suitable for you and your loved ones. You will never be caught off guard when working with us making sure expenses and financial security are covered if death occurs.

Conclusion

Death is sure to happen to us all, and no one can predict his/her time of death. However, if you live in Kentucky, whether it’s Fisherville, KY or other areas in this state, you can ensure your loved ones are not going through financial perils if and when death occur when working with our insurance agents. We are fully trained, licensed, and experienced insurance agents who know the ins and outs of life insurance, and we work hard for our clients. So, contact TruePoint Insurance today!