From technology to materials to equipment, most business owners have a good idea of what they need to effectively run their business. However, not many know the types of insurance that their small business needs.
Getting a coverage is the best way to protect you, your employees, and the business. The climate is always changing and continues to produce potentially devastating effects on businesses. Liability lawsuits are fairly common now. In addition to this, accidents happen and things break every now and then.
Without a small business insurance, you may need to cover the property damage and liability claims on your own. This can cost you an arm and a leg. You may end up losing not only your own business but also your personal assets.
There are many types of insurance for small business owners to choose from. Here are the ones we think are a must-have.

1. Business Interruption: InsuranceBusiness operations are likely to get interrupted when a disaster or a catastrophic event occurs. During this time, normal business operations will be disrupted. Your staff won’t be able to manufacture products or make sales calls.
That’s where a Business Interruption Insurance policy comes in. It’ll help compensate against lost wages. It’s particularly applicable to businesses requiring physical locations. A retail store is a good example of this.

2.Vehicle Insurance: Accidents are common on our roads. A vehicle insurance will ensure that your company vehicles are fully insured to protect your business from accident liabilities.
Typically, Vehicle Insurance policy covers all road vehicles – from motorcycles to cars to trucks. An automobile insurance has a dual function – it’ll protect your vehicle against physical damage as well as personal injury emanating from the accident.

3. Product Liability Insurance: This is a must-have for businesses that manufacture products for sale on the general market. Inasmuch as your business takes every measure to ensure that its products are safe, it can still find itself named in a lawsuit resulting from the use of its products.
That’s where a Product Liability Insurance policy comes in. It’ll be tailored specifically to the type of products your business produces.

4. Home-Based Businesses: InsuranceHome-based businesses are a perpetually popular choice for many entrepreneurs. Sadly, homeowner’s policies don’t offer the same coverage as a commercial property insurance does.
That’s why you need a Home-Based Business Insurance policy. It helps protect your inventory and equipment in the event of an issue.

5.Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Worker’s compensation provides insurance to employees who are injured on the job. It covers medical and rehabilitation costs for an employee who is injured at work.
You should make a point of adding it to your small business every time you hire an employee. Without one, you could face pricey claims.

6. Property Insurance: Property Insurance policy is a must, regardless if your business owns or leases its space. It covers damage resulting from perils like fire, storm, or theft, up to the business premises.
However, earthquakes and floods aren’t usually covered under standard property insurance policies. If you live in an area prone to these issues, consider getting additional protection.

7. Professional Liability: InsuranceCommon claims that Professional Liability Insurance policy covers are misrepresentation, negligence, inaccurate advice, and violation of good faith and fair dealing.
When it comes to Professional Liability Insurance, there is no one-size-fits-all policy. Each industry faces its own set of unique perils that will need to be customized for an individual business.

8. Directors and Officers Insurance: A wide range of scenarios is covered under a Directors and Officers Insurance policy. From paying to legal representation throughout lengthy and costly official investigations to legal costs and damages where actionable mistakes have been made.

9.Business Owner’s Policy (BOP): This type of insurance packages everything a business owner would need. Usually, it includes crime insurance, liability insurance, vehicle coverage, property insurance, and business interruption insurance.
A BOP isn’t a one-size-fits-all policy. You can always customize one to fit your company’s specific needs. Normally, you’ll save money by taking this policy as it costs less than the costs if you would have taken all individual coverages.

10. General Liability Insurance: A General Liability Insurance policy is a must-have for every business, even for home-based businesses. It covers your business in the event of damage caused by day-day-operations or legal liabilities.

11. Homeowner’s Insurance: A Homeowner’s Insurance policy can help ensure that a non-business loss will not drag your business down. Typically, the policy will cover your house, including both the structure and its contents, against man-made and environmental perils.
Such perils include theft, vandalism, fire, lightning, and winds. However, a standard policy won’t offer you protection against perils like earthquakes, soil erosion, and flood damage. As such, you may want to get additional coverage.
 
To protect your small business, you must correctly evaluate the perils that you face and choose insurance accordingly. Insurance isn’t a place to skimp – but for budgetary reasons, the aforementioned insurance types are basic ones that you need.

The following article was provided by Granite Foundation Repair, a local foundation repair company servicing the DFC area.
to edit.

​Rogue Movers fall into two categories: 

1. Movers who have obtained a license from the licensing authority but have a pattern of fraudulently scamming consumers through a variety of means, usually involving lowball estimates, refusal to deliver without more money, committing extortion and fraud on consumers.
2. Operators who merely claim to be movers and have not bothered to get licensing authority from any agency, but follow the same pattern of bilking uneducated, vulnerable people.

The greatest difference between the two is that there may be some kind of contract issued by the licensed mover which may be of some help to a wronged consumer, whereas an unlicensed operator may just smooth talk their way into performing the move without any protection at all for the consumer. 
The problem is lack of education, again falling into two categories:

1. Most consumers are uneducated about rogue operators and don’t know to research the reputation or licensing of the mover they are considering hiring and therefore do their research after the operator has ripped them off for more money by holding their shipment hostage until the additional funds are paid.
2. There is a lack of education on the part of enforcement agencies. Too often when a customer calls some enforcement agency for help, they are informed that it is a “civil matter” and to take it to court. When a licensed rogue mover or a rogue operator with no license operates with the sole purpose of scamming all their customers, they quite often have other areas that are non-compliant, i.e. the driver does not have the proper licensing, the vehicle is not safety compliant; the driver and/or crew may have outstanding warrants, etc.

A rogue, licensed or not, operates by offering an attractively low moving estimate, takes possession of the customer’s property and then increases the price to transport and/or deliver, holding the delivery of the goods until the customer pays the fraudulently inflated price.  Conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion, money laundering. One of the more frequent ploys the rogue will tell the customer is that their shipment “takes up more cubic feet than originally estimated”.  Not unusually, the customer doesn’t have a clue how many cubic feet of space their load requires and accepts the rogue’s increased price, or not, and it doesn’t really matter, the rogue is already in possession of all the consumer’s goods any way.
Educating yourself, the moving public and law enforcement is a start.

• You can check to see if a company has Texas authority at:  https://apps.txdmv.gov/apps/mccs/truckstop/
  
  
• You can check if the company has interstate authority at: https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/. Remember, just a USDOT number does not indicate a company has interstate authority. A company with interstate authority will have an MC number in addition to the DOT number and both of those must be active in the FMCSA “safer” system. 

And, you can call SMA at 1/800-759-2305, or email dorothy@texastrucking.com to check them out and file a complaint if they are not properly licensed. If notifying SMA or an enforcement agency be sure you’ve seen their truck operating and not just an ad on the internet or the yellow pages. Rogues tend to flit in and out of existence more quickly than ads do.

Welcome to our new insurance agency blog!
 
This is our very first post. We're not quite sure what we're going to write about here, but the plan is to create helpful content for customers and prospective clients about information that is relevant to you.
 
We hope you'll come to view this as a top resource for keeping your family and your finances safe.
 
Here are a few of the topics we may be writing about:

• Answers to clients' frequently asked questions.
• Helpful information about insurance shopping.
• Safety and Health Tips and Ideas.
• Local Community Information.

 
Stay Tuned!