What are the Different Kinds of Business Insurance

Insurance

Running a business normally requires making a capital investment. Business insurance protects that investment against financial risks when unexpected events occur. 

Many governments tell businesses which insurances they must have to operate legally. Depending on what kind of business you have, determines what insurance you need to carry. There are many types of business insurance. Which will apply to your business.

There are several kinds of business insurance:

General Liability Insurance.

This type of insurance covers the business owner from accidents, injuries, and claims of negligence. This kind of coverage protects against payments when the result of bodily injury, property damage, medical expenses, libel, slander, the cost of defending lawsuits, and settlement bonds or judgments that are required during a legal procedure.

Product Liability Insurance.

If your company manufactures a product that is not safe then this insurance protects your company. Because of a defect know or unknown that occurs and produces bodily harm this insurance will protect you from financial loss. The amount of coverage depends on the type of product and the size of the business.

Professional Liability Insurance.

This is like product liability insurance but this type of liability covers services. This type of insurance also is known as malpractice insurance. It's coverage is also known as errors and omissions insurance. This kind of insurance protects your business against malpractice, errors, and negligence in provision of services to your customers.

Commercial Property Insurance.

This kind of insurance covers everything related to damage caused to your business. Property insurance covers damage to property from  fire, smoke, wind and hail storms, civil disobedience and vandalism. This insurance covers the need of rebuilding after some unforeseen event destroys your business completely or partially.

Property insurance policies come in two basic forms: (1) all-risk policies covering a wide-range of incidents and perils except those noted in the policy; (2) peril-specific policies that cover losses from only those perils listed in the policy. 

Home-Based Business Insurance.

If you have a home based business your normal "Homeowners Insurance" will not cover any business related liability or damage. You have to obtain specific business insurance or have a rider on your homeowners insurance to cover business specific liability.

It takes a business insurance specialist to to set up the proper insurance coverage to stay in compliance with governmental regulation and to have proper coverage for your specific business type.

The Viagra College Fund - Social Security Secret

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I recently came across a little know Social Security secret. This loophole in the Social Security rules and regulations is going to make a lot of retired fathers very happy. According to InvestmentNews.com, a parent who is receiving retirement benefits, can also receive benefits for their under 18 year old children. 

InvestmentNews' contributing editor Mary Beth Franklin had received a call from a client who told her that he was 68 years old and was collecting his Social Security retirement check. He went on to say he had a 5 year old child through remarriage.

Financial Planner Mary Beth Franklin told him that his child was qualified to also receive a check from Social Security. Franklin went on to say that the client called a few months later saying his child was now receiving a check for almost half of what he was receiving.

I couldn't believe this was really in the Social Security rules. I went to the Social Security Website. Here: Benefits for children

It clearly states that benefits could go to your children if you were disabled or the parent died. This is understandable. But it also says, if you are just retired.

The rules also say that the child could continue to receive benefits until the 19th birthday if secondary school was not completed yet.

The whole thing is crazy.

InvestmentNews' contributing editor Mary Beth Franklin did finish the story with some advice for the retired father. She said to put the income into a 529 College Savings Plan thus the name "Viagra College Fund".

A Credit Card or a Debit Card for Fraud Protection, That is the Question

This article comes from Odysseas Papadimitriou, founder and CEO of Card Hub, a leading marketplace for comparing and learning about credit cards, prepaid debit cards, and gift cards.

Mirrors on ATMs are an ever-present reminder that there very well could be someone out there trying to steal your hard-earned money. Even though fraud only impacts about 0.5% of all purchases made with credit cards and debit cards, no one wants to be a victim, so fears pervade, fueled on by the sensationalistic horror stories commonly run on the local news. But instead of always looking over your shoulder, why not get a spending vehicle that will naturally shield you from fraud liability? Such is the type of rationale that leads to me hearing the same question from consumers time and again: Will a credit card or a debit card better protect me from fraud?

To run the risk of being anticlimactic, let’s clear things up right off the bat. As long as you report suspected fraud promptly, you won’t be held liable for any unauthorized charges made with either a credit card or a debit card (non-PIN transactions). Not only does federal law limit liability to $50, but most, if not all, card networks and issuers have themselves voluntarily adopted $0 liability guarantees. Fraud therefore isn’t that big of a concern and your money should be safe whether you’re using a credit card or debit card.

Still, fraud can be a major pain to deal with, so it’s fair to wonder whether a credit card or a debit card makes for a simpler remedy to any potential problems.

The answer to this question pertains to the fundamental difference between these two plastic spending vehicles. While funds are removed from your bank account pretty much immediately upon a debit card transaction being made, the issuing bank initially pays for your credit card purchases. That means you have much more time to notice and report credit card fraud before being out any cash than you would debit card fraud. You could therefore conceivably end up bouncing a few checks as a result of being unaware that fraud had led to an insufficient account balance – which can complicate things quickly. Plus, you’d have to endure the psychological trauma of seeing your bank account empty.

The best answer to the question of whether a credit card or a debit card serves as a better safeguard against the ill-effects of fraud therefore has to be the former.

Simply using one piece of plastic as opposed to another is not the only way to ward off financial thieves, however. There are a number of simple everyday measures you can take as well, each of which will drastically reduce the chances of your cash or sensitive financial information falling into the wrong hands.

It all starts with exercising your right to free copies of your major credit reports every 12 months. Credit report inaccuracies (e.g. the presence of accounts you did not open, being listed as delinquent when you have always paid on time) can be obvious indications of identity theft. If left uncorrected, they will not only bring creditors to your doorstep asking for “their money,” but also lead to significant credit score damage. Some other fraud prevention tactics include:

• Using passwords to your advantage: Setting passwords for your bank accounts and other important financial information should entail more than simply plugging in the name of your pet and saving it in your computer. Rather, you should use a combination of letters, numbers and cases that is both memorable and secure. You should also change your passwords on a semi-regular basis.
• Not talking to strangers: When it comes to your money, introversion can be a good thing. You shouldn't even open e-mails from people you don’t know, especially ones with attachments. You also shouldn't give any financial information to people who contact you – only give your info to reputable companies that you have contacted.
• Going back to the basics: While fraud has a decidedly technological bent to it in this day and age, it pays to remember the basics, such as shredding credit card statements and other financial documents before throwing them out and getting a lock for your mailbox.

Ultimately, you should not let fear of fraud control your life. As long as you take commonsense measures to safeguard your money and are vigilant in reporting suspected instances of impropriety, both you and your money will be just fine.

5 Tips To Keep Your Business Growing

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Business is about increasing income and decreasing expenses while providing a superior product or service. When you first start your business you really just have an idea that you think could develop into a viable business. Many people think that a supply of capital is all you really need to get your new company off the ground. This is only one part of the puzzle.

When growing you business you need to seek out the target customers, who will need your service. If you don't, your business just won't grow, it will fail very soon. You need to do the research on where your potential clients are, how you can reach them, and how to convert them into paying customers.

Advertise your product or service. Finding the right place to advertise is very important to you getting your clients. The first place to start is online. You need a website that informs people who, what, and where you are. The majority of people search the Internet to find products and services. The day of the yellow pages book has been long gone. 

Contact by Phone. Having a good way for customers to contact you by phone is very important. Having a 0800 number increase the chances of you getting a call. Even if you are just a regional business, an 0800 numbers cost is insignificant to the amount of business it will deliver to you.

Reevaluate your business plan. As your business grows and expands you need to come back to your business plan and update it. When you first laid out your plan you were facing a set of circumstances that may not apply now. Set up a regular period of time when you evaluate your plan by adding or taking away from it.

Bringing on new employees. Getting present and future employees attune to the way your business runs is going to make your business run better and allow you to maximize profits. The key to this is training. Initial training followed up by continuing education will make your business run better. 

Your business is a living and growing entity that will only grow and stay viable by what the team leader does to make it work.