What is Automobile Liability Insurance?
Automobile
Liability Insurance is protection for claims made against you for
injury to others or damage to the property of others for which you are
liable, caused by operation or use of vehicles. This coverage should
include vehicles that you may borrow or hire.
What is Automobile Physical Damage Insurance?
Automobile Physical Damage Insurance protects against damage to your
vehicles caused by certain events. It's referred to as "comprehensive"
and "collision" coverage.
What is Property Insurance?
Property Insurance protects against damage to your property from
certain events and is often referred to as "first party" coverage as
payment is to the policyholder – you, the first party.
What is Business Income Insurance?
Business Income Insurance protects against your loss of income or
additional expense when your property is damaged by an insured event
and the damage stops or slows down business operations.
What is Commercial General Liability Insurance?
Commercial General Liability is protection for claims made against you
for injury to others or damage to the property of others for which you
are liable caused by other than use of a vehicle. Examples are injury
caused by your products, or injuries that occur on your premises.
What is Workers Compensation Insurance?
Workers Compensation is protection for claims made against you as an
employer by your employees for work-related injuries. Actual amounts
paid are prescribed by statute and include medical expenses and loss of
wages incurred during a period of disability.
What is Umbrella Liability Insurance?
Umbrella Liability Insurance is liability coverage that protects above
other liability policies (namely automobile liability and general
liability policies), and serves to increase liability limits. Does not
cover damage or destruction of your own property.
What is Inland Marine Insurance?
Inland Marine Insurance protects against loss to property in transit or
property that is not at a fixed location (e.g., contractors equipment),
or property of others in your custody or unusual property.
What is Crime Insurance?
Crime Insurance protects against employee theft as well as loss of cash, etc.
What is Directors & Officers Insurance?
If shareholders (or others) sue directors or officers for mismanagement
of the business, this policy will respond. It is not for injury to
others or damage to the property of others, but pays for economic
damages suffered by claimants due to the mismanagement of business.
What is Employment Practices Liability Insurance?
This is a relatively new policy that protects you against claims by
others, including employees, for sexual harassment, wrongful
termination, and discrimination in employment.
What is Professional Liability Insurance?
Professional Liability Insurance is a “malpractice” type of insurance
for those who provide professional advice or services to others.
Coverage is for claims that allege damage that is not injury to others
or the property of others – e.g., architect’s error in design causes
$50,000 additional cost for a change order to correct the design
problem.
What is Pollution Liability Insurance?
If you have chemical or petroleum storage tanks, this is the only
policy that truly provides coverage for the potential environmental
damage and clean-up costs that may result from a leak. Most other
liability policies exclude pollution and environmental damage
completely.
What are Bonds?
Surety
bonds guarantee the principal will perform the job as agreed. The
surety financially backs the principal and either pays the bond amount
to the obligee or pays for substitute performance if the principal is
unable to perform. An ERISA Bond is an Employee Dishonesty policy (see
"Crime") that is required by the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 to bond employee benefit plans against employee theft of
plan assets.
What is Group Health Insurance?
Group insurance provides for protection against financial loss
resulting from expenses associated with illness or injury. Typically
provided as a benefit by an employer to eligible employees, coverage
may be through a standard insurance company, a service-type plan such
as Blue Cross, or through a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).
What is Group Life Insurance?
Group life insurance provides term life insurance protection on a
low-cost, uniform basis. Typically provided by employers as a benefit
to eligible employees, coverage is limited in that coverage usually
terminates when an employee terminates employment or retires.
What is Individual Life Insurance?
There are generally two types:
Term Life Insurance
– Provides temporary coverage for a specified period of time (the
policy term, which may be from 1-30 years) with a level premium and
level death benefit. Term life insurance policies do not build up cash
value, so once the policy terminates or ends, there is no surrender
value or any further protection.
Permanent Life Insurance
– Provides a lifetime of insurance protection plus, under current tax
laws, a tax-deferred buildup of cash value. The cash surrender value is
available to the policyholder upon the surrender or lapse of the
policy. Features of Permanent Life Insurance are:
– Policy loans
– Partial surrender value
– Reinstatement
– Withdrawals
Permanent life insurance includes Whole Life policies (growth of cash
value guaranteed), Universal Life policies (growth of cash value based
on market interest rates), and Variable Life policies (growth of cash
value based on several investment options).