Beacon Insurance Partners, Inc.

Because some insurance agents believe they are doing right by their clients to knock down premiums by fiddling with coverage limits and policy conditions that you might not understand and would never approve, if you did. For example, estimate the value of all the furniture, appliances, clothes, electronics, decorations, and stuff that’s inside your house. We call this “contents.” If a fire destroyed most of it, you probably would expect to receive a check from the insurance company that is large enough to buy new replacements. You won’t get that, though, if your agent cut your premium by insuring your contents for actual cash value. If so, you probably won’t get a check anywhere near enough to buy new stuff. That’s when you understand why paying a little extra for the right type of insurance is the right move.

Florida homeowners insurance companies must insure the replacement-cost value of your dwelling. Replacement cost represents the price of supplies and labor needed to rebuild your crib as it existed before its total destruction. This number may be much different from market value or purchase price, depending on where your property is located and when you bought it. No Florida homeowners insurance company would knowingly agree to insure your house for 25, 50 or 75 percent of its replacement cost because they will be on the hook for 100 percent when it burns to the ground or blows half way to Georgia. To discourage this sort of low-balling they include a so-called coinsurance clause in every policy, which penalizes claim payments on underinsured property. Long story short: you don’t really want to try that.

In Florida the question is not whether you live in a flood zone but which type of flood zone. Your property probably has been mapped and classified for the National Flood Insurance Program. Property designated as “preferred risk” is less prone to flood damage than standard- and high-risk locations and may qualify for preferred rates. Either way, this is FLORIDA. Flood happens.

If your employees drive rented or personal vehicles for business purposes, even just occasionally, Hired/Non-Owned Auto coverage is a good idea. Typically, you would add it to a commercial auto insurance policy. If you don’t have a commercial auto insurance policy, you can package it with your business liability insurance. Just be ready to show the insurance company that you regularly check staff motor vehicle records and proof of personal auto insurance. Something to remember: if you suspect that you are immune from auto liability because your staff is 1099, know that a plaintiff’s lawyer may disagree and happily drag you into court to find out who’s right. If so, you’ll be glad you have Hired/Non-Owned Auto insurance to pay your legal-defense costs.

Insuring your company’s liability for bodily injury and property damage caused by a product you sold, your work product, or some combo of the two. You commonly see it riding on commercial general liability policies. CGL policies without it are known as “premises-only” policies because they limit coverage to occurrences at your business premises.

CGL covers your company’s liability for mishaps where another party suffers property damage, bodily injury or both. Your legal-defense costs are typically included under the policy’s dollar limit of insurance, regardless of whether you are ultimately liable for paying damages.