Page 21 - West Virgina 811 Magazines 2018 Issue 2

know you expect your insurance agent to get you the best policy tor
the money, and he really wants to do that, too sometimes, however.
the agent is stuck in the old patterns, and writes everyone the way
he always used tu—buI its your livelihood, your equlpmznl, your
property. It's not about him, it's about you.
e n Double check for ymuself—mak2 sure your liability is at least $1 million
per occurrence, st million aggregate. You can get lower limits tor less money,
by Wrglma Reiinlu but why? It's a business expense, and you detinitely need a minimum ot $1
The policy center, Inc million. The courts are tull of liability lawsuits; legal bills are skyrocketing
mm" M5 Ask your agent if Legal Deiense is inside policy limits_or outside. You want
outside because that leaves the entire million to pay the judgment it you
\ lose. lhate to say it, but lhave recently seen policies with liability limits of
. ‘ $300,000 per occurrence and $500,000 aggregate. !dim’I know how much that
insureol .saved—buI it sure wasn't s700,000l l agree its not otten you need the
I; f tull million—but suppose you do...
’ ' Does your policy contain EEL (Employee laeneiits Liabllity)? Yuu know what
3 ’ that m2ans—you hire someone and your bookkeeper neglects to add him
-..i>'_ -. _ to the insurance at the right time. BANG! He has a heart attack or cancer
.-’ ~- a ’ ' and is now uninsiirable. but he wasn't uninsurable betore the heart attack
' ~ — back when your bookkeeper torgot to add }Iim—guess who's llabl27 You
I are, because by law you have to include everyone, and that's what EEL—
contained within your liability policy, covers. Employee laenetits Liability,
/4': . you need it. lt"s not a bit expensive.
ffi __ Now here's a good one: admitted vs non-admitted company your coverage
, .- .t.',T~ - is placeol with. Depending on what jobs you are doing every company won't
tr: pi’ '4-_:\' ,5‘; ‘ II‘ write every jab category Alot ui companies are non-renewing rooiers, fur
a 2, >\_,, example. when this happens, agents often have to go through brokers to

get coverage tor you. You'll know because there will be tees and taxes as

part ot your premium. Most state insurance commissions require that you
must try admitted carriers tirst—betore you go to the broker / non-admitted
companies. since non-admitted companies do not contribute to various
states" ciiaranty Fund (which is to pay claims IF the specit-ic company goes

y . under), your non-admitted carrier's policy must be stamped stating there
3 _ l, is no cuaranty Fund in case your company goes bankrupt SDluIion7 ANY
company rated "A" by AMEe.~1 is not, repeat not, likely to go under
‘ Auto Coveragkask your agent how this is written. Does it cover what is

known as "any auto"? or does it only cover "scheduled Autos"? yes, it is
possible to have a newly purchased vehicle covered without ever telling your
agent — at least until renewal. ln tact, there is more than one way...one, of
course, is "substitute vehicle," like tor when yours is in the shop or otherwise
not on the road. The other is either written ”Any Aiito" or Fleet Automatic.
TIP — its never a good idea to not tell your agent, and make sure you back it
up with a paper trail. If your agent gets kidnapped to Mars, you have proot
you notitied. case closed.

Property—unless there is some good reason, the buildings should have

the tullest, most complete coverage. what you want to see on your policy is:
"special", ”RC” (not "ACV"), 90% lt you see words like "basic" or "broaol,"

It ask why These two coverage types only cover certain things—which is OK
i it your building is old, neeols repairs, etc. It's all you can get tor a building
like that. But NOT if its either new or in good repair And it's never ol< if
your building is near enough to a road where someone could accidentally
~‘ , 3‘ lump the curb and strike it—because it won'Ibe covered Repairs will have to
' - -; . "_, come out of your pocket so there really wasn't any savings atter all.
" I know your agent is a good guy_and I hope he's a good agent, not stuck in
* old patterns and attitudes But it he is, try to bring him around to the right
way otthinking... .
aura, lssie 2 west Wglma air . to