What to Know Before Buying a Minivan
We bought our first minivan in 2017. When signing the paperwork, I knew my single, 22-year-old self would have shed a tear. But I was determined. Our son was about 18 months old, and we knew we wanted more kids. With our families living an hour or more away, trips to visit grandma and grandpa […]
IIHS: The Safest Cars of 2021
For safety-conscious drivers, the 2021 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety TOP SAFETY PICK awards represent a wealth of choices. Each year, the IIHS, a nonprofit research and education organization, conducts tests to determine which vehicles do the best job of protecting people in the most common kinds of crashes — front, side, rollover, and rear. Vehicles must […]
Does My Spouse Need Life Insurance if He or She Doesn’t Work?
When one spouse is the primary breadwinner, it is obvious why that person needs life insurance to protect the family. But a stay-at-home spouse needs life insurance, as well. Just because a person is not working at a paying job, that does not mean he or she lacks financial value. Consider what it would cost to pay another person for the services a stay-at-home spouse provides your household!
Why Buy Life Insurance For a Stay-At-Home Spouse?
Most spouses who do not work at a paying job provide a wide range of services for the family. They tend to take a leading role in childcare, cooking, cleaning, and multiple household tasks and errands. In a family with two small children, a stay-at-home mom, and a dad working to provide for the family, how much would it cost to cover the services the mom provided if she were suddenly deceased?
According to care.com, the nationwide average rate for a nanny in 2020 is $15 per hour. At 40 hours per week, that adds up to $31,200 per year. And nanny services are often required for more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. When a stay-at-home spouse dies, the surviving spouse may need to pay someone for cleaning, cooking, transportation, and other services, which can add up to a substantial sum over time.
The loss of a stay-at-home spouse could also limit career options for a surviving parent of small children. This could have huge financial consequences for the family. Death benefits from a life insurance policy could help ease the burden.
How Much Life Insurance Does My Stay-At-Home Spouse Need?
Life insurance needs can be tricky to determine for someone who earns an income, and even more so for someone who does not work at a paying job. One general rule of thumb is to multiply your annual income by 10. This approach will not work for a stay-at-home spouse not earning an annual income. However, life insurance is designed to do more than replace lost income. Its purpose is to protect the ones you leave behind from financial hardship.
Factors to consider in determining how much life insurance to buy for your spouse who does not work for pay include:
- How many children you have
- How much the breadwinning spouse earns
- Ages of your children
- Cost of living in your area
- How long you want the life insurance coverage to last
When calculating life insurance needs, one approach is to consider the amount of money your spouse would need to come up with in the event of your death. This amount should include long-term financial goals, such as sending the kids to college, as well as daily costs of living. As the amount is likely to be greater if the breadwinning spouse should die, the stay-at-home spouse may need less life insurance. Our friendly agent can review your life insurance needs with you and your spouse to help you determine how much to buy.
Do I Really Need Cyber Liability Insurance?
Cybercrime has become a common occurrence. A data breach can have a tremendous impact on the health and finances of a business. If your company’s data was stolen in a cyber incursion, it can damage its reputation, expose it to liability, and interrupt business operations. Cyber liability insurance allows you to transfer some of that risk to an insurance company.
What Are the Cyber Risks Businesses Are Facing?
Cyber attacks are a growing risk for businesses. Common types of cyber threats include:
- Malware: Malicious software is intentionally engineered to damage servers, computers, networks, and clients. It may include ransomware and viruses.
- Ransomware: This is a particular type of malware that infects a computer and restricts access pending payment of a ransom. It exploits software vulnerabilities and is often delivered through phishing emails.
- Phishing: Email or malicious websites are used to collect sensitive information or infect a computer with malware. Most phishing emails appear to be sent from a legitimate source. When recipients click on a link or open an attachment, a malicious code is run, infecting the computer.
- Viruses: These harmful programs are designed to spread from one computer to another and to connected devices. Their purpose is to give cybercriminals access to your system.
How Does Cyber Liability Insurance Work?
Cyber liability insurance can vary widely, depending on the specific policy. There is no standard form for this coverage. Each insurer has its own form and its own policy language. However, most cyber liability policies provide two basic types of coverage.
First-Party Cyber Liability Insurance
This coverage pays for immediate costs your company incurs as a result of a data breach or cybercrime. This may include costs of:
- Repairing damaged hardware and software
- Notifying public and employees
- Public relations and marketing responses to safeguard your company’s reputation
- Lost income from business interruption
- Ransom demanded by cybercriminals
- Credit monitoring for customers and other related expenses
Third-Party Cyber Liability Insurance
This coverage helps your company defend against lawsuits and claims by third parties. It covers your attorney fees, court costs, and any damages you are required to pay. Third-party cyber liability coverage helps protect your company against:
- Breach of privacy lawsuits filed by customers or employees
- Copyright infringement, libel, slander, and other media liability claims
- Negligence or breach of contract claims
- Fines from regulatory agencies
In addition to first and third-party liability coverage, some insurers offer risk mitigation services. These services are designed to help your company identify cyber threats in advance, so you can avoid them.
What Is the Cost of Cyber Liability Insurance?
The price of cyber liability insurance can vary dramatically from policy to policy. Factors affecting the cost include:
- Industry
- Policy limits
- Access to sensitive data
- Security measures in place
- Claims history
With the current prevalence of cyberattacks, companies need protection. However, it can be difficult to determine how much coverage you need. Speak with our knowledgeable agent about cyber liability insurance for your business. We can help you find a policy that protects your company from cybercrime at the lowest possible cost.
How to Prepare Your Car for Spring
Spring is upon us, and the time is here to get your car ready for warmer weather and more driving. Harsh winters can take a toll on a vehicle. Essential maintenance now can help prevent major, expensive problems from developing when your time on the road increases in the warmer months. The following tips can help save you time and money in the future.
Wash Your Vehicle Thoroughly
Salt and road debris can accumulate on your car during the winter. Take it to a car wash (or do it yourself), and make sure the undercarriage is washed along with the exterior of the vehicle. Vacuum and clean the interior as well. Salt, mud, and moisture can accumulate on the floorboards during the winter months. You need to keep your vehicle clean to avoid rusting.
Test the Battery
Your car’s battery works harder in frigid temperatures. When winter is over, take it to an auto parts store that offers a free battery inspection to check whether a new one is needed. If your battery is low or older than four years, spring is an excellent time to replace it.
Top Off the Fluids
Check all your vehicle fluids and fill them up if they are low. Engine oil protects your engine against wear and tear. Brake fluid allows your car to stop more efficiently. Windshield wiper fluid is essential for visibility in all types of driving situations. As temperatures rise, it is even more critical to ensure you have enough engine coolant.
Replace Your Wipers
Windshield wipers take a beating in the wintertime. If they become frayed or worn, it will reduce visibility during a summer shower and increase your risk of having an accident. Wipers are inexpensive items. It makes sense to replace them routinely as part of your spring vehicle maintenance.
Inspect the Brakes
This step is vital before a spring or summer road trip. If braking produces a noise, or it has become more difficult to stop your vehicle, there is a good chance you need new brake pads. Take your car to a trusted mechanic for a brake inspection and have the brake pads replaced if they are worn.
Rotate Your Tires
Spring is the perfect time to inspect your tires for low tread and replace them if necessary. If your tires are still in good condition, have them balanced and rotated. This can ensure your tires wear evenly, extending the life of your tires and making driving safer for you and your family.
Check Under the Hood
Raise the hood of your vehicle and look carefully for any cracked or damaged hoses or belts. If any are worn down, have them repaired or replaced. This simple step could spare you many headaches down the road. For example, a busted radiator hose could cause your car to overheat and damage your engine.
Update Your Auto Insurance
It is always a good policy to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Our knowledgeable agent can help ensure your auto insurance policy provides the protection you need if a road trip leads to an accident.
How to Choose a Life Insurance Beneficiary
Life insurance is important to protect your family’s financial future. Who you name as a beneficiary can be just as important as your initial decision to purchase life insurance. It’s a big job, which is why it’s important to choose the right person – someone who’s trustworthy and knows what matters most to you. Your […]
Should You Leave Your Wipers Up or Down When It Snows?
If you live in an area that’s accustomed to winter weather, it’s a familiar sight: Cars parked with their windshield wipers pointed up, saluting the sky. Some people say lifting your wipers can help prevent damage to the rubber wiper blades while others are skeptical, and it’s long been a topic of debate. Like choosing […]
Tips and Tricks for Choosing a Good Beneficiary
When you purchase a life insurance policy, you must choose a beneficiary. This is the person (or persons) to whom the insurance company will pay out benefits in the event of your death. Naming a life insurance beneficiary is an important decision to make. Keep the following tips in mind to help you choose the right beneficiary for your life insurance funds.
Consider All Your Options
You can name anyone you like as your beneficiary. It doesn’t have to be your spouse or your children. Your designated beneficiary could be your estate, the trustee of a trust you set up, a non-profit organization, a company or other legal entity, a single individual, or two or more people, with death benefits divided among them as you specify. A trust may be the best option if you want to provide for small children through your life insurance benefits. Our agent can advise you on the pros and cons of the various options.
Evaluate Your Purpose for Buying the Policy
You can’t take life insurance proceeds with you. If you are purchasing a policy, there must be someone or something you want to provide for after you are gone. If the purpose is to provide for your family, the best beneficiary may be your spouse or the trustee of a family trust you establish. If you have built a business that you want to continue after your death, you could name your partner or the company as your beneficiary.
Have a Contingency Plan
Life insurance is designed to protect the ones you leave behind in case something should happen to you. But life is uncertain, and something could happen to a beneficiary as well. Be sure to name one or more contingent beneficiaries who will receive your death benefits if your primary beneficiary is deceased, cannot be located, or refuses the proceeds.
Be Specific In Naming Beneficiaries
Do not name “my spouse” or “my children” as beneficiaries on a life insurance policy. List them individually and specifically by their full names. If you have more than one child and want to name them as beneficiaries, be sure to specify where the benefits go if one of your children dies before you. Would all death benefits go to your surviving children, or would the deceased child’s portion go to his or her children?
Do Not Designate a Minor As Beneficiary
Minor children are limited or prohibited by state laws from receiving life insurance proceeds. If you name a minor child as beneficiary and that child has not reached the age of majority at the time of your death, the court may have to appoint a guardian to administer the funds. You can avoid this situation by setting up a trust and naming a trustee to receive the proceeds for the benefit of the child.
Review and Update Your Policy Regularly
There could be many reasons why you might want to change your life insurance beneficiary as time goes on. For example, you might have married or divorced or had a child. A person you named as a beneficiary might be deceased. Reviewing your policy regularly can help ensure your death benefits go where you want them to go.
What Business Insurance Do I Need for Remote Employees?
Far more people are working from home now than ever before. In fact, working remotely has become the new normal as of 2020. This arrangement has many benefits for both employers and workers. But it is important for companies that now have remote employees to update their business insurance policies.
Why Is It Critical to Update Your Business Insurance for Remote Employees?
Employees who work from home are likely to have homeowners insurance if they own their homes, or renters insurance if they rent. However, these types of policies are not designed to cover business needs. In fact, most homeowners policies exclude coverage for any business-related loss.
The shift to remote employees has legal implications for a business. It creates a risk of exposure on several levels. Your existing policy may not cover new concerns inherent in the new situation. Risks associated with remote employees include cyber theft, employer liability for employee injuries, property damage to company-owned equipment, and commercial crimes.
What Types of Business Insurance Do You Need With Remote Workers?
Our experienced agent can help you design a business insurance package that provides the protection you need as an organization with remote employees. Types of coverage we recommend may include any or all of the following.
Cyber Liability Insurance
The risk of a cyberattack increases significantly with virtual employees working from home. Security measures should be put in place to help prevent a data breach, including an encrypted virtual private network (VPN) through which workers access company resources and applications, strong passwords, and updated antivirus firewall software.
Third-party cyber liability insurance protects your company should a client or customer sue you over a data breach, even if the breach occurs remotely. It will cover your attorney fees, court costs, and the damages you are required to pay, up to the policy limits. First-party cyber liability insurance covers damages your company suffers from a data breach. This may include the costs of notifying affected clients and providing them with ongoing credit and fraud monitoring. If you are in the IT business, both types of cyber liability insurance may be bundled with your technical errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Businesses with employees are required to carry workers’ comp insurance in most states. This insurance generally covers remote workers. The injured employee must prove that the injury or work-related illness occurred performing work duties during business hours.
General Liability Insurance
This coverage helps protect your organization from liability for bodily injury or property damage to a third party caused by your company or employees, including medical coverage. It also covers advertising injury, such as libel or slander.
Commercial Property Insurance
This type of insurance is designed to protect the equipment, inventory, and assets of a business. If your company has remote workers, they are likely using laptops or other equipment belonging to the business but used offsite. If so, it is important to ensure your commercial property insurance policy covers company-owned equipment used by remote workers in their homes.
Survey: Could You Accurately Guess The Cost of Life Insurance?
Life insurance: It’s not exactly the kind of topic that comes up during family dinner. No one really wants to talk about the death of a loved one. But when it comes to securing your family’s financial security, it’s a conversation that needs to happen. The fact is, there are many things about life insurance […]