An additional insured is someone or an organization that has an insurable interest in the property that is being insured. In most situations the additional insured is the bank that holds your loan for either your mortgage or vehicle. The reason they will want to be added to your policy as an additional insured is two-fold. First, they will be notified if your coverage changes or is canceled for any reason. The importance of this is in the instance that there is a loss, they know whether the property will be fixed through insurance. The second thing to note is that the additional insured will receive the payment from the insurance company, and this allows them to ensure that the property is in fact, fixed and therefore maintains its value which translates to maintaining their insurable value moving forward. If you then default on your loan, they can still use the property to recoup some of the monetary loss.

Changing your insurance company does not impact your credit score unless you are leaving the company in bad standing. This would include leaving because your policy was cancelled for non-payment or because you have an outstanding debt with the company. Both situations will have a negative impact on your credit score. When it comes to quoting your insurance with a new company you should know that there will be a soft pull on your credit, but this will not have an impact on your credit score.

An independent agent works for your best interest instead of for the company's best interest. They work with multiple companies, so you have more options when it comes to the insurer, policy, and pricing. When you get a quote through an independent agent, they will quote you with multiple providers to get you the best rates along with the best coverage options that fit your needs.

Most companies use credit scores as one important piece of the rates puzzle. This allows them to provide you with an individualized rate, but it also protects them because it can predict someone's likelihood for paying premiums on time, making a claim, and several other inputs. Insurance companies specialize in mitigating risk because they have to make sure they are able to pay out for claims. If they don't minimize their risks, they won't be able to continue to pay for your losses as they arise.

This question is a tricky one. You can ask this question to many insurance professionals and each one will have a different answer for you. To start the discussion on how much life insurance you need you must start out by thinking about why you need it. The most common reasons for buying life insurance include covering debt such as a mortgage, income replacement for survivors, and making sure there are funds available for education and other specific reasons regarding children. Determining how much life insurance you need is a very personal decision. This is why it's so important to have an honest discussion with an agent you can trust to determine the amount of coverage you need and what the best type of coverage best fits your need(s).

Let's start by discussing group life insurance, which is a policy that is provided by an employer. In some instances, the employer will cover some or all of the premiums for its employees, but other times it is offered as an optional benefit that the employee must sign up for individually if they choose to. Group life policies are very rarely portable, meaning that you are not able to keep the policy when you are no longer employed with the employer. The downfall to this is that if your new employer doesn't offer it or you retire you will have to purchase a new policy at your current age without being able to keep the rates you originally started with based on the age you were when you enrolled in the group policy. Because of the group underwriting, group life insurance is generally less expensive than individual life insurance. Individual life insurance is a policy that you purchase on your own that is separate from anything that has to do with your work. There are several options when it comes to the types of individual life insurance policies, and it is very important to have a discussion with an agent to help you understand what these options are so you can make a decision that best suits your specific needs.

Purchasing life insurance for a child tends to make people a little uncomfortable because the thought of a child passing away is too difficult for parents or grandparents to bear. This being said, most often life policies bought for children are intended to provide future financial benefits such as cash value and are meant as a present for the child. These types of policies can be used by the child later in life as an investment. There are other benefits to purchasing life insurance on a child which include locking in coverage in case the child develops health conditions that prevent them from purchasing life insurance in the future or providing a death benefit in the event of a tragic situation where the child does pass away at a young age.

We're going to start by explaining whole life insurance. Whole life is a permanent policy. The easiest way to explain this is using real estate as an example. Whole life insurance is owning a home. It gains cash value which is like your homeowners' equity. There are many options when it comes to whole life insurance. Now to explain term life insurance. This is a simple policy, and we explain it in the same way as the whole products but with the term policy you are renting instead of owning. Once you reach the end of your term you don't have any equity or value left in the policy just as if you are renting your home. You also have many options with term policies. With both of these policies there are options to customize your coverage to fit your specific needs. To determine the right amount of insurance for you it is important to have a discussion with a professional.

Our immediate answer to this question is yes, you should always carry limits higher than the state minimum limits. When choosing your liability limits you should consider how much of a monetary cushion you have and how much of that cushion you would be comfortable parting with if you are liable for an accident. Think of your limits as the portion of a loss that the insurance company pays out first before you become personally liable. This is the opposite of how comprehensive and collision deductibles work because you pay your deductible before insurance agrees to pay to repair your vehicle without a limit on what the company will pay. If you have state minimum liability limits in Nebraska and you cause an accident that causes injuries or property damage, your income can be garnished if the amount of damages is greater than your limits.

For a more comprehensive answer to this question, you can check out our blog but as a simplified and quick answer we'll use the Nebraska state minimum limits. You'll see these numbers on your policy - 25/50/25. The first number is your bodily injury liability for one person if you are at fault for an accident and it means that the most your insurance will pay is $25,000. The second number is for more than one person that is injured in an accident you're at fault for and the max that will be covered by your insurance is $50,000. The last number is for any property that is damaged by your accident and the max that your insurance company will pay is $25,000.

Rental reimbursement coverage on your auto policy will provide coverage for a rental vehicle if your auto was damaged due to a covered loss while your auto is being repaired. This coverage is usually an optional coverage that has to be added to your policy before the loss happens for it to be used. If your vehicle is in the shop for a reason other than an accident it is considered wear and tear and therefore the rental vehicle is not covered by your insurance policy. Insurance does not cover wear and tear losses.

If you carry comprehensive and liability coverage on your auto these will typically extend to the rental vehicle, but it's important to confirm this for your specific policy. If your policy does not extend you will need to purchase coverage through the rental company. One important thing to note is that your coverage may only extend within the US, but some policies may extend to rental vehicles outside of the US as well. This is another reason to make sure what your policy will cover before making the choice to purchase additional coverage or not.

Renter insurance is a policy that covers your personal property for a specified amount as well as your liability if you are responsible for damage to the covered property. This policy is designed for individuals that do not own the property they are residing in. There are other coverages included in the policy, but personal property and liability are the bulk of the policy. An important note is that your personal property is typically covered throughout the US and sometimes anywhere in the world. If your property is stolen out of your vehicle it is covered by your renter policy instead of your auto policy.

Water back up, sewer and drain coverage is an endorsement to your homeowner coverage that provides coverage to property damaged by water that backs up into the home through pipes, drains, sewer, water-service, sump pump and any other type of fluid transfer system from the house. It is important to note that this coverage is an added coverage as an endorsement and does not automatically come with your policy. If you do not have this endorsement, you will not have coverage in this type of loss.

Coverage for jewelry, as well as other higher-valued property is included in most homeowner and renter policies. However, the coverage included in a homeowner or renter policy can be extremely limited. If you want to coverage a piece of property for it’s true value than you need to do one of two things: Specifically schedule the piece of property onto your homeowners or renter insurance policy as an endorsement. Buy a separate inland marine insurance policy for that piece of property which is called a Personal Articles Policy (PAP). In both cases you will need to get the property appraised and give the appraisal to your insurance professional.

There are many ways that homeowner coverage varies. First, we'll discuss what losses your policy can protect you from. This is broken down into three categories in Nebraska which are special perils, broad perils, and named perils. Perils are the losses that are covered by the policy. We'll start with Named perils because this is your basic coverage. If your policy has named perils coverage it means that your property is only protected from the 16 perils named in the policy which are listed in more detail in a blog post. Everything outside of those 16 perils are not covered. Broad perils coverage covers the same 16 perils but adds a few more to the list. Just like Named perils coverage, broad perils coverage doesn't cover anything that isn't listed. Special perils coverage provides the most protection. This type of coverage is quite different than Named and Broad coverage. Instead of providing protection for only the perils specifically listed on the policy, Special perils covers all perils UNLESS they are specifically excluded. This form of coverage is also referred to as “open perils” coverage because it provides a list of specific losses that are NOT covered within the policy.​ Along with endorsements that add coverage to your policy there is also the valuation of your property that determines how your claim is paid. This is referring to Replacement Cost Value, Repair Cost Value, and Actual Cash Value. Actual Cash Value (ACV) means that your property will be repaired or replaced with a specific method that includes the depreciated value of the property. Repair Cost Value pertains to older homes that were built with materials that are not readily available on the current market and therefore in order to repair or replace the property it has to be done with current materials. When it comes to homes built before 1930 it is much more costly to cover the home with replacement cost value, but it can be done, just with a higher premium. Replacement Cost Value means that your property will be repaired or replaced with the same material or product or with the same value as if it was brand new on the market today. There is no depreciation taken out of the value you receive for your property.

Let's begin by explaining what your loss ratio is. The loss ratio is the ratio between how much you pay in premiums compared to the amount the company pays out in claims for your policy. To explain this further let's assume you pay $100 monthly in premiums which equals $1,200 annually that the company receives. Let's say you have a claim against you and the company will pay $360 this year. That means that your loss ratio is 30% (360 / 1,200 + 0.30 & 0.30 * 100 = 30%). If your loss ratio is higher than similar businesses in your industry your premium will be higher and if it's lower than your premium is likely to have a discounted rate.

Hired and non-owned auto liability is most commonly found on a Business Owners Policy (BOP) or a business auto policy. It protects the business in a situation where an employee causes an accident while driving their own personal vehicle or any vehicle that isn't owned or rented during the course of their work. A quick example would be if you send your assistant to Staples for envelopes and she accidentally runs a stop sign and hits another vehicle which causes bodily injury to that person as well as property damage. Since the assistant was on company time the business could potentially be sued and in that instance hired and non-owned auto insurance kicks in.

Most often your insurance policy specifically excludes contractors because they are a third party to your business. This means that they expose your business to more risk than if you use your own employees to do the labor. Although, hiring contractors saves you in many other ways (providing benefits, vacation leave, taxes, etc.). You also don't have control over how they conduct their business. This is the reason that they are typically not covered in your policy. Even though independent contractors are not covered by your policy, there is coverage available specifically for them. Most often they provide their own coverage but it's important that you verify this coverage before hiring them. An important note is to always use a contract mandating that they maintain coverage as well. In the contract you can require that proof of insurance is submitted to you before the work begins. You will need to make sure that they carry General Liability (GL) insurance. If your state requires that they carry Workers Compensation (WC) then you can require proof that they have this coverage as well. Another option would be to see if your insurer allows you to add an "additional insured(s)" to the policy. Additional Insureds are third parties that are covered on the policy. This allows you to name specific contractors that are covered but all other contractors are still excluded. You will then have protection from the actions of the added contractors.

The most common business line of insurance is Commercial General Liability (CGL). It protects your business from claims that it caused the following: Damage to someone’s property Somebody to get hurt Personal injury, like libel and slander Advertising injury If you are sued by a customer your CGL will help pay for your: Attorney and witness fees Evidence and documents gathering Medical payments Judgments Settlements This coverage is NOT a catch-all coverage. It does not protect you against anything that you do on purpose. It also does not protect your business property at all.

The reason for Workers Compensation (WC) insurance is to make sure that employees have medical benefits in the event of a work-related injury. The goal of having a WC policy for an employer is to prevent an employee suing them in this situation. Even though this is the intent of WC insurance, it is still possible for an employee to sue, even if the employer wasn't necessarily negligent. Employee benefits are covered under part one of a WC policy and include: Medical Costs Lost Wages​ Disability Payments Death Benefits Employer liability is covered in part two of the policy but it's important to make sure that your policy includes part two coverage. This portion includes: Employers Legal Liability Legal Defense Costs

Pay As You Go plans are a new form of WC plan that allow employers to pay their premiums based on real-time payroll instead of using estimated payroll to prepare standard installments. The benefits of this plan are: Lower start-up cost Better cash flow throughout the policy period Less exposure to year-end audit balances

You have two years from the date of the accident or the last date the employer/insurer paid a medical or indemnity payment to file a lawsuit with the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court. If you do not file your claim within that time, it will be barred by the statute of limitations.

An umbrella policy is your last line of defense in the event the limits of your underlying policy are completely depleted. For example, you are sued for $1,000,000 for an incident that happened in your home, but your homeowner's policy has a liability limit of $500,000. After your homeowner's policy pays the $500,000 you are still on the hook for the remaining $500,000. If you don't have an umbrella policy in place you are personally responsible for the excess amount of $500,000 and in order to meet that obligation you will have to liquidate your assets (sell your home, business, assets, retirement, etc.). If you do have an umbrella policy (standard limit is $1,000,000) it will come in with that added protection and cover the additional amount of $500,000 and you will not be responsible for any payments out of your pocket.

An umbrella policy works just like its name describes. It is applied on top of your underlying coverage and provides an extra layer of liability insurance. Some examples of policies that the personal umbrella would cover include: auto insurance homeowners' insurance boat insurance rental property insurance It comes into play with additional protection when the limit of liability on the underlying policy is used up. This is why we personally feel that umbrella insurance is so important, and we suggest it to all of our clientele.

Personal liability insurance is most often included on your personal lines of insurance which includes but is not limited to: homeowners' insurance renters' insurance auto insurance rental property insurance It protects you and your family from lawsuits resulting from third party bodily injury or damage to property. To put this into perspective, think of a neighborhood child who gets hurt on your lawn.

Just about any health condition that you have before you start an insurance policy is considered a pre-existing condition. This is why it's important to understand the details of your plan since each company decides on what it considers a pre-existing condition. Depending on the type of policy and the insurer, even pregnancy can be considered a pre-existing condition. Some common examples include: cancer AIDS/HIV Depression and other mental health disorders Diabetes Epilepsy Heart disease Stroke​​​ There are many more conditions that are considered pre-existing conditions as well as the list above.

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a type of bank account that you contribute to with pre-tax money that grows tax deferred. The catch is that you can only use the funds for approved health related products and services. An HSA can be set up with many health insurance providers and also with most local and national banks. In order to set one up you must be enrolled in an approved high-deductible health plan.

Coinsurance is a pretty simple concept. If you have coinsurance listed in the coverages of your health insurance policy the percentage listed is the percentage of the expense that you (the insured) are responsible for. As an example, we'll assume your policy has 10% coinsurance and a health bill of $100. You would owe $10 (10% of $100 = $10).

A high deductible health insurance policy puts the amount of up-front cost directly on the policy holder but in exchange it has significantly lower rates than comparable HMO or EPO health plans. The insured is responsible for 100% of the up-front costs up to a specific amount. Common deductible amounts are $1,200 or $1,500. This means that the insured is responsible for all costs up to the first $1,200 dollars and then the insurance company starts to contribute depending on the policy details.