Essential coverages to protect your business.

We often think of family businesses as small mom and pop operations, but some of the biggest corporations in the world are family controlled, including Walmart, Volkswagen, Berkshire Hathaway, Ford and Cargill. In fact, 90 % of U.S. businesses are owned or controlled by families, according to the Census Bureau.

Maybe your family owns a restaurant. Or your grandfather started the furniture company where you work. Or you’re a software engineer and you and your spouse want to start a company.

A family-owned business is one in which two or more family members are involved and the majority of the ownership or control lies in the family. Whether large or small, all family-owned businesses need insurance protection. Among the coverages you should have are commercial general liability, property, commercial auto, and directors and officers liability. Even if you run a business out of your home, you still need insurance.

No matter the size, family businesses have insurance needs — the same needs as any small business or corporation. But there also can be special considerations, since members of the family work for the business. You may need insurance to protect the directors and officers from liability. You may need professional or employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), too.

Let’s take a look at some of the basic insurance coverages you’ll need for your family business. The law doesn’t require all of these protections, but if you want to sustain your business well into the future, you’ll want to consider each. You should talk to an insurance professional about your needs and how an insurance program can be tailored to your business.

Commercial general liability coverage

Unfortunately, every company runs the risk of being sued. Even home-based businesses may need liability protection if they are selling items, like food, that could cause injury or illness.

Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance covers injuries or damages caused by your company, including the products and services you sell. Typical examples include a customer slipping and falling on your property, an employee causing damage to someone’s home, or a claim that your advertising was false or misleading. CGL would cover the cost of your legal defense and pay damages up to the limits in your policy if you are found liable.

The Insurance Information Institute says that CGL insurance “is one of the most important insurance products, due to the negative impact that a lawsuit can have on a business and because such liability suits happen so frequently.”

CGL policies are composed of three parts:

• Part A covers bodily injury and property damage.
• Part B covers personal and advertising injury such as libel, slander, copyright infringement, use of another’s advertising idea, wrongful eviction or invasion of privacy.
• Part C covers medical payments for injuries to nonemployees that occur on your premises or as a result of your operations.

It’s important to note that CGL doesn’t cover negligent professional acts. These would be covered by a separate professional liability policy. You’ll need to purchase workers’ compensation and EPLI separately as well. We’ll cover those types of coverages later in this white paper.

Commercial property insurance

Nearly every company needs some type of property insurance to protect the premises and the contents of the business. Commercial property insurance will pay to repair or replace physical assets that are damaged or destroyed due to a fire, theft or other covered loss. These policies typically cover buildings, equipment, furniture, personal property, inventory, and tools.

Home-based businesses may need commercial property insurance as well, because homeowners insurance offers only limited coverage for business property. For example, most homeowners policies limit protection for business equipment to $2,500.

If you have special equipment, such as a commercial kitchen or woodworking or shop tools, or you store equipment and tools for your business in your home, you should talk to an insurance professional about commercial property insurance. If you transport tools and equipment to job sites, you may need inland marine insurance as well.

Commercial auto insurance

If you use a car or truck in your business, you’ll need an auto policy that insures vehicles for commercial use. Commercial use of a vehicle included picking up clients, visiting job sites, transporting goods for sale or running business errands. While many insurers offer these types of policies, and it’s easy to get quotes, you may benefit under- and uninsured motorist protection, hired auto (if you pick up passengers or make deliveries), and whether the policy covers employees and non-owners.

Coverage and prices will vary by the type of vehicle, such as car versus truck. If a family member or one of your employees is making deliveries with a personal vehicle, you’ll need to check to see if they’re covered under their personal auto policy. Your business could be help liable if an employee causes an accident while traveling on company time.

Business owner policy

You may have heard the term business owners policy (BOP) and wondered what this type of insurance covers and whether you should get it for your family business. A BOP is a bundled approach to commercial coverage.

BOPs include the coverage already described above, such as liability, property and vehicle, and sometimes a few other protections that we’ll see below, such as cyber, EPLI and business interruption insurance.

While BOPs may offer everything your family business needs to get started, they usually don’t provide as much coverage as stand-alone policies. Your insurance professional can help you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a bundled approach.

Larger businesses or firms that operate in a specialized field may be better off with a commercial package policy (CPP), which allows you to tailor the coverage to your needs. Like a BOP, the core of a CPP is protection against property and liability exposures.

But you can also add commercial auto and many other types of insurance such as umbrella liability, business interruption, EPLI, builders risk, inland marine, crime protection, cybersecurity, professional liability and pollution liability. Your coverage limits may be higher with the CPP approach.

Cyber insurance

Many family businesses rely on the internet for their business operations and the sale of services and products. This makes your company even more vulnerable to cyber crime and data breaches. Cyber criminals are always looking for new ways to exploit system vulnerabilities, and they target small businesses to a much greater degree than large companies.

Ask an insurance professional about cyber and data breach coverage to protect against electronic theft, loss of data, disruption of your company’s networks, loss of income due to a temporary suspension of business operations, and damage to your reputation. Many insurers offer privacy and network security coverage as a part of a BOP or professional liability insurance policy.

It’s a good idea to engage a cybersecurity professional to help protect your internet connections and Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as computers, tablets and smartphones, from hackers. You’ll also need to protect customers’ personal data while being transferred or stored. You could be held liable for a data breach if you fail to protect your clients’ information.

Most cyber policies will cover breach notifications, anti-fraud protection and credit monitoring for customers, as well as costs associated with security incident investigations, cyber extortion and ransomware.

There are also cyber risk policies that cover network business interruption. These help if your system fails for reasons other than cyber invasion, such as human error, failure to install updates or third-party network problems. Network business interruption may be bundled in an overall cyber package, so talk to your insurance professional about how to integrate this important protection into your coverage.

Directors and officers liability insurance

Directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance protects your company’s leaders from personal financial exposure in the event investors, employees, vendors, competitors, customers or other parties sue them for breach of duty.

Some of the more common exposures include failure to comply with regulations or laws, failure to provide a safe and secure workplace, operational failures and mismanagement, employment practices and human resources (HR) issues, cyber liability and bankruptcy.

If your family controls a company, has representation on the board or is in the C-suite, D&O coverage is critical. You may think D&O is only for larger, publicly traded companies or assume that your commercial general liability policy will cover your exposure, but that’s not the case.

In fact, lack of D&O coverage can be a deal-breaker for investors and potential directors. Most venture capital and private equity firms won’t invest in a company that doesn’t have D&O coverage. Remember, your directors and officers are putting their personal assets at risk if you don’t have coverage.

That’s of increased concern in family businesses, where the founders tend be more involved in operations and may have a large amount of their personal wealth tied up in the company. It’s best to talk to an insurance professional about tailoring a policy to your family business.

D&O policies have four separate parts: side A, side B, side C and side A DIC (difference in conditions).

Each of these sides covers different aspects of liability, such as defense expenses and settlements, reimbursement to the company for indemnification, entity coverage if more than one director is named in a lawsuit, and additional coverage not included in sides A, B and C.

You can purchase D&O coverage separately or as part of a bundled package that may include D&O, EPLI, fiduciary liability, crime and cyber insurance.

Employment practices liability insurance

Employment lawsuits can be a huge exposure for your company, with defense costs in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. EPLI will cover your court costs and attorney fees in these cases, subject to the limits in the policy.

EPLI policies cover a range of exposures, including wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, defamation or libel, breach of employment contract and mismanagement of benefits.

You may be able to add EPLI to your BOP as an endorsement, or you may want to buy a stand-alone policy with higher limits.

Insurers will ask to see detailed information about your business when underwriting your risks for D&O and EPLI coverage. Family businesses don’t always have a formal business structure or well-defined HR policies. Take a look at this checklist to make sure you have these safeguards in place:

• Written HR policies banning discrimination and sexual harassment
• Regular, consistent and fair performance reviews, with policies for addressing and documenting unacceptable performance
• Safe, confidential reporting procedures for employee feedback
• A written policy regarding social media in the workplace
• A business continuity plan
• A network security and privacy policy
• A corporate governance program
• Written procedures to address fiduciary duties
• Written guidelines for performance reviews and policies for addressing unacceptable performance

Other coverages you may need

• Professional liability/errors and omissions — If your family business provides professional advice or services, you’ll need professional liability insurance to protect against the cost of lawsuits. Ask your insurance professional about the various policies available.
• Business interruption — Also known as business income insurance, this type of policy cover loss of income after a disaster, whether it’s due to the closing of your business or the rebuilding process afterward. Business interruption insurance is designed to put your business in the same financial position it would have been in if no loss had occurred. It may be offered as a rider or endorsement to a commercial property policy or a BOP. Coverage is limited to defined events in the policy.
• Commercial umbrella — When claims against your business exceed your regular coverage limits, an umbrella policy provides additional protection. Your insurance professional can discuss your policies’ limits and suggest where you might need additional coverage.
• Pollution — Pollution insurance was created specifically to manage the cost of pollution cleanups and cover liability claims for related injuries, illnesses and deaths. It’s a separate policy from your regular business insurance. Hair salons, dry-cleaning services, junkyards and service stations are just a few family businesses that might need pollution insurance.
• Catastrophe — Your property insurance may cover some catastrophes, but you can also add a rider or purchase a separate policy just for catastrophes. Insurable disasters include hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, windstorms, hail, fires, floods, volcanoes and acts of terrorism.
• Workers’ compensation — Workers’ comp insurance, which is required in nearly every state, compensates employees for injuries sustained on the job. Family members who are employees are not always exempt from this requirement; the requirements vary by state and are based on the number of employees you have and the job role of the person in question. If your business is in construction or another type of hazardous work, workers’ comp is a must. Find out more from an insurance professional who specializes in the workers’ comp market in all states where you operate.
• Key person insurance — One way to ensure your family business survives from one generation to the next is to purchase key-person life insurance on the lives of the top people in your company. The named insureds can be the owners or key executives — anyone whose premature death might jeopardize the future of the business. The premiums are paid by your business, and the business itself is named as the beneficiary of the policy’s proceeds, which can be used to fund an executive search or for another company-sustaining purpose. Life insurance can also fund a buy-sell agreement, which is a way to transfer ownership when an owner or partner dies. The policy’s death benefits can also be used to pay for the sale of shares to the surviving owners of the company, thereby keeping the business in the family.

Get the insurance you need to stay in business

If your family owns a business or hopes to start one, you’re in good company. There are 5.5 million family businesses in the United States. From the Small Business Administration to local business centers, there are many resources to help you start or expand a business. Your insurance professional can help, too, by designing an insurance program that grows with your company.

According to the Family Business Alliance, more than 30% of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation. By the third generation, 12% will be viable. For the fourth generation and beyond, that number dwindles to 3%. Make sure you’ve got the longevity you need to survive by getting the right insurance protection.

For more information please contact us here.

This content is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing professional, financial, medical or legal advice. You should contact your licensed professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Please refer to your policy contract for any specific information or questions on applicability of coverage.

Please note coverage can not be bound or a claim reported without written acknowledgment from a OneGroup Representative.

Written content in blog post: Copyright © 2022 Applied Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Because an RV is essentially a home on the road — either temporarily or full time — it requires elements of both auto and homeowners insurance.

Just because your recreational vehicle (RV) travels the same roads as cars doesn’t mean you should share the same insurance coverage. At a minimum, every state requires the same amount of liability coverage for an RV as it dictates for a car (although exact coverage requirements vary by state). Even so, the minimum isn’t always your best choice.

In addition to the liability coverage mentioned above, you may need a separate RV policy depending on your situation and the type of vehicle you own.

What class of RV do you own?

Owners tend to use “RV” as a blanket description for three primary classes of recreational vehicles:

• Class A
  • Characterized as luxury coaches (including converted buses) up to 75 feet long
  • Typically include panoramic front windows, a living/dining area and bathroom
  • Might include “slide outs” for additional living space when parked
• Class B
  • Characterized as the smallest coaches
  • Do not have space over the cab
  • Include camper and pop-up vans
  • May have a small kitchen with a small refrigerator or grill; water heater; heating, cooling and air conditioning (HVAC) unit; portable toilet; and internal shower
• Class C
  • Are towable but not drivable
  • Include fifth-wheel vehicles

Coverage amounts differ by state, but if you own a class A or B (often called “motorhomes”), you will definitely need specific RV insurance. You’ll also need insurance beyond liability if you are still paying off your loan or do not own your RV outright, regardless of class. The same goes for an RV that you are renting.

Your insurance professional can provide an analysis of policy payments versus total loss before you buy so you can determine your full cost of ownership. After that, it’s up to you to decide how much financial risk you want to assume based on your usage and budget needs.

Even if you own a class C (towable) that is paid in full and RV insurance isn’t mandated, don’t dismiss insurance without careful consideration. Although you may not be legally obligated to carry RV insurance, you do need to understand the cost of self-insuring. Would you be able to pay the cost completely on your own if your RV was physically damaged or your personal belongings on board were damaged or lost?

Whatever class of vehicle you own, the financial burden of having to pay 100% of these costs out of pocket may be too great of a gamble, particularly if you use your vehicle often or live in it full time.

Types of coverage

Liability insurance, which is required by all states for all RV owners and renters, covers the costs of legal fees, property damage and medical expenses to any other person involved in an accident or incident with your RV for which you are found at fault. You may also want or need to add these other types of coverage to your basic liability policy:

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: Some states require this in addition to liability coverage. Depending on the state it can pay for property damage or medical expenses in excess of the cost covered by the other person at fault in an accident, either because they have no insurance or carry a very low level. This is particularly important if you travel to or live in a state with minimal auto insurance requirements.
• Collision: This reimburses for damage to your own RV if you collide with another vehicle or a stationary object.
• Comprehensive: This covers RV damage or loss caused by incidents other than collisions, such as those related to natural disasters, animals, theft or vandalism.
• Contents: This protects your onboard possessions.
• Towing and roadside assistance: This is particularly valuable if you have a large, specialized RV that could benefit from access to a network of expert service providers.
• Emergency expenses: If your RV is rendered unusable, you may be without transportation and a place to stay. This covers both.
• Total loss replacement: If you face a total loss, you would be reimbursed the value of your RV at purchase, minus depreciation. If your loss occurs in the first five years of ownership, you will typically recover full replacement value without any depreciation subtracted.
• Campsite and vacation liability: This coverage kicks in for any legal fees, property damage or medical expenses that result if anyone outside of your family is injured in or near your RV while it is parked. 

Other considerations

Your insurance professional can review the details, limits and exclusions of each policy choice. Premiums can always be reduced by accepting higher deductibles (the amount you need to pay for a repair or replacement before you receive any money from the insurance company), but it’s important to understand other things beyond the type, value and age of your RV that can impact your premium costs. These include:

• The miles you drive annually
• Whether you use the RV seasonally or live in it full time
• Any custom features that should have additional protection
• The regions in which you travel
• Where your RV is parked or stored when not in use
• Past RV claims
• Prior speeding tickets or speeding violations
• Personal RV driving experience and qualifications
• Potential discounts for multiple policies with the same insurance carrier

If you aren’t asked about the above items directly, be sure to mention them before selecting your policy.

Travel with confidence

Owning an RV often comes with expenses you never considered when you first started imagining a carefree lifestyle on the road. While you may not have given much thought to insurance premiums, the right coverage can provide peace of mind and be an important part of your stress-free travels.

So take the time to evaluate your RV insurance needs today. Then you can shift gears to doing what famous infielder Babs Hoffman suggested instead: “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.”

For more information please contact our personal insurance experts.

This content is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing professional, financial, medical or legal advice. You should contact your licensed professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Please refer to your policy contract for any specific information or questions on applicability of coverage.

Please note coverage can not be bound or a claim reported without written acknowledgment from a OneGroup Representative.

Written content in blog post: Copyright © 2022 Applied Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

You’ve probably heard of umbrella insurance, a type of coverage that protects you if a claim exceeds your insurance policy’s limits.

But you might not be familiar with how it works, why your business may need it, and how it differs from excess insurance and regular insurance coverage.

Commercial umbrella insurance fulfills a specific business need: to increase the liability coverage you already have in your commercial general liability, commercial auto and employers liability coverage. If you’ve purchased a business owners policy (BOP), an umbrella policy can extend your coverage as well.

The key is to have these underlying policies in place first. Umbrella insurance is written on top of your existing coverage. For example, if you don’t carry commercial auto insurance, an umbrella policy won’t cover your employees if they cause an accident since you don’t have the underlying coverage.

In addition, umbrella protection extends your coverage only when your business is liable for property damage, personal injury or advertising injury. It’s not meant to increase your commercial property insurance limits.

How it works

Your business may have risks that go beyond the limits of your underlying policies. Suppose you have a general liability policy that covers up to $1 million in claims. A customer gets hurt while on your property, and the damages amount to $1.2 million.

Ordinarily, you would have to pay the remaining amount above $1 million, or $200,000. Depending on your policy’s limits, you could face substantial liability exposure.

You can protect yourself from catastrophic claims through a product called excess insurance, which simply increases the payout amount on a liability policy you already have. It increases the limits, but it doesn’t change the conditions or perils stipulated in your policy. If something is excluded from the underlying policy, it will also be excluded from the excess coverage.

Additionally, excess insurance is attached individually to each of your liability policies – not to all at once.

An umbrella policy, on the other hand, covers all your liability policies. It also can provide coverage that is broader than the underlying policy. An umbrella may pay a claim that wouldn’t ordinarily be covered by the underlying policy. Some common examples are extending auto coverage to include foreign countries or broadening liability coverage to include injuries that occur away from a job site.

If an umbrella policy covers a claim excluded by your underlying policy, you’ll need to first pay a self-insured retention (SIR). Sometimes known as the drop-down deductible, the SIR is the amount you must pay before the umbrella policy pays out.

If your underlying policy covers a claim, you must first exhaust that policy’s limit before making a claim on your umbrella policy.

In some cases, an umbrella policy may have exclusions not contained in your underlying policies. Be sure to ask your insurance broker what is included and what isn’t.

What’s covered

Umbrella policies typically cover legal costs you incur if you are sued and any judgments and settlements you must pay. They also pay for damage to another person’s property and medical expenses if someone is injured. Some policies also cover libel, reputational damage, product liability and professional liability.

If you have a commercial auto policy, umbrella insurance also covers your liability from accidents, including when you don’t own the vehicle (provided you have hired auto coverage).

Umbrella policies don’t cover punitive damages or personal liability.

Umbrella insurance has the advantage of extending the limits of several liability policies with one blanket policy. This may be preferable to raising the limits of several individual underlying policies.

Umbrella coverage is usually purchased in increments of $1 million. For example, a $10 million policy would provide up to $10 million in liability protection. This is on top of the limits on your underlying policies. So if your general liability coverage has a $1 million limit, you could double your coverage by purchasing a $1 million umbrella policy. Umbrella coverage is usually less expensive than the underlying policy.

Bear in mind that all of your underlying policies will draw from the single umbrella limit. If you use $1 million from a $3 million umbrella policy to pay an auto claim, that leaves you $2 million for other claims. Umbrella policies have per occurrence and aggregate limits that are the same. If a single claim exceeds your per occurrence limit of $3 million, you will have exhausted your aggregate limit as well.

In some cases, an insurer may require that you carry additional underlying liability insurance before it will write a higher umbrella policy.

When do you need umbrella coverage?

Certain types of businesses are more likely to need an umbrella policy. A lot depends on your liability exposure. Do you frequently have customers on your premises? Is your type of business considered a high risk, or is your work site potentially hazardous? Do your employees work on a customer’s property? Do you own vehicles and make deliveries?

Retail, hospitality, construction, shipping, manufacturing, health care and energy are some industries where employers may need umbrella coverage. Likewise, an umbrella policy may make sense for certain situations, such as if your company owns a boat or airplane. In some cases, a business partner may require that you have umbrella insurance. Government contractors are often required to carry it.

The cost of umbrella coverage depends on factors such as type of business, location, number of employees and your prior claims experience. Consult with an insurance broker to determine the coverage you need and your best options for limiting your exposure to a lawsuit or costly medical award.

When purchasing umbrella coverage, also keep these points in mind:

• Umbrella coverage doesn’t have to be written by the same company that writes the underlying policies.
• Make sure your umbrella policy has the same coverage dates as your underlying insurance.
• You must keep your underlying coverage in force during the term of your umbrella policy.

Talk to an insurance broker who knows your market

Before you purchase umbrella coverage, make sure you have all of the liability coverage you need. Work with a broker to identify gaps in coverage. For example, do you need employment practices liability insurance to protect against discrimination, harassment and other employee lawsuits? Do you need directors and officers liability insurance to protect your top executives and board members? Do you need professional liability to protect against claims of error or negligence in the performance of your duties?

You should also be aware of recent market trends in umbrella insurance. These policies have seen double-digit premium increases over the past year as the property/casualty market hardens. As a result of increased lawsuits and higher claims, carriers have tightened their underwriting and reduced the amount of coverage they are willing to offer. Higher-limit policies may be harder to find or more expensive.

Umbrella coverage is still one of the best ways of protecting against extraordinary claims that could bankrupt your business. For many firms, it’s an essential risk-management tool.

Submit a quote here to connect with one of our experts.

This content is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing professional, financial, medical or legal advice. You should contact your licensed professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Please refer to your policy contract for any specific information or questions on applicability of coverage.

Please note coverage can not be bound or a claim reported without written acknowledgment from a OneGroup Representative.

Written content in blog post: Copyright © 2022 Applied Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

While tall trees provide a wonderful canopy, excellent shade and natural beauty, they can also present a huge problem if they fall.

If your neighbor’s tree falls on your house, the rule of thumb is that the insurance policy of the damaged property pays for the repairs. So if your neighbor’s tree ends up on your house or another insured structure on your property, your homeowners policy should cover the loss. And if your tree falls on your neighbor’s house, their insurance policy should respond.

A problem arises, however, when the tree falls and hits nothing. It simply lands across your yard. Most homeowners insurance policies won’t cover the cost to remove the debris if no insured structures are damaged. And the removal of a large tree can be very expensive.

Speaking of expense, your homeowners deductible may become an issue even under a covered event.Typically $500 or $1,000, a deductible is what you assume as your portion of the risk of property ownership. It acts as a sort of incentive for homeowners to take care of their property and avoid loss claims. But when it is your neighbor’s tree that does the damage and you have to absorb the deductible, it can seem unfair — especially since you had very little to do with managing the risk.

What can a homeowner do?

If a tree looks like it might fall or drop large, damaging branches, there are several things you can do to protect your property.

The first step many specialists recommend is good old fashioned communication. Politely ask your neighbor to remove dead limbs and threatening trees. That is a costly endeavor, so don’t be surprised if you get some pushback or a request to share the cost. If your neighbor takes no action, you might have to follow with a more formal, certified letter, possibly even copying your homeowners association or local government.

Many towns hold homeowners responsible for maintaining their landscaping and ensuring it does not cause safety issues. Some cities even have ordinances that require dangerous trees to be removed. Check with your local government about enforcement.

Taking legal action is another possibility when your neighbor refuses to do anything about a threatening tree. An attorney can advise you of your options, especially those falling under complaints of “private nuisance,” which is defined as an interference with a person’s enjoyment and use of land.

One option your lawyer may suggest is mediation. This entails a neutral third party helping the parties resolve their conflict using negotiation and communication tactics. This is a good technique to try before taking your neighbor to court.

After a tree falls

If all your best prevention efforts fail and your neighbor’s tree falls on your property, you should contact your insurance professional right away. Depending on the damage to your house, you might have to seek immediate shelter elsewhere. Ask if your homeowners insurance covers those expenses and how you can exercise the benefits under your policy.

These moves can be complicated when there are children, pets or disabled occupants involved. If there are injuries, you will have an added layer of emergency response. If you’ve thought all these things through ahead of time, it will be easier to react in the moments after an incident.

If there is serious damage to your home, you will be expected to take measures to prevent further losses, such as rain invasion or pest infestation. Your insurance professional can advise you on the steps you should take, based on the requirements in your homeowners policy.

You can also expect to have an adjuster inspect the damage. The adjuster will conduct a thorough review of what needs to be repaired and replaced. That could include everything from roofing materials to beds and personal items, depending on how much of your home was damaged. If a crane is needed to remove a tree from your home, you should talk to your insurance professional before contracting that service. Prices can vary widely, and some homeowners policies put a limit on those costs.

Take dangerous trees seriously. They can be deadly and are very expensive to deal with once they have fallen. If you have a high-value exterior structure like a guest house or swimming pool, check with your insurance professional at your next policy review to make sure it is also insured for damage from a neighbor’s tree.

For more information please contact our personal insurance experts.

This content is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing professional, financial, medical or legal advice. You should contact your licensed professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Please refer to your policy contract for any specific information or questions on applicability of coverage.

Please note coverage can not be bound or a claim reported without written acknowledgment from a OneGroup Representative.

Written content in blog post: Copyright © 2022 Applied Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

First things first — make sure you’re safe.

Here are a few things to do after that:

• Check on yourself and your passengers (take note of any injuries and the severity). Call 911 and follow their instructions.
• Abide by all posted signs (for example, if you notice any accident investigation sites nearby, ask 911 operators if you should go there).
• Watch for oncoming traffic when you exit your vehicle
• If you have safety flares or cones, place them around the accident site (if it is safe to do so). This is especially important at night or when there’s limited visibility.
• If you don’t have safety flares or cones, consider adding them to your car’s emergency kit. Take photos of the accident area (including all vehicles involved).
• Take photos of the damage to your car and the other cars involved, including the license plates (turn on your time/date stamp options in your phone settings, if applicable).
• Do not admit fault (even if you think it might be your fault).
• File a police report and note the case number (ask for a copy, too).
• Stick to the facts with the police and with all insurance personnel. Don’t volunteer extra information or opinions.
• Remember that an out-of-state accident might affect your insurance coverage (if it’s an at-fault versus no-fault state, for example).
• Depending on the accident, consider consulting a lawyer specializing in auto claims.

Once the incident is safely under control, call in the claim, which will establish the date of record. Be prepared to explain the facts and have as many pictures to document the incident as possible.

You’ll want to know:

• Who was driving
• The location and date/time of the accident
• The weather at the date/time of the accident (bright sun, hail, fog, etc.) A description of what happened and the severity of the damage
• The names and insurance information of all drivers involved
• The names and contact information of everyone involved, including witnesses
• The make and model of the covered vehicle involved

If you have a dashcam, this information can help determine who’s at fault (many dashcams automatically upload footage to your cloud account when you set up the system).

We hope you never need this checklist, but it’s important information to have just in case. And remember: We’re always here to help if you have any questions or need additional information.

This content is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing professional, financial, medical or legal advice. You should contact your licensed professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Please refer to your policy contract for any specific information or questions on applicability of coverage.

Please note coverage can not be bound or a claim reported without written acknowledgment from a OneGroup Representative.

Written content in blog post: Copyright © 2021 Applied Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.