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Informative Articles about Insurance in the UK and USA

Why You Should Purchase Flood Insurance

on August 22nd, 2011

photo credit: sidibousaid60

It seems as though several times per year when we turn on the news there is another community under water as a result of one disaster or another. These events may have you thinking about whether you should purchase flood insurance regardless of the risk involved. You don’t need to be near an ocean, nor does a flood have to be caused by a levee that breaches. A flood can be caused by a  fast downpour causing flash floods; a pipe bursting in your home while you are on vacation; sewer backup; or a neighbor’s pool suddenly rupturing and ending up in your living room. Consider what type of flood insurance may be helpful and how you can apply it to your current insurance umbrella.

I Am Not In a Flood Zone

The entire country is mapped into flood zones. What you really mean is that you don’t live in a high-risk zone. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), almost twenty-five percent of flood insurance claims come from low to moderate risk areas. With these findings, purchasing even the most basic plan can be helpful.

Maybe I Already Have Flood Insurance

Many mortgage companies require that you purchase a flood insurance policy before signing off on your note. It is unlikely, but you may very well already be covered and not even know it. Call your insurance agent to verify whether you already have a policy in place.  Keep in mind that it may be wise to purchase additional flood insurance if you feel your policy is not sufficient enough.

Check Your Water Table

Knowing what you are up against before purchasing your home can make the difference between being fully covered or ending up with minimal or no coverage and lots of damage. Talk to the surrounding community about the water table history in your area. Check your basement or crawl space for telltale signs of prior water damage like a darkened wall area or black mold. Signs of previous problems can indicate a need for coverage.

Weather

You may live in a dry, low water table area however checking on the kind of weather the area has been experiencing may help in deciding on what level of flood insurance to purchase. With recent fluctuating weather patterns there is a high likelihood that heavy rains and increasing snowstorms can wreak havoc on your home, especially if your home is an old structure.

Homeowners Insurance Flaw

Many homeowner insurance policies do not cover floods. There may be minimal coverage certain types of damage, depending on the cause of the flood, but you will generally see most flood claims denied by standard homeowners policies. Double check your coverage options and ask your agent to give you a quote for a separate flood policy.

Do Not Make a Blind Purchase

Flood insurance premiums can be very high, especially in an elevated risk area. If you disagree with the way your home has been rated you may need to fund your own inspection to have your home reclassified and possibly save money.

Flooding may be in the back of your mind but not a pressing issue. Ask around, though, and you are bound to hear an ugly flood damage stories that might very well change your mind on why you should purchase a flood insurance plan. The cost of flood insurance is relatively low for those who live in low-risk areas. There is no reason for you to be without it.

About the Author: Matt Tomasino is a full-time writer and blogger with a passion for personal finance, credit repair, and insurance. He is also a regular contributor at a growing Creditloan site.

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Is Your Online Business Properly Insured

on August 21st, 2011

If you own an online business and do not have insurance, or you do not have the right insurance, you may find yourself, and your business, in a lot of trouble with time. The problems associated with today’s ever evolving internet commerce landscape have changed the rules of insuring a business, and it is imperative that you, as an online business, keep up. By not having insurance for your online business, or being under insured, you may end up in court facing a major lawsuit, or worse, losing your business entirely.

Why Does Your Online Business Need Insurance?

In the past, business insurance was pretty straight forward; your assets were insured against damages as listed in your policy, and your company would have liability insurance to protect against accidents. However, in the internet age, assets are not as cut and dried as in the brick and mortar world, and liability rules are different, as hackers and other malicious people may do damage to your customers virtually.

Insurance to Protect Your Business and Your Customers

This point is one of the biggest reasons to have insurance for your online business. If you sell anything online, you more than likely have a record of your customer’s personal information, and typically, this will be stored on a hard drive or a server somewhere. If a hacker were to break in and steal this information, and then harm your customers as a result, your business may be held liable in court. By purchasing specialized insurance that is for your online business, you may be able to avoid these hassles in the future. No business owner wants for his or her customers to be harmed, but if they are, having insurance can give you the peace of mind that neither you, nor your business, will be affected legally.

Protecting Assets, Both Real and Virtual

As for your assets, again, in the world of offline business, your assets may include things such as office furniture or company vehicles. In the online world, however, assets may be considered things such as your brand or a piece of intellectual property. If these are lost or damaged, for whatever reason, having insurance can help you to recoup any financial losses. And these assets could be damaged in a number of different ways. It could be that a hard drive crashed that had important data on it, or that some media on your site was improperly coded, and therefore unwittingly left open to free download by the public, ultimately causing financial loss. But, by working out an insurance policy for your online business, you may be able to avoid the financial and legal repercussions of these events.

Insuring Your Online Business Helps It Adapt to Changes

Finally, as the internet is still a relatively new technology, the constant changes taking place online mean that your business will need to stay one step ahead to remain competitive, and protected, in the new economy. Purchasing a policy to insure your online business is a great way to do this in order to avoid mistakes and accidents that may occur as a result of unforeseen changes in the way business is handled online. When seeking a policy, it is important to deal with a company that will allow you to make changes to your policy on the fly, so that when the next big trend comes along in either e-commerce, or cyber crime, your business can be ready.

Marshall Salas is an insurance claims consultant from Great Britain. He recommends that you check online for cheap home insurance and coverage comparisons to get the best value for your money.

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