Do You Have The Business Insurance You Need?

Do you have the business insurance you need?

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. When we're talking about your business, losing the shoe can be serious indeed.

Think of business insurance as the nail; as in the old saw, it can help you hold onto what's really important. You personally cannot control or eliminate every potential risk that threatens your livelihood. Business insurance can provide the protection against these risks... if you carry the right kinds.

Unfortunately, insuring your business is not as simple as insuring your car. Because your business is unique, you'll need to design a package of insurance that meets your business needs and provides the level of protection you're comfortable with. Your first decision is to decide which types of insurance your business needs.

Two types that all businesses need are property and liability insurance.

Property insurance protects the assets your business owns, including the building and equipment, from destruction or damage. Even if you run a home-based business and have home insurance, you'll need to protect your business assets with separate contents insurance; your home owner's policy will not cover business equipment.

Contents insurance protects your business equipment from perils such as fire, flood, or theft. To determine how much property or contents insurance you'll need, create an itemized list of your business' assets and their individual dollar values. Then decide which assets you actually want to insure and for what value, which will determine the insurance premium.

In some cases, you may decide against insuring a particular asset, because it just doesn't warrant the cost of the premium. In other cases, the premium may be well worth paying. Ask yourself, if this equipment, such as a computer, was stolen, would I be able to afford to replace it? If the answer is no, you should insure it.

 

 

May is National Electrical Safety Month

The most recent statistical data from the National Fire Protection Association indicates an annual average of more than 53,000 electrical home structure fires, claiming more than 450 lives, injuring more than 1,400 people, and causing more than $1.4 billion in property damage. In the workplace, electrical hazards are the cause of another almost 4,000 non-fatal injuries. “Eliminating electrical hazards begins with education and awareness,” says ESFI President Brett Brenner.  “National Electrical Safety Month is a time for all of us at home and at work to reexamine our surroundings and determine what steps we can take to prevent the hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries and billions of dollars in productivity and assets that occur each year because of electrical hazards.”

 

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is dedicated exclusively to electrical safety in the home and the workplace. To help promote electrical safety, ESFI has developed a campaign toolkit where you will find tools you can use to facilitate an effective electrical safety awareness campaign for your community, organization, customers, and workplace associates.

 

ESFI’s complimentary 2010 NESM Campaign Toolkit can be downloaded on the foundation’s website at www.electrical-safety.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warmer temperatures boost US economy

Spring’s thaw is reviving the economy, too.

A recent batch of government and business reports show a U.S. economy emerging from winter’s deep freeze.

 Economists had expected growth to accelerate in 2014 after two years of slow and steady improvement. But an unusually bitter winter sent factories, hiring and consumer spending into hibernation.

 Now, as temperatures rise, the economy is regaining momentum. Factories are busier. Consumers are spending more. Banks are making more loans to businesses. Companies have bigger plans to invest in plants and equipment. And the improvement appears to be widespread across the country.

 

“The weather really played havoc. There were ice storms in Georgia. That is not something you see every day,” said Michael Dolega, senior economist at TD Economics. “Now, as Americans have dug themselves out and everything has melted, you’re going to get a bounce back.”

 

 

"Pollen" Vortex set to hit Northeast this Spring!

First came the “polar vortex” — now it’s the “pollen vortex.”

Forced to lie dormant by the long, brutal winter, trees are now set to start reproducing like crazy — and create a massive amount of pollen that could wallop your sinuses.

Pollen count in the Northeast will soar to high levels, when warm temperatures will prompt plants to create the sniffle-inducing substance, reports Pollen.com, which offers allergy “forecasts.”

April is generally the worst month of allergy season, but the pollen count this month has so far been the lowest in the past decade, likely due to chilly temperatures, the online magazine Slate reported.