Courtesy of iii.org Accidents happen—and if they happen to people you've hired to come into your home or onto your property to work, you're financially liable. It makes sense to understand how you're already covered and when to further insure household help. Appropriate and adequate insurance coverage depends on the nature of the employee’s position and the assets you're protecting. As always, consult your insurance professional with any questions or requested changes to your policy. Here's some information to get you started. If you contract a worker with an outside firm For many household and in-home care needs—for example, for a nurse, a physical therapist, a cook or a housekeeper—you may decide to contract with a business or agency that provides these types of pros. Determine who is the employer. When you're dealing with a firm or agency, in most cases the worker you hired is an employee of that business and insured under their auspices. (If for some reason …
Insurance
Auto Insurance Myths
Courtesy of iii.org When purchasing an auto policy, it’s important to understand the factors that affect your policy costs and coverage. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad information that passes for "common wisdom"—here, we separate myth from facts about car insurance. Myth 1 – Color determines the price of auto insurance It doesn't matter whether your car is “Arrest Me Red” or “Hide In Plain Sight White”—the color doesn’t actually factor into your auto insurance costs. The price of your auto policy is based on many factors, such as car make, model, body type, engine size and the age of the vehicle, as well as the car’s sticker price, the cost to repair it, its overall safety record and the likelihood of theft. Insurers also take into account the age, driving record and sometimes the credit history of the driver. Myth 2 – It costs more to insure your car when you get older Quite the opposite, in fact—older drivers may be eligible for special discounts. For example, …
Is Your House Insured Against Animal Damage
Courtesy of iii.org You may have read the recent story featured in the I.I.I. Daily about raccoon damage and homeowners insurance. The gist: raccoons got into a house and caused $80,000 worth of damage. The homeowners were surprised to learn that their insurance wouldn’t cover any of it. So what’s the deal with animal damage and insurance? Homeowners insurance Let’s start with the easy stuff. If your dog Fido rips through your couch or pees all over the wall, you’re out of luck. Standard homeowners policies won’t cover any damage to your house or personal property caused by a pet. And”pet” is a pretty broad term. Doesn’t matter if it’s a Shih Tzu or a Clydesdale horse, pets are any animal you own. What about animals that aren’t pets, like deer or birds or – God forbid – rats? That’s where things get interesting. Building damage: You probably aren’t covered for any damage to the building caused by birds, rodents, insects, or vermin. There also probably won’t be …