What’s New

A lot has changed in the past couple years since we first wrote about ridesharing (the service where you obtain a ride through a smartphone app for a fee). There are several transportation network companies (TNC’s) who provide this service; however, Uber and Lyft are still the most recognized.  With time, usage has increased in urban areas and especially with people aged 18-29.  Our main concern? The changes insurance companies have made. As the needs of society advance through technology, insurance companies have to fight to meet demands for coverages and stay competitive.  The agents at Kasmann Insurance want to educate you on the gaps in coverage when you contract with a transportation network company, and what insurance companies are doing about it.

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An article from our partners at Auto-Owners Insurance:

Estimating Your Life Insurance Needs

It’s that time of year, again: Time to reset the new year with a resolution.

What type of resolutions have you set for this year? Was it a new weight-loss goal? Was it putting more money into savings? Taking up a new hobby? How about protecting your finances with a life insurance policy?

What better way to prepare your family for the future than to secure the mortgage or student loans. This sounds like a great plan, but what if you don’t know how much life insurance you need?

Calculating life insurance needs could be easier than you think! With available industry resources, determining coverage requisites might be exactly what you need to set up your new year for success.

The industry provides a variety of resources to calculate the coverage your family would need in the event of a death. With the help of our agency, these estimates encourage certainty when deciding what type of policy matches the financial needs of your life.

The Auto-Owners Life Needs Estimator is a perfect example of one of these tools. The program prompts you to take into consideration loans, income, expenses, education and any other insurance you may carry to give an accurate picture of what the family’s financial needs are.

Try to imagine how your family would get through their day-to-day life if they didn’t have you. Would they be able to cover the car loan, education costs, or credit cards if they didn’t have your income to take into consideration? Estimating your life needs will help you put into perspective the coverage needed to alleviate any financial strain on your loved ones in the event of a death.

Every step toward a financially protected future is a resolution. Don’t wait to find out how much your life insurance needs are; contact our agency for more details on how to calculate your needs!

(For a PDF version of this article click here: AO Life Article FEB)

While the agents at Kasmann Insurance are no longer the party animals we once were, our pets try to make up for it!  Enjoy photos of our dogs and cats partying the night away to ring in 2019.  We wish all of our current and potential customers a safe and joyous new year.  Remember to contact us for all your personal, commercial, life AND pet insurance needs!

Shannon Kasmann’s party puppers:

Stacey Page’s holiday hounds:

(Walter, Mia the Chia, and Vivian)

Anne Reynolds’s festive felines:

We won’t divulge how many photos we had to take to get the ones above, but enjoy these outtakes of Walter and Izzy thinking their party favors would make good chew toys!

Also, did anyone else notice we got a little snow recently in Mid-Missouri? It was Ivan’s first experience with the fluffy white stuff and he seemed to enjoy it!

“What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.” Vern McLellan

Throughout the year, Kasmann Insurance has focused our efforts on educating our clientele about commercial insurance. To wrap this year up, we would like to dedicate December to people who work from home.  According to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, more than two-thirds of businesses in the United States start from home, while more than 59% continue operating from home.  Staying in the comfort of one’s home to earn a living may sound enticing, but it does come with risks.

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As a business owner, you have already purchased insurance to protect your liability, property, autos and workers.  Throughout this year, the agents at Kasmann Insurance have stressed the importance of certain commercial coverages that we receive a lot of questions about, or feel are often overlooked.  Commercial Umbrella insurance is one of those products that is not required for businesses, but should definitely be considered.  It provides an extra layer of liability coverage above and beyond the underlying liability limits of the general liability, auto, and employment practices liability policies and it will protect your business in the event of a lawsuit. The agents at Kasmann Insurance did not invent lawsuits or rainy days, but we know how to sell you the best Commercial Umbrella!

What Are They?

We live in a very litigious society where lawsuits are commonplace and the monetary awards can be astonishing.  Commercial Umbrella policies are offered at limits beginning at $1 million, and can be written rather effortlessly up to $5 million (higher limits are available subject to underwriting approval).  Coverage is designed to “kick-in” when the underlying general liability, auto, or employment practices liability limits have been exhausted due to a claim.  The policy can also help with your legal defense costs, possibly appeals, and will protect your business assets against a large financial judgment.

Depending on the specific language they incorporate into their Commercial Umbrella policy, most companies will even protect a business owner from suits brought against them for things like libel, slander, false arrest, mental anguish, defamation of character, invasion of privacy, false imprisonment or wrongful eviction.

You will find that most Commercial Umbrella policies exclude certain situations.  The most common exclusions are:  liquor liability, worker’s compensation, employers liability and employment related practices, pollution, aircraft, watercraft, or racing, product recalls, and electronic data.  One of many reasons that Auto-Owners Insurance is our preferred carrier, is that they do not explicitly exclude liquor liability under their Commercial Umbrella policy.  Click here for more information about Auto-Owners specific coverages.

Why Do I Need One?

Your company needs a Commercial Umbrella policy to ensure that it will not only be around tomorrow, but through the coming years.  Anyone who operates a business is vulnerable to legal action and significant lawsuit settlements arising from the condition of your location, employee auto accidents, or the negligence of your employees.  Certain types of Commercial Umbrella policies will even protect business owners for claims excluded on their underlying liability policies.  This protection is not just for large corporations; it has been designed to be comprehensive and affordable for the smaller business owner, as well.

Examples of Covered Commercial Umbrella Claims:

A landlord failed to install carbon monoxide detectors in his rental dwellings with natural gas heating.  A furnace malfunctioned resulting in one fatality and three injuries among the tenants.

To avoid hitting a truck and trailered boat pulling out onto the highway, the insured truck veered left, crossed the median, and crashed head-on into a Ford Escort killing the mom and dad in the front seat and injuring the children in the back seat.

An insured was refinishing the floor in a home. When the insured flipped a light switch, a spark caused the vapors from the stripping chemicals to ignite and the house was engulfed in flames, catching an occupant on fire.

Insure With the Agents You Trust

The Kasmann Insurance Agency is contracted with several different carriers who offer Commercial Umbrella polices.  We are happy to assist you in determining an appropriate level of coverage to protect your assets and we can get a plan in place for you today.  Commercial umbrella quotes are relatively quick and easy, and can range anywhere from an average of $500-$1500 annually for million(s) of dollars in coverage.  Don’t get caught in a litigation downpour! Contact us to help you select the right umbrella for your business’s needs.

Equipment breaks. We’ve got a coverage for that!  What would you do if your business equipment experienced a mechanical breakdown and your production and business income suffered as a result?  Let the agents at Kasmann Insurance Agency help you mitigate your commercial losses with a wide variety of coverages and options, including Equipment Breakdown.

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