FAQ

We know what you’re looking for: fast and easy insurance quotes in 30 seconds or less. We get it, you want the goods ASAP, but choosing speed over accuracy can wind up costing you.

Quick quotes are great, but online companies might leave out cost-cutting options. And leave in factors that assume higher risk, resulting in a pricier policy.

Not only that, our competitors might sell your info to multiple companies, which can result in a flood of calls. We flipped the script by giving YOU the info and options to connect with an independent insurance agent.

To put it simply, homeowners insurance is designed to repair, replace or recover the value of what you currently have (under coverage) if it’s damaged due to any number of causes.

TYPES OF CLAIMS AND CAUSE OF DAMAGE:

• Property Damage – This is by far the biggest claim maker, which includes damage to your house and any structures on your property due to water, fire, and severe storms among others.
• Natural Disasters – Homewreckers like floods and earthquakes are usually not covered by basic plans, meaning, you’ll need added coverage or a separate policy to keep your goodies protected. 
• Standard Home Liability – This will cover you financially if someone is injured or their personal belongings are damaged while on your property. 
• Extra Money for Living – If your house is too messed up to live in while it’s being repaired or rebuilt, most policies will pay for a hotel and other living expenses, like groceries.
• Personal Property Coverage (AKA your stuff) – This will depend on the policy. Items like furniture may only be covered up to a depreciated value, but stuff like your bling might not have any coverage and will need additional insurance.

Homeowners insurance isn’t required by law, but most lenders will be sticklers and will require a policy in order to give you a loan. At a minimum, they’ll want your policy to cover or exceed the amount you owe on the loan.

Many homeowners think they’re fully covered. Unfortunately, they’re not, and figuring this out when it claims time can be infuriating. Finding the right coverage depends on a number of things, from crime rates to wildfires in your area. Here are several hacks to help you:

Three Home Insurance Hacks

• Add an umbrella policy to increase coverage by up to $1 million or more.
• Protect higher-value items like jewelry and art through “riders” or “endorsements.”
• Get replacement cost home insurance instead of “actual cash value,” which only covers the current depreciated value.

Car insurance covers your car, other people’s cars, the people inside the cars, and the people around the cars (such as pedestrians and bikers). It really depends on the type(s) of coverage you have.

There are three main auto insurance coverage types—liability, collision, and comprehensive. There are also a number of specialized extras available. Here’s an overview of what you can expect from each:

Liability: This is the legal minimum of coverage—the other types are recommended, but not required. It covers your medical expenses (up to a point). If you’re at fault for an accident, it also covers the other driver’s medical expenses and car repairs. It does not cover repairs to your car.

Collision: This covers repairs to your car in case of a collision with another vehicle or inanimate object, like a mailbox.

Comprehensive: This covers everything else that can happen to your car: fire, wild animal collisions, riots, and even missiles. It’s more accurately called “other than collision.”

Other options for more extensive coverage:

Uninsured/Underinsured motorist: This covers medical or repair expenses that are more expensive than what the other person’s insurance covers. (For example, if they’re driving uninsured—illegally—or if they carry only the cheapest coverage.)

Medical payments: This covers medical bills that go over what your liability insurance covers. If you don’t have health insurance, this is especially important.

Rental car: This covers rental car costs while your car is being repaired after an accident.

Road service/Roadside assistance: This covers emergency tows, battery jump starts, and other roadside mishaps.

It depends on your car’s value and how much you need your car. If you drive an old rust bucket that would be cheaper to replace than repair, you probably only need liability. (Because your premiums could be higher than actual repair costs.)

On the other hand, if you absolutely must have your car for work, dropping off your kids, or other mission-critical tasks, consider adding the other types (especially rental car coverage). They’ll help you cover bills and other expenses to get you back on the road.

Car insurance costs are based on your record as a driver, but insurance coverage follows your car. That means that anyone driving your car is technically covered, including friends and family who borrow it.

Family members who live at your address and share your car (such as a spouse, partner, or teenage kids) should be explicitly covered by your policy. If they have a bad driving record, it can drive up your costs.

Penny pinchers and savvy shoppers rejoice: Chances are that there are car insurance discounts you can qualify for. Here are the most common discounts that insurance companies offer:

• Multi-policy: Discount for bundling multiple types of insurance with one provider, e.g., homeowners and car insurance
• Multi-car: Discount for insuring multiple cars with one provider, e.g., your car, your spouse’s car, and your kid’s car
• Safety: Discount for your car’s safety features—this is unrelated to your driving record
• Accident-free: Discount if you’ve gone an exceptionally long time without an accident
• Loyalty: Discount if you’ve been at your insurance company for a long time
• Age: Discount if you’re over a certain age, usually 55

Several types of cars are eligible for car collector insurance. These typically include vintage and antique cars, classics, “modified cars,” and “exotics.”

• “Vintage or antique” cars are usually at least 20-25 years old. They must be as close to their original condition as possible.
• “Classic” cars are usually between 15 and 20 years old; like antiques, they must also be in original (or near original) condition to be eligible for collector car insurance.
• “Modified” vehicles are classic cars that have been altered in some way from their original condition. Most carriers allow up to three significant modifications to the vehicle. Any more than that disqualifies the car from vintage car insurance coverage.
• “Exotic” vehicles are typically less than 15 years old but nevertheless are already beginning to appreciate in value.

The main difference between traditional cars and collector cars is that collector cars usually don’t depreciate. In fact, they often increase in value. Moreover, collectors often add customized parts to the vehicle, not to mention hours of time improving the car.

Thus, collector car insurance must be based on the “agreed value” of the vehicle at the time the policy is issued. The agreed value includes your entire investment in the car.

Moreover, rates for antique collector car insurance are normally cheaper than they are for traditional coverage since collectors tend to take better care of the vehicle and drive it less than they do a car meant strictly for transportation.

Remember, the descriptions above are generalized. Every auto insurance carrier has its own criteria for defining collector cars. What one carrier considers an antique vehicle may not meet the criteria of another company.

Typically, if a car is at least 20 years old and is in near factory condition, most carriers will consider it antique or classic. Classic cars with considerable customization may be categorized as modified. It all depends on the individual insurance provider.

The agreed value of your antique or collector car is a value that both you and the insurance company underwriters can agree on.

Using photographs, receipts, repair documents, and other information, both parties come to an agreement that the car is currently worth a certain dollar amount, and should be covered for a maximum of that amount in the event the car is totaled.

The agreed value is different from the actual cash value, which is based on the age, mileage, and overall condition of the vehicle as well as other factors, including depreciation.

The reason agreed value is important for an antique or collector car is that you are the only one who really understands how much you have invested in your vehicle. It takes into consideration the amount of time and money you have spent restoring the car, as well as how much you might charge if you sell it.

Normally, insurance carriers are willing to offer you the amount of coverage you desire; however, the greater the coverage, the more expensive your premium will be.

Simply put, a personal umbrella policy or a PUP is an extension of your liability insurance. It helps broaden and increase your protection. This can include significantly upping your coverage limit to relieve the financial strain of medical bills and legal fees in the event of an extremely costly accident.

• Car accidents: Even if you keep those hands at 10 and 2 and almost always use your blinker, you could cause a serious accident that includes hospitalization. In this case, your umbrella policy kicks in once the $300,000 liability coverage limit on your auto policy is reached.
• Dog bites: Your little Yorkie-poo hurdles your fence and attacks a neighbor, resulting in extensive medical costs. In this case, your umbrella policy covers the excess costs of hospitalization, care, and rehabilitation after your homeowner’s liability coverage is maxed out.
• Trampolines: Your kid’s friends are doing acrobatic flips, kicks, and tucks on the trampoline in your yard and one of them makes a nasty landing, getting seriously injured. In this case, your umbrella liability handles the cost after your homeowner’s or renters’ liability limits are hit.

The most important kind of insurance for new businesses is liability insurance. It covers legal costs, including the cost of hiring a lawyer, if your business is sued.

Legal costs can be extremely expensive, hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. This is even more true for businesses like childcare, cosmetics, and food service because there’s the potential to really harm your customers.

You might need other types of insurance depending on your business’s niche. Commercial property insurance and commercial auto insurance are common needs for new businesses, in addition to liability insurance.

Business insurance isn’t just one kind of coverage. It’s a blend of multiple types of coverage. So there isn’t one set of things that business insurance covers—you can mix and match based on your business’s size and niche.

These are four common parts of small business insurance:

• Liability: Covers legal expenses, including the cost of legal representation and any damages you might owe.
• Commercial property: Covers buildings, equipment, inventory, and even your customer’s stuff if you’re storing it (like in a hotel or repair business).
• Commercial auto: Covers vehicles that are used for your business. You may need a commercial auto policy in addition to your regular car insurance if you plan on driving your personal car for business.
• Consultant liability insurance (a.k.a. professional liability insurance): Provides extra-legal protection if you’re sued for providing bad guidance to your customers, like in a consulting business.

Even within those categories, there’s lots of variety in what’s covered. Your insurance needs may also change dramatically over time. That’s why it’s good to work with an independent insurance agent. They can help you pick out the coverage you need at the right price point for your business.

This is a more complicated question than it seems. In short, it’s all down to your business’s size and niche. Take a second to think about worst-case scenarios for your business:

• Could expensive property or equipment get damaged?
• Are you working with flammable materials that are prone to fire?
• Are you driving vehicles for business that could get wrecked?
• Is there a risk of physically harming a customer, including food poisoning?
• Is there a risk of seriously humiliating a customer or causing them measurable financial harm?

The worse your worst-case scenarios could be, the more expensive your business insurance could be.

For now, expect to spend a few hundred dollars per year on insurance if your business is small. That should cover liability insurance and maybe even some property insurance. For a larger business, like a restaurant, the cost is likely to be in the thousands of dollars per year.

Photography is a good example of a field where insurance needs vary widely. A few important factors come into play. Let’s look at a few examples that also apply to many other small businesses:

• Are you shooting high-stakes events like weddings?
• Is your photography making up a large portion of your income?
• How expensive is your camera?

Let’s expand all those scenarios:

• If you’re shooting events where customers are likely to sue you (or at least be highly upset) if you screw up, then liability insurance and professional liability insurance are worth buying. Otherwise, you could be on the hook for lots of money.
• If you’re using your photography to pay your bills, then liability and commercial property insurance (insuring crucial equipment like lighting or backdrops) can keep your business afloat if something bad happens. That way you don’t have an interruption of income.
• If you would struggle to find the money to replace your camera if it was stolen or damaged, then a special kind of property insurance called inland marine can help. Inland marine insurance covers expensive, portable equipment like cameras.

Whether you should worry depends on what your situation is relative to the questions and scenarios above. If it’s more of a hobby, you might be fine staying uninsured. But once it gets serious, it’s time to look into getting covered.

These principles apply to all sorts of other small businesses. There are lots of risks to not having business insurance. It’s important to know those risks and know your niche.

Business insurance is not legally required. However, it may be a required step in getting financing, or in attracting customers. That’s because both banks and customers want to be sure you won’t leave them hanging if things start to go wrong.

Running a business is hard, unpredictable, and potentially very expensive. Think of business insurance as a backup. It takes the pressure off you. It helps you take the risks you need to take to grow your business.

It takes a lot of guts and gumption to start a business. Whether or not you decide you need business insurance, good luck!

Business insurance is required by law, but only under certain conditions. The following business insurance is required by law if it is applicable to your situation:

• Unemployment insurance: Applies to a business that has employees and may be obligated to pay unemployment insurance taxes under prescribed conditions; if these conditions are applicable to your business, then you must register your business with the state workforce’s agency.
• Workers compensation insurance: If your business has employees, you are most likely legally obligated to carry workers’ compensation insurance, either on a self-insured basis or through a commercial insurance carrier or a state worker’s compensation program. Workers’ compensation laws vary by state.
• Professional liability insurance: Some states require specified professionals to carry insurance against professional liability.
• Disability insurance: Several states require that a business have partial wage replacement insurance coverage for employees eligible for non-work-related injury or illness. These states include California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island.

If your business carries commercial crime/theft coverage, your business insurance will cover employee fraud and embezzlement.

There are several different forms of employee dishonesty coverage. For example, you can purchase several types of fidelity bonds, either protect the business in the event of dishonest acts by all employees or by named employees.

In order for your business insurance to cover flood damage, your company must carry a separate flood insurance policy or endorsement. The typical commercial property insurance policy covers specific water damage situations but excludes flooding.

The wording and water damage exclusions vary from one insurance company to another. Be sure to review your policy carefully and discuss your specific risks and concerns with an independent agent in the Trusted Choice network who can help you get the coverage you need.

Business insurance covers lawsuits as long as you have the appropriate business liability insurance for your situation and enough liability coverage to pay your legal costs.

To ensure that enough liability coverage is in place for extreme circumstances like a lawsuit that exceeds $1 million in damages, many businesses buy a commercial umbrella liability policy.

Certain liability exclusions also apply, such as if an injury or damage was expected, or was caused intentionally. Some policies also have something called a “workmanship” exclusion, and some exclude coverage of punitive damages.

Liability insurance is available in many different forms, including:

• General liability
• Professional liability, “errors and omissions” and malpractice
• Directors and officers liability
• Product liability
• Premises or property liability
• Employer’s liability
• Employment practices liability
• Environmental and pollution liability

General liability insurance provides insurance protection for a company’s assets, financial obligations, legal defense, and any settlements or judgments awarded to an injured party. 

It may also include claims for copyright infringement, false or misleading advertising, or libel and slander. If a patron is injured in some way in the course of doing business with your company, your general liability insurance will provide coverage.

Errors and omissions insurance (or “E and O”) covers a business for a service rendered that did not have the expected or promised results, or which results in a loss or personal injury suffered by the person receiving those services. It also covers situations where the individual or company failed to render service at all.

These are known as errors and omissions. As an example of errors and omissions insurance, if a financial advisor provided investment advice that resulted in a client’s financial loss, those circumstances could result in an errors and omissions liability claim.

This type of insurance is also known as malpractice insurance (for medical practitioners) and professional liability insurance for practicing lawyers and other professionals.

A business owner’s policy or “BOP” is insurance coverage designed specifically for small or medium-sized businesses. Depending upon the insurance company, the size of the business that qualifies for a business owner’s policy may be based on revenues or the number of employees.

A BOP combines several types of insurance coverage in a packaged format and can be customized to suit a particular business. Generally, this type of policy includes both property and liability coverage.

Policies may also provide coverage to include the following:

• Property claims
• Breakdown of equipment
• Loss of income/business interruption
• Professional liability
• Copyright infringement
• Libel
• Products and completed operations
• Premises liability