Times Have Changed!

Mobile Devices: Does Insurance Tag Along?

Mobile information devices like PDAs and MP3 players occupy the bags and pockets of tens of millions of Americans. These devices can be pricey, often costing hundreds of dollars. The cost to obtain the information programmed on these gizmos can be exponentially more. If your portable device is damaged or stolen, will these costs be covered by your insurance?

Personal Insurance
Consider the iPod. Their owners span every demographic. For some, the iPod is as important to getting through the day as morning coffee or sunshine.

This pervasive product ranges in cost—usually a few hundred bucks or less depending on bells and whistles—and that’s just for the hardware. Downloading music can cost a dollar a song, videos and “podcasts” even more. Add in time spent collecting this information and you’ve got thousands of dollars invested in this thing. The same is true for other portable devices.

The good news is that most homeowners policies cover personal property while it is anywhere in the world—a positive considering the nature of these devices. The bad news is that coverage is limited—meaning the check you receive after the loss may not be what you expect.

While many believe their iPod is “worth” thousands of dollars, a homeowners insurance policy is designed to cover “direct physical loss” to property. Therefore, a typical policy will cover the cost of the device itself but not the cost of the information stored on the device. Some homeowner policies include coverage for loss to “personal records,” which may include information stored on a portable device. However, not all will do so and those that do likely limit coverage to a relatively small amount.

Business Insurance
More and more people are using PDAs, such as BlackBerrys and iPhones, to conduct business on the fly. These devices keep them wirelessly connected to their work through email, Internet and phone.

If you own the device personally and use it for business, coverage under your homeowners insurance policy is less generous. Personal property used for business may not be covered worldwide and is subject to an amount of insurance that is lower than other personal property. A further restriction is that any limited coverage available for “personal records” does not apply to business records.

If the device is owned by your employer, it’s likely covered under a business insurance policy. Such policies contain similar limitations for loss of information. 

Back it Up
Whether used for business, personal, or both, cost to replace the device itself is likely the extent your insurance will pay if it is damaged or stolen. The best way to protect the information contained in the device is to back-up data periodically. Then, even if you have to replace the device, you won’t have to start from scratch.

One Roof

Following is just a sample of the types of insurance policies needed by owners of virtually every kind of business:

-Workers Compensation
-Commercial General Liability
-Commercial Property
-Professional Liability
-Commercial Auto
-Business Interruption.

This list is by no means complete. In fact, most researchers conclude that business owners typically need a minimum of nine insurance policies to properly insure their operations. While it may be possible to bundle or package some of these types of insurance together, this is not always an option. In many cases, owners must purchase these important policies individually. Keeping up with this many policies is not something most business owners prefer to spend time on.

Understanding Your Operation
Properly insuring your business requires an almost intimate knowledge of your operations. Spreading your policies across multiple agents means spending more time educating more people about what you do and the exposures that come along with it. A single agent that truly understands the many aspects of your operations is in a better position to help identify exposures for you.

Policies That Work Together
Here’s an example: You expect that your commercial umbrella policy will provide additional coverage over that included in your commercial auto policy. However, many umbrella policies will only extend above an auto policy provided by an insurance company with a specified financial strength rating. If the rating falls below a certain grade, this may drastically affect your umbrella in that it will no longer apply to an auto loss.

It is not unlikely that two of your business insurance policies may have to work together. Thus, keeping them under separate roofs could create problems.  

Personal Info
Preparing business insurance will require owners to furnish highly sensitive financial information about the business as well as personal information about personnel. Spreading insurance across multiple agents will require you to divulge this personal information to multiple parties.

Consolidating Policy Periods
Most business insurance policies are annual policies, renewing each year. As owner, you may want your insurance policies to renew at specific periods of time when it is most convenient for you. For example, you may want your property insurance to renew just before your busiest time of year when inventory levels are at their highest; alternatively, you may wish to keep the books simpler by having all of your insurance renew on a specific date. It should be your choice.

One Call
Perhaps the most convenient advantage to having a single agent managing your business insurance is having all your needs handled in one place. If you need a certificate of insurance, are hiring a new employee, adding a location, forming a new business or any other change, there’s one number to call.

Price and Availability
By keeping multiple policies under one roof, you might have access to multi-policy discounts that can save your business hundreds or thousands annually. Further, keeping your policies under one roof may give your agent more opportunities to obtain better pricing and coverage options for your business.

Packaging
While it may not be an option for every business, some businesses may be able to bundle or package two or more policies together. This often translates into better coverage and pricing as well a simplified handling. For example, some businesses may be eligible for a business owners policy, which combines property, liability and business interruption insurance. Other businesses may be eligible for a management liability policy, which combines a variety of professional liability insurance, such as errors and omissions and employment practices liability.

 

From Trusted Choice http://www.trustedchoice.com/