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Insurance Impact of COVID-19 on Short-term Rentals and Transportation Network Platforms

The pandemic has had a profound impact on the hospitality and service industry. This also extends to aspects of the sharing economy, including short-term vacation rentals and transportation network platforms. This article takes a closer look at COVID-19’s impact on these platforms and insurance coverage implications that retail agents should be aware of. COVID-19 Impact on Short-term Rentals When the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, short-term rental hosts experienced a significant decrease in reservations due to stay-at-home orders and transportation restrictions. Soon after, these short-term bookings began to see an increase from those… Read More »Insurance Impact of COVID-19 on Short-term Rentals and Transportation Network Platforms

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks a billion! Thanks for helping us reach a huge milestone! We just had our greatest month ever for personal insurance inquiries. In November, we quoted over 1,000 applications – that’s a lot of zeros! Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Practices to Recognize & Avoid Cyber Threats

We regularly see the effects of cyber attacks on individuals and businesses, but we also see the value that preventive measures can have in blocking those attacks. That’s why we wanted to share some best practices to help you avoid falling victim to cyber fraud and to call your attention to a rising threat: the business email compromise. Business Email Compromise A business email compromise is when a cyber criminal impersonates a familiar business partner through email. The cyber criminal typically asks for a customer’s payment to be redirected to a new account, and, if the ploy works, the recipient… Read More »Best Practices to Recognize & Avoid Cyber Threats

How Moving Affects Your Auto and Home Insurance

America is on the move. With many employers required or volunteered to offer their employees to work from home and with the telecom availability, people are leaving their more expensive cities and houses, and moving out to cheaper places. In San Francisco, for instance, the exodus is so big, it’s a major news headline every other day with a special vacancy / rent reduction coverage once a week on all media outlets.

Moving can come with a lot of stress. Not only do you have to figure out moving costs, pack and orchestrate the movers, but you also have to update your address across all relevant forms. Two important things to pay special attention to during this time are your auto insurance and home insurance.

No one wants to spend hours getting new insurance quotes or transferring over insurance information, but doing so will protect you, your home, and your vehicle during and after your move. Here, we’ve answered the most common auto and home insurance questions to help cover your bases during your upcoming move.

Read More »How Moving Affects Your Auto and Home Insurance

Commercial Umbrella Explained

A commercial umbrella policy is the coverage often requested from businesses by their clients or via contract. Usually the umbrella can be obtained after the primary casualty terms are in place.

A commercial umbrella policy is like third base – we only pay attention to it when we are hurrying home. That’s because we usually have to wait until the primary casualty terms are in place before we can begin focusing on the umbrella – and by then, time is quickly running out!

Anecdotal evidence of this tendency can be found in the typical answer to any question of coverage found in a commercial umbrella – it follows form. Unfortunately, this answer is too often not accurate. A fact that you would rather not discover after a large claim is denied by the umbrella insurer even though it is covered by an underlying policy.

Excess, Umbrella – A Rose by Any Other Name

The confusion begins with what we name the form (alternately, excess liability policy or umbrella liability policy). An umbrella policy may be described as a specific type of excess liability policy — a policy whose value may be measured by comparing that particular form to the three objectives an umbrella is generally designed to achieve.
As you cannot determine the substance of a book solely by examining its title, similarly the title of the policy form — excess or umbrella — does not reveal the terms of coverage. Titles such as “Excess Liability Protection,” “Commercial Umbrella,” “Commercial Excess Liability Policy ” and “Commercial Umbrella Liability Coverage Form” are commonly used but reveal very little about what is covered by the umbrella policy.Read More »Commercial Umbrella Explained

Improve Ventures

Are you looking for an interim executives on demand? Improve Ventures delivers focused, metrics-driven acceleration in key business areas that are specifically required to move you to the next stage: Is your company ready to leapfrog to the next stage? Founders personal and collective stakes mapping Team skillset coverage Industry / Market product position Customer Development status Business roadmap Execution retrospective Tactical & strategic gaps Business metrics Product market fit and customer development leap Problem / Solution assumptions Market assumptions, competition foresight Business model, sales, unit economics Validation status and key findings Skillset coverage, access to customers Financial model assumptions… Read More »Improve Ventures

Learning Pods – Insurance Risks explained

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As parents across the U.S. and Canada grapple with their children’s return to school amid a pandemic, “learning pods” have emerged as a potential solution to meeting kids’ academic and social needs while minimizing contact with large groups.

Two mothers in Delaware County, Ohio recently launched Web Student Services, LLC, a learning pod startup that pairs certified teachers with limited groups, or “pods” of students to facilitate an at-home school curriculum on public grounds. The company has already enrolled more than 70 families, most of whom pay about $90 per week.

Other parents are organizing learning pods with neighbors and hiring tutors or nannies to support their children’s online learning at different homes each week. Others are enrolling in commercial programs, either at existing child care or tutoring centers or other facilities—like fitness centers—that have reconfigured their traditional model to offer child care and learning support services for school-aged children.

Despite widespread need and the potential for revenue these new ventures are not without risk.Read More »Learning Pods – Insurance Risks explained

Is Your Home Insured to Its Replacement Cost?

If you lost your home in a fire, how much would it cost to rebuild it? The answer may be different than you think. And if your home isn’t insured to its full replacement cost, your homeowners policy may not cover the full cost for you to rebuild it in the event of a covered loss. Rebuilding costs could differ from what you paid for your home and be more than its current market value – what it would sell for today – especially in areas where the value of real estate has changed. A replacement estimate includes costs to rebuild your… Read More »Is Your Home Insured to Its Replacement Cost?

Pandemic Protector Coverage: non-damage business interruption insurance

We are pleased to announce Pandemic Protector coverage! This product offers competitive pricing and provides non-damage business interruption insurance for loss of gross profit due to a future epidemic and/or pandemic outbreak of known origin such as Ebola and Corona Virus. Outbreaks of unknown, newly emerging viral diseases are also covered, and coverage for variants of influenza such as Swine Flu or Avian Flu is also available. This highly requested policy offers a flexible definition of the epidemic triggers to meet the needs of the insured, and provides access to specialized epidemic risk management experts to assist in outbreak mitigation… Read More »Pandemic Protector Coverage: non-damage business interruption insurance

Guidance to Help Reopen Small Businesses Safely

Preparing For The Next Step REOPENING BUSINESSES To help our clients safely reopen as states ease restrictions, Travelers Insurance Company created a robust suite of risk management resources featuring a series of webinars and articles, with podcasts and interactive tools, some of which are coming soon. Check frequently for new information, including information for your small business clients to help them to prepare their property, safely bring back employees and welcome customers. Available resources: Preparing Your Property for Employees, Tenants and Patrons After a Pandemic Cleaning and Disinfecting Procedures During and After a Pandemic Resuming Projects After Temporary Shutdowns Reopening… Read More »Guidance to Help Reopen Small Businesses Safely