Wayzata, MN is conveniently located on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Each year people back their boats down the boat ramp and into the water so they can enjoy a fun filled day on the water. Sadly, some of them will end up hitting a guide poll or will end striking the prop on the ramp itself. Without an insurance policy to cover these kinds of damages, the boat owner could end up paying for the repairs with their own money.

How Your Boat Can Cover You from Financial Losses

• If you have ever hit the dock or another boat, then you know the damage that can happen to the hull of your craft. A minor dent can cost you thousands of dollars and without a boat insurance policy you could end up paying for it yourself.
• A boat policy can also protect your personal belongings that you carry on the boat. All someone has to do is enter the craft and help themselves to your personal items. A boat policy may also cover you if anything is ever stolen from your boat.
• Liability claims can happen while operating your boat. If someone suddenly falls and blames you for their injuries, then you could be facing a lawsuit. By having a policy with liability coverage you will have the coverage you need to avoid financial problems.

A boat insurance policy has a lot to offer its owner. But in order to get a policy that can protect you and your family you will need to speak with one of our agents today. Give us a call and let us get you the information you need in order to make an informed decision about your insurance needs today.

Personal umbrella insurance covers you when your current policy doesn’t. It goes above and beyond your auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance policy limits. It covers you when your liability adds up to more than your policy will pay.

Picks Up Where Your Policy Leaves Off

If hurt another driver in an auto accident, the driver’s medical bills might go well beyond your policy limits. And, you might need to come up with the amount that your insurance company didn’t pay. Coverage under this policy includes:

• Coverage over your home, auto or recreational vehicle limits
• Coverage for libel or slander
• Coverage for court and attorney fees for frivolous claims against you

Prevents You From Losing Your Home

You need not worry about losing your home to pay the difference between your insurance limits and your liability amount. Your policy will take care of it. These special policies often are available with limits of at least $1 million, but you can get higher amounts if you need it.

Coverage You Can Get

Personal umbrella insurance covers you wherever you go. For example, if you get in an accident while you’re on vacation at an international location, your auto insurance coverage might not cover you. But, you need not worry because your personal umbrella policy covers you. Other scenarios where you might find this insurance coverage helpful include:

• You’re liable for a contract worker who’s injured while working on your home
• While driving your car, your teen driver badly injures another driver
• You need to go to court because someone filed a fraudulent claim against you

Exclusions

If you intentionally hurt someone, you’re on your own. Personal umbrella insurance policies don’t cover criminal activities such as this one. You also won’t have coverage for workers compensation or malpractice claims. You can get coverage for work-related injuries through your employer’s workers compensation insurance. And, you can get an errors and omissions policy to cover malpractice claims.

Don’t get caught without adequate insurance to protect you and your family. Call us today to see if a personal umbrella policy is right for you. We’re happy to serve residents in Monticello, MN and the surrounding area.

Your business has a lot of expenses, from the rent you pay for your buildings to your office supplies. It’s important to keep costs and overhead as low as possible, without cutting much in the way of corners. When you’re looking into renters insurance, business insurance, or commercial insurance in Minnesota, you have a few key elements that affect how much things are going to cost.

Your geographical location is an aspect of your insurance that the company is going to examine closely. If you’re in an industrial location with your warehouse and your crime rates are significantly higher than the surrounding areas, the insurance is going to cost more. The rate of natural disasters in the area also has an effect of insurance such as commercial vehicle insurance.

When you’re getting coverage for commercial equipment, the amount that you pay for renters insurance or business insurance depends on the amount of assets that you need covered. It’s important to have a complete list of assets so you know exactly how much replacement cost would be if something would happen to all of your equipment.

Another factor, when purchasing business interruption insurance, is how much your business makes on a regular basis. Business interruption insurance helps you avoid any loss of income that would prevent you from being able to conduct business. What’s particularly important with this is your regular cash flow, not how much you make when you’re having income spikes. The insurance company looks at the average over a particular period of time to determine how much you should get. This also depends on how long the interruption is going to occur.

Figuring out what type of boat coverage you need to protect your vessel in Ramsey, MN can seem like a pain. Boats face an entirely different set of risks than any other vehicle you operate and insure, so understanding the types of coverage available starts with a bit of a learning curve. This quick overview will help give you an idea of what you’re looking for.

Liability

Like auto insurance, the most basic type of boat coverage is liability; that is, coverage for people who are injured or other people whose property is damaged on or around your watercraft. That includes bodily injury coverage and property damages your boat causes to docks or other boats in the water.

Comprehensive Coverage

Also like auto insurance, comprehensive coverage is a sort of umbrella policy for your boat, filling in the gaps that other policies leave behind. Comprehensive insurance typically covers the following:

• theft of your boat
• vandalism
• fire damage
• flood damage
• other weather-related damage and damages caused incurred when you’re not in the water

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Your can also choose to purchase insurance that will cover your boat if you’re in an accident with an uninsured boater.

When is my boat covered?

When your boat is in the water or at the dock, your boat insurance policy covers it. When your boat is being towed, on the other hand, it’s covered by your auto insurance policy instead, and the details of that coverage depend on your auto insurance itself.

Depending on the details of your homeowner’s policy, your boat may or may not be protected when it’s parked at home. If it is, chances are the property you have on board is not. An independent agent in the Ramsey area will be able to look at your existing policy and help you decide just what type of coverage you need.

Buying motorcycle insurance in Saint Michael, MN does not automatically mean that every possible problem is covered and that the protection is appropriate for the needs of the individual. Even though the state does have strict laws when it relates to liability, uninsured motorist and under-insured motorists, the minimum standards do not require coverage for theft or damages to a personal motorcycle.

Basic Plans

If you have purchased a basic policy, then it is unlikely that your plan will protect against theft. Most basic plans are designed to meet the state standards for liability protection. Even if the policy offers some extra coverage, it may not provide protection against theft.

You should always read the policy to determine the coverage if you are not sure about the protection that you have purchased. The policy will explain the specific details that may apply to your plan.

Comprehensive Plans

In many cases, a comprehensive policy will cover theft, vandalism or other actions that are not within your personal control. Keep in mind that every comprehensive plan differs, so the exact details will vary.

When you have purchased a plan for liability protection and coverage against collisions, it is unlikely that you will have any coverage for theft. Collision protection will pay for damages to your personal motorcycle, but will not usually cover any damages that are not related to an impact with another object.

A motorcycle insurance policy may or may not offer protection against theft. The details of the policy and the exact type of plan that you purchased will usually dictate the amount of coverage that you have available and the situations that are covered. To learn more about protecting your motorcycle from theft or other crimes, contact us to talk to an agent.

Every summer, thousands of fishermen and recreational boaters hitch their boat trailers up to the back of their SUVs or pick-up trucks and head to one of the many beautiful lakes in Minnesota. While your homeowners insurance policy may provide a limited amount of coverage for damage to your boat, the motor, or the trailer, it is usually not enough to be fully protected. To be fully protected, you need to buy a separate boat insurance policy.

Boat insurance provides some of the same types of coverage you may see on an automobile insurance policy. You can buy property damage and bodily injury liability insurance that covers other people who are physically injured or suffer personal property damage. Liability insurance covers guests aboard your boat as well as people in other boats or around your boat. A typical boat policy may also include medical payments for injuries you, the boat owner, suffer. Boat insurance can pay for damage to your boat from collision or other perils such as fire or wind.

In general, power boats that are capable of high speeds will cost more to insure than a sailboat because they can do a great deal more damage if they collide with another boat or immovable object (like a dock) while traveling at high speed. Think of the cost as being the difference between insuring a fast sports car versus a family sedan.

Insurance agents that sell boat insurance can answer all of the questions you may have. Do you have to pay for boat insurance for the year if you only use your boat for three months of the year? They can tell you ways to save money on a policy such as taking a boat safety course, getting a multi-policy discount, or installing safety devices on your boat. Before you select just any policy, let your independent agent get you some quotes. That way, you can compare rates and get the most affordable boat insurance policy that meets your needs.

If you are an Elk River, MN resident who is planning to insure your motorcycle, you are probably wondering exactly what your new motorcycle insurance policy will cover. Actually, the answer can be different for every person since you have the ability to customize your insurance policy. However, there are several different basic coverage types that you will probably choose to include in your plan for the fullest coverage. Those include:

Liability Coverage

The law in Elk River, MN and all other areas in the state requires you to maintain liability insurance on your motorcycle. This coverage gives you protection in the event that you are the cause of an accident. The state does set minimum levels of liability coverage. For example, damage to one person must be insured in the amount of $30,000, damage to two people must be insured in the amount of $60,000, and you must also maintain property damage coverage for vehicle repairs in the amount of $10,000.

Underinsured and Uninsured Coverage

The law also requires MN residents to hold both underinsured and uninsured motorcycle coverage. Underinsured coverage takes over paying for damages you sustain if the other (at fault) driver doesn’t have enough insurance. This coverage must be maintained for $25,000 for one-person injures and $50,000 for two-person injuries.

The uninsured coverage will cover your medical damages if the driver responsible for the accident did not have insurance. This coverage must be held in the same amounts as the underinsured motorist coverage, $25,000 and $50,000.

You may also want to get other optional coverage types that protect your vehicle, namely comprehensive and collision. Collision coverage can pay for repairs to your vehicle in accidents while comprehensive is there to cover the damages that don’t happen on the road.

It is quite easy to get the best motorcycle insurance coverage for your budget by comparing insurance quotes with Pizano Insurance over the Internet in just minutes.

When you make a claim on your motorcycle insurance, your insurer must determine the value of your motorcycle before providing funds. That helps the company determine if it is better to pay for the repairs or if it is more cost effective to declare the motorcycle a total loss.

Cost After Depreciation

A method that may be used to determine the value of the motorcycle is subtracting the depreciation rates from the purchase price of the motorcycle. This type of method is appropriate when the bike is relatively new because the market value for the motorcycle may not provide enough information to determine a fair price.

Depreciation rates can vary between brands and the duration of time since you purchased the motorcycle, so the insurance provider may adjust the calculations over time to reflect changes to the market.

Market Value Guides

Some companies may use a market value guide, such as the Kelley Blue Book, to determine an estimated value of a motorcycle. The downside of using a guide is that it may not consider any extra work that has gone into the motorcycle.

If your company uses a market value guide, then you need to inform the claims adjuster or the company about any adjustments or changes that have gone into the motorcycle. The work can add value to your motorcycle that is overlooked with the average estimates that are provided in a guide book.

There are several different ways that an insurance provider may determine the value of your motorcycle. Depending on your motorcycle insurance policy and the details of your situation, it may or may not be appropriate for your goals and concerns. Contact us to speak to an agent to learn more about the way that insurance providers handle your claims.

Buying a sailboat can be exciting, but it also raises questions regarding your coverage and the options that are available for your situation. Depending on your concerns, you may need to purchase a separate policy that is designed to specifically address the potential problems that can arise when you take your sailboat out on the water.

Adding to a Current Plan

In some cases, you may add coverage for your sailboat to your auto or home policy, but the amount of coverage that you can expect may be limited. For example, an auto policy may provide protection while you are hauling the boat to the lake, but it will not cover any damages that take place on the water. The same is true of a home policy. It might cover damages while the boat is in the house or protect against theft from your garage, but it will not provide coverage while you are on the water.

Buying a New Plan

Generally, it is best to purchase a sailboat insurance policy when you own a boat so that you can avoid any complications.

A sailboat insurance policy will usually protect against liability concerns when you are on the boat and it may provide comprehensive coverage to protect against theft, damage while the boat is in storage or other concerns associated with owning a boat. The coverage is designed to address the needs of a sailboat, so it is appropriate when you are not sure about the coverage that you need.

There are a variety of problems that can arise when you purchase the wrong type of insurance to protect your boat. Call us today to speak to an agent to learn more about protecting your boat.

Purchasing commercial insurance policy for your business can be a challenging process, especially if you are not sure about the coverage that you need. By taking time to consider specific factors and concerns, it is easier to make the final decision regarding the coverage that you need for your company.

Company Assets

A key factor to consider before you purchase any policy is the assets that your business owns. For example, if you own an office space, then you may need to purchase property insurance. On the other hand, if you are renting a space, then your business may need coverage for rental spaces instead.

Identify all of the assets that the company owns so that you can purchase appropriate coverage for the assets. You may also want to note the rental spaces so that you can obtain the appropriate policy for your situation.

Liability

Every company has liability concerns, but the type of liability coverage that you will need to purchase can vary. Evaluate the situations that may arise and consider if you need to purchase a liability plan to protect your company from losses. Your needs may vary based on the type of services that you provide.

Employee Concerns

You need to consider your employees when you are purchasing any policy. Depending on the number of employees and the work that they provide, you may need a worker’s compensation policy and benefits that you can offer to your employees when they start working.

There are several considerations that you need to evaluate before you make a decision about the policies that are most appropriate for your company. Regardless of the policies that you purchase, the coverage is designed to protect your business. Contact us to speak to an agent to learn more about business insurance options.