Insurance

How Much Disability Insurance Will You Need?

There are a lot of questions when it comes to disability insurance, but you will need to know what type of disability insurance will cover your needs when you cannot work.

The Factors And Costs Of Disability Insurance

The recommendation for disability coverage for an average person is a policy that will replace at least 60 to 70 percent of your total taxable earnings. And if you want to purchase disability insurance with your dollars after taxes, you will be able to get tax-free benefits. But, if you are getting disability insurance through your employer, your plan will probably be subject to taxes. This all depends on how you want to pay for your insurance plan.

The concern that many people have is whether they should get long term disability insurance on top of their existing disability insurance plan. The answer depends upon the risk that you have for becoming disabled. If you work at a dangerous job that can easily kill or harm you during the course of the day, you will probably want this extra coverage.

Small business owners also have to choose what type of disability insurance that they need because they need to have something set in place that will help them out when they are no longer able to run or to protect the business if the owner becomes disabled. Overhead expense policies are something that a small business owner should look into if they want to help protect their business in case of a situation where they become disabled.

How To Determine The Amount Of Coverage That You Need

The best way to determine how much of a benefit that you would need if you had to use your disability insurance is to ask yourself how much monthly income would you need to cover your living expenses. And if you are disabled, you will want to make sure that you take into consideration whether these expenses will fluctuate due to your injury. You will also need to consider the high medical costs, lower work expenses and any expenses that you will need in order to retrain for a new job. And if you are unable to work again at all, you will have to look for another way to get disability payments beside the short term policy that is offered by your employer. All of these factors will determine how much coverage that you will need from your disability insurance.

Small Business Insurance Do’s And Don’ts

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When you are starting a small business, there are generally ten things you want to do when it comes to small business insurance. And on the opposite end there are also ten things which you should not do when looking for small business insurance.

Ten Things To Do

Have an insurance agent signed on right from the initial start-up to give you a clear picture of small business insurance policies you will need and to have these policies in place.
Find an insurance agent who can handle all the insurance needs for your business.
Be sure to include “Commercial Umbrella” coverage, also known as excess liability insurance, in your small business insurance coverage
Using a broad form of business property insurance ensures everything is covered.
Find a good health insurance policy within your means to attract quality employees
For a business which already has employees, consider carrying employment practices liability insurance to guard against employment suits
Maintain a clean and safe environment within your workplace to hold down suits and insurance costs
Be sure to include all tenant improvements that you make in your property insurance
Make sure your small business insurance grows with you and covers your business as it grows.
Maintain a buy – sell agreement with all partners in the business, which is funded by life insurance, in the event of the death of a partner.

Ten Things To Not Do

Do not self-insure any part of your worker’s compensation ever, you can’t afford the risk of not having enough.
Do not fail to see the difference between regular employees and contract workers and insure properly.
Do not forgo ongoing employee training with regards to maintaining safety in the workplace.
Do not go without insurance
Do not deal with contractors who cannot furnish their own insurance certificates
Do not allow your insurance policies to lapse because of lack in payment or late payments on premiums
Do not insure your business with insurance companies with substandard ratings.
Do not withhold information from your insurance agent or company. They need a complete view of all risks to asses your coverage
Do not allow your business to go uninsured in any category that is insurable and carries high amounts of risk
Do not overlook both flood and earthquake insurance if you are in a high risk area for these.

Small business insurance policies should also have business liability insurance in them. Small business insurance is incomplete without a good liability policy in place.