Performing for the public as a karaoke emcee, deejay or band member requires a lot of interaction with the general public (venue customers) and a significant investment in equipment and instruments. Obviously such performers face the possibility of a loss involving legal liability to other persons and loss to their own property.

DJs, karaoke emcees and band members are also, typically homeowners and renters. They are also often policyholders of homeowners or renters insurance. They may also be persons who are woefully unaware that they may have special insurance needs that should be addressed in order to avoid big problems.

Such performers should look into the type of losses they may face and attempt to arrange for proper coverage. They should also be aware that it could be a huge mistake to assume that their basic residential liability and property coverage can handle such losses.

Property considerations - Well, consider the property situation that exists. All of the persons mention makes regular use of the following:

• Electronic amplifying equipment, microphones, speakers, stands
• Electronic (including digital and computer) sound recording and reproducing equipment
• Electronic and acoustic instruments
• Lighting equipment and various accessories

All of this property is, typically, subject to serious coverage limitation under a typical residential policy. Generally a policy must be modified to include scheduled (specifically describing items) coverage that may involve getting documentation and appraisals to establish coverage amounts.

Liability considerations – Performers are often at public places and events, mingling with audiences, moving around with equipment or instruments, laying wiring and positioning various equipment, inviting and working with people, sometimes using podiums and stages, weaving among diners, drinkers and dancers. Often they are dealing with people who are inebriated, with reduced agility and judgment.

These situations can create incidents where a performer may be directly responsible for injuring others or for damaging others’ property.

The coverage needs of performers are complicated when they engage in these activities for income. Business activities are usually excluded. Securing proper coverage may involve a simple attachment of a form to a homeowners or rental policy, buying a separate inland marine policy, or arranging for separate business coverage.

If you are an entertainer, you may want to schedule a show with an insurance professional to may sure your act is protected!

It is important to understand your Homeowners Insurance policy and be aware of all the exclusions and limitations it may contain. Knowing the meaning of all the specific terms and definitions will provide insight into your coverage’s ins and outs and make you feel even more protected.

Homeowners Insurance(also Home Insurance, Hazard Insurance, HOI): is a form of insurance that indemnifies the insured property against loss from common disasters such as fire, lightning, storms, explosions, etc, as well as from theft, and vandalism. It also contains personal liability coverage, which insures against lawsuits concerning injuries which occurred on your property. Homeowners policies normally combine property and liability coverage.

Personal Property(personal effects, movable property, personalty, goods and chattels): is any property of an insured other than real estate (land, permanent buildings on the land). It includes furniture, equipment, cars, jewelry, securities, bank accounts, and pets. Personal property of an insured is protected by Homeowners policies, and business personal property is protected by commercial forms of Property Insurance.

Premium: is the amount of money you have to pay for your Homeowners Insurance policy.

Risk: is the chance of loss from a peril, injury or damage. Risk is also the term referred to the person or entity that is insured.

Deductible: is the amount of money an insured has to pay out-of-pocket per claim toward the total amount of an insured loss, before the insurance company pays the remaining amount of the covered loss.

Claim: is a request for compensation for a loss that is covered by the insurance policy.

Peril: is a specific risk or an event that causes a loss covered by an insurance policy to your home and property. These are such risks and events as fire, flood, windstorm, and theft. Policies normally have two sets of such risks: covered and excluded. A named-peril policy covers the policyholder for the risks specified in the policy, while an all-risk policy covers all causes of loss except for exclusions.

Causes of Loss: is the term that replaces the term “perils” in the latest commercial property forms.

Actual Cash Value(ACV) is the value of a damaged or stolen property item at the time of the loss. This value is based on the cost of repairing or replacing the item with the similar kind and quality item. Actual cash value of property is usually less than the replacement cost since depreciation decreases it.

Replacement Cost: is the cost of replacing a stolen or damaged property item with a new one of similar quality at today’s prices.

Replacement Cost Guarantee: provides the full cost to repair or replace your dwelling or personal property, even if you were underinsured and the replacement tends to exceed the original cost of the property. It pays for the full cost of damaged property replacing without a dollar limit or a deduction for depreciation.

Depreciation: is the reduction in the property’s value over time due to aging, use, wear and tear, obsolescence or deterioration.

Settlement: is the dollar amount a policyholder agrees to accept from his/her insurance company as reimbursement for their loss.

Endorsement: is an attachment or amendment to your insurance policy that adds to, removes or modifies the original terms of the contract. With the help of endorsement a policyholder can tailor a policy to his/her needs.

Exclusions: are specific causes, conditions, or circumstances your insurance policy does not cover. Coverage of certain risks, property, locations or persons may be ruled out.

Insurer: is the insurance company which provides the coverage and indemnifies for losses.

Insured Premises: is the term describing the place where you live, as well as any structures on your property and surrounding land under your care and control for which an insurance policy provides coverage.

Underwriting: is the process by which an insurance company assesses the eligibility of a customer before issuing insurance policies and classifies risks based on their degree of insurability.

Floater: is additional insurance which can be added to your policy to cover personal property items whose full value is not covered by Standard Homeowners policies: antiques, jewelry, furs, guns, computers, valuable art work etc.

Dwelling Coverage: is a Homeowners Insurance policy form that is designed to cover a house, attached structures, materials or supplies used in construction, fixtures in the house and outdoor equipment, and provide coverage for direct physical loss against fire, wind, theft, and other perils.

Other Structures: are detached structures, such as a garage or tool shed separated from an insured dwelling by a clear space, and fixtures attached to the land, such as fences, retaining walls, driveways, sidewalks, and patios.

Personal Liability: covers the policyholder and all their family members living in the home against claims, lawsuits and the cost of legal defense arising from bodily injury and property damage to others caused by an accident on the policyholder’s property, with the exception of intentional acts.

Temporary Living Expenses: are additional living expenses an insured incurs to live somewhere else and maintain a normal standard of living while his/her home is uninhabitable due to a covered reason of loss (costs for a hotel or motel, restaurant meals, and laundry expenses).

Umbrella Liability: is insurance protection that covers against catastrophic losses when primary limits of the basic liability policy are exhausted.

Basic Coverage Form: is the limited coverage offering protection against only a few risks such as fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, smoke, volcanic eruption, theft, vandalism, damage from vehicles or aircraft, explosion, civil commotion, or glass breakage.

Broad Form: is a term used to specify comprehensive extended insurance coverage policies for the dwelling and personal property that include multiple types of perils, or additional types of coverage beyond the standard one. Broad Form coverage may extend certain perils listed in Basic Form plus add other risks, for example building collapse, freezing of or accidental discharge of water from within plumbing, heating, or air-conditioning, weight of snow, ice, and bursting of steam or hot water heating systems.

Special Coverage Form: is a Property Insurance form which provides the broadest coverage on an all-risk type basis and covers any possible peril except for those specifically listed as exclusions in the policy.

Tenants Policy: is a Homeowners Insurance form which is designed for persons who rent their accommodation. Tenants Policy package usually combines coverage for personal liability, medical coverage, additional living expenses, and personal property coverage but does not cover the building itself. It may have a provision to cover tenant improvements though.

Condominium: is a home ownership form in which individual units of a larger complex are not rented but sold. The word itself applies to the legal ownership arrangement.

Condominium policy covers unit owners for their personal possessions and liability separate from the insurance the condo association carries.

Business Personal Property is the term which refers to furniture, equipment, fixtures, materials, machinery, merchandise, and other personal property the insured uses for business.

As purveyors of insurance too many homeowners on Kiawah Island, Anderson Insurance Associates regularly encounter many of the problems and concerns of Kiawah Island property owners.  Their commitment to providing helpful solutions and service to their clients is not always limited to just the insurance concerns of their customer base; instead, Anderson Insurance associates and PURE welcome the opportunity to help protect and improve the communities surrounding their customers.

Anderson Insurance Associates and PURE’s sponsorship of the Bobcat Ball is indicative to their commitment to natural habitat conservation, making them ideal partners for the Kiawah Conservancy.

Representatives of Anderson Insurance Associates and PURE look forward to greeting friends, new and old, on the evening of April 26 at the Bobcat Ball.

To find out more information about the Kiawah Conservancy please visit their website at www.kiawahconservancy.org.

Courtesy of Naturally Kiawah Magazine

• Cruise through intersections during a red light
• Make quick left turns in front of oncoming traffic
• Change lanes six times in the space of two city blocks
• Tail-gate so closely that they threaten to weld their car onto your rear bumper
• Ignore the changing light in order to adjust mascara, shave, eat or comb
• Pay more attention to their cell-phone conversations

Such folks turn every day on the road into a test of patience and may even trigger a dangerous emotional response.

“Road rage” refers to driving incidents involving aggressive or violent behavior. Various sources have blamed increased traffic accidents and fatalities on road rage. Others debunk the term as a “fad.” and say that traffic statistics don’t reflect increased violence on the part of drivers.

Every driver is guilty of acts that can be blamed lapses in judgment. You or I may make a proper lane change or legally proceed through an intersection 99 out of 100 times. However, the drivers who witness our mistakes may assume that we’re hopelessly inept or are doing something deliberate. Take a deep breath from behind your wheel and recognize that the driver who has just done something “stupid” is likely someone who is normally a good driver.

It makes sense to give other drivers the benefit of the doubt. One reason is because it’s earned. Most drivers do a terrific job on the road. Especially when you consider the dangers inherent in driving, such as traffic congestion, poor weather, time-pressures and routine road hazards (breakdowns, potholes, pedestrians, etc.)

A better reason for staying calm behind the wheel is that cool-headed drivers make better decisions. They have a better chance of avoiding or minimizing accidents. Finally, you may run into serious problems if you cause an accident while acting too aggressive. There’s a greater chance of causing serious injury and a higher likelihood of legal consequences. You also increase your chances of being sued. Oh, and let’s not forget that insurers aren’t seeking to cover drivers who fail to use common sense.

Driving is tough enough without complicating it with rude or aggressive behavior and car insurance isn’t free, so start your car, give other drivers a break, and keep a cool head. It’s an attitude that creates the best chance for getting where you need to go….safely.

Possible Danger

In some respects, the ‘Net may be no more dangerous than getting information from other sources, but the need for insurance consumers to take care when using such information remains. One major issue is that published information is typically granted a high level of credibility (this includes the information you’re currently reading). It is important to be certain of any information before acting on it. Ten different sources of information can give you ten different answers. Therefore, the safest way to use information is to seek and sort through multiple, credible sources rather than merely place full trust in a single source.

Items to Keep In Mind

The Internet is an incredible tool. However it also provides many opportunities for acquiring information that may be useless or even harmful. Any user should remember the following:

• it is often impossible to verify who has posted the information and whether the source has any expertise in the subject matter
• material that appears on the Internet may be presented as facts when they are actually opinions or advertisements
• the information may be accurate for one set of circumstances, but it doesn’t tell you how the information applies to other situations; at the very least, it should contain a disclaimer
• no credible party may have taken responsibility for keeping the information accurate and current
• the party that posted the information may possibly have a criminal intent
• Internet publishers often forget that their audience is global and the information may only apply to a specific group or geographic location

When seeking information to meet your insurance needs, it’s important to discuss your concerns with an expert. A professional insurance agent is a good source for getting the answers you need to fit your unique coverage situation.

In most instances, a type of coverage called a general or commercial general liability policy will protect a business against the damage or injury their actions may cause to others. However, this type policy is designed to handle loss associated with fairly generic and low-risk activities. Examples are customers who cut their hands on a sharp edge of an office’s reception desk or a customer who is hurt when she collides with a clerk who is stocking a shelf. Much more is at stake with professional activities. Consider several aspects that make professional liability tougher to insure:

Professional Advice - persons who need professional liability coverage are those whom the general public depend upon as experts. They provide assistance with special issues such as personal health, expensive business transactions, or personal crises. Many of these situations also involve a high-level of emotion. When something goes wrong, it is much more likely that a client will pursue “justice” through the courts.

Professional Reputation - Any claim a client makes against a professional involves that individual’s reputation. In many instances, paying a claim bears the stigma of admitting to a mistake. The professional may suffer from a lowered status and could face sanctions from related professional associations or regulatory authorities. Further, many professionals are proud of their standing and their abilities; admitting being wrong is usually fiercely resisted.

Higher Defense Costs - Defending against claims of professional error or incompetence is usually very expensive and time-consuming. Trials will usually involve expert testimony and technical arguments and the likelihood of resolving issues quickly (particularly via a settlement) is extremely low.

Identifying A Loss – The timing between when a loss occurs and when a claim or suit is filed can be a mystery. A professional may find out she’s being sued today for something that happened ten years ago. The potential for a huge time gap before a loss arises makes professional liability a very difficult type of business to underwrite and to price.

You have invested a lot in your business and your profession. It is important to be sure that you take the steps to deal with the special as well as the routine sources of loss. As usual, it is always a good idea to discuss your questions and needs with an insurance professional.

• single individuals
• traditional married couples
• traditional family – husband, wife, children
• relatives sharing the same household

However, when two or more unrelated individuals live in the same residence and/or share the use of the same vehicle(s), the coverage situation becomes confused. It’s still common for either policy wording or company underwriting rules to limit or bar convenient coverage for an unrelated person. Why one or more unrelated persons are together is their business; the relevant consideration is how are their insurance needs met?

Homeowners Insurance – If you share an apartment or rent a home and each of you retains separate ownership of your property, each of you should carry your own tenant’s policy. If you own the home jointly, but maintain separate ownership of your personal property, you might consider the following strategy:

1. Name one individual as the “named insured” on the policy. The named insured is covered for his interest in the dwelling and personal property (such as clothes, appliances, furniture, etc.). Further, the named insured is also protected against losses involving his legal liability to others including payments for medical services.

2. Add the other owners as additional insureds – residence premises. The other owners then will have coverage for their interest in the dwelling, premises liability and medical payments to others.

3. Finally, each additional insured should buy their own tenant’s policy to cover their personal property.

Auto Insurance – If each person has his or her own vehicle, the insurance question couldn’t be simpler. Each vehicle should be insured by the individual owner. However, if two unrelated people share ownership of a vehicle, the policy covering the car should have a joint coverage endorsement added to it. A joint coverage endorsement (which may have various names) should result in giving the co-owners the same coverage as if they were related. (This endorsement is not available in all states.) The same strategy may be used when only one person owns the household’s vehicle. The other person (who does not have his/her own car) may be added via a joint coverage endorsement. However, other options may exist such as (depending upon the insurer): the non-owner resident may be added to the owner’s policy as a part-time driver or the other person might purchase a “non-owned” auto policy to get automobile coverage.

The insurance industry is making halting steps to acknowledge a broader range of ownership arrangements, including policy forms that allow policies to reflect domestic partnerships. How can you be sure about whether your interests are properly covered? Easy…speak to an insurance professional; discuss your situation in detail and then determine the best way to structure your policies.

Banks and other lenders have long used credit history in their lending process. A discovery then occurred which prompted a new use. For some reason, certain elements of a person’s credit history are predictive of whether that person is likely to suffer insurance claims. A credit-based score is developed from information such as amount of debt, number of credit cards held, pattern of payments, defaults, etc. Credit-based scores are used to help decide the acceptability of applicants. They may also help a company choose to modify the premium charged to existing clients.

Insurers, after battles with regulators and consumers regarding the use of such information, routinely use credit-based scoring. It is hailed as an aide to improve their pricing and profitability. However, there is a reluctance to provide details on how scores are developed. Companies have claimed that the information is considered confidential. Insurers fear that revealing details on credit-based scores would result in losing valuable information to competitors. While a handful of states have banned the use of credit-based scoring, most others have approved its use (along with guidelines for its use).

If you have been affected by a credit-based score, you’re entitled to know. You can also get information on how to be sure that your credit history is accurate. An insurance professional is a good source to help you with questions on how your credit may be affecting your insurability.

Have Teeth, Will Bite

Tens of millions ofU.S.households own dogs and biting incidents keep climbing. A key factor that contributes to these incidents is the failure of dog owners to supervise and train their pets. Another problem is that many persons, especially children, do not know how to behave around dogs. Bites may occur when:

• a person stares at a dog, which the animal perceives as a threat or challenge
• people attempt to handle dogs during sensitive moments (while a dog is trying to eat or while nursing puppies)
• trespassers or house guests invade a dog’s territory
• “rough-housing” with a dog escalates beyond playing.

An Issue Of Control

Insurance is still designed to handle accidents, and companies are at a severe disadvantage when policies are asked to respond to losses that are easily avoided. Dog bite claims involve the insured having control over areas such as:

• choosing to own a dog
• choosing the particular breed of dog
• raising the dog in a certain manner
• housing the dog in a certain manner
• exposing the animal to various social situations
• being knowledgeable about a dog’s temperament and inclination to bite or attack.

All of the above elements can contribute to lawsuits and to action from an insurer.

The “Policy” On Dogs

If you have homeowners insurance and you own a pet, the liability portion of your policy provides protection for losses arising from pet ownership. Not only are you and your household protected, but coverage even extends to persons who have custody of your pet. However, your policy won’t cover businesses that may have custody of your pet, such as kennels, obedience schools, groomers and professional sitters or walking services (they should carry their own coverage). Further, coverage could become problematic if dogs in a home are related with unreported, in-home business activity. Losses involving persons who are bitten while in a home for business reasons may not be covered.

Minimizing The Problem

Owners have a responsibility to raise and handle their dogs in a manner that reduces the chance for a loss. Steps to take include becoming knowledgeable about their breed of dog and about general principles of ownership and care. They should make certain that family members, social visitors, neighbors and strangers are protected from the owner’s pets. Owners should also take advantage of resources to help them, such as tips from animal shelters, dog ownership clubs, the AKC and a plethora of Internet sources.

It may not be the fairest set of circumstances, but more insurers are choosing not to give dogs the benefit of the doubt. It is becoming more common for companies to refuse to write coverage for persons who own certain breeds of dogs. Therefore, owners must fight this trend by not taking their pet ownership lightly….because insurers aren’t.

Basic business auto insurance only covers employees while operating a company-owned vehicle to perform company business. An employee’s personal automobile policy typically excludes business use; so a coverage gap may exist if an employer’s vehicle policy is not modified to handle non-owned vehicles.

Another important consideration is whether the amount of non-owned coverage is sufficient. Any non-owned auto liability limits should be high enough to protect both the business and the employee. A company has to evaluate its particular coverage need in order to determine the proper level of coverage. Including ‘non-owned’ auto liability coverage on the business policy will provide coverage for the business over any deficiency in limit from the employee’s personal auto policy. This is coverage for the BUSINESS, not the employee.

If the company does not own any automobiles, it is possible to purchase business auto liability coverage for only the danger of loss involving its use of ‘hired and non-owned’ vehicles. The ‘hired’ portion would cover business travel and vehicle rentals; the ‘non-owned’ portion would cover employees using their own auto in the business.

Even if a business rarely uses non-owned autos, it only takes one serious accident to create a significant loss for the business. You should find an opportunity to discuss this coverage with an insurance professional.