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Why You Need Property Insurance
Protection for You and Your Family Property insurance isn't just about protecting your investment in your home or condominium unit. It covers your valuable personal belongings too, both inside and outside your home. It can even help safeguard your financial future if you are ever sued for damages suffered as a result of your negligence. Property insurance is for tenants too If you rent your home, you may think you don't need property insurance. However, your landlord's insurance doesn't cover upgrades to your rental unit that you've paid for yourself - such as a new carpet or built-in shelving in the closets. It also won't protect you if you are sued for negligence. With all this in mind, it's a good idea to consider a property insurance policy designed especially for tenants. Property insurance protects you in two ways Financial Loss: Your property insurance will reimburse you for losses if your home or personal belongings are damaged by fire, your belongings are stolen or if any other unexpected situation that is specified under your policy occurs. Your home and other detached structures such as a garage will likely need to be repaired. You will probably be reimbursed for most, if not all the value of items, such as furniture, artwork and computers - or the items themselves will be replaced. If you cannot live in your home while it is being repaired after a loss, your insurance will pay for some of your additional living expenses, such as accommodation, restaurant meals and storage. For example, if prior to the loss, your total monthly living expenses were $800, and after your loss your total monthly living expenses increased to $1,000 - you would be reimbursed for the difference of $200. Personal Liability: If someone is injured while visiting your home, they could sue you for damages. If they win and a court awards them a substantial amount of money, your entire future could be in jeopardy. Your wages or salary could be garnished for years to come - and you may find it extremely difficult to recover your financial standing. Property insurance includes protection against this kind of liability. Your property insurance will also protect you against liability for accidental damage to someone else's property. For example, if you live in an apartment building and your sink overflows, resulting in damage to a neighbour's ceiling and carpet, your property insurance will pay for repairs or replacement.
Why you need Title insurance
Chances are, the purchase of real estate is the largest single investment you will ever make. The loss of such an important investment would be catastrophic. It pays to be certain that the person selling the property has the ownership rights you think you're buying, but that's not always easy to determine. An owner's rights to property - which often involve family and heirs - are sometimes obscure. There may be other parties (such as government agencies, lenders or private contractors) who also have rights to the property in the form of outstanding claims. How can you be sure you will be the true owner of the property you're buying? Simply purchase a Title policy. TOP THE EVER-CHANGING STATUS OF TITLE What is title insurance? Title insurance offers you information on the status of the title to land before you buy - and protection against claims that may affect the title after you buy. Here's how it works: Before your real estate transaction closes, the public records are searched to find all related official documents. These documents are then examined for their effect, and form the basis of the title insurance policy. The examination reveals the current status of ownership and encumbrances. It shows the current record owner, based on a careful evaluation of all records. It also shows the current limitations on that owner's property rights, such as outstanding mortgages and utility easements. A buyer or lender knows that some of these limitations should be removed (by paying off and releasing a prior mortgage, for example), or they will continue to adversely affect the property after the closing. TOP PROTECTING YOUR FUTURE If the status of title is cleared before you buy, why do you need title insurance? Because even after the most careful research, some title flaws - such as forgery, fraud or confusion due to similar names - may go undetected. These problems may surface at any time in the future. Protection against future claims is provided by a title insurance policy which is issued after your transaction is complete. Policy terms and conditions determine the extent of coverage provided. This insurance policy insures the condition of title. Separate policies are usually issued to protect the owner's and the lender's interests. It is in the lenders best interest to protect their investment. A loan policy protects the lender against loss due to unknown title defects. It also protects the lender's interest from certain matters which may exist but not be known at the time of sale. But this policy only protects the lender's interest. It does not protect you. That's why you need an owner's policy, which can be issued at the same time as the loan policy for a nominal one-time fee. By obtaining a separate owner's title insurance policy, protection continues for as long as you or your heirs own the insured interest, and without any additional fee. TOP TITLE INSURANCE IS YOUR INVESTMENT PROTECTION Real estate investment demands the best possible protection. Remember, you need title insurance just as much as your lender. Ask for a Equity Title Company owner's policy - before you buy. Along with offering fast, accurate and complete title services, Equity Title Company stands behind its work. In the event of a claim against your property, Equity Title Company will protect you against loss resulting from any title risk covered by the policy (up to the policy amount); and costs, attorney's fees and expenses occurred from the loss.
Why you need Equipment Breakdown insurance
You're going along swimmingly in your business, until one day, a power surge or equipment failure wipes out your computer system. Fortunately (or so you think), you have property/casualty insurance, so you call your insurance broker and explain what happened. The broker calls you an hour later and says "Sorry, you're not covered." After expressing your shock and dismay, you say "How can that be?" The broker explains that your property/casualty policy only covers damage to your equipment from "external" causes, such as a fire, a flood or a tree falling on your roof. The policy does not cover damage from "internal" causes such as mechanical failure, electrical short circuit or "arcing" (faulty wiring or motor burnout). Next Step Visit our Insurance Center for more information on the types of insurance you need. What you should have bought, in addition to your property/casualty policy, was "equipment breakdown" insurance. Once mostly limited to large manufacturers, equipment breakdown insurance (sometimes sold under its quaint old-fashioned name of "boiler and machinery insurance") is an increasingly important part of any sound small-business insurance package. Why? •New technology, such as fragile electronic and computerized equipment, is subject to breakdowns that can be more frequent and costly than traditional mechanical equipment. •New business practices, such as Internet marketing and "just in time" inventory, make all businesses more dependent than ever on computer systems. •Critical business information often exists only on the Internet, or in online databases, that cannot be access during periods of equipment breakdown. •Employees are now traveling with many types of equipment that were once permanently attached to a fixed location, so breakdowns often occur in places other than the ones insured under traditional property/casualty policies. "You should think of equipment breakdown coverage as being like accident, health and disability insurance for your equipment," says Mark MacGougan, assistant vice president of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, a leading provider of equipment breakdown insurance. Yet, amazingly, commercial property insurance policies often exclude losses related to equipment breakdowns, unless you specifically ask for the coverage. MacGougan stresses that equipment breakdown coverage is "hardware" insurance, not "software" insurance. "There has to be some sort of physical damage," he says, "such as a power surge that destroys your computer hard drive." Computer failures due to software problems, such as "bugs" or viruses, are not covered. MacGougan also points out that equipment breakdown coverage covers the cost of repairing and replacing the damaged equipment, and frequently (but not always) includes "business interruption" and "service interruption" coverage, which will cover you against loss of business or income due to computer-related "downtime." If these additional coverages are not included in your policy, you may have to ask for them. What if, like most small businesses, your Web site is maintained by an independent ISP that owns the computer server where your Web site is located? First, you should make sure that your ISP has both property/casualty and equipment breakdown coverage. Then, make sure your own equipment breakdown policy includes "service interruption" coverage, which should pay for your loss of business caused by a mechanical or electrical breakdown to the ISP's servers or other equipment. What if your equipment is already covered by the manufacturer's warranties? MacGougan admits there is some overlap between warranties and equipment breakdown coverage but points out that "warranties usually exclude things like operator error, which are normally covered by an equipment breakdown policy. So, for example, if one of your employees negligently overloads an electric circuit by plugging too many things in to the wall, you should be covered." MacGougan cautions, though, that even an equipment breakdown policy will not cover you against acts of intentional sabotage by your employees. How much does an equipment breakdown policy cost? While there are many variables that will affect a premium quote, such as the type of business you are in, the type of equipment you are using and where your business is located, the cheapest way to buy equipment breakdown coverage is "if you build it into your property/casualty policy rather than a stand-alone policy," advises MacGougan, who adds that you should look at the bullet-point summary of what is included in your property/casualty policy, and look for the "boiler/machinery" heading. According to MacGougan, equipment breakdown coverage is growing dramatically, and most insurers are building it into their commercial property packages. If you have an older policy, however, you may have to review it with your broker to make sure it covers the high-tech equipment upon which your business now relies. If it doesn't, maybe it's time for an upgrade.
