Video

Thank you @sethzaremba !

Thank you @coterieinsurance1871 for taking a coffee break with us!

Thanks @coterieinsurance1871. Data (aka answers to qustions) leads to a better client experience. 😊

Thanks for your comment @myd0gr3x. Sorry you thought the explanation wasn't easy. Be glad to hop on a call if you have any questions that we can go over and help clear it up. You can reach out on our website www.dopazoinsurance.com and chat to get the link to schedule a call/zoom.

Thank you for your question. Our office doesn't write trucking coverage (this includes cargo for trucks). We did some research and here is a list of companies/brokers that consider risks in the oil and gas industry. www.mynewmarkets.com/search/oil+trucking

I'm sorry Manny. We can't speak to what's going on in your specific situation. I suggest that you consult an attorney with employment law experience ASAP.

Hi Linda. What kind of policy do you need the Waiver of Subrogation on? e.g. General Liability, Business Auto, Workers Compensation

Hi Laren, thank you for the question. It should be answered by your attorney though. Every sitiuatoin is different and if it's warrented it should be negotiated. I can say it's pretty common place and can be supported by most insurance policies. So if it's needed it should be relatively simple to find.

@@DopazoInsurance awesome. Thanks! After our insurer looked over the lease, they mentioned it wasn’t going to raise our premium

That depends on a few factors. Some bonds are not public information. If there is a relationship with the entity you can usually just asked them for a copy of the bond. Sometimes the bond information is included in the contracts between the two parties. Sometimes we've seen attorneys requests asking if there is a bond or insurance policy in effect for an insured. Depending on the type of bond there may be rules in different states or municipalities that require the bonds be included in a specific place, like a job site. Sorry that their isn't a simple answer I can provide.

@@DopazoInsurance thank you for the response that you did give. I'll have our attorney find the hospitals surety bond - there are plenty of families who have evidence of this particular hospital terrorizing families with medical kidnapping when they said no to know dangerous drugs, asking for safer ones, or asked for a second medical opinion. They've truly made taking a child in for an emergency, a game of Russ-ian Ro-ulette, praying your family isn't a chamber with a bullet. 😕 I know with public officials that have to be bonded, if 10 individuals go after their bond with realistic evidence, they can't serve until the process has been gone through. How does that work for a bonded hospital, do you know? Its possibly a similar response of, it depends?

@@VioletPersuasion Those rules and laws would be local to where the hospital is located or operating. You would best be served discussing this with your attorney as they can look into Federal, State or Local rules that would apply.

Thank you @dhollinquest9947!

Thank you @lachicameow!

Thank you!

Thank YOU!

Thank you @dane-lp7ur!

Agreed, but that being said, that is true of every business. Every business protects its bottom line, and some use insurance to enhance that protection. Unfortunately too many times business owners don't realize that there is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to insurance contracts and that's where disputes tend to arise. That's why we make videos, to help small business ask more questions about their insurance, in the hopes that more informed decision will lead to a more expected outcome at the time of a loss.

The answer to this question depends strongly on the exact language of the specific policy in question. As a rule of thumb, a commercially titled vehicle being driven to a job site should have commercial auto coverage. This is even more important if the vehicle is carrying tools, equipment or materials. That being said there are personal policies that have language allowing for this type of use. This has to be specifically addressed in the policy and should be discussed with your independent insurance agent.

Hi Truth Setter. Not sure of the exact answer you are looking for, but a waiver of subrogation endorsement doesn't have an expiration date. So assuming that there is a proper waiver of subrogation endorsement in place, the carrier agrees not to subrogate against the entity on the endorsement or properly executed written agreement entered into prior to a loss (in the case of automatic coverage endorsements) for claims that occur during the policy period.

@Dopazo Insurance I do apologize for stupidity on this subject. But I'm just now starting to understand what subrogation means. Recently, I received a letter for a workes comp from a company for an accident that happened five years ago,The case was settled with my insurance company. I was just curious about how long an accident can come back to haunt a person?

@@Spammflavor Hi, not a stupid question, I just wanted to make sure I understood the question so I can best help. Unfortunately, lawsuits can come in well past the date an occurrence happens. It's limits are different based on quite a few different factors including the law where the occurrence occurred. So it's much longer than most people think. The longest one we've seen in our office was a claim filed 13 years after.

@Dopazo Insurance Wow!!! That's a long time. Well, my situation doesn't seem much different, I don't know many details about what settlement was given, I only know an agreement between the individual and my insurance company was reached. I am a little shocked that any settlement was given due to how minor the accident was. But one of the biggest questions I'm concerned about is how much of this subrogation can fall back on myself? don't have a lot of money, but I do own a home. I'm curious if there's a possibility this company will come after me. But I do appreciate all and any advice you're willing to help with regarding this unfortunate situation.

@@Spammflavor I can't speak to your specific claim or policy because our office didn't write it. Generally, though, subrogation is not something that happens between an insured and their insurance company. An insurance company usually cannot come back against the insured that purchased the policy unless there is some kind of fraud or misrepresentation. If there is a standard covered claim on a general liability policy due to the negligence of an insured. Usually, the insured is only responsible for the deductible they choose when they purchase the policy. Subrogation is usually between an insurance company and another negligent party. As an example, if a home burns down, and during the course of the investigation, it is determined that the source of the fire was a faulty appliance, the homeowners insurance company might subrogate against the manufacturer of the appliance to get back the money paid to the insured for the homeowners insurance claim. Again I am speaking in generalities as I cannot discuss a policy we did not write ourselves. You should consider reaching out to the claims department and/or adjuster for the claim so they can clearly tell you what is going on. There is no reason to be fearful of information you do not have. A simple call to them could help you get a better understanding of what you may be responsible for, if anything at all.

Thanks for your comment @Croquest 87. Some carriers do return premiums if the audit determines that the premium basis was lower than estimated, but they are in the minority. You should ask your independent agent that question up front so that you can know how the carrier quoted handles audits before you purchase the policy.

Hi. That depends on a few factors. We don’t see them regularly go back beyond the prior policy period but there may be circumstances where they can go back further. I don’t think I’ve seen a situation where they’ve gone back farther than 5 years.

@@alexdopazo thanks for a quick reply

Thank you!

Hi Mary. I can’t say about your policy specifically. Most homeowners policy cover property (the building or contents) and liability (3rd party, meaning not the homeowner bodily injury or property damage). To get coverage for yourself you would usually need a health insurance policy.

Sorry Connie. We’d be glad to provide any visuals we can. Specifically what was the question you were looking for answer to?

Thank you Nidhi! Your kind words are greatly appreciated.

That's a great question. The way Additional Insured is explained in the video is for commercial liability policies. For personal insurance, there isn't a standard Additional Insured endorsement like in commercial, because there aren't many situations where it is needed because personal policies exclude any kind of business operations. For those few and-far-between situations, like a vehicle that's owned by a business but used personally by an owner of the business, most personal lines carriers usually have a solution to make sure both the individual and business are insured, but it is different for every carrier so you would need to discuss with your carrier to see if they have a solution and how that works for them.

What am i suppose to tell them they keep saying i need commercial company I’m applying for told me i don’t need commercial but when i call they say i do … can you give me advice on what should i tell them?

@@DopazoInsurance i am a independent contractor with 100,300,100 insurance i tryed to call yesterday to get company I’m applying for added to my personal insurance.. this is my van my insurance company says i have to get commercial insurance if i going to operate vehicle for 3rd party a place called American expedite which they told me it does not have to be commercial, can you let me how i should go about this

@@Chosen-one99 I'm not fully sure of your situation, but that being said, I think what you're saying is that you are performing some kind of business operation as an individual. If that is the case then you are generally considered a sole proprietor. It's more complicated than this but basically, a person can also be a business and when that person is performing business operations they are considered a sole proprietor (meaning no formal corporation or LLC has been filed and the business is operating as the individual). For those business operations, you still need commercial liability. What state are you located in? What type of business operation are you performing (e.g. what are you selling, making, fixing)?

@@DopazoInsurance i am a independent contractor i live in ga

Interesting points Lizica. It's important to note that insurance is not governed by the Federal government. State governments regulate insurance individually. The reason for that is that many different regions face unique challenges when it comes to insurance. If there were Federal rules, it's possible that a Florida consumer could be limited by a rule that was created to help a consumer in Iowa or vice versa. A good example of that is the National Flood Insurance Program, which is the one exception to the above. Many times the rules or guidelines don't make sense for areas less likely to get flooded, but because it's Federal those property owners have to deal with issues and rules that were created for areas that are more likely to flood.

@@DopazoInsurance Thanks for the reply back much appreciated 😁. I had talked to an underwriter with Financial Capital about Demotech earlier today and they mentioned that AM Best lowers ratings for smaller Insurance Groups that don't diversify in their insurance field have you ever heard of this happening? He said Demotech doesn't rate in this particular.

@@lizicadumitru9683 Our pleasure. Spread of risk and diversification are tenants of good risk management, so it makes sense that it would play some factor in ratings though we cannot speak to any rating company's exact process. Like with any industry, smaller organizations struggle with diversification because they don't have the reach or capitalization of larger organizations. Many Florida-centric carriers work hard to diversify, but it's hard to do with the increase in storms that have affected all different parts of the state and especially the extremely litigious environment that follows. Most find it hard to find a part of Florida that isn't high-risk for one reason or another.

@@DopazoInsurance I'm actually in California and this is for my brother-in-law's smaller Trucking company. We're looking to go with a new trucking insurance that demotech has said is A grade but AM Best has downgraded to B++. That's what the financial guy told me that because the company we want to go with is smaller and that AM Best rarely gives any smaller insurance companies in A rating. Not sure how true that is, I'm trusting everyone at their word.

@@lizicadumitru9683 For a trucking company, a B++ rating isn't terrible. Trucking is a very volatile line of business. Do you know the "outlook". AM Best also provides an outlook that states if the rating is stable, or negative (meaning possible additional downgrading could be possible). AM Best doesn't choose who it rates. The carriers submit themselves for rating. Many smaller carriers do not submit themselves because being downgraded is obviously not optimal. That's why so many Florida domestic carriers are "NR" or not rated by AM Best. Do you know if the carrier is admitted or surplus lines? For us that would be a very important factor. If the carrier is surplus lines with a B++ rating. I'd consider other options, even if they are more expensive.

Thank you!

Thank you! Just trying to spread the word that #smallbusiness #insurance doesn't have to be scary 😉

Hi Ivan. Surplus Lines are usually written through Managing General Agencies or MGA's. Depending on your market there are quite a few that can help you place business that doesn't fit with Admitted Carriers.

Sure Nick. Technology today makes it much easier for networking groups to engage with members. But that doesn't always mean that they do, which is why Pete stresses the importance of having an engaged group.

@@DopazoInsurance This is an older networking group in North East Ohio. We physically meet once a week. Looking for the application that'll make us more efficient.

Thanks Joe. Glad you find them valuable!

Our pleasure Joyce! Feel free to leave a comment any time you have a question we might be able to help you with 😀