I don't need uninsured motorist coverage! Or do I ?????

Is mandatory auto liability insurance working?  The way liability insurance is supposed to work is that if you are in a car accident, the person who crashed into you should pay for your medical and property damages, which would be paid by their auto insurance company.  But, in some cases, especially if they are not carrying a proper level of coverage, the damages you have could end up costing a lot more than their liability insurance limits cover.  Minimum limits are NOT sufficient to protect you and your assets from the damage you may cause.

Another problem is that not everyone complies with the law. Even though you cannot afford to be without coverage, some may think that auto insurance is too high — especially in tough economic times. The Insurance Research Council estimated that roughly one out of every eight drivers is driving uninsured in 2014. That's about 13 percent of the U.S. population.

Because of this, it is prudent to include uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UI) coverages on your auto policy. UM will pay for your injuries when someone without car insurance causes an accident or when you're struck by a hit-and-run driver. UI will kick in when someone else causes an accident, but has insufficient limits to cover all your costs. UM/UI also pays for lost wages if you have to stay home from work due to your injury.

If you have UM/UI coverage, and you are in an accident caused by an uninsured motorist, your UM/UI coverage will pay for health care expenses, such as your deductible, before your health insurance kicks in.  This will be quite helpful since most people today have high health insurance deductibles.

But, your health insurance will not pay for lost wages if you miss work, or for pain and suffering resulting from the crash. Lost wages and pain and suffering are paid for by the at-fault driver's liability insurance. If the other driver doesn't have liability insurance, or has coverages that are too low, you're out of luck — unless you have UM/UIM coverage or want to pursue the matter in court.

Lawsuits are always costly. First, you must hire an attorney. Second, since uninsured drivers usually don’t have proper coverage, because they cannot afford the car insurance rates, it is unlikely that they can pay for your medical treatments or pain and suffering, even if you win the case.

Because the coverage is so important, Mississippi just passed a law to require extra attention to the topic, if a consumer is considering not taking the valuable UM/UI coverage.  A special disclosure form is required to be provided, and the consumer must sign to indicate that they understand the coverage is available and valuable, and that they are freely choosing to not have the insurance coverage.  So, if there is a lawsuit, and the consumer has freely chosen to decline the UM/UI coverage, the court will not reach a verdict favorable to them.

Bottom line, you need to have UM/UI coverage, for your auto and motorcycle and other toys.  Motorcycles, in particular, are victims of many unintended hit-and-runs, and without UM/UI coverage, they will be left suffering in the ditch after being clipped by a speeding vehicle.  Don’t let this be you!

Your Trusted Choice Insurance Agent, SouthGroup Insurance Gulf Coast wants you to know you can call on us with your questions or concerns seeking more helpful advice or answers to your pressing insurance questions. A full insurance review is always your best bet to make sure you have all of the adequate coverage for your personal insurance needs. Remember, we offer a personalized insurance review to anyone who is interested at no charge – just visit any one of our 3 convenient coastal locations!

We are your LOCAL Trusted Choice Advisors, SouthGroup-Gulf Coast http://www.southgroupgulfcoast.com ,  SALES AND SERVICE AGENTS: Angelyn Treutel Zeringue, Tammy Garfield, Tammy Hogue, Brittany Jones, Denise Russell, Melissa Moran, Alex Treutel, Anne Gillam, Ashlie Moody, Mark Strickland, and Whitney Zimmerman at SouthGroup Gulf Coast. You can reach us by snail-mail or in person: 412 Hwy 90, Suite 6, Bay St Louis MS 39520, email: info@southgropugulfcoast.com , phone: 228-466-4498 fax:888-415-8922,  FaceBook www.facebook.com/southgroup.gulfcoast, or Twitter www.twitter.com/atreutel !

We have 3 Gulf Coast locations to serve you - 2505 Pass Road - Biloxi, 5400 Indian Hill-Diamondhead, and 412 Hwy 90 Suite 6-Bay Saint Louis, MS. We write coverage in 40 different states and can assist you with Mississippi insurance, Louisiana insurance, and Alabama insurance and many other states.

Insurance is stressful, but we make saving easy.  We help you save money on insurance!

#southgroup   @stateauto  @libertymutual @TRV_insurance @safecoinsurance @progressive #savemoney @atreutel

Business Insurance Requirements for Regulatory Compliance

Whether your business is large or small, you will face a seemingly endless barrage of local, state and federal regulations that you must comply with. Staying compliant can mean the difference between operating in good standing and facing hefty fines and penalties. Strict compliance with all kinds of regulations is vital to keeping your business up and running for the long haul, with minimal interference from state or federal agencies. While the task may seem daunting, it is best to be informed, and stay informed, to make sure that nothing gets missed.
Let’s start with the basics: business insurance requirements. Every state has regulations regarding the type of insurance that businesses must have. And keep in mind, what the state requires is usually only a minimal amount of coverage; chances are, your coverage needs are much greater than what the state of Mississippi prescribes. Regardless, you must comply with the minimum requirements or face serious consequences for your business.

Mississippi Business Insurance Requirements
Insurance in all of its forms is a safety net for individuals and businesses should some unforeseen event or disaster take place. Business insurance protects your business and your employees from financial devastation due to natural disasters, accidents, fires, storms, workplace injuries and illnesses, and lawsuits. Insurance can help you keep your doors open if you are faced with a devastating event.
Every business must carefully assess its unique risks and find the right solutions, including insurance, to help manage and mitigate those risks. No two businesses will need exactly the same amount of coverage. The state of Mississippi, however, requires that every business in the state acquire at least the following coverage:

• Commercial liability coverage: Commercial liability insurance is not required for businesses operating in Mississippi, but liability insurance is essential to protecting your business from lawsuits. The statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits in Mississippi is three years for negligent conduct and one year for intentional conduct. In addition, the statute of limitations for product liability lawsuits in Mississippi is three years, and Mississippi has no cap on personal injury awards. For this reason, liability insurance is essential if you have business assets to protect. Mississippi businesses typically purchase from $500,000 to $1 million in liability protection, and a wide variety of basic and specialty coverage and limits are available.
• Commercial property coverage: Commercial property coverage is not required for businesses operating in Mississippi, but if you have business property that could be destroyed or damaged by some unforeseen incident, you need business property coverage to help protect you.
• Commercial vehicle insurance: All drivers in Mississippi are required to carry a minimum amount of car insurance. If you or your employees use personal vehicles for business purposes, or if your business owns or leases vehicles, you need commercial vehicle insurance that at least meets the state minimum requirements.
• Commercial flood insurance: Mississippi is highly susceptible to flooding. Commercial flood insurance is not required in Mississippi, but it is highly recommended that businesses purchase flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Visit FloodSmart.gov for more information about flood insurance for your business.
• Workers’ compensation coverage: Mississippi employers with five or more regular full-time employees must purchase workers’ compensation coverage. Workers’ compensation insurance compensates employees for expenses related to workplace injuries and illnesses. Mississippi has a no-fault workers’ compensation system. This means that your workers’ compensation insurance will pay workers’ medical expenses and lost wages related to a workplace illness or injury, regardless of who is at fault. Businesses that employ less than five employees are not required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance, but can do so voluntarily. Domestic workers, farm laborers and non-profit employees are exempt from Mississippi workers’ compensation requirements.

In addition to business insurance compliance, Mississippi businesses must also comply with a variety of regulations related to employment, employee benefits, taxes, permits and licensing, environmental issues, workplace safety and more. We can help ensure that you are meeting your business insurance and employee benefits obligations under the law, and can help you make sure you have the right coverage to meet the unique needs of your business.

We have experience helping companies of various types and sizes calculate and evaluate their total cost of risk as part of our Risk Reduction Approach. We can help you, too. Call SouthGroup Insurance Services today to learn more about our Risk Reduction Approach and how it applies to your business.Your Trusted Choice Insurance Agent, SouthGroup Insurance Gulf Coast wants you to know you can call on us with your questions or concerns seeking more helpful advice or answers to your pressing insurance questions. A full insurance review is always your best bet to make sure you have all of the adequate coverage for your personal insurance needs. Remember, we offer a personalized insurance review to anyone who is interested at no charge – just visit any one of our 3 convenient coastal locations!

We are your LOCAL Trusted Choice Advisors, SouthGroup-Gulf Coast http://www.southgroupgulfcoast.com ,  SALES AND SERVICE AGENTS: Angelyn Treutel Zeringue, Tammy Garfield, Tammy Hogue, Brittany Jones, Denise Russell, Melissa Moran, Alex Treutel, Anne Gillam, Ashlie Moody, Mark Strickland, and Whitney Zimmerman at SouthGroup Gulf Coast. You can reach us by snail-mail or in person: 412 Hwy 90, Suite 6, Bay St Louis MS 39520, email: info@southgropugulfcoast.com , phone: 228-466-4498 fax:888-415-8922,  FaceBook www.facebook.com/southgroup.gulfcoast, or Twitter www.twitter.com/atreutel !

We have 3 Gulf Coast locations to serve you - 2505 Pass Road - Biloxi, 5400 Indian Hill-Diamondhead, and 412 Hwy 90 Suite 6-Bay Saint Louis, MS. We write coverage in 40 different states and can assist you with Mississippi insurance, Louisiana insurance, and Alabama insurance and many other states.

Insurance is stressful, but we make saving easy.  We help you save money on insurance!

#southgroup   @stateauto  @libertymutual @TRV_insurance @safecoinsurance #savemoney

Understanding and Calculating Your Total Cost of Risk

Few things seem quite as daunting to business owners and risk managers as taking an in-depth look at the risks your business faces and the steps you must take to truly protect against them, prepare for them, and even mitigate or eliminate them. The extent to which you can do any of these things depends on your business, your unique risks, and how carefully you plan and execute your strategy. A key element of planning and implementing an effective risk management strategy is calculating and understanding your total cost of risk.

Calculating and evaluating your total cost of risk is complex and time-consuming. It is well worth the effort; it can help you determine which risks truly pose the greatest potential threat to your business and your profitability, and can help steer you toward effective solutions.
Using your total cost of risk as a guide can help you make objective decisions, not emotional ones, and later you can consider whether your risk management strategies make sense or are having an impact. You will see that managing certain risks is relatively easy; for example, you purchase commercial property insurance to protect against losses associated with a fire or natural disaster. Protecting against or mitigating more indirect risks and their associated costs can be much more complex. Have you considered the potential for negative publicity or lost business after a lawsuit, data breach, or an industrial accident? These are very real possibilities with devastating financial consequences.

The costs associated with your risk exposures can be placed into the following categories in order to calculate your total cost of risk.

• Insurance premiums: premiums you pay to insurance company to transfer risk to another party.
• Direct Costs: losses that you retain that are directly related to an accident, mishap, etc. Direct costs can include losses beneath your insurance deductibles, above your insurance limits, or even those that have no coverage at all. In addition, direct costs can include self-insurance costs.
• Indirect Costs: costs that are not directly related to a loss incident, but result from it, such as diminished profits or productivity, payments to third parties, lost efficiency or competitiveness, increased human resources costs, and penalties that must be paid.
• Risk Management Administrative Costs: risk control costs, clerical costs, claim and administrative expenses, salaries, training, internal legal counsel, loss control costs, and brokerage and consulting fees.

A complete and thorough examination of your total cost of risk helps you avoid making assumptions, rather than concrete, data-driven decisions. You will prevent unnecessary expenses and make sure you are prepared for circumstances out of your control.

SouthGroup’s mission is to help businesses assess their risks and find the best strategies to address them. Our Risk Reduction Approach is a unique process that begins with identifying the risks that are inherent in your business. We then evaluate your exposures and recommend proactive solutions and strategies for assuming, transferring, financing and mitigating them. The Risk Reduction Approach helps you calculate and examine your total cost of risk as well as design and implement a plan that is entirely tailored to the needs of your business. In addition, we will help you track, monitor and amend the plan over time as your business grows and your needs change.
We have experience helping companies of various types and sizes calculate and evaluate their total cost of risk as part of our Risk Reduction Approach. We can help you, too. Call SouthGroup Insurance Services today to learn more about our Risk Reduction Approach and how it applies to your business.
Your Trusted Choice Insurance Agent, SouthGroup Insurance Gulf Coast wants you to know you can call on us with your questions or concerns seeking more helpful advice or answers to your pressing insurance questions. A full insurance review is always your best bet to make sure you have all of the adequate coverage for your personal insurance needs. Remember, we offer a personalized insurance review to anyone who is interested at no charge – just visit any one of our 3 convenient coastal locations!

We are your LOCAL Trusted Choice Advisors, SouthGroup-Gulf Coast http://www.southgroupgulfcoast.com ,  SALES AND SERVICE AGENTS: Angelyn Treutel Zeringue, Tammy Garfield, Tammy Hogue, Brittany Jones, Denise Russell, Melissa Moran, Alex Treutel, Anne Gillam, Ashlie Moody, Mark Strickland, and Whitney Zimmerman at SouthGroup Gulf Coast. You can reach us by snail-mail or in person: 412 Hwy 90, Suite 6, Bay St Louis MS 39520, email: info@southgropugulfcoast.com , phone: 228-466-4498 fax:888-415-8922,  FaceBook www.facebook.com/southgroup.gulfcoast, or Twitter www.twitter.com/atreutel !

We have 3 Gulf Coast locations to serve you - 2505 Pass Road - Biloxi, 5400 Indian Hill-Diamondhead, and 412 Hwy 90 Suite 6-Bay Saint Louis, MS. We write coverage in 40 different states and can assist you with Mississippi insurance, Louisiana insurance, and Alabama insurance and many other states.

Insurance is stressful, but we make saving easy.  We help you save money on insurance!

#southgroup   @stateauto  @libertymutual @TRV_insurance @safecoinsurance #savemoney

College Students – Are They Covered Under Their Parent’s Policies?

They have finally spread their wings are have left the nest.  Well sort of.  They have moved truckloads of stuff from their home to their dormroom or an apartment while they are attending college.  Neither of you have considered thinking about insurance!  So, is this a problem? 

Does your student have protection under the parent’s home insurance policy while they are at college?  The answer is IT DEPENDS!  You will need to review your own policy contract for your specific coverages, however, most home policies do provide coverage for an insured’s personal property that is damaged of lost due to a covered peril.  In English, this means that a dependent child away at school is still treated like a member of the household from an insurance standpoint, and their contents would be covered under their parent’s policy for theft, fire, vandalism, or any catastrophe covered under their parent’s policy, HOWEVER, (you know there has to be a HOWEVER), there will be limitations.  Most policies will provide coverage up to 10% of the parent’s limits on contents, which should be sufficient, unless your student took more than a truckload or two to school with them.  Other limits come into play if the student is not enrolled full time or is over age 24.  Again, check your policy, and get advice from your Trusted Choice Agent.  A great article was just published by Independent Agent Magazine which you may find helpful (http://www.iamagazine.com/strategies/read/2014/09/03/is-a-homeowners-policy-inadequate-to-cover-a-college-student-) .

You may also want to consider special coverage for expensive electronics and computers, and take other physical security steps such as password protection, gps locator software, and online backups for the data.

The student’s contents may be covered, but what about liability protection?
This may be one of the bigger exposures – excessive parties cause damage to the apartment or the accidental flooding of the apartment below from an overflowing tub, or inadvertent burning of popcorn in a microwave starting a small fire which smoke damages several units in the complex --- all of these scenarios and more can result in a hefty price tag for Mom and Dad.   There are limitations on liability for another premises under a home policy.  Some companies allow an endorsement for extended liability, but many apartment complexes have begun require proof of liability coverage, and the extended liability may not be acceptable.  In that situation, a very inexpensive renter’s policy is available which would provide the protection.  Check with your Trusted Advisor.

Does your student have protection to drive the roommates vehicle under the parent’s auto insurance policy while they are at school without a vehicle? 
Generally, if someone lends out their car, they are also lending out their insurance, and if your student is a regular driver of the roommate’s vehicle, there is a great chance that coverage will be denied under her roommate’s policy, and there may be a gap between your policy and the other party’s policy.  There are ways to work around the exposure by adding an endorsement to your policy, but again, check with your Trusted Choice agent to find the best solution for your situation. 

Does your student have protection to drive a parent’s vehicle while they are away at school? 
There is typically coverage for a distant student with a family vehicle.  Just be sure you let your Trusted Choice Agent know to modify the “garaging address” on your policy for the physical location of the student’s vehicle.

Lots to consider now that Junior is growing up …

Your Trusted Choice Insurance Agent, SouthGroup Insurance Gulf Coast wants you to know you can call on us with your questions or concerns seeking more helpful advice or answers to your pressing insurance questions. A full insurance review is always your best bet to make sure you have all of the adequate coverage for your personal insurance needs. Remember, we offer a personalized insurance review to anyone who is interested at no charge – just visit any one of our 3 convenient coastal locations!

We are your LOCAL Trusted Choice Advisors, SouthGroup-Gulf Coast http://www.southgroupgulfcoast.com ,  SALES AND SERVICE AGENTS: Angelyn Treutel Zeringue, Tammy Garfield, Tammy Hogue, Brittany Jones, Denise Russell, Melissa Moran, Alex Treutel, Anne Gillam, Ashlie Moody, Mark Strickland, and Whitney Zimmerman at SouthGroup Gulf Coast. You can reach us by snail-mail or in person: 412 Hwy 90, Suite 6, Bay St Louis MS 39520, email: info@southgropugulfcoast.com , phone: 228-466-4498 fax:888-415-8922,  FaceBook www.facebook.com/southgroup.gulfcoast, or Twitter www.twitter.com/atreutel !

We have 3 Gulf Coast locations to serve you - 2505 Pass Road - Biloxi, 5400 Indian Hill-Diamondhead, and 412 Hwy 90 Suite 6-Bay Saint Louis, MS. We write coverage in 40 different states and can assist you with Mississippi insurance, Louisiana insurance, and Alabama insurance and many other states.

Insurance is stressful, but we make saving easy.  We help you save money on insurance!

#southgroup   @stateauto  @libertymutual @TRV_insurance @safecoinsurance #savemoney