Are You Starting A New Business?

We know choosing the right insurance for your new business is an important decision. Roussel Insurance has the experience to market your insurance and provide you with options for your business. Whether you’re a store owner, distributor, office professional, or wholesaler, you need insurance to protect you against the unique risks and exposures you face so you can tend to your new business and be rest assured that it is protected. Here are the types of insurance you should consider when selecting and designing your business insurance:

General Liability: Covers third party liability claims, namely claims against you from a customer or visitor on your premises, or who may be injured by your business activity or product.

Example: A customer slips on your driveway, trips on your steps, or injures himself on your premises, or customer is injured as a result of your product or service.

Business Property Insurance: Insures your building and contents both on and off premises.

Example: A fire destroys your entire building and equipment.

Employee Dishonesty Coverage: Protects your company from financial loss resulting from employee theft of money, securities, or property.

Example: An employee steals money from your company.

Workers Compensation: Provides compensation for your employees for medical care in the event they are injured on the job, including medical benefits, income benefits, death benefits, and rehabilitation benefits.

Example: You own a delivery company, and an employee is injured while making a delivery.

Business Auto: Provides insurance coverage for your company’s cars, trucks, trailers, vans, or other vehicles.

Example: You’re a beverage distributor making a delivery in the company van when another vehicle runs a stop sign and hits you.

Non-Owned Auto Coverage: Protects the company for vehicles owned or used by others (such as an employee) that are used in the business of the company.

Example: One of your deliverymen is driving his personal automobile to make a delivery and hits another vehicle.  This results in a lawsuit against your company.

Professional Liability: Covers you for the failure to perform professional services. If you design something or perform work which does not meet standards or expectations, you could be sued for the cost of the contract, damages, or lost business revenues by your customer.

Example: You are an architect and one of your buildings has developed a mold issue due to poor roof design.

Business Interruption Insurance: Provides protection from loss of income and extra expense if your business suffered a loss and you were unable to operate for a period of time.

Example: A major storm hits and your restaurant is completely flooded. You have to close for a month to repair all of the damage.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance: Provides coverage for the accidental breakdown of equipment.

Example: A power surge damages your computer network.

Each company has its own circumstances which dictate what would be needed to safeguard the years of hard work in building a successful enterprise. We will guide you through different scenarios to see what effects it would have on your business and what solutions are available. It may be as simple as a Key-Man Policy or funding a Buy-Sell Agreement with Life and Disability Insurance.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice. Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions. The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

California Business Insurance

It is a good idea to review your business insurance program every year

Every business, like a person, needs checkup from time to time.  As your business grows or changes, your business insurance should too.  If your business changes, there could be the possibility that you may not have the right business insurance coverage, and that can lead to an uninsured claim.

What does a business insurance check-up look like?

We will review your policies and compare them to your operations to make sure that you have the coverage that matches your risk.  We will also review the following questions:

• Have you added any new locations?
• Do you design, sell, or manufacture any new products?
• Did you update or remodel your facility?
• Did you make any investments in your business?
• Have you added transport or delivery services?
• Have you sold any personal property or equipment?
• Are you expanding your services and/or your client base?
• Have there been any changes in ownership?

Established by company president John Roussel in 1985. Roussel Insurance & Financial Services was founded to assist business owners and professionals in their insurance and employee benefit programs. Our mission is to give you the peace of mind that your business and personal assets are properly safeguarded. Each business and individual has its own circumstances which dictate that would be needed to safeguard years of hard work.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice.  Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions.  The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

We Can Help You Control Your Business Risks

We Can Help You Control Your Business Risks

There is no question that operating a business comes with certain risks. But there are also many benefits. The range of business threats is evolving rapidly but your organization can thrive and gain a competitive advantage if you know how to manage your risk. Here are a few simple ways to manage risk:

Follow insurance company loss control recommendations. These are designed to reduce the probability of a loss and to reduce the severity if a loss occurs.

Develop an employee handbook. Having a set of procedures involving roles and responsibilities will help reduce employment issues in the long term.

Evaluate your facilities. Unused equipment, obsolete security systems and lack of attention to risks on the site present significant potential for loss.  Insurance companies encourage all business owners to maintain clean and safe premises for the health and safety of employees, vendors and customers.

Make safety a priority. Having a safety program can not only reduce your costs but will improve employee productivity.

Train your staff. Employees perform better if they have an understanding of what their roles and responsibilities are. Make safety part of every job description.

Keep employees healthy. A local company, for example, has instituted a comprehensive wellness program that includes disease management for afflictions such as asthma and diabetes, as well as offering flu shots, cancer screenings, smoking-cessation sessions and a round-the-clock phone line staffed by nurses. The company found that for every dollar it invested, it saved $4.23.

If your business changes, your insurance should too.  Meet annually with us to determine whether your business has changed in significant ways that require modifying or adding coverage.

Raise your deductible. Raising the deductible on your insurance usually lowers your premiums. Even if you end up having to pay the deductible, it’s likely to be less than the amount you save.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice. Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions. The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

We Can Help you Control Your Business Risks

We Can Help you Control Your Business Risks

There is no question that operating a business comes with certain risks. But there are also many benefits. The range of business threats is evolving rapidly but your organization can thrive and gain a competitive advantage if you know how to manage your risk. Here are a few simple ways to manage risk:

Follow insurance company loss control recommendations. These are designed to reduce the probability of a loss and to reduce the severity if a loss occurs.

Develop an employee handbook. Having a set of procedures involving roles and responsibilities will help reduce employment issues in the long term.

Evaluate your facilities. Unused equipment, obsolete security systems and lack of attention to risks on the site present significant potential for loss.  Insurance companies encourage all business owners to maintain clean and safe premises for the health and safety of employees, vendors and customers.

Make safety a priority. Having a safety program can not only reduce your costs but will improve employee productivity.

Train your staff. Employees perform better if they have an understanding of what their roles and responsibilities are. Make safety part of every job description.

Keep employees healthy. A local company, for example, has instituted a comprehensive wellness program that includes disease management for afflictions such as asthma and diabetes, as well as offering flu shots, cancer screenings, smoking-cessation sessions and a round-the-clock phone line staffed by nurses. The company found that for every dollar it invested, it saved $4.23.

If your business changes, your insurance should too.  Meet annually with us to determine whether your business has changed in significant ways that require modifying or adding coverage.

Raise your deductible. Raising the deductible on your insurance usually lowers your premiums. Even if you end up having to pay the deductible, it’s likely to be less than the amount you save.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice. Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions. The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

How To Build A Good Relationship With Your Insurance Company

How To Build A Good Relationship With Your Insurance Company

Commercial insurance is about developing relationships between the insurance company and the customer, or business. The more your insurance company knows and understands your risk, the lower your premium will likely be. Unlike personal insurance, commercial insurance premiums are developed using some level of individual judgment on the part of the underwriter. Underwriters can debit your premiums by 25% in most cases. They can also credit your premiums by 25%. That is a 50% swing in premium that is at the discretion of the underwriter.

We have found a number of key strategies that you can utilize to help you get the attention you deserve. These may not be necessary for every business. The larger the premium, the more of these you may want to consider.

• Have a comprehensive safety program and provide an outline of that program.
• Know where your losses are occurring and have a plan to address them.
• Use an agent who can put together a complete and quality proposal.
• Create a short profile of your firm. The profile should include a sales and marketing plan, the firm’s mission statement, goals and objectives, history, organizational chart, key employees, agency marketing materials, and top 10 classes of business.
• Be open and honest about your operations.

At Roussel Insurance we strive for trust and reliability with our clients. Through our 32 years in the insurance business, we have learned to achieve immediate and sustainable cost savings for businesses and individuals. We can help find you the right insurance options, so that no matter what your budget is we can minimize you’re spending and easily meet your needs. To learn more about us and what we offer, make sure you browse through our personal and business services. Lastly, do not miss our blog page! All our blogs are informative, so we can help make insurance more understandable.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice. Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions. The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

Risk Management Can Save Your Business

Risk is something every business is exposed to every day.  Businesses have risk of fire, theft, employee injuries, and more.  Businesses can transfer some of the risk through business insurance policies, but business insurance policies can only cover so much, and do not always cover 100% of all risks.

There are a number of positive actions your business can do to reduce your risk. There are also many mistakes businesses make when managing risk.

Business Insurance and Risk Mistakes

• Not considering employment risks. Your employees are your most important assets but they are also your biggest risks. Every business with employees needs employment practices liability insurance.  Businesses also need to provide annual training to all employees on their employment policies, including harassment.
• Ignoring cyber risk. Your business has a greater chance of having a cyber-attack than it does of having a fire. You need to make sure that your computers and internet are protected, and that you have purchased cyber liability insurance.
• Not understanding how loss of income insurance is designed to work. Business interruption insurance, also known as business income insurance, covers the loss of income (rent) that a business suffers after a covered loss (fire, wind storm etc), while its facility is shut down or in the process of being rebuilt.  It is critical to your business’s future to have the correct amount of coverage.
• Buying too little liability insurance. In 2000, it was uncommon for companies to be sued for more than a million dollars.  In 2018, it is not uncommon for a company to have several large claims going on at the same time. A large judgment against your company could damage your reputation, and it might even put you out of business. We recommend every business consider options of 1 to 5 million dollars in liability insurance, depending on your operations.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice. Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions. The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

Is Now The Time To Consider Employment Practice Liability Insurance?

A Business Insurance Update

What does not make the news is that a majority of employment claims involve firms with less than 50 employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recorded nearly 86,600 charges in 2017 and obtained more than $294 million in settlements for claimants. The average cost of an employment litigation claim was over $200,000 in 2017.

We Offer A Solution

Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), can cover and insure a business when employees sue the employer if they feel that their legal rights have been violated. EPLI protects against many kinds of employee lawsuits, including claims of:
• Sexual harassment
• Age discrimination
• Mismanagement of employee benefit plans
• Discrimination
• Wrongful termination
• Wrongful discipline
• Breach of employment contract
• Failure to employ or promote
• Wrongful infliction of emotional distress

An EPLI policy will offer defense coverage even if you are in the right. Your business can transfer the risk of employees suing the corporation to the insurance company, as long as the claim is covered under the policy.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice. Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions. The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

Improve Your Workers Compensation Program Through Employee Selection

One of the most important things an employer can do is hire the best possible person for the company. In the current employment market, it is easy to lose sight of how employee selection is directly tied to employee injuries. Hiring the wrong person can put your workers;’ compensation program at risk. Fortunately, there are actions you can take to help prevent workers’ compensation losses through the right hiring processes.

• Always require formal applications for all employees.
• Conduct detailed interviews.
• Check references.
• Conduct background checks and drug testing as the law allows.
• Train your interveners to watch for indicators of past job performance issues. These might include applicants who offer vague responses, quite a previous job without notice
• or show negative patterns of behavior in their job histories.
• Be aware of any past employee fraud issues. This may include being fired or blaming others for performance issues.
• Have clear job responsibilities and share these with a potential employee.
• Develop a return to work program.
• Your job description should have specific physical demands outlined, and the employee should sign they can meet these demands.

Workers’ compensation is an important part of your business insurance program. It is required by state law that your business has workers’ compensation insurance.
As a business owner, you go to great lengths to provide a safe working environment for your employees. Workers’ compensation continues to be a significant cost driver for most employers, and understanding all the factors that can drive your workers’ compensation cost can often be complex and time consuming.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice. Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions. The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

Strategies For Reducing Professional Liability Risks

How To Minimize Risks

It is important to understand the tremendous risks attorneys and other professionals have when it comes to providing professional services. Almost any business can find itself facing a liability lawsuit. A Miscellaneous Professional Liability lawsuit can put the owner’s and other executive’s personal assets at risk including homes, cars, and other possessions. One simple mistake could cause financial devastation, as well as end your professional career.

It is important to document communications with clients and others to preserve important information. There are three forms of documentation that a firm should pay particular attention to when developing the firm’s standard procedures:

Contracts or agreements–It is important to have clear expectations in writing as to the services agreed upon.

Certified receipt transmissions–There will be occasions when documents and other records need to be delivered with a receipt. This is the best method of confirming that the documents were delivered to the intended individual.

Memos to file–It is critical that attorneys and other professionals keep memos and file notes. We always recommend that meeting notes be maintained and copies delivered to all parties in attendance at the meeting.

Professional Liability Insurance is sometimes called Errors and Omissions (E&O) coverage. Claims come from errors or omissions in the performance of professional services. Companies that perform professional services for a fee are exposed to E & O claims. Often claims result from overlooking a critical piece of information, misstating a fact, misunderstandings, forgetting to do something, or misplacing something.

 We can help find you the right insurance options, so that no matter what your budget is we can minimize you’re spending and easily meet your needs. To learn more about us and what we offer, make sure you browse through our personal and business services.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice.  Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions.  The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.

How To Update Your Business Insurance

What Large Companies Do To Lower Costs That Any Company Can Do

As we continue on our journey to a better understanding of insurance, we thought it would be informative to identify some risk management “best practices” of larger companies. We believe that many of these “best practices” can, and should, be discussed with businesses of all sizes.

The good news is that these generally don’t create additional costs to the company; in fact, they usually reduce costs!

Insurance & Risk Best Practices

1. Big Companies View Their Broker/Agent As A Trusted Advisor. The best way to accomplish this is to not bid insurance, but rather select an agent based on qualifications and the best fit with the goals of the business.
2. Consider Modifying The Insurance Program With The Swings In The “Market”. For example, during a soft market you are able to lower deductibles and broaden coverage. As the market cycles up, you are able the increase deductibles to offset premium increases.
3. Develop Cyber Breach Procedures. Small to medium sized businesses have a greater chance of having a cyber-breach than they do of having a fire. Here is an excellent resource from Experian
4. Wellness Has Become A Norm. According to an article in the St. Louis Business Journal, “employee absenteeism is reduced when wellness programs are implemented”. In a study by Prudential Insurance, disability days were 20 percent lower and disability-per-capita costs were 32 percent lower, after implementing a wellness program. In addition, annual medical costs fell by 46 percent.
5. Human Resources Is Part Of The Management Team. As the workforce gets older, finding ways to attract younger employees will be important. Developing new nontraditional compensation formulas and work hour flexibility will help attract and retain top performers. Develop an employee handbook and keep it updated. Educate and train all employees.
6. Separation of Accounting Duties. A recent report issued by The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, places the cost of employee fraud at 7% of annual revenues. Companies with less than 50 employees saw a median loss of $50,000. Separate check writing and depositing responsibilities, and have an annual audit by a qualified firm.

This information is intended for the client, individual or entity to which it is addressed. These articles contain concepts and opinions, and are not intended to represent the consensus of the insurance or risk community, nor to provide professional legal or tax advice.  Please seek professional legal or tax counsel before making any decisions.  The information provided does not change or modify any insurance policy, only the actual terms of the in-force policies will govern claim settlements.