Flor & Associates Insurance Agency

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covid-19

Ways To Reduce Business Insurance Costs During COVID-19

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piggy-3608376_960_720In today’s constantly changing environment we are starting to see that in business: Cash is king. With businesses closing due to severe economic pressure, we are all starting to see that having a reserve of cash is one of the best things to have today! If you own a business and are feeling the crunch, here are a couple Commercial Insurance-related tips that can help you keep afloat:

  1. If your business has experienced a reduction in payroll or will soon see one occur, you can reduce your business’ Worker’s Compensation Insurance liability that you are insured for—just let your agent know how much your anticipated payroll will be so they can make the correction! You should see an immediate savings and it should help out!
  2. Many General Liability policies base their ratings on how much in sales a business is clearing over a 12 month period. With this being said, if you anticipate your business’ gross revenue to fall due to the outbreak of COVID-19 you could call your agent and let them know in order to reduce your premium!

The last thing that you want to do is remove your coverage—and in some cases that dollar-3259363_960_720might not even be an option! If your business is feeling the money-pinch right now, feel free to give your agent a call to see what kind of money you can save!

Small Business Loans During COVID-19: What To Do?

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money-2724237_960_720It’s hard being a small business owner and keeping your business afloat in the best of times, but right now it’s easy to see that it’s even harder to do during a pandemic! Right now businesses around the country are facing unprecedented risks and uncertainty since we do not know how long this will last! Thankfully there are avenues that a small business owner can take to ensure their business’ survival, and the survival of your employees as well!

This past March, the US Federal Government approved a stimulus named the CARE Act, and in this package there is a program named the Paycheck Protection Program made to assist small businesses during this period of economic depression! These loans under the PPP are based upon eight weeks of your prior payroll and will loan 25% more than that amount! Your business must also have less than 500 employees, and has been in business since February 15th, 2020!

These loans are actually 100% forgivable, but each business must meet specific one-69528_960_720requirements in order to do so! Loan payments can be deferred up to a year with limited interest (4% per each loan), but as mentioned before you must obey the requirements—such as maintaining payroll for employees making less than $100K a year!

If you are confused about applying or if your business is eligible, you can take a look at the Federal Government’s Small Business Administration website at SBA.gov, where you will find instructions and resources on how to get the process started!

How Can I Save Money On Homeowner’s Insurance?

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earth-1149733_960_720As Bob Dylan sang in 1963, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, and now in 2020 the song still holds true—we are facing drastic changes, and with these changes come a new set of challenges for just about everyone around the globe! With people needing to stretch their assets further and further, it becomes a necessity to trim down their expenses anywhere they can, and homeowner’s insurance is sometimes one of those expenses that some don’t know can be reduced through being proactive and by working with your insurance carrier!credit-squeeze-522549_960_720

First way to reduce the cost of your insurance would be to bundle any existing policies that you might have, such as if you have an Auto Insurance policy with another company—it would be worth it to ask for a discount on them both if you were to bundle them together with a single company! Insurance companies love it when you give them more business—if you can convince them you will switch for a discount, they might take you up on it!

Raising your credit score can also vastly help your Homeowner’s Insurance rates since insurers use this information to determine your premium payments! Depending on the insurance company and the state you reside, your credit history can increase your Homeowner’s Insurance rates by almost 30%! Make sure that you keep up with your payments and keep the amount of credit you use to a minimum in order to benefit from a lower rate!

Making your home safer can also help you save money on Homeowner’s Insurance! If you have an up-to-date home security system, a damage resistant roof (Metal roofing is a good example), or anything that makes your house a safer place to be in you can probably use it to help get a discount on your premium rates! Just make sure that the cost of the upgrade does not outweigh the discount amount!

There are many other ways to gain a discount with an insurance company, and I find it worth it to always ask! It’s better to ask than to wonder!

What Affects Pub and Restaurant Insurance Cost?

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restaurant-691397_960_720Just like wildlife, there are many different shapes, sizes, and characteristics with Pubs and Restaurants—and with this being said there are many different things that can affect the cost of a Pub and Restaurant Insurance premium! If you have ever gone through the underwriting process with a hospitality establishment you will know that there are a lot of questions that go into the insurance company’s decision, but each of these questions serve a purpose to find the right level of coverage for you!

Things like your establishment’s location, volume of business, what kinds of activities are being offered (Like a mechanical bull, or other entertainment), the hours you are open, and even the amount of alcohol that is sold are all huge factors in the price of your coverage! Just think of it this way, a bar and grill type restaurant that closes at 10 PM will have a much lower premium than a bar that hosts concerts and stays open until 2 AM every night due to the difference in risk and clientele!

If you are trying to cut costs on your premiums, always remember that there may be a bar-1846137_960_720requirement for the minimum amount of coverage if you lease a space or if you are in a franchise agreement! It really helps to check with your lease or agreement before deciding on what is the right coverage for your pub or restaurant! It is always better to be prepared than to not—you should never pinch pennies by skipping out on insurance or by getting insufficient coverage, you will always thank yourself for having it when trouble comes knocking!