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Best Commercial Insurance for Your Holiday Party

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Best Commercial Insurance for Your Holiday Party

Business insurance to protect you from holiday party risks.

Throwing a holiday party is a great way to get into a festive mood and reward your employees for all their hard work.  However, hosting a company event can expose your business to serious risks.  To ensure that you have the protection that you need, here are some of the commercial coverages that you should secure ahead of your party.

  • Host Liquor Liability Insurance

If you are planning on serving alcohol at your holiday office party, then you need to secure host liquor liability insurance.  This type of coverage will protect you if a party guest drinks too much and causes property damage or injury to while in an intoxicated state.  While the injured party may hold your company responsible for the damage, your host liquor liability insurance would ensure that their property repairs or medical treatment are covered.  Additionally, if the injured party decides to sue, then your host liquor liability insurance will offer coverage for your legal fees.

  • Excess Liability Insurance

Excess liability or umbrella insurance is a good form of coverage to secure in preparation for your holiday party.  Excess liability insurance is a supplemental form of coverage designed to kick in when you have exhausted the coverage limits of your other liability policies.  Having excess liability insurance ensures that your company does not have to pay out of pocket for any damages or injuries that a partygoer might cause during the course of your holiday party.

  • Vendor Insurance

Hiring a vendor or caterer to work your holiday party is like hiring a contractor to work for your company.  As such, you need to make sure that they have their own insurance coverage so your company cannot be held liable for their mistakes or negligence.  Before hiring party vendors, ask them to provide proof of insurance.  In some cases, you may also want the vendor to list you as an additional insured on their liability policies.  Taking these steps will ensure that your company is not held liable for the losses the vendor accidentally causes or the injuries that the vendor’s staff may incur while working your event.

This is the commercial coverage that you need to protect against holiday party risks.  Do you need help securing the right insurance for your company event?  If so, then contact the experts at James Page Insurance.  Our dedicated agents are ready to get you the coverage that you need today.

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Business Owners Should Ask These Questions About Their Insurance

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Business Owners Should Ask These Questions About Their Insurance

Understanding your commercial coverage.

Many business owners attempt to make coverage decisions for their company even though they are not familiar with the insurance industry.  This is problematic because making uninformed coverage decisions can leave you exposed to many risks and can end up costing you a lot of unnecessary money.  That being said, you may not know where to begin when it comes to educating yourself.  One of the best ways to start learning is by speaking to an experienced insurance expert and asking them some important questions.  Here are some of the things that you should ask your insurance representative.

  • Do I have enough coverage?

To protect your business, you need to set your coverage limits high enough that your company has a chance of recovering after a catastrophic disaster.  Taking steps like calculating your business’s assets and totaling the cost of equipment, supplies, inventory, and other property can help you determine how much coverage you need to safeguard your business.  If you own your commercial building, then you should also account for the cost of completely rebuilding the property should it be destroyed in an accident.

  • What does my policy not cover?

Before signing off on a commercial insurance policy, you need to know what types of perils are excluded from coverage.  Once you know about your policy exclusions, you need to consider how likely you are to face these risks.  If your business stands a good chance of encountering an excluded peril, then speak to your insurance provider and see if you can secure a policy endorsement or separate insurance policy to get the coverage that you need.

  • How do I file a claim?

Business owners need to know how to file a claim to ensure that they are getting all the coverage they are entitled to.  The best way to access the coverage that you need as soon as possible is by filing a claim as soon as the incident occurs.  Knowing how the claims process works ahead of time will save you valuable time during an emergency.

These are some of the questions that you should ask about your business insurance.  Do you need help with your commercial coverage?  If so, then contact the experts at James Page Insurance.  We are ready to assist you with all your insurance needs today.

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What’s the Difference Between Personal and Commercial Auto Insurance?

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What’s the Difference Between Personal and Commercial Auto Insurance?

How personal and commercial auto coverage differs.

If your work operations require the use of company or personal vehicles, then you need the protection offered by commercial auto insurance.  But why do business owners need to secure commercial auto policies, and how are they different than personal policies?  Here’s what you need to know.

In actuality, personal and commercial auto insurance are not that different.  In fact, both types of insurance essentially offer the same types of coverage.  For instance, personal and commercial auto policies both offer coverage for collision, comprehensive, liability, and so on.

The main difference between these two forms of insurance is the amount of liability coverage each offers.  Because businesses have more assets and face a higher risk for liability lawsuits than individual drivers, commercial auto insurance policies have much higher liability coverage limits than personal policies.  Additionally, commercial policies are also equipped to cover a wider array of vehicles, such as delivery vans, shipping trucks, as well as standard cars.

There is also a special form of commercial auto insurance designed to cover heavy-duty vehicles.  Because heavy vehicles cause more damage in an accident than light vehicles, they need higher liability coverage limits.  So, if your business owns things like minibuses, cement mixers, semi-trucks, tow-trucks, and so on, then talk with your commercial insurance provider to make sure you have the right amount of coverage.

Commercial auto policies are also more expensive than personal car insurance.  This is because businesses face more driving risks and require higher liability coverage limits.  Naturally, more coverage means higher rates.  Commercial auto policies are also more expensive than personal ones because there are usually more drivers and vehicles insured under the policy.

This is what you need to know about the difference between personal and commercial auto insurance.  Do you need help securing coverage for your company vehicles?  If so, then contact the experts at James Page Insurance.  We are ready to assist you with all your business insurance needs today.

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Strategies to Protect Your Business’s Digital Assets

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Strategies to Protect Your Business’s Digital Assets

Try out these suggestions to keep your company’s online information safe.

As a business owner, you are responsible for safeguarding your business’s and customers’ personal information.  This is why it’s so important to have a cybersecurity plan in place.  Here are some of the steps that you can take to protect your company’s digital assets.

  • Limit Employee Access

One of the best ways to reduce your risk of a data breach is by limiting the number of employees who can access sensitive customer and business information.  When you reduce the number of employees with security clearance, you reduce your risk for a leak.  Additionally, if a leak does take place, then you have a smaller pool of suspects to investigate.

  • Offer Extensive Employee Training

The employees that are allowed to access private information should undergo comprehensive cybersecurity training, so they understand the risks of a major data breach.  During your staff training, you should explain your company’s login requirements, establish appropriate Internet use guidelines, and detail the penalties for violating company security policies.  You should also establish rules for handling, protecting, and inputting sensitive customer data to limit exposure.

  • Protect Your Connected Devices

Your company’s computers, laptops, tablets, and other connected devices should all be protected by strong antivirus software.  Installing this type of software will help to protect your company’s network from being infiltrated by viruses, malware, and other online threats.  Make sure you update your software frequently to ensure that you have the most updated protection available.

  • Safeguard Your Internet Connection

A firewall is a set of programs that prevent outsiders from accessing information on a private network.  You should make sure that your operating system’s firewall is enabled or, if your system is not currently equipped with firewall capabilities, then install firewall software.  If your employees are allowed to work from home, then make sure that their home systems are protected by a firewall to ensure that they are not hacked.

These are some of the strategies that you should employ to protect your business’s online information.  Want another way to keep your company safe?  Then make sure you have the right commercial insurance protections in place.  For assistance with all your business insurance needs, contact the experts at James Page Insurance to get started today.

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What to Do to Minimize the Impact of a Data Breach at Your Business

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What to Do to Minimize the Impact of a Data Breach at Your Business

How to manage your business during a data breach.

Becoming the victim of a data breach is one of the most devastating things that a business can endure.  While data breaches will always result in damage, effectively managing the situation can minimize the negative impact it has on your company.  Here are some of the steps that you should take to handle a data breach at your business.

Create a Communication Plan

Immediately after a data breach, you need to create a communication team that’s sole purpose is handling the distribution of internal and external company information.  Your communication team should make sure that your employees, stakeholders, vendors, and customers remain in the loop and have reliable information about how the situation is being handled.  This team should also be trained to deal with concerns and manage your company’s public image.  When company communications are handled effectively, your business will seem more professional, organized, and reliable.

Manage Media Coverage

Bad press can make a bad situation even worse for your business.  This is why it’s important that you instruct your staff not to speak to the press following a data breach.  You should also prepare an official statement for a professional spokesperson to deliver to the public.  Because an off-hand comment or a minor miscommunication can be devastating to your business, make sure that you deal with the media carefully.  Oftentimes, less is more when it comes to handling media relations.

Get to the Root of the Issue

Following a data breach, your main priority should be identifying the cause of the breach and sealing off this access point as soon as possible.  This will minimize the amount of information that is compromised during the breach.  Your IT and operations team need to work quickly to identify weaknesses in your business’s security, address these vulnerabilities, and get systems back up and running.

These are some of the steps that your business should take following a data breach.  Want another way to take care of your business during a crisis?  Then make sure you have the right business insurance protections in place.  For assistance with all your commercial coverage needs, contact the experts at James Page Insurance today.

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