Running a business is tough. There is the need to reduce costs and outgoing whilst maximising income. This is particularly difficult with taxis. Cheap insurance for taxi drivers may seem the best solution, whereas really the best way is to look at what the policy offers for the price quoted.

When there is cheap insurance for taxi drivers quoted, you can guarantee they will flock to it. When purchasing, making sure the policy covers you for all eventualities is the main priority. An insurance company which does not have windscreen replacement cover, might not sound like a big deal, but as taxis are generally on the roads more than any other motorist they are bound to encounter a crack or a scratch. Defective windscreens can become illegal and more importantly have an affect on the rigidity of a vehicle. This in turn affects the handling and can cause, if the windscreen hasn’t already affected visibility, an accident.

An alternative solution is to speak to your current insurer regarding next year’s policy. Sometimes insurers offer cheap insurance for loyal customers. Before your policy is ending, a quick phone call could help you get a general idea of what to expect. This is fantastic if you are currently happy with the plan you are receiving, but are wanting the same, but cheaper.

Sometimes cheap insurance for taxi drives is not always the best option. Choose the policy first before the price and speak to your current insurers to arrange discounts for being a loyal customer. If there has been no claims within the year, then look out for insurers who offer protection on that which will guarantee lower prices for years to come.

Cheap insurance for taxi drivers is similar to most things that do not cost much. They are almost always superseded by a better version. Look into the policy to see what you need and what is on offer. Do not just look at price, and even browse the market watchdog site, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), to see which insurers are performing well.

When looking for monthly taxi insurance you may notice that insurance companies require a full year paid in advance. However, many find that the amount the company require you to pay is too high, therefore payment plans are provided.

Payment plans allow you to pay for your insurance in installments. These range from weekly, monthly to quarterly payments. The frequency of payments will vary from company to company so it’s best to compare quotes prior to making your final decision to find a plan that’s suitable to your needs.

The most popular of plans are those which allow customers to pay for their insurance on a monthly basis. This allows you to factor in your monthly insurance payment in your budget as most people are paid on a that basis also, thus it is easier to meet payments.

One thing to bare in mind when opting to pay for your monthly taxi insurance in set installments is many companies will additionally charge you a premium fee on top of the basic annual quote. Again this will vary depending on the provider you select so it is in your interest to check these amounts that will be applied to your specific payment plan prior.

For example, many insurance companies require you to pay the premium fee the day you start your monthly taxi insurance policy in full. Some may ask for a percentage or a set amount. Others may simply require the amount which is equal to two of your monthly installments.

If your initial quote sees a premium that is still high, there are ways in which you can reduce this amount. For instance, within the quote form provided, you will need to complete the amount of excess you will pay if you should have an accident. The higher the amount of voluntary excess you will pay could reduce the initial premium fee and your monthly payments should be lower.

If looking for low payment plans with low premiums for monthly taxi insurance, you should obtain many quotes online and compare all to get the best available.

E&O insurance stands for Errors and Omissions Insurance, which protects a notary from getting sued. There are a lot of companies that will not hire mobile notaries because their insurance policy does not go over $100,000. Why is that? Well for a few reasons, the title, escrow, or lender has to make sure they cover their bases. If you are not insured for enough of what they would get sued you will not get hired. It is not too expensive to upgrade or go with the 100K policy anyways and worth it so you don’t get snubbed on that job and you do not want to be held personally liable if you were to get sued.

A lot of notaries do it for the peace of mind, that way every signing you are not freaking out if you did it right or not. Missing a signature is not a reason to be sued directly. There would have to be multiple implications to raise a law suit. Messing with documents, breaking the law, and not adhering to company requests could implicate a notary in court. That is why it is a good idea to get E&O Insurance. In all states it is required to have E&O Insurance so make sure you check online under your particular state for specific details. I emphasized the importance of the amount of the coverage because you will be able to choose how much you want your business to be covered for. I can’t tell you how many stories I have heard from notaries who didn’t get the insurance upgrade, then not put in a directory, or thrown out of an Escrow companies Rolodex just because they didn’t want to pay the higher monthly premium.

Prices for E&O Insurance vary and are paid yearly. The cheapest coverage is for $15K and will cost around $19 a year, very inexpensive when we are talking about protecting yourself. The $100K Liability limit tends to get steeper and costs about $195 a year. This amount is again not ridiculous and is doable for most notary publics.

Think about the bigger picture. If you don’t protect your self you can hurt your business and even family. There are plenty of notaries who get away with not paying for Insurance and come out fine. There are also horror stories of the guy next door who lost his home because the Mortgage company sued him for negligence. It doesn’t happen often, but its good to protect yourself.

Insurance agencies have long been in the relationship business and most would agree they are in a rapidly commoditizing business. And that creates an inherently challenging scenario, for commodities ultimately get purchased on price and availability, ease of access and simplicity of transaction. Another challenge faced by insurance agencies revolves around insurance agency marketing. After all, if you’re in a relationship business, you need to drop by, shake hands, build rapport and grow the relationship. For many, however, those days are ending. Yes, referrals can help with insurance agency marketing, but often these referral methods lack consistent pipeline growth effectiveness, or add insufficient opportunity to sustain effective growth.

As we move into the era of Generation Y purchasers, instant access, pervasive connectivity and comprehensive comparative information available at the touch of a button, sales and marketing methods must change to conform to the new model. For example, I purchased my company’s health insurance plan without ever having met with my insurance agent. After all, why would I need to, and to be candid, why would I want to take the time to do so? Granted, larger plans with more employees, particularly plans which insure 100, 500 or 1,000 or more employees, encompass greater complexity and cost, and these types of purchases often warrant an on-site visit. But even these visits are now often preceded by a web meeting or web seminar, few executives these days want to invest 30 minutes or an hour with a prospective insurance agency representative chatting in their office.

Current insurance agency marketing methods are trying to embrace this virtual paradigm shift. Recently agencies have started to update their web sites and embark upon eMarketing, web seminar marketing and even SEO (Search Engine Optimization) campaigns. This is an important first step, though it is a step that many consider to be happening very late in the current marketing evolution. Sadly, some of these insurance agencies are embracing poor practices, the foremost of which is the “talking head”. One of my pet peeves is the talking head, a cyberspace insurance agent who automatically screams at web site visitors as soon as they navigate to an agency web page.

I use the word scream, because the volume is often poorly calibrated and the cyber agent automatically yells at the website visitor while said visitor scrambles to turn down the volume or find a way to make the virtual agent “shut up” virtually and pragmatically. It’s bad enough when your PC speakers are on, but it’s even worse when you are using a PC headset – think of this as placing iPod headphones on your head while somebody immediately turns the volume to the highest level, playing a head banging, hard rock group. Why do agencies think talking heads are appealing to their existing or prospective clients? Have they ever heard of the term “interruption marketing”? This is interruption marketing at its’ worst, after all, I never gave this cyberspace insurance agent the right to scream at me! Seth Godin’s blog says, “Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. It recognizes the new power of the best consumers to ignore marketing. It realizes that treating people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.” These screaming cyberspace agents don’t seem to be giving me, or other visitors, the respect we deserve!

Recently I was speaking with a West Coast Insurance Agency CEO and we were discussing eMarketing. He lamented that, “I sent out 30,000 emails about our insurance offerings to prospects and received no response, no results at all from my email campaign.” I tried to break the news gently. “You shouldn’t send out unsolicited emails, you should never try to sell something in your initial offering, and you should always provide an educational opt in opportunity when approaching prospective clients via email marketing.” Where did you get the emails I asked? “I just bought them from a vendor, he said, my eMarketing company offers some list brokers to contact.” This is a good example of having the tools, but not understanding of how to use them. Think of this as if your agency is handed a scalpel and medical monitor to operate on a patient, but has not been provided with any surgical training.

It’s great to see that insurance agencies are beginning to update their marketing and sales methods using new virtual tools, but even with updated tools, they need to leverage the experience and know how to use these tools professionally and effectively. In conclusion, I’d just like to say to all those cyberspace talking heads on those agency websites, “STOP SCREAMING AT ME!”

Businesses that provide lawn care and general landscape maintenance operations are a common start-up every spring. According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, there were 402,000 self-employed grounds maintenance workers in 2008. This number continues to grow as the entire industry expects substantial growth over the next decade. The report stated that “more workers will be needed to keep up with increasing demand for lawn care and landscaping services both from large institutions and from individual homeowners.”

Homeowners that hire a new business to mow their yard should request proof that the business is properly insured to cover the liability for property damage and bodily injury. This exposure will be covered under a typical general liability policy and commercial auto policy. The business owner can provide from his insurance agency a ‘certificate of insurance’, which is a current listing of their liability coverages and limits.

For new lawn care businesses throughout the country, there are four standard insurance coverages to protect the business venture:

1. General Liability Insurance – Pays losses arising from real or alleged bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury on business premises or arising from business operations.

2. Commercial Auto Insurance – Pays losses for damage to company vehicles and trailers as well as injury and property damage to others as a result of vehicle liability when used for business purposes.

3. Equipment Floater Insurance – Provides protection for tools and equipment from a number of exposures such as theft.

4. Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Covers the cost of medical expenses and disability payments to employees that are injured at work, and it is required by state governments.

There are additional insurance coverages to consider as the lawn care business expands and the exposures increase. For more information about those coverages or the ones mentioned above, visit BearWiseLandscapers.com, an informative insurance website exclusively for lawn care and landscaping businesses. BearWise Landscapers is a division of an independent insurance agency and specializes in serving the unique insurance needs of the Florida landscaping industry.

The #1 Challenge for most staffing companies, aside from the marketing and operations aspect of the business, is insurance. Insurance costs (worker’s compensation, general liability, professional liability, E&O, etc.) can make or break a staffing firm.

Take Worker’s Comp for example. In the first years of business, most staffing companies have to purchase state fund workers compensation insurance. Most states require an initial deposit, then a monthly premium based on the type of temporary worker that is sent out. Rates tend to be lower for a company sending clerical and administrative temps vs. those sending out light industrial and industrial temps. Workers comp rates can vary from state to state, and the rate is affected by accident incidence. Then generally there is an experience modifier (a “mod”) that is placed on the premiums, most of the time after a year.

This mod is a “premium” on top of the actual rate (for instance a 1.5% mod rate). So if “normal” premiums would be $10,000 for the year, with a 1.5% mode, the actual rate would be $15,000. With staffing owners having to keep such competitive rates in place in order to gain or keep business, this mod rate can really affect the bottom line. The cost can hardly ever be “passed” on to the client company in the form of higher bill rates. Care needs to be taken to prevent workplace accidents (through proper training and education) so that workers comp claims will be kept to a minimum.

Accidents happen (which is why they call them accidents), but I have seen many staffing firms go out of business just due to workers comp rates skyrocketing. Other insurances are just part of doing business, but many insurance companies don’t understand the staffing industry, so it pays to find an insurance company or broker that really understands the business, in order to obtain the right policy so that your business remains intact. If you are a start up staffing company, be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time securing your initial general liability and workers comp insurances.

Business insurance is vital for a new business. If you are in the planning stages for starting a new business, you’ll need to plan for your insurance coverage. You likely already have insurance for your home and automobile. But the insurance needs for a business are somewhat different and you must address all of your new business exposures.

Here is a list of the four basic components of a business insurance policy:

1. Property

a. The building you own. If you’re leasing a building, your lease may require you to insure the building.

b. Your business personal property, including your furniture, machinery, computers, office equipment, inventory and raw materials.

c. Your vehicles.

2. Liability. If your business will be dealing with the public, there is a chance that you will cause a loss to others due to negligence. This covers errors you may make and personal injury or property damage to others.

3. People: If you will have employees, Workers Compensation insurance will be necessary. You might also consider Health Insurance and/or Life Insurance for your employees. “Keyman” life insurance protects the business from loss of a key owner or employee. Worker’s Compensation is mandatory, other coverages are optional.

4. Income: The lifeblood of any business is its income. If that income is interrupted or stopped, the business will likely not survive. Business Interruption coverage provides replacement of the lost income due to a covered peril.

When you are preparing your business plan for your new business, you should be able to generate the information necessary, such as property values, number of employees and anticipated revenue. Share this information with your insurance agent so that together you can design a business insurance policy for you that meets all your needs.

If you have experience a Business Insurance loss, whether property, liability, people or income, you need to know winning insurance claim strategies. The insurance company will not tell you the claims process, but I will. I will show you how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, go to the website listed below.

Most pub insurance policies that are sold do not cover the actual structure or buildings. A standard policy will include contents, stock, liabilities, money and business interruption with other covers available.

There will usually be a commercial building insurance policy in place with a single insurer that is arranged by the property owner, which will usually be a pub group or property owning commercial landlord. As part of their insurance arrangement, they will need to declare, under the business building insurance cover, if the premises are of non-standard construction.

Each insurers interpretation of “non-standard” can be different, but in essence what they want to be notified of is if the building is constructed of combustible materials. For example, brick, stone or concrete block walls are fine, whereas timber walls (even in part) need to be declared. It is the same story for the roof, slate or tile is fine but insurers need to know if there is any flat roof, glass roof or felt/asphalt on timber roof. If the roof is thatched then you really do need to notify the insurers as this will cause a sharp intake of breath, particularly if there is an open fire.

If you do not insure the buildings and are the tenant arranging the insurance, you will still need to declare if the property is non-standard, as defined by the particular insurer that is providing the quote. The reason being that a non-standard building could still be susceptible to a loss that will cause damage to the contents and stock. Water ingress into a building, for example, following a storm can cause immense damage.

You will, when looking for your particular quote, be asked certain questions about the construction. If you do not know or are unsure then you will need to speak to the landlord, property owner or managing agent to clarify exactly the materials that have been used to build the property. If you do not declare, to your insurer, the correct details you could potentially be faced with a claim that is turned down.

Most insurers will accept non-standard construction at around 20% of the overall structure. This means that where an extension has been built or there is a conservatory that a claim cannot be turned down due to the mis-declaration of the construction of the building.

As ever, the best thing for you to do is to only ask an independent business insurance broker to arrange your insurance cover. The brokers job is to serve you, the insurance purchasing customer. They will ensure, through the questions that they ask you, that the correct details are declared to the insurers that ultimately underwrite the risk.

Do you own or plan to own a rental property? If so this guide will show you the most important aspects of landlord insurance and some often overlooked coverage. Let’s face it; you don’t own a rental property because you enjoy dealing with tenants. Your bottom line is profits and asset appreciation right? The cost of owning a rental property can be overwhelming when you consider the mortgage payment, insurance and unexpected maintenance. If done properly you can have a profitable source of income for years to come but there are risks involved.

Being a landlord involves many risks including asset depreciation, destructive tenants and unexpected maintenance. Some of those risks can be contained with a proper landlord insurance policy. Most people don’t understand the difference between a standard homeowner’s insurance policy and a landlord policy. While most of the coverage remains the same there are distinct differences between the two.

When I sold insurance most of my customers did not understand why they needed to have a different policy when renting out their home. This is a common issue when someone decides to rent out the home they have been living in for sometime. Initially they purchased homeowners insurance but now they have tenants in that home so what do they need. The number one reason why you want to get a landlord insurance policy is so that you are properly covered in the event of a claim. If you don’t change the policy when you begin to rent the property any claim can be denied by your insurance company for failure to notify them of the change in status.

Here are two coverage’s that a landlord policy includes that is vital to your rental property business:

Liability Protection

While a standard homeowner’s policy includes liability protection it is not meant for landlord liability. Take for instance a tenant who causes a fire to your condo unit which damages two other units attached. The other condo owners can file suit against you for the damage to their property. If you don’t have a landlord policy your insurance company may not cover you based on the intended use of the condo. Most landlord policies will provide anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million in liability protection. Always opt for the higher coverage as it is only a few dollars more per year.

Loss of Rental Income

Most landlords rely on having tenants paying each month in order to afford the mortgage on a property. If the unit were to become unlivable due to a fire your tenants would have to move out and you would not have that rental income while the unit is being fixed. This is where loss of income coverage is so vital to your business. You can be reimbursed for any loss of rental income you suffer up to your policy limit during the time it takes to repair or rebuild.

The struggle in these situations often turns on how to “unlock” the liquidity within the agency so the owner can retire without creating excessive financial leverage for the successors. The agency owner is caught between keeping the family business intact so that the next generation can continue its legacy without creating an inordinate financial burden through transfer of ownership.

There are three basic solutions available to the agency owner. Concluding which alternative is the correct strategy is far more difficult than the actual execution of it. In order to select properly which solution is best, it is highly advisable that each one be evaluated carefully as a possible strategy.

Buy-Sell Agreement. The execution of a buy-sell agreement allows for change of control of the business that largely can be customized to fit specific circumstances and timing. Buy-sell agreements typically are used to change the ownership control from one principal to others based on agreed-upon terms, price and timing. In many instances they are executed among family members to smoothly change the ownership from one party to another, or several others.

More recently, buy-sells are very effectively supplemented when used with life insurance or Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). The benefit of such vehicles allows certain tax advantages to the transfer of ownership, which ultimately lowers the financial burden for the successors and may create greater tax advantages to the seller.

These options far exceed the conventional financing methods used in years past. Downside risk still exists where the successors have a financial debt obligation to the seller from the purchase, which must be balanced against keeping adequate capital in the business to support ongoing operations and maintaining their own personal lifestyle cash flow needs. However, the upside is substantial in that through the use of leveraged ESOPs and other creative financial methods, the cost of capital or debt service dramatically can be reduced and cash flow significantly improved.

Partnership or Joint Venture. If an agency owner is well suited to consider partnering with another firm within its geographic region, there are tremendous opportunities that can exist with this type of an arrangement. Essentially, the owner of one business can fund his retirement through partnering with an agency of equal or greater size and to evolve into an exit strategy over several years.

The obvious benefit that exists with partnering is that economies of scale play a key role in adding additional earnings to both businesses. If the two entities can establish a well thought out plan of integration and profit sharing, the “financial lift” from this combination can create enough additional free cash flow to fund a buy-sell agreement that could be included in the partnership agreement.

Conversely, partnerships or joint ventures are flexible enough that an agency owner easily can “unwind” his business in the event that things do not work out between the two parties. Essentially, it creates the best of both worlds in that it allows for enough flexibility to the agency owner to create his own succession plan, while also satisfying the need gradually to obtain liquidity from the business.

In addition, key family members within the agency are given an opportunity to remain with the operation and potentially can be awarded ownership in the combined entity upon formalization of a sale option that can be included in the partnership agreement. This allows for continuation of the family’s legacy through participation in a larger company, while gradually merging it into another entity.

Conversely, the joint venture partner may find this to be the best of both worlds as well. They are able to execute effectively an acquisition strategy but to perform it on a more gradual basis. This minimizes their risk and allows time for both parties to integrate successfully the agencies into a more efficient operating model.

The key to remember in developing such a strategy is that there must be a clearly thought out plan on the front end of discussions. There must be openness to modifying both operations to achieve the desired financial optimization.

It is equally important that independent professional advisors be brought into the discussions early. This will allow both parties to assess the financial dynamics, tax implications and any other legal change of control issues. It is advisable that both parties utilize industry legal and financial advisors who are neutral and can approach the construction of an agreement without bias. This creates a level playing field where a neutral third party can make recommendations that will be beneficial to both parties.

Sale of Business. Selling an agency in today’s market is probably the most straightforward approach to solving and completing a succession plan. It creates a liquidity event for the owner and can allow for professional opportunities and rewards for family members within the business.

Many times, we are approached by agency owners who seek selling as a succession planning route. The problem is that some believe their exit from the business happens contemporaneously with the sale. It is important to realize that in order to really maximize the sale price, the owner generally must stay involved with the business for at least three years and therefore, should not wait until he is ready to retire to start the sales process.

Most acquirers do not have a high level of interest in an agency whose owner will not be part of the business, post-transaction. They clearly understand that this is a relationship business and an overwhelming risk exists if the owner does not stay within the new organization for a reasonable period of time. This allows for a smooth transition with customers as well as with the employees of the agency.

Regardless of the potential “transaction partner,” there is an absolute need for most employees to stay within the business after the transaction closes. This may present a tremendous opportunity for second- and third-generation family members within the agency. Working in a larger, well-capitalized company, can allow for new career opportunities that may also include significant compensation as well.

The important fact to remember in this situation is to assess the qualitative and quantitative characteristics with the possible buyers. If quality of life for family members is more important than getting the highest sales price, this certainly will send the agency owner to a different type of buyer.

Selling an agency is something that usually only happens once. An owner can ill-afford not doing the appropriate “reverse” due diligence on possible buyers. It is advisable that professional advisors be engaged to assist in evaluating the financial and nonfinancial issues that exist among the various opportunities.

An agency owner should start planning at least five and as far as 10 years before he actually plans his exit from the business. This allows ample time to explore the opportunities, begin the transition process and to segue out of the business. For those who like the thought of retiring at 55, age 45 is not too early to begin the process of thinking about their long-term strategy.