Personal Insurance

What If Your Big Idea Isn’t Yours? Intellectual Property Risks Your business is chugging right along, creating products and efficiencies, offering services and deploying marketing strategies that separate you from competitors. Everything is working flawlessly. And then it happens. You receive notice that something about your business has drawn the attention of an intellectual property (IP) owner and she’s not pleased. She demands that you cease and desist any activity involving her IP and informs you of her intent to follow up with a formal allegation of financial damages. Hear that sound? It’s your business crashing into a brick wall.…

Why Your Small Business May Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance Why Your Small Business May Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance As a small business owner, you may face an important decision — does my business need workers’ compensation insurance? Your state’s department of insurance sets the rules for which employers need workers’ compensation and which do not. In some states, hiring just one employee, even a part-time worker, means you must purchase a workers’ compensation policy. Workers’ compensation coverage protects you in most cases if your employees sue you for negligence. For example, if you fail to furnish adequate safety equipment, your…

Do You Need Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)? Do You Need Employment Practices Liability Insurance? Hiring even one employee exposes your organization to new risks. From managing payroll and benefits to handling workers' compensation, every hire introduces potential liabilities. To protect against many employment-related claims, businesses can purchase Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI). EPLI is often available as a standalone policy, though some business owners policies (BOPs) offer it as an endorsement for an additional premium. In a post-COVID world filled with increased employment disputes and management challenges, EPLI has become a “must-have” rather than a “nice-to-have.” What Kinds of…

Erie Insurance today released the following statement regarding an ongoing network outage and confirmed an information security event: On Saturday, June 7, Erie Insurance’s Information Security team identified unusual network activity. We took immediate action to respond to the situation to safeguard our systems and data. Since Saturday, we have continued to take protective action for the security of our systems. We are working with law enforcement and are conducting a comprehensive forensic analysis with the assistance of leading cybersecurity experts to gain a full understanding of this event. The investigation into this event is ongoing. We will continue to…

3 Ways Independent Insurance Agents Make Adulting Easier Being an adult can be overwhelming. You’ve got big decisions to make, money to figure out, and a social life to manage. Plus, you've got to figure out a way to get more vegetables in your body. This is all just a panic attack waiting to happen. Could you bury your head in the sand and eat mac and cheese every day? Yes, but your problems will only get worse, and you may end up with scurvy. The best thing you can do is talk to someone. And when it comes to…

What Is Condo Insurance? - Part 2 How Do I Know How Much Coverage I Need in My Condo Policy? This is not a one-size-fits-all question. The answer hinges on what it would cost you to replace your belongings or restore your unit in the event of a burglary, a fire, or some other calamity. You should create an inventory of what you have and identify the value of your furniture, electronics, clothing, and other personal items. (Use photos or video to make the task easier.) Then compare the level of coverage in the policy you are considering with how…

Flying Drones Safely: Some Clarity amidst the BuzzA growing colony of recreational drones is taking over our skies. There are millions of them. Literally, millions.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported receiving nearly 700,000 registrations in 2016, but that number falls far short of the 2.8 million drones sold that year to U.S. hobbyists who often fail to register them. The FAA predicts that registrations will number 7 million by 2020, but who knows how many more will actually be flying. Recreational drones have exploded in popularity, and you can’t escape the growing buzz.More drones mean more drone incidents. We’ll see…