E&O Claims and Liability Concerns for Real Estate Agents

Real estate agents must purchase coverage that protects them against financial losses from lawsuits filed as a result of any work they perform. Errors and omissions coverage can be acquired from those selling Insurance in LA and is the policy that addresses these concerns. Often referred to as real estate liability insurance, it is a type of malpractice insurance carried by most real estate agents.

Fortunately, E&O coverage provides defense against claims from buyers or sellers that determine that the agent did not proceed properly in managing their affairs. The policy also pays any settlement or judgment against agents up to the limits of liability stated in the policy. As a real estate broker, you probably carry out your duties to the best of your ability, but you may still be at the risk of facing one or more claims.

Not every E&O policy is the same

While E&O policies cover claims that come about due to errors, omissions, or negligence in regard to your duties as a real estate agent, policies can differ from one insurer to the next. When deciding on which type of policy you should purchase, you can use a few basic ideas about the standard types of coverage that are available. Keep in mind that there are likely to be exclusions listed in these policies, including:

  • Claims resulting in dishonest or criminal acts by an agent
  • Claims against agents causing bodily harm or death to another person
  • Claims associated with polluted property, and
  • Claims arising from damage an agent causes to someone’s property

It’s vital to keep accurate records of all transactions, as well as keeping records of all phone conversations that discuss anything pertaining to a sell or purchase. A buyer may decline to purchase home warranty protection or decide against doing a home inspection, even against your recommendations. Write anything of this nature down and put it in a file in case the issue comes up later.

Ask your buyer or seller to sign a declaration anytime that you recommended a specific action. If your files contain a signed waiver, it will be difficult for you to be held responsible for any problem related to that waiver. Document as many facts as possible during all real estate transactions. Always carry real estate liability Insurance in LA as the best protection against mistakes you make, along with any false accusations that could possibly damage your reputation.

Marketing Experts Build Business

Independent agencies who use insurance agency marketing services may have access to a wider range of resources than if they operated without a marketing partner. While marketing experts focus on bringing in additional prospects, agents can spend time building relationships and making sure clients have the right coverage.

Telemarketing

Telemarketing can be one of the many insurance agency marketing services offered. Effective telemarketing campaigns can reach new prospects to keep the client pipeline full, plus contact current customers who may be ready for renewals. Compliance issues can be managed and results measured when working through a seasoned agency.

Comprehensive Branding Services

Marketing agencies can provide a comprehensive branding package to ensure that brand messages are consistent across all marketing channels. The talented creative team and depth of resources at an agency can create collateral materials with the look and feel of large, professional organizations.

Digital Marketing

Many customers expect to research products or shop online. Others may rely on social media engagement to gain an understanding about how others trust a company’s representatives and products. Websites, social media pages and targeted electronic ad campaigns can be important to any successful marketing effort.

Effective Partnerships

Using insurance agency marketing services may spur growth more than would be possible without access to their professional resources. While agency representatives concentrate on client relationships, marketing partners can focus marketing channels and drive maximum results.

Addressing Employee Injury Claims for Auto Dealers

One top concern for auto dealers is the frequency of workers comp losses occurring within their industry. Many companies currently rely on risk management experts to examine these exposures and help identify the areas where injuries are most frequent. By analyzing these losses you can then focus your risk management efforts and apply measures of prevention that can be useful.

 

The safety of workers is a priority for any business and workers compensation insurance in Texas is an important factor in aiding injured workers, as well as ensuring proper medical attention and financial aid.

 

Lifting and other causes of job-related injuries

 

Technicians often suffer injuries from lifting and rotating tires on vehicle axles. They’re also prone to injuries from the lifting and moving of auto parts, including doors, seats, and transmissions. These repeated actions can cause personnel to suffer from strains and cause sprains and other stresses.

 

They can also suffer loss of eyesight from being struck by a particle while using a press to remove a bearing from a wheel hub. Reports also show that being struck by a clip coming into contact with the eyes and injuring a technician replacing a wiper blade is another issue. Technicians have cited getting particles in their eyes from grinding operations, or while changing tires and working underneath vehicles is a constant concern. Wearing protective goggles has reduced the number of eye injuries and should be mandatory for this line of work.

 

Slips, trips, and falls can lead to serious injury as well

 

Even prior to starting work an employee may become injured while entering the workplace. Common injuries, such as slipping on wet sidewalks, as well encountering oily surfaces (both inside and outside the shop), are often cited as areas where accidents are common. During work, employees may be subjected to falls from a step and extension ladders often used both inside and outside the general work areas.

 

Other exposures include the use of auto lifts. Employees potentially could fall hard onto the floor while exiting the car, having forgotten they were above ground level. Only when these risks are examined and considered can a company then implement the proper safety program to help reduce the number of injuries occurring. When injuries do happen, workers compensation insurance in Texas will aid workers and assist in getting them back on the job.

 

Why Digital Marketing Delivers

Consumers often expect to shop for goods and services online. According to the JD Power 2016 US Insurance Shopping StudySM, 74% of shoppers visit websites to research insurance information or obtain quotes. Insurance marketing agencies can help independent agents build an effective web presence to meet customer demand.

1. Expanded Reach

With internet marketing, agents can reach potential clients in a wider geographic region. Rather than pushing the marketing message out, customers often seek out information when they are ready to purchase, which may result in higher conversion rates.

2. Tailored Campaigns

Various demographic groups or business types may be looking for very different types of insurance products. Electronic marketing campaigns can be designed to deliver useful and relevant information about popular products for specific target audiences.

3. Engaged Consumers

Insurance marketing agencies can coordinate social media to promote customer engagement Unsolicited client reviews and comments on third party sites may be viewed as more credible than testimonials published on a company’s website. How a company interacts with clients publicly via social media can affect how potential clients view the company and its relationships with its clients.

Digital Marketing Results

Digital marketing can be an important piece of a comprehensive marketing plan to reach the right customers and engage with them to promote business. Insurance marketing agencies with digital experience can help agents maximize online marketing benefits.

Protecting Company Officials

With the abundance of lawsuits being brought against companies for various reasons, the legal landscape may be precarious to navigate through. Employees in managerial positions may find themselves in a tight spot when their company becomes the defendant in a lawsuit, so having a good management liability policy may be one of the best ways to protect both the company and the company official.

Why Do Managers Need Liability Insurance?

Although many clients may file claims against a company due to negligent service, many employees may file claims against managers. There may be many reasons for this, but several of them are listed below.

  • Conflicts of interest
  • Discrimination
  • Release of confidential information
  • Unfair business practices

Companies may need to protect their managers in case fraudulent claims are made. A good policy may prevent the company from paying legal fees when a suit is filed against them.

How Does Insurance Protect Company Officials?

While a management liability policy may not guarantee that a claim will not be filed, it may prevent the company from paying. A good insurance company may cover legal fees if the claim is deemed fraudulent, or it may cover restitution costs if the company or manager is at fault. Choosing a comprehensive policy may be a way to protect both the company and managers.

Bundling Insurance Can Provide Coverage Solutions for Less

For many businesses there comes a point when their growth requires more stringent requirements in order to protect assets and continue expansion. This certainly can apply to your business insurance policies, but doesn’t necessarily mean spending more on coverage. A startup, or a relatively new company, may be fine bundling basic coverage in a business owners policy (BOP), which generally combines low-priced insurance coverages in a single package.

However, an expanding and more mature company will likely require a more diverse approach when it comes to protecting against unexpected perils. This is where an insurance agent that deals primarily with small or mid-size businesses might suggest looking into the option of a commercial package policy, designed more for those with more substantial needs.

A commercial package policy offers more than a BOP

A small business owner, at one time satisfied with a BOP in place, has to determine exactly which insurance package will satisfy his or her current needs. A business owner’s policy can be somewhat limited in what it can provide, while a commercial package policy can offer a higher degree of customization. Both offer multiple types of policies that are bundled together, but the difference can be somewhat substantial.

For example, a BOP provides coverage for all major property and liability risks, which is perfectly suitable for people looking to save money and need a quick, pre-packaged insurance solution. But a commercial package policy offers many more options, so it’s likely to be a much better solution in that you can tailor it to cover many important aspects of your individual business concerns.

When constructing your commercial package coverages, you can pick from several types of coverage, including product liability, general liability, and professional liability, as well as property, business income, business auto, and even employment practices or commercial umbrella.

Other policies that you may require, but not available within a CPP, can still be purchased as stand alone policies so you will still get all the protection you need. As your needs change you can restructure in such a way that your coverage will always benefit you the most. Speak to an agent today about putting together a commercial package policy for your business.

3 Best Traits for an Insurance Company

Are you looking for business insurance in Orlando, FL, for a new or existing company? As a business owner, you know how important it is to make smart choices. Finding the right insurance provider can give you peace of mind, and help you maintain a successful enterprise.

1. History of Success

Experience offering business insurance in Orlando, FL, is a must for successful companies. The history of success should be obvious. This success can be seen through:

  • Positive customer reviews
  • Years of experience as a company
  • Well-trained agents and underwriters

When an insurance provider is only a few years old, the company may not have the know-how necessary to successfully protect your business.

2. Protection from Mistakes

Human error can happen to anyone, even a knowledgeable insurance agent. The company you work with should be ready to protect you from mistakes made due to human error.

3. Reputation for Low Costs

The cost of business insurance in Orlando, FL, can get high. Because you want to be able to hold policies for a well-rounded coverage, you need to work with a company that is able to offer low costs.

The coverage you have for your business protects you from liabilities and other potential dangers. Because you want what is best for your organization, you need to make sure to work with a great insurance provider.

Why You Need to Insure Your Freight

Unlike goods kept in a warehouse, freight-shipped products experience a variety of environments and challenges. This applies whether your goods are going across town or across the world. Freight liability insurance can ease your mind when your goods need to travel from one point to another. Here are some of the coverage options you need to know about.

If you are using a carrier service that is not directly related to your business, that could mean the driver does not love your product as much as you. Some liability insurance programs can cover you if there is carrier negligence involved in the damage of your goods. You may also recuperate your material expenses in certain cases of loss or outright destruction. Coverage rates vary, but getting back even a fraction of your material costs is better than getting nothing at all.

You have put a lot of time and money into your product, so it is essential that it arrives at its destination in good order. Freight liability insurance is a good way to get peace of mind regarding your goods as they travel out your door and to your distributors or customers. Whether traveling by truck, plane or boat, liability insurance is a good start to protecting your investment.

Enjoy the Life You Have Now With the Right Life Insurance

Does the thought of committing yourself to life insurance make you nervous? Many worry over the idea of life insurance, wanting to provide for their families, but unsure where to start and who to trust. In addition, you may be concerned about committing to a lifelong payment that does not see benefits for many years. However, single premium whole life insurance provides a solution that eases minds and makes your future more secure.

With a single premium option, you pay only once for your life insurance policy. Forget the idea of monthly upkeep; with a single premium, that worry is eliminated. Still, single premium whole life insurance does more than ease your stress; it also provides more security for your children and grandchildren as beneficiaries. Your benefits transfer directly to them in the event of your death, you may even decide to join an organization as a member in order to reap more benefits for you and your family, and you have the ability to gain exemption from creditors with your insurance policy, which secures your family’s future even further.

No one wants to live with worries for their family’s future hanging over their heads. A single premium insurance option lets you make a plan for your future and still be able to enjoy the life you have now.

When Should You Obtain Errors and Omission Insurance?

The time to obtain professional liability insurance or errors and omission (E&O) insurance is long before you need it. Should the benefits and services of such a policy be required, you may be under excessive stress during the difficult circumstances of a lawsuit, mediator demands, or settlement pressures. Having the policy in place before it is necessary will ensure you and your company’s needs are met should the time come that protection is required. Obtaining a New York E&O can address your needs before it is too late.

No matter which type of company you own, if you provide a professional service or skill to the public, you may be at risk of a lawsuit. Travel agencies, plumbers, computer programmers, and accountants are all at risk; not just the doctors, lawyers, and accountant you often hear about. The quality of work you provide is subjective, as are the “fulfillment of contract” terms, as many contractors know. Some people are more difficult to satisfy than others; hence the randomness of professional lawsuits.

E&O insurance can cover claims due to negligent acts, failure to provide a level of service expected, and even misunderstandings over advice given or not given. In other words, if you provide advice or services to others, you should get a New York E&O insurance policy long before you need it.