The New Year is almost here and gives us all the amazing opportunity for fresh start. We get to put the setbacks of this year behind us and better prepare for the coming year. This allows us to reevaluate and reorganize to make 2017 better and more successful. As a California business owner, a great place to start is with your commercial insurance policies. The following guidelines will help ensure you have everything your company may need for your California business insurance policies to start the New Year.
Collect your Documents
Make sure you have digital and hard copies of all your current insurance policies/quotes and keep track of who has access to them. If you are up with the times and technology and refuse to keep hard copies of anything, just make sure to back up a second copy of your digital files elsewhere in case of emergency!
Make sure to also place your broker’s and claim reporting contact information in an accessible place in case of any urgent matters.
Know your Coverages
Stay up-to-date on all your insurance policies, keeping track of renewal and payment dates.
Assess the coverages of each policy to ensure that you are well protected and fully covered. Your broker can also help you through this process. Check the following
- For your California General Liability policy, check limits, deductibles, and exposures to see if you have enough coverage for the New Year, as some aspects of your business may have changed.
- For your California Property policy, go over any changes to your business, such as a new real estate or contents purchase in the last year, and inform your agent of any new properties and/or business personal property so they can be quoted.
- For your California Workers Compensation policy, assess the business’ actual gross payroll ran for 2016 and make sure you are on schedule with your projected figures you provided at the beginning of your current policy year. If there are drastic changes you may want to consider reaching back out to your broker to amend the policy midterm.
- For your California Commercial Auto policy, make sure you have the current ID cards for all your vehicles and inform your agent of any vehicles that have been purchased or sold or of any vehicle alterations that affect its value. Also, make sure all drivers are listed on the policy or filed with your broker. This can definitely affect the cost of your policy.
- For your Equipment Floater policy, make sure all equipment is scheduled.
- For any other commercial insurance policies not listed above, please make to check that information and coverage is accurate and up-to-date.
Embrace Change
Assess anything new to your California business and if it needs to be covered which may have been mentioned above but is summarized below
- Real estate, equipment, or tools
- New operations to your business that may not be covered by your current policy
- Changes to your online presence
- New employees, vehicles, or locations
- Additional out-of-state locations
Get Organized and Get Covered
Once you have assessed all of these aspects of your business, you may find you need updated documents or you may have to alter your policy to cover new changes to your business. Contact your California insurance broker with any questions or for assistance. Your broker will also be able to offer you any additional insurance quotes that you may need or be eligible for this year that you were not last year. Reevaluating your insurance coverage with your agent will ensure you are most accurately insured so you can start off 2017 with preparation and peace of mind. Contact us here at JVRC Insurance agent to get a quote or need answers to any questions you may have.