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Personal umbrella policies provide additional liability coverage above and beyond what is included in home or auto policies. Sometimes referred to as “excess liability,” an umbrella policy is is the best option available for comprehensive financial protection.

What you should know

• Umbrella policies are designed to protect your current assets, future earnings, and legal expenses
  The main purpose of an umbrella policy is to protect your assets from an unforeseen event such as a tragic accident in which you are held responsible for damages or bodily injuries.
• Your coverage limit is unique to your situation
  A customized plan is determined based on the value of your assets, the risks and exposures you face, and your potential loss of future income. In most cases, personal umbrella policies have a range of coverage from $1mm up to $10mm (specialized carriers can offer as much as $100mm) It is important to work with an advisor to determine the right coverage for your situation.
• An affordable investment
  The typical cost of an umbrella policy is only about 5% of a family’s total insurance cost per year. It is the best value available for comprehensive financial protection.

WHAT IS TYPICALLY COVERED

• Auto accidents
• Accidents in your home
• Dog bites
• Libel/slander
• Watercraft accidents
• Legal fees

NEXT STEPS

• Contact your Cox Insurance advisor to discuss your options for adding an umbrella policy for optimum protection. If you already have an umbrella policy, you should confirm that the amount of coverage aligns with your net worth and risk factors.
• Consult with your financial advisor or wealth manager to be sure your coverage aligns with your financial portfolio.

Cox Insurance provides Home, Auto, Liability and Commercial insurance that exceeds expectations. For a personalized quote, please contact us here.

Cyber liability coverage is used to protect businesses and individual users from Internet-based risks, and more generally from risks relating to information technology infrastructure and activities.

What You Should Know

• Companies of every size have cyber risks and cyber threats are rapidly increasing.

• A data breach can damage more than just your computer system. It can damage your reputation and put your customers and/or employees at risk.

• Most states require companies to notify customers of a data breach involving personally identifiable information and the federal government also has privacy and security rules.

• Coverage limits are determined by the nature of your business. Whose sensitive data do you have access to? How is collected and how is it destroyed? How many records could be breached? Would you face a PR problem?

WHAT IS TYPICALLY COVERED?

First-party expenses
Losses sustained by your company directly.

• Legal fees and expenses
• Loss or damage to electronic data
• Loss of income or extra expenses
• Cyber extortion losses
• Notification costs
• Damage to your reputation

Third-party expenses
Claims against your business by people who have been harmed as a result of your actions or failure to act.

• Network security liability
• Network privacy liability
• Electronic media liability

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Cox Insurance provides Home, Auto, Liability and Commercial insurance that exceeds expectations. For a personalized quote, please contact us here.

Hail from severe storms can damage roof shingles, skylights, car windows, and more. Be informed about your insurance coverage and what to do when hail occurs!

What you should know

• If hail has hit your house, you’ll often first notice damage on soft metals like gutters, vents, or an air conditioning unit. This does not necessarily mean your roof has sustained damage but it can be a good indication for whether or not to inspect.

• For safety reasons, don’t get on your roof. Damage is often hard to spot by the untrained eye — leave it to the professionals and avoid risking an injury!

• Why are all my neighbors getting a new roof? Do I have damage?
  It depends. The amount of damage a hail storm can cause is impacted by many factors, including the age and type/quality/rating of the shingle, the pitch of the roof, tree coverage, and wind direction. There are also “pockets” within hail storms where hail is not produced, so it is not uncommon for one house to have damage and another house a few doors down to escape without a scratch!

• Is there a statute that limits the amount of time I have to report a claim?
  In Minnesota, the basic insurance guidelines state that you have 180 days from the date of the storm to report a claim (although each carrier may have different requirements). If you think you could have damage, we recommend starting the claim process as soon as possible so you are not subject to any limitations with how a claim is settled.

• Beware of repair companies that solicit at your door. We refer to them as “storm chasers.” It is always better to get a referral and properly vet your contractors.

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Cox Insurance provides Home, Auto, Liability and Commercial insurance that exceeds expectations. For a personalized quote, please contact us here.

Understanding how General Liability and Professional Liability insurance coverages compare and contrast will help you make the best decisions to protect your business. You may find you need both policies to be properly covered.

What is General Liability insurance?

General Liability insurance covers your business from some common lawsuits, including:

• Bodily injuries that incurred on your commercial premises or while you were at a third-party site
• Damage you caused at a third-party property
• Advertising injuries (e.g. slander, libel, misappropriation, and copyright infringement)
• Coverage for claims arising out of client products and completed operations as it relates to a third party bodily injury or property damage

General Liability insurance pays for your legal expenses including lawyers’ fees, court costs, and settlements or judgments.

Any business owner, no matter their industry or the size of their business, can face these claims. 

What is Professional Liability insurance?

Professional Liability insurance is sometimes referred to as “Errors and Omissions Insurance”

Professional Liability Insurance focuses specifically on lawsuits that allege a business:

• Provided negligent professional services
• Made mistakes or omissions

This coverage is especially important for service providers, but many businesses can benefit from the added coverage.

The insurance carrier has a duty to defend even in the case of a frivolous lawsuit

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Both policies cover certain liabilities, but they don’t cover the same liabilities
• As a rule of thumb, General Liability covers physical damages and Professional Liability covers financial losses
• Either policy may be required by client contracts

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Cox Insurance provides Home, Auto, Liability and Commercial insurance that exceeds expectations. For a personalized quote, please contact us here.

Business Income coverage (or Business Interruption coverage) provides protection against financial losses that are sustained while a business is unable to operate because of property damages.

What you should know

• Business Income coverage is a type of property insurance that is triggered by a direct physical loss of or damage to property by a covered cause of loss.
• A communicable disease (like COVID-19) may not be covered without a physical loss of or damage to property.
• Civil Authority coverage is a related property insurance that applies to situations where access to an insured’s property is prevented or prohibited by an order of civil authority because of physical damage.
• “Business Income” is defined as the net income plus the normal continuing operating expenses of a business.
• The “period of restoration” begins when a business is forced to suspend its operations because of damages and ends when the covered damages are (or reasonably could have been) repaired.
• Business Income coverage is different from property insurance in that property insurance only covers the physical damage to the business (not profits or payroll).
• The cost for coverage is determined by: the business size, coverage limit, and the risk of natural disasters in the area where the business is located.

Coverage Information

• Common reasons for Business Income claims include fires, tornadoes, explosions, industrial accidents, chemical/hazardous material spills and other natural or loss scenarios. 
• Business Income coverage typically WILL provide coverage for:
  • Lost income
  • Normal operating expenses that need to continue
  • Moving or temporary location fees
  • Payroll
• Business Income coverage typically WILL NOT provide coverage for:
  • Utilities
  • Income that isn’t documented
  • Losses from partial closures
  • Closures from downed power lines
• Business income from a cyber incident is covered by a specific cyber business income policy

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Cox Insurance provides Home, Auto, Liability and Commercial insurance that exceeds expectations. For a personalized quote, please contact us here.

With the combination of warm weather, a heavy snowpack, and recent rainfall, we are encountering numerous client concerns around flooding. Where is all this water is going to go?!

What you should know

When snow melts and the frozen ground thaws, water can find its way into your home causing various levels of damage.

Insurance Coverage

Insurance coverage is determined by how the water enters your home. The three most common ways are:

1. Surface water – Water that collects on the surface of the ground and enters your home through a window, door, or other opening. 
   Surface water situations are typically not covered by insurance unless you have purchased a flood insurance policy.
2. Foundation seepage – Water that  infiltrates your home through hydrostatic pressure/seepage of water through the foundation or walls.
   Foundation seepage situations are typically not covered by insurance.
3. Water backup – Water enters your home through a line/drain or a drain tile system. This may include a sewer line or sump pump backup or failure.
   Water backup situations are typically covered by insurance, but are potentially dependent on if you have a sump system and subject to your policy’s water sewer back up limit.

Insurance coverage is ALWAYS dependent on each individual situation. Coverage scenarios will vary by carrier and the conditions and specifics of each property. Individual carriers will determine if and what coverage is available.   

Questions?

We’re happy to help! Contact the Cox Insurance team with any questions. 

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Cox Insurance provides Home, Auto, Liability and Commercial insurance that exceeds expectations. For a personalized quote, please contact us here.