Lincoln NE

Dogs & Umbrella Insurance: What Homeowners Need to Know

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Dogs are wonderful, loving animals that can quickly become trusted members of our family. They serve as our companions, and often, they can warn away intruders and protect us from harm. Unfortunately, dogs don’t always know the good guy from the bad. So if you’ve ever been worried about your dog nipping or biting a guest (or the dreaded delivery personnel), then it is a good idea to review your Lincoln, NE insurance policy for its policy related to dogs. Here’s what to know:

Dogs & Umbrella Insurance: What to Know

Even if you have a seemingly comprehensive homeowner’s insurance policy, you may not have coverage for medical damages and legal expenses related to a dog bite. Most homeowners’ insurance policies, including those offered by our team at Richards Insurance Agency, cover your home and personal property in the event of a theft, disaster, or similar situation. They tend to have strict limits on the financial protection for guests who are injured in your home. You may have some personal liability and medical payment coverage. Still, it is often a token amount, and generally, it will only cover situations that occur within your own home and not if you’re, for example, walking your dog down the sidewalk. 

For the best financial protection and protection for off-home and in-home biting incidents, you need umbrella insurance. Umbrella insurance is a type-of add-on policy you can get that will provide extra liability coverage and legal defense costs for situations that occur outside the scope of your general insurance policy. Given that dog-related claims now account for a whopping one-third of personal liability claims, getting this extra protection makes financial sense. 

Learn More at Richards Insurance Agency

For more information about umbrella insurance, contact our team at Richards Insurance Agency in Lincoln, NE today. 

How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?

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How much life insurance you will need will depend on financial and personal circumstances. You will need enough to replace income and cover dependents’ expenses, including any future ones.

  • Financial Obligations: If you aren’t sure about your financial obligations, start with considering your debt. If you die with outstanding debt, your survivors may be responsible for it if they cosigned on a loan. You want to make sure you leave enough for beneficiaries to pay off the debt, especially if it’s a home or family car. Be sure to factor in the cost of raising children. If you have dependents, this may mean you need to increase your life insurance policy. If you have kids, you may also want to factor in the cost of college when getting life insurance. Plan what college costs will be and take into account increases over time.
  • Personal Considerations: Your age and health not only determine how much you should get but for how long you will want it. The older you get, the less you need because you should have fewer dependents and less debt. As you get older, the more expensive life insurance becomes. So, it’s best to purchase a policy when you are young and healthy to get a more affordable rate. How much life insurance you can afford should be a consideration as well. A life insurance policy isn’t good if you can’t afford it.

An agent at Richards Insurance Agency in Lincoln, NE can help you determine how much coverage to get. It’s good to tally up your resources, which include liquid assets and after-tax income. Then figure out your financial obligations with expenses and debt. Subtract liquid assets from financial obligations, and this is your coverage gap. Your coverage gap is how much insurance you should have. 

Contact Richards Insurance Agency in Lincoln, NE to get a quote on life insurance and have your questions answered.

A Startups Guide to Commercial Insurance

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The energy and effort that surrounds a startup means that there is a lot of attention to details but any incident or accident can prove perilous. Commercial insurance can mean the difference between recovery and failure should the unthinkable occur. Consider how commercial insurance policies are designed to protect the business financially.  It’s a tool that covers everything from physical structures to the corporate fleet or even copyright infringement cases. That’s a lot in one tiny package. Our team at Richards Insurance Group can help you get your Lincoln, NE area business protected. They will get to know your business then make recommendations so you can quickly move forward.  

For businesses, policies are designed to cover specific aspects of the operation. Property insurance was created to protect any buildings or structures that they own.  It will also cover the company’s inventory and equipment. The policy will also provide a general liability product.  This is important if a customer has an accident on the company property.  Some companies will also want to consider additional liability coverage if they produce products or provide professional services. These protect if someone sues for a defective product or professional negligence. Workers compensation is in place to protect any worker who has a job-related accident. Many companies also look into policies that provide ‘business interruption’ coverage or ‘loss of income’. This is helpful if an event interrupts the normal conduct of business. It’s like a bridge to quickly recover from any event.  

New companies need the protection that commercial insurance provides. Any time that an accident or disaster occurs, it is a threat to the continuation of the operation. The right insurance plans allow normal operation to resume more quickly. Our agents at Richards Insurance Group understand what businesses in the Lincoln, NE area face every day. To get started, get information from the website then visit our offices today. It’s never too soon to protect your growing business.

Benefits of a Home Insurance Policy

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Home Insurance Benefits

You’ve worked hard to have a home of your own. Now you need to protect it from threats like fire, severe weather, and other known perils. 

Your lender may require you to carry a certain amount of insurance while you have a mortgage. Whether required or not, home insurance offers you many benefits. Consider the policy to be financially protected should the unthinkable occur. Damage from fires and other perils are very costly to repair or replace if the home should be effected. Our team at Richards Insurance Group are ready to work with homeowners in the Lincoln, NE area to help them understand their insurance options. 

What can Home Insurance Do?

Home insurance not only protects the physical house, but it also covers the home’s contents. It will also include any buildings or structures on the property, such as pergolas, fencing, or sheds. For valuable collections, such as firearms or artwork, additional coverage may be needed. The liability portion of the policy will protect you if someone is injured in an accident on the property and you are deemed responsible. Should they decide to take you to court, the legal expenses and medical bills can be challenging to handle. Our agents will help you have a clear understanding of everything that is covered by the policy and, more importantly, what isn’t.

What does Home Insurance not Include?

Most home insurance policies will not cover flooding or earthquakes. These situations need to be handled by a separate policy which you can obtain in a flood or earthquake policy.

Should a disaster occur, personal belongings and the contents of the home will be covered. If your house is not habitable or has been destroyed, the home insurance policy will cover your expenses on hotels and restaurants until you can return. Our team at Richards Insurance Group knows you want to protect the investment in your home in the Lincoln, NE area. Visit our website to use our online rating tool for quotes on home and auto insurance. Reach out to our agents to have your questions answered.