Life Happens 365 - Are You Managing the Risk?

By Diane Tait Ever since Airbnb got started in 2009 it spawned a kind of short-term rental gold rush that continues  to this day.   Believe it or not, the industry reported more than 1 million vacation rentals in 2019 alone.   For vacationers, staying in someone else’s home is cheaper and cozier than staying in a hotel.   For homeowners, renting out a room or their home from time to time is a great way to help make ends meet.   But before you sign up with a short-term rental portal, there are a few things you need to know first.

By Diane Tait If you own or lease a vehicle in the state of Florida, you’re required by law to carry auto insurance.   Get caught without it and you can expect to pay a hefty fine, have your driver’s license suspended and have your vehicle impounded.   Get picked up a second time and you could wind up behind bars.   That’s a pretty hefty penalty for failing to pay the piper.   Even if your current policy was to lapse, you could wind up being fined by both the state and your insurer who’s required to report the lapse.  

By Diane Tait Image courtesy picpedia Businesses come and businesses go.   That’s a fact, since 2/3 of new businesses fail to make it through their first two years.   While some of the failures are due to stiff competition, poor management and planning or market downturns and insufficient capitalization, what most business owners fail to realize is that there are many external factors that can scuttle even the strongest of firms that have nothing to do with COVID-19, the economy or the competition.   In this week’s blog, I’ll show you ten ways that business insurance can keep your business afloat through the toughest of times.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy videoblocks.com Since the 1920’s workers’ compensation has benefited workers in this country should they become injured, incapacitated or killed while on the job.   Prior to that, injured workers were required to sue their employer for their injuries and loss of income.   Worst still was that employees had to wait months for any financial assistance, which could prove devastating for workers and their families.   Many of the awards that were awarded by courts were arbitrary since there was no defined system or scale that determined what an injury or a life was worth.   Worse still was the fact that many workers lost their cases in court or had a substantial amount of their award eroded by attorney’s fees.   By the middle of the 19 th Century, it was clear that something had to be done.