Types of Commercial Insurance

Navigating the world of commercial insurance can be confusing for some business owners, especially with the different options in the market. Entrepreneurs must make the right decision in choosing the right policy if they are to protect their investment sufficiently. Below, Jason Ridley Agency takes Colleyville, TX business owners through the different types of commercial insurance.

General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance helps protect a business from common perils like a customer getting injured on your business premises or their property getting damaged. This type of commercial insurance also helps a business cover legal fees if sued for libel or slander.

Workers Compensation Insurance

Although not mandatory in Texas, it is still advisable that a business owner gets this type of policy to protect themselves and the company’s assets. It helps cover medical expenses arising from an employee getting injured or sick at the workplace. Also, if an employee decides to sue you, it can help cover the legal fees.

Commercial Auto Insurance

This type of insurance helps to protect the company’s vehicles, providing cover for property damage when the car is involved in an accident. The cost of replacing or repairing the car is covered here, allowing your company to keep running with few interruptions.

Cyber Insurance

If your company faces cyber attacks like being hacked or a data breach involving confidential customer information like account numbers, this type of insurance can provide compensation for monitoring costs, customer notification costs, and legal fees.

Professional Liability

This type of commercial insurance is common with businesses providing services such as financial or legal consultation. If your business is sued due to a mistake you made that costs a client a significant loss, professional liability can help cover the legal fees.

If you own a business in Colleyville, TX, and you want to protect yourself and your assets from financial loss in case of anything, you should get commercial insurance. You can reach out to Jason Ridley Agency, where we will help you pick the right type of commercial insurance that suits your business needs.

Do You Have Enough Life Insurance?

There are many benefits you accrue when you purchase life insurance from the Jason Ridley Agency of Colleyville, TX. The most obvious one is cushioning your dependents financially even when you pass on. While life insurance offers numerous benefits, do you know how much you need? How do you ensure that you have adequate life insurance to cover your financial interests? If you are about to invest in life insurance, the first step is to figure out how much you need.

Understand your financial landscape

How does your financial picture look like? The first thing to see how much life insurance you need is to understand the big picture of your financial landscape. This way, you can establish how life insurance fits in the plan. Unsure of where to start? A knowledgeable insurance agent can help you spot gaps and strengths of your financial plan and help you figure out how life insurance can plug in your plan. 

Calculating how much life insurance you need

Establishing the amount of life insurance you need doesn’t require you to be a mathematics guru. A few simple formulas can help you achieve your goal. These include:

10 times income rule

While it’s not the best rule, it can give you a rough idea of how much life insurance you need. On the flip side, this rule doesn’t consider your family needs, current savings, and the number of life insurance policies you have. 

The DIME formula

This method enables you to take a deeper dive into your finances. This rule postulates that you should consider your debts, income, mortgage, and education when determining your life insurance needs. 

In addition, if you would want to know how much life insurance you need, you can use life insurance calculators. Better yet, you can sit down with an agent like Jason Ridley Agency to help you determine the life insurance needs. If you need help, please contact us today or visit our Colleyville, TX offices to have a sit-down with one of our agents.

Which auto insurance coverages are most important to have?

When you step out to shop for auto insurance in Colleyville, TX, one thing is always in your mind—coverages. While the Texas government requires you to have the minimum property damage and bodily injury liability, there are so many other coverages you can buy to stay protected. It’s also important to know that what the law requires is too little and may not be enough to cover for an accident where multiple vehicles are involved. Here are some of the critical coverages to have.

Liability

Liability coverage is the most important coverage you will ever need. Whether at school, work, business, home, or on the roads, you need adequate liability coverage to pay for damage or injuries you cause or defense fees when you are sued.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

Unfortunately, we still have drivers who drive without insurance. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage helps reimburse you in case an uninsured driver hits you. At Jason Ridley Agency, we recommend never accepting money from uninsured drivers. Wait patiently for the police to arrive.

Comprehensive coverage

Comprehensive insurance covers damage or loss if your car is stolen, vandalized, or burned. If a covered peril like hail damages the car, comprehensive coverage can help repair or replace the vehicle.

Collision coverage

Collision is a critical coverage that repairs or replaces your car if you collide with another vehicle or object. For instance, the coverage can repair the damage if you hit a stone, fence, pole, animal, or tree branch when driving.

Personal injury protection (PIP)

Your liability coverage will pay other people’s medical bills but does not pay your bills. You need to buy personal injury protection or medical payments to help pay your bills if you are injured in an accident.

Drive defensively and get to your destination safely, and above all, know the coverages you need. For more information about auto insurance coverages in Colleyville, TX, feel free to talk to any Jason Ridley Agency insurance advisor, and you will get all the help you need.

Why Workers Compensation Is An Essential Part Of Commercial Insurance

Jason Ridley Agency serves the Colleyville, TX community, as well as the surrounding areas. We strive to ensure that our clients have the coverage they need to protect their assets. We look forward to hopefully establishing a long-lasting partnership with you. We are proud to serve the community as an independent insurance agency.

Why Workers Compensation Is Essential

Operating a business is a significant investment. You have to put in a lot of work to make sure that your business is successful. Commercial insurance is an asset. The policy can help alleviate some stress associated with operating a business daily. Commercial insurance covers damage to your property and inventory. You are also covered if your inventory is stolen or damaged. Liability coverage protects you if you are involved in a dispute due to someone getting injured on your property. One of the most important parts of commercial insurance is workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation helps you protect your business while simultaneously taking care of your employees.

Important Benefits

Your employees are a valuable part of your Colleyville, TX business. By adding workers’ compensation to your policy, you are showing that you value your employee’s contributions to the business’s success. If one of your employees gets injured, workers’ compensation will cover their treatment and rehabilitation. The policy also covers your employees if they become disabled. In the unfortunate event that your employee suffers a serious injury and passes away, workers’ compensation can assist with the arrangements. Having a strong worker’s compensation policy can also give your business a competitive advantage when retaining and attracting talent.

Jason Ridley Agency Can Help You Take Care of Your Business

Visit our website to learn more information on commercial insurance.

What Possessions Will Home Insurance Not Cover?

If you’re buying home insurance in Colleyville, TX, and wondering if any of your possessions aren’t covered, the fact is that just about anything you can own can be protected under an insurance policy.

The only real exceptions are expensive items that you don’t have listed on your inventory, of course, anything illegal, and perishables like groceries. And certain perishables can be protected under certain restaurant insurance policies but won’t be on a home insurance policy.

This being said, you’re typically going to be accepting a flat payment from your home insurance provider rather than going down an itemized list of every single item that was lost in a fire or burglary and collecting the appropriate value to the penny. So if you want to spend your insurance payment replacing groceries you lost in the incident, nothing’s stopping you. There’s just no reason to include every potato and soup can on your inventory or keep a photographic record of it.

The best way to ensure that your belongings are covered is to keep an updated inventory and to let your insurer know about any big purchases like new appliances, jewelry, and things of that nature. Record a video tour of your home once or twice a year so that you can get photographic evidence of all the little bits and pieces you might not have thought to put on a list.

If you have any questions or you’re looking to buy home insurance for your Colleyville, TX home, get in touch with the Jason Ridley Agency. The Jason Ridley Agency can get you the protection you need with a good deal on a great policy.

Whole vs. Term Life Insurance

No two lives are the same – your career, family, personal beliefs, and experiences are unique to you. That’s why life insurance does not come in a "one size fits all" policy. Deciding what will be most beneficial to your loved ones can be stressful, but our team at the Jason Ridley Agency in Colleyville, TX is here to help you navigate your options. One of the biggest things you’ll need to decide upfront will be whole or term life coverage.

Whole Life Insurance

A whole life insurance policy is "permanent insurance" intended to stay in place for the rest of your life, guaranteed to payout after your death. While the premiums typically stay the same, the value of the policy will rise over time. You can also borrow amounts of funds against the account during your life (any amount not repaid will be withdrawn from the final benefit). You can also "surrender" the policy for a direct payment, in which case your coverage will end. 

Term Life Insurance

As the name suggests, term life insurance is only active for designated periods of time, i.e., 15 to 20 years. You will pay premiums only during this time, after which your coverage will end. The cash value is preset and does not change. 

Which is the Right Choice for Me? 

The right kind of life insurance for you will depend on your specific needs and budget. For example, many parents opt for term life because they only want coverage as long as their children are dependent on them. Others choose whole life because they don’t know what to expect in the future, and they want to make sure they are covered no matter what. It’s worth pointing out that whole life insurance is generally more complex and costly, but it comes with more advantages than term life. Term life is simpler and more affordable. 

Contact the Jason Ridley Agency to learn more about your life insurance options in the Colleyville, TX area!

Auto Insurance Coverage Options

Auto insurance is not only one of the most common types of insurance to have but it is required in many states, including the great state of Texas. The insurance agents at the Jason Ridley Agency in Colleyville, TX have knowledge and experience with all types of insurance and understand the requirements under Texas law.

Liability Insurance

Under Texas law, all motorists are required to have at least an auto liability insurance policy that covers property damage and bodily injury. There is a minimum amount of liability insurance you must carry, along with underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage.

 Underinsured and Uninsured Motorist Coverage

You need to have underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage to protect yourself and your vehicle from a motorist that is driving illegally and does not have any type of insurance or does not have enough to cover the medical bills for injuries that you or your passenger has suffered after becoming involved in an accident with the uninsured or underinsured motorist. This also ensures your vehicle will be repaired or replaced if this type of incident occurs.

Comprehensive Coverage

This type of insurance coverage may be required by your lender if you borrowed the money to purchase your vehicle. It will pay for any damage to your auto if it is destroyed or damaged by some type of event, including a vandalism incident, a fire, or a natural disaster. It will also help replace your vehicle if it is stolen.

Collision Insurance

Collision insurance helps pay for repairs to your vehicle if you collide with another vehicle or an object.

To create the best policy for you and your vehicle, contact the trust auto insurance agents at the Jason Ridley Agency in Colleyville, TX for a quote today!

3 Questions to Ask About Your Commercial Insurance in Colleyville

When you’re a business owner in Grapevine or Colleyville, TX, your days are already filled with questions. Questions from yourself, your vendors, your employees, your customers — big and little asks that need answers.

All of these everyday quandaries can be exhausting after a while, which is why so many people will just renew their business insurance without thinking about it, or choose based on the bottom line and nothing else. But this is a dangerous shortcut for a wide variety of reasons. Jason Ridley Agency wants you to examine the three questions you should ask before you dismiss it. 

Who Does My Insurance Cover?

From your employees to your customers, you need to know about the people who are under your company’s umbrella. If you’re injured in the stockroom when you’re going through inventory, do you know if you can file a claim?

What Doesn’t My Insurance Cover?

This is often more telling than what your insurance does cover. Once you know that an event isn’t covered, you can start to assess whether you’d rather spring for the additional protection. From major storms to theft to vandalism, it’s worth checking these things out. 

Who Are You Working With?

The carrier that you’re working with will have a lot to do with the relationship you have with your insurance policy. If you’re asking these questions to the right people, you get the answers you need plus much more. 

Jason Ridley Agency is here to help the business owners of Colleyville, TX really understand what they’re signing up for. Before you think of insurance as just another thing you need to stay legal, give us a call. We can help you see where the holes in your commercial insurance are, so you can feel confident about the future. 

Do I Have to Have Homeowners Insurance?

While homeowners insurance is not a legal requirement in the United States, it can be and is likely to be mandated by the lender if you have a mortgage because this helps protect their investment. Generally speaking, before even funding your mortgage or refinance application, the lender will request proof of homeowners insurance. If you choose not to purchase insurance and have a mortgage, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau allows the lender to purchase it on your behalf and charge you for the cost, which may result in a policy that is more expensive and/or offers less coverage than you need. For folks that have either paid off their mortgage or paid cash for their homes while you are not technically required to have insurance, your house is likely to be your largest investment, and a homeowner’s insurance policy will protect it in a multitude of ways. 

Typically speaking, a homeowner’s insurance policy will provide coverage for your home. Still, also it offers protection for your personal belongings, any other dwellings on the land like a shed, and medical bills if a visitor is injured while on your property or inside your home. Keep in mind that for each of the coverages you have, you will also select a limit, which means anything beyond that dollar amount is your responsibility. Hence, the more coverage you have, the less likely it is that you’ll be responsible for any out of pocket costs once your deductible has been met. 

At the Jason Ridley Agency in Colleyville, TX, our friendly team of insurance professionals are ready to find you the perfect homeowner’s policy for your needs, so give us a call today to schedule a no-obligation consultation and see how we can assist in protecting your home.

Do You Need A Life Insurance Policy?

That is a question that many of us ask ourselves, and the answer is yes, we should all obtain a policy for the security and peace of mind it provides.

Life insurance is vital for several reasons. If you, unfortunately, die suddenly and are the main breadwinner of your family, you want to ensure that your family will be provided for and will still be able to pay all of the bills when you are gone. Many of us may have a policy through our employer. Still, normally the amount of money it provides will only be enough for our funeral and burial expenses, leaving our loved ones with no income from us to help pay the usual monthly bills.

Reasons to Secure a Life Insurance Policy

A life insurance policy can provide for your family after you are gone from this earth, and it can also, depending on the amount of the policy, allow them to pay off significant amounts of debts. In many cases, your family will be able to pay off the mortgage and not have that payment to worry about in the future, and it can help provide for older children to attend college.

A life insurance policy will also provide money for your children to purchase a home or start a business if you die unexpectedly.

Certain policies will allow you to borrow money throughout your lifetime from your life insurance policy, which means you can pay off debt before you die, leaving your family in a better financial situation. This provides you with the peace of mind you want and deserve.

Do you need a life insurance policy? If the answer is yes, contact the trusted and experienced life insurance agents at the Jason Ridley Agency in Colleyville, TX today!