Personal and Business Insurance Resources

We get it, Insurance is complicated. We help people make sense of it.

Here, we’ve gathered clear and easy-to-understand information to help you get to grips with the ins and outs of insurance, whether for your personal belongings or your business assets. Below is your go to Personal and Business Insurance Resource.

In the Personal Insurance section, discover the basics of auto and home insurance. We’ve broken down terms like Actual Cash Value and Replacement Cost to make them easy to grasp, helping you understand what’s behind the insurance language.

Over in the Business Insurance section, you’ll find straightforward explanations of commercial property insurance terms, including Lessors Risk Coverage and Business Interruption Insurance. It’s all about shedding light on the protections available to keep your business ventures secure.

We’ve made every effort to keep things simple and straightforward, so you can find the information you need without wading through a sea of jargon. And remember, if you have any questions or if there’s something you’re not quite clear on, we’re here to help. Dive in, explore the resources, and empower yourself with the knowledge to make informed insurance decisions. Your journey towards better understanding and protection starts here.

  1.  Dwelling Coverage: Provides funds to repair or rebuild your home if it’s damaged or destroyed by a covered event like a fire or storm.
  2. Other Structures Coverage: Covers structures on your property not attached to your home, like a garage or shed.

  3. Personal Property Coverage: Covers the replacement of your belongings (like furniture, electronics, and clothing) if they are stolen or destroyed by a covered event.

  4. Loss of Use Coverage: Provides financial assistance for living expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered event.

  5. Medical Payments Coverage: Helps pay medical bills if someone is injured on your property, regardless of who is at fault.

  6. Liability Protection: Covers legal expenses if someone is injured on your property and you are found at fault.

  7. Deductible: The amount you’re responsible for paying before your insurance coverage kicks in

  8. Endorsements: Additional coverages for things like sewer backup, identity theft, or other specific needs you might have.

  9. Sewer Backup Coverage: Provides protection if water backs up into your home through the sewer or drain, covering the cost of repairs and cleanup.

  10. Identity Theft Protection: Provides assistance with recovering from identity theft, covering costs like legal fees, lost wages, and other related expenses.

  11. Flood Insurance: Standard home policies usually don’t cover flood damage; this coverage protects your home and belongings in case of flood.

  12. Scheduled Personal Property Endorsement: Provides higher limits and expanded protection for special belongings like jewelry, artwork, or musical instruments.

  13. Home Business Coverage: If you run a business from your home, this coverage can provide additional protection for equipment and liability.

  14. Enhanced Dwelling Protection: Offers extra coverage over the usual limit if rebuilding your home costs more than expected.

  15. Equipment Breakdown Coverage: Covers the cost to repair or replace household appliances and systems if they break down.

  16. Ordinance or Law Coverage: Covers the extra costs to rebuild your home to current building codes after a covered loss.

  1. Deductible: The amount you agree to pay before your insurance company takes over. A higher deductible usually means a lower premium.
  2. Liability Insurance (Coverage): Coverage that helps pay for losses you cause to others or their property, due to your negligence.
  3. Mini-Tort: A provision allowing a lawsuit up to $3,000 if you are at fault in an accident and the other driver’s damages aren’t fully covered by insurance.
  4. Property Damage (PD): Mandatory coverage that protects against damage your car causes to other’s property out of state, also providing legal defense.
  5. Property Protection Insurance (PPI): Mandatory coverage paying up to $1 million for damage your car causes to other people’s property in Michigan.
  6. Personal Injury Protection (PIP): Mandatory coverage for necessary medical expenses.
  7. Loss of Use OR Transportation Expense: Optional coverage for car rental expenses while your car is being repaired due to a covered accident.
  8. Towing and Labor Coverage: Pays for towing and on-site labor for incidents like a flat tire.
  9. Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury: Coverages for bodily injury and excess wage loss when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured.
  10. Collision Coverage: Helps pay for repairs to your car after an accident.
    • Broad Form Collision: Covers damages no matter who’s at fault, with a deductible only if you’re at fault.
    • Standard Collision: Covers damages no matter who’s at fault, with a deductible that always applies.
  11. Comprehensive Insurance: Covers your car for theft, or damage from falling objects, fire, flood, vandalism, or animal collisions.
  12. FULL COVERAGE: A non-official term often used incorrectly. Always consult your independent insurance advisor for the specifics of the coverages you are considering.

Lessors Risk Coverage 

  1. Replacement Cost vs. Actual Cash Value: Replacement cost provides the amount required to replace items or repair damages without deducting for depreciation, while actual cash value considers depreciation.

  2. Exclusion(s): Specific situations or damages that are not covered under your policy.
  3. Umbrella Policy: Extra liability insurance coverage that goes beyond the limits of the insured’s home, auto, or watercraft insurance.

  4. Subrogation: The process by which the insurance company seeks reimbursement from the responsible party for a claim it has already paid.

  5. Depreciation: The decrease in value of an asset over time, which is often considered in insurance claims.

  6. Coverage Limit: The maximum amount an insurer will pay under a policy for a covered loss.

  7. Peril: The cause of a possible loss, such as fire, flood, or theft.

  8. Wind & Hail Deductible: deductibles apply to events that create damage to your home from a storm.
  9. All Other Perils Deductible: deductibles apply to everything else you can claim against your Home Policy