What is Landlord Liability Insurance? Do I need it?

If you’re a landlord in Evergreen Park, IL, you must know better how difficult it is to deal with tenants. Whether you own residential properties or commercial properties with tenants, you may want to get landlord liability insurance to protect your investment.  If you haven’t heard about this critical policy, Martin Insurance Team recommends learning the coverages and determining your needs before purchasing.

What is Landlord liability insurance?

A landlord insurance policy is a type of property insurance policy designed to protect you from damage and injury claims related to your rental property. It helps pay for expenses if you’re found legally responsible after an injury that happens on your property. Anyone living, visiting or passing by your property can sue you for injuries they sustain while in your property. 

Do I need it?

Absolutely. Home insurance doesn’t cover homes that you rent out. If anything happens to your rental properties, you may incur significant losses if you don’t have a backup policy. Landlord liability insurance typically covers the structure and liability that prevents you from paying out-of-pocket costs if you’re found at fault in some situations. If you bought the property through a mortgage, your lender might need you to have landlord liability insurance to protect the investment.

How much landlord insurance should I get?

When deciding the amount of landlord insurance to buy, you need to do several calculations to ensure you’re not underinsured. Begin by assessing your insurance needs by checking risks. If it’s a commercial property, know the type of business being run and your risk of getting sued. Next, check the value of the building and determine how much you’d need to rebuild based on the current market price. Don’t forget to keep the building in tip-top condition to avoid unnecessary lawsuits from tenants.

Buying landlord insurance in Evergreen Park, IL?  Feel free to contact Martin Insurance Team, and we will be happy to help.

How Umbrella Insurance Works

Getting more liability insurance is a smart choice these days. Not only is society a litigious one, but there is also the problem of escalating medical costs. To protect yourself against accidents you may be liable for, you need umbrella insurance. If you are interested in this type of insurance, contact us at Martin Insurance Team in Evergreen Park, IL to find out more. 

Home and Auto Liability Coverage

When you already have home and auto insurance, you may feel that you are well-covered for your liability. However, these policies often come with very little liability protection, especially with medical costs going up. You could find yourself having to come up with the overage if your home or auto policy doesn’t pay enough to cover the resulting bills. Umbrella insurance is a type of policy that adds more liability coverage to both your home and your auto policies. 

Two-Step Liability Protection

When you have an umbrella insurance policy, it works in two steps. The first step is that the person’s home or auto policy will come in and pay for the bills you owe for your liability. If the coverage is enough to cover it, then that’s all that happens. However, if the policy doesn’t pay out enough to cover all of the bills, there is a second step. The umbrella policy comes in and pays that overage amount so that you don’t have to. It’s a great way to ensure that you are well-covered for situations that you can be held liable for. 

Get Your Umbrella Policy

If you’re interested in having more liability coverage, call us today at Martin Insurance Team in Evergreen Park, IL to talk with an agent about this important coverage. 

Types of Liabilities to Cover With Illinois Restaurant and Liquor Insurance

Restaurant and liquor liabilities are a serious concern for restaurant owners in Illinois. One wrong thing could turn into a significant legal crisis. Where food and drink are concerned, establishments today need to be proactive when it comes to safety and protection for both customers and employees.

At Martin Insurance Team, we want Evergreen Park, IL restaurants and bars to be protected from any legal and financial crisis. There are a number of potential liabilities to consider when you are buying Illinois restaurant and liquor insurance.

Food Liabilities

There is always going to be a concern that a food problem could arise in your establishment, no matter how careful you are. You may have the best health inspection record in town, you still need to be covered for every possible scenario. This can be covered through general liabilities. 

Labor Liabilities

Labor liabilities are sometimes more expensive than customer liabilities. If an employee injures themselves on the job, or someone else, the problem becomes a crisis.  Safety training is a great place to start and may help with insurance costs. 

Be sure that all of your employees are certified to handle liquor service responsible. Workers’ compensation insurance is important, but so is commercial general liability insurance.

Liquor Liabilities

The number of potential liquor liabilities in an Illinois restaurant is infinite. Anything can happen. Insure yourself as much as possible with liquor liability insurance.

The law does stipulate that in most cases, intoxicated patrons are responsible for their own actions, however there are situations that may be excluded where you could be held liable. Insure yourself, and lay down the law when you need to so that you can avoid the claim in the end.

Get a Quote

When you are serving alcohol and food, the stress of potential liabilities could be crippling. Martin Insurance Team wants the restaurant owners of Evergreen Park, IL to eliminate this stress. Call us for a quote for liability insurance today.

How Cyber Insurance Protects Your Business

Cyber insurance is a type of liability coverage that can come in handy for most businesses. Virtually every business has an online component these days, and cyber problems can cause serious damage. If your business doesn’t have cyber insurance, contact us at Martin Insurance Team in Evergreen Park, IL.

Data Problems

One of the main problems that encourage people to get cyber insurance is data breaches. These happen to businesses of all sizes. You don’t have to be a large, well-known business for this to happen. When a data breach happens, your company information, banking records, passwords, and other important information can be put out there for all to see. What is especially damaging is that the data you have on your customers, and employees, can be posted online after one of these breaches. That means credit card numbers, personal information, etc. 

Your Liability

The problems really start to mount when your customers have their data stolen. Even if it isn’t used right away, it can be posted online so that it can be used at any time. Many people have to cancel credit cards, put a hold on their credit, etc. And if the data is used right away, it can end up costing them a lot of money. This is why so many companies have had to make payouts to their customers for data breaches. If this happens to your business when you have cyber insurance, they handle much of the aftermath so that your business doesn’t go bankrupt. It’s important to have this coverage if your business has a website, but it is even necessary if you simply use a computer system for storing customer data. 

Get Your Cyber Insurance

To protect your business against catastrophic fines and lawsuits filed against you. Get cyber insurance to keep your business protected. Call us today at Martin Insurance Team in Evergreen Park, IL to find out more. 

What every business owner in Evergreen Park, IL needs to know about general liability insurance

As a business owner in Evergreen Park, IL, knowing what works for your business is the most significant step you can take to achieve your targets. One of these steps is having general liability or business liability insurance. According to the Martin Insurance Team, it’s a critical policy that every business owner must-have. So what makes it so unique, and how does it help a business achieve goals? Read on to find out!

It’s all about lawsuits

As a business owner, you are legally responsible for anything that happens in your business. If another party gets hurt or their property gets damaged while at your business, you may be held liable and policy helps pay medical expenses and legal costs in case you are sued. It also covers you for property damage and injuries that could result from your employees, products, operations or services.

Liability claims can be costly

Lawsuits in Illinois are not cheap. They can quickly sweep your bank accounts clean if you are not well-prepared. If you don’t have general liability insurance, you might have to cover these costs from your pocket. If someone sues your business for slander or libel because of something you or your employees wrote, said or did, general liability can help cover legal costs. Similarly, if your business gets sued for copyright infringement, like using other people’s photos in your advertisement without permission, the policy can cover the costs.

General liability fits in all types of business

It doesn’t matter whether you run a small, mid-sized or large company. It also doesn’t matter whether you provide services or deliver goods; every business in Evergreen Park, IL, needs general liability insurance. You can be sued by a client, another company or even an employee. If you don’t have enough liability, your business can easily crumble down due to a lack of funds.

For more information about general liability insurance, contact Martin Insurance Team today!

What Is Workers’ Comp Insurance, And Why Do I Need It?

What would your Evergreen Park, IL business be without the employees? Naught. Nada. Zero. Your employees are the most valuable assets in your business. In light of this, you need workers’ comp insurance from Martin Insurance Team to protect your most prized investment. 

Why you need workers’ comp insurance

Whether you are a startup or seasoned business in Illinois, the state requires you to carry workers’ comp insurance. Failure to have this insurance will expose you to civil and criminal lawsuits. However, besides compliance, carrying workers’ comp insurance offers the below benefits.

Protects your business

Can you imagine the actual costs of accident-related medical expenses? It can be massive, and not many businesses can survive the blunt of work-related injury expenses. Thankfully, when you carry workers’ comp insurance, you don’t have to pay for employees’ medical expenses, saving you substantial finances and loss of productivity.

Businesses may view workers’ insurance comp as an unnecessary expense, but the premium is far less compared to the medical treatment of an injured employee. As a matter of fact, one significant work-related injury claim can cause unspeakable financial damage to your business. Would you want that for your business? 

Protects your employees

Regardless of how safety-conscious your work environment is, accidents can still happen. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 6 million Americans suffer from work-related injuries every year! Given the inescapable fact that injuries are never far off from the workplace, workers’ compensation insurance becomes no-miss insurance. This insurance protects your employees by covering their medical expenses and paying wage replacement benefits where applicable. 

Having proper workers’ comp insurance is a smart move to protect employees and your business. If you need workers’ comp insurance for your Evergreen Park, IL business, you can trust Martin Insurance Team to ensure your business is well-covered. Contact us today to partner with us.  

Trucking Insurance in Evergreen, IL

As a transport business owner, you need to carry insurance if the cargo, truck, or equipment is damaged or stolen and liability insurance to cover the costs of your actions cause any damage. There are many different trucking insurance policies to choose from, depending on your circumstances. For instance, the policy you choose may depend if your shipping company transports goods by land, air, or water.  These days, with internet marketing, many companies require international shipping to deliver goods to their clients from other countries. Therefore you may need a specialized cover depending if you transport cargo nationally or internationally.
If your company is based in Evergreen Park, IL  Martin Insurance Team can help you choose the comprehensive policy to ensure you are sufficiently covered for any eventuality. When choosing your policy, consider the risks it covers.  At the very least, a policy should cover you for any damages suffered through a collision. If your truck, full of cargo that belongs to other people, is involved in an accident, a policy will need to cover that cargo’s replacement costs. Additionally, the policy will need to cover the costs for the damages caused to your truck.  What if your truck has been totaled in the collision? Your insurance will cover the cost of buying a new truck. You may also need the liability coverage needed for the costs of medical expenses to your driver or others involved in the collision.

Running a trucking business is not easy, and many perils can make your business vulnerable. Storms, theft, fire all can cause irreparable damage. To ensure that you and your cargo are protected, let Martin Insurance Team assess your business’s needs and help you choose the perfect cover so that you can concentrate on running your business safely.

Trucking Insurance Can Help Protect Your Business

If you’re operating a trucking business or you have your own truck as an owner-operator, you may need trucking insurance. In the Evergreen Park, IL area, Martin Insurance Team can help you get that coverage in the right way for your company. You’ll want a policy that protects you well, and that meets your needs and goals for the present and the future. There’s no reason to settle for less than the right coverage you can rely on, so you’ll have good peace of mind as you travel the roads and deliver goods.

A trucking company will want to make sure all their vehicles and drivers are covered, of course, but many truck drivers are independent. They own their own truck and they contract with others. In that case, those drivers may want to have their own insurance policy since they generally aren’t employees of another company. Instead, they are self-employed and have the freedom and responsibility that comes with that label. By working with trusted agents, it’s much easier for you to get the kind of quality policy and protection that’s needed for your truck and any type of business entity you have.

Reach out to us at Martin Insurance Team today, and let us help you find the right trucking insurance policy. If you’re in or around the Evergreen Park, IL area we can help you get the support and information you need to choose the best coverage for your particular situation. That will help you have the security your trucking business needs to grow, and the confidence you’re looking for as a business person, as well. We’re here to help, and we know there are policy options available that will work for you no matter what type of trucking business you’re operating.

Who needs to have collision and comprehensive auto coverage

It is pretty safe to say everyone should have auto insurance. On average 6 million auto accidents happen in the United States every year. With about 230 million licensed drivers, plenty of opportunities for mayhem are out there on the roads waiting to happen. Collision and comprehensive are not mandated by the state of Illinois, they are optional coverage. If you live in Evergreen Park, IL, Martin Insurance Team is a full-service independent agency that is ready to answer any of your insurance questions. 

Collision and comprehensive are types of insurance coverage you will need to carry if you are leasing a vehicle or have an auto loan. It will be required by the lessor or the lenders. It is insurance that covers your vehicle. If you have an accident where the other driver is at fault, their insurance will repair or replace your vehicle. When you are the at-fault party, the repair or replacement is on you. Collision insurance would pay for the repair or give you the value of your car minus the deductible. 

Comprehensive coverage covers your vehicle but from things over which you have no control. Many weather events can damage your vehicle. High winds can send tree limbs onto your vehicle. Heavy rains and flooding can damage your vehicle and hail can ruin your paint job and maybe even windows. Theft of the entire vehicle and vandalism are covered by comprehensive. Deer in the road are a real hazard and they can send your vehicle to the trash heap if you are not able to avoid hitting them. 

When it comes to who needs collision and comprehensive auto coverage the answer is anyone who needs their car and couldn’t easily repair or replace it out of their pocket. 

Contact Martin Insurance Team in Evergreen Park, IL with any of your insurance questions or needs. 

Consider Tax Free Retirement Insurance for Your Future

It’s not always easy to get something for free, but with the right policy, you can get tax-free retirement insurance you can enjoy in your golden years. If you’re in the Evergreen Park, IL area and have questions about this kind of insurance, Martin Insurance Team can help give you answers. The most common way for people to insure themselves like this is through permanent life insurance. With a policy that builds value over time, withdrawals can be made from it in later years and those are not taxed. That means free income in retirement.

For those who are focused on a future where they can retire and relax, making good decisions now is one of the ways to help ensure a better future. People are often staying in their careers longer than they used to, and that’s sometimes out of necessity. But with the right type and level of coverage that may not be an issue you need to concern yourself with. Instead, you can set up ways to have a better retirement, where taxes aren’t a problem and you have what you need to spend your later years enjoying all that retirement has to offer.

If you’re in the Evergreen Park, IL area, reach out to us at Martin Insurance Team today. We can help you get information on tax-free retirement insurance, so you can decide if there’s a policy that’s right for your needs. These kinds of policies may not be the best choice for everyone, so it’s important to look at your specific situation and make an informed decision about what retirement will look like for you, as well. But with our trusted agents helping you make choices that fit your lifestyle, you can feel good about any policy you select.