Insurance Considerations for your Children

Your children may not have financial responsibilities and they may still need to be reminded to brush their teeth and clean behind their ears every night, but that doesn’t mean that they have no need for insurance.

From birth until the time they reach financial independence, your children need your help in maintaining appropriate insurance coverage for all their needs.

Health Insurance
There is no time in a person’s life when they should be without health insurance. When bringing your children to the doctor, to the emergency room after an accident, to get shots and regular checkups and attending to every other medical need, the last thing you need to worry about is how you will pay for the treatment. Health insurance is an affordable expense that controls costs and out-of-pocket expenses without sacrificing care.

Life Insurance
It’s difficult to think about life insurance for a child, but it’s practical. But not just for covering the final expenses should the unthinkable occur. By locking in rates as a child and allowing cash values to begin accruing, you create a financial head start for your kids as they move into adulthood.

Learn more about renters and auto insurance is affected by children.  Give us a call at 225-935-8751 for a Baton Rouge insurance quote. We can help you determine what is and isn’t necessary and design policies with premiums you can easily afford.

Commercial Package Policies – Business Insurance

There are many types of risks that a small business owner might encounter and each requires a separate insurance policy. Buying individual policies for each risk can get confusing. Your agent will be able to offer you commercial package policies to help business owners organize their policies needed to protect their business in one convenient package. These packages may also include discounts to save business owners money as well.

Not every type of commercial insurance is offered in a commercial package policy though. Business owners can create a custom package using any of the following coverage types:

• Property coverage
• General liability
• Employment practices
• Auto
• Inland marine coverage
• Machinery coverage
• Crime coverage
• Boiler coverage
• Farm coverage
• Professional liability coverage

Your individual package may also have declarations, endorsements and conditions specific to you and the needs of your business. For instance:

• Each package will have what is called a common policy declaration spelling out the details of whom and what is covered. It will include the policy holder’s name, coverage dates, a description of the nature of the business covered and the premiums.
• Common policy conditions will spell out the responsibilities and obligations of the primary insured. This ensures that, in the case of a business with multiple owners, one individual owner will be responsible for paying premiums and responding to inquiries. This is also the only individual on the policy with the power to cancel it. In order to do so, he or she must send the request in writing to the insurer. If the primary insured wishes to transfer these responsibilities to another, the request must also be made in writing and must be approved by the insurance company.

With commercial package policies, it’s important to know that your insurer will be permitted to audit your business' books at any time while the policy is in-force and up to three years after it has been canceled.

Call us today at 225-935-8751 for more information about Commercial Package Policies or get a free Baton Rouge business insurance quote.

JG

What is Workers Compensation? - Part 1

Today we present the first Part of an article on Workers Compensation Fraud. Check back soon for Part Two on how to Prevent Workers Compensation Fraud.

Employers everywhere agree that a worker who is injured on the job through no fault of his or her own, has every right to be compensated for those injuries. Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous workers out there who take advantage of these very fair workers compensation laws in order to benefit. Whether they fake an injury (such as a difficult-to-diagnose back injury) or work with a crooked medical service provider to bilk the complicated workers compensation system, workers comp fraudsters are out there, and your company could be a target.

How Workers Comp Fraud Works

Why is workers comp such a tempting target for the less than scrupulous worker or medical professional out there? Simply because most states favor workers when it comes to on-the-job injury and, as a result, have implemented strict laws to protect them. In fact, most states require that employers pay 100% of medical and rehabilitation expenses incurred form work-related injuries, and even that they also pay up to two thirds of the employee’s lost wages while he or she is unable to work. The chance to take a long, paid vacation—or even double dip and work a second job while collecting worker’s compensation—can be too much of a temptation for some people.

Medical service providers have a similar motive for committing workers compensation fraud. For them, falsifying workers comp claims can quickly become a very lucrative cash cow. How do they do it? In the simplest case scenario, they might simply inflate the nature of a real injury when submitting it to the insurance company, costing the company money while the unknowing worker receives normal treatment for his or her injury. In other cases, they might work with an injured employee to exaggerate the severity of the injury.  When this happens, workers get more time off than merited and the doctor submits inflated medical bills to workers compensation insurance providers, netting cash for work they never did. Some so-called medical service providers have taken workers compensation fraud much farther, going so far as to fabricate their credentials, their clinic and the fact that the worker in question was even injured. Some even use cash to recruit workers to fake injuries.

At Bourg Insurance, we believe growing our business is important to our company, but maintaining our strong relationships with our customers is paramount. Call us today for a Baton Rouge Workers Compensation Quote at (225) 490-5678!

How to Make Your Own Personal Property Inventory

If your home and personal property is destroyed by a flood, fire, hurricane or other disaster, it may be more difficult than you think to remember all the items you had in your home before the event. And without an itemized list of the items you lost, you cannot get the recovery you deserve from the insurance company.

One way to avoid this is to make a personal property inventory. You can hire someone to do this for you, but it isn’t difficult to do it yourself.

1. Go room by room: Don’t just try to think about each of the items in your rooms while you are sitting in one place. Instead, go into one room and focus on that space completely while you are in it. Do not start another room until you finish the one that you are in.
2. List every item: As you look around the room, write a comprehensive list of every item in the room as you look at it. This is really the only way to ensure that you make note of every item you own.
3. Add descriptions and serial numbers: Once you’ve gone through every room of your home and classified each of your possessions, go back to the room you began the process in and start noting any distinguishing facts, serial numbers and descriptions next to each of the items you have listed. You should do this after you create the basic list of items because the process can take a while. If you try to do this all at once then you may actually suffer an insurable incident before you even have your basic list complete...

Continue reading "How to Make Your Own Personal Property Inventory" or contact us at (225) 490-5678 to learn more about Baton Rouge home insurance.

Defend Yourself against Automobile Break-ins

Having coverage to provide assistance once your vehicle is taken is wonderful, but do you realize what is even more comforting? Not having your vehicle stolen. Not only can a claim for a hijacked auto likely increase your auto insurance rates, it is time intensive and annoying. So rather than leaving it to blind luck, lessen your liability by using some of these auto theft prevention suggestions:

1. Buy an alarm for your vehicle: Alarms are effective devices to defend against auto theft. The ruckus they make draws attention to your vehicle when someone gets too close or tries to vandalize it. Even though auto alarms blend into our modern landscape, people still notice when they go off.
2. Secure automobile entry: It seems so simple, but locking your doors is a big defense against auto theft. The more time it takes for someone to break into your vehicle, the less probable it is they're actually going to steal it. Unlocked doors send an invitation to thieves you may regret.

Bear in mind, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and to steer clear of all the paperwork, phone calls, and claims that comes along with a automobile theft, this saying has never been more true. Read more about how to defend yourself against auto theft.

As an Independent Agency we have access to many companies and products. Through this vast market we are able to offer you the professional protection you need and deserve. Call us today to get a free Baton Rouge auto insurance quote at (225) 490-5678.

Baton Rouge Auto Insurance

Why do you need auto insurance?

It's really all about protecting yourself financially.

• If you're in an accident or your car is stolen, it costs money, often a lot of money, to fix or replace it.
• If you or any passengers are injured in an accident, medical costs can be extremely expensive.
• If you or your car is responsible for damage or injury to others, you may be sued for much more than you're worth.
• Not only is having insurance a prudent financial decision, many states require you to have at least some coverage.

Questions to ask your agent
Your Independent Agent is an advocate for finding auto insurance that meets your specific needs. Here are a few things to consider as you prepare for the discussion:

• How much can you afford to pay if you get in an accident? (To keep premiums low you may want to have a higher deductible and be willing to pay more for repairs.)
• What is the insurance company's level of service and ability to pay claims?
• What discounts are available? (Ask about good driver, multiple policy and student discounts.)
• What's the procedure for filing and settling a claim? (Ask who to call and what happens after you file a claim.)

History and Politics

The city of Baton Rouge was named nearly 300 years ago when on March 17, 1699, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, led an expedition along the Mississippi River.

The city's earliest written records are found in the diaries of these explorers which tell the tale of a pole stained with blood of fish and animals that served as the dividing line between the Bayougoula and Houmas Indians. It is from this "red stick" that Iberville christened our city "le Baton Rouge."

The Indian mounds on the campus of LSU were built 450 years before the construction of the great Egyptian pyramids.

Baton Rouge was named the state capital in 1846, and the Old State House was completed in 1850. Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861, and in August 1862, Baton Rouge fell to the Union forces. The federal government of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans. It was 1882 before Baton Rouge again became the capital of the state.

Louisiana State University came to Baton Rouge in 1869. The campus was located downtown prior to its move in 1926 to its present location.

In 1927, Huey P. Long was elected governor and served from 1928-1932, when he became a United States Senator. One of the most famous "populist" politicians, Long provided "free textbooks" for public schools.

During Long's term, the skyscraper new State Capitol was erected. It cost $5 million and took only 14 months to complete. It stands nearly 450 feet tall with 34 stories. It was here that Long was assassinated in 1935. Long is buried on the grounds of the State Capitol.

Almost a century later, Baton Rouge is moving forward to become America's Next Great City.
(Photo and Source: VisitBatonRouge.com)

As an Independent Agency Bourg Insurance has access to many companies and products. Through this vast market they are able to offer you the professional protection you need and deserve. Call (225) 490-5678 today for a free Baton Rouge auto insurance quote.