4 Tips for Managing Your Small Business Insurance Costs

By Thomas Mallon of Thomas Mallon: Allstate Insurance

Managing business insurance costs is one of the many responsibilities you are likely juggling if you own a small business. Periodically reviewing your business insurance policy helps ensure you have the right amount of protection for your company and get the most for your money.

Keeping your bank account in mind, here are some factors to consider as you make decisions about your business insurance policy:

1.   Reduce Costs by Bundling Insurance Coverages
A business may have multiple policies with different insurance companies. For example, a business might purchase general liability coverage from one insurer and data compromise coverage from another. By bundling your business coverages into one policy, you may be able to reduce your total premium costs (the amount you pay an insurer to keep the policy in force). 

2.  Re-evaluate Your Deductibles
A deductible is the amount of money you pay out of pocket toward a covered claim. Increasing the deductible on your business insurance policy may reduce the cost of your premium. You could then consider putting saved money back into your business each month. However, before choosing a higher deductible, consider how much money you’d have available to pay out of pocket to repair your business or replace its contents after a covered claim, like theft or fire.

3.   Meet With Your Insurance Agent Annually To Review Coverages
Business needs can change rapidly. It’s a good idea to review your policy with your insurance agent regularly. To avoid potential fines, you should let your insurance agent know when you make significant changes to your business, such as:

  • Reducing or increasing your number of employees.
  • Relocating your business.
  • Introducing operational changes (such as purchasing new equipment or expanding product offerings).

When reviewing your business’s insurance policy, different coverages may be available. Contact your insurance agent to help you understand what each type of insurance means, as well as to help review your current coverages and make adjustments based on your company’s changing needs.
Types of insurance policies include: 

  • General liability insurance
  • Business property coverage
  • Business interruption insurance
  • Business auto insurance
  • Equipment breakdown coverage
  • Employment practices liability insurance
  • Errors and omissions insurance
  • Data compromise coverage

4.  Consider Stronger Risk Management In Your Daily Operations
Identifying potential business risks and having the right insurance coverage in place can be financially significant if the unexpected happens. Additional measures to reduce business risks include:
 
Planning for a disaster at your business: It is a good idea to think ahead and have a plan in place to help your business recover after a disaster, such as a destructive storm.
Business succession planning: As a business owner, you will likely want to leave your company in good hands when you decide to retire. 
 
Reviewing and understanding your small business insurance policy is an important component of owning a business. If you have questions about your business insurance policy or would like to review your coverages, please feel free to reach out to us at Allstate – The Mallon Insurance Agency, at 610-660-6300.  We can help you ensure you’re spending money on coverages that are appropriate for your business needs.

For mor info contact Thomas Mallon, Agency Owner of Thomas Mallon Allstate Agency located at 829 W Sproul Rd in Springfield, Delco, PA – Phone: 610-660-6300, Email: tmallon@allstate.com

The Importance of a Quiet Space

David Linn Cook and Joe Soster Waterproofing One of Weatherproofing Plus Inc.

This basement waterproofing “case study,” “The Lesson of the Forgotten Home Office,” tells how a large, damp, musty and unused basement was quickly transformed into a new moisture- and mold-controlled quiet home office.

Twenty years ago, a homeowner built a 6,000-square-foot raised ranch home with many amenities on 5+ acres. The homeowner, a Senior Sales Executive, stayed home two days each week, to make sales calls by phone. But he was frustrated because nowhere in that massive house was there a quiet and private room with no distractions.

For five years, he had been sneaking down to work in his home’s empty 2,000-square-foot (!) basement. There was nothing down there except for a small area rug, a folding card table with a desk lamp on it, a desk phone, a milk crate for his files, and one very old leather chair. That was all he needed for a busy day’s work.

The basement makeover project was simple: Give this man a dry and sanitary space where he wouldn’t be distracted from the weekly lawn crew, pool cleaners, two overly friendly Golden Retrievers who loved to run around the house, college sons home for the summers, and his wife’s friends who frequently came over for coffee and conversation. Amazingly, when he was at his card table/desk, quietly working in his basement “retreat,” everyone assumed he wasn’t home or that he was busy somewhere in the house. No disturbances meant he could get his work done early and then have time with his family.

The basement had damp walls, a musty smell and a noisy dehumidifier. The proposed and accepted solution was two-fold. On the house exterior, surface drains were added, the foundation was regraded, and rain gutters were cleaned and adjusted for proper and easy maintenance. On the inside, the basement walls and floor were washed down into the existing sump pump. Mold treatment and waterproof coatings were applied to the walls; the floor was covered with high-gloss paint; and some new window vents were installed. This makeover took less than two weeks. The basement was now just as empty as before, but it was well lit and naturally ventilated. No more musty smell, and no need for a dehumidifier. Many homeowners are pleasantly surprised to learn that interior french drains are not required to turn their damp, musty unfinished basement into dry storage space or a place to exercise, listen to music, watch a movie, work on some home projects, or, as in this case study, have a simple and quiet home office whose only distraction is perhaps a little tweeting by the birds outside.

For more info contact David Linn Cook of Weatherproofing Plus, Inc. By phone at 610-325-0596 or email info@weatherproofing-plus.com
Website: weatherproofing-plus.com

This Is How Many Gallons of Water Plumbing Leaks Cost You

By Jeff Goane Murphy’s Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning

If you had a gushing leak in your home’s plumbing, you’d notice it right away, right? Aside from the potential water damage, you’d be thinking about the amount of wasted water and just how much your next water bill might cost.

What if we told you that most of the wasted water isn’t caused by huge emergencies? Would you want to know just how much water might be going to waste in your home right now? We’ve got some fascinating facts for you about just how much water is wasted in American homes and why. We’ll even tell you just how much money that could be costing you. And yes, we do have a great solution to this problem.

Water Usage
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average American uses 82 gallons of water per day. For a family of four, the household would then be consuming 328 gallons every day. That’s almost 120,000 gallons in a year! 

Water Bills
One statistic from 2019 suggested that the average American water bill for a four-person household was nearly $73 a month. However, according to the Census Bureau, as of 2021, the average American household contains 3.13 persons. Another study determined that for the average American household, the monthly water bill was $45.44. Even at this lower estimate, that’s nearly $550 per year; the higher estimate would put it around $875. 

Water Waste
The EPA determined that plumbing leaks account for 10,000 gallons of wasted water in the average American household every year. Even worse than that, they say that 10% of homes have leaks that waste at least 90 gallons of water every day. That’s more water than adding a family member would use. These leaks add up to over a trillion wasted gallons of water every year in the U.S. 

Crunching the Numbers
If ten thousand gallons are wasted each year in a household that uses 120,000 gallons a year, that’s the equivalent of losing an entire month’s water bill each year. If you’re unlucky enough to be in the 10% of households that waste 90 gallons a day, that’s 2,700 gallons per month (more than a quarter of the average household’s water use). That potentially adds up to nearly $20 every month going down the drain.

Sources of Leaks
It’s astonishing just how much water can be lost to a very small leak. A shower dripping just ten times a minute allows 500 gallons a year to be lost down the drain for no reason. If your toilet won’t stop running, it might be going through two gallons of water every minute! Having your fixtures tightened could make a huge difference. If you’re worried that water is being lost in other ways, our team can use video pipe inspection to check your entire plumbing system for problems, so you can get plumbing leak repair and stop wasting water—and money.


For an assessment of your plumbing by Jeff Goane contact Murphy’s Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning. Located at 565 Abbott Drive, Broomall. Phone: 610-461-6502; jeff@murphysonmacdade.com or visit www.murphysonmacdade.com
(PA License #113639)