Insurance Planning

Personal Auto

Personal Auto policies provide liability coverage and comprehensive and/or collision coverage. All personal auto policies in New York have a minimum personal injury protection of $50000 for medical expenses, income loss up to $2000 per month, reasonable expenses up to $25 per day, and a death benefit of $2000. The collision coverage only covers damage to the vehicle as a result of a collision, while comprehensive coverage covers everything other than collisions, like vandalism, fires, theft, and flood.

Commercial Building

Commercial Building policies are meant for lesser risk businesses such as warehouses, apartment complexes, offices, and strip malls. These policies are generally meant for buildings leased out to tenants, the owner of the building buys this type of policy. These policies include liability coverage and building coverage.

Liability covers accidents like slip and falls. Anyone injured on the premise whether it be your tenant, your tenant’s customer, a neighboring business, is covered under the General Liability portion of the policy. The building coverage covers losses from fires, windstorms, vandalism, burst pipes, and other covered disasters.

Premiums vary based on the location, construction of the building, and the tenants. Twenty four hour businesses and liquor related businesses carry greater risk, so the premium is higher.

Business Owner Policy

Business Insurance is meant for higher risk business types like wholesale, manufacturing, retail, and service. Business Owner policies include property and liability protection. Worker compensation are required in all states, but Disability insurance is not required in every state.

Worker compensation covers workplace injuries and illness. NY State mandates that all businesses must carry Worker Compensation policies. It includes death benefits, disability benefits, medical expenses, lawsuits, and lost wages.

Disability insurance covers non work related injuries or illnesses, such as accidents, muscle, back and joint disorders, cancer, and spine and nervous system disorders, and complications from childbirth and pregnancy. Disability insurance will pay out an amount similar to your take home pay for as long as you have coverage or are able to go back to work.

The Business Owner insurance covers business property, like machinery, furniture, fixtures and equipment, from covered disasters. The liability coverage protects against lawsuits arising from business operations, including customers' bodily injury and property damage claims. It also includes claims related to personal and advertising injury. Additional coverages like professional liability and data breach are also options.

Health Insurance

Health insurance plans can be purchased for individuals or for groups of 2 or more, like for companies and other organizations. However, you cannot form a group for the sole purpose of buying cheaper health insurance.

Health insurance plans are rated by metal levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. As the metal level increases from Bronze to Platinum, the premiums get higher, deductibles get lower, and the percentage of expenses that insurance covers increases. Bronze plans cover 60%, Silver covers 70%, Gold covers 80%, and Platinum covers 90%. There is also the Catastrophic Plan, which provides limited coverage and only applies to hospital emergencies.

Medicare-Government health insurance program for people aged 65 and older. It covers medical services, prescription drugs, and hospital stays. Medicare Part A covers inpatient care like in hospitals or hospices. Part B covers preventive services, ambulance services, medical equipment, mental health coverage, and some prescription drugs. Part C, or Medicare Advantage, is bought through private insurers and must be at least equivalent to the coverage provided by Parts A and B. Medicare Part D covers supplemental drug coverage not covered under Part A and B. Vision Care, cosmetic surgery, massage therapy, dental care, and overseas medical care aren’t covered under Part A and B.

Life Insurance

Variable Universal-Life policy with a built in savings component with cash value, flexible premium, with investment subaccounts
Term-Life policy that guarantees a death payment if the insured dies during a specified term.
Whole Life-Permanent policy with death benefit coverage for the life of the insured and a cash savings component which the insured can borrow or draw from.
Universal Life-Permanent life insurance policy with a cash value that can be borrowed against, difference between universal and whole life policies is that universal life policies have adjustable premiums and death benefits while whole life policies’ premiums and benefits are fixed.
Index Universal-Life insurance policy where cash value is tied to an equity index, if the index gains value, the amount is credited to the cash value. The insured can borrow from the cash value and there is still a death benefit. There is a guarantee to the principal to protect from losses in the market, but there is also a cap to how much can be earned.

Living Benefits

Terminal illness-if the insured is expected to only live for 12-24 more months, the insured can claim 90% of the death benefit
Critical illness-if the insured suffers a serious illness like a heart attack or cancer, but is expected to live longer than the 24 months, the insured can collect 80% of the death benefit
Chronic illness-if the insured requires long term care, the insured can collect 60-70% of the death benefit. The insured qualifies if he or she cannot complete 2/6 tasks of normal daily activity or suffers from mental illness. The activities of daily living include eating, bathing, continence(bladder control), toileting, dressing, and walking or moving

Flood Insurance

In the event of a flood, your National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy covers direct physical losses to your structure and belongings. When determining coverage, the cause of flooding matters. Flood insurance covers losses directly caused by flooding. In simple terms, a flood is an excess of water on land that is normally dry, affecting two or more acres of land or two or more properties. For example, damage caused by a sewer backup is covered if the backup is a direct result of flooding. If the sewer backup is not caused directly by flooding, the damage is not covered.