Is it important to have renters insurance coverage? This is a common question asked by many of our clients—and our answer at Linda Dugan Insurance is always a resounding yes! Here are two common reasons why renters insurance is vital if you rent where you live.

Renters Insurance Covers Your Personal Property

One of the most common reasons why tenants need renters insurance is to cover their personal property. This means that if a fire, theft, weather event, or other covered claim situation happens, they would have the ability to replace each damaged item accordingly without having to pay out an exorbitant sum out of pocket.

Looking at the facts, it is important to remember that landlords are not responsible for taking care of renter’s personal belongings in the event of an incident. By having a policy in force ahead of time, you can rest assured that you have the means to replace the items if something unexpected occurs.

Renters Insurance Helps Protect You Against Liability Claims

We’ve all heard of stories about people sued because a delivery person slipped and fell on a wet floor or a would-be robber tripped on some stairs and broke an ankle. While some of these stories may seem a bit extreme, they do happen.­

Most basic renters insurance policies have a special section of coverage called liability. This portion of the policy contract helps pays for claims like the ones mentioned, plus any other time someone is injured while visiting your home or as a direct result of your actions. Other examples of liability claims include your child damaging a neighbor’s property with a toy or even your normally docile dog biting someone at a local park. Failure to have liability coverage in place could mean you are responsible for damage and medical bills of others—plus, you could be sued.

As you can tell, these two reasons make having renters insurance quite important. For more information about renters insurance or to receive a no-obligation quote, please contact us today.

you have a business in the Astoria, Oregon area, we have some questions for you.

If you could find better commercial coverage for your business, why wouldn’t you?

If you could find this better commercial coverage at the same price you are currently paying, why wouldn’t you?

If quotes were available for the same coverage that could actually save you money, why wouldn’t you want to know about them?

If you could get competitive commercial insurance from a local company that is here to answers your questions, that can help with claims, and help our local economy at the same time, why wouldn’t you?

If you could easily get a comparative quote for your auto and homeowners insurance right online, why wouldn’t you?

If an insurance review that is free and puts you under no obligation could provide you better peace of mind in knowing where and how you are covered, why wouldn’t you take advantage of it?

These are the questions our agents ask every day at Linda Dugan Insurance. These are questions that help people realize we can save them money, improve their coverage, and sometimes accomplish both. We can help them better understand where the risks currently are, and we do it without cost or obligation. We search a data base of insurance providers to find coverage that is affordable without sacrificing coverage. Many of our clients start with just one policy. Soon, we are helping them save on all of their insurance coverage.

So let us ask you one more question. With the ability to review your insurance coverage, potentially save you money and perhaps even improve your coverage just a click away, why wouldn’t you take the opportunity?

Contact us at Linda Dugan Insurance. After all, why wouldn’t you?

“She flies with her own wings,” the motto for the state of Oregon remains true to this day. There are many instances where the state of Oregon acts alone and sets an example for other states. One such example is the decision to acknowledge same-sex marriage in insurance. With both the Supreme Court and the Oregon District court upholding the validity of same-sex marriage, insurance companies must treat same-sex marriages as they would heterosexual marriages. This means same-sex partners can be covered by insurance, and they have the right to file claims for insurance.

How to File Insurance Claims
The process to file an insurance claim, whether commercial insurance or consumer insurance or concerning heterosexual or same-sex marriages, the process is the same. You can contact your local office if you are involved in a traffic accident, or you can call the customer service number, which is generally operational 24-hours each day. When you call, it is critical to have important documents and information handy that pertains to the accident. For instance, have your account number, your coverage levels, and the information concerning the accident.

Having Difficulties Filing a Claim?
There are times when some claims will not be processed as quickly as other claims. Delays in processing claims can stem from concerns about the validity of the claim, or more information may be needed for the claim. If you are filing a claim, and you are denied as a result of your same-sex marriage status, you do have options. After working with the insurance company, with no luck, you have the option of contacting the Oregon Insurance Commission to file a complaint.

Whether you have concerns about business insurance or consumer insurance in Oregon, our local agents can help you with your questions. Give us a call when you are interested in getting a quote for auto, commercial, or any other type of insurance.

Businesses in Oregon are not easy to run, especially when you are running an apartment complex and are responsible for tenants. You may know what to do to make your building attractive to potential renters, but do you know how to limit your liability exposure? Here are three tips:

Change Your Rental Agreements

As an apartment building owner, you have rental agreements between yourself and your tenants. In these agreements, it is important that you require your tenants to obtain and maintain their own liability coverage. Make sure that you require that they submit proof of insurance at the time of lease renewal, or every year. This helps to ensure that you are reimbursed for any damage that your tenants cause.

Add Indemnity Agreements and Waiver Clauses

Have your lawyer help you create a waiver of subrogation clause and an indemnity agreement to also include with the rental agreement for prospective tenants to sign and agree to. These will help you transfer any possible liability of injuries or damages to the tenant. These agreements will also help protect you from being named in a lawsuit for compensation for claims that are brought against the tenant.

Inspect the Buildings for Problems

Inspect all apartment buildings for any sign of a potential problem. This could be lighting issues, cracks in the sidewalk, items that someone could trip over, etc. If there is anything around that could cause injury to a child or an adult, it is crucial to have it repaired immediately.

Although you could do this on your own, it is always better to hire a professional who knows what he or she is doing and looking for. It may cost some money upfront for all this, but it will be a lot less than if you were found to be negligent in the future.

If you do not currently have liability insurance for your apartment complex or small business, then it’s time you sat down and talked with one of our independent commercial insurance agents in Oregon. You can get started with the above-mentioned tips, and then give us a call to finish up!

Operating a towing company in a city full of maritime attractions can be a lucrative endeavor. With so many attractions, such as the Columbia River Maritime Museum, there are plenty of opportunities to make money because people will likely park where they shouldn’t. Even though you are safe and do your job as you supposed to, there is always a possibility for liability damage, which is why your business needs Garagekeeper insurance.

What Is Garagekeeper insurance?

Garagekeeper insurance is liability insurance for businesses that house cars, such as towing companies. Since cars can be damaged during the process of towing them, purchasing Garagekeeper insurance will help you cover the cost if you are found liable. With the policy, you choose the limits you want to have for your business, which applies to each car. You will also be responsible for a deductible for each car. Like auto insurance, you can get Garagekeeper deductibles for as low as $500 per car.

Types of Coverage

Garagekeeper insurance can get confusing when you breakdown the coverage, but it is important to ensure that you have the right protection when you choose a policy. Consider the three types of Garagekeeper insurance before you make a purchase with your local agentsAstoria, Oregon 97103.

• Legal liability. Coverage resulting from negligence of the insured. This covers losses that happen while the car in in your position.
• Direct Primary. This covers the car regardless of who is liable, which is useful for weather related losses.
• Direct Excess. This coverage is the same as direct primary, but it limits the amount it pays if your business isn’t at fault.

When you call to get commercial insurance quotes, it is essential that you inquire about all forms of coverage so that Astoria agents can provide you with information about which coverage will work best for your business.

If you are unaware of Garagekeeper insurance, but you tow cars for a living, then you should contact your local insurance agent to get more information. Failing to add this type of coverage to your insurance portfolio will leave your business susceptible to litigation from customers.

There are many individual insurance policies that protect aspects of your life such as your house and car. These insurance policies have a liability portion that protects you from being financially responsible for incidents that are considered your fault, or occur on your property. The liability limits created by these policies depend on the type of insurance you have and several other factors with the policy. It’s possible that the liability limits are not sufficient for the lawsuit that is being put against you. This is particularly true in situations where wrongful death has occurred. Instead of running through your liability limits and having a personal financial impact shape your future, look into personal umbrella insurance.

Umbrella insurance refers to an insurance option that provides additional liability coverage for house and auto insurance. If you run through the limits on your own insurance, the umbrella portion kicks in and covers the rest. This is particularly useful if you have a tragedy occur in a car accident or with your pool or another structure on your property.

When you are setting up personal umbrella insurance, you want to look at the liability perils that it covers. These perils specify exactly what type of claims apply to this insurance option. You don’t want to be in the middle of a lawsuit to discover that your insurance isn’t going to pay the damaged party. That kind of issue leads to bankruptcy and other financial issues in the long run.

Talk to our certified umbrella insurance agents in Astoria, OR to find out the best umbrella options for your life and policies. It’s one of the best ways to keep yourself safe.

Commercial insurance is necessary to keep you in business, since plenty of people are likely to speak up about a company, compared to an individual, if they get hurt on your property or by your products, or if they incur losses due to an error or omission on your part. Finding the best and cheapest commercial insurance products requires a bit of time and research into what your business actually needs in terms of coverage.

All businesses benefit from general commercial liability insurance, as it protects against a number of common perils that every business is affected by in some part. This covers liability issues that stem from injuries on your property, from libel and slander, and other situations in which you are considered financially liable as a company.

Another commercial insurance offering that many businesses need to pay attention to is workers compensation insurance. This is legally required once you meet certain criteria in your business location. If you don’t have it, not only are you on the hook if an employee gets hurt, but also you get fined by the state.

Commercial property insurance has much higher limits than standard residential property insurance, to account for the higher value of the buildings and its contents. Since commercial equipment is often mission-critical and custom-built, having it properly insured helps to protect against business-operation bumps. If you do have equipment that gets damaged, destroyed, or stolen, loss-of-use insurance keeps your cash flow going until you’re back on your feet.

Talk to our experienced business insurance agents to find out about coverage options in Astoria, OR, to keep your business protected and growing strongly.

Many people are attracted to moving to Oregon because of the state’s abundance of natural beauty and fresh air and water. However, with high rates of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest, you should keep in mind the possibility of flooding that could damage your home in Oregon.

There is no reason that the prospect of flooding should cause you any concern, provided that you sign up for insurance to protect your home and possessions.

If you are currently a homeowner here or are thinking of purchasing a home, it’s important to recognize that most homeowners insurance policies do not cover flooding, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA also notes that homeowners should not count on federal disaster insurance to help them after flooding because floods are typically not designated as national disasters.

If you have determined that your homeowners insurance policy does not provide you with coverage in the event of flooding, you’ll need to arrange for separate coverage as soon as possible.

The easiest and most efficient way to find the best coverage for your home is to use our online comparison tool to get flood insurance quotes. The online tool is faster to use than calling individual insurance companies one at a time or finding out the address to each of their websites and digging around for the information you need.

Even if there have been no reports of floods in your location for quite some time now, the historical record may show that there have been disastrous floods that can recur once again. Instead of hoping for the best, you and your family can get the peace of mind that will come from knowing that you have arranged for sufficient flood insurance with the help of the online price comparison tool.

Oregonians Act Now Before Your Health Insurance Coverage Plan Expires

It doesn’t matter if you live in the city of Sisters or the tiny town of Corbett, Oregon it’s time to HealthCare.gov to renew your health insurance plan. Although, the Obama administration had said that all healthcare plans would be automatically renew for 2015, this is no longer going to happen.

Open enrollment starts on November 15th, you must enroll by Dec. 15, 2014. To make sure you have your health insurance plan ready to go on Jan. 1, 2015.

Some of last year’s plans are no longer available however; they have been replaced by similar plans. Therefore, you should not have too much difficulty maintaining roughly the same type of coverage you had in 2014.

Oregonians may want to change things in their coverage this year, this is also the time to make changes. There may be some things you want to consider before finalizing your 2015 health insurance plan.

Things to consider:

Look at any changes you need or want to make. If your current plan still meets your needs make sure it is still available. The only time you have to make changes in during open enrollment unless you have a major life change such a new baby, marriage/divorce.

If your health insurance plan is older you may be missing out on other benefits. With the Affordable Care Act you may have access to services that are free of charge under all new health care insurance plans including some of the following, even if you have a private health insurance plan.

• Screening services (blood pressure, cholesterol, HIV, depression, breast cancer prenatal services, and several more that you can view at Health.gov)
• Immunizations (MMR, flu, Human Papillomavirus, Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus and several more.)

There are several more free preventive services available to men, women, and children to help keep Oregonians healthy.

Don’t get caught without health insurance coverage come January, 2015. Instead, easily compare quotes online with Linda Dugan Insurance to find out what options you have available.