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.