Blue is our culture here at VAST. Being blue means we embody our 9 core values: communication, empowered, fun, relationships, results, team, innovative, healthy and integrity. It is what we live and breathe on a daily basis, so I wanted to reflect on a few events we have had in our office so far this year that embrace our blue culture. Every January at our annual meeting our Zen Committee announces a 12 week wellness challenge to all employees. This year we “climbed” Mount Everest. For every 120 minutes of exercise you moved your climber up the mountain. If you … Continue reading

I bet you didn’t even know there was such a day, but June 28, 2017 is Insurance Awareness Day. It may not be as exciting as national peanut butter cookie day that we recently celebrated here in our office, but it is a lot more important. The purpose of insurance is to help put your life back together again if an unfortunate event happens.  Insurance Awareness Day is meant to be a reminder to check-in with your agent to be sure you are properly covered for your life, car, home, business, and more. According to Wikipedia, property insurance can be … Continue reading

Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) has become an important insurance coverage in the last few years for many good reasons. EPLI protects your business from the financial consequences of employment related lawsuits that an employee’s rights were violated. Some examples of these types of claims are pregnancy discrimination, illegal background checks, wrongful termination, harassment, and the list goes on and on. Here are 6 frightening facts about employment practices liability insurance. Businesses are 3 times more likely to be sued by an employee than experience a fire. Over the last 20 years employee lawsuits have risen about 400%. About 41.5% … Continue reading

I want to help save you from experiencing some of the same winter woes that I have. The first is being aware of where you park your car this time of year, as there can be falling ice from roofs.  When the weather gets cold, then warms up, ice may fall onto your vehicle and wake you up in a panic in the middle of the night as it did to me. This is important to be aware of for many different reasons. Thank goodness it was just a vehicle it fell on! If you own rental dwellings, be sure … Continue reading

The holidays are upon us and that means we are busy with company parties and fundraisers.  I often get asked the question from organizations that don’t serve alcohol as part of their normal operation, do I need liquor liability? The answer is usually yes; if you are selling alcohol you need liquor liability. If your business is having a holiday party for your employees and alcohol is being provided but not sold, your commercial liability policy usually has host liquor liability and you would not need to purchase a liquor liability policy. If you are a non-profit and are hosting … Continue reading

I love this time of year when the leaves start to change color. The air is cool and crisp and everything comes in the flavor of pumpkin. I also enjoy all of the events that begin from now through December.  Fall fests, haunted walks, Christmas tree farms with Santa, and kid’s activities start to pop up everywhere.  If you put on one of these amazing events and are concerned about what happens if a spectator gets injured, or you damage someone else’s property, then you need to consider special event insurance.  This is a policy that can provide commercial general … Continue reading

There is a common misconception that if a trailer is hooked to your vehicle the trailer is automatically covered under your auto policy.  This is not always, or usually the case, and unfortunately too many people find out the hard way after the damage has been done.  This leaves the question, when is my trailer covered? If you want physical damage coverage on your trailer it needs to be listed on your insurance policy. Just like your vehicle coverage you can elect to have comprehensive, collision coverage, or both on your trailer. If you are pulling a small trailer, the … Continue reading

It is that time of year when we wake up with the sun and the air is warm. Everywhere you look, people are outside enjoying the summer sun. This also means it is BBQ season, which is one of my favorite times. However, every year grills are the cause of fire and injury. In 2014 16,600 patients went to the emergency room because of injuries involving a grill. On average U.S. Fire departments respond to 8,900 fires involving grills. These fires account for $118 million in direct property damage. Here are some tips to keep you safe this summer: Be … Continue reading

As spring break is approaching many families are getting ready to go on vacation and plan to rent a vehicle while they are away. Most of us try to minimize unnecessary expense when we travel, so the question often comes up, “Do I need to buy the insurance from the rental car company?” Our recommendation is you should purchase the Loss Damage Waiver the rental car company offers. This is not insurance, but rather an agreement to hold you harmless in the event of an accident and the vehicle is damaged. Here are the top 5 reasons why we recommend … Continue reading

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, January 18th. Doctor King had a dream, and his inspiring words and actions have helped many people fulfill their own dreams. Maybe yours is to start your own business? This is exciting and challenging when getting started. The first year is ironing out the details of the business, and two of the items that need to be considered are who will insure your business and what are your insurance needs? The top 5 things to consider when purchasing business insurance are as follows: Does the agent understand your business? This is important to … Continue reading