Your business has been approached by a local contractor with an opportunity to transport the contractor’s equipment from job site to job site for the next year. The opportunity is a great one. It will ensure that you will have a positive cash flow, and work for your employees, for at least the next year without any interruptions. You are reviewing the contract requirements, including the necessary insurance requirements, and you come across an insurance coverage you have never heard of; motor truck cargo insurance.  You wonder to yourself, what is motor truck cargo insurance, and do I have that … Continue reading

Marquette- VAST is part of an elite group of independent insurance agencies around the United States participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) “Best Practices” Study Group. Each year since 1993, IIABA and Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based management consulting firm, join forces to study the country’s leading agencies in six revenue categories. The agencies comprising the study groups are selected every third year through a comprehensive nomination and qualifying process and awarded a “Best Practices Agency” designation. The selected “Best Practices” agencies retain their status during the three-year cycle by submitting extensive … Continue reading

Does your business work directly with clients in a professional manner or give advice as a service?  If so, your business would likely benefit from the protection of an errors and omissions liability policy.  Business professionals such as contractors, real estate agents, lawyers, marketing professionals, architects, engineers, doctors, bankers, insurance agents, event planners, and technology companies are prime candidates to carry this policy. Errors and omissions, or E&O, liability policies are a type of professional liability insurance that covers claims arising from mistakes, oversights, and negligence.  They provide coverage for misrepresentation of facts, documentation errors, and perceived poor or inaccurate … Continue reading

It is slowly becoming that time of year, the sun is setting a little sooner, and not rising as early. Kids are going back to school, and the air is feeling a little crisper when we start our days. Even though most of us are sad to see summer come and go, we can still enjoy fall in the beautiful Upper Peninsula! Along with enjoying all of the awesome activities that fall has to offer, this is also a perfect time to prepare your home or business for the upcoming winter. Some good ideas for readying your home / business … Continue reading

Podcasts have been around for some time now, but I’ve been late to jump on the train of making them a part of my daily life. Recently, I have started listening to podcasts, and I have realized how much I enjoy them. There is so much out there to learn about! Podcasts offer a vast amount of topics and for the most part, they’re free! There truly is something out there for everyone. In fact, as I’m writing this blog, I’m listening to a podcast! Podcasts are great to listen to when you have free time when you would usually … Continue reading

Employment Practices Liability Insurance, often called EPLI, is a coverage that has become more popular in recent years.  Part of the reason for the increase in popularity is due to the growing amount of lawsuits in our country for matters including wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, emotional distress, and more.  Those issues and cases have grown large in the public eye, with employers often assumed as the guilty party. One way to protect your business from a claim like this is to have an EPLI policy in place.  EPLI policies provide financial protection to … Continue reading

VAST recently announced that they have been recognized as a Top Insurance Workplace for 2020 by Insurance Business America (IBA). This is the third year of IBA’s Top Insurance Workplace list and the third year VAST has been named. IBA’s Top Insurance Workplace nomination process is heavily dependent on an anonymous employee survey. A minimum number of employee responses, and an 80% or greater employee satisfaction rating determines the Top Insurance Workplace recognition. VAST is just one of 67 companies on IBA’s 2020 Top Insurance Workplace list that includes other insurance agencies, brokers, and carriers from around the country. “We … Continue reading

Mismanagement. Bankruptcy. Financial mishandling. Employment discrimination. If you are in the position to make decisions in your business, you could be held personally liable for the consequences of those decisions, no matter how good your intentions were at the outset.  Any party who holds an interest in the company and believes they were hurt based on your decision can expose the possibility of legal action.  This kind of situation can become very costly very quickly.  Events such as change of control in a company, dishonesty of a director or officer, dramatic change in share value, boardroom disputes, and poor trading … Continue reading

Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires, flooding, wind storms, and overall severe weather has affected millions of people and all kinds of businesses throughout the U.S. economically and logistically in the past decade. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, 2017 was the costliest year on record for weather-related disasters, which included 16 different billion-dollar disaster events that resulted in over $300 billion in losses. So far for 2019, as of April 9, we’ve already experienced 2 events exceeding $1 billion in costs in the U.S. Extreme weather events are unfortunately becoming the norm, and it is important to know what … Continue reading

If you are currently expecting a baby, it’s important to understand your health insurance policy. Having a child is expensive, but knowing what you should/shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for is extremely important. In this blog post I will provide a list of noteworthy benefit plan questions to look into to better understand what will/will not be covered: 1. What is your policy’s deductible, coinsurance, and out of pocket maximum? 2. Are your doctors and hospital in or out of network with your insurance provider? 3. If you have an HMO policy, do you need a referral from … Continue reading