Along with crazy times in our world, we are in the midst of some crazy times in insurance. In many lines of coverage on the business insurance side of the house, we are in what is referred to as a “hard market.” This means more often than not, increased premiums – two words our insureds never want to hear. Directors & Officers Coverage, Employment Practices Liability, Medical Professional Liability, Business Auto, Property, Umbrella – truly seeing increases on average of 15% + across the board as rates go up. We expect this trend to continue on well into 2021. A hard market can also … Continue reading

Have you ever felt like you are so busy at work you just do things to get them off your desk (correctly of course J), but you may not actually have a deep understanding of WHY you are doing it?  The WHY behind the what you do is so important.  I’m so thankful VAST encourages taking time for business acumen each week. Otherwise, it may get lost in the stack of other things going on. Everything is so fast paced these days, including insurance.  The role of an account manager here can be so transactional, but it’s important to take … Continue reading

How many of you looked at your phone while driving today – checking your email, texting your friend back, etc?  What about looking away from the road to open up that breakfast sandwich you picked up on your way to work?  Be honest.  You aren’t alone — it is something that has become so prevalent that we often don’t even think twice.  Just on my short commute to work this morning I saw several different cars with their phones up by the steering wheel. I read on the distraction.gov website that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for … Continue reading

Summer is coming to a close and the cool fall air is creeping in.  For some, business is slowing down, and for others, it is about to ramp up.  Regardless, the change of seasons is a good reminder to review at least one area of your business, your website. This is one main area that is often neglected.  Did you have someone design a basic website quickly, so people could find you, but haven’t updated or done anything with it since?  Have you expanded or changed what you do [services or products] but haven’t updated your website to reflect that? … Continue reading

Winter is over!  This means time for “spring cleaning.”  Winter can wreak havoc on many things [as we know all too well!] and one item that is often overlooked by businesses when the snow has melted away is the condition of the sidewalks on the premises. Pedestrian falls on sidewalks are often a result of the sidewalk not being maintained in a reasonably safe condition. Regular sidewalk inspections are important for identifying unsafe conditions throughout the entire year.  Following are several different areas to be on the lookout for when inspecting existing sidewalks for safety concerns: Are there large cracks, … Continue reading

The bottom line is, you can’t. There are a number of reasons why safety should be your main priority. First, you care for your employees and their well-being is of the utmost importance. They should leave the work site in the exact same condition they showed up. Second, safety is more of a priority these days when companies are choosing which contractor to hire. There has been a cultural shift that has happened over the years. In the past, when companies would look at hiring a contractor for a job, they would look at quality and what the bottom line … Continue reading

In this ever changing environment, it is imperative businesses focus on risk management. One way a company can do this is by completing pre-hire screening of prospective employees. This includes running MVR checks, especially when driving is necessary for the job. It is recommended this happen prior to hiring any new employee and allowing them to operate a company-owned or leased vehicle, or prior to them using personally owned or leased vehicles on company business. This should be done annually for each driver, and after any incident. This is very important because an individual will be excluded from coverage under … Continue reading

“Jessica, I just opened my door in the parking lot and hit someone else’s car. I see paint on the other vehicle from my truck. What do I do?” This was a phone call I received from my husband the other day while I was at work. Not ideal, but it happens. We have a few options in this scenario, right? Quick drive away and hope no one saw you Stick around until the owner returns Leave a note in a clearly visible spot with contact information and what happened Of course option #1 should NEVER be an option. What … Continue reading

I’m following up on Katrina’s last blog, only this time, focusing on the FUN committee. As you may have noticed here at VAST, we like to have fun! Although all of our employees are a part of our workplace culture, the FUN committee’s primary responsibility is to plan events that are random, celebratory, interesting, and you guessed it – FUN! To give you a glimpse of what this looks like in action, the following is a small sampling of events we have celebrated: Monthly celebration lunches [VAST purchases the food] to celebrate the birthdays and work anniversaries of all employees … Continue reading