Do small businesses need commercial insurance and commercial vehicle insurance?

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Small business owners understand the importance of controlling their risks, and most understand the role insurance plays in managing their business’s potential liabilities. However, small business owners sometimes believe their personal insurance policies can cover business risks, particularly when it comes to auto insurance. If you are a small business owner and want to avoid that mistake, contact the Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency team, serving the Wilis, TX area, to structure a commercial insurance plan that fully covers your business needs.

Commercial Versus Commercial Vehicle Insurance

Most small business owners recognize they need commercial insurance covering general liability, workers’ compensation, and commercial property. Typically, they also obtain the appropriate commercial coverage for their industry or profession. Unfortunately, some fail to acquire the right coverage for the motor vehicles used for business activities, particularly regarding passenger vehicles.

For example, think about a small business owner involved in an accident while driving a client to lunch following a business meeting. If the accident results in a client injury, the business owner’s personal insurance policy will not cover those expenses. The individual policy also would not cover damages if the accident involved another vehicle or the injuries passengers in the other vehicle might suffer.

An insurance company might unknowingly cover a fender bender, but accidents that result in substantial liability are investigated thoroughly and are not covered when found to be business-related. Talk to your agent and ensure you have proper coverage for your risks.

Working with Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency

Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency handles the business and personal insurance needs of many small business owners in Wilis, TX. Please stop in or call us today at 936-249-0023. Let us help you build an insurance plan to protect your business and assets.

Home Insurance Stats and Facts Everyone Should Know

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Interested in learning more about home insurance? If so, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll cover a variety of important facts and stats regarding home insurance. If you have any questions or are looking for home insurance agencies that serve Willis, TX, contact Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency. We’d be happy to provide more insights.

Vital Home Insurance Statistics and Facts

Bankrate reports that around 6% of insured homes made a claim in 2021. Roughly 97% of these claims involved property damage, with wind and hail being the most common source of damage. Even if your home hasn’t yet been damaged by adverse weather, the day may come when you’re left picking up the pieces. Fires, lightning, and water damage are also very common. Claims resulting from theft, meanwhile, totaled less than 2%.

In total, about 93% of homes are covered by home insurance. Interestingly, home insurance isn’t legally mandated in most jurisdictions like auto insurance is. Still, many mortgage lenders demand that a home be covered by a homeowner’s insurance policy. Insurance is required because it mitigates risks for the lender.

Home insurance may also provide coverage for liability claims. For example, if someone is injured by tripping over something in your yard, they might try to sue you. Home insurance policies may provide assistance. That said, make sure you closely study plans to learn what is and is not covered. Ultimately, only about 2.3% of claims were for liabilities in 2021.

We Are Here To Help

If you’re looking for home insurance, get in touch with Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency. We serve Willis, TX and other communities. We’d be happy to help you select the right homeowner’s insurance given your situation and local risk factors.

Motorcycle Insurance and Your Parking Spot

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Factors that can affect your motorcycle insurance in Willis, TX include your age and experience riding a motorcycle, whether you’re a commuter or occasional rider, your driving record, and more. One that you might not have considered is where you park your motorcycle, to the extent that it reflects the risk the motorcycle is exposed to.

If you live in a safer neighborhood and keep your motorcycle in a locked garage, you’re likely to see a difference compared to on-street parking on a busy city street. Driveway parking, keeping the motorcycle in a storage unit or storage company lot, and in an apartment complex parking area could also affect your risk and premium rates. At Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency, we can help you manage your motorcycle insurance coverage, helping you find insurance that fits your lifestyle.

When Your Parking Spot is Problematic

Risk is also a matter of claims you and others have filed, and a parking spot where you wind up having repeated damage claims or perhaps entering traffic from curbside and having accidents could raise your rates as well. If you’re an experienced motorcycle rider, you have some idea of where you face more risk and can manage it without reacting to premium expenses.

To find the best coverage for your needs, you can ask the experts at Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency for suggestions such as combining policies, making sure that you’re insured properly for the experience level and driving record of listed riders, and working with the right insurance company to match your needs. We’re here to help you in Willis, TX, providing helpful information, excellent service, and friendly staff who are knowledgeable and experienced. We look forward to serving you and invite you to call us today!

Do You Really Need Boat Insurance? Yes!

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As the owner of a boat, there are a lot of things you need to do to protect yourself and your watercraft. One way to get this protection is to get boat insurance. Because of the danger of boating accidents and other incidents, every boat owner needs to have this coverage. When you need this protection, you can call us at Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency in Willis, TX.

Boating Accidents

Like vehicle accidents on the road, boating accidents often happen on waterways. Many people don’t think much about boating accidents until they happen. Once they do happen, you could end up owing a lot of money if you’re at fault for the accident. Getting boat insurance can protect you against many of these costs. The minimum that you should have is bodily injury liability and property damage liability. These work much like auto insurance and keep you safe from having to pay huge amounts for boat damage or injuries. With the high cost of medical care, it’s always important to have this coverage in case of accidents. You should also carry collision coverage so that the damage to your own boat can be covered.

Other Boat Dangers

There are plenty of other things that can happen to your boat and cause it to become damaged. Some of these happen when the watercraft isn’t in the water. To protect against these events, you need to have comprehensive coverage in your boat policy. This will pay to repair or replace your boat when something serious happens to it on land.

Schedule A Consultation Today

If you’re a boat owner and you don’t have this coverage, it’s time to call us to find out more. You can contact us at Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency in Willis, TX to get started with a boat policy of your own.

Umbrella Insurance for Your Home and Auto Policies

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If you have a home insurance policy and an auto policy, you may feel well protected against many of the risks you face. However, you might not have the coverage you need if there were to be a severe accident. These can cost an enormous amount, and your home and auto policy may not have enough liability coverage to pay for the damages. That’s why so many people choose to get an umbrella policy to add to their coverage. If you need an umbrella policy to make sure you’re better covered, call us at Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency in Willis, TX.

More Liability Coverage

The liability coverage that you get with your home and auto policies is often too low to pay for an expensive accident. When you get umbrella insurance, it puts more liability coverage on both of these policies. Umbrella policies come with an enormous amount of coverage, and this makes up for the low coverage in the other two policies. This means that when a serious accident happens, and the bills are sky-high, they can still get paid by insurance instead of being paid from their own pockets.

Overages

The main risk of not having umbrella insurance is that after a serious accident, your home or auto policy won’t be able to pay for the resulting bills. When this happens because you have only a small amount of liability coverage, it creates an overage after the home or auto policy has been paid and maxed out. This overage is what an umbrella policy would pay for you. This ensures that you won’t be left with a huge bill after your insurance maxes out.

Get Protected With Umbrella Insurance

When you need an umbrella policy, we’re here to help. Call us at Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency in Willis, TX.

Floods Can Happen Anywhere, but Flood Insurance Offers Protection

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Even in climates that are typically pretty dry, flooding is possible. That’s why it’s a good idea to assess your risk and determine whether flood insurance is right for you. If you’re in the Willis, TX area, Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency can help you learn about this important type of insurance and understand your risk. Then you can make an informed choice and have increased peace of mind.

Flood Insurance Protection

Anywhere it can rain, it can flood. It may seem more likely in climates where there’s more rainfall, but that’s not always true. A drier climate can have flooding risks because the ground doesn’t absorb rain as quickly. If there’s a strong storm, the water doesn’t get soaked up fast, and it has to go somewhere. That’s where flash flooding often comes from, especially during the later summer months when monsoons are more common.

To help protect your family and your assets, you may want to make sure you have all the right insurance coverage. That often includes protection from unlikely events that are still possible, such as floods. You can generally get this kind of coverage for a good value if you’re not in a flood zone because your risk of a claim is low. Most insurers understand that and will provide you with quotes that can meet your needs.

Consult With Us

If you’re in the Willis, TX area and looking for help with a flood insurance policy, Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency can answer your questions. We’ll work with you to find the policy that fits your situation, so you can feel comfortable and protected for the long term. You don’t want to put one of your largest assets at risk when it’s easy to avoid it. Reach out to us today to find a great flood policy.

Four rules to follow when you buy life insurance

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Getting life insurance is important for your family’s financial future. At Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency, we sell consumers in Willis, TX life insurance policies that allow them to be prepared for the uncertainties of the future.

When consumers buy life insurance, It’s important for them to avoid mistakes that could lead to negative consequences for their families down the road.

The following are four rules to follow when you buy life insurance:

Learn about the different kinds of life insurance before choosing one

Understanding different types of life insurance is crucial before buying a policy. When you understand the features of different policy types like term and whole life insurance, you can decide what type of policy is best for your family’s unique financial situation.

Take the time to assess your life insurance needs

You need to calculate the right amount of coverage for your family. Making the right decision about how much coverage you need requires you to calculate the future expenses of your beneficiaries.

You want to purchase a policy with enough coverage to allow your surviving beneficiaries to maintain their lifestyle and stay comfortable financially for as long as they are dependent on your income.

Provide accurate information when applying for life insurance

Make sure that all the information you put on life insurance applications is accurate and truthful. Leaving out important information or including misleading information could make it so that a claim on your policy is rejected down the road.

Discuss life insurance with beneficiaries

If there are adult beneficiaries on your policy, you should inform them when you take out a life insurance policy. This way, they’ll know that a claim needs to be filed if you pass away unexpectedly.

Consult With Us

We’re here to assist you with all your life insurance questions. Call us at Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency to learn more about life insurance and to get a quote on a policy that will protect your family in Willis, TX.

Can Commercial Insurance Cover Stolen Equipment?

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At Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency in Willis, TX, we help our clients navigate commercial insurance for businesses of all sizes. As a business owner, one of your greatest challenges may be theft from your business. Many retailers and small businesses experience theft on a small scale and even a large scale. Unfortunately, it’s not an uncommon issue for businesses.

As a result, insurance companies like ours do the best we can to help our clients recover from this problem when it strikes. Every commercial insurance policy has different limits and terms that you’ll want to review before filing a claim for theft. Still, the frequency of this issue makes theft coverage a typical aspect of many commercial insurance policies.

Does commercial insurance cover theft?

While every commercial insurance policy may have terms and limits that are specific to that policy, it’s safe to say that a great number of commercial insurance policies cover theft. This is because stolen items are a regular occurrence for many businesses. From valuable fixtures in your store to inventory on the floor, your business has a range of items that are at risk of theft. While thieves and those responsible for stealing items might not consider how it impacts a business, business owners will feel the financial toll that stealing takes on their business over time. 

Without a commercial insurance policy that provides protection against theft, you could lose hundreds or thousands of dollars in theft without any means of recovering that loss. Some insurance policies, like auto insurance policies, don’t provide coverage for theft. This is why having commercial auto insurance for company vehicles may better protect you against theft. 

If you’re ready to protect your business, call us at Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency in Willis, TX today.

Five Surprising Benefits Of Home Insurance

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Most residents in Willis, TX understand the value of their home insurance policy. It’s a good investment should anything expected occur. At Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency, we take pride in helping our clients get their needs. Have you ever thought about what home insurance can do for you?

There are surprising benefits that we’ll look at in more detail below:

1. Provides Temporary Living Should You Need It

Nobody wants to think about the total loss of their home. However, it’s always something you should be prepared for, just in case. A home insurance policy will reimburse you for living expenses if a total loss occurs.

2. Protection From Lawsuits

Did you know your home insurance policy could protect you from lawsuits? It sounds strange, but if someone is injured on your property and they decide to sue, you will be covered by the policy.

3. Benefits People With Travel Jobs

Many of us are on the road constantly. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to worry about your home while you’re away? That’s what a home insurance policy does for you.

4. Insurance Other Structures

Many homes have additional parts of the property, like a shed or detached garage. These areas can also be included in your home insurance policy.

5. Peace of Mind

Finally, you can’t underestimate the importance of living in your home without worry. A house is a significant investment. Nobody should have to worry about protecting their home. This is where a home insurance policy comes in.

Contact Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency For An Estimate

If you have any questions about home insurance in the greater Willis, TX community, we can help. Contact us today. We can answer your questions and help you find the right policy for your needs.

The Different Types of Motorcycle Insurance

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No matter if it’s your daily mode of transportation or your weekend ride, it’s crucial that you have the right type of insurance coverage for your motorcycle. However, with all of the different policies, providers, and terminology, it can be hard to find exactly what you need.

The team here at the Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency understands just how stressful and overwhelming shopping for insurance can be. That’s why we’ve put together a brief overview of what Willis, TX residents can expect when looking to insure their motorcycles.

Standard Coverage Types

There are a few different types of coverage that are generally considered to be standard coverage options. These are:

  • Bodily injury and property damage liability coverage
  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
  • Comprehensive and collision coverage
  • Medical payments coverage

Each of these plays an important role in the event of an accident and works to help cover the costs of repairs and replacements to your bike or someone else’s property, as well as medical expenses.

Additional Coverage Options

In addition to the standard types of coverage, you may choose to add coverage options that are designed for specific events and situations. These are things like

  • Total loss coverage for a new motorcycle
  • Roadside assistance and trip interruption
  • Rental reimbursement
  • Lease/loan gap coverage
  • Optional or added equipment coverage

Depending on the insurance provider you choose, there may be company-specific coverage options as well. Working with a Willis, TX insurance agency will help you look at all of your policy options so that you make the best choice for your needs.

Protect Yourself and Your Ride Today!

When you need help finding the right motorcycle insurance policy, call Melvin Gessner Insurance Agency! Our experienced agents will help you explore all of your coverage options to find the best coverage for you. Give us a call today!

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