This year, 2011, will enter the record books as one of the most expensive for the insurance industry. There has been an unprecedented range of natural disasters around the world and the cumulative effect has been a major disruption of the supply chains. It might not seem very important to us as we sit in relative comfort in the US but, as an example, the floods in Thailand have been catastrophic and they have been having a direct effect on what we can buy here and the prices at which we can buy. To explain we need to reflect on the reality of global trading. To earn savings in low-cost labor and manufacturing, work is farmed out to different countries around the world. In some cases, the whole product is fabricated and assembled abroad. In others, the parts come from multiple manufacturing sites to be assembled in one of our own factories. When the world is at peace, everything arrives “just in time” and we find everything we want when we want it. But this year has been Japan suffer a major earthquake and tsunami in March, there were extraordinary tornadoes in the US, Hurricane Irene hit in September and then came the floods in Thailand.

When you put all these together, the disruption to the supply chain has been immense. Globally, the claims on Business Interruption Insurance has been more than $70 billion so far this year. The problem for the insurance industry is simple. Suppose one factory in Thailand owned by Toyota suddenly finds itself several meters underwater. That may be only one factory out of action, but suppose it supplies parts to fifty other factories around the world. Now there are fifty-one claims for business interruption. As it happens, Thailand is the world’s second-largest producer of hard-disk drives, has factories owned by Honda and Toyota, and so on. The highest rainfall in fifty years flooded some 1,500 factories. Now scale up the disruption. It’s affecting every major manufacturing country around the world.

If your own business is in manufacturing, assembly, logistics or distribution, and you depend on moving complete products or parts around the country, you need to review all those parts of your insurance cover for events affecting your supply chain. This is both direct and contingent interruption, i.e. your exposure depends on where you are in the value added chain and how easily replacements can be found. Insurers are now going to ask for a lot more transparency. In the past, this type of insurance was underwritten with a minimum of information. After this year’s experience, insurers are more likely to ask for detailed disaster plans to show how your business will respond if key suppliers are unable to supply on time. A failure to produce such a plan is likely to lead to a refusal of cover or very high business insurance rates.

The changes in the weather patterns are becoming more obvious and all business insurances rates are going to rise, both to cover property damage and business interruptions. This is not the time to sit back as winter approaches and assume there will be no problems with winter storms whether here in the US or elsewhere in the world. Proper planning will keep your insurance affordable.

What about Antique Auto Insurance?

If you have a classic car you may be hesitating about an appropriate auto insurance policy to get for your needs, and wether your coverage enables the right protection.. If you are thinking about buying a new policy for your classic car or an antique one you need some answers to help you see if you need such insurance.

It is rather hard to determine what coverage is best for a classic car. Such car owners definitely wish to be covered and certainly do not wish to overpay for premiums. There’s no reason naturally to pay fabulous-priced premiums if you simply do not have to. Learn some basic ideas about insuring vintage autos to make a solution right hrere.

The first aspect you are recommened to consider when trying evaluate a better insurance for your antique vehicle is the actual age of the car. Typically any car which is 25 years old or older is considered an antique car, though there are sometimes exceptions. But you realize a 25-year-old car used as a primary vehicle at the moment isn’t the 100% candidate for antique auto insurance. The main part of antique and classic insurance policies are to cover driving your vehicle to and from the topical events (fairs, competitions, shows) rather than for everyday use.

Another enforcement in such policies will be in limiting the miles your car is able to be used per year. But you should certainly discuss any of these questions directly with your insurer or agent before the new auto insurance purchase.

The second thing to be taken into account is the question: how does the right insurance for your vintage vehicle refer to the actual market value of the vehicle. You know many older models lose value, but the costs for the upkeep and restoration wouldn’t decreaes as a matter… So as you car got depreciated, don’t be surprised that most antique car insurance providers will be happy to help insure it and earn money from the air. To avoid unfair deals always check the actual market value of yor car and even if it stays your loved one think twice berfore insuring.

As a matter of fact your insurance provider will typically require a careful inspection of the vehicle to determine its value and to see if your car will be covered under an antique car insurance policy. Remember that companies covering antique cars will normally stick to to precise rules and restrictions for mileage as well as storage in order to maintain your coverage. This is indeed a complicated process usually, however it is by all means advantageous in helping you maintain the coverage you need.

One of the more interesting features of insurance is the degree of trust the insurer shows in what you say. Unless you are asking cover for something expensive and unusual, no insurer is going to ask to see whatever it is. You are allowed to add the vehicle or top-of-the-range electronic gizmo to the policy without question. But, if it later turns out you were less than honest, the insurer is allowed to cancel the policy and leave you without any cover. So the insurer is always protected and you pay the price of facing any claims without a policy to pay. Yet, while this has been standard in the insurance industry as a whole, there’s been a reluctance to trust drivers to report their mileage honestly. Younger people claiming unusually low annual mileage have been greeted with skepticism. To qualify for a discount, people have been forced to drive to the local office of the insurer to have someone verify the odometer reading once a month. This has been inconvenient and not so many people have taken up the discount offer.

With new technology, all this is changing and insurers are now moving into the pay-as-you-drive market with more enthusiasm. In part, there are also environmental reasons for this change. No matter what you think of the climate change debate, there’s no doubt more cities are being affected by smog. So whether this is big picture or the number of people lining up with asthma attacks at the local emergency rooms, there’s a move to encourage people to drive less. Accompanied by improvements in the mile-per-gallon performance of new cars and better emission controls, there’s now hope the air will stay breathable for longer. The pay-as-you-drive option gives people a direct incentive to drive less. Fewer miles driven means fewer accidents. If the full technological capabilities are introduced, it will also be possible to monitor whether drivers keep to the speed limits. Any vehicle reported stolen can automatically be tracked and recovered.

The first real signs of activity are coming in California. State Farm Mutual and the Auto Club of Southern California are introducing new policies in February 2011. Drivers will be given the choice of independent verification of their odometer readings or fitting a data transmission device. State Farm is estimating that people driving less than 2,000 a year will see their premiums fall by 45%. Using this as a base, State Farm is aiming to sign up at least a quarter of their current policy holders. Everyone who drives modest distances will save with rates set in 500 mile steps. Auto Club has four steps of 2,500 up to 10,000 miles and then the premium rises in 5,000 mile steps. At present, the Californian Insurance Commissioner is protecting drivers’ privacy, so no general data will be collected by insurers.

So, if you live in California, your auto insurance quotes should include this option come February 2011. While this is not a revolution, it’s certainly a change for the good, protecting the environment and encouraging better driving. Auto insurance is going green.

When trying to insure your bar, tavern or any other place that sells alcohol, the most important thing is to plan everything ahead. By selling alcohol to the public your business automatically engages in a higher degree of risk that has to be assessed right from the start.

So when you’re looking for a way to manage the risks that your bar or tavern will face during operation you have to ask some questions first:

What is the approximate value of your bar, including the property, fixtures and contents?

The best way to evaluate these costs is to consider the value of replacing your entire bar, including the equipment, coolers, the décor, stock, property, building and all other things if your business would get destroyed overnight.

What part of the business turnover will the alcohol take?

The insurance company will certainly require you to provide reports of your sales. In overall, if the alcohol takes about 50% of your overall turnover or more, the cost of insuring your business will be more expensive. So make sure you know the exact percentage of alcohol sales in your bar.

Will you feature any recreational activities at your bar?

Featuring certain recreational activities may give you a hard time getting your bar insured with some companies, and if you will still manage to find a policy, the rates will be higher. Insurance companies assess recreational features such as dance poles, trampolines, pyrotechnics, rock walls, swimming pools and any other distractions as quite risky features that will raise the likelihood of an insurance claim.

Will you hire someone else?

If your bar will feature additional workers besides you, you will certainly require workers’ compensation insurance with your small business insurance policy, and it maybe even important to get group health insurance as well.

Does you state have special dram shop liability laws?

Laws can differ significantly from one state to another, and this also concerns the liability to a third party in case of injuries inflicted by a drunken person at your bar. So it is highly recommended to study the local framework before you actually purchase and y specific coverage regarding this type of liability.

Will your business have a vehicle?

In case your bar or restaurant will have its own vehicle used for stock delivery or other business purposes then you will have to buy commercial auto insurance for this vehicle as well, otherwise it won’t be covered by a standard auto insurance policy. Using your personal transport for these purposes is not forbidden but you risk being denied of coverage in case of an accident.

Is your bar located in a risky area?

If your business is located in an area that is prone to natural calamities you have to include additional coverage to your small business insurance as well. Sure, it may be a great thing to have a few cocktails right at the beach but will your bar get covered properly when the hurricanes come? Make sure it does when buying small business insurance.

Will you serve any foods at the bar?

See if your bar or tavern will serve any foods and include respective coverage into your policy.