As the housing market slows, and home prices begin to drop, homeowners should not be fooled into thinking that they should automatically reduce their current amount of homeowners insurance coverage. The amount of coverage a home owner needs is based on the replacement value of the home, not its fair market value; therefore, fluctuations in the housing market do not always correlate with changes in one’s homeowners insurance coverage.

A standard homeowners insurance policy provides four fundamental types of coverage, all of which are not affected by fluctuating home prices: 1.) rebuilding the structure of the home, 2.) replacing personal possessions, 3.) liability protection, and 4.) additional living expenses in the event you are displaced from your home.

Nobody ever thinks a fire is going to burn down their home, and with any luck, it won’t. But we can’t count on that. That is why we need to take certain precautions to make sure we are as prepared as possible for those “just in case” disasters. For example, make sure your family has an evacuation plan in place just in case a fire ever starts in your home. Also, make sure you have properly installed and working smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in your house; again, just in case. What’s another important thing you should do to make sure you are fully prepared? Keep an up-to-date home inventory in a safe spot.

As previously mentioned, most people do not think of preparing for fires in their homes, or if they do, it’s to ensure safety measures are planned out. While a well-thought-out safety plan is definitely the most critical thing to do...

Most companies have at least one employee who is key to the success of the business. Whether it's the owner, a partner, a majority stockholder, or someone with a high level of expertise, the loss or death of that person could mean financial ruin for the company.

Key-person insurance protects your company's solvency in the event of losing a key employee or founder. Protecting your company from such potential disasters not only makes good business sense, but also, lenders and investors generally require that a business carries key-person insurance to protect their loans and investments in the company.

Many insurance companies require a company's board of directors to pass a resolution...

Creating an effective means to back up important data files has always been a key part of operating a business. Up to now, the tape backup process has been the most cost-effective way to accomplish this task. Yet tape backup has always had some inherent problems. Backup files can be lost in many ways, most of which are beyond your control. The most common reasons for data loss are: mechanical failure (42%), human error (34%), and software failure (15%).

Using an Internet-based online backup service as a replacement for the tape backup process is gaining momentum as the ease of use improves and the cost of these services drops. This form of backup is possibly the most convenient way to store files in a remote secured location. Losing your files is something that is going to happen to you one day, not something that might happen, and if you do not back up your data it will be a disaster...