Page 38 - BusinessWest February 3, 2021

erage is broader in scope, COVID did not force us to make changes to workers’ comp plans.”
It’s not unusual for people working from home to have a computer, monitor, and even a printer that belongs to their employer. Murphy said some jobs may require employees to have additional business assets in the home, so it might be wise to make sure everything is covered. “Most policies will pay a little toward assets being home, but it’s usually a minimal amount.”
“If someone knocks on your door and your dog bites them, it generally means the insurance company pays the claim.”
With homes serving as business offices and classrooms, more people — and their pets — are home at the same time. According to Trudeau, homeowners’ insurance policies consider any issues with an animal as a “strict liability event,” meaning there is no way to defend the action.
“If someone knocks on your door and your dog bites them, it generally means the insurance company pays the claim,” he explained, adding that, as people acquire more pets, the likelihood of claims increases. Most insurance compa-
nies keep a list of dog breeds they will not cover because those breeds have higher incident rates.
Murphy encourages pet owners to speak with their agent because these restrictions can vary
widely among insurers. “Just because one compa- ny doesn’t want to cover your breed of dog, check with another company; it’s not a universal list.”
Whether they have pets or not, Fleury advises her clients to carry per- sonal liability coverage, commonly known as an umbrella policy, that sup- plements both homeown- ers and auto coverage.
“When we write home
and auto policies for a
customer, we always rec-
ommend buying personal
liability coverage as well
because it gives you that
additional safety net,” she
said. A typical umbrella
policy costs less than
$200 but can provide up
to $1 million in additional
liability coverage when
the limits of homeowners or auto coverage are exceeded.
While dog bites and leaking water pipes are obvious reasons to carry homeowners insurance, it can be much harder to detect a leak when per- sonal data is compromised. A significant increase in identity theft has motivated insurance compa- nies to begin offering identity-theft protection as part of their homeowners policies.
“With everyone at home and increased online activity, it’s more important than ever to safeguard
As people pay attention to small issues
in the home, Corey Murphy says, they can prevent larger issues from ever arising.
your privacy from someone getting into your sys- tem and doing real damage,” Trudeau said.
Apart from identity-theft insurance, he advises everyone to follow best practices such as using multi-factor authentication. For example, when working on an important account online, a code is sent to the user’s personal phone that must be entered to gain access.
When fraudsters accesses online bank accounts, they
often add a payee into the account.
Insurance
Continued on page 40
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