In the Wilkes-Barre, PA area, many small business owners will find that the great local economy can make it a good place to own and run a business. If you are going to start a business here, you need to make sure that you get the proper insurance protection. For business owners, this means getting a full commercial insurance policy. There are several reasons that you should invest in this type of business insurance. 

Insurance Protects Assets Owned by Business

One reason that you should get commercial insurance is that it can protect all of the assets of your business. When you get insurance for your business, it will include a provision to protect covered assets against a variety of situations that could result in a loss. This could include coverage against theft, vandalism or other types of damage. 

Gives Liability Protection

You should also get a commercial insurance policy because it will give you valuable liability protection. Anyone that owns a business needs to find a way to protect against their liability risk. The best way that you can do this is by getting a commercial insurance policy. This coverage will include a provision for liability insurance that will protect you in these situations. 

There are clearly many reasons that businesses in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area should get commercial insurance. Since there are so many different options to choose from, you should make sure that you speak with someone that you can trust. The team at The Shay Agency can give you the guidance you need to pick a new policy. The Shay Agency will help you to better determine all of your commercial insurance options to ensure you are able to pick a policy that is right for you and your business. 

Anyone that is in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area will need to have a mode of transportation. One great option to consider would be to get a motorcycle. If you do decide to get a motorcycle, you should spend time thinking about all of your insurance needs. There are several situations when someone will need to get a full insurance policy for their motorcycle. 

One reason that you should get motorcycle insurance is that it can ensure you stay in compliance with a loan. Taking out a loan to buy a motorcycle is quite common. If you do have a loan against it, you will need to understand and follow the insurance rules. Most of the time, you will need to have a collision and comprehensive policy that offers full coverage with a reasonable deductible level.

Another situation when someone will want to get a full motorcycle policy is when they intend to drive it on a public road. Anyone that wants to use a public road will need to comply with the state law regarding liability insurance. If you do not have the necessary liability coverage, you could face penalization and even lose your license. 

Getting a motorcycle in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area can be a great option for those that want to have an efficient mode of transportation. When you are searching for your next policy, you should call The Shay Agency to discuss your options. There are a lot of important factors that need to be considered as you are shopping for a new policy. When you call The Shay Agency, you can get the help you need to better understand your options and manage the complexities. 

Pennsylvania is home to some of the most gorgeous mountain ranges. It is perhaps why flood insurance is mostly overlooked in the state. Unfortunately for most residents of the beautiful landscape, there is a high likelihood of experiencing massive flooding from the Susquehanna River among other large rivers across the state. In fact, during tropical storm Lee, the Susquehanna River water levels had risen to above 42 feet! Luckily, the newly built Wyoming Valley levee saved thousands of homes from complete destruction during the floods. However, there was substantial damage to many houses from the raging waters.

Importance of Insuring against Floods in Wilkes-Barre, PA

Much of the Wilkes-Barre, PA area is considered in a high flood risk region. The area experienced considerable flooding back in 2011. Since then, there haven’t been any government-sponsored improvements made on the embankment. The area is, therefore, one of the most susceptible to significant flooding events in the state.

There are currently no rules requiring residents of Pennsylvania to obtain flood insurance to cover their houses. Moreover, homeowner’s insurance does not offer cover for flood damages on homes. It is easy to be ignorant of the likelihood of storms but the unthinkable can happen, and you don’t want to find yourself in a fix when your house is ruined.

At The Shay Agency, we offer residents of Wilkes-Barre PA with flood insurance to protect their valuable assets and provide the funding required for the restoration of their property. We take flood insurance as seriously as we do fire insurance; since they are equally disastrous. We work hard to build our homes, and to have peace of mind, we have to protect them.

The Shay Agency is your best bet to protect your home from a disastrous nightmare. Contact us today via phone, or give us a visit at our offices in Wilkes-Barre, PA and get the right plan for you home.

Life insurance is one of those things you do not think much about. It is not a legal requirement, you hope your family never needs to use it, and it rarely affects you directly. It is one of those things that is often a mental requirement to be considered a responsible adult and parent, but aside from that its simply there in the background forgotten in a file. There are many reasons to purchase life insurance even if you have not reached the stage in your life where you have a lot of dependants or health risks. The Shay Agency provided quality life insurance policies for people in all stages in life. We serve the community of Wilkes-Barre, PA and the surrounding area with reliable service. 

Reasons Life Insurance Is Important Through All Life’s Stages:

• Early Adulthood: Young adults often do not think too much about life insurance for decent reasons. However, if you buy an insurance policy in your early twenties and keep it up you will often find your premiums lower for higher coverage as you reach the next stage of your life. 
• The early Thirties: At this stage, humans often have dependents, mortgages, and even companies that rely on their vitality. Life insurance brings peace of mind in an uncertain world, and if you purchased while you were young it is likely an easy transition to add dependants and increase coverage as needed. 
• Middle-Ages: People often purchase their first policy in their late forties. It is certainly not too late, but again the earlier the better as a general rule. 
• Senior Citizen: Many senior citizens have had life insurance for several years and simply keep up their coverage so they know that their passing will not put a financial burden on their children or spouses. 
• Golden Years: It may be more difficult to get a policy that has comparable coverage to a policy that was purchased decades ago if insurance is allowed to lapse but funeral policies are common to cover funeral expenses. 
• Other: Many grandparents choose to purchase life insurance policies for their young grandchildren, in some cases, these policies can have greater coverage than death benefits. 

Contact us at The Shay Agency for more information about a life insurance policy that can grow with you throughout all the stages of your life. We proudly serve the community of Wilkes-Barre, PA and the surrounding areas. 

No one likes to think about the end of life care, but it is a subject that needs to be talked about by families. The cost of a funeral keeps going up each year. Not to mention there is a financial burden of the loss of income after someone passes away. These issues are why some people have chosen to buy life insurance in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This is one way that you can protect your family from having a major financial burden if something was to happen to you. Here are some things about life insurance that you will want to know.

Understanding Term-Life Insurance

Term-life insurance is the most basic and easy to understand life insurance policy. It is also the least expensive to buy. As a customer, you have a choice to make as to how much the life insurance policy should be. This kind of policy will be in force for a set period of time. If you pass away in that time frame, then the policy will payout. If the policy expires, you will have to renew the term in order to have the coverage.

Understanding Whole-Life Insurance

This type of insurance policy does not expire unless you cancel the policy. It also builds a cash value the longer you own it. What makes this policy unique is that you can borrow against the accrued value of the policy. You then pay back the money plus interest. This is a great policy in that it can be used when life throws a financial curveball your way. The premium for this policy is higher than that of a term-life policy, but it does not expire. 

There are a lot of questions that you may have about life insurance. Please call us today at The Shay Agency. We can answer those questions and help get you the policy that you need to cover your family with.

Commercial insurance is a broad term that covers a lot. However, to put it in the simplest form, commercial insurance is a type of insurance meant to protect businesses against losses from injury to employees and damage to facilities/properties. Since businesses and their processes vary widely, commercial insurance protects different organizations from different types of risks.

However, according to the Shay Agency, whose serving city is Wilkes-Barre, PA, despite the variances, all commercial insurance policies have some typical coverage, which are:

• Public liability
• Professional indemnity
• Employers’ liability

Public Liability

This aspect of commercial insurance protects businesses that receive visitors to their premises or work on client locations. If suppliers, clients, of members of the public suffer property damage or personal injury caused by the policyholder’s business, public liability insurance will cover the legal expenses and compensations.

For example, if you have a painting company and while one of your painters is painting the exterior of a building, his brush drops on the windshield of a Ferrari and breaks it. This insurance policy will bear most of the claim settlement costs.

Professional indemnity

If your business causes a client some financial losses or professional losses, this insurance policy will cover the payment of compensation and legal fees. Here are some examples of how your business can cause losses to your clients:

1. You inadvertently publish a reputation-damaging statement about someone or an organization that happens to be false.
2. A client’s data or document gets lost in your care/custody.
3. You mistakenly share someone’s sensitive or confidential information without the person’s express permission.
4. You violate someone’s or an organization’s copyright.
5. A client incurs a loss because he acted on your wrong or misleading advice.

Employers’ liability

This policy will cover your legal fees and compensation if your existing or former employee files a lawsuit against your company because of an injury or illness caused by your work.

For more information, contact The Shay Agency in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Your business began with an idea for how to improve life or a product that would revolutionize the marketplace.  You’ve worked hard to make that original spark of imagination into reality.  Now, you need to protect that business and keep it growing.  This is where the agents at The Shay Agency, serving the Wilkes-Barre, PA area, can help.

Commercial insurance combines the protection of several policies.  Liability coverage is important for business, particularly startups.  It covers several areas of liability risk such as personal injury or injuring that is the result of the company’s products or services.  This is accompanied with property insurance for any structures the company owns.  The policy will also cover the contents of the buildings including computers, raw materials or inventory and equipment.  Virtually, everything the company needs to operate.  Typical perils that are covered include severe weather damage, fire, and theft.  It will not, however, cover flooding.  If the business is located in an area with high or moderate flood risk, discuss the options with the agent.  Lastly, worker’s compensation covers employees if they are injured on the job.  These are the basics but depending on the type of business you have, you have needed additional coverage.  For instance, corporate fleets have commercial auto insurance and professional corporations have professional liability coverage.  Some businesses carry business continuity insurance so that they can recover quickly if a disaster occurs. 

At the Shay Agency, your agent will take the time to get to understand your business’ needs.  They will then talk about the options that you have and answer any questions.  In the Wilkes-Barre, PA area, they know the types of protection businesses need.  Go online for general information or come by the offices.  You’ve worked hard for your business, now protect it. 

Can you feel it? It is almost indiscernible after this hot summer but there are already hints of fall in the air and it is beautiful to behold. More people are eager to get out and enjoy the cooler weather and the stunning foliage than ever, so we have some safety tips as you enjoy the local sights around Wilkes-Barre, PA this fall. At the Shay Agency, we will also be enjoying all a Pennsylvania fall has to offer, and we want all of our friends and clients to be as safe as possible out on the open roads. 

Tips For Motorcycle Safety in the Fall

• Remember that even on warm days the temperature drops fast after dark. Do not get stuck far from home shivering because you dressed for warmer weather, because extreme cold while driving is not only uncomfortable, it can be dangerous. 
• Watch for ice. Early ice is not uncommon yet may motorist are not prepared and it comes as a surprise, often a dangerous one. Keep your eyes out for icy conditions such as a drop in temperature after a fall rain. 
• Pullover to enjoy the views. The fall foliage is worthy of a photo or at least a moment of enjoyment but do yourself a favor and get off of your bike a moment. Do not try to take in the best views from the road, pull over to a safe spot to soak it in.

Contact us at the Shay Agency if you need motorcycle insurance coverage or if you have any questions about fall road safety. We proudly serve the Wilkes-Barre, PA area with quality insurance services. 

When going grocery shopping, did you ever notice that there is a whole aisle of cereals to choose from? There are dozens of varieties. With life insurance it is similar, there are many varieties to choose from; however, you have an advantage with life insurance because you get help from your agent at The Shay Agency serving Wilkes-Barre, PA, and the nearby areas.

Think of your agent as a personal shopper’s helper, who will give you an intelligent recommendation of the type(s) of life insurance that will best fit your needs.

The Two Biggest ‘Flavors’ of Life Insurance

Like chocolate and vanilla, there are two broad categories of life insurance. One is the type of policy that builds up cash value over time and therefore has some investment/savings qualities. This most popular of this type is called “whole life” because it is meant to be put into place while young and then kept for protection and investment purposes for a person’s entire life.

The other is the type of life insurance does not build up value and lasts only for a certain number of years before you need to renew it or get a new policy. The most popular type of this kind is called “term life.”

Universal Life vs. Whole Life

Universal life insurance is a mixture of the characteristics of whole life and term life. Universal life insurance is considered “permanent” like whole life insurance because it does not have a time limit. At the same time, universal life has lower premiums than whole life. These lower premiums are similar to term life insurance.

Whole life insurance has a death benefit and consistent monthly premiums. It has a guaranteed increase in its cash value over the life of an insured person. Whole life pays an annual dividend that either accumulates or can be taken out. Once the whole life policy has a cash value, you can borrow against it

Universal life has a death benefit, flexible premiums, and a savings option that can be chosen to build value. If it has a cash value because of choosing the savings option, you can borrow against it.

Summary

There are many other types of life insurance to consider. Each type is useful for different purposes. The characteristics to consider are the investment/savings portion and the insurance portion, along with the premium schedule.

In some cases, it may be beneficial to have two separate life insurance policies for different important reasons such as whole life to create long-term value and term life for protection against unexpected risks when younger.

To get personal help making these choices, contact an agent at The Shay Agency in Wilkes-Barre, PA by calling 570-704-0074 or use our convenient online form to get a quote.

Flood insurance is usually not included in a standard homeowner’s insurance plan, and instead comes as a specific rider that you can add-on to your property. The Shay Agency wants you to know why flood insurance is necessary to keep your investment safe from destruction. 

1. Swift Action Means Less Damage 

When you have water damage in your home, it’s not always clear just how much it will be to fully clean. Because the moisture can sink deep into the surfaces of the home, the repair bills can be astronomical. Instead of fixing it right away, homeowners in Wilkes-Barre PA may choose to wait if they don’t have insurance to cover the full costs. Flood insurance allows you to take care of the trouble as soon as possible, which will save the property as well as your finances. 

2. It’s Healthier 

Your home was never meant to be infused with mildew. It can pollute the air and lead to anything from allergies to respiration problems. Plus, if you let water damage sit for too long, you increase the odds of a mold formation in the home. This can be more than irritating, it can actually be deadly. 

3. You Have a Resource 

When your home is flooded, it’s a lot easier to protect your property when you have someone you can call. The Shay Agency is here to help the people of Wilkes-Barre, PA do more for themselves, so they can live in a stable property and maintain their resale value. 

If you want to find out more about what it takes to add flood insurance to a policy, call our staff today. We can help you determine your level of coverage based on everything from the size of your property to the value of your possessions.