At Saucon Insurance Agency, serving the greater Bethlehem PA, we can help individuals obtain boat insurance. Unfortunately, though, we often find that people believe many myths related to boat insurance, and as such, don’t believe they need boat insurance or don’t have the right coverage for their needs. Here are three common myths related to boat insurance and the truth surrounding these myths. 

Home Insurance Covers Your Boat

One of the myths related to boat insurance is that it isn’t needed because home insurance covers a boat stored on your property. Some home insurance policies will cover a boat stored in your garage or backyard, but most are starting to exclude toys stored at your home, including boats and four wheelers. As such, it is important to have a separate boat insurance policy to cover your boat. 

Boat Insurance Covers You Wherever You Go Boating

Another common myth is that boat insurance covers you regardless of where you boat. This is not true. Some policies limit what types of bodies of water you can have your boat in, what states you can have your boat in or where you can travel in your boat. Always review your policy to ensure your boat is covered wherever you plan on using it. 

Boat Insurance is Not Required By Law

Lastly, some people believe boat insurance is not required by law. Most states, including Pennsylvania, require boat insurance in order to register and operate a boat. If you want to lawfully and legally use your boat, you need boat insurance. 

It may not be boating season, but boat insurance is still important. If you need boat insurance in the greater Bethlehem, PA area, contact Saucon Insurance Agency. Our trained professionals can help to answer any questions you may have or help you find the right policy for your needs. 

An RV or camper can be a great recreational vehicle that can be used to tour the country. For those that are in the Bethlehem PA area and have an RV, making sure that it is covered properly by insurance is very important. There several situations in which having RV and camper insurance will be a requirement for you. 

State Requirements

If you plan on driving your RV in the state of Pennsylvania, you will be required by law to carry liability insurance on the RV. The minimum requirements including having liability coverage of at least $30,000 in property damage coverage plus an additional $30,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, with a $60,000 minimum cap per incident. It is important to remember that this type of coverage will only provide you with coverage for the other party’s vehicles in an accident in which you are at fault.

Lender Requirements

Since an RV or camper can be an expensive investment, you may need to take out a loan in order to finance the purchase of the RV. If you do take out a loan, there is a good chance that the lender will require that you have additional collision and comprehensive coverage in place as long as the loan is outstanding. This provides you with coverage for a wide variety of issues including theft or accidents. 

If you own an RV or camper in the Bethlehem, PA area, you should meet with the Saucon Insurance Agency to better understand your insurance needs. The Saucon Insurance Agency will be able to help you review your current situation to figure out what type of coverage that you need to have on your RV or camper. This will help to ensure you get the right level of coverage and stay in compliance with all regulations. 

There have been many instances where a business owner was caught off-guard by the fact that there is a need to have commercial insurance for all vehicles used by a company or its employees for any business purposes. The problems come up when a business owner does not understand that the courts have interpreted “any business purpose” to have a very wide meaning. Your agent at Saucon Insurance Agency, serving Bethlehem, PA and the nearby communities, will conduct a thorough commercial insurance review to make sure your commercial vehicle insurance is adequate.

Here are some surprising examples of some vehicle use that courts considered a “business purpose”:

• The boss lends his car to an employee to drive to the pizza store to pick up lunch ordered by the boss for the employees. The employee has an accident on the trip. Even though the personal car of the boss is involved in the accident, it was being used for a business purpose.
• A company rewards employees who volunteer to use their personal vehicles to carpool other employees to work. The payment of a reward changes the use of the vehicle from personal use to business purpose.
• A tractor is stolen and driven on the highway causing an accident. Even though the tractor use was not authorized, this was still within the wide definition of the business purpose of the tractor.
• A salesperson drives a company car to go to meetings with clients and then gets in an accident while driving the company car to a vacation spot. Again, even an unauthorized use of the company vehicle is still is considered a business purpose.
• The boss parks his brand new high-priced sports car in front of the company’s main retail store to attract attention. It attracts so much attention that this causes an accident. Even though this is a personal car, using it in this way is a business purpose.

Talk with your attorney as needed and then talk with your agent at Saucon Insurance Agency in Bethlehem, PA to make sure all vehicles used for any business purposes have commercial insurance coverage.

Most employers want to provide their employees with the best possible insurance coverage at an affordable price. The agents of Saucon Insurance Agency are available to discuss the different types of policies and packages they offer to companies in Bethlehem, PA. They can help to identify specific risks that may impact the types of insurance needed for different industries. 

Types of Insurance

There are several different types of insurance that employers can offer to their employees. A few of the most common include:

• Health insurance
• Workers’ Compensation
• Long/short-term disability
• Dental
• Vision
• Life

It’s important to know what types of insurance your employees are interested in having. Once you know what they want and the affordability of each, you can make a decision as to which ones you want to offer. You will also have to take into consideration the industry you work in and what is commonly offered by other companies with similar risks.

Different Packages

While Workers’ Compensation is mandatory, you can create packages that offer health, life, and long/short disability. If your employees are willing to pay a little more each week or you are willing to match what they pay, you may want to include dental and vision. The type of package you create for your employees will depend on their needs as well as how affordable the policies are. 

If you are interested in putting together an insurance package for your employees, call the Saucon Insurance Agency and ask for an evaluation. They are available to business owners in the Bethlehem, PA and the surrounding areas. Call today and get the information you need!

Pennsylvania might not be the nation’s capital for massive floods, but that doesn’t spare homes in the state from the occasional disaster. Floods are something we’d all usually rather not think about, but in the end, you want to make sure your home is protected. That’s why Saucon Insurance Agency is trying to help you assess the flood risk for your home in Bethlehem, PA.

The Bank Tells You

There’s a nice minimum safety net when it comes to owning a home and dealing with floods. If you get a mortgage, a bank is going to require you to purchase flood insurance if your house is in an area of high enough risk. You simply won’t be able to buy the house without it. Even if you don’t have a mortgage, if a bank would require flood insurance before giving someone a loan to buy your house, you can trust that you need it.

That said, this is not entirely foolproof. First, it offers no insight on rentals. Flood damage in a rented property can be very tricky, so it’s best to follow through on your research. The second problem is that banks won’t always demand flood insurance even when there is a notable risk involved.

Lower-Risk Flood Zones

That brings us to lower-risk flood zones. Known by many names, these are areas or neighborhoods that are in flood zones but aren’t at the highest levels of risk. These are areas where banks might let you buy a house without the extra coverage, but flood insurance is probably still a good idea. The easiest way to find these zones is to look at FEMA’s network of maps. They’ll help you assess risk and determine if you need specialized insurance. You can find those maps at msc.fema.gov/portal/search.

Once you check the floodplains in your Bethlehem, PA, neighborhood, you’ll have a clear idea if you need to be talking about flood insurance. When you’re ready for that conversation, your Saucon Insurance Agency representative will be ready to help.

So you’ve finally decided to buy an RV. Congratulations! Recreational Vehicles or motorhomes offer a comfortable way to camp, travel the country and/or just provide everything you need on wheels. But before you embark on any adventures near or far, it’s time to get that RV properly insured. Here’s what you need to know about RV insurance requirements in the state of Pennsylvania. 

The Basics

First things first: as with most other vehicles, the state of Pennsylvania requires drivers to ensure their RVs before they take them on the road. And if you are leasing or financing an RV, you most likely will be required to purchase insurance as per the terms of your contract. If you live in the Bethlehem, PA area, Saucon Insurance Agency can answer all of your specific questions regarding state insurance laws and contract-specific requirements. Now, in addition to having the proper insurance, it is also worth noting that in the rarer cases of an RV being over 26,001 pounds, the state also requires you to get a non-commercial class B license in order to drive it (and you will need to get this before you get approved for an insurance policy). 

Minimum Coverage Requirements

As a Pennsylvania resident, you must meet certain minimum coverage stipulations in order to legally drive your RV. This includes a minimum of $30,000 in coverage. Likewise, RV drivers must have specific coverage for medical expenses, property damage, and bodily injury. Whereas medical expense coverage must be in place for regardless of who is at fault, both property damage and bodily injury must– at the very least– cover others involved if you are determined to be at fault. 

Taking Things Further

Now, in addition to making sure you meet all of the minimum coverage requirements in Pennsylvania, you may want to get extra protection (for many people, this is a wise investment). For example, adding on uninsured/underinsured insurance to your policy can help you recover quickly from an accident involving a driver without insurance, as can collision (with stationary objects) and comprehensive add-ons. When you’re ready to take the next step, contact Saucon Insurance Agency. Serving the Bethlehem, PA area and beyond, we’re here to help you find the perfect policy to get your RV covered and fit your specific needs. 

There is no better way to spend an afternoon during the hot summer days than on a boat. For those that are in the Bethlehem, PA area, owning a boat is a big investment and responsibility. Because of this, boat owners need to consider carrying boat insurance. There are several situations in which having boat insurance is a requirement for owners in the area. 

Loan on the Boat

One situation in which you will need to have insurance on your boat is if you use a loan to purchase the boat. When you buy a boat with a loan, the lender will have a lien on the boat at all times. Because of this, they will likely require that you carry a full boat insurance policy as long as the loan is outstanding. This will ensure that they can be repaid if the boat is damaged or stolen.

Local Requirements

In general, the state of Pennsylvania does not require that you carry boat Insurance. However, there are local areas throughout the state that do require that you have boat insurance if you are in certain areas. For example, if you are in a larger lake area with a local marina, you may be required by the lake association to carry boat liability insurance whenever you are on the water. This will provide liability coverage for you in the event of an accident.

If you own a boat in the Bethlehem, PA area, you should reach out to the Saucon Insurance Agency. When you meet with the Saucon Insurance Agency, you can receive more guidance into what your boat insurance requirements are. They will also be able to review your requirements and particular situation to ensure you get a boat policy that provides you with good coverage and also stays in compliance with all regulations.

Like most situations in life, the best way to protect your business from slip and fall claims is to do what you can to avoid them in the first place. Here are some effective ways to prevent slip and falls at your business:

• Clean up any spills immediately and also post warning signs until the area is completely dry.
• Repair any areas where there are uneven floors, carpeting seams, or other abnormalities that could cause a fall.
• Keep all hallways and aisles free of items that could cause someone to trip or fall.
• Make sure that all steps and transitional areas have the necessary handrails and other safety equipment.
• Don’t forget about outside areas, keep parking lots and sidewalks free of debris and patch any potholes right away.

Of course, accidents can happen even when all of the above precautions and more are taken. Saucon Insurance Agency advises all of our business clients to carry liability insurance that is sufficient to protect them from any slip and fall claims at their businesses in the Bethlehem, PA area.

Liability insurance can protect you if a customer has a mishap at your place of business. Additionally, it can protect you if an employee is the one who falls, and certain policies will provide protection from a claim and also cover expenses related to an employee claim. Having the right insurance can make the difference between a terrible situation and one that can have a lasting effect on your business.

At Saucon Insurance Agency, our here to help you make sure you have the appropriate insurance and at the right coverage levels. Call us today to schedule a consultation, we are proud to serve fellow business owners in the greater Bethlehem, PA area.