Personal Liability and Covering Your Assets

Umbrella insurance is a wonderful thing to consider in the world we live in. It will provide you with more money for your accidents that may happen in life. This can help cover your legal expenses if they were to go over your home or car insurance policy limits. Some insurance companies will offer up to $500,000 in regular coverage, and then offer an umbrella policy up to $1.5 million. This can be a great way to protect your assets if you deem necessary.

You should talk this over with your agent and see what options are available for you. They can also advise you based on your individual situation as well. Different people will require different types of insurance. Ask different questions to find different answers. I have known some people that have found it to be cheaper to get a $250,000 policy for themselves with a 2 million dollar umbrella policy than it was to just get a $500,000 policy. This doesn't make much sense to you and me, but insurance companies have their reasons for what they do. Just ask the questions and you might be surprised what you are able to find out. You can still enjoy a lot of insurance to help you sleep at night, while getting it for a very reasonable price.

I personally recommend going with big name insurance companies. I have some policies with smaller companies, but they are usually for rental property and such. Just call around and see what is available to you in your area.

Some umbrella policies are cheaper in other parts of the country. It all depends on where you live. I have known people to get a $250,000 policy in one area and another to get a $250,000 policy with a $1 million umbrella policy for the same price. It just depends on where you are. Insurance companies factor in many things to determine how much to charge, feel free to ask you agent what they factor in.

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Who Needs an Umbrella?

Who wants to be the guy asking his five year old " Now....., where did you get those matches?", as he sees his, not to mention his two neighbors homes, engulfed in flames? Not you, not me. That is also a tad bit worst case scenario, most fire departments are pretty quick and it's only your home that burns down.

Liability can arise from daily tasks almost all of us perform, like driving. Remember the five year old, just add 11. Liability arises from everyday business that takes place and provides people an income. Liability can arise from advertisements. You've heard of bodily injury, well don't forget about their feelings and or reputation, it's called personal injury. Amazing times we are living in. How is an individual going to function and create an income with all these different liabilities arising from his daily ventures? Not to mention some of, or all of, his childrens' activities. Liability is out there and attorneys take it seriously, the attorneys client has to be made whole, or in other terms, they have to recover from the damages and recover for damages. So how much liability coverage does the average Joe six pack need then, and how does it differ in relation to his profession.

Liability comes in different sizes, and so does liability coverage, after all transporting hazardous materials is more dangerous than transporting milk... isn't it? Wouldn't being a neuro surgeon create a greater liability as opposed to being a family practitioner? And after all that, your kid can throw rocks threw someone's windows. Don't forget people have been at fault for rear ending the car in front of them, after being rear ended! One would then have to agree it makes sense coverage comes come in different sizes and packages depending on the liability. As a homeowner you have assets to protect. As a multiple property owner you have greater assets to protect. Your home burning down costs more to repair than repairing the car you rear ended. And then of course you have the guy who fell asleep driving hazardous waste and crashed into the gas station, however that's another worst case scenario, unless you're an oil tanker in the northern gulf of Alaska.

Just remember P&C doesn't stand for pennies and change unless you're the agent. Liability insurance can cost a few dollars. The nice part being it can cover quite a few more dollars than it costs. Multiple property owners, or highly paid individuals might include an umbrella along with their different policies. An umbrella is a vehicle for covering your excess liabilities or protecting your numerous assets. I mean all it takes to create millions of dollars of liability is something as simple as your tour bus driver dropping your waste cargo onto a boat under the bridge your crossing. Simple enough mistake, right?

So just how much is your liability worth? Ever reviewed your coverages in regards to your business insurance? How about your homeowners, or even your auto insurance? You should always be aware of what level of protection that premium is paying for, as well as how well it covers the liability your creating adverse to your assets. Some court rulings have provided astronomical settlements in the name of liability. Just remember a certain coffee spilling incident after someone left the drive through. After someone left the drive through? Yeah after someone left the drive through, and someone spilled coffee, nonetheless, allover themselves. Just didn't imagine after ordering coffee, that it would be hot coffee. Surely if it's cold they wouldn't return and ask "why is this cold?" So by any means be careful what you serve to who, some people can't figure out to make sure hot coffee is secured before driving off.

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Help, Call The Police, Someone Stole My Work

They say imitation is the sincerest form of Flattery: In July, I posted Estate Planning for the Entrepreneur on the Maximum Inheritance Specialists website, I subsequently posted the article on squido. I was some what taken aback to find the article had be bastardised. Someone liked the article so much, he picked up, 'spun it' so it resembled a form of English spoken perhaps on Uranus, and submitted it, successfully for publication to an article directory.

Now, the concepts discussed in my writing were hardly original, they've been around for centuries - I imagine since the first business was privately held - the obvious exception being the attribution to George Bush. Every writer, irrespective of the level to which he is gifted or prolific wants to be quoted - that is the essence of writing - otherwise I'd keep my thoughts in my head, but no one wants his work ripped off. There is a point to article writing - the great value is in the key word phrases attached to the article. My articles tend to contain phrases such as 'last will and testament' 'lasting power of attorney' 'inheritance planning' and so on, as they are said to be useful in boosting one's SEO efforts. All this fellow had to do was attribute the work to me. Or is this what we'd call a back handed compliment? In fairness the directory on which the stolen work was published took down the article in a few hours. Attribute, Do not Steal. Plagiarism is theft.

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Improve the Bottom Line: Here's How to Capture Value of Intellectual Property

In too many instances, either a company is not aware that certain assets are intellectual property, or is not aware that ownership of any intellectual property created by someone prior to their joining the company as an employer or founder belongs to that person. One of the primary documents that all businesses should insist that employees and independent contractors sign - and in the case of a new venture or start-up, all founders sign - is an Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement.

Many business managers make the incorrect assumption that intellectual property only applies to high-technology companies. Wrong (see below)! As long as your business deals with anything creative, or has knowledge or information important to its success, the business owner or manager wants to make sure that ownership of any inventions or works created for the company are assigned to the company. In the patent field, unless your business has signed the relevant assignment document with employees, it is possible that all independent contractors and employees (except for those falling in the narrow category of employees "hired to invent") personally own all the patentable inventions they create.

Also, if the company does not have a written agreement regarding ownership of any original work of authorship, it is possible that the author of the original work will own the copyright. The main exception is works "made for hire" created by employees acting in within the scope of their employment, which automatically belongs to the employer.

So, what about the Website designer/developer your company hired to create the "Front end" and "back end" of your distinguishable Website? Under the law, if the designer/developer is an independent contractor, then the designer/developer owns the copyright and is entitled to sell the same page layouts or computer code to someone else. If the Website is designed by an employee in the ordinary course of his or her employment, then the employer owns the copyright.

Thus, it is in the owner and manager's interest not to get embroiled in factual issues such as whether the works are created by an employee in the scope of their employment or who is an employee hired to invent, or whether the author of the work is an employee or an independent contractor. The business should negotiate for both employees and independent contractors to sign written assignments of copyrights.

In some instances, the independent contractor will refuse to transfer the copyright to work product, and in such instances the business may negotiate with the independent contractor not to sell or license the invention or work product to direct competitors. We have encountered situations where independent consultants will refuse to transfer copyright ownership to their work product, and the commissioning company will negotiate to limit the licensing or transfer of such copyright.

Many business managers skip over intellectual property issues, since they assume (incorrectly) that intellectual property issues are relevant only to technology companies having engineers and hacker employees. Yet, all businesses should realize that the following business assets have value and should be protected:

Customer lists Customized software Name or logo Product literature confidential know-how on doing certain things secret formulas

In sum, the owner of a company or the business manager should take precautions to clarify the company's ownership of the intellectual property. All employees, independent contractors, and in the case of start-ups and new ventures, all founders of a company should be required to sign assignments of inventions and nondisclosure agreements giving the employer the right to commercialize the idea, inventions, works, prepared, conceived of or reduced to practice by its workers during the period of employment. In the case of start-ups and new ventures, all founders and owners should similarly be required at the time of formation to assign ownership in creative works-all copyrights, trademarks, or patents-to the company.

In a start-up situation, to the extent the employee contributes to the Newco "property", including patents, copyrights, secret formulas, confidential know-how, and other legally protectable intangible assets, under Internal Revenue Code Section 351, the entrepreneur can escape tax on his or her bargain purchase of Newco stock.

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Big Changes to Web Marketing in 2012

Just when you have launched a successful website and started to learn the jargon needed to become even more affluent in website chatter, Google drops a brand new way of website searching into your lap!

While you want with every nerve to push back and protest over the grueling hours and hours of new website search discovery ahead of you, you know that fighting this giant of search engines is a useless task and instead pick up the newest copy of "Google for Beginners" to start your website development all over again. If you don't have time for this.... Don't worry, there are plenty of people out there to help!

Google currently uses a "crawler," which is a program designed to search your website and take only the most relevant information for your customers to find you and your website. Coming soon, if a customer places a question into the search bar such as "Where can I find RV reservations in Napa, CA?" they will no longer be pushed to a your website, instead information will appear directly for your customer faster and more simply.

While this will benefit the person searching for the information, this new way of searching will take value away from customers visiting your page and clicking through pages to see the outstanding service provided by your company before making a purchase.

Now more than ever, your content will need to be easier to read by a computer. That means your website needs to feature more than just an organic search or paid advertising to drive sales.

"What does this even mean?" you question as you begin opening your website to delve into where you can possibly make it a better asset for Google searches. But where do you even start?

Websites and companies in the camping, renting, retail, service, RVing, and traveling industries have already prepared for this Google change and have organized new ways of developing customers for your company so you can continue benefiting from all the previous work, time, effort, and money you have spent on your current website without having to reconfigure it again for Google's new definition of change.

Using trip-based search engine optimization (SEO) will position your website and information at the forefront of new customers looking to expand their knowledge about key information only you can provide. Sharing this knowledge will enhance your customer's experience and drive them to your existing website. Your customers are searching right now for events, restaurants, activities and various other experiences around your area that only you know about and can share.

By sharing these special and very local tips, you are creating a customer for life and thereby creating something that even Google would be jealous of. Partnering with these companies will allow you the freedom to share knowledge and let them do the rest; all the while letting you focus on what really matters, providing the most excellent service you can for the customers currently at your company.

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Medical Negligence Solicitors

When it comes to our health, we never settle for less. We want the best results from medical practitioners. However, accidents happen sometimes. We may never want it to happen but it can occur and the next best thing to do if you become a victim of medical negligence is to seek advice to claim for compensation in that case.

There are a number of good solicitors in the site. One is Bolt Burdon Kemp, which is a company that boasts of its specialization in various cases of medical malpractice. It has been in the industry for 25 years and has received many awards. It has a youthful, energetic team that never seems to get tired until the customer gets the claim successfully. They are readily available online on boltburdonkemp.co.uk.

On one hand, Medical Negligence UK also focuses on medical negligence claims. It has a no win no fee policy and uses Legal Aid scheme. You may want to check out their site hospitalnegligence.co.uk for more information. If you want companies to search the right medical solicitors for you, contactlaw.co.uk is the site to visit. The company name is Contact Law and it has professionals in various areas of medical negligence ready to contact the right solicitor for you.

Before making any decisions which solicitor to choose, always do some research for you to get more knowledge on negligence solicitors. This is a very serious issue in your life and you have to make sure you make the right decision.

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