“She flies with her own wings,” the motto for the state of Oregon remains true to this day. There are many instances where the state of Oregon acts alone and sets an example for other states. One such example is the decision to acknowledge same-sex marriage in insurance. With both the Supreme Court and the Oregon District court upholding the validity of same-sex marriage, insurance companies must treat same-sex marriages as they would heterosexual marriages. This means same-sex partners can be covered by insurance, and they have the right to file claims for insurance.

How to File Insurance Claims
The process to file an insurance claim, whether commercial insurance or consumer insurance or concerning heterosexual or same-sex marriages, the process is the same. You can contact your local office if you are involved in a traffic accident, or you can call the customer service number, which is generally operational 24-hours each day. When you call, it is critical to have important documents and information handy that pertains to the accident. For instance, have your account number, your coverage levels, and the information concerning the accident.

Having Difficulties Filing a Claim?
There are times when some claims will not be processed as quickly as other claims. Delays in processing claims can stem from concerns about the validity of the claim, or more information may be needed for the claim. If you are filing a claim, and you are denied as a result of your same-sex marriage status, you do have options. After working with the insurance company, with no luck, you have the option of contacting the Oregon Insurance Commission to file a complaint.

Whether you have concerns about business insurance or consumer insurance in Oregon, our local agents can help you with your questions. Give us a call when you are interested in getting a quote for auto, commercial, or any other type of insurance.

Businesses in Oregon are not easy to run, especially when you are running an apartment complex and are responsible for tenants. You may know what to do to make your building attractive to potential renters, but do you know how to limit your liability exposure? Here are three tips:

Change Your Rental Agreements

As an apartment building owner, you have rental agreements between yourself and your tenants. In these agreements, it is important that you require your tenants to obtain and maintain their own liability coverage. Make sure that you require that they submit proof of insurance at the time of lease renewal, or every year. This helps to ensure that you are reimbursed for any damage that your tenants cause.

Add Indemnity Agreements and Waiver Clauses

Have your lawyer help you create a waiver of subrogation clause and an indemnity agreement to also include with the rental agreement for prospective tenants to sign and agree to. These will help you transfer any possible liability of injuries or damages to the tenant. These agreements will also help protect you from being named in a lawsuit for compensation for claims that are brought against the tenant.

Inspect the Buildings for Problems

Inspect all apartment buildings for any sign of a potential problem. This could be lighting issues, cracks in the sidewalk, items that someone could trip over, etc. If there is anything around that could cause injury to a child or an adult, it is crucial to have it repaired immediately.

Although you could do this on your own, it is always better to hire a professional who knows what he or she is doing and looking for. It may cost some money upfront for all this, but it will be a lot less than if you were found to be negligent in the future.

If you do not currently have liability insurance for your apartment complex or small business, then it’s time you sat down and talked with one of our independent commercial insurance agents in Oregon. You can get started with the above-mentioned tips, and then give us a call to finish up!

Operating a towing company in a city full of maritime attractions can be a lucrative endeavor. With so many attractions, such as the Columbia River Maritime Museum, there are plenty of opportunities to make money because people will likely park where they shouldn’t. Even though you are safe and do your job as you supposed to, there is always a possibility for liability damage, which is why your business needs Garagekeeper insurance.

What Is Garagekeeper insurance?

Garagekeeper insurance is liability insurance for businesses that house cars, such as towing companies. Since cars can be damaged during the process of towing them, purchasing Garagekeeper insurance will help you cover the cost if you are found liable. With the policy, you choose the limits you want to have for your business, which applies to each car. You will also be responsible for a deductible for each car. Like auto insurance, you can get Garagekeeper deductibles for as low as $500 per car.

Types of Coverage

Garagekeeper insurance can get confusing when you breakdown the coverage, but it is important to ensure that you have the right protection when you choose a policy. Consider the three types of Garagekeeper insurance before you make a purchase with your local agentsAstoria, Oregon 97103.

• Legal liability. Coverage resulting from negligence of the insured. This covers losses that happen while the car in in your position.
• Direct Primary. This covers the car regardless of who is liable, which is useful for weather related losses.
• Direct Excess. This coverage is the same as direct primary, but it limits the amount it pays if your business isn’t at fault.

When you call to get commercial insurance quotes, it is essential that you inquire about all forms of coverage so that Astoria agents can provide you with information about which coverage will work best for your business.

If you are unaware of Garagekeeper insurance, but you tow cars for a living, then you should contact your local insurance agent to get more information. Failing to add this type of coverage to your insurance portfolio will leave your business susceptible to litigation from customers.

There are many individual insurance policies that protect aspects of your life such as your house and car. These insurance policies have a liability portion that protects you from being financially responsible for incidents that are considered your fault, or occur on your property. The liability limits created by these policies depend on the type of insurance you have and several other factors with the policy. It’s possible that the liability limits are not sufficient for the lawsuit that is being put against you. This is particularly true in situations where wrongful death has occurred. Instead of running through your liability limits and having a personal financial impact shape your future, look into personal umbrella insurance.

Umbrella insurance refers to an insurance option that provides additional liability coverage for house and auto insurance. If you run through the limits on your own insurance, the umbrella portion kicks in and covers the rest. This is particularly useful if you have a tragedy occur in a car accident or with your pool or another structure on your property.

When you are setting up personal umbrella insurance, you want to look at the liability perils that it covers. These perils specify exactly what type of claims apply to this insurance option. You don’t want to be in the middle of a lawsuit to discover that your insurance isn’t going to pay the damaged party. That kind of issue leads to bankruptcy and other financial issues in the long run.

Talk to our certified umbrella insurance agents in Astoria, OR to find out the best umbrella options for your life and policies. It’s one of the best ways to keep yourself safe.

Commercial insurance is necessary to keep you in business, since plenty of people are likely to speak up about a company, compared to an individual, if they get hurt on your property or by your products, or if they incur losses due to an error or omission on your part. Finding the best and cheapest commercial insurance products requires a bit of time and research into what your business actually needs in terms of coverage.

All businesses benefit from general commercial liability insurance, as it protects against a number of common perils that every business is affected by in some part. This covers liability issues that stem from injuries on your property, from libel and slander, and other situations in which you are considered financially liable as a company.

Another commercial insurance offering that many businesses need to pay attention to is workers compensation insurance. This is legally required once you meet certain criteria in your business location. If you don’t have it, not only are you on the hook if an employee gets hurt, but also you get fined by the state.

Commercial property insurance has much higher limits than standard residential property insurance, to account for the higher value of the buildings and its contents. Since commercial equipment is often mission-critical and custom-built, having it properly insured helps to protect against business-operation bumps. If you do have equipment that gets damaged, destroyed, or stolen, loss-of-use insurance keeps your cash flow going until you’re back on your feet.

Talk to our experienced business insurance agents to find out about coverage options in Astoria, OR, to keep your business protected and growing strongly.

Many people are attracted to moving to Oregon because of the state’s abundance of natural beauty and fresh air and water. However, with high rates of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest, you should keep in mind the possibility of flooding that could damage your home in Oregon.

There is no reason that the prospect of flooding should cause you any concern, provided that you sign up for insurance to protect your home and possessions.

If you are currently a homeowner here or are thinking of purchasing a home, it’s important to recognize that most homeowners insurance policies do not cover flooding, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA also notes that homeowners should not count on federal disaster insurance to help them after flooding because floods are typically not designated as national disasters.

If you have determined that your homeowners insurance policy does not provide you with coverage in the event of flooding, you’ll need to arrange for separate coverage as soon as possible.

The easiest and most efficient way to find the best coverage for your home is to use our online comparison tool to get flood insurance quotes. The online tool is faster to use than calling individual insurance companies one at a time or finding out the address to each of their websites and digging around for the information you need.

Even if there have been no reports of floods in your location for quite some time now, the historical record may show that there have been disastrous floods that can recur once again. Instead of hoping for the best, you and your family can get the peace of mind that will come from knowing that you have arranged for sufficient flood insurance with the help of the online price comparison tool.

Oregonians Act Now Before Your Health Insurance Coverage Plan Expires

It doesn’t matter if you live in the city of Sisters or the tiny town of Corbett, Oregon it’s time to HealthCare.gov to renew your health insurance plan. Although, the Obama administration had said that all healthcare plans would be automatically renew for 2015, this is no longer going to happen.

Open enrollment starts on November 15th, you must enroll by Dec. 15, 2014. To make sure you have your health insurance plan ready to go on Jan. 1, 2015.

Some of last year’s plans are no longer available however; they have been replaced by similar plans. Therefore, you should not have too much difficulty maintaining roughly the same type of coverage you had in 2014.

Oregonians may want to change things in their coverage this year, this is also the time to make changes. There may be some things you want to consider before finalizing your 2015 health insurance plan.

Things to consider:

Look at any changes you need or want to make. If your current plan still meets your needs make sure it is still available. The only time you have to make changes in during open enrollment unless you have a major life change such a new baby, marriage/divorce.

If your health insurance plan is older you may be missing out on other benefits. With the Affordable Care Act you may have access to services that are free of charge under all new health care insurance plans including some of the following, even if you have a private health insurance plan.

• Screening services (blood pressure, cholesterol, HIV, depression, breast cancer prenatal services, and several more that you can view at Health.gov)
• Immunizations (MMR, flu, Human Papillomavirus, Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus and several more.)

There are several more free preventive services available to men, women, and children to help keep Oregonians healthy.

Don’t get caught without health insurance coverage come January, 2015. Instead, easily compare quotes online with Linda Dugan Insurance to find out what options you have available.

Insurance is a necessity, not a luxury. Having the proper insurance can protect you and your family members if something goes wrong with your home, your car, your apartment, or your other vehicle. Yet shopping for insurance can be difficult, because there are so many options.

Sometimes, insurance agencies will try to convince you to buy more coverage than you really need so that you give them more of your money. This is an unscrupulous and unfair practice that works because many homeowner’s or drivers don’t know what level of insurance they really need.

As independent insurance agents, the team at Linda Dugan Insurance Agency places a high value on providing the best level of customer service. We seek quotes from many different insurers before matching you with the best insurance coverage at the right price. We work with our customers to provide the right amount and type of insurance in a professional manner. Our agents are happy to explain terms, coverage levels, and exceptions to you so that you really understand what you are purchasing.

We offer an online price quote form that allows you to receive a detailed quote for homeowner’s, auto, or a bundled homeowner’s and auto insurance package. Complete the online form by selecting the type of insurance and your zip code. Then, receive several quotes and compare them to determine what level of coverage meets your needs. Our insurance agents can provide additional information if you need it.

At Linda Dugan Insurance Agency, we offer many different options of home owner’s and automobile insurance in the Longview, WA area. We can quickly and easily provide you with an insurance quote for any of our services. Contact us today to get the coverage you need at a competitive rate.

Ensuring that your business is safe and protected can mean that you will need to purchase a commercial insurance policy. Depending on the type of company that you own and your personal goals, the Oregon commercial insurance that is most appropriate for your goals can vary.

Worker’s Compensation

Whenever you have employees, it is important to protect against potential injuries and accidents that can take place. Accidents that may occur at work are usually covered by a worker’s compensation policy. The coverage focuses on the risks associated with your employees and the type of work that is performed, so the cost of coverage can vary.

Property Coverage

As a business owner, you will need to take steps to protect any company assets. That means you will need to obtain coverage for property that is owned by the business.

The amount of coverage and the type of plan can depend on how you use the property and how much it is worth. Generally, you want to protect against liability risks, damage to the property from common situations and potential concerns related to theft.

Liability Protection

Small businesses can benefit from a liability policy that focuses on the type of company that you own. For example, professional liability may be appropriate if you are offering a professional service. On the other hand, general liability may be better if you want to protect against the majority of situations that may arise. You may also want product liability in case a product is defective or injures a customer.

There are a variety of insurance options to protect your business from common threats and concerns that may arise. Recognizing your options can help you find the plan that is best for your particular goals. Contact us to talk to an agent for more details.