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Enjoy the read because what you don’t know can hurt you.


7 December 2020

What Should I Ask for Before Hiring Someone to do Work on my Property?


What Should I Ask for Before Hiring Someone to do Work on my Property? That “To-Do” list we all have never seems to get any shorter, does it? That’s why it sometimes makes more sense to just hire a professional to take care of a few of the items on the list like landscaping or painting, and for the bigger items on the list that we may not be able to do alone like roofing, plumbing and electric work. But what exactly should you be asking for when looking for someone to do work in or on your home or business? Besides just researching the quality of their work it’s important to make sure that they have the proper coverage for the work they’re doing while on your property so that you as the home or business owner are protected. During your initial conversations with them we suggest that you ask them to be able to provide you with a Certificate of Insurance listing you as an additional insured for both General Liability and for Worker’s Compensation, if they have a crew working on your property, upon the beginning of the job. The certificate would reassure you that the company or person you’re hiring has their own insurance and that their workers are covered by their insurance policy, all while they’re working on your property. We suggest you ask for a Certificate of Insurance from anyone you hire to come onto your property to do any kind of work such…

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7 December 2020

Summertime Waterside Safety Tips


Summertime Waterside Safety Tips With tomorrow being July 4th I’m sure many people have plans to spend the day with family and friends around a pool, lake or ocean, I know some of us certainly do! So here are some waterside safety tips to keep your family celebration afloat! • If there’s no lifeguard on duty, ALWAYS use the buddy system • If you’re in the ocean make sure to know what the tides are like that day • Make sure kids are always in earshot and line of sight • Know your own ability, don’t try to do anything you’re not ready for • If there’s a gate on your pool, make sure it’s closed if no adults are on the deck • Be sure to apply sunscreen early and reapply regularly throughout the day. • Don’t swim if you’re intoxicated • Don’t swim if there’s a thunderstom • Heed any warning signs or verbal warnings from any staff near the water • Only use equipment provided for its intended purpose • And the most important tip of all… HAVE FUN Safe swimming! Happy 4th of July!

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7 December 2020

Are My Business Tools Covered By My Vehicle’s Insurance If They’re In My Truck?


Are My Business Tools Covered By My Vehicle’s Insurance If They’re In My Truck? As a business owner you might think that your commercial auto policy covers all of the supplies and tools in your truck and as such may currently be underinsured. Here are some things you might need to have to be fully covered for your vehicle, tools, supplies and any modifications to the vehicle that aren’t covered by a basic commercial auto policy. Your basic commercial auto policy is meant to cover just that, your commercial vehicle but it isn’t intended to cover the contents inside of the vehicle. In order to have propper coverage for your tools in the vehicle you may want to ask your agent if you should have something called an inland marine policy, this would cover all of your tools no matter where they are including in your vehicle. Another option you may want to ask your agent if you have, or need to have, is an endorsement on the policy which will cover any supplies you may have in the truck as well as things left at any job site. If your business transports things like piping or lumber which may be taken from jobsite to jobsite or even left at one for multiple day’s usage, this endoresement may be worth asking about. Normally things like that aren’t covered by your commercial policy once it’s taken off your business’s property unless it’s additionally insured for while it’s in transit or at…

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7 December 2020

Do I Really Need to Buy Insurance at the Rental Car Counter?


Do I Really Need to Buy Insurance at the Rental Car Counter? Our Agency’s short answer to this question is YES, you should always buy the insurance when you’re renting a car! The longer answer is that yes buying the rental insurance is always a good idea, because in the event that something were to happen to the car while it’s in your charge your regular auto policy may have some coverage but depending on the circumstances it may not be enough. For example, if you’re a US resident but renting a car outside of the US you have limited or no coverage under your existing auto policy, and in a situation like that the best thing for you to do would be to reach out to your agent or carrier and find out exactly what your coverage is for the destination you’re going to. Another example of when your coverage would not apply to a rental car would be if you rented a car for, let’s say, 5 days and on the 3rd day you were to get into an accident and damage the car. You only have 2 more days left on your reservation but the car needs to spend the next 6 days in the shop to get back into working order, without the extra insurance that you could have purchased at the rental counter, you could be charged for a total of 9 days, the 3 of your original rental that you used it for plus…

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4 December 2020

Progressive clarifies its stance on using a personal vehicle for Ride Sharing Purposes. I can assure you that they are not the only company that will be taking this stance.


Progressive clarifies its stance on using a personal vehicle for Ride Sharing Purposes. I can assure you that they are not the only company that will be taking this stance. Posted in Know your coverage on September 22nd, 2015 Comments Off on Progressive clarifies its stance on using a personal vehicle for Ride Sharing Purposes. I can assure you that they are not the only company that will be taking this stance. As the ride-sharing industry grows, changes to this model include definitions and exclusions to clearly provide that no aspects of ride-sharing or vehicle sharing are covered under our Personal Auto policy. If you have a customer requiring this type of coverage, our Commercial Auto For-Hire Livery program does cover these risks. We define these types of risks as: Personal vehicle sharing program: means a system or process, operated by a business, organization, network, group, or individual, that facilitates the sharing of private passenger motor vehicles for use by individuals, businesses, or other entities. For personal vehicle sharing, while our insureds’ covered personal autos are not covered while being used by others through a vehicle sharing arrangement, our insureds are still covered when they’re using non-owned vehicles, including ones obtained through vehicle sharing arrangements. Ride-sharing activity: means the use of any vehicle to provide transportation of persons or property in connection with a transportation network company from the time a user logs on to, or signs in to, any online-enabled application, software, website or system until the time the…

Know your coverage

4 December 2020

Air BnB – Is my coverage a catastrophy or the cream of the crop


Air BnB – Is my coverage a catastrophy or the cream of the crop? Posted in Coverage Specialty on January 20th, 2015 Comments Off on Air BnB – Is my coverage a catastrophy or the cream of the crop?   Fraleigh and Rakow is consistently updating its arsenal of available coverage’s to better reflect the needs of our clients and prospects. We noticed more and more people using airbnb as a way to monetize the unused space in their homes. While this is a great opportunity for each of us, it is also creates huge gaps in coverage on a traditional homeowner policy. It creates liability and property coverage concerns for almost all insurance carriers. Claim time is not the right time to say to your company, “Oh yeah, they we just renting here for the weekend.” It is always best to tell your company up front what is going on. It is also recommended to have a company and agency with the expertise to handle the added risk while keeping your premiums in line so your in home business remains profitable. Fraleigh and Rakow only chooses to partner with the most innovative carriers in the marketplace, Preferred Mutual is one of those companies. They too saw the need to address the airbnb question head on. They realize that we are going to use our homes as we see fit and that it is better to tailor the correct coverage and have a happy client than to deny a claim…

Coverage Specialty

4 December 2020

Fraleigh and Rakow helps to create a new regional insurance agency


Fraleigh and Rakow helps to create a new regional insurance agency Posted in Uncategorized on June 21st, 2013 Comments Off on Fraleigh and Rakow helps to create a new regional insurance agency  Hudson Valley Insurance Agencies Form The Reis Management Group, LLC Frank H. Reis, Inc. has partnered with The Pleasant Valley Agency Inc, Duxbury & Hermans Inc, Fraleigh and Rakow Inc and The Mahan Agency Inc (all previously known as The Main Street Group) to create The Reis Management Group LLC.  The new operating agreement is designed to provide increased stability, improved insurance services, and shared resources and ideas via our combined carriers. In addition, The Reis Management Group LLC will allow for an expanded service area. “This partnership with The Main Street group will help us cross the imperceptible wall that has always separated Dutchess and Ulster Counties as well as give us the desired strength in numbers with the combining of all our current carriers,” explained Paul Casciaro, CEO. Frank H. Reis, Inc. is a Hudson Valley-based insurance agency offering a variety of insurance products to meet clients’ personal and business needs.  The Reis Group is currently licensed in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Utah, New Hampshire, Maryland, Arizona, Florida, California, Nevada, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. The Pleasant Valley Agency was established in 1955, and continues to serve clients throughout the Hudson Valley. Serving the Mid-Hudson Valley since 1995, Fraleigh and Rakow have built a reputation within Rhinebeck and the surrounding…

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