Almost everyone has a cause or a charity that they love and support. And quite a few of us sit on the board of directors of our favorite non-profits. The most common case is found with those who sit on the board at their church. And in the case of us giving our time and energy to our favorite cause, few of us understand the risks we are taking financially. But there is a quick, easy and inexpensive step your can take to protect yourself from this risk.

You see, non-profit organizations are for the most part, very similar to for profit corporations. In that regard, most have a board of directors who are charged with the fiduciary duties of keeping their organization solvent and making decisions that guide the actions of that particular charity. This means that each director or officer of the non-profit can be held responsible for the actions he or she takes as a director or officer. To protect the personal assets of those on the board, most large non-profit organizations go out and purchase a directors and officers liability insurance policy. In the industry we call this a D & O policy. Without this protection, corporations and large non-profits would be unable to lure the talent they want for their boards.

The problem comes when smaller non-profits and churches fail to purchase this protection for their board members. Usually this is because no one on the board is aware of the exposure – at least not until they face a loss. Also, this coverage can be overwhelmingly expensive to some non-profits which may operate on a shoe string budget.

So what can you do to protect yourself? Well, fortunately, there is a little known clause in most personal umbrella policies that provides D&O coverage for the policyholder as long as the company where they hold a board membership or officers title is a non-profit. And since I would recommend that almost everyone consider purchasing a personal umbrella policy anyway, this extra coverage is just gravy. Don’t forget that the personal umbrella policy provides an additional layer of coverage limit over and above your homeowners insurance policy and your auto insurance policy.

If you are unsure whether or not your umbrella policy will protect you as a director of officer of a non-profit, please call your agent and have them check on this for you. At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to make sure that all of our clients are informed insurance buyers. If we can help you with your home insurance, your auto insurance, your business insurance or even your life insurance, please call our office, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at ClinardInsurance.com.

Most used car dealers understand that they need a garage insurance policy for their business . And some even understand that they need dealers open lot coverage for their inventory. But there are some dealers out there who perform a hybrid function for their clients and we often find that these dealers have overlooked a garage coverage that leaves them wide open for an uncovered loss. If you are a used car dealer who does some repair work, you really owe it to yourself to read this article, and then check your policy to make sure you are covered properly.

The hybrid dealer that I am referring to is one who not only works on his own cars, but who works on cars owned by others. In this situation, the dealer is performing a double function from the insurance company’s perspective: a seller of cars and a repairer of cars. And this creates the need for a coverage endorsement to the garage policy that is often unfamiliar to a used car dealer.

The coverage that you need to add to your dealers policy is called garage keepers insurance. This coverage is designed to protect you for losses to your clients cars that are left in your care, custody or control. Garage keepers insurance can be broken up into two main coverage areas. One is called garage keepers collision coverage and the other is called garage keepers comprehensive coverage.

The comprehensive coverage is for fire, theft, windstorm, flood and other loss types that could occur to your customers vehicles while you have them in your possession for repairs. The collision coverage is for damages caused by collision to your clients cars while they are in your possession.

Within the broader category of garagekeepers insurance there is additional information you need to make a good decision about how much and which type to purchase. I have written other blogs on those issues and you can read them by clicking on the links below. There are also some video links if you prefer watching videos.

How much garage keepers insurance to buy – blog version

How much garage keepers insurance to buy - video version

Garage keepers Insurance explained Part I blog

Garage Keepers Insurance explained Part II blog

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping used car dealers with their insurance needs. We insure hundreds of used car dealers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. If you would like help with your dealers insurance, please visit us online at www.TheAutoDealersHelper.com or call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557.