Pennsylvania Insurance: All Your Needs in One Place

Property owners in Pennsylvania can protect their financial interests and cover the investments they have made in their homes by purchasing a good homeowners insurance policy. Pennsylvania home insurance provides three types of coverage:

• Coverage for your property: Dwelling insurance pays to repair damage to the structure of your home, and contents insurance pays to replace your personal property if it is lost or damaged by a covered event.
• Coverage against displacement: Loss of use insurance covers your extra living expenses if a covered event damages your home and leaves it unsafe for habitation.
• Coverage against liability lawsuits: Homeowners liability insurance covers court costs, legal fees, and damages if you or someone in your household is responsible for someone else experiencing injuries, property damage, financial losses, or other harm.

A local independent insurance agent can help find suitable coverage at a competitive price.

Vehicle owners in Pennsylvania need to carry car insurance. Your policy must meet or exceed the state’s minimum coverage requirements. This means your car insurance policy needs to include the following:

• Auto liability coverage: This pays for other people's property damage and injuries if you are at fault for a collision. Your liability coverage must provide at least the following:
  • $15,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person
  • $30,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per accident
  • $5,000 in property damage liability coverage per accident
• First-party medical benefits: This pays for medical expenses like ambulance rides and the treatment of injuries if you or your passengers are hurt in a collision, regardless of fault. Your policy must provide at least $5,000 in first-party medical benefits.

In addition to the coverage required by law, you can add several options to your car insurance policy. Some of the coverage options you are likely to see offered by insurance companies in Pennsylvania include collision insurance, comprehensive insurance, uninsured motorist insurance, gap insurance, and towing and roadside assistance.

A local independent insurance agent can help you determine whether any of these options are a good fit for you.

Commercial insurance products protect Pennsylvania businesses by covering financial losses when trouble strikes. Most small business owners in this state can purchase either a business owners policy (BOP) or a business insurance policy package.

• Low-risk businesses with fewer than 100 employees and less than $1 million in annual revenues qualify for a business owners policy (BOP). These policies are the most cost-effective option but only provide general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance.
• Medium- and large-sized companies and high-risk small businesses can get coverage through a business insurance policy package. These packages enable business owners to build a policy that is customized to meet their business’ specific coverage needs by choosing from various liability, property, and other commercial insurance products.

If you own a company in Pennsylvania, consult a local independent insurance agent for help finding the best and most affordable coverage options.

Workers sometimes get hurt on the job or wind up diagnosed with occupational illnesses. If this happens, workers’ compensation insurance can protect the affected employee from financial losses due to their injuries while shielding employers from potential liability lawsuits.

Workers’ compensation insurance can cover all necessary medical treatment, short-term and long-term disability benefits, death and disfigurement benefits, vocational rehabilitation and training, and other related costs.

With very few exceptions, workers’ compensation insurance is required for all employers in Pennsylvania. Policies may be purchased from a commercial insurance provider or through Pennsylvania’s state-administered fund. Qualified businesses have the option to self-insure.

Life insurance is all about preparing for the unexpected. It is essential to consider how your dependents would fare if you met an untimely demise.

If you are married, they may want enough coverage so your spouse can afford to keep the family home. If you are a parent, you may want to ensure that your children are well cared for and that they have many opportunities they might otherwise need to forgo due to a lack of funds. If you have no dependents, you may want to purchase a small policy that will cover your estate settlement and final arrangements.

If you are ready to learn about life insurance, you can talk to a local independent insurance agent. These agents can help you decide how much coverage is sufficient and walk you through the pros and cons of term vs. permanent life insurance policies.

Some landlords and rental agencies require their tenants to carry renters insurance, but most of the time, this coverage is optional.

Renters insurance is designed to shield you from financial losses related to hazards like property damage, theft, displacement, and personal liability lawsuits. 

Given how much coverage a policy can provide, you may be surprised by how affordable renters insurance is. The average renters insurance policy in Pennsylvania costs $158 a year. That's just $13 a month. Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn more about what renters insurance can do for you.

Umbrella insurance, also known as excess liability insurance, protects policyholders from potential financial disaster if a large liability lawsuit is filed against them. This secondary coverage is designed to kick in when the liability coverage offered by your primary insurance policies is exhausted.

For instance, if your homeowners insurance policy has a liability coverage limit of $300,000 and a legal settlement against you totals $500,000, you are responsible for paying the remaining $200,000. But if you carry a $1 million umbrella insurance policy, it would cover the $200,000 deficit.

Personal umbrella policies can boost the liability coverage in your home, auto, motorcycle, boat, RV, or other insurance policies.  Commercial umbrella insurance can increase a company's general liability insurance coverage. Talk to a local independent insurance agent to learn how Pennsylvania umbrella insurance can help you.

Be aware that nearly all homeowners, renters, and business insurance policies exclude coverage for flood damage. Unfortunately, more than 600,000 properties in this state have a significant risk of sustaining flood damage over the next thirty years.

To be protected against financial losses related to this hazard, you can supplement your policies with flood insurance. Affordable policies are available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a program administered by FEMA in NFIP-participating locations.

If your property is located in a flood zone and you still own on a mortgage or a home equity loan, your lender will require you to carry flood insurance. Otherwise, this coverage is optional. When deciding whether to purchase a policy, consider that the average compensation per flood claim in Pennsylvania is $20,700.

A large part of Western Pennsylvania and a few areas in the central and eastern parts of the state are built over top of old, abandoned mines. Though it does not frequently happen, these mines can sometimes collapse or shift, which can cause destructive earth movement. Unfortunately, most insurance policies exclude coverage for damage caused by mine subsidence.

Fortunately, property owners in Pennsylvania who are at risk have the option of buying mine subsidence insurance. This insurance can cover damage to your hopartsme’s foundation and structure as well as damage to your personal property if mine subsidence occurs beneath your property.

A local independent insurance agent will be aware of whether or not mine subsidence is a risk in your neighborhood, and, if so, can help you secure mine subsidence coverage. These policies are very affordable. Most Pennsylvanians can obtain coverage for under $100 a year.

When you are shopping for insurance, you need to make some choices. Independent insurance agents can help you make informed decisions by answering questions you may have, such as:

• How much coverage do I need?
• What is the best insurance company to meet my coverage and budgetary needs?
• Which coverage options are a good fit for me?
• What exactly does my policy cover?

Arrange an obligation-free consultation with one of the more than 1,200 independent insurance agencies in Pennsylvania to discover how working with a local independent insurance agent can save you time and money.