Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of visiting our Acrisure partner, Eastern Insurors/All Point Agency, in the New Jersey office. Meeting the partners, Chris Rossi and Mike Goras, along with the team was a blast. We have been working with each other for the past 2 years and finally had the opportunity to meet in person. Chris and Mike toured me to see the towns surrounding Midland Park and showed me the history and development of the areas. I even had a chance to see where the office used to be located before we moved to the current location at 445 Godwin Ave, Midland Park, NJ.

It was a wonderful opportunity working in person at the office with them for the 2 days. Can’t wait for another chance to fly down to meet them again.

Acrisure is a proud sponsor of the 2022 Grand Rapids Pride Festival, hosted by the Grand Rapids Pride Center (GRPC). Celebrating its 34th year, Grand Rapids Pride Festival is working to create a safe, open and inclusive environment for Grand Rapids community members to celebrate who they are!

No matter who you are, how you identify, or who you love, at Acrisure we stand together to celebrate and support all LGBTQIA+ employees, clients and communities around the world.

Why Are Consulting Businesses at Risk for Cyberattacks?

You work with a variety of clients.
Consulting businesses can be more bang for a cybercriminal’s buck! If a consulting business’s data is breached, it may open the door to customers’ data also being breached.

It’s possible you are less likely to have strong cybersecurity. 
Unless they are a financial consultant, cybersecurity probably has not been top of mind for consulting businesses, and many cybercriminals know it. Consulting businesses may even think of cybersecurity as an unnecessary inconvenience when they’re shuffling from contract to contract.

You may be more likely to pay and move on.
Rather than trying to find someone to respond to a ransomware attack, consulting businesses can be more likely to pay the ransom and move on with their business due to pressing deadlines and client demands.

Why Have Cybersecurity as a Consultant?

Your reputation matters.
You’ve built up your reputation through reliable, solid work. The same rings true whether you’re an environmental consultant, IT consultant, or marketing consultant, or you perform management consulting or strategy consulting. You have more to lose than some other types of companies because your business depends on your relationships—the stakes can be higher for you.

A cyberattack is disruptive.
Think about it. If you’re an independent consultant who fired up your laptop today and got greeted by a ransom request, it halted your work. Your laptop is your office! And if you passed a computer virus to your clients’ systems as an engineering consultant, you’d spend part of the day making calls that no one wants to make instead of working on complex solutions for clients.

Simple steps make a difference.
When it comes down to it, cybersecurity isn’t necessarily that complicated. The good news is that you can help improve your defenses relatively quickly.

7 Tips to Help Improve Your Cybersecurity as a Consultant

1. Have a different password for every client project and log in.
Across the board, from your business banking login to your business credit card, to your laptop itself, and all the tools you use for your business consulting services… each and every one should have its own password. You can also use a secure tool like LastPass to help you manage this task.

2. Use secure passwords.
We’re all old hands at this by now, right? Though it is tempting to be clever with your passwords, you should go past clever and include numbers and special characters. Avoid using your birthday or anniversary! And change your passwords more than once a year.

3. Avoid using public wifi without precautions.
If you’re working at a local coffee shop, help protect your passwords and business by using a VPN (virtual private network) and accessing HTTPS pages only. This isn’t the time to pay bills or check your bank balance!

4. Keep your software and computer updated.
Yes, updates can be annoying. They are your first line of defense, however. Make it a routine to go ahead and check for updates each morning or evening, or have your computer alert you when there are updates available. Delete unused software, and keep your smart phone completely updated, too!

5. Lock your computer.
If someone steals your laptop, why make it easier for them to access your files? Put a login on your computer and follow the advice on secure passwords above.

6. Back up your data. 
If someone really does steal your laptop, you’ll be back up and running faster if you’ve backed up your data. This also helps if you must reformat your computer due to a pesky virus. Make it a habit or set up a continual backup.

7. Be smart about emails.
Don’t click on attachments until you have confirmed that you recognize the sender’s full email. That will save you potential agony. Update your email passwords even more often than other passwords. Have antivirus software on your computers in case someone else sends you a virus by email. If you receive an email from a client company whose name you don’t recognize, contact the company to verify their identity first.

We hope these seven tips for cybersecurity have given you some ideas on how to help protect your cybersecurity business. An additional tip is to consider cyber insurance. A cyber insurance solution can help you recover from a cyberattack, including restoring lost data. Acrisure Cyber Services¹ can help consultants and financial advisors with their cyber insurance and risk mitigation needs.

^{1 The insurance products described are placed by Acrisure, LLC and/or its insurance producer affiliates.  The non-insurance cybersecurity and related cyber services described are provided by Acrisure Cyber Services, LLC, an affiliate of Acrisure, LLC.}

 The Direct Link Team hosted our annual spring social event. We were able to welcome and meet our newest team members along with catching up with some of our existing group. Our team was able to enjoy a wonderful dinner, team giveaways and funtastic round of Glow in the Dark Mini Putt. Congratulations to all the winners  🙂  We sincerely thank everyone who made the effort to come out and participate in our social event and look forward to the next.                                                                                     

             .

 Every Woman Counts !! 

Today is  a reminder that all women, from all ages and walks of life, have a place in every aspect of Canadian society, including in the economic, social and democratic spheres.

Let’s celebrate the successful women around us, reminding today’s youth and girls that their dream is within reach.

What Is Personal Liability Insurance vs. Renters Insurance?

Being hit with a lawsuit can create serious problems for even the most financially-secure individuals. Litigation costs—not to mention the prospect of having to pay any damages awarded by the court in the event that you lose your case—can easily drain bank accounts and plunge defendants deep into debt. But there is a way to prepare for these kinds of dangers: personal liability insurance.

Here, we take a closer look at personal liability insurance, how it relates to renter insurance, and what kind of personal liability coverage you can expect.

What Is Personal Liability Insurance for Renters?
Personal liability occurs when you or other members of your household are deemed legally responsible for an accident that results in either property damage or bodily injury sustained by others. For example, if your dog gets loose and bites someone, or if you have a house guest that slips on your wet floor and breaks their arm, the injured party may decide to sue you for damages. Likewise, if you have a child who hits a baseball through a neighbor’s window and breaks a television, you may be held responsible for the damages.

Personal liability insurance protects you from having to pay out of pocket to cover these and other kinds of damages—depending on your coverage limits—and may also pay for your legal costs resulting from lawsuits. In other words, personal liability insurance is an important safety net to have under you, which is why it’s typically included as part of the standard renters insurance policy.

Personal Liability Insurance vs. Renters Insurance
Personal liability insurance is not, strictly speaking, the same thing as renters insurance.

Renters insurance is a comprehensive way to protect your possessions and your finances from unexpected dangers. Personal liability insurance is an essential part of renters insurance, which generally also includes personal property insurance and additional living expenses insurance.

What Does Personal Liability Insurance Cover?
Personal liability coverage is generally comprehensive enough to cover a range of possible scenarios, including the following:

Bodily Injury or Property Damage Caused by Pets
Dog bites are some of the most common personal liability claims, with most dog breeds covered by personal liability insurance policies (though some larger, stronger, or more aggressive breeds may be excluded from specific policies). Property damage caused by pets may also apply, such as if your cat scratches up a guest’s expensive leather jacket or if your dog runs through a neighbor’s screen door.

Bodily Injury or Property Damage as a Result of Negligence
An injury to a guest or other party as a result of negligence may also lead to liability claims. If you fail to properly de-ice your walkway and a food delivery person slips and hurts their back, or if you’re renting a single-family property and one of the trees dies and falls onto a neighbor’s house, personal liability insurance may cover the costs and damages.

Legal Expenses from Lawsuits for Damages Covered by the Policy
Personal liability insurance typically also covers legal fees and court costs related to personal liability claims. This coverage exists whether or not you are found responsible for the damages.

Taken all together, personal liability coverage needs to be capable of handling the full range of costs associated with personal liability lawsuits. This includes legal fees, medical bills, lost wages, and even death benefits. Personal liability insurance for renters usually does not cover accidents involving motor vehicles (which are usually covered by auto insurance policies), claims related to professional activities (which should be covered by business insurance policies), or injuries involving two or more people living in the same dwelling.

It’s also worth noting that personal liability insurance does not cover any intentional bodily harm or property damage. Also, most policies will contain specific exclusions or exceptions. As such, you should make sure to familiarize yourself with the details of your coverage, so you know what kind of support you can expect if an accident should occur.

How Much Personal Liability Coverage Do I Need?
Typically, renters insurance policies include $100,000 of liability coverage, but some insurance companies will also offer $300,000 and $500,000 options. If your rental property includes high-risk features such as a pool or trampoline, if you own a pet, or if you frequently entertain guests, then it might be worth the extra investment to increase your liability coverage.

If you feel as though you need additional protection beyond just increasing your personal liability coverage, consider taking out a personal umbrella policy. The right umbrella policy extends coverage beyond what is normally included in personal liability insurance and can work together with other policies to increase your coverage limits.

Every February, people across Canada participate in Black History Month events and festivities that honour the legacy of Black people in Canada and their communities.

The 2023 theme for Black History Month is: “Ours to tell”. This theme represents both an opportunity to engage in open dialogue and a commitment to learning more about the stories Black communities in Canada have to tell about their histories, successes, sacrifices and triumphs.

No matter where you live, we invite all Canadians to learn more about these communities, and how they continue to help shape Canadian history.

February is Black History Month – Canada.ca

The Best Way to Choose Car Insurance

1. Determine How Much Coverage You Need

Minimum-liability limits established by the state where you live and collision-coverage requirements of your auto-loan lender take some of the coverage decisions out of your hands.

2. Evaluate Auto Insurance Companies

When choosing car insurance, the cost is essential in your decision-making process. But cost alone may not be the only reason to go with an insurance provider.

3. Compare Car Insurance Costs

Now that you’ve found a few companies that seem reliable, it’s time to compare costs for choosing the auto insurance policy.

4. Find an Agent

At this point in your research, you’ve probably narrowed your choices to the two or three least expensive, most reliable companies.

Start with the least expensive company and find an agent. Independent agents represent some companies who may represent several carriers, and others have dedicated offices and agents.

Let them know you are interviewing for a new insurance agent. If they don’t make time for you at this stage, they probably won’t when you need them most. Move on to the next agent.

You have a list of agents; keep moving through them until you find the one that fits.

5. Ask About Discounts

Insurers offer discounts for many reasons, such as a paid-in-full plan, bundling your auto policy with home or other cars, and good-driver history.

If you follow these steps, you will find an insurance company you can count on at a rate you can afford.

Then all you need to do is choose your car insurance deductible or the amount you will pay if your car gets damaged in an accident, by a fallen tree, or another mishap.

Choosing Car Insurance: 5 Steps for Selecting a Plan – Autotrader

We always look forward to the time of the year when we can come together, celebrate and look back on all the great accomplishments that have been achieved. Direct Link wishes each and everyone of you and your families a Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year! 🍾

Winter home preparation guide

By the time winter arrives, your home should be ready for whatever tricks Old Man Winter may have up his sleeve. There’s nothing worse than having to deal with a leaky window, broken furnace or a burst pipe in the middle of winter. These eight tips and tricks will help prevent any unfortunate winter mishaps or water damage.

1. For heat’s sake have your furnace professionally serviced. A routine maintenance check each autumn will help ensure your furnace is running properly and efficiently. Also, if you have an older thermostat, consider replacing it with a programmable one to save money on heating costs.
2. Inspect all windows and doors for leaks. In order to prevent heat loss, make sure your windows and doors are properly sealed. Check the weather-stripping around windows and door frames and replace where necessary. Also check for drafts and caulk both inside and out where necessary, to keep the heat in and the cold out.
3. Sweep the chimney. Before you use your fireplace, make sure the chimney and vents are clean and in good condition by having your chimney looked at by a professional. This will help prevent chimney fires and carbon monoxide from building up and finding its way into your home.
4. Clean out your gutters. It’s important your eaves are free of any debris such as leaves, dirt and sticks. Clogged gutters prevent the draining of rain and melting snow which could result in household leaks. Also, make sure your downspouts extend away from your house by at least five feet to ensure that water runs away from your house and not towards it.
5. Inspect the roof. While cleaning your eaves, inspect your roof for any missing, loose or damaged shingles. If your roof needs attention call a roofer to help you with the repairs or maintenance. Also ask them to look at the caulking around the chimney and air vents.
6. Turn off any faucets outside. Water left undrained can freeze, which can cause the pipes to burst. Disconnect your garden house and drain the remaining water.
7. Trim your bushes and trees. Make sure any overgrown bushes or trees are trimmed back away from your house and electrical wires. This will help decrease your risk of property damage and power problems.
8. Pad exposed pipes in unheated areas. This is an easy and inexpensive method to help prevent water damage resulting from a frozen pipe. Even the smallest of pipes can cause a lot of damage. Pipes in the basement, attic or crawl space are some examples of pipes you may want to cover.

Taking the time to winter-proof your home is a small price to pay especially if it helps prevent damages. Now is also a good time to stock up on all the winter essentials too including salt, sand, and snow shovels. It won’t go to waste, and you’ll need them before you know it.

Sited From: www.insurancehotline.com