If you are looking to start a hot dog business, you will need liability insurance for your hot dog cart, trailer or truck. There is simply no way of getting around it-nobody will let you on their property (or on public property) without liability insurance - no insurance, no business.
I get a lot of emails from vendors and those starting out looking for answers about where to get insurance for their new hot dog business.
After speaking with different insurance carriers and agencies, I came across Bolt Insurance - a national insurance agency that specializes in servicing small businesses and can provide affordable liability insurance for mobile food vendors. They have a simple online form that will generate quotes for you from all the major insurance carriers that will write liability insurance in your state. It's true one stop shopping.
The folks at Bolt won't give you any high pressure B.S. or sell your name to some insurance agent lead farm. They WANT your business. So if you are looking around for Hot Dog Cart Insurance, click the image below for a FREE Quote and compare quotes online from multiple insurance companies, FAST!
Hot Dog Cart Insurance
Cheaper Car Insurance
I have always said car insurance is a losing bet. Basically, you are betting you will get into an accident by paying your monthly premium; the insurer is betting you won't. The consumer can't win. If you cash in your "bet," that means you've wrecked your car. If you don't, the insurance company has your money!
I know that's an oversimplification, but buying car insurance has always been an escalating expense for the consumer. Until now. Recent research shows car insurance premiums actually dropped last year in the UK. Increased competition in the industry, largely from online car insurance providers has driven the cost to the consumer down.
It's the classic internet model. A business like the insurance industry primarily deals in information and money. Both things are easily dealt with online which reduces or eliminates the need for excess infrastructure. The money saved by the car insurance company is then passed on to the consumer in the form of reduced prices. Sprinkle in a bunch of competition and you have declining prices.
Finally, a car insurance bet the consumer wins!
Medicare Advantage
1.45% of EVERY DOLLAR YOU EARN goes to Medicare. On top of that, every employer must match that amount. Self employed folks like me pay the entire amount. That means almost three cents for EVERY DOLLAR EARNED in this country goes to Medicare. BILLIONS are paid into the system every year. THAT'S a lot of hot dogs!
Conceptually, Medicare is a good thing. It insures an aging population against health care costs at a stage of life when most folks need more medical care. My parents have Medicare cards; they feel entitled to the benefits after years of hard work. They're fit and healthy and want to stay that way. They can see the medicare advantage.
My 94 year old grandmother has one too and didn't use it until recently. She doesn't trust Doctors you see. Until her stroke in late 2006, she hadn't set foot in a Doctor's office since 1948 when my aunt (her youngest) was born. That's almost 60 years without any real medical care! She was very healthy until her stroke and has had a near total recovery. Needless to say, she sees a Doctor (and a Physical Therapist) on a regular basis now and really needs the medicare advantage this program provides.
I just wonder if Medicare will survive. Some project the program will run out of money by 2018 since there will be more people drawing benefits than paying into the pool. That would not be good. I have to believe a large part of the shortfall is because of the inefficiencies of THE GOVERNMENT in administering the program. Would you BUY health insurance from the government if you had a choice? I know I wouldn't!
Unfortunately, Medicare is the only game in town for many senior citizens. We need to make sure the medicare advantage is there for us and our kids.
Health Insured
When I think about health insurance, I get pretty worked up. Health insurance is important to a father of FIVE!
The problem is finding good health insurance. When I had to get coverage for my family through my own business, I spent a lot of time shopping for a good health insurance quote. It's nice to find a company like BUPA that has a website with lots of information about the health insurance they offer.
The BUPA site offers lots of options for health insurance coverage and finding a health insurance quote is easy. They also have an extensive library of information about medical conditions.
Companies like BUPA get it. I've seen insurance sites (like the one for OUR health insurance) that are difficult to navigate and that use very confusing terminology. The BUPA site is very straightforward and easy to understand. Health insurance is hard enough to figure out without the insurance company making it harder!
Insurance Assurance
Insurance is the one thing you pay for and hope you never use it. Since you don't want to use it, finding cheap insurance is the best route.
Like most people, I have car insurance and house insurance. I couldn't get a car loan or mortgage without insurance! Having insurance does provide some peace of mind. When you need to make a claim, it's nice to know it's there.
Cheap insurance is good when you pay the monthly bill, but you don't want to find out the company's claims group is inept when you make a claim. Do your homework so you know your peace of mind won't become a nightmare when disaster strikes and you actually need your insurance!
Car Insurance in UK and Europe
If you have a car, you have car insurance. It's a necessary evil. Cheap Car Insurance is what everyone wants. I've always said buying car insurance is a bad bet. If you buy the insurance and don't use it, your out all that money, so you lose. If you have an accident, you still pay for the insurance (rates will probably go up) AND you've been in an accident so you lose there too.
At least in the US, if you're insured in one state, you're covered anywhere you can drive. If you're from the UK and want to travel through Europe by car, you've got a whole host of things you need to be concerned about. Different countries have different rules about driving-even about how cars are equipped.
For instance, in Italy Hungary, Finland and Spain, you need to have an International Driving permit in addition to the driver's license for your home country. Italy even requires the permit be in Italian. In Germany, EVERY ACCIDENT needs to be reported to the police, even a minor fender bender, or you can be arrested! Different countries have different rules about headlights and how they're aimed. Until fairly recently, ALL headlights in France needed to be yellow. You also need to know which side of the road to drive on!
It's also important to have all documentation regarding your vehicle and your insurance with you at all times. Proof of insurance is required in many countries as well. Most insurers in Europe will have coverage that specifies compliance with international auto insurance requirements, but if you're travelling it's best to check with your insurance company.
If you plan on driving in different countries in Europe, you can get an informative Foreign Travel Handbook that will tell you everything you need to know about travel in different European countries. Happy motoring!
Dying to get Life Insurance
Getting life insurance is tough. You really have to face your mortality-it doesn't get used until you die, yet you pay for it while you live. Maybe they ought to call it death insurance.
Everyone knows you should get life insurance to protect your family once you die, but there's no sense in paying too much for it.
If you are as cheap as me, you'll scour the web and you'll call every Insurance Agent in town for the best insurance quotes you can find.
My wacky Car Insurance
Insurance is a funny thing. You are paying your insurance company money in case something bad happens. The insurance company is, essentially taking your money and betting that nothing bad will happen to you. By giving them money every month, you're betting something bad WILL happen to you. Sounds like a bad bet: you lose either way!
Every time I get a new car, I set out to compare car insurance. And every time I do that, my wife says, "just get it through my work." Her company offers discounted car insurance and home insurance to all its employees. I also have the added bonus of not having to deal with the insurance company. Someone at my wife's office does it for us!
Even though it's easy to deal with my car insurance (what could be easier than having someone else do it for me), it still gets confusing sometimes. The other day, we got two bills. One bill listed all the charges for each portion of our auto coverage, the other listed the same things, but with negative amounts (to reflect our discount) a note in one of the bills stated we'd be receiving a third bill listing the final charges! 3 separate bills to get to the bottom line seems silly. Why not just send one with the discounted prices? Maybe our insurance company is flush with cash from all good bets they've been taking!
For everything you want to know about insurance click here.
Making ends meet
At the end of every month there is a scramble to pay the mortgage, insurance, and all the other bills. I'd like to be able to get the best car insurance rates and one of those cheap mortgages so I could save a few extra bucks!
Most of us are one or two "bad months" away from fiscal crisis. When something goes wrong with a job or a business, it is easy to fall behind on bills. And you can't keep getting loans to get back on track.
It's a good idea to have at least 6 months living expenses socked away for a rainy day in case bad luck befalls you. I have found the "passive income" from my blog to be a nice little cushion each month against potential financial setbacks.
So you wanna be a Hot Dog Man (or Woman)? part 5: Insurance
As with any business, one of your fixed costs will be insurance. Determining how much you'll pay for insurance each month will need to be factored into your pricing. Obviously, if you have a Hot Dog Truck, like me, you will need Vehicle Insurance. For a quick, easy and convenient quote online, you can go to the Insurance Portal Online to get an idea of what those costs will be. This is one of those companies that gets quotes from over 100 different companies depending on your needs so you can compare rates and coverages in an easy, "one stop shopping" format.
Depending on where you are located (public spot or private property) you may have to increase your liability insurance on your vehicle or, in some instances, purchase separate business liability insurance. I have all my liability insurance wrapped into one homeowners policy with different riders for different liability issues, some business related others personal.
People fear being sued so having the proper insurance is important in any business and is almost always required by landlords and municipalities. I always try to buy the cheapest insurance policy I can find and I am always very careful!
