Protect Against Collisions and More If you drive a car in the United States, liability insurance must cover it. This type of policy pays for medical and property damage resulting from a vehicular accident. You can also purchase comprehensive and collision insurance to cover other costs. These additional coverages help protect the value of your car should it be damaged. If you are calculating how much it will cost to buy a car, you need to take into consideration the cost of insurance as well. In this article, we’ll review the basics of car insurance and the best auto insurance companies in America, including costs, pros and cons. This is a brief introduction to automobile coverage. Liability Coverage When an accident occurs, liability insurance covers you, household members and authorized drivers for the costs associated with property damage and bodily injury. It covers the cost to repair or replace property damage that you caused. [youmaylike] You are also covered if you cause the bodily harm or death to someone else while you are driving the car. This includes medical expenses, loss of income and specified legal defense costs. Collision Insurance If you are involved in a collision, this type of insurance will help pay for repairing or replacing your vehicle. If the collision is your fault, the coverage may extend to other damaged vehicles involved in the accident. States do not mandate that you buy collision insurance, but your lender or car dealer will if you finance or lease the car. Policies offer a range of deductibles, which is how much you’ll have to pay for repairs before the insurance kicks in. Larger deductibles lower the policy premiums but expose you to more out-of-pocket expenses if a collision occurs. Comprehensive Insurance Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car that occurs for reasons other than a collision, including theft, fire, vandalism, weather and natural disasters. This coverage is often required if you finance your automobile. You can add riders to this insurance to provide coverage of additional costs, including auto towing, glass repair, daily rental while your car is in the shop and emergency roadside service. As with collision insurance, you can set the deductible on your comprehensive insurance policy to cut your premium costs. Gap Insurance If your car is severely damaged in an accident or other incident, you might find that your comprehensive and collision damage won’t provide enough coverage to pay off the amount you owe on the vehicle. Many policies pay only the fair market value of a totaled car, which might be only 80% of the amount you owe. You can buy additional insurance to plug this gap and ensure you can pay off the car loan in full if the vehicle is destroyed or stolen. Normally, car leases require you to buy gap insurance. If you pay cash or pay off your loan, you can save money by avoiding or dropping gap insurance when no longer needed. Top Five Auto Insurers These five insurers all offer full coverage policies and many additional services. Amica Amica is a superstar among car insurers, winning accolades from Consumer Reports and J.D. Powers. It’s known for handling the claims process smoothly. The average annual cost for full coverage: is $1,360. Pros You can have your car repaired at any body shop, without restrictions. Offers a premium package which, for an additional cost, provides full glass coverage, rental coverage, good driving rewards and identity fraud monitoring. Superior financial stability rating from A.M. Best. Cons Missing some discounts, such as military, low-mileage and prepay discounts. Must speak on the phone to get a quote. Sparse website when it comes to customer education. State Farm State Farm is the country’s largest multi-line insurance company. It excels in customer service and regularly garners high marks from customers. The average annual cost for full coverage: is $1,337. Pros Superior financial stability rating from A.M. Best. Excellent online quote tool, getting customers a quote in as little as five minutes. Easy claim handling and top service from its more than 18,000 agents and its easy-to-use mobile app. Cons Doesn’t offer coverage for new car replacements or uninsured motorists. Missing prepayment and automatic payment discounts. The Hartford While only 11th in size, The Hartford is big when it comes to policy options. It offers rates based on your actual driving as well as full replacement of new cars when destroyed shortly after purchase. Average annual cost for full coverage: N/A. Pros Solid benefits, including superior roadside assistance and towing programs. High marks from customers for their purchase experiences. One of the few insurers with mechanical breakdown coverage for out-of-warranty repairs. Cons Mediocre service interaction according to J.D. Power surveys. Sparse online learning materials. Geico Geico is the second-largest U.S. car insurer. It is a favorite among tech-savvy geeks who appreciate the insurer’s mobile app and excellent online service. The average annual cost for full coverage: is $1,627. Pros Geico offers plenty of ways to save, such as multi-vehicle, driving history and vehicle safety equipment discounts. Special savings for active and retired military members and federal employees. Full-featured mobile app for getting quotes, buying insurance, managing your policy, submitting claims, summoning roadside assistance and making payments. Cons Human help may be in short supply, as just about everything is handled online. No gap insurance is offered. USAA No insurer matches USAA for service to military members. Unfortunately, it's only available to active service members, their families and retired veterans. Average annual cost for full coverage: $896. Pros Superior financial stability rating from A.M. Best. Top-ranked purchase experience score from J.D. Power. Cons Missing gap coverage. Doesn’t offer interior vehicle coverage or new car replacement coverage. Limited availability. The Right One for You Competition in the insurance industry helps drive down prices and prompts insurers to offer money-saving features. For example, your carrier might reward you for a safe driving record and for having a long-term relationship with the insurer. The right insurer for you is highly rated for service, offers the exact coverage you want and does so at an unbeatable price. You should always gather multiple quotes before selecting an insurer, and make sure you get credit for all applicable discounts.
Find the Right Grant to Apply For
Start-ups and small businesses alike rely heavily on funding to kickstart operations. Unfortunately, traditional funding typically costs more than you may think. Bank loans can be difficult to secure due to the nature of the risk and uncertainty in a small business. If you can get a bank loan, interest rates will be high to compensate for the high risk. Private equity, funding from private parties (e.g. angel investors or venture capitalists) in exchange for ownership and interest in the business, can often result in loss of control.
So what other options for start-up and small business funding are there? In this article we will talk about government grants for small businesses.
Purpose of Small Business Government Grants
Although "free money" does not exist, government financial awards come quite close. Grants are a type of financial assistance that do not need to be repaid, unlike small business loans. Government grants are financial awards that are funded by governmental organizations, with the goal to push a specific initiative.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which is the largest provider of small business government grants in America, aims to "aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation."
Government grants come in many flavors and sizes and it is critical to choose one that is appropriate for your situation. There are awards based on region, industry and even on the gender or nationality of the founding team.
Federal grants from the SBA fall into two main categories:
- Research and Development (R&D)
- Export Development
R&D includes the activities that your small business takes to understand the market, need for your product and service, and how to develop it. These types of federal grants are best for small businesses that are starting up or looking to develop new products.
If your small business is looking to expand its products, the Export Development program would be more suitable.
A full list of current SBA government grants can be found here.
In addition to the SBA grants, there are thousands of other grants available posted daily on grants.gov.
Who Is Eligible?
Government grants, especially those from the SBA, have the following requirements:
- The company needs to be an American company
- The company must be for-profit
- The company must have 500 or fewer employees
Each grant will then list out more specific requirements.
Financial and Marketing Benefits
The funding from a government grant can be significant, from a few thousands of dollars to millions. Depending on the grant size, funding can either be awarded as a lump-sum amount immediately or be provided based on project phases and milestones. For small businesses, it is important to know the funding timeline, so costs and growth can be managed accordingly.
Aside from financial funding, winning a government grant can bring media attention and brand exposure. Awardees of small business grants can also benefit from additional credibility, helping to make the business brand more reputable and trusted among consumers and clients.
Another beneficial side effect of winning a government grant can be an extended network. Once you win a grant, it can be easier to work with former awardees or business partners.
Effort and Overhead Required
From the application to follow-up reporting, applying and winning a government grant for your small business can be a full-time job in itself. As such, a small business owner will need to determine if the administrative effort required for the application is worth the monetary value.
The process to get a small business government grant includes:
Identifying the Right Grants and Programs
Grants.gov among many other sources will produce up to thousands of available grants. It will require patience to filter through all the results. First, look for programs that are relevant to your business and industry. Then narrow them down to ones that provide an attractive amount of funding.
Research the Grant and Create a Tailored Application
Most federal programs will be organized and sponsored by a specific organization. Common agencies include the Department of Commerce or Department of Environmental Protection Agency. You should know who the agency behind the grant is.
Research the agency and find out what their mission and goals are. This will help you tailor your grant application to address what is important to them.
For example, a grant application for the Department of Commerce may highlight how your small business can help enrich the economy and fund more jobs, while a grant application for the Department of Environmental Protection Agency should focus on how your small business can tackle climate change.
Sending one standard application to multiple grants will most likely not result in much success. If you are going to take the time to seek government funding, make sure your application stands out by doing the research beforehand.
Final Interviews and Winning the Grant
Some programs may require finalists to interview, while others may select a winner solely from the applications. Be prepared for both scenarios.
If you do win a government grant for your small business, congratulations! It means a lot in terms of business validation for your idea as well. Make sure to capitalize on the win by preparing a press release and media kit so the story can be picked up and easily shared.
Milestones, Reporting and Follow-ups
Once you win the award, you will need to understand what your contractual deliverables are. It is not uncommon for the federal agency behind the program to only release parts of the funding at a time. Some programs will even require you to accomplish a set number of project deliverables, known as milestones, prior to receiving all of the money.
Make sure you are well aware of the milestones and timelines, so you don't break the funding contract. With each phase of your project, you will most likely need to report on your progress. These reports, like the application, can take a lot of administrative effort. It may be wise to assign someone in your team as a project coordinator to ensure due dates are met on a timely basis.