When it comes to buying insurance, the first step is to figure out whether you want to purchase through an insurance agent or direct from a company. While the two may seem one-and-the-same, the differences between the two can majorly impact your trucking business. This article aims to help you decide which option will work best for you and your trucking company.Coverage.When you choose to buy trucking insurance direct from a company, you are also choosing to buy one of the standard insurance packages. These packages were designed with a “one size fits all” mentality, so you might have to buy a package with coverage you don’t need in order to receive coverage you do need.Contrary to popular belief, insurance agents do not have the ability to negotiate a policy rate. However, the agent will be able to provide you a list of options at different price points. By being independent, agents also have access to other carrier policies and are able to tailor the policy to best suit your needs. Additionally, the agents may reach out to insurance companies most people have never even heard of, or don’t know provide commercial trucking insurance, which allows them to find even more coverage options for the insured (you) to review.Pricing.As mentioned previously, when you choose to buy a standard insurance package direct from an insurance company, there’s a chance you’re overpaying. Since the package is not tailored to your needs, there may be coverages within it that you don’t necessarily want or need. Additionally, when it comes time for renewal these agencies will only show you rates from their employer since it’s their job to keep you insured with that company.Agents own their own business, thus must generate income by charging the insured for the service provided. However, even with the additional fee, going through an agent usually results in a cheaper premium-sometimes up to 25%-due to their ability to price shop. Furthermore, when it comes to renewal, independent agents are able to reevaluate your premium based on new rates from multiple insurance companies. Therefore, the chance for cost savings increases.Experience.One of the biggest differences between buying direct and buying through an agent is the experience. On one hand, when you call an insurance company to talk to someone about your coverage, odds are you’re going to get transferred to someone in a call center. Yes, you will be speaking with an individual who has passed the same exams as personal agents, and therefore can address all of your needs. However, the biggest difference is that the next time you call you most likely will not be speaking to the same individual you spoke to previously.On the other hand, working with an agent allows you to form a personal relationship since you know that when you call you’ll be talking to either the agent or someone on their small team. These individuals will be familiar with your policy, instead of simply reading general information off a database. More importantly, insurance agents will be there to advocate for you during a claim.Time.We’ve all seen the commercials guaranteeing an insurance quote in 15 minutes or less, so for some it seems logical to go online and purchase insurance. If you are shopping for your best price though, it means you are spending 15 minutes on EACH insurance companies’ websites. Not only is this time consuming, but it results in multiple companies gaining your personal information (phone number, email address, etc.).When you work with an independent insurance agent, the agent does the searching for you. So while it may take some time, it’s the agent who puts time into reaching out to all the insurance companies, not you. Agents also realize time plays a significant role in a trucker’s career, which is why they’re oftentimes quicker when it comes to certificate processing and binding.When you’re shopping for trucking insurance, maybe you don’t necessarily care what’s in the package as long as you’re covered. In that case, shopping direct from an insurance company may work for you. However, if you want more insight into your policy and a more personalized experience, then finding an agent to create your optimal insurance coverage plan is your best option.
Photography Tips: Planning For A Photography Trip
Oh my God! It happened. Again. I went for a photography trip to one of the most beautiful cities in the US, Saint Louis, Missouri. I had my camera in my hand, food and drink in place, and GPS fully charged. The 5 hours driving from Fairfield, Iowa, was really fun. Until I realized that I left my camera battery being charged at home. The photography trip was now just a trip.I’m pretty sure at some point in your career as a photographer, you will be in a situation like this. For this reason, I would like to share some tips with you for when you plan photography trips.1. Months before leavingPlanning for a photography trip starts at this time. As soon as the trip is confirmed, try to look for the highlights of the places you will be visiting. I would do a little bit of research about where to take photos from and what to take photos of. For example, if you are coming to Indonesia in the middle of August, you may encounter independence day events there.Early bird bookings for hotels and flights will cost you less. Book a hotel which gives you easy access to your photography spots. I would write down a list of locations where I will be taking pictures from, and then decide the best location of my hotel.2. Weeks before the dayI would spend more time on planning what photos I want to capture at this stage of planning my photography trip. For instance, if I were to travel to Indonesia in the middle of August, I would be taking photos of the independence day ceremony in the morning, fun events in the afternoon. Then in the evening I would take photos of the local sunset.By properly planning your photography trips, you will be able to dig deeper for more thoughts and ideas. Look at pictures available on the internet and get inspired by them. But not only from the internet, you can also search local photographs from libraries, image directories, photo books, local websites, and tourism guidebooks.This is a process which may take some time because you never know when inspirations hit.At this point of the photography trip planning, I would also check my equipment. I would check if any of my gear is not working well and have them repaired right away if necessary. Servicing them now is the best because they must be ready by the time you depart.3. Few days before the tripKeep in mind that some places don’t provide internet access. Therefore it is much better if you write down, or print, every note you would need, such as local shops, tourist office, and local sunrise and sunset time. Weather forecast is also an important information to be noted.It would be better if you start making a list of what to bring for the photography trip. Sometimes you might forget some items if you think of them 1-2 days before the trip.4. 1 day before the tripI would pack the camera and its equipment first. The last thing you want to discover is missing your spare battery or camera lenses at home. Have a last check on the weather forecast. Print all documents you will need for the photography trip. Make sure you have the memory card(s) ready.5. D-dayCheck and recheck for the last time before you leave. It doesn’t hurt you to have an extra checking, rather than regretting that you left an important piece of gear at home. Camera lenses, formatted memory cards, spare battery, and your travel documents should be rechecked.Insurance, cash money, taxi reservation, flight ticket, and passport are usually the most important travel documents which you should not forget to bring. Other than that you are set and ready to go.I hope these tips will make your photography trip be more fun and memorable. Have fun and enjoy your trip!
Different Health and Fitness Tips to Help You Lose Weight
There are many different health and fitness tips that you can find if you just spend the time looking. You can find these tips in books, online, or by talking to your doctor or nutritionist. One of the first things you will need to do is to determine if are you looking to maintain your health and weight or are you looking to improve on your health and lose weight?If you are looking to lose weight then you need to look at diet and exercise. One of the exercises that you can start off doing is walking. Walking will help you to lose weight. You will need to walk as often as you can and for around thirty minutes to one hour at each session. If you are looking to lose weight, you should be walking in the morning and then going for a walk again in the evenings. You could also power walk or jog. However, if you have not done much exercising before,you should not start out by running. You will tire quickly and will find that you are likely to burn out quite quickly and perhaps even injure yourself.If you are looking for diet plans to help you with weight loss then you will want to find a plan that you are likely to stick to. Some people recommend reducing calories and eating a small snack every two to three hours. Snacks could be something like a banana or yoghurt. You could also try a high protein diet, but there are some health risks associated with these types of diets, so it is advisable to speak to your doctor. You will also need to work at still eating small meals every few hours. This helps to keep your metabolism going because you will constantly be digesting the food that you eat.If you are able to follows these health and fitness tips you will find that you will start to lose weight pretty quickly. You also need to know that maintaining a healthy weight is extremely important in ensuring that you are in the best physical shape to help reduce the problems that you may have for being overweight. These problems might consist of diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure. You also need to be sure that even if you are dieting that you do still exercise. This should be exercise outside of your typical daily activities.