Insurance Resources

The standard ISO abuse or molestation exclusion endorsement. It removes coverage for injury arising from actual or threatened abuse of a person in the insured's care, custody, or control. If it appears on a policy with no abuse endorsement or standalone policy behind it, the organization has no abuse coverage at all.

A cap inside a policy that is smaller than the policy's main limit. A $1 million liability policy might cap abuse claims at $100,000. The sublimit, not the headline limit, is the most the policy will pay for that specific exposure.

Coverage for claims arising from the services you provide rather than from your premises or operations. In healthcare and residential care settings this is where medication errors and standard-of-care claims sit, not general liability.

A layer of liability limit that sits above your underlying policies. It follows the terms of what sits beneath it, so an underlying exclusion or sublimit often carries upward. Never assume an umbrella repairs a gap below it.

The condominium unit owner's policy form. It covers the interior of the unit, personal property, liability, and loss assessment, picking up where the association's master policy stops.

Coverage that responds when a condo or homeowners association bills its members for a shared loss the master policy did not fully cover. Commonly carried at too low a limit.

A property policy clause requiring you to insure to a stated percentage of replacement cost. Insure for less and the carrier reduces the claim payment proportionally, even on a partial loss.

The cost to rebuild or replace property with materials of like kind and quality, with no deduction for depreciation. Distinct from actual cash value.

Replacement cost minus depreciation. On an older roof or older equipment, the gap between this and replacement cost can be substantial.

A liability policy that responds based on when the incident happened, regardless of when the claim is reported. Valuable in exposures where claims surface years later.

A liability policy that responds based on when the claim is reported rather than when the incident occurred. Requires continuous coverage or a retroactive date reaching back far enough to matter.

On a claims-made policy, the earliest incident date the policy will respond to. Losing or advancing this date when switching carriers can silently remove years of coverage.

A party added to someone else's policy so it responds to claims arising from that relationship. Common in contracts, leases, and vendor agreements.

The person or entity the policy is issued to. Related parties, subsidiaries, and separate legal entities are not automatically covered simply because ownership overlaps.

A carrier-produced history of your claims, usually over three to five years. Any broker seriously marketing your account will ask for these before quoting.

Illinois requires at least $25,000 in bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 per accident, and $20,000 in property damage. That is the legal floor, not a recommendation. A single serious injury claim can pass $25,000 quickly, and once the policy limit is gone the at-fault driver is personally responsible for the rest. Most drivers with assets to protect should be looking at 100/300 or higher, and raising the limit usually costs far less than people expect.

Your dwelling coverage should equal the cost to rebuild your home at today's construction prices, which is not the same as its market value or what you paid for it. Land value is not part of a rebuild, and construction costs have moved sharply since 2020, so a limit set five years ago is often short. Personal property is typically set at 50 to 70 percent of the dwelling limit, and liability should reflect your total assets, not the house alone.

Rates rose across the country from 2022 through 2024 because repair costs, medical costs, and severe weather losses all climbed at once, and carriers priced to catch up. The picture has shifted. Auto premiums fell roughly 6 percent nationally in 2025 and 2026 is forecast close to flat. Many carriers are now competing for customers again, which means shopping your policy is more likely to pay off now than it has been since 2021.

An independent agent represents many insurance carriers rather than a single company, so they can compare your risk across multiple markets and place it with whichever carrier prices it best. A captive agent sells one company's products only. Independent agents handle about 62 percent of all property and casualty premium in the United States, including roughly 87.7 percent of commercial lines, because businesses in particular benefit from having more than one market to work with.

No. Pro Insurance Group does not charge an agency fee. We are paid by the carrier that ultimately writes your policy, which means comparing your options costs you nothing and there is no financial reason for us to steer you toward one carrier over another.

Most personal lines quotes come back the same business day, and simple auto or home requests are often turned around within a couple of hours during business hours. Commercial quotes depend on the class of business and how much underwriting information is needed, but you will hear from a local broker the same business day either way.