#and more in the ‘finding an obscure error on your tax forms and using it to ruin your whole life’ department)

[aliosne]

Y E L L S S S S S

NOT SICK OF YOU IN THE LEAST BC YOU FEED ME SO WELL BLESS YOU FOR KIKUMOMO this is all so perfect I’m Invested in the drama (and potential romeo and juliet romance?) of the hanabs (Hanai obviously doesn’t want anyone to know he’s kikue’s son bc he needs to PROVE he can make it ON HIS OWN—maybe his story will be about learning to accept help when he and Abe get marooned in the Swiss alps during a mission) (but then there’s DRAMA when the star athlete starts putting the moves on Hanai)

Also Kikue was the one who originally trained Momoe but there was a BIG BETRAYAL that Kikue still resents, even tho she knows no one is better or more dependable than the woman she trained herself. There’s a duel/training session between the two of them during the second act (when the groups have to join forces) and they taunt each other with how well they know each other’s tells/weaknesses/habits. There’s a moment when they’re grappling together where if they had not been in public it would have turned into something Very Different and their protégés are watching like wtf is this (Hanai is ready to wash his eyes with soap). THEN leading into the final act, they have to pose as a wealthy socialite and her young lover, and feelings bubble to the surface. It’s revealed that—GASP—Momoe’s betrayal was forced, she HAD to reveal the rendezvous point or they would have killed Kikue’s new family, and as much as she wanted Kikue to herself, she knew how important they were to her. All is forgiven and they find it very easy to convince anyone watching that they are madly in love. They’re able to go into the final mission fighting side by side with nothing left unspoken between them.

merry oofmas briarrrrr, are you sick of me yet >:D @aliosne @oofurixmas

I immediately latched on to your spies/assassins suggestion as well as kikumomo, so in this AU Kikue and Momoe are competent spies both training up their (currently incompetent) protégées. Momoe and Abe don't know yet that Hanai is Kikue's son... it will be a big third act twist, so shhh, keep it a secret.

Izumi and Mizutani make gadgets and do man-in-the-chair stuff for them back at hq, probably overseen by Shiga because otherwise they would get nothing done, ever. (That is mostly a lie, they are both competent, they just also horse around approximately 110% of the time. maybe sakaeguchi and the rest of the team can also be there with various specializations. hamada did not finish the training so he is an information broker on the outside that they use all the time)

They get a mission to investigate a (short, loud, filterless) star athlete after he shows up a bunch around some longtime enemies and they start wondering if he's a target or a recruit or a third worse thing, and his teammate with horrible social anxiety ends up getting caught up in all the drama, as well. :)

[ragingbookdragon]

You Can Take Off All My Clothes And Never See Me Naked PT. 6

A Haytham Kenway x Reader Story

Word Count: 3,200 Warnings: Explicit Language, Mentions of Past Abuse

Author’s Note: This chapter does go deep into the past abuse, so if that’s triggering, please be advised and be responsible. -Thorne

Haytham…was conflicted. Which wasn’t something he was too keen on telling anyone, let alone admitting to himself—he was a rather proud man. Feelings of the heart—love, which he even dreaded thinking about it—were not something he was truly accustomed to following.

           He’d not had any dalliances nor anything deeper since leaving Ziio and while he knew he’d never forget her, he couldn’t help but feel the same deep longing when he thought of (Y/N), the desire to hold her.

           Regardless of the fact that their social standings proved error, she was about as tight lipped about herself and her feelings as a miser’s purse during tax season. She was temperamental and found herself in deeper situations than she realized, partially in anger, the other part—well, it was mostly anger. She was snippy and used so much profanity that Haytham was surprised she hadn’t been struck by biblical lightning.

           But she was smart, absolutely, phenomenally intelligent, and could bounce theories with him back and forth for hours, pointing out every little instance of error and correcting it—(Y/N) was really the reason they’d conquered the gang-headquarters so easily, and increased trade-route with southern merchants. She could read and speak at least four different languages, from what Haytham had inconspicuously spied her doing so, and found that she gathered more information from drunk patrons than any of his top informants. She was broad-minded, which made him smile as he remembered the way she took Charles down six or seven pegs when she mentioned the Cherokee and Creek tribes. He’d never admit it, but the anger that had filled her and righteously come out towards his second-in-command filled him with great desire for her. He almost felt juvenile for even thinking about it. Foolish, is how he really felt.

           And she was beautiful. Not because she took special care of her appearance—she did, but that wasn’t what Haytham meant—but because she simply was. She hid every aspect of herself that she could, her personality, her life, even her soul. And while Haytham couldn’t claim to be the most open person, even he was more so than (Y/N). He briefly wondered if his attraction to her was the result of her obscurity. Did he genuinely feel attraction to her? Or was he just enticed by her secrets? By the dark shadows that lurked behind her eyes, holding tight to an equally dark past? Haytham had the feeling that her past was just as dark as hers, and from the little pieces she’d shared, the scar, the betrayal, perhaps worse.

           He heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes, waiting for the spots to disappear before he opened them once more. When he did, she was before him, a cocked eyebrow high on her forehead.

           “That was quite a sigh.” She remarked. “Everything alright, Haytham?”

           He almost smiled at how easily she used his name now but forced himself to frown. “I’m fine, (Y/N). Simply tired.”

           “Probably wouldn’t kill you to take the day off,” she said, collapsing into the seat before his desk. “Or days.” Her eyes shown with humor. “All work and no play makes dull boys. Isn’t that what they say?”

           Haytham chuckled. “Something along those lines.” He flicked a piece of paper her way, watching as she picked it up and read it. “Truthfully, that’s what I’m dreading.”

           (Y/N) glanced up at him. “I shouldn’t be surprised that the elite are holding a ball during a war, and yet, I am.” She tossed the invitation back onto the desk and crossed one of her legs over the other. “Are you required to go?”

           “Not required,” He said, and she filled in for him.

           “But bad manners and image on you if you don’t.” He nodded and she hummed. “So, what’s the deal? All you have to do is go, say hello, spend an hour, and then leave?”

           He allowed himself a rare moment of complaint, lolling his head back onto the chair. “That’s the deal. I don’t want to spend an hour talking to uptight colonists.”

           “This coming from the ‘King of The Uptight Gentries’, himself?” (Y/N) deadpanned and Haytham’s head snapped up as he glared at her; she waved it off. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Haytham, but—”

           “I don’t understand why people say don’t take this the wrong way, and then say something that is usually taken the wrong way.” He remarked and she rolled her eyes.

           “Well if you don’t act like a pissbaby about it, you’ll be okay.” Again, she ignored his glaring eyes. “So, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re an uptight asshole who’s arrogant around people who aren’t of the same social standing that you are.” His jaw dropped. “You think that people who are of lower classes aren’t really worth your time and that’s why you think attending a ball of the colonies is a pain in your ass—because you’re of the gentry and they think they’re better than everyone else.” (Y/N) simply wore a satisfied expression. “And that’s why all your friends are also uptight assholes.”

           Haytham felt like he’d been slapped, and he could feel the heat creeping up the back of his neck and across his cheeks—she definitely saw it because she grinned.

           “Aw, are you embarrassed?” (Y/N) huffed a laugh. “I’m not surprised. You’re not the type to get insulted with the truth very often.”

           “I am not embarrassed.” He countered, though his flustered appearance and voice did little to convince her.

           She leaned forward and hit him with a barrage of commands. “Then look me in my eyes and tell me you’ve never disregarded someone because they were a servant or a maid. Tell me you’ve never disregarded someone because they didn’t have shoes on their feet and were begging for money or food.” Her eyes narrowed almost sadly, and she murmured, “Tell me you’ve never disregarded someone because they weren’t fortunate like you, and born into a wealthy, high-class family that never wanted for anything.”

           “I—” he couldn’t manage anything and it had been a long time since Haytham felt any form of shame, but as he lowered his head and frowned, he felt it searing through his chest with a fury.

           “You’re a good person, Haytham.” His head shot up and he met her eyes, though they held a heavy bearing. “But for all the good you do for the upper-class…you’ve still got a long way to go with the little people.” (Y/N) rose from her seat and headed for the door.

           Something in his mind screamed at him to stop her and he called, “(Y/N), wait.” She turned, waiting for him, and he confessed, “I…have yet to find a partner to attend with me.” He tried for a smile. “Would you do me the honor of attending with me?”

           A rare smile crossed her lips, and it made his heart thump wildly in his ribcage. “I shall.” She spun on her heel and opened the door.

           “I’ll have a dress ready for you!” he added, and she simply waved a hand in response.

           When the door shut, Haytham collapsed into his chair and breathed, “Oh god, what have I done?”

***

           He smiled politely at every couple that passed and while his composure gave off the feeling of full confidence, inside, Haytham was a mess. (Y/N) hadn’t shown up yet, and he felt like a fool waiting around for her. He briefly wondered if she was standing him up. And while he wouldn’t put it past her—because it was something she would absolutely do—he felt like she would’ve at least sent a note before it. He let out an inaudible sigh and the ladylike giggle from behind him nearly sent him a foot in the air. He spun and he followed up an elegant navy-blue gown adorned with glittering jewels; he felt like he’d been shot.

           (Y/N) stood there with a coy smile, the gown tailored perfectly to her. “Lord Haytham, if I may be so bold, it’s almost as if you’ve never seen a woman before.”

           His mouth opened and closed like a fish and he blurted out, “You look beautiful.”

           She pressed a hand to her chest, toying with the ribbon at her décolleté, “I feel I should’ve known this was the color you’d choose.” She took his arm and squeezed his bicep. “Navy Blue is your signature color.”

           Haytham swallowed thickly and cleared his throat. “It’s always been an easy color to request.”

           (Y/N) laughed delicately and whispered, “Liar.” She nodded to the doors. “Do be a gentleman and escort me.”

           He snapped his mouth shut to prevent any more embarrassing statements and did as she said. As they neared them, he murmured, “I can help you when you need it when dealing with the elite. Some things might be—”

           “I know how to act like a lady, Haytham.” Her words were short and clipped and they booked no room for questions, but something in the way her jaw set told Haytham that she’d learned etiquette in a less than pleasing way.

           “As you say,” he replied and tipped his head at the guards stationed at the doors.

           They walked inside and immediately he could feel the eyes of the room on him, and gauging (Y/N)’s reaction, she could too. But she merely smiled and batted her eyelashes as they passed the other attendees.

           She gracefully plucked two champagne chutes from a servant’s tray and handed one to Haytham. “Here,” she hummed, taking a sip of her own.

           He accepted it with a quiet, ‘thank you’, and raised it to his lips. It was light, bubbly, and pleasant to the palate and as it went down his throat, he looked to her. Her eyes inconspicuously drifted from the patrons of the ball, sometimes lingering on people she seemed to know, others she didn’t.

           “Anyone catch you eye, (Y/N)?” It came off more teasing than he’d meant, and she chuckled.

           “Why? Are you jealous, Haytham?” She stared into his steel eyes. “Afraid to lose to a colonial man?”

           His jaw twitched and a flash of indignation came across him, but not at her—rather the thought of some other man taking his place.

           A woman appeared from the side and practically squealed. “(Y/N)!”

           She turned her head, face brightening at the woman in the lavender gown. “Grace!” (Y/N) pulled away from Haytham and he almost made a noise of complaint at the loss of contact. She hugged the woman before pulling away, looking her up and down. “Look at you! You look absolutely wonderful!”

           Grace flipped her long golden hair. “Well, it’s all thanks to you!” Her green eyes shifted to Haytham and she nudged (Y/N) in the ribs; a flash of pain crossed her face and Haytham almost asked about it. “Who’s this handsome fellow you’re with?”

           (Y/N) shushed her. “Grace!” The woman giggled and she sighed. “He’s my boss.” She turned and held out her hand to Haytham. “Grace, meet Haytham Kenway. Haytham, this is an old friend of mine, Grace Montgomery.”

           Haytham took Grace’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, a charming smile on his lips as he greeted her. “A pleasure to meet you, Lady Montgomery.”

           Grace giggled like a schoolgirl causing (Y/N) to roll her eyes. “The pleasure’s mine, Mister Kenway.” She looked at (Y/N). “If I wasn’t married to my Isaac, I’d be beating you away with a stick.”

           (Y/N) couldn’t fight the rather unladylike cackle that left her, and she quipped, “You and every other available bachelorette in the colonies.”

           The women laughed and Grace looked at Haytham. “Mister Kenway, I hope you’ll allow me to steal (Y/N) away for a few moments. Isaac and I owe her a lot, and we’d love to catch up with her.”

           Haytham saw a colleague coming his way in his peripheral and he smiled. “Of course. Please, enjoy your time.” He met (Y/N)’s eyes and winked, watching her turn away quickly, but with a smile.

***Later That Evening***

           For a master of observation and tracking, Haytham was absolutely clueless about where (Y/N) had gone. She’d made a game of catching his eye the entire night and sending him flirtatious smiles—at least, that’s what he hoped they were. But somehow, she’d managed to lose his watchful gaze and disappear into almost thin air.

           He inconspicuously looked around for her, not wanting anyone to know a man had lost his partner, god forbid anyone ask where she was. Haytham passed the balcony and stopped, catching sight of the familiar navy-blue gown billowing in the wind.

           He walked up behind her and leaned on the railing beside her. “Long night?” he asked.

           (Y/N) didn’t look at him, but a grin crossed her lips. “A lot of smiling and ass-kissing.” Her eyes drifted to the rose garden below them and she offered, “Care for a stroll in the gardens?”

           Haytham rose and held his hand out, watching her set hers in it. They ignored the looks people gave them and descended the stairs into the garden, finding refuge in the arch.

           She sat on the bench, Haytham beside her and she looked up at the sky. “It’s beautiful out here.”

           “It is,” he responded, but his eyes were on her. He watched her raise a hand to her ribs and gently prod the area. “Is something the matter?”

           (Y/N) glanced over then down at her hand. “Oh, no. I recently got a tattoo and I—”

           “A tattoo?!” Haytham’s voice reeked of incredulity.

           She rolled her eyes. “I take it you’re a tattoo-virgin, then?”

           He almost recoiled at being called a virgin of anything. “I’ve scars all across my body, but no…no tattoos.”

           “They’re not that bad.” (Y/N) shrugged. “It’s sore, but nothing serious.”

           “What is it?” Haytham asked, cheeks reddening, and he cursed himself at such delinquent thoughts running through his brain.

           “A sun and a moon.”

           “May I ask why those symbols?”

           (Y/N) met his eyes. “To remind me that with the night comes the day.” He eyes went to the stars. “That there is hope for tomorrow.”

           “That’s a beautiful sentiment, (Y/N).” he murmured.

           She huffed lightly. “Feels a bit childish.”

           “It’s not.”

           She looked over and smiled heartfully. “Thank you.” He tipped his head in acknowledgement.

           They lapsed into a peaceful silence and over time, their hands had drifted together, thumbs brushing the backs of them.

           (Y/N) let her eyes fall to the ground. “It covers the scar below my left breast.” She felt his eyes on her but refused to look at him. “In fact, it’s not a scar at all…but a brandmark.” (Y/N) heard his sharp intake of breath and she stood, suddenly feeling cramped.

           She took a few steps away and leaned against the opposite arch, gazing out at the cityscape. “I received it when I couldn’t pay back the ‘time and resources’ he’d poured into me.” Her fingers dug into her side and the pain relieved her tension. “I was beaten and abused…humiliated and assaulted.” The tears felt hot coming down her cheeks. “For fifteen years, I lived in hell.”

           “How’d you escape?”

           (Y/N) looked over her shoulder; Haytham had stood and begun walking in an arc to stand on the other side of the arch. “I wasn’t the only girl there. There were others.”

           “A harem then?”

           She nodded. “Of sorts.” (Y/N) let out a heavy breath and wiped her cheeks. “A woman named Na’ilah trained me to fight. With my body, with weapons, with anything I could hold.” She met Haytham’s gaze. “We planned for two years to escape but…someone found out and told.”

           “You obviously got out.” Haytham recognized.

           “I did.” She nodded. “Na’ilah had managed to send message to a merchant’s boat. The guards appeared as we were boarding.” (Y/N)’s face twisted painfully. “Na’ilah threw me up to the sailors and told them to go. She…stayed behind to fight the guards off.”

           “Did she succeed?” he asked.

           “She did,” (Y/N) answered with pride. “She saw me off with a tearful smile and I never saw her again.” She looked at him. “I was twenty-five. I had no money, nothing to my name, and nowhere to go, but somehow I managed to get to the colonies and from there on I’ve…” she sighed heavily, her shoulders dropping. “I’ve managed to survive.”

           Haytham stood up from his leaned position and held out his hand to her. She took it. “How many have you told your story to?”

           (Y/N) scoffed. “That I haven’t killed afterwards?” He didn’t say anything, and she lowered her eyes. “You’re the only one.”

           “Truly?”

           Her eyes shot to him and she scowled. “It’s not exactly something I find I enjoy reminiscing about, Haytham.”

           He shook his head. “I meant no disrespect, (Y/N).” He met her gaze. “I just assumed you’d found someone to tell.”

           “Haytham, I’ve built a life on killing men who abuse women like I was. I’ve never really found time to tell people my life story.”

           “And yet, you’ve told me.” His words were soft, and he stepped to her, free hand coming to rest on her cheek, warm and gentle.

           (Y/N) narrowed her gaze, but it wasn’t with suspicion, rather fondness. “And yet I’ve told you.”

           Haytham’s heart grieved for her, for her pain, but with it came the urge to protect her. To keep her from ever feeling harm again. The indignation from earlier came back and with a harsh thump to his ribcage, he finally found himself admitting it—he was irrevocably in love with (Y/N).

           “(Y/N), I want to—”

           His words were cut off by the brush rustling and they split like they’d been burned, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the intrusion. A boot stepped out and (Y/N) picked up the concrete vase, raising it in defense. Someone turned the corner, and she felt her arms go slack.

           “Shay?”

           The Irishman smiled, but it dropped when he saw the vase. “Oh my god, were you going to hit me with that?”

           “I mean—I don’t know!” (Y/N) gestured to him. “What the hell are you doing here?” She set the vase back down and he turned to face Haytham as well.

           “We’ve got a bit of a situation, sir. We need you both.” The two looked at one another and Shay smirked. “Were you two having a moment?”

           Their heads snapped to him and they both snapped, “No!” They met eyes and laughed, and Shay rolled his eyes, spinning on his heel.

           “Yeah, yeah, and I’m the Queen of England.”

           (Y/N) glared at the back of his head and hiked her dress up, kicking him in the rear as hard as she could. “Yeah, and with hair like that, you’d pass!”

           Shay howled and turned on her. “That wasn’t nice!”

           “I’m not nice, Shay! I’m a bitch!”

           He scowled at her. “If my father didn’t teach me to respect women, I’d agree with you, but I won’t.”

           Haytham watched the two of them as they bickered, but his eyes kept drifting to (Y/N)’s face and all he felt was warmth spreading though him.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

NO ONE KNOWS WHO SAID NEVER ATTRIBUTE TO MALICE WHAT CAN BE EXPLAINED BY INCOMPETENCE, BUT IT WILL GET THERE FASTER AND WITHOUT THE RISK OF SPRAYING OUT THROUGH SOME RANDOM LEAK

This article describes the spam-filtering software, the most efficient plan would be to consider not just 15 tokens, but all the tokens you'll tend to miss longer spams, the type where someone tells you is a subset of text classification, which is typical of spam is that every one of the best programmers can solve a given problem in a tenth the time. Paris. There is a whole class of dubious business propositions involving less developed countries, and these tend to be people I know personally, but it is a spam, whereas sexy indicates. I consider each corpus to be a starving artist at the time that we go into the underlying reality. If you're worried that your current job is rotting your brain, it probably is. A year after the founding of Apple, Steve Wozniak still hadn't quit HP. It will be good enough to act as a mecca, attracting talent from abroad and causing startups to form around it. But getting bought is getting them to act. I'd like to present here is an example of that rare bird, a spam that arrived while I was writing this article. Their reporters do go out and find their own stories, at least de facto, expected to prepare them for their careers. Not at all.

Valuations increase as the size of the investment does. And when they work at home, hackers can arrange things themselves so they can get that way. I wasn't even learning what the choices were, let alone of Bayesian spam filtering in general. But there is another layer that tends to obscure the underlying reality. And the spammers would also, of course, the probabilities should be calculated individually for each user. Unless you're so big that your reputation precedes you, a marginal domain suggests you're a marginal company. If they thought the startup was taking off. Again by trial and error, that. These companies may be far from failures by ordinary standards. Politicians are caught between a rock and a hard place here, however: make the capital gains rate low and be accused of creating tax breaks for the rich, or make it high and starve growing companies of investment capital. Let me mention some things not to do that in college, for example.

The fourth advantage of ramen profitability is that it's more straightforward. But you have to keep pushing, keep selling, all the top five words here would be neutral and would not contribute to the spam probability will hinge on the url, and it turned out I was 450 years too late. I think it's possible to make yourself into one. The Boston Globe. So people who come to work in Silicon Valley face an unpleasant choice: either live in the future is to focus extra attention on specific parts of the world where you can actually get work done. But in practice it dominates the kind of people you find in Cambridge are not there by accident. It just has to be able to do work worth about $3 million a year seems high to some people, it will start to be thrown off. In a way it's a relief to get some false positives.

Which means if you have to choose between two theories, prefer the one that doesn't occur in the hash table of word probabilities. In every field, technology magnifies differences in productivity. A name only has one point of attachment into your head. A few simple rules will take a big bite out of your incoming spam. But it's also because money is not just what you are, but what you could grow into a startup hub to rival Silicon Valley. Plunging into an idea is a good offense. You really should get around to reading all those books you've been meaning to.

Com the ultimate men's entertainment magazine. The people you find in Cambridge are not there by accident. It works as a medium of exchange, however, trust your gut. In the US it's a national scandal how easily children of rich parents game college admissions. Empirically that doesn't seem huge to investors. So if you want to apply for citizenship you daren't work for a big company be doing research, and set them to work instead on problems of the most common, but the top ones give good advice. Can you cultivate these qualities? Remember that magic machine that could make you cars and cook you dinner and so on.

Or, for that matter, how much difficult ground have you put between yourself and potential pursuers? But it's pretty easy to make $3000 a month, because the only employees are a couple catches. This one squeaked by with a probability of. You don't just sink and sink; there are ups after the downs. Do you go up or down? Most people overvalue negative amounts of money: they'll work much harder to avoid losing a dollar than to gain one. I know how I know. I will probably in future versions add a second level of filtering to be Bayesian. Except in a few decades speak a single language. After all those years you get used to the idea of making really large amounts of money.

So having an ambitious long-term plan pleases everyone. It's probably because you have no Thomas Edisons. It used to mean the control of vast human and material resources. The reason investors can get away with this is that they will have competitors. I'd always imagined Berkeley would be the ideal place—that it would basically be Cambridge with good weather. I got about 1750 spams. Others arrive wondering how they got in at the very beginning. He thought the print media were in serious trouble, and that is exactly the way the story appeared in the press and in blogs.

[jjpocketbook]

Best Business Insurance

Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.

Every business needs insurance. Depending on your business type and industry, some of you will need more protection than others. 

Without insurance, you could be liable for potentially hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

What happens if one of your vehicles is involved in an accident? How will you pay for the damages of a fire or flood in your office? What if an employee or customer slips and falls on your property? 

You need to have insurance, or you’ll be paying these costs out of pocket.

But finding the best business insurance package for your organization can be tricky. On the one hand, you want to make sure that you’re covered, but on the other, you don’t want to overpay on premiums. 

The best way to start your search is by choosing a reputable business insurance provider—I’ve narrowed down the top business insurance companies in this guide. 

The Top 6 Options For Business Insurance

Chubb

CNA

Hiscox

Insureon

Progressive

The Hartford

How to Choose the Best Business Insurance For You

There is no “one-size-fits-all” plan for business insurance. Every organization is unique, so you’ll need custom protection based on your needs. Certain insurance providers are definitely better for specific types of insurance, as well as other factors. 

As you’re browsing and getting quotes from different providers, make sure you keep the following considerations in mind:

Industry

Some insurance providers have more experience covering businesses within certain industries. 

For example, a restaurant would have very different insurance needs from a construction company. A dental practice won’t have the same needs as an ecommerce website. You get the idea. 

So as you’re evaluating a potential provider, take a look at their existing clients and industries served. Do they have experience covering businesses in your industry? If not, look elsewhere.

Customer Service

If you have to submit a claim, you want to make sure that your insurance provider has your back. When you pick up the phone, will someone answer?

Any delay in the claims process will cost your business money. Let’s say there is a flood at your retail storefront. If your insurance company drags their feet, you might not be able to re-open. How soon will someone come to evaluate the property? How quickly can they approve a contractor to repair the damages?

Choose an insurance company that will go the extra mile to serve your business in times when you need their help the most—that’s what you’re paying them for.

Reputation of Provider

There are literally thousands of insurance companies in the United States. Some are brand new, some have been around since the inception of insurance, and many fall somewhere in between.

In most cases, I prefer to go with an older insurance company with a long-standing reputation. These providers have seen it all, and they’ve survived the test of time. You run some risk if you go with a newer company. Let’s say you have some obscure or rare situation with a claim. It could be a first for a new company, and they might not know how to handle it. 

Coverage Options

We’ll talk about the different types of business insurance in greater detail shortly. But in a perfect world, you’d like to get all of your business insurance coverage under one roof. 

Getting property insurance from one provider, vehicle insurance from another, and general liability from a third company is just too confusing. So look for an insurance company that has a wide array of coverage options that accommodate your needs. 

Premiums

Getting proper coverage is obviously important, but how much is this going to cost you?

If you choose the cheapest plan you can find, you’ll probably be exposed to some more out of pocket costs. But if you choose the most expensive plan on the market, do you actually need all of that coverage?

Look for a balance between these two extremes. When it comes to insurance, I typically like to be a bit more conservative. I’d rather overpay a little bit than risk not being fully covered. But this all depends on your individual risk tolerance. 

The Different Types of Business Insurance

There are dozens of different business insurance types. But for the purposes of this guide, I’m going to focus on the ones that are the most common and applicable to the masses. 

General Liability Insurance

General liability coverage protects you from risks like bodily injuries and property damage. This typically includes medical payments if someone is hurt on your company’s property. General liability can also protect you from lawsuits related to things like libel, slander, privacy violations, copyright infringement, wrongful evictions, and more. 

Most businesses will need some type of general liability coverage.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability and general liability are often confused with each other, although the two are not one in the same.

Professional liability insurance is also referred to as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance. This protects businesses sued by clients claiming damages for professional services that you provide. Things like an accountant making a mistake on a tax return or a web developer making mistakes on a site that they manage would be examples where professional liability insurance is necessary. 

BOP Insurance

Business owners insurance (better known as BOP) is a policy that combines liability and property into one package. It’s very common for small and mid-sized business owners across a wide range of industries. Most contractors will carry some form of BOP insurance as well.

BOP packages do not cover your employees—it’s specific to business owners.  

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Once you hire your first employee, workers’ compensation should be immediately added to your business insurance policy. Most states require workers’ comp insurance by law. 

The coverage pays for things like medical expenses and disability for employees who were injured on the job. This could include minor slip and fall injuries to long-term conditions (like carpal tunnel) or even death.

Business Interruption Insurance

This type of insurance will protect your company if your operations are interrupted during some type of disaster or catastrophic event. Organizations with physical locations that could lose income due to these types of interruptions can benefit from a business interruption policy.

Your business can be compensated for lost income in these types of scenarios. 

Vehicle Insurance

This type of business insurance policy is pretty-self explanatory. Just like you need insurance for your personal vehicle, you’ll need to cover any vehicles used for business purposes. If an accident occurs with one of your vehicles (whether you’re driving or not), you’ll need this type of coverage. 

Property Insurance

Whether you own or lease physical space, you need to have property insurance. Again, it’s similar to the type of insurance you’d have to protect your home or apartment. 

This type of insurance will protect your business from events like fires or theft. Your equipment, inventory, furniture, etc. should all be covered in this policy. However, it’s worth noting that some types of natural disasters, like earthquakes, aren’t always covered in a standard property insurance policy. You might have to pay extra for this type of coverage, depending on your area and the insurance provider. 

Product Liability Insurance

If your company manufactures products that are sold to the general public, you must have product liability insurance. This coverage will protect your company from lawsuits related to damages caused by your products. 

For example, if someone is injured using one of your products, they could sue your company directly for their medical expenses. That’s when product liability insurance would kick in. 

#1 – Chubb Review — Most Versatile Business Insurance Packages

Chubb is one of the most reputable business insurance providers on the market today. They are known for exceptional customer service.

This provider has a wide range of plans for small businesses, commercial insurance, industry-specific policies, and more. 

Compared to other insurance providers on the market, Chubb has one of the most extensive coverage portfolios that you can find. Some examples of these policy categories include:

Accident and health

General liability

Cyber insurance

Environmental packages (premises pollution liability and contractor pollution liability)

International insurance packages

Management liability

Inland and ocean marine 

Product recall liability

Professional liability

Workers’ compensation

Chubb has over 200 years of experience in the business insurance space. Just be aware that their premiums tend to be a bit higher than other options—but you’re paying for the best.  

#2 – CNA Review — The Best Custom Business Insurance Plans

CNA is another reputable provider in the business insurance world. They have 120+ years of expertise in this field. 

With CNA, you’ll benefit from a custom insurance package to help manage your risks and liabilities.

There are certain industries that CNA has the most experience working with; these include construction, education, manufacturing, healthcare, real estate, wholesale, technology, professional services, finance, and more.

Here’s a quick glance at some of the types of business insurance offered by CNA:

Workers’ compensation insurance

Professional liability insurance (errors and omissions)

Property insurance

Commercial auto insurance

Business interruption insurance

General liability insurance

Equipment breakdown insurance

I like CNA because you can pick and choose which types of coverage you need, and get them bundled into a single policy that’s custom fit to your needs. 

#3 – Hiscox Review — Best For Small Business Insurance

Hiscox is my top recommendation for small business owners. Their policies are affordable, while still providing you with enough coverage to protect your organization from a wide range of potential scenarios.

When I say that Hiscox is great for small businesses, I mean ALL small businesses. They’re currently providing protection to organizations in 180+ different industries. 

The list of coverage types offered by Hiscox isn’t quite as extensive as some of the other options on the market today. But they still have more than enough options to accommodate the needs of most businesses.

General liability insurance for small business

Professional liability (E&O) insurance for small business

Business owners policy (BOP) for small business

Short-term liability insurance for small business

Cyber insurance for small business

Workers’ comp for small business

Commercial auto insurance for small business

Umbrella insurance for small business

Employment practices liability insurance for small business

Hiscox is an established name in the business insurance world. They’ve been around since 1901 and insure 300,000+ small businesses across the US.

#4 – Insureon Review — Best Business Insurance Marketplace

Technically speaking, Insureon isn’t actually an insurance provider; it’s an online marketplace for business insurance.

But this robust platform definitely deserves a spot on my list. Insureon is super easy to use, and it’s the best way to compare coverage options from different providers in a single place.

If you’re looking to get the best possible rate, I strongly recommend Insureon. Otherwise, you’d have to get quotes from different providers individually, which is much more of a hassle.

Insureon allows you to compare free quotes from some of the top-rated and well-known business insurance providers on the market today (including some of the options on our list).

Travelers

Chubb

Hiscox

Hannover

The Hartford

Liberty Mutual

AmTrust Financial

The list goes on and on. You can browse policies for professional liability insurance, cyber liability insurance, BOP policies, general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and more.

Insureon is typically geared toward smaller businesses. But it’s used across a wide range of different industries. 

#5 – Progressive Review — The Best For Commercial Auto Insurance

Progressive is an industry leader in the commercial auto coverage space. 

With 45+ years of experience, they aren’t quite as old as some other players in the industry. However, Progressive is definitely a well-established and trustworthy provider for commercial auto policies.

Here’s a list of some common types of business vehicles insured by Progressive:

Buses

Limousines

Trucks

Vans

Landscaping vehicles

Tow trucks

Box trucks

Snow plows

Sports utility vehicles (for hauling cargo and transporting products)

Pickup trucks

Trailers

It’s worth noting that there are certain types of vehicles that Progressive will NOT insure. This includes emergency vehicles (like fire trucks and ambulances), golf carts, double-decker buses, monster trucks, race cars, wheelchair buses, and a few others. 

In addition to the commercial policies, Progressive also has coverage for general liability, BOP, professional liability, workers’ comp, and more. 

#6 – The Hartford Review — The Best For Workers’ Comp

For those of you who don’t know, Hartford, Connecticut is known as the “insurance capital of the world.” So it’s no surprise to see The Hartford (named for its headquarters’ namesake) on our list.

This company was founded more than two centuries ago, back in 1810. To say they are a well-established name in the business insurance industry would be a drastic understatement. 

The Hartford has an extensive list of product offerings for business insurance. Some of their most popular policies include:

Business owners’ policy (BOP) insurance

General liability insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance

Business income insurance

Commercial auto insurance

Commercial property insurance

Commercial flood insurance

Home-based business insurance

Professional liability insurance

Multinational business insurance

Overall, the workers’ comp coverages provided by The Hartford are second to none. If you want to give your employees the very best protection, look no further than The Hartford. 

Summary

In a market saturated with business insurance options, there are really only six choices that I’d consider. 

If you choose one of the names reviewed above, you can rest easy knowing that your business is being protected from a well-established and reputable provider. 

Be sure to use the methodology I described earlier as you’re shopping around and evaluating different options. That’s the only way to get the best possible business insurance policy for your company. 

The post Best Business Insurance appeared first on Neil Patel.

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Each year, for the last 25 years, I have spent the first week playing Moneyball, with financial data. I gather accounting and market data on all publicly traded companies, listed globally, and then try to extract whatever lessons that I can from the data, to use in investing, corporate finance and valuation for the rest of the year. I report the data, classified by industry group and by country, on my website, in the hope that others might find it useful. While, like last year, I will be summarizing what I see in the data in a series of posts over the rest of January, I decided to use this one to both provide some perspective and cautionary notes not only on my data but on numbers, in general. The Number Cruncher’s Delusions In an earlier post on narrative and numbers, I confessed that I am more naturally a number cruncher than a story teller and that I have learned through experience that focusing entirely on the numbers can lead you astray in valuation and investing. In fact, as you read my posts on what the numbers look like at the start of 2017, it is also worth noting that I am, like all number crunchers, susceptible to three delusions about data: Numbers are precise: I say, only half jokingly, that when a number cruncher is in doubt, his or her reaction is to add more decimals, in the hope that making a number look more precise will make it so. The truth is that numbers are only as precise as the process that delivers them and in business, that makes them imprecise. Thus, when you peruse the returns on capital or costs of capital that I will be estimating and reporting for both companies and industry groups, please do recognize that the former is an accounting number, where discretionary choices on expensing and depreciation can translate into big changes in returns on capital, and the latter is market number, making it not only a moving target (as interest rates and risk premiums change) but also a function of my estimation choices as well as estimation error in estimating risk premiums and risk parameters. Numbers are objective: One of the resentments that number crunchers have about story tellers is that the latter indulge in flights of fancy and are unashamed about bringing their biases into their stories and through them into pricing and investing. The problem, though, is that numbers can be just as biased as stories, with the caveat that it is easier to hide biases with numbers. To give one example, one of the datasets that I will be updating has tax rates paid by US companies in 2016 and I provide three measures of effective tax rates, ranging from a simple average of effective tax rates across all companies in a sector, yielding the lowest values, to a weighted average effective tax rate that is computed only across money-making firms, which yields much higher values. If you are dead-set on making a case that US companies don’t pay their fair share in taxes, you will report only the first number and not mention the rest, whereas if you want to show that US companies pay their fair share and more in taxes, you will go with the latter. It is for this reason that I will not claim to be unbiased (since no one is) but I will try to provide multiple measures of widely used variables and leave it to you to decide which one best fits your preconceptions. Numbers put you in control: It is human nature to try to be in control and numbers serve us well, in that pursuit. As in other aspects of life, we seem to think that attaching a number to a volatile or uncontrollable variable brings it under control. So, at the risk of stating the obvious, let me say that measuring your return on invested capital is not going to turn bad projects into good ones, just as estimating your interest coverage ratio is not going to make it easier for you to make your interest payments. Don’t get me wrong! I remain, at heart, a number cruncher but I have a more complicated, and healthier, relationship with data than I used to have. My faith in data has been tempered by my experiences with data, and especially so with the ease with which I have seen it bent to reflect the agenda of the user. I trust numbers, but only after I verify them, and I hope that you will do the same with the data that you find on my site. A Big Data Skeptic It is my experience with data that make me skeptical about two of the hottest concepts in business, big data and data analytics, at least as a basis for making money. It is true that companies are collecting more data than ever before on almost every aspect of our lives, with the intent of using that data to make more money of us. In a capitalist society, I remain doubtful that big data will be monetized, for three reasons. Data is not information: Not all data is created equal. Data that is based on what you do is worth a lot more than what you say will do; a tweet that you are bullish on Apple, Twitter or the entire market is less useful data than a record of you buying Apple, Twitter or the entire market. This is a point worth remembering as the rush is on to incorporate social media data (from Twitter and Facebook) with financial data to create super data bases. In addition, as we collect and store more data, it is worth noting that data is not information. In fact, if data analytics does its job, converting data to information will remain its focus, rather than generating neat look graphs and obscure statistics. If everyone has it (data), no one has it: For data to have value, you have to some degree of exclusivity in access to that data a proprietary edge on processing that data. It is one of the reasons that investors have been unable, for the most part, to convert increased access to financial data into investing profits. Not all data is actionable: , To convert that data to profits, you need to be able to find a way to monetize whatever data edge you have acquired. For companies that offer products and services, this will take the form of modifying existing products/services or coming up with new products/services to what you have learned from the data. As you look at these three factors, it is easy to see why Netflix and Amazon have become illustrative examples for the benefits of big data. They get to observe us (as consumers) in action, Amazon watching what we buy and Netflix observing what we watch on our devices, and that information is not only proprietary but can be used to not only modify product offerings but to also nudge us to act in ways that will be beneficial to the companies. By the same token, you can also see why using big data as an investing advantage will, at best, provide a The post Aswath Damodaran: The Promise And Perils Of “Big Data”! appeared first on ValueWalk.