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Insurance

Track insurance costs, premiums, and coverage details

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9 min read

Split-Dollar Life Insurance, Explained: How Business Owners and Key Employees Share the Cost of a Policy

Split-dollar life insurance is an agreement — not a policy type — for an employer and a key employee to divide the premiums, cash value, and death benefit of one permanent policy. This guide compares the two structures (collateral assignment vs. endorsement), explains how the IRS taxes each under the economic benefit and loan regimes, why premiums are never deductible, and how to book the arrangement correctly from day one.

Mike Thrift

insuranceemployee-benefitsexecutive-compensation
8 min read

Commercial Fleet Insurance for Small Businesses: 2026 Costs, What Drives Your Premium, and Six Ways to Lower It

Small-business fleets of light-duty vehicles typically pay $150–$450 per vehicle per month in 2026 — cargo vans around $189, box trucks $300–$900+ — and new ventures pay 30–50% more than established ones. This guide explains the five factors underwriters actually price (driver MVRs, garaging location, mileage, limits, claims history) and six concrete ways to cut the premium, including telematics discounts of 10–30%, annual-pay savings of 5–10%, and per-vehicle cost tracking.

Mike Thrift

insurancebusiness-insurancesmall-business
8 min read

Independent Real Estate Appraiser Bookkeeping: Making Sense of AMC Fee Splits, USPAP Engagement Letters, and E&O Costs

AMCs commonly keep 30–50% of the borrower-paid appraisal fee — in documented cases an appraiser received $205 of an $834 fee. This guide shows independent appraisers how to reconcile AMC payouts against engagement letters, structure a chart of accounts around E&O insurance and mileage, accrue fees at report delivery to catch underpayment, and estimate quarterly taxes off net rather than gross 1099 income.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingreal-estateindependent-contractor
8 min read

Cyber Insurance for Small Businesses in 2026: What It Costs, What It Covers, and Where Claims Get Denied

Small business cyber insurance runs roughly $400–$1,600 a year for a $1 million limit, while the average breach recovery costs $120,000 and downtime $53,000 an hour. A guide to first-party vs. third-party coverage, 2026 premium drivers, and the social-engineering sublimits and MFA requirements that most often sink claims.

Mike Thrift

insurancebusiness-insurancesmall-business
7 min read

Orthodontic Practice Bookkeeping: Contracts Receivable, Deferred Revenue, and Insurance AR Explained

Contracts receivable — typically 55–60% of trailing twelve-month production in a healthy orthodontic practice — is a distinct metric from accounts receivable, and tracking it correctly requires ASC 606-style deferred revenue schedules, monthly insurance write-off reconciliation, and a chart of accounts that separates production, collections, and write-offs.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepinghealthcarerevenue-recognition
9 min read

Swim School Bookkeeping: Deferred Revenue for Session Packs, Instructor Pay, and Pool Costs

A $400 session pack is a liability, not June revenue — swim school bookkeeping hinges on deferring prepaid lesson income, budgeting pool leases as fixed costs, and classifying certified instructors correctly. Covers franchise cost benchmarks ($95K–$3.75M), instructor pay of $19–$35/hour, USA Swimming fee pass-throughs, and a monthly close checklist.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepingsmall-businessrevenue-recognition
8 min read

Helicopter Sightseeing Tour Bookkeeping: Part 91 vs. Part 135, Insurance Costs, and the 2029 Fleet Deadline

How a sightseeing helicopter operator's books differ from other small businesses — Part 91.147 vs. Part 135 certificates drive $5–25M liability premiums, helicopters depreciate over 5 years under MACRS only if business use stays above 50%, weather cancellations complicate ASC 606 deferred revenue, and NYC's December 2029 Stage 3 noise ban turns non-compliant airframes into an asset-impairment problem today.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepinginsurancedepreciation
7 min read

Insurance Premium Financing for Small Businesses: How It Works, What It Costs, and the Risks to Know

Insurance premium financing lets a small business spread an annual commercial premium into monthly installments at 4-14% simple interest — far below the 22-28% APR typical of business credit cards in 2026. This guide covers how the three-party loan works, standard fees and down payments, the power-of-attorney clause that lets the lender cancel your policy on default, and how to correctly book the prepaid asset and loan liability.

Mike Thrift

insurancebusiness-insurancefinancing
8 min read

Missouri's HB 974 Insurance Data Security Law: What Small Agencies Must Do Before January 1, 2026

Missouri's HB 974, signed July 2, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, applies the NAIC Insurance Data Security Model Law to nearly every insurance licensee in the state — requiring a written security program, annual risk assessments, an incident response plan, vendor oversight, and breach notification to regulators within four business days.

Mike Thrift

insurancecompliancesecurity
8 min read

The National Flood Insurance Program Expires September 30, 2026: A Small Business Guide

The NFIP's authority to issue and renew flood insurance expires September 30, 2026 unless Congress reauthorizes it. During a lapse, existing policies stay in force and claims are still paid, but no new or renewal policies can be written — a risk for small businesses closing on property, refinancing, or renewing coverage in flood zones. Here's what happens in a lapse and how to prepare.

Mike Thrift

insurancesmall-businessrisk-management
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