As owners of thriving landscape and nursery businesses, you’re always focused on expanding your services, nurturing client relationships, and building a strong reputation. With the high demands of running your business, it’s understandable that planning for your retirement might not be at the top of your list.

But failing to plan can mean working well past the typical retirement age or dipping into your hard-earned savings to secure your golden years. While selling your business can seem like a viable option, unpredictable market conditions mean there’s no guarantee you’ll sell when you want or for the price you expect.

This is why investing in annuities is a smart way to fund your retirement, as they have high returns and low risk.

Here are three reasons to add annuities as part of your retirement plan:

1. Guaranteed income: Annuities offer guaranteed lifelong income, a high rate of return, and protection from market volatility, ensuring flexibility and safety in your savings.
2. Tax-deferred growth: The funds in an annuity grow tax-deferred, meaning you don’t pay taxes on the earnings until you start withdrawing.
3. No contribution limits: Unlike IRAs and 401(k)s, annuities have no annual contribution limits, allowing you to make large lump-sum contributions during high-revenue years.

As the endorsed insurance provider of the MNLA, American National offers flexible annuity products with great interest rates to ensure you have guaranteed income and financial peace of mind during your retirement. Let American National help you plant seeds of security for your future today!

Click here to talk to your local American National agent today!

As a business owner, your time is your most valuable asset. Between managing operations and driving growth, it feels like you’re always on the clock. With so much on your plate, it’s easy to overlook the business insurance you got years ago. But as your business evolves, so do your risks, and the coverage that worked for you in the past may no longer meet your current business requirements.

That’s why periodic insurance reviews are essential. A review tells you whether your coverage is built to protect you from new challenges and liabilities by providing:

1. Expert insight: An insurance expert carefully studies your business’s new challenges and risks and helps spot gaps or outdated aspects in your coverage to ensure your business is fully protected.
2. Complete coverage: As a small business owner, ensuring your business is fully protected is crucial. That’s why investing in periodic insurance reviews is important, as this allows insurance experts to meticulously review your existing policies to spot areas of concern, such as being underinsured for business replacement costs or missing essential coverage. Agents can then recommend better coverage tailored to your business’s specific needs. Without these reviews, you could be putting your business at risk with an inadequate policy when you could secure better protection for the same cost or just a little bit more.
3. Legal protection: An insurance review can ensure your business is compliant with regulations and covered for any potential claims. For instance, in Massachusetts, employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance regardless of the number of employees. Failure to comply can result in severe penalties, including stop-work orders, substantial fines, and even criminal charges.

It’s hard to set aside time and tackle all this by yourself. The good thing is you don’t have to. MNLA’s endorsed insurance provider, American National, offers no-obligation professional insurance reviews to help find potential gaps in your current plan that can put your business at risk.

Click here to contact your local American National agent and get a no-obligation professional insurance review today.

No matter the size of your business, if you’re using a digital device to manage your operations, you are at risk of cyberattacks.

Here are a few tips you can follow to protect your business:

1. Install protective software: Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software and ensure all software installed is updated regularly.
2. Implement strong passwords: Require employees to create strong passwords and consider implementing universal factor authentication that mandates a physical USB device.
3. Regularly back up data: Set your systems to automatically back up your information in a separate and secure location so you can get back to business quickly in case your system is ever compromised.
4. Educate and train employees: Regularly educate and train your employees on cybersecurity best practices and establish guidelines for safe internet use and handling sensitive information.

Despite taking all the appropriate measures, your business can still fall victim to a cyberattack. MNLA’s endorsed insurance provider, American National, offers comprehensive cyber coverages to help you recover quickly if the unexpected happens.

Click here to talk to your local American National agent today!

Unlike a typical office environment, landscapers and horticultural workers navigate a daily terrain of risky tasks, from handling sharp tools to working in unpredictable outdoor conditions. Their work requires not just skill but constant vigilance to stay safe. This is why it’s important to ensure proper safety procedures are always practiced.

Here are some tips you can follow to help protect your employees, customers, and business:

1. Ensure that proper safety gear and footwear are worn at all times.
2. Train employees to keep cords and other clutter away from walkways.
3. Clean up spills immediately and mark off the area until it is dry.
4. Train employees to apply the Three Points of Contact technique, which involves two hands and one foot, or one hand and two feet, to support the body while moving objects.
5. Use a checklist and conduct safety inspections regularly.

Sometimes, even with your best efforts to maintain a safe workplace, accidents can still happen. Employee injuries may lead to workers’ compensation claims, or an affected customer could take legal action against your business. Discover how MNLA’s endorsed insurance provider, American National, can help protect your business from such unfortunate incidents.

Click here to contact your local American National agent and get a no-obligation professional insurance review today.