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Coverage

Construction Defect Claims

Litigation over whether a Commercial General Liability insurance (CGL) policy provides coverage for faulty workmanship claims is rapidly evolving. Since 2012, six state supreme courts (CT, WV, ND, AL, GA, and OH) have ruled on whether faulty work can be an “occurrence;” whether the cost to repair the damage to the work constitutes “property damage”; how the “your work” exclusion and the subcontractor exception applies and whether providing such coverage converts a CGL policy into a bond. In addition, a few states have enacted legislation mandating CGL policies to define “occurrence” to include property damage resulting from faulty workmanship.

Of the six rulings, only the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled definitively against coverage, holding “claims of defective construction or workmanship brought by a property owner are not claims for ‘property damage’ caused by an ‘occurrence’ under a commercial general liability policy….” Westfield Ins. Co. v. Custom Agri Sys. Inc. 979 N.E.2d 269 (Ohio 2012)

Is Faulty Workmanship an Occurrence?

Although all of the rulings are nuanced, the other five states’ supreme courts have generally ruled that faulty workmanship can be an occurrence under the CGL policy. Rejecting the argument that faulty workmanship is foreseeable and therefore never fortuitous, the Supreme Court of Connecticut observed:

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Insurance During the Course of Construction

Construction FireThis morning, downtown Los Angeles is on a massive fire.

The apartment tower that was under construction is burnt down to ashes. Other buildings surrounding it are heavily damaged.
When the fire department is finished, who is going to pay for damages?

First, the damage to the building under construction worth at least the cost of all the materials that are now gone. These are tens of thousands of dollars that the building owner has lost, UNLESS he had Builders Risk Policy in place. Builders risk policy, which is sometimes called Course of Construction policy will pay for the cost of materials lost due to the fire.

Second, what about the neighbor buildings that are damaged too? What if there are people injured (hopefully not)? This is the liability of the apartment building owner which could be tens of thousands of dollar too, UNLESS he had Owners and Contractor’s Protective liability Policy. This is a liability policy which pays for property damage (buildings burnt, roads and street lights damaged) and bodily injury (people injured or dead) that results because of owner-builder’s liability during the construction.Read More »Insurance During the Course of Construction

Someone has to be responsible…

Butterfly EffectOften times our prospective clients tell: – “I wouldn’t worry about this…” or “I wouldn’t worry about that particular issue with my coverage… How likely people are going to sue me for something I should not be responsible for?”

Well, our answer is something most people are not going to like:

– In United States of America everyone with a slightest chance your operations/negligence/products have something to do with the accident or claim that occurred is to be found responsible.

For example,

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Insurance for Daycare and Preschool

daycare preschool insuranceWe offer coverage for residential and non-residential day care facilities for infants to kindergarten age children, and after-school child care through Grade 8. We can help provide immediate solutions to your unique day care insurance needs.

Coverages include:

  • Property
  • General liability
  • Abuse and molestation liability’
  • Educators legal liability
  • Day care services acts, errors or omissions
  • Corporal punishment liability
  • Automobile liability
  • Workers compensation
  • Umbrella liability

Let the professionals at Paperless Insurance work with you to customize a program that’s just right for you.
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Report: New Emerging Risks

Report New Emerging RisksSwiss Re has released a report – ”New emerging risk insights,” which is based on the reinsurer’s SONAR process, described as a “unique tool which uses Swiss Re’s internal risk management expertise to observe and evaluate new and emerging risks.”

Some of the other emerging risks examined in the SONAR report includes the following:

  • Cloud computing security
  • Contagious emerging market crisis
  • Eurozone crisis leading to deflation
  • Short-termism of macro-policy measures
  • Air pollution as mortality driver
  • Concussion crisis in sports
  • Democratisation of genetic testing
  • Digital slander
  • E-cigarettes
  • Financial consumer protection regulation
  • From closed to open business models
  • Food and water safety: trade-offs with growthRead More »Report: New Emerging Risks

Environmental Claims Part 2: Examples that Can Lead to a Loss

In first part of this article series, we described claims scenarios that can result from your known and unknown environmental exposures. Because it’s often difficult to know when an environmental coverage is necessary, we’ve compiled a list of leading questions that will help you consider your environmental exposure.

For Contracting, Consulting and Transportation Risks

  • Do you ever have any contracts that ask for contractors’ pollution liability coverage? How have you responded to those requirements?
  • Do you think there could be any additional jobs available to you if you carried this kind of coverage?
  • Do you ever do any digging or excavation? What would happen if you hit an unknown pipeline or storage tank?
  • Do you ever do any work around/consult on the removal or testing of lead paint or asbestos? What would happen if you didn’t remove it all or dispose of it correctly? Are you involved in any way with Indoor Air Quality Testing?
  • Do you ever do any work around or provide consultation about hazardous materials? What about the transport/permitting of hazardous materials?
  • Do you ever haul or have you ever hauled any soils or other material?
  • Do you ever arrange for the disposal of any hazardous material?

Read More »Environmental Claims Part 2: Examples that Can Lead to a Loss

Product Recall Insurance Explained

Product Recall Insurance Explained

Product Recall Insurance

Product Recall History and Overview

The coverage has been around since the 80’s  of  XX’s Century. The first type of product recall insurance was called malicious product tampering, which only responded to malicious incidents. The limits were $3 million, with six-figure premiums. That’s the way it was for a couple of years. Slowly the book of business grew which allowed larger capacity and to sell higher limits of insurance as well as to expand the coverage. Because it’s catastrophic insurance in nature, when losses occurred, they are generally major. Businesses are not concerned with the smaller losses they can handle financially in-house. What they are looking for is protection from the large losses. So today, it’s financially plausible for small companies as well. When coverage first came out, because of the price tags and the minimum deductibles required, it was accessible only to large, multinational food companies. But now almost every insurer has a strategy to go after smaller businesses. Products Recall is designed to help the insurance manage the crisis of such an occurrence and help protect against product degradation and third party lawsuits.

Most Commercial General Liability policies do not provide coverage for the cost to recall products. Stand alone Product Recall insurance fills this gap because it provides coverage to the cost to recall, withdraw and dispose of the insured’s products and it also can cover loss of income and the extra expenses incurred when a product has to be withdrawn from the marketplace.
Recalls can happen because of mislabeling, malicious tampering, accidental contamination or for a variety of other reasons. Now due to new legislation. the FDA can mandate insured’s conduct recalls in some cases.

Coverage Parameters

Products Recall offers insurance protection in the event of a recall of an insured’s product. This protection includes coverage for the insured’s product recall expenses and liability to third parties kidnapping; bodily injury extortion; property extortion; product contamination extortion; trade secret/computer virus extortion; wrongful detention and hijacking.

Endorsements available to extend coverage include:

Read More »Product Recall Insurance Explained

Meat Tenderizer Safety

Meat Tenderizer SafetyA meat tenderizer is used in nearly every grocery store, and when used properly, they are safe and reliable. But when a machine is in poor repair, or when the built-in safety devices are removed or circumvented, the result is all too often catastrophic. Over the years we have observed a number of situations where tenderizers have been rigged or modified to operate without the protective guard in place.
Read More »Meat Tenderizer Safety

Managing use of Non-Owned Personal Vehicles

Managing use of Non-Owned Personal VehiclesMany small businesses and other organizations furnish company owned vehicles for transportation needs including trucks, vans, buses and automobiles. However, it is not uncommon for staff and volunteers to drive their own personal vehicles for business-related transportation.

It is important to recognize that your business can be held liable for damages by allowing the use of non-owned personal vehicles for business purposes. In an effort to keep everyone safe, and to protect the organization from claims arising from the use of personal vehicles, the following safety precautions should be followed:

  • Restrict who is allowed to drive. Studies show that accident rates are higher for drivers under he age of 25 and over 70; therefore, drivers of personal vehicles should be between 25 and 70 years of age.
  • Require proof of automobile liability insurance. This should be obtained annually and kept on file. The following minimum auto liability limits should be required:
    • Bodily Injury Liability – $100,000 each person / $300,000 per occurrence and;
    • Property Damage Liability – $100,000 per occurrence.
  • Inform drivers that their personal automobile insurance is the primary coverage for any and all accidents and injuries that occur during the transport. They should contact their insurance company and inform them that they will be using their personal vehicle for business purposes.Read More »Managing use of Non-Owned Personal Vehicles

Negative Review and Freedom of Speech

Are you buying a fair amount of goods or services online and sometimes wish to leave a negative review? Do you always read the ToS fine print? Have you heard of a so called “disparagement clause”?

If you own a business and are exposed to online reviews think twice before adding disparagement clause to your ToS contract, as such can be found as violating rights of free speech.

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