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E&O

What is FDD: First Dollar Defense on Professional Liability / Errors and Omissions Insurance

The fist dollar defense is a term used in E&O insurance. It means that the insurance company will cover the first dollar of any damages that are awarded to the policyholder. This is in contrast to a policy where the insurance company only covers a certain amount of damages, such as the first $10,000. The fist dollar defense is beneficial to policyholders because it ensures that they will not have to pay any damages out of pocket.

Truck Brokers’ Contingent Liability

Designed to protect truck brokers in the event one of their contracted truckers has a coverage issue. Truck and freight brokerage operations need coverage for the exposures presented when their clients’ policies fail to respond. Our Truck Broker Contingent Liability product helps to service this segment of the industry. Coverages Contingent auto Contingent cargo E&O General liability Limits Truck Brokers Up to $5,000,000 – Contingent Auto, GL, Professional (E&O) Up to $250,000 – Contingent Cargo Truck Leasing $1,000,000 – Contingent Auto $100,000 – Off-Lease Physical Damage Availability National Requirements Contingent Brokerage Application: https://paperless-insurance.com/insurance-application/ Sample Broker Carrier Agreement List of Motor Carriers… Read More »Truck Brokers’ Contingent Liability

Coronavirus – Does Your Insurance Cover You?

The disruption to business and everyday life caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is resulting in an economic impact for every business. With hourly announcements from health agencies calling for social distancing, school closings, business restrictions, and event cancellations, current news reports indicate the crisis will get worse before it gets better. Much of this disruption is likely not covered by insurance.

The two most asked questions we’ve received over the past two weeks have been:

– Where can I buy coverage for the COVID-19 viral pandemic?
– Does my insurance have coverage under my current policy?

We have consulted with specialists across the Property, Casualty and Professional Lines sectors and offer the following COVID-19 update. Please note this is not an interpretation of any policy language and we recommend that you inquire with counsel for specific interpretation and advice on your particular insurance policy.Read More »Coronavirus – Does Your Insurance Cover You?

Difference Between General and Professional Liability

The terms general and professional liability insurance are often confused. General liability helps cover the costs of damages and lawsuits if your business is held responsible for things like property damage, bodily injury, libel, and slander against another. Professional liability helps cover the costs related to claims your business committed errors or omissions in the advice or services it provided. It’s more important than ever to know how to protect your business from a lawsuit. According to the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, in 2008 (the most recent data available), small businesses paid out more than $105 billion in tort liability costs. Unfortunately, small… Read More »Difference Between General and Professional Liability

How to Conduct Reference Check Before Hiring New Employee

Before you sign a contract with a third-party logistics provider or even with a new cleaning service, you probably ask for some case studies, read reviews online, or at least check their BBB rating. Even when choosing a lunch spot for that important meeting with your soon-to-be big account, you would tap Yelp to see how many stars it has and read a review or two. Same approach is needed to reference check before hiring anew employee.

Any time you hire a new employee, you gain an opportunity and a risk. They could end up being your best team member, making a huge difference at your company… or they could be a bad hire that costs you time, money, and morale. Before you take the leap and extend an offer, asking the right reference check questions can help you make an educated decision. Follow this formula:

 

[process_steps type=”horizontal” size=”small” number=”5″] [process_step title=”get context” icon=”address-book”] [/process_step] [process_step title=”verify facts” icon=”drivers-license”] [/process_step] [process_step title=”give context” icon=”newspaper-o”] [/process_step] [process_step title=”uncover red flags” icon=”flag” icon_color=”#ff003f”] [/process_step] [process_step title=”assess fit” icon=”universal-access”] [/process_step] [/process_steps]

Gain Context and Verify Facts: Questions to Ask References First

Let’s say you’re about to hire Jane, but you’re wise and decide to call her references before extending an offer. After exchanging greetings with the reference and explaining why you’re calling, start with the following introductory questions to gain valuable context:

  • How do you know Jane?
  • In what capacity did you work with Jane?
  • How long did you work with Jane?

These questions should help you determine how heavily to weigh each reference’s answers in your hiring decision. Once you understand the person’s relationship to Jane, you can decide whether it makes sense to ask them to verify these important facts: dates of employment, job title(s), responsibilities, why Jane left (if applicable), and if Jane is eligible for rehire at that employer.

The aim here is to ensure that Jane has been truthful, but don’t just stop there. Head to the next section to uncover whether her references’ perceptions of Jane line up with her own ideas about her performance, strengths, and weaknesses.

[icon style=”lightbulb” color=”yellow”]Pro Tip: [/icon] Depending on the circumstances, and the reference’s relationship to your candidate, they may not have all the answers you need. If none of your candidate’s references can verify facts such as tenure and job responsibilities, you can usually call past employers’ main lines or HR departments to do so.

Assess Aptitude, Skills, and Fit: Five Types of Reference Check Questions

You can make a more informed hiring decision by asking the five types of reference check questions below. Insights from people who have worked with Jane can help you decide whether to hire her, better understand how to manage her, and plan for her first months on the job. Listen not only for red flags, but also for valuable nuggets on how to play to her strengths and plan for her weaknesses.

1. Offer Context (question 1)

Before you jump in, give the person some context about what you’re looking for by asking them the following question. This will set them up to answer the rest of your questions with a full understanding of what you need:

  • I’m considering Jane for [job title]. She’d be responsible for [responsibilities]. Do you think she could perform well in this role, and why or why not?

Read More »How to Conduct Reference Check Before Hiring New Employee

Is Your Website Compliant with ADA

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law to give disabled people the same access to American life as those without disabilities.  The Act is intended to give equal access to all Americans to all public spaces.  The law was initially thought of as only applying to brick and mortar locations and couldn’t address access to the Internet since the Internet wasn’t fully commercialized until 1995.  However, in response to a landmark case in Florida (Gil v. Winn Dixie), the court declared that Title III requirements of the law apply if the website is ‘heavily integrated’… Read More »Is Your Website Compliant with ADA

Professional Lines and TRIA: Surprising Coverage Triggers

Terrorism Insurance Coverage Triggers London Insurance MarketplaceWith the recent renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), it seemed like a good time to look at the Management Liability and Professional Liability lines to discuss how terrorism in general can trigger coverage. While TRIA is a backstop for insurers and may not directly benefit clients from a coverage perspective, it does serve as a reminder that insurance can play a role in the recovery from terrorist events. While scenarios that trigger coverage under management and professional lines of coverage aren’t always obvious, they do exist. Fidelity / Crime Let’s start… Read More »Professional Lines and TRIA: Surprising Coverage Triggers

Addicts Can Sue Pharmacies and Doctors

According to the recent ruling of West Virginia Supreme Court pharmacies and doctors who negligently prescribed pain medication can be sued for enabling people’s addictions. According to court documents, FBI raided and shut down the Mountain Medical Center in Williamson in 2010 and found evidence of improperly prescribed controlled substances involving 29 people who became addicted while were Center’s patients looking for a treatment in connection to job-related injuries or injuries stemming from car accidents. The plaintiffs had filed eight separate lawsuits against three pharmacies and Medical Center and four of its physicians. After the FBI raid, one of the… Read More »Addicts Can Sue Pharmacies and Doctors

Contractor Insurance Requirements – A Primer

This article was originally published by AmWINS Group, Inc. It was edited and rewritten to simplify the content. To read the original article please click here.

primerWhen risk management department is assigned to focus on the major project, including construction, with particular attention to the insurance requirements to be imposed on the general contractor and any subcontractors, it’s very important not to make the insurance requirements so onerous that contractors are discouraged from bidding on the project.For those of us, who has not been involved in such projects before, let’s review insurance requirements from different projects and how those may affect our company (let’s call it ABC company – the one who impose insurance requirements).
Outdated Insurance Terminology
What may strike us about the old insurance requirements is the insurance terminology used. There is reference to “comprehensive general liability insurance” including endorsements listed as “broad form property damage,” “broad form blanket contractual liability,” “cross liability,” “XCU” and “additional named insured.” The limits are also listed as split limits – one applicable to bodily injury, and another lesser limit applicable to property damage.Similarly, the auto insurance requirement refers to “comprehensive auto liability” and workers’ compensation insurance includes the “broad form all states endorsement.” Further, all of the requirements are to be evidenced by a certificate of insurance that provides certificate holder a 30 days advance notice of cancellation. It becomes readily apparent that these requirements are so outdated as to be virtually useless – the coverage, endorsements and limits listed are obsolete and are no longer available. We must start from the beginning.Read More »Contractor Insurance Requirements – A Primer

Risks Related to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

At one time, people scoffed at the idea of a personal computer in every home. Today, we not only have high-speed Internet available in our homes, but we also connect to the Internet at will with a variety of mobile devices from wherever we happen to be.

The most complete and effective defense against the risks of BYOD is to ban employees’ use of personal devices for work-related activities. However, abstinence can be a tough sell to employees, and non-compliance can be difficult to control. The smarter approach is to put a strong policy in place, educate employees about best practices and take actions that will manage the risk as much as possible.

With BYOD becoming widespread, it is important for businesses to be proactive about personal device risk management. Our hope is that this blog post will help companies chart a path for creating the most effective corporate policies and protections.

Why BYOD is a problem:

[one_fifth][note title=”31 PERCENT” align=”center”]connect to their company’s network from unsecured free or public wi-fi.[/note]  [/one_fifth]

[one_fifth][note title=”46 PERCENT” align=”center”]share their personal devices with others, opening the door to unintended access to corporate data.[/note] [/one_fifth]

[one_fifth][note title=”33 PERCENT” align=”center”]say the company data they use and store is not encrypted.[/note] [/one_fifth]

[one_fifth][note title=”25 PERCENT” align=”center”]have been a victim of hacking or malware on their personal devices.[/note] [/one_fifth]

[one_fifth_last][note title=”Statistics” align=”center”]like these are frightening for security-conscious corporate IT teams.[/note] [/one_fifth_last]

Read More »Risks Related to Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)