Maryland – Business Insurance Coverage

Alcohol & Drug Rehabilitation facilities provide medical assistance and behavioral and nutritional counseling to individuals who are in need of substance abuse services.
Eligible risks may include Outpatient Alcohol & Drug Counseling, Rehabilitation Centers, Halfway Houses Inpatient, Methadone, Early Release Prisoner Programs (Alcohol & Drug related offenses only) and Outpatient Detox. Clinics may also be included as an eligible class when the clinic is only a part of the facility’s overall services.

Our program includes a Package, General & Professional Liability, Property, Umbrella, Auto (some restrictions may apply) and Abuse & Molestation. Our pro- gram also offers Coverage Endorsements & Enhancements such as Volunteers & Independent Contractors as Insureds, Optional Key Employee Replacement Endorsement and Optional Extended Coverage Endorsement with Blanket Additional Insured. We also offer Workers Compensation, Accident & Health, D&O and EPLI.
The Humanity Plus Program is a national program written through an Admitted “A” Rated carrier with available coverage in all states except Hawaii and Alaska. For more information, call 877-239-0067.

Risk Control Tips for Frequent Claims

Different types of claims will vary with each social service risk, but there were a few similar types of claims that stood out to underwriters when writing Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Centers.
These claims happen frequently and there are ways to avoid the risk from becoming more serious.

Suicide often occurs at an Addiction Treatment Center. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), research shows that a substance abuse disorder can be a risk factor for suicide. NIMH also explains that usually the substance abuse disorder is associated with other mental disorders.
According to The Canyon, An Exclusive Co-occurring Treatment Program by the Foundations Recovery Network, 25 percent of people who committed suicide had been abusing drugs and/or alcohol at the time and 50 percent of youth that committed suicide had a history using alcohol and drugs.
Since alcohol and drugs have the ability to inhibit the mind and emphasize emotions, it is not uncommon for suicidal thoughts, attempts and occurrences to take place at an addiction treatment center. Treatment centers like The Canyon are aware of this and offer what they call “dual diagnosis” to treat some- one simultaneously for addiction and mental illness.

Fire is also a claim that is seen often by addiction treatment centers since many clients will turn to cigarettes instead of alcohol and drugs. To prevent fires from happening, make sure your insured has a strict policy on cigarette disposal. Try to keep a “smoking section” to a limited outside area away from the building with cigarette-specific disposal containers. Many of our insureds have actually started to enforce a non-smoking environment to eliminate the risk altogether.

Sexual Abuse & Molestation claims arise at addiction treatment centers, specifically when a relationship connection is built between a member of the insured’s staff and a client. To help avoid situations like this, advise your insureds to have a strict no-tolerance policy against fraternizing or socially communicating with clients. Advise your insured to include this policy in their Employee Handbook and reiterate the importance of it during staff meetings.

Insureds should also meet with their employees to discuss the progress of clients and to explain any problems that may be occurring between the client and employee.
Advise your insured to determine accept- able client-and-client behavior as well. There should be written guidelines explaining what is acceptable and this should be posted throughout the building.

Protection for Water and Sewer Districts

paperless — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 00:16:41 +0000

Serving the public is a serious, round-the-clock responsibility. It’s your job to protect, plan for, and serve the needs of your community as it grows. And it’s our job to protect you with thoughtfully designed, tailored insurance coverages. Our dedicated underwriting, claims and risk control teams work specifically with water and sewer districts and can provide you with one source for your insurance and risk management needs.

WE UNDERSTAND YOUR GENERAL LIABILITY HAZARDS

• Training modules for unique risks such as flagging/traffic control
• Risk control specialists to assist in analyzing digging sites for pipe-laying hazards
• Coverage available for failure-to-supply services and sewer back-up liability
• Utilization of immunities and tort caps where applicable
• Coverage for members of boards, commissions and sewer authorities

WE HAVE AN INDUSTRY-LEADING WORKERS COMPENSATION PROGRAM

• Co-located medical and claims professionals promptly handle, thoroughly investigate and fairly resolve claims, with a focus on return-to-work
• Discounts and savings through carrier’s preferred medical provider network

WE KNOW YOUR MACHINES

• Specialized equipment breakdown coverage and certified boiler and machinery inspections and consultations through carrier’s Boiler & Machinery

WE PROVIDE SERVICES FOR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

• Complimentary EPL hotline provides access to EPL attorneys* to answer your questions
• Discounts for employee training to help protect against “failure to train” exposures

WE UNDERSTAND EMOTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH SEWER BACKUP

• Our dedicated Sewer Backup Claim Unit understands the importance of balancing residents’ emotional reactions to water backup events with prompt claim handling
• Specialists work with sewer backup adjusters for valuation of residents’ personal items, antiques, etc.

WE OFFER CYBER LIABILITY PROTECTION

• Coverage to protect against cyber and ID fraud for entities that store data electronically

* Assistance is not intended to replace your company’s need to hire employment counsel to assist in making specific personnel decisions and in implementing policies and procedures. Assistance provided exclusively.

Our carriers offer water and sewer districts a variety of tools and services – from workers compensation support to bill paying options – to meet your unique needs. Our underwriting, claims and risk control teams are staffed with knowledgeable professionals dedicated solely to serving public entities. Below is a quick rundown of what we can provide for water and sewer districts:

Underwriting

Underwriters stay abreast of public affairs and evolving legal and social issues in your area. They’re devoted to creating balanced, effective insurance solutions that address your unique needs.
They can provide:
• Broad coverage forms tailored for publicly-owned utilities (such as underground piping and pumps)
• Broadened pollution provision to address chlorine/sodium hypochlorite in water or sewage purification processes as well as sewer backup incidents
• Failure-to-supply limits applicable for water, gas or electric operations

Claim

Our claim professionals are dedicated solely to handling public entity claims. They understand state-specific issues and have extensive knowledge of the immunities and special defenses afforded to public entities. Other claim highlights include:
• 24/7 claim reporting online or our toll-free number
• Dedicated claim professionals assigned to manage and coordinate your claim
• Quick service and local expertise from one of a number of claim offices situated nationwide
• State-of-the-art workers compensation claims technology
• Access to unique workers compensation web site dedicated to injured employees

Risk Control

The risk control team can help strengthen your risk management program with a number of special tools and services:

• Online products and services
–– Assistance with continuity of operations planning
–– Training modules for unique risks like flagging/traffic control
–– Property, Preservation, a one-stop shop for valuable program guides, checklists and technical bulletins
–– Safety self assessments through Virtual Risk Manager
• Certified Boiler & Machinery inspections and consultations
• Risk control specialists to assist in analyzing digging sites for pipe-laying hazards
• Nationwide network of fire protection specialists with experience serving public entities
• Workers compensation specialists available for post-injury management
• Local risk control specialists
• Robust website with broad array of information to help address challenges specific to water and sewer districts

Bill Pay

We offer direct bill and agency bill plans on an annual, semi-annual or quarterly basis in order to fit your cash flow needs.

Backed by Financial Strength
And, as always, you’re backed by the financial strength. Our carriers are a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and have received consistently high ratings for financial strength and claims paying ability from independent ratings services, including A.M. Best, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s.

For more information, call Diana Motseniat at 877-239-0067 ext. 111.

Increases for Liability Insurance for Construction Firms

paperless — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:38:08 +0000

The commercial general liability market for the U.S. construction industry continues to firm with underwriters seeking rate increases of up to 15 percent, according to a report published by Marsh. Construction firms with poor loss histories are experiencing even larger liability rate increases and in some cases receiving non-renewal notices from their underwriters.

After nearly a decade of rate declines, insurers also are typically seeking to raise rates on umbrella and excess liability insurance of between 8 and 10 percent, according to Marsh’s August 2012 Construction Market Update.

According to the report, rates for project-specific general liability, general liability wraps, controlled insurance programs, builders’ risk, environmental insurance, and contractors professional insurance, have generally remained flat or up only slightly in 2012.

Although the workers’ compensation market has been relatively stable for good quality risks, rates have increased in many states as underwriters continue to grapple with deteriorating combined ratios and escalating medical costs, Marsh said in its report. Forthcoming changes to the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s experience modification calculations—which help to determine workers’ compensation rate.

Paperless Insurance Services provides insurance quotes for construction companies from A+ rated insurers to B+ rated risk retention group. Get instant quote now at www.paperless-insurance.com

Laws Regarding the Recording of Phone Calls

paperless — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:45:19 +0000

Many businesses and other organizations record their phone calls so that they can document business transactions, train their employees, and improve customer service. It is extremely important to seek legal advice from an attorney if you are considering recording telephone calls or oral communication between parties. This article is not meant to serve as legal advice. However, we want to remind that there are federal and state laws regarding this practice. Florida, for example, is a “two-party consent” state, which requires that all parties of a conversation must give consent when one party wants to record a phone conversation. This includes the recording or the disclosure of the contents of any wire, oral or electronic communication in Florida. Recording, disclosing, or endeavoring to disclose without the consent of all parties is a felony, unless the interception is a first offense committed without any illegal purpose, and not for commercial gain, which would be a misdemeanor. Each recorded phone call made illegally that is a felony is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum $5,000.00 fine. It is considered better practice to announce at the beginning of a call that the conversation is being recorded so the other caller(s) can determine if they wish to give consent to the recording. We recommend licensees proceed with extreme caution if you or your business engages in this practice. Every state has different laws pertaining to the recording and dissemination of recorded phone calls. If you are thinking of making recordings, it is strongly advised that you retain an attorney in your area to seek advice before doing so. [See Chapter 934, Florida Statutes] Twelve states currently require that all parties consent to the recording. These states are:

California
Connecticut
Florida
Illinois (debated, see next section)
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana (requires notification only)
Nevada
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Washington

Paperless Proof Insurance

paperless — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:10:06 +0000

Arizona motorists will be able to use their smart phones to prove to a police officer that they have insurance for their vehicles.

Gov. Jan Brewer has signed into law a bill to have Arizona join Idaho in permitting motorists to use a wireless communication device to show proof of auto insurance.

Arizona was the second state to approve such a bill. Idaho on Wednesday became the first state in the nation to pass an electronic proof of insurance bill.

A California legislator’s bill to enable auto insurance policyholders to issue proof of coverage verification via a mobile electronic device, such as a smartphone, is among several similar bills in at least a handful of states in various stages of passage.

California Legislator Introduces Smartphone Proof of Insurance Bill 1708, would enable a person required to provide evidence of financial responsibility to do so through the use of a mobile electronic device, according to the bill’s wording.

A similar bill in Idaho, Senate Bill 1319, passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee unanimously and Maryland and Mississippi are among states with bills making their way through those respective legislatures that would enable motorists to display insurance information in electronic format.