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Professional Liability / E&O

What is DOL: Defense Outside of Limits in Business Insurance

“Defense outside the limits” is a term used in insurance that refers to the coverage provided by the insurer for expenses incurred by the insured in defending against a claim, even if the claim is ultimately found to be outside the scope of the policy. While “defense outside the limits” coverage is not required by law, it is often included in business liability policies as an added layer of protection for the insured.

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… Read More »Truck Brokers’ Contingent Liability

Professional Insurance for Cannabis Sector

The legal cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the United States. Already worth over $10 billion in annual sales, the economic impact of cannabis could reach as high as $77 billion by 2022, according to Business Insider.

As the industry grows, so has its insurance risks. Understandably, cannabis operations’ first insurance priorities are property and general liability (GL)/products liability; while less apparent, financial risks commonly covered under professional lines programs need to be addressed, as well. Growers, manufacturers, and dispensaries, as well as other entities along the distribution chain, need to assess four key areas of professional line coverage to ensure that they have a complete portfolio of protection. That’s how Paperless Insurance can help.

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6 Questions to Ask Before You Buy into the Next Big Tech Thing for Your Small Business

Next Big Tech Thing

In the small tech world, it seems like there’s always some software, hardware, service, or gadget that is claiming to be The Next Big Thing. You know the kind of technology that promises to revolutionize your business and the world. The problem is, it can be hard to figure out early on if The Next Big Thing is the real deal (think: iPhone), or just unmerited hype (think: Google Glass).

It can be especially hard for a small business owner to decide if it’s worth spending money on the new technology. So, how do you distinguish the hype from the truth? We’ve collected six key questions you can ask yourself the next time you hear about The Next Big Thing and find yourself wanting to hop aboard.

1. “What Will the ROI Be?”

As a small business, you need every dollar you spend to provide a return on your investment. You don’t have the cash flow of a Fortune 500 company to gamble on investments that might not pan out. When The Next Big Thing’s (let’s shorten that to from now on) hype machine is hard at work, you’ll hear a lot of vague promises and marketing speak about what it can do for your business. Ignore it. Do your own homework and ask questions. Speak to those who have tried it. Try it yourself. Make projections. Consult your accountant. Before you spend anything, make sure you know exactly how TNBT is going to make your money back and how soon.Read More »6 Questions to Ask Before You Buy into the Next Big Tech Thing for Your Small Business

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… Read More »Difference Between General and Professional Liability

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… Read More »Professional Lines and TRIA: Surprising Coverage Triggers

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]

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Professional Liability Exposures for Home Care Business

Home Care BusinessImagine yourself as one of the more than 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day. Now imagine having to choose between a nursing home and at-home care. And consider this: 20 hours of in-home services (a week) costs about $18,000 a year versus an average of $70,000 a year for a nursing home.

For many aging Baby Boomers today, this is no hypothetical situation. It is very real.  That is why, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of in-home health and personal care aides is expected to reach 1.3 million by 2020 – a 70% increase from 2010. In comparison, the growth rate for the U.S. job market as a whole during that period is 14%.

Explaining this growth spurt for non-medical services is fairly straightforward. Entering the field of unskilled at-home care is easy in that it requires less education with little to no medical qualifications. Consequently, carriers like Atain Insurance Companies have taken steps to address this trend by breaking down home health into two pieces: skilled medical care where you have a nurse or therapist come in and take care of the client, and unskilled non-medical care where people go in and do basic services like cooking, cleaning and grooming. That’s the area where we’ll see a good amount of growth. Typically insurance policy for home care covers skilled and unskilled workers, and if you only provide an unskilled workers services, your insurance premium will be lower.

How to lower your professional liability exposures:
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