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Umbrella

Marital Status and Personal Insurance

Your particular insurance needs depend, in part, on who you live with and your relationship to them. Most changes to your relationship status will warrant an insurance policy update. If you don’t update that information, your insurance company may have incomplete information about who’s sharing your home or your car, and you may have too little or too much coverage. Insurance Needs for Single or Single with Roommates Whether you rent or own, whether you live alone or with roommates, you should have an insurance policy to cover your home and possessions, as well as the necessary car insurance. Your guests, your roommates, and their… Read More »Marital Status and Personal Insurance

Insurance for Manufacturers – 4 Common Claims

There are hundreds of thousand of small, medium and large manufacturing facilities operating in the United States today, and each one of them faces unique risks and challenges due to the complex process of making stuff. Business Owners Insurance Can Help Protect Against Common Problems 1) Equipment Failure Due to the nature of manufacturing, the risk posed by equipment breakdown can be grave. Because of the high pressures that can build up throughout the fermentation process, storage tanks and vats can break down or even explode if not properly maintained. Small-scale facilities will rarely have backup equipment at the ready in the… Read More »Insurance for Manufacturers – 4 Common Claims

Commercial Umbrella Explained

A commercial umbrella policy is the coverage often requested from businesses by their clients or via contract. Usually the umbrella can be obtained after the primary casualty terms are in place.

A commercial umbrella policy is like third base – we only pay attention to it when we are hurrying home. That’s because we usually have to wait until the primary casualty terms are in place before we can begin focusing on the umbrella – and by then, time is quickly running out!

Anecdotal evidence of this tendency can be found in the typical answer to any question of coverage found in a commercial umbrella – it follows form. Unfortunately, this answer is too often not accurate. A fact that you would rather not discover after a large claim is denied by the umbrella insurer even though it is covered by an underlying policy.

Excess, Umbrella – A Rose by Any Other Name

The confusion begins with what we name the form (alternately, excess liability policy or umbrella liability policy). An umbrella policy may be described as a specific type of excess liability policy — a policy whose value may be measured by comparing that particular form to the three objectives an umbrella is generally designed to achieve.
As you cannot determine the substance of a book solely by examining its title, similarly the title of the policy form — excess or umbrella — does not reveal the terms of coverage. Titles such as “Excess Liability Protection,” “Commercial Umbrella,” “Commercial Excess Liability Policy ” and “Commercial Umbrella Liability Coverage Form” are commonly used but reveal very little about what is covered by the umbrella policy.Read More »Commercial Umbrella Explained

Protection for Water and Sewer Districts

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

Read More »Protection for Water and Sewer Districts

Business Insurance Market Update

The hardening insurance marketplace has led to a great deal of success for us in a variety of our niches recently. We continue to develop new products at the same time. Below are several items we wanted to highlight: 1) Apartments / Lessors Risk (Office Exposure – Real estate schedules that generate more than $100,000 in premium in the “better weather” states have been a good fit for us recently. We are interested in the properties that are built after 1980 and located in the western US for the most part. If it is large and we can write casualty… Read More »Business Insurance Market Update

Risk Transfer: Managing 3rd Party Relationships

Introduction: Case Scenarios – A painter’s scaffold collapses resulting in severe injury to the painter and a pedestrian. The painter had no insurance. The building owner is held liable for all losses. – A cabinet installer puts a long screw into a wall. It punctures a water pipe causing water damage. The installer’s insurance policy was not renewed. The homeowner’s insurance company sues and recovers the damages from the cabinet retailer who recommended the installer. – A small motor manufacturer, to get the business of a big new customer, agrees to sign a contract which the customer requires of all… Read More »Risk Transfer: Managing 3rd Party Relationships

Our March Success List

NEW YORK – Restaurant Supply Store – Metal Goods Manufacturing for Restaurants/Bars/Hotels – Very large slip and fall loss 2 yrs prior – $20,000 Premium – NY – Household goods mover MTC account – Trucker’s GL also separately placed – $800 Premium – NY CALIFORNIA – Large Pallet MFG for $13K in premium in CA. – Large Used Car Dealership in CA for $35K. – Large ($50 Million) TIV Vacant Building – 25 Rental Dwellings to “flip” – CA – $10,500 Premium – Door and Window MFG – CA – $4,000 Premium – Excess added for $750 to Premium FLORIDA,… Read More »Our March Success List

Costly Lawsuits Fright Wealthy Americans

America’s wealthiest families increasingly worry that their wealth alone makes them a prime target for a high-stakes liability lawsuit in this uncertain time of high unemployment and tepid economic growth, according to a new report. But many wealthy families remain poorly prepared for such lawsuits in spite of their concern. They fail to appreciate the different aspects of their lifestyle that can lead to a lawsuit. They underestimate the cost of the potential damages, and they misunderstand the affordability of effective protection. As a result, wealthy families often lack the proper types and amounts of liability insurance. These are among… Read More »Costly Lawsuits Fright Wealthy Americans

Cheesy for some Papa John’s

Fireman’s Fund has opened the door to a new eligible risk and franchise for Paperless Insurance! The franchise’s ‘Better Ingredients,  Better Pizza” has made them infamous but their esteemed reputation and recognized leadership practices has made them our goal! Papa John’s Pizza now eligible in Paperless Insurance’s national Pizza Operators Insurance Program. Our program is written on a Business Owners Policy (BOP), which includes Business Personal Property with Tenants Improvements and Betterments, Business Real Property (if insured owns the building) and Business Liability. The BOP also includes Data Compromise, Crisis Management, Food Contamination, and Identity Recovery. Other coverages available in most states include Non-Owned Auto, Hired Auto, Owned Auto, Excess Liability, Liquor Liability, Workers Compensation, Employee Benefits Liability, Employment Practices Liability and Payment… Read More »Cheesy for some Papa John’s

Paperless Insurance Now Offers Coverage in New York

SAN FRANCISCO-based independent insurance brokerage Paperless Insurance Services (PIS INC), Inc. has started offering business insurance products in the State of New York, PIS INC announced Thursday. PIS INC will be using their website as the marketing and underwriting base in the State if New York CFO Diana Motseniat said in her announcement. Paperless Insurance also announced that it is in the process of starting operations in the State of Texas. “Starting operations in New York is vital to the continued expansion of our U.S. platform to complement our strong position and build a truly unified small business insurance platform,”… Read More »Paperless Insurance Now Offers Coverage in New York