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MORE COMMON: General Liability including Blanket Vendors –This coverage is broadly written for all operations and respects liability to 3rd parties subject to standard exclusions. The incident would be a covered for damages and defense if needed. Defense limits can be inside or outside per occurrence limit. Blanket vendors coverage, for instance for a manufacturer’s insurance policy, will extend product coverage to those selling merchandise so it can snag big contracts as it expands. Property Policy and/or Building, including Business Income with extensions of perils including spoilage. – Replacement cost on the property will enable a business to get that rebuilding… Read More »Quick and Simple Insurance Coverage Explanation Cheat Sheet

Catalytic converter theft is on the rise in many parts of the country. The converters contain precious metals such as palladium, platinum and rhodium. With these metals trading at record levels, converters have become a hot item for thieves, and can be sold for up to $200 per converter. These converters can be stolen in less than a minute, and also thieves do a lot of damage to the car when they do steal it. Taking a few precautionary measures may deter thieves from attempting to steal your catalytic converter. Replacing a catalytic converter is expensive. The cost can range from… Read More »Catalytic Converter Thefts Up

State Fund created a small business resource center, featuring: Information about workers’ compensation insurance – what it is, who needs it Safety information for a variety of industries Business resource page with useful links to agencies that help new businesses, such as Cal/OSHA, Department of Industrial Relations, Contractors State Licensing Board, and more

California State Workers Compensation Insurance Fund was infamous for its policies and procedures, not competitive pricing, time it takes to get insurance quotes, and many other things. But the recent news we get from State Fund inspire for new better company. For example, SCIF targets $200MM in operating cost saving, by consolidating it’s underwriting and claims teams and reducing number of offices. Also, they change their notification policy on certificates of insurance and cancellation / reinstatement notices. I hope to see better and competitive State Fund. The only fear I have, those changes will eventually lead to a worsen situation,… Read More »State Fund: New Broom Sweeps Clean in New Way

A plaintiff in a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit who copied confidential information and gave it to her attorney to support her case engaged in protected activity, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in an opinion that could be influential. Plaintiff;s attorney said the decision is “extremely crucial because it determines how employees can talk to their lawyers.” Even top executives when they “come to us for representation often have to relate to us confidential company information in order to explain what their problem is.” He also said under the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision, which is likely to… Read More »Use of Confidential Information in Court

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has approved filings by the Automobile Club of Southern California and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance to offer pay-as-you-drive insurance. The PAYD Insurance program will allow insurers to offer plans based on a verified and more accurate mileage, so that people who choose to drive less will pay less for auto insurance. “We implemented a verified mileage program because we expect that it will provide more accurate, lower rates to policyholders who choose to participate in the program,” said Christopher Baggaley, senior vice president of insurance operations for Auto Club. “Drive Safe & Save” will… Read More »Pay as You Go Insurance Approved in California

Insurance agent and broker groups criticized an interim final rule issued Monday that would include agent and broker commissions in calculating an insurer’s medical loss ratio under the new health care reform law. The interim final rule by the Department of Health and Human Services implements the reform law’s medical loss ratio rules that require insurers underwriting individual and small-group coverage to spend at least 80% of their premium revenues on medical care, while insurers providing coverage to large groups must spend at least 85% on medical care. The final interim rule does not provide a producer commission carve-out as… Read More »Mars Attacks…

The good news: your employees likely won’t be using quite as much work time to shop online for holiday gifts this year. The bad news: those who do are increasingly willing to engage in risky behavior using your company’s computers. These risky behaviors could make your company vulnerable to attacks from computer viruses, phishing scams, and malware attacks, according to a survey conducted by Information Systems Audit and Control Association, (ISACA), an information technology professional trade group. “Employees who shop online reduce productivity – especially from Black Friday through mid-December, when 71 percent of them make their holiday purchases –… Read More »Employees Who Shop at Work Pose Increasing Risks For Employers

A report from Zurich Financial Services Group concludes that trucking companies “could use new technological developments to reduce the costs of crashes in their motor fleets by up to 30 percent.” The report – Insights: Telematics and Fleet Risk Management – analyzes how telematics technology, in conjunction with driver development programs, can help fleet operators take positive steps to improve safety while also reducing their impact on the environment and reducing operation costs. Zurich explained that telematics “commonly refers to vehicle-based systems that integrate GPS sensors with wireless communication and computer capabilities. These systems can provide fleet owners and operators with… Read More »Telematics Helps to Reduce Crashes

Lloyd’s announced that it will open a representative office in Russia next year. The bulletin indicated that a “dedicated country manager will enable Lloyd’s to better understand and explore opportunities in the Russian market; however the office will not be a base for underwriting.” Jose Ribeiro, Director, International Markets, Lloyd’s, commented: “Now is the right time to develop a small presence in Moscow. The new Russia country manager will be well placed to make informed decisions on behalf of the Lloyd’s market as well as promoting and explaining it to local insurers and brokers.” Lloyd’s Russia is expected to open… Read More »Russia Welcomes Lloyds Office