Citing the financial strength of the parent company, the insurance ratings firm upgraded the ratings of Bermuda-based Hiscox Insurance Co. (Bermuda) Ltd., U.K.-based Hiscox Insurance Co. Ltd. and Guernsey-based Hiscox Insurance Co. (Guernsey) Ltd.

Moreover, AMBest credited Hiscox’s consolidated risk-adjusted capitalization and underwriting performance, noting that the group has an average five-year combined ratio of approximately 90%. The ratings firms also singled out Hiscox’s strength in the Lloyd’s of London market.

What that means for you? It means that you can get insurance coverage from a reliable company. Certainly, you can go direct to Hiscox and get your quotes and start coverage same day. However, if you are in need for a professional review and assistance contact Paperless Insurance Services, Inc. We have access to Hiscox and several other markets that are specializing on general liability and errors & omissions insurance, such as Philadelphia Insurance Companies, The Hartford, Travelers and CNA. Our highly experienced staff is always here for you. We will review your past and current operations, current insurance coverage and suggest on anything that may help you to to shift the risks. And everything is of course at no cost to you.

The Zurich Risk Room app is a limited version of the larger risk modeling software Zurich offers clients. The app shows scenarios for natural catastrophe and disaster management, supply chain disruption, regulatory imbalances, social value of insurance and economic value of insurance.

Each has 10 to 12 preselected risks offering a comparison of different countries’ stability as well as modeling the interconnection among risks. New risks and scenarios will be added as issues arise.

“Zurich created the Zurich Risk Room to provide a visual depiction of the data points analyzed in the World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Risks’ report, which Zurich contributes to, and allow users to understand how this data impacts their business,” Mike Kerner, CEO of global corporate North America for Zurich Insurance, said in a statement.

The other app, Zurich Virtue Literature Rack, is aimed at midsize and large businesses. This online library includes information about Zurich products, solutions, risk insights, white papers and other materials.

Both apps are available for the iPad , and the Zurich Risk Room app is available for Windows media.

To download the Zurich Risk Room app, visit http://itunes.apple.com/app/zurich-risk-room/id513235624?mt=8. For the Zurich Virtual Literature Rack, visithttp://itunes.apple.com/app/id513380639.

To see a comparison of averages rates and to learn more about how these changes affect premium, go to www.paperless-insurance.com and click on “Get a Quote Now”.

As you are shopping for the renewal, it is important to keep in mind that not all rates change uniformly. Rates for some policyholders will go up and some will go down. Knowing how much your renewal rates are changing could be valuable information to have as you plan your budget – especially if you anticipate an increase of premium at renewal.

A Paperless-Insurance.com formal quote estimate will help you quickly analyze pricing for many California admitted workers’ compensation companies.

You can also get a quote over the phone by calling 877-239-0067 option 1.

The California Insurance Code requires insurers to submit workers comp policy forms and endorsements to the Department of Insurance and to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California for legal review before they are issued to policyholders.

However, Zurich American Insurance Co. and Zurich American Insurance Co. of Illinois may have evaded such a review, the Insurance Department said Tuesday in announcing that it had begun an administrative enforcement action.

“The unreviewed agreements have been the subject of litigation between the Zurich (California) companies and employers because they include a requirement for arbitration of disputes in Illinois, where the Zurich companies are located,” the Insurance Department said in a statement.

The Department of Insurance said it will seek an order requiring the Zurich companies to immediately cease issuing agreements that they have not filed for review and will seek an order that such agreements may not be enforced by Zurich.

“We are currently reviewing the enforcement action and will look to resolve with the Department any concerns contained therein,” a Zurich spokesman said.

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 Card Security Extra Expense.

Paperless Insurance’s Pizza Program is the complete package, tailored to meet the needs of pizza restaurants with or without delivery services. Our program is specifically designed to exceed all insurance expectations, while providing — quality service and affordable coverages that a full-service, quality chain, such as Papa John’s necessitates. Our underwriting team is waiting for your “tasty pizza application”.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Dimitri at 877-239-0067 x 112 or jump right to the insurance application and see rates online in less than 5 minutes.

Broadband and information technology are powerful factors in small businesses reaching new markets and increasing productivity and efficiency. However, businesses need cybersecurity tools and tactics to protect themselves, their customers, and their data from growing cyber threats. Here are ten key cybersecuritytips for businesses to protect themselves:

1. Train employees in security principles
Establish basic security practices to protect sensitive business information and communicate them to all employees on a regular basis. Establish rules of behavior describing how to handle and protect customer information and other vital data. Clearly detail the penalties for violating business cybersecurity

2. Protect information, computers and networks from viruses, spyware and other malicious code
Install, use and regularly update antivirus and antispyware software on every computer used in your business. Such software is readily available online from a variety of vendors. Most software packages now offer subscriptions to “security service” applications, which provide additional layers of protection. Set the antivirus software to automatically check for updates at a scheduled time of low computer usage, such as at night (midnight. for example), and then set the software to do a scan after the software update.

3. Provide firewall security for your Internet connection
A firewall is set of related programs that prevent outsiders from accessing data on a private network. Install and maintain firewalls between your internal network and the Internet. If employees work from home, ensure that their home systems are protected by firewalls. Install firewalls on all computers — including laptops — used in conducting your business.

4. Download and install software updates for your for your operating systems and applications as they become available
All operating system vendors regularly provide patches and updates to their products to correct security problems and improve functionality. Configure all software to install such updates automatically.

5. Make backup copies of important business data and information
Regularly backup the data on every computer used in your business. Critical data includes word processing documents, electronic spreadsheets, databases, financial files, human resources files and accounts receivable/payable files. Backup data automatically if possible, or at least weekly.

6. Control physical access to your computers and network components
Prevent access or use of business computers by unauthorized individuals. Laptops can be particularly easy targets for theft, so make sure they are stored and lacked up when unattended. Impose password security and encryption on laptops, so when it is lost, the data won’t be easily compromised.

7. Secure your Wi-Fi networks
If you have a Wi-Fi network for your workplace make sure it is secure and hidden. To hide your Wi-Fi network, set-up your wireless access point or router so it does not broadcast the network name, known as the Service Set Identifier (SSD). In addition, make sure to turn on the encryption so that passwords are required for access. Lastly, it is critical to change the administrative password that was on the device when it was first purchased.

8. Require individual user accounts for each employee
Setup a separate account for each individual and require that strong passwords be used for each account. Administrative privileges should only be given to trusted IT staff and key personnel.

9. Limit employee access to data and information, and limit authority to install software
Do not provide any one employee with access to all data systems. Employees should only be given access to the specific data systems that they need for their jobs, and should not be able to install any software without permission.

10. Regularly change passwords
Passwords that stay the same, will, over time, be shared and become common knowledge to coworkers and can be easily hacked, Passwords should be changed at least every three months.

11. Obtain and maintain cyber liability / data breach insurance
The cost of dealing with data breach can be devastating for any size business. Imagine how much you will spend contacting each client whose data was compromised. Luckily, most insurance companies have recently introduced Data Breach coverage, to address the risks associated with these claims. It is generally inexpensive (from $2,500 and up) but provides a great piece of mind to every business owner. This coverage may be included with your General Business Liability. You can get multiple instant insurance quotes on our website www.paperless-insurance.com.

The FCC’s Cybersecurity Hub at www.fcc.gov orsmallbiz has more inforrnation, including links to free and low-cost security tools.

ZFI works by combining the data from telematics services or data from other leading vehicle telematic providers with Zurich’s extensive analytical tools to turn the data into insights that can help fleet managers reduce their fleet operating costs, as well as:

• Optimize vehicle journey planning and deployment;
• Reduce vehicle running costs;
• Achieve increased fuel economy;
• Reduce the occurrence of vehicle crashes through defensive driving training;
• Influence future insurance premiums;
• Improve employees’ driving skills and knowledge;
• Reduce stress and fatigue amongst drivers through coaching and development;
• Improve their fleet’s impact on the environment.

Zurich does not receive any fees or commission from these vendors when a customer selects their telematics services.

A new report from Zurich Financial Services notes that in contrast to the “bulk of risks faced by the corporate sector,” which are more or less “easily identified,” and can thus be dealt with, “there is a class of risks with often severe consequences that is, at times, difficult to grasp, even more difficult to assess, and most difficult to manage.”

Zurich identifies these types of risk as due to the “presence of uncertainty which, in contrast to simple quantifiable risk, can be elusive and difficult to model.” However, even though it may be difficult to assess, this type of risk should not be “neglected; it must be on the plate of corporate risk management.”

The report “Pushing the boundary – Risk management beyond insurance” demonstrates that “by adhering to some basic principles and applying good common sense the challenges caused by uncertainty can be managed.”

It examines class of “seemingly intractable risks, such as reputation risk or supply chain risk that have a high potential to thwart corporate plans and destroy shareholder value.” In addition Zurich describes these types of risks as “largely uninsurable, leaving firms to work out for themselves how to monitor, mitigate and manage them.”

Low interest rates will continue to dampen insurers’ and reinsurers’ investment returns and force them to focus on underwriting discipline in order to remain profitable, said Kurt Karl, Swiss Re’s chief economist for the Americas in Zurich.

Rates for nonlife commercial lines remain low, particularly in the United States, said Thomas Hess, Swiss Re’s chief economist, also in Zurich.

There are signs that rates are beginning to increase for auto business in the United Kingdom and Italy, said Mr. Hess, but rates on the whole remain soft for most lines of commercial insurance throughout the world.

Rates likely will begin to harden in 2012, depending on prior-year results developments and other factors, said Mr. Hess.

Swiss Re believes liability coverage is underpriced and that the market needs to undergo “a correction,” according to Mr. Hess. The longer it takes for that upturn in prices to occur, the sharper the price rises will be, Mr. Hess said.

As economies continue to recover from the recent global economic crisis, demand for insurance coverage likely will pick up, said Mr. Hess.

Premium volumes, which fell in 2008, likely will continue to rise slowly, he said.

For 2010, worldwide premiums are likely to have risen by 1.3%, compared with a 0.1% increase in 2009, according to Swiss Re data. For 2011, worldwide insurance premium volume likely will increase by 2.8%, while a 3.7% increase is predicted for 2012.

The insurance and reinsurance industry emerged from the global financial crisis very well and should not be treated as a systemic risk by regulators, said Mr. Karl.

If regulators treat insurers and reinsurance as a systemic risk and increase regulation, any increased cost to insurers and reinsurers likely will be passed on to buyers in the form of higher rates, Mr. Karl said.

Solvency II, the risk-based capital regulatory regime under development in the European Union and slated for introduction in 2013, likely will increase demand for reinsurance, said Mr. Hess.

Reinsurance is a substitute for solvency capital, and insurers’ need for solvency capital likely will increase under the new rules, he said.