Should you insure your tenant’s goods inside their units? Won’t their insurance pay for damage or loss to their goods? The answers are Yes, and Yes/No. Confused? In order to protect your business, you need to only insure any damage or loss your business causes to your tenant’s goods (example – your superintendent cleans a drain and accidentally leaves the tenants door unlocked and your tenant’s belongings are stolen that day). Your tenant is responsible for any other damage or loss to their goods not caused by your staff.

In 1972, the tallest building in Boston called the John Hancock Tower at 60-stories built of steel and glass (Mies Van Der Rohe style) had 4′ X 11′ 500 pound glass panes pop out of the building crashing to the ground below every time the wind blew over 45 miles per hour. Speculation was that the building twisted in wind more than designed for, but final testing determined due to oscillations and repeated thermal stresses caused by the expansion and contraction of the air between the inner and outer glass panels which formed each window; the bonding between the inner glass, reflective material, and outer glass was so stiff that it was transmitting the force to the outer glass (instead of absorbing it), causing the glass to fail. The cost of the lawsuits and the cost of engineered replacement glass is a good example why Architects and Engineers purchase errors and omissions insurance.

As a repair shop owner, in order to protect your business, you need to only insure any damage your business causes to your client’s car. Your client is responsible for any other damage that occurs to their car. However, due to client demand, many insurance companies now will pay for damage to your client’s car even if it were vandalized by vandals overnight, so your client’s satisfaction with your business increases.

Still an artisan and craftsmanship business, concern comes about when one goes aground or injuries occur, a cleat or winch tears out of a deck or even someone falling down and then suing the builder and designer for their injuries. All of this falls under products liability, which is just the tip of the iceberg of insurance. Depending on the values of boats built, some may buy a “Builder’s Risk” policy for a large yacht, whereas a production builder with many units on a production line simply cover the builds with Business Personal Property coverage.

Your goal with insurance is to avoid taking on someone else’s problems. You might hire subcontractors or independent contractors who don’t have insurance, or cut corners with their insurance, and suddenly their problem becomes yours (and your insurance company). Any loss your insurance company gets involved with will likely cause an increase in your future premiums. We help guide you on the proper techniques to help keep you from taking on someone else’s problem.

Should you insure your tenant’s goods inside their units? Won’t their insurance pay for damage or loss to their goods? The answers are Yes, and Yes/No. Confused? In order to protect your business, you need to only insure any damage or loss your business causes to your tenant’s goods (example – your plumbers clean a drain and accidentally leaves the tenants door unlocked and your tenant’s belongings are stolen that day). Your tenant is responsible for any other damage or loss to their goods not caused by your staff.

Accuracy in programming and report generation is what your clients buy. Here’s the simplest example, the program is to calculate the sales tax and print the check that is sent off to the Department of Revenue at the State. Three years later, a State Auditor sees that they are shorted 1.5% of taxes and is demanding immediate payment from your client of $167,000. Maybe it was a truncation error, or a decimal error, or a programming error. It is possible that your client does not have those funds on hand and will sue you to get those funds so the State does not shut them down and liquidate their business. Having an errors and omissions insurance policy can protect your business.

Illinois Condominium Law requires the board of directors to insure the buildings for the full replacement cost plus the increased cost of construction for building code requirements. How is a board to determine the “full replacement cost?” Direct answers: They can hire a contractor to give an estimate what it would take to rebuild the complex; They can hire a “Replacement Cost Appraiser (which is not a real estate appraiser); Or, if your insurance company has the ability to provide a Replacement Cost Estimate, ask them to do so. Legally whose responsibility is it to determine the “full replacement cost” which becomes your property limit?” The board of directors (not the insurance company, not your agent).

Getting a good insurance program is important, but you know that the turn around time to get Certificates of Insurance (COI) from your agent is imperative. One of our staff provides COI’s as a full time job, with the standard of providing them in less than a business day, with your choice of fax, email or mail. As project owners become more demanding of what they require of you, we read every contract to see what your insurance company is willing and not willing to provide to the builder and explain these facets for you to negotiate out of the owner’s contract.Also if you are using subcontractors, we also provide advice on how to best protect your business by setting up an insurance standard for your subcontractors and how to track those COI’s to help keep your costs and court time to a minimum.

With the HIPAA Privacy Rule, you and your staff are to protect all patients’ privacy. Fines for violations are $100 to $50,000, or more, for a single violation, and up to a cap of $1,500,000 a year. One of the standing tenants of the insurance industry is that insurance does not insure “illegal acts.” As an industry, we can’t insure this risk for you. Establish your own internal processes and procedures concerning patient privacy reinforce your practices in your office manual and avoid disclosing patient confidentiality.Besides the Medical Professional Liability (see this program elsewhere on this page), we insure your building, the Business Personal Property placed in the building (and those that travel away from your building need to be identified as well), high-tech equipment (be sure to include equipment breakdown coverage), workers compensation for your employees, and general liability for the legal liabilities from the use of your premises. We would offer to include Business Income should your office be shuttered due to an insured property loss will cover yours and your employees wages (to hold them until your office re-opens) and provide for lost profits during the closure, is an elective coverage that is key to re-opening the practice. We also provide the remaining policies – automobile, fidelity, umbrella, etc.

Design? Build? Owner? General Contractor? Real Estate Agent? One, some, or all of these? Insurance policies for this industry commonly target one of these fields and exclude the others. So when you are doing “some, or all of these,” an expert insurance agent will know which exclusions need to be deleted in single policies to assure all of the different fields you are involved in a project are covered and there are no surprises. Providing a comprehensive system of developing the standards of insurance for subcontractors, and tracking certificates of insurance before a subcontractor steps foot on your project and during the project will help keep you out of court and focused on doing what you do best. We have these experts, contact us now.

The quandary in insurance is to find a fall-guy or someone else to pay a claim. In distribution, commonly you are warehousing someone else’s product, sometimes repackaging it, and shipping it out without doing any processing to the product. Shouldn’t the responsibility be the manufacturer of that product as to its safety? If your business is sued along with the manufacture can’t the liability all be transferred over to the manufacturer? Put simply – if the manufacturer is in the U.S. or a country where there are longstanding abilities to subrogate a claim across the ocean, the answer is, “Yes.” If the manufacturer is in a country where there are not longstanding abilities to subrogate or that country has an unfavorable legal system to outsiders, the answer is, “No.” Where the product you distribute is from can have a large swing in your product liability rates.

One day you may send your employees to do clerical work in a quiet office, the next day you may be sending your employees to a manufacturing facility with all sorts of dangerous machines. Obviously the cost of workers compensation insurance varies depending on the type of work your employees do. But consider this; each insurance company has their preference of the types of industries to whom they are comfortable providing workers compensation. We know which insurance companies prefer to insure the industries your business services and can provide the right insurance company for you.

What’s the most frequent claim in an office? Employees sitting down and missing the edge of the chair and hitting the coccyx on the floor! Every office is different and requires a tailored insurance program; let us design one for you.

From joint purchase programs, risk sharing pools, non-insurance answers and traditional insurance, it takes constant evaluation to determine which is best suited for a governmental entity. It all starts with an analysis of everything the entity is involved with, from special events to ambulance (medical professional liability), from buildings to parks, from pools to fire departments. From street ice removal to sewers, and all other aspects of government services, a complete program is designed encompassing all of the activities of a governmental entity.

Many think Professional Liability or Errors and Omissions is about replacing the work that did not meet customer satisfaction. What it really is about is the customer losing revenue or market share and suing to cover their lost profits. Between paying the lawyers to defend your business and the possibility of paying lost profits, this adds up quickly.

What is the most frequent claim? Trips and falls. It may come from lights that went out, unlevel surfaces (loose tile, board, torn carpet, etc.), slick floor coverings, loose or missing hand railings, or slick sidewalks.

This coverage can vary greatly depending on the inventory, the location, the alarm system, the safe(s), foot traffic, and much more. This insurance protects you as a designer and a store owner when you are traveling with thousands of dollars in inventory, when the repair man takes it from shop to shop, and when you are keeping customers’ jewelry in your possession. Jeweler’s Block Insurance also protects your inventory, your employees, and cash on hand, and also offers replacement coverage. Whether you are selling costume jewelry out of a storage facility or own a chain of stores throughout the United States, this coverage can be tweaked to fit your specific needs.

The majority of claims we have seen in law offices have stemmed from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome of paralegals. One would figure that of all people in the world, lawyers would do everything that they can to avoid insurance claims. Practice and reality sometimes are at opposites. The engineers from our insurance companies can recommend ergonomic workstations to help your law firm avoid repetitive motion injuries. A small investment in adjusting heights and angles of workstations can pay back big in lower losses. Workers Compensation insurance besides being mandatory by law, is also important for a law office.What is the #1 reason lawyers get sued? Missed filing deadlines or missing the statute of limitations. While Lawyers Professional Liability insurance covers these lawsuits, we advise on good practices of developing a system to track these dates so they are not missed.

What is the #1 cause of employee fatalities in the country? Injuries sustained in manufacturing? Commercial fishing boats? The answer is vehicle accidents. While workplace rules are common in manufacturing, few companies implement rules for the employees who drive on behalf of the company. Commonly these are sales staff, upper management who are out making the deals that make a company run. While internal work rules probably require a drug-free workplace, is it a requirement that sales staff and upper management do not drink when meeting with clients, prospects or making other deals? Are these people drug tested in the event of an auto accident on company time?

Should you insure your client’s boats while moored in your marina? Won’t the client’s insurance pay for damage to their boats? The answers are Yes, and Yes/No. Confused? In order to protect your business, you need to only insure any damage your business causes to your client’s boats. Your client is responsible for any other damage that occurs to their boat.

With the HIPAA Privacy Rule, you and your staff are to protect all patients’ privacy. Fines for violations are $100 to $50,000, or more, for a single violation, and up to a cap of $1,500,000 a year. One of the standing tenants of the insurance industry is that insurance does not insure “illegal acts.” As an industry, we can’t insure this risk for you. Establish your own internal processes and procedures concerning patient privacy reinforce your practices in your office manual and avoid disclosing patient confidentiality.Besides the Medical Professional Liability (see this program elsewhere on this page), we insure your building, the Business Personal Property placed in the building (and those that travel away from your building need to be identified as well), high-tech equipment (be sure to include equipment breakdown coverage), workers compensation for your employees, and general liability for the legal liabilities from the use of your premises. We would offer to include Business Income should your office be shuttered due to an insured property loss will cover yours and your employees wages (to hold them until your office re-opens) and provide for lost profits during the closure, is an elective coverage that is key to re-opening the practice. We also provide the remaining policies – automobile, fidelity, umbrella, etc.

The phrase “medical malpractice” is a dirty word to a physician and to us too. We practice to uphold and defend the work that physicians do. We are on your side. We all hear that some lawsuit was “settled.” But think about this, if an insurance company does the risk assessment and the potential costs of going to trial and THEY decide to settle, and you don’t even get to be involved in that decision or even know they are doing it, some policies allow the insurance company to do this (it is called the Hammer Clause). If you want a policy that requires the insurance company to get your permission to settle, or if you are so sure that you were right and want to fight it all the way through the court, or feel that your reputation is at stake, or you want to be vindicated, then you want to make sure you don’t have a Hammer Clause in your policy. Talk to us and we will guide you through to a policy that does not have a Hammer Clause.

Commonly State laws relieve volunteer directors and officers of some liability, but not all liability or full immunity. Insurance costs less, as the number of claims is less as a result. But insurance is still needed to protect the entity and the directors and officers. We all hear that some lawsuit was “settled.” But think about this, if an insurance company does the risk assessment and the potential costs of going to trial and THEY decide to settle, and you don’t even get to be involved in that decision or even know they are doing it, some policies allow the insurance company to do this (it is called the Hammer Clause). If you want a policy that requires the insurance company to get your permission to settle, or if you are so sure that you were right and want to fight it all the way through the court, or feel that your reputation is at stake, or you want to be vindicated, then you want to make sure you don’t have a Hammer Clause in your policy. Talk to us and we will guide you through to a policy that does not have a limited or no Hammer Clause.

Processes to make a quality paper take chemicals, no magic bullet has been found yet to provide unblemished paper without these processes. Of course out the other end of the plant is the need to treat the chemicals and dispose of waste. A dedicated pollution liability policy is needed for your facility, but most importantly this policy needs to not ever be stopped, or canceled. This type of policy needs to be in place from the first day pollutants are being made through today. It is called a Claim’s Made policy, which is unlike most of the other policies you purchase. Continuous pollution liability policies is a must.Polskie Firmy

While manufacturers who create product within their four walls buy Product Liability Insurance, the sister to this for people who do not manufacture product is Professional Liability Insurance (or Errors and Omissions Insurance). The ideas designed, advised, practiced.

80% of Errors and Omissions claims against realtors are made by buyers, and 66% of those relate to the condition of the property. The responsibility of realtors to provide solid information is becoming more stringent all of the time. With so many variables in a real estate deal, and the possibility that the seller does not provide (or know) of any hidden damage to a building, this can result in your time in a courtroom. With an Errors and Omissions policy, we can at least pay for your attorney to clearly communicate to the court your position.

One of the greatest challenges is theft. Insurance does not provide coverage for “theft” or “inventory loss” which places the burden of controlling theft on you. There is insurance available should your employees be involved in a theft (of merchandise or money). However, there is more to “theft” than meets the eye. If your employees detain someone, or holds them physically for a moment, or if injury occurs, a lawsuit of “false detainment” is common. Having liability insurance is important to protect your business from these lawsuits.

One of the biggest losses (besides a total fire loss) to a restaurant is food poisoning. When these occur and an attorney sues, they commonly sue the restaurant, the supplier(s) of the food, and the transportation firm(s) that delivered it from the source. How would you ever know that the product was not maintained at safe temperature from the source to your diner’s table? How do the others who owned or transported the product ever know it was them who didn’t maintain the safe temperature? The cost of defending these lawsuits where everyone who owned or transported the product all point fingers back and forth is expensive. Having adequate products liability insurance is part of a comprehensive insurance plan for your restaurant.

When a client’s pet be injured or expire while in your businesses care, it is possible for your business to be sued. We wish to protect that along with the other risks the pet business has. We provide insurance for Pet Care Services, Veterinarian Professional Liability, Animal Hospitals, Pet Surgery, etc. Click here.

Employees driving all over the place, parts trucks driving all over the place, your employees going in and out of client’s buildings potentially damaging the building, or worse, stealing from your client. Then when the installation is complete, the machine starts on fire and burns your client’s building down to the ground. Lots of things can happen, developing good driving practices and maintaining a watchful eye on your driver’s safe driving habits is difficult. Training employees on safely bringing parts in and installing them properly can have a big impact on stopping losses.

Should you insure your client’s boats while stored in your yard? Won’t the client’s insurance pay for damage to their boats? The answers are Yes, and Yes/No. Confused? In order to protect your business, you need to only insure any damage your business causes to your client’s boats. Your client is responsible for any other damage that occurs to their boat.

Sometimes this is the easiest insurance to take care of and sometimes the most complicated, it all depends on what your business is. The majority of small business can qualify for a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) that is chockfull of automatic coverage at no additional cost that large companies have to design into their coverage and have to pay for. A BOP is also the least time consuming policy for you to procure.

What if you could have a GPS in each unit, which not only shortened the trip length for your drivers, but was linked to your driver manager’s computer providing Telematics? What is Telematics? It provides a report on your drivers rate of acceleration, deceleration, when and where exceeding speed limits, length of stops, where stops were made, distance off routes, etc. for the purpose of saving fuel, wear and tear on vehicles, and of course safety where a fast stop can cause rear end collisions into your vehicles, excessive speed can cause more severe accidents, and premium savings by drivers having less speeding tickets and less accidents. While your business receives a detailed report, all the insurance company receives is a “score” of the drivers for rating purposes. This unique solution is available with a national insurance company who incorporates Telematics into your premium.

The quandary in insurance is to find a fall-guy or someone else to pay a claim. In wholesaling, commonly you are buying someone else’s product, sometimes repackaging it, and shipping it out without doing any processing to the product. Shouldn’t the responsibility be the manufacturer of that product as to its safety? If your business is sued along with the manufacture can’t the liability all be transferred over to the manufacturer? Put simply – if the manufacturer is in the U.S. or a country where there are longstanding abilities to subrogate a claim across the ocean, the answer is, “Yes.” If the manufacturer is in a country where there are not longstanding abilities to subrogate or that country has an unfavorable legal system to outsiders, the answer is, “No.” Where you buy your product from can have a large swing in your product liability rates.

Boards are volunteers who commonly are concerned with insuring a club as fully as possible, feeling the tradition to assure that a club will carry on after a total loss, and have concerns of protecting themselves from the specter of a lawsuit. Insuring yacht clubs is a specialty that a “local agent” who insures one of them, usually doesn’t have the background and knowledge to insure all of the aspects of a yacht club. If there are “political” reasons within your club to keep the same agent, but want a “check-up” we can provide your board a report on improvements. If your club is ready to have a customized well developed program with easy to understand explanations at a competitive price, we are the people to work with. In our years of experience, we have not seen a club with a complete program. We find many insurance gaps and holes as a SOP.