One Christmas Gift You May Need Insurance On…

Hatchimals aren’t the only hottest toy landing under Christmas trees this year. According to the New York Post, a Drone is also in this year’s top 20 Christmas gifts! Actually, the Federal Aviation Administration has stated that they expected millions of drones given as gifts this year.

Although flying drones can seem like child’s play, some drones weigh in over 55lbs, so not only should you be looking into registration details with the Federal Aviation Agency, but where does your insurance protection come into play?

According to ABC News, 64% of civilian incidents with drones were caused by technical problems in the drone, rather than operator error. One prime example was a drone piloted by Brett Woods, who is a registered pilot and co-founder of the drone company Aerial Concept Unmanned Systems, was supposed to climb 400 feet, but instead flew into the 27^th floor of a building. An engineer that researched 150 drone related accidents stated that a drone traveling approximately 99 miles per hour and weighing around 53lbs, has the ability to potentially kill someone.

Liability protection in a homeowner’s policy or renter’s insurance, will sometimes cover property damage or injury from a drone crashing into a neighbor’s house, vehicle, or child. It may also cover privacy issues, for example if your drone mistakenly takes photos or videos of a neighbor. However, this coverage is not universal, and some policies carry an aviation exclusion that encompasses recreational drones. Also, it generally will not cover any intentional privacy invasions, and may or may not provide any medical coverage if a friend or neighbor is injured.

Therefore, it is imperative that you double check with your Insurance Professional before taking that first flight.

A Concern for Employers...

The Universal Concern for Employers

What concerns, as an employer, would you have if an employee were injured on the job? The ability to pay for the medical attention that is needed? The necessity in paying the employee a salary even if they are unable to work? What if a spouse of an employee sues your company for loss of consortium due to the injury? These are all things that an Employer could face if an employee is injured at work.

In SC, if you have 4 employees, you are REQUIRED by state law to carry Workers’ Compensation insurance. This insurance is intended to provide the employees financial compensation if injured on the job, as well as offers protection for the employer by ensuring that the they are able to provide employees with compensation in the event they are hurt.

Typically, if employers fail to purchase Workers’ Compensation insurance, they find that the fines they will incur because of this failure to obtain coverage, are actually the least of their concerns. Not only will the employer be responsible for an unlimited financial exposure and liability for an injured employee, but if an employee is permanently disabled and a death occurs, the employer could be facing a lawsuit to compensate the employee and their family for loss income, lifestyle change, loss of consortium, etc. Employers without Workers’ Compensation insurance, are putting themselves at serious risk as some businesses have been forced into bankruptcy due to the financial burden left behind after an employee was injured.

The risk of bankruptcy is far more than the premium of a Workers’ Compensation policy to make sure your company is protected in the event an employee is injured while working.

A BUSINESS OWNERS WORST FEAR

　

 

A BUSINESS OWNERS WORST FEAR

An individual usually starts their own business for several reasons, however one reason that always seems common in everyone’s goals is to make money. So what would happen if you open a restaurant, are successful, and suddenly the kitchen catches fire which causes extensive damage in the restaurant. Hopefully, you would have fire insurance in place to help rebuild and replace the building, as well as your contents and equipment inside, but what would happen to the income that you were used to receiving?

Once the rebuilding or repairs start, and you cannot operate your business until these things are completed, how will you pull through financially? 40% of businesses do not reopen after a disaster such as a fire and another 25% fail within one year of reopening, which causes major concern to an owner who cannot open his/her business.

Business Interruption Insurance, also known as Business Income Insurance, covers for this loss of income that a business suffers after a disaster. This type of coverage can be added into your Property or General Liability policy and it generally includes coverage for profits, fixed costs or operating expenses, as well as some coverage for a temporary location pending on the policy form.

As a Business Owner, when starting a business, you generally automatically think of Property insurance or General Liability insurance to protect the tangibles, so don’t forget to make sure your income is covered as well.

Have You Been Hacked YET?

EVERY ORGANIZATION IS VULNERABLE TO THIS LOSS

Could you imagine being liable for $3.6 billion due to a data breach in your system, releasing your client’s personal information? This is exactly what Target was facing during their massive data breach in 2014. Although an example from a larger spectrum, Data Breach is known to even affect the majority of smaller businesses as well.

In fact, in 2014, one hundred and forty data breach claims were reviewed and studied, showing that the average cost per breach for a small company was $664,000. Not only are business owners having to pay for client’s release of information, but also Legal costs for the defense and settlement, as well as Crisis service costs to cover forensics, legal counsel, notification of the breach, and credit monitoring.

One of the newest trends, shown in 2015, was an increase in “disruptive attacks.” Disruptive attacks are attacks that purposefully draw the public’s attention to the business. In most cases, these attacks were those where data is held for ransom; basically stealing personal data, and threatening to release it if monies were not paid.

As Technology continues to grow, attacker’s knowledge and techniques grow with it. Breached organizations stay concerned on what data was stolen, how the attacker was able to breach their system, and how to resolve the situation. Victim organizations not only stay concerned with the attack and how it happened, but now face public humiliation, inquiries, and lawsuits.

Potential exposures and threats to keep in mind if you think you are immune to a breach:

·        Lost or stolen laptops or cell phones

·        Hacking

·        Software glitches

·        Improper disposal of paper records

·        Vendor, Partner or Employee mistakes

·        Rogue insiders or contractors

As the trend of Data Breach claims grow, keep in mind that Insurance companies that offer Cyber Liability policies, generally have different tiers that can be purchased to be customized by each organization’s exposure, need, and premium target. The cost of a broad range policy is typically trivial compared to the exposure and overall cost of a Data Breach.

Is Your Company Protected From a Lawsuit?

Is Your Company Protected From a Lawsuit?

In many cases, today’s society is suing first, and asking questions later; and unfortunately, employers are not immune to employees suing the business. In fact, over the last 20 years, employee lawsuits have risen over 400%! Sadly, 41.5% percent of these lawsuits are affecting smaller companies with less than 100 employees.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, statistics showed over 80% of these types of claims settle between $22,400-$40,500, which could be financially devastating to a small company. However, despite all of these alarming statistics, nearly 7 out of 10 businesses do not carry Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI).

Employment Practices Liability Insurance is designed to protect an employer from employees suing for events such as wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, deprivation of career opportunity, breach of employment contract, etc. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stated that businesses paid out more than $404 million in one year for claims brought against the business for wrongful employment acts. Comparatively, the cost of an EPLI policy is a small portion of what the business will pay if you end up on the losing side of a lawsuit.

Unfortunately, according to a recent study, 60% of businesses that choose not to purchase an EPLI policy, mistakenly think they are protected under other policies. When thousands of dollars lie in the balance of a small business, make sure you are protected with Employment Practices Liability Insurance.