Filling the Gaps with Endorsements

Companies may be hard-pressed to find affordable insurance policies that meet all of their business needs. Businesses concerned with obtaining coverage over a wide array of possible risks may enhance their coverage by purchasing endorsements. Endorsements address exclusions and limitations under a basic insurance policy. There may be many choices available for filling gaps in coverage.

Let’s review a few options that may help provide some additional protection for your business:

• Contingent Business Income Insurance. If a company depends on other businesses, such as manufacturers, suppliers, or distributors, its revenue stream could be seriously affected if those businesses were to suddenly shut down in the event of a fire, storm, or other disaster. Contingent business income insurance covers a business for losses that occur under such circumstances.
  
  
• Accounts Receivable Endorsement. Suppose a business’s accounts receivable records are destroyed by fire or other calamity. An accounts receivable endorsement covers a business for any amounts that are uncollectable as a result of the loss, as well as for the costs of collecting the accounts and recreating the records.
  
  
• Peak Season Limit of Insurance. During a company’s most productive season(s), higher levels of inventory may need to be maintained to cover increased sales. However, if a catastrophe were to occur, the losses sustained could exceed the amount of insurance carried. A peak season limit of insurance endorsement offers a higher amount of coverage during a business’s particular period(s) of high demand.
  
  
• Spoilage Coverage. Businesses that handle perishables must often maintain controlled conditions to prevent spoilage. A spoilage coverage endorsement protects a business against losses caused by power and equipment failure or general contamination resulting from incidents that are beyond the company’s control.
  
  
• Ordinance or Law Coverage. If a covered peril—such as a fire or tornado—damages a business’s property to the extent that the law requires its demolition or complete renovation, ordinance or law coverage insures for the loss, providing coverage to rebuild or repair a building in compliance with the most recent local building codes. Individuals who own large stakes in real estate may be particularly interested in this endorsement because of strict building codes and other safety requirements.
  
  
• Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability. Hired auto coverage protects against claims arising out of the use of vehicles leased (on a short-term basis), hired, rented, or borrowed by your business. Employers whose employees use personal vehicles for business purposes, such as driving to a sales meeting or the office supply store, could be held legally responsible for an employee who is involved in an accident. A hired and non-owned auto liability endorsement helps protect businesses against this risk.
  
  
• Coverage for Injury to Leased Workers. Contract or leased workers are a major segment of today’s workforce for many businesses. A coverage for injury to leased workers endorsement on a workers compensation policy protects these workers for injuries sustained while on the job.

Gaps in a company’s business insurance coverage can create significant risks to its operations and employees. Obtaining additional endorsements helps provide an added measure of protection in the event of an unforeseen catastrophe.

To help ensure that you and your business are properly covered, please give us a call. One of our qualified insurance professionals would be happy to assist you.

Want a Safer Workplace? Try an Incentive Program

A safe workplace is nearly impossible to attain without full employee cooperation. Therefore, implementing an incentive program may prove helpful. By providing small rewards to those who demonstrate safe behavior, you may motivate your workers to help reduce on-the-job accidents, which may, in turn, help reduce your insurance costs. Here are some tips for success:

1. Get everyone involved. Kick off the program with a company-wide meeting led by top managers, and encourage employees to make suggestions for rewards.
2. Make it fun. Use a variety of rewards, such as free lunches, gift certificates, T-shirts, tickets to events, etc., to maintain employee interest.
3. Base the incentive on specific, individual safe acts. This allows you to single out certain ideal behaviors. However, giving periodic group awards for achieving major safety goals is a good idea, too.
4. Be fair and objective. Establish detailed criteria for earning rewards and communicate these criteria to your employees and supervisors before launching the incentive program.
5. Maintain perspective. Remind your employees that the incentive program should never deter them from reporting valid injuries. Unreported health conditions may worsen if they are not given the necessary medical attention.

Maintain perspective. Remind your employees that the incentive program should never deter them from reporting valid injuries. Unreported health conditions may worsen if they are not given the necessary medical attention.

Computer Security: Breaking the Code

Security breaches on the information superhighway are an increasingly serious problem for corporate America. Hackers, computer viruses, and fraud may wreak havoc that could be financially devastating. Such losses associated with computer break-ins could threaten any business.

Savvy Detective Work

Perhaps security crime is worsening because the workplace is increasingly dependent on information technology, such as shared networks and the Internet. To protect the workplace from these unconventional and potentially costly risks, business owners should consider implementing their own cyberspace policing system.

Here are a few actions that may help prevent computer crime:

• Establish and implement security procedures. Developing a policy at the highest levels of the company can help transform information technology concerns into a “high-profile” issue. Maintaining tight security around mainframe computers and local area network file servers can help in the prevention of computer breaches and fraud.
• Equip computers with passwords and anti-virus software. Passwords can help deter hackers from cracking codes, and they may be one of the easiest methods to help prevent computer break-ins. Efficient use of this technique includes choosing unusual passwords and frequently changing them to keep potential hackers guessing. Additionally, viruses lurking in cyberspace may infiltrate computer systems and render them useless. Anti-virus programs provide protection against these attacks, and businesses should update this software regularly to combat any new viruses.
• Install firewalls and data encryption technology. Firewalls block unwelcome cybersurfers from direct access to company computers and data. They are also used to restrict employees’ personal use of the Internet during office hours. These security devices inspect every approaching Internet connection and use a predetermined set of rules to determine whether to allow that connection. Likewise, data encryption, in which information is encoded before it is transmitted, requires a particular “key” to unscramble the data on the receiving end. An encryption device can help prevent unauthorized individuals from obtaining and misusing sensitive information.
• Provide advanced protection with detection and monitoring devices. These additional security features may raise red flags or warning signals to companies by identifying repeated attempts by unauthorized individuals to break into a system.

Plan of Attack

Prudence may be the driving force behind the success of any security program. Along with common sense procedures, businesses should consider implementing software and other security measures. They should also assess how sensitive their information is in order to structure a system with the appropriate level of security. Businesses may also investigate Computer Fraud Insurance to protect against losses that security measures may not be able to prevent. Please give us a call. We can help you evaluate your needs and create affordable solutions to help combat potential computer breaches.