• Product or food delivery
• Transporting business products to wholesalers or retailers
• Retail product delivery to consumers
• Carrying persons for short, intermediate or long distance routes
• Picking up customer items for cleaning, repair, storage, etc.

Coverage is flexible. It may be purchased as a separate policy or as part of a package of coverage that can also protect buildings and business property (equipment, furniture, etc.). A BAP generally offers:

Liability Coverage – protection for physical injury to other persons or their property because of an accident related to your covered vehicle, including legal defense cost or expense.

Comprehensive Coverage – handles loss from any cause except collision. A limited, less expensive option is available. It only protects against a set of specific causes such as fire, lightening, explosion, vandalism and several others

Collision – takes care of damage from crashes with another object or overturn of the vehicle

Towing And Labor Costs –handles expenses for moving disabled vehicles

Loss of Use—Rental Vehicle Coverage – if you damage a rental car, this option helps to reimburse the rental company for income it loses because the vehicle is out of use. Also, there may be limited coverage for injury or damage that you cause to others while using a rented vehicle anywhere in the world.

Business Auto Policy Exclusions

Typically, a business auto (or similar form) will not provide coverage for the following:

• any injury/damage that you expected or intended
• responsibility for damage you assume under a contract
• losses that should be handled by a Workers Compensation, Disability Benefits or Unemployment Compensation Law
• Bodily Injury to an employee caused by a Fellow Employee
• Damage to property that is in your Care, Custody and Control
• Any bodily injury or property damage that occurs because of Pollution
• Any loss that is related to racing, demolition or stunts

Other items that are not covered are the same as those found with most types of policies, such as Nuclear Hazard or any type of War or Military Action. Racing, Wear and Tear, Freezing, Mechanical or Electrical Breakdown, Blowouts, Punctures or Other Road Damage to Tires are also excluded.

Are you protected against business auto losses? If not, contact Peoples First, our insurance agents serve Rock Hill, Lancaster, and Fort Mill South Carolina and will be happy to answer any questions you have about your Business Auto Insurance coverage.

Property Considerations

There are gaps between your business insurance policies and your employees’ homeowners policies, leaving you vulnerable to loss due to property theft or damage. If your employee is using your company’s computer equipment to perform their job from their home, it may not be covered. Additionally, if employees use their own computer to perform company work, it may not be covered either. This is because residential insurance policies severely restrict or exclude coverage for business property. A further complication is that business property usually consists of high-valued items that are vulnerable to damage and/or to theft. Such property includes fax machines, copiers, computers, computer peripherals (monitors, printers, scanner, modems, routers), phones, answering machines, PDAs, etc.

Liability Considerations

Personal insurance policies that include liability protection typically exclude business-related losses. Further, different policies can be quite broad in interpreting how a loss is connected to “business.” Liability Policies A and B would routinely respond to handling an insured who spilled hot coffee on a guest in his home during the work day. What if the visitor was your company’s client rather than the employee’s social guest? Policy A may still offer coverage because it considers the coffee spill to be a common home hazard. Policy B, however, may flat-out exclude the loss because the injured person was in the home for a business reason.

Vehicle Liability

Your telecommuting employee will be using their personal vehicle less for going to and from work, but perhaps more for tasks related to their job, such as making deliveries or client calls. Many instances of job related use might be excluded from their personal auto coverage, which could result in a dispute.

Please read Part 2 in next Monday’s blog.

Help the underwriter understand what your company does.

We can help the underwriter better understand your business if you provide us with the following:

• company brochures and individual product sales sheets
• a copy of a sales presentation recently provided to a prospect
• a simple spreadsheet that lists your company’s revenue by each major category of product or service, and the percentage of international sales for each category, if applicable
• pre-recorded videos or webinars that explain your products/services
• floor plans and photos of your primary locations, especially if you manufacture your own products

Help the underwriter appreciate why you are a good risk.

If an underwriter feels that you are a better risk than the average company then they will be more willing to provide you with better terms and rates. Having the following information would help us market you this way.

• a claims history with all insurance companies of the past 5 years
• a copy of any and all sales contracts, purchase orders, etc., that you provide customers
• a copy or summary of any contingency or disaster recovery plans
• a copy or summary of IT and data security and protection plans, including plans for responding to a security breach
• an outline or summary of any training you provide your sales team on managing risk in contracts — we want to show that you stick with certain basic contract provisions that protect your company and do not give in to every customer request

Basically, we at Peoples First encourage you to provide us with any documentation you have readily available that will help underwriters better “picture” your company and its operations. Investing this little extra time will help you earn a more competitive proposal from commercial insurance underwriters. If you have any questions or wish to discuss this topic in greater detail, please contact us at Peoples First – we’re always eager to help our clients.

Respondents to the survey were concerned that the amount of litigation they face will increase in the coming years due to the more complex regulatory environment. In the United States labor law issues were identified as the number one source of additional litigation; in the United Kingdom it was contract disputes.

It’s important to consult with us about your contracts and customers, and to discuss possible laws that apply to your obligations under those agreements. While it won’t be possible to insure every conceivable risk – it is still worthwhile determining if specific expenses can be covered such as the cost of investigations and some forms of fines.

We specialize in commercial insurance for businesses in a wide variety of industries. Using our excusive Risk Watch™ process is a comprehensive approach to identifying risk and developing a plan to mitigate it. Please contact us today to discuss a review of your company’s process for responding to allegations of violating state or federal statutes and requirements.

Even very small companies with 2-3 employees and no “owned” vehicles have created claims in the $1 million to $7 million range in many states. When we discuss Umbrella claims – an Umbrella being the excess liability policy that provides an additional layer of insurance – with major carriers, usually 2 of their 3 largest claims each year are from an underlying auto liability claim.

There is a relatively low cost tool you can use to help reduce the likelihood of a claim in the future. Motor vehicle records (or “MVRs”) are a report for each individual holder of a driver’s license that summarizes that driver’s history of violations, accidents, tickets, etc. The evidence is that drivers that show a pattern of driving behavior that results in tickets and other incidences are more likely to create a severe accident with bodily injury to third parties.

Thankfully, MVRs are either free or relatively inexpensive (under $20) to order once a year for each employee. By simply asking each employee to provide their MVR, and then reviewing each of them and being prepared to take action accordingly, every employer can help reduce the possibility of a claim from the most likely source of large losses (auto liability).

It is best to have a written plan of action that is followed based on the results of an employee’s MVR so your response to issues is consistent. We can help you on a consultative basis to develop your own set of guidelines based on the number and type of violations for a driver. Actions can include a restriction on the employee’s driving activity on company business, change of job duties, and dismissal from employment.

Ignoring employees with extremely negative MVRs, such as those driving on a suspended license, will not serve as a defense and only increases your liability – call us today to discuss a plan for monitoring and reducing your liability exposures arising from the operation or use of vehicles on company business.

A top emerging concern are the number of new regulations coming out across a wide variety of subject areas.  How confident are you in the ability of your company to comply with new regulations?  It’s difficult to keep up with every new law or requirement – for example, those designed to protect an individual’s right to privacy – and violations can quickly result in follow-on litigation.  Corporate insurance policies, such as General Liability or Umbrella forms, frequently contain language that restricts or eliminates coverage for the expenses associated with responding to suits alleging violations of state or federal law.

Even though we are in a period of more, not less, regulations and legislation you cannot count on corporate insurance programs to indemnify you for the expenses to fight allegations or pay penalties, fines, etc.

We specialize in commercial insurance for businesses in a wide variety of industries.  Using our excusive Risk Watch™ process is a comprehensive approach to identifying risk and developing a plan to mitigate it.  Please contact us today to discuss a review of your company’s process for responding to allegations of violating state or federal statutes and requirements.

When filing an insurance claim, it is important to be truthful and to cooperate with your insurance company’s investigative procedure; not doing so may lead to a complete forfeiture of your rights. Read the following court case and learn the consequence for a retail business.

A fire in an insured’s furniture store caused damage to the merchandise, fixtures, and leasehold improvements, and the insured filed proof of loss in the amount of $129,000. Of this amount, $71,000 was for damage to merchandise “in sight” after the fire; approximately $20,000 for merchandise missing or not identified after the fire; and about $38,000 covered damage to the improvements, betterments and fixtures.

The insured and the insurance company were unable to agree upon the amount of the loss. The company conducted numerous oral examinations under oath of the insured’s principal officers and its accountant. During the last hearing, the insured announced that it was amending its proofs of loss by withdrawing the “missing merchandise” portion of its claim, reducing its total claim to $109,000.

At the same time, the insured, pursuant to policy provisions, demanded an appraisal and named its appraiser, but the insurance company refused to take part in any appraisal because of the insured’s intentional and fraudulent concealments, misrepresentations, and refusal to produce documents and information during the examination. The insurer denied liability because of the insured’s breach of warranties.

Judgment was entered in favor of the insurance company. The court stated that the policies were void because the insured had willfully refused to answer questions and produce documents. The higher court affirmed the judgment insofar as it held that the insured was not entitled to an appraisal. However, it ruled that the questions of the insured’s breach of policy provisions (their refusing to answer questions, etc.) were triable issues of fact, and the judgment was modified accordingly.

Peoples First helps its clients through simple and complex claims processes to ensure maximum, allowable benefit according to the terms and conditions of the insurance policy. Contact us should you ever be in need of assistance.

Be extra cautious and alert when traveling on business. You are more vulnerable to crime when traveling than when you are on home ground, so take precautions to protect your personal safety from threats such as theft, mugging, assaults, and other criminal acts. For example, check in daily with your supervisor. Also leave a copy of your itinerary with family or friends. And bring traveler’s checks and a credit card but leave valuables at home.

If you’re flying:

• Book a nonstop flight and arrive at the airport early.
• Pack light and stow medicines in your carryon bag.
• Leave valuables home whenever possible, and never leave baggage or personal items unattended.
• Keep purses, wallets, and other valuables secure, and be alert to what’s going on around you.
• Report any suspicious individuals or activities and unattended luggage to terminal Security.
• After check-in at an airport, go directly to your gate, where you will be more secure.
• Keep an eye on your bags as you pass through the security check.

If you’re driving:

• Know your travel route and make sure your vehicle is in good condition.
• Keep doors locked while driving, and lock up when you leave your vehicle.
• Wear your safety belt and drive defensively.
• Avoid suspicious-looking people, and never pick up hitchhikers.
• Park as near your destination as possible in a well-lit, visible spot.
• When returning to a parked car, have keys ready and glance around to make sure it’s safe. Once inside, lock doors.

If you’re in an unfamiliar city:

• Stay with the crowd on well-lit streets, and walk with someone when possible.
• Walk briskly and confidently and keep alert to your surroundings.
• Avoid shortcuts through parks, pedestrian tunnels, or alleys.
• Have the fare for public transportation ready so that you don’t have to take out your wallet.
• Avoid entering an empty subway car, and sit near the driver on a bus at night.

A recent survey by Staples Advantage, the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc., confirms that office workers stick to old habits that make it harder to fight flu in the workplace. For example, nearly 70 percent of workers admit to coming in to work while sick, a habit that increases the spread of the common virus. And 60 percent of workers whose employers have sick-day policies felt compelled to go to work because “too much going on” or they felt the need to “tough it out.”

Survey findings show perceptions of dirty or germ-laden workplace items don’t coincide with employees’ behavior:

• Nearly one-third of respondents believe their keyboard and phone are the dirtiest items in their office, yet less than 10 percent clean these items often.
• About 15 percent think the break room dish sponge is the dirtiest item in the office. Half of respondents also noted that colleagues leave dirty dishes in the kitchen.
• Less than 10 percent say they clean desk surfaces very often with disinfectants or sanitizing products, a concerning habit since 9 out of 10 respondents also said many employees at their company eat meals at their desks.
• Nearly 100 percent of survey respondents noted that they are concerned with catching a virus at work, but less than 40 percent have taken additional preventive measures to keep germs at bay.