If you own a business, you probably have insurance policies for general liability, property, auto liability, and possibly workers’ compensation if you have employees.  However, there is one standard liability policy that is sometimes overlooked – umbrella liability.  No, it’s not insurance for those things you hold over your head when it rains, but much like those types of umbrellas, umbrella liability policies provide extra coverage. Commercial umbrella liability policies offer an extra layer of protection for businesses with claims against bodily injury, property damage, and other liability claims.  The policies are designed to extend coverage when your business’ general … Continue reading

Does your business work directly with clients in a professional manner or give advice as a service?  If so, your business would likely benefit from the protection of an errors and omissions liability policy.  Business professionals such as contractors, real estate agents, lawyers, marketing professionals, architects, engineers, doctors, bankers, insurance agents, event planners, and technology companies are prime candidates to carry this policy. Errors and omissions, or E&O, liability policies are a type of professional liability insurance that covers claims arising from mistakes, oversights, and negligence.  They provide coverage for misrepresentation of facts, documentation errors, and perceived poor or inaccurate … Continue reading

Employment Practices Liability Insurance, often called EPLI, is a coverage that has become more popular in recent years.  Part of the reason for the increase in popularity is due to the growing amount of lawsuits in our country for matters including wrongful termination, sexual harassment, discrimination, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, emotional distress, and more.  Those issues and cases have grown large in the public eye, with employers often assumed as the guilty party. One way to protect your business from a claim like this is to have an EPLI policy in place.  EPLI policies provide financial protection to … Continue reading

Mismanagement. Bankruptcy. Financial mishandling. Employment discrimination. If you are in the position to make decisions in your business, you could be held personally liable for the consequences of those decisions, no matter how good your intentions were at the outset.  Any party who holds an interest in the company and believes they were hurt based on your decision can expose the possibility of legal action.  This kind of situation can become very costly very quickly.  Events such as change of control in a company, dishonesty of a director or officer, dramatic change in share value, boardroom disputes, and poor trading … Continue reading

Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires, flooding, wind storms, and overall severe weather has affected millions of people and all kinds of businesses throughout the U.S. economically and logistically in the past decade. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, 2017 was the costliest year on record for weather-related disasters, which included 16 different billion-dollar disaster events that resulted in over $300 billion in losses. So far for 2019, as of April 9, we’ve already experienced 2 events exceeding $1 billion in costs in the U.S. Extreme weather events are unfortunately becoming the norm, and it is important to know what … Continue reading

Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires, flooding, wind storms, and overall severe weather has affected millions of people and all kinds of businesses throughout the U.S. economically and logistically in the past decade. According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, 2017 was the costliest year on record for weather-related disasters, which included 16 different billion-dollar disaster events that resulted in over $300 billion in losses. So far for 2019, as of April 9, we’ve already experienced 2 events exceeding $1 billion in costs in the U.S. Extreme weather events are unfortunately becoming the norm, and it is important to know what … Continue reading

If you had to guess what the fastest growing line of insurance for business is, what would you guess?  I’d like to contend that it is cyber liability.  In fact, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) cited cyber insurance as the fastest-growing line for 2017.  The reason for this jump in cyber liability popularity is many-fold.  The prevalence of smartphones, and the growing number of computer hackers put us all at risk both personally and through the businesses we interact with and own.  Large and small businesses deal with cyber security breaches on a daily basis.  Names like Target, … Continue reading

What exactly is considered pollution in the eyes of insurance?  Pollution is any material that can irritate or contaminate something or someone and cause damage.  This definition opens the door to an infinite number of claims that could occur.  Contrary to popular opinion, pollution is more than hazardous waste.  In litigation, whether or not something is considered as pollution will be determined by a court of law, and the results can be surprising!  Basically, if a material goes beyond its intended use and contaminates or irritates something or someone, the event could result in a pollution loss.  How then can … Continue reading

Winter Blues, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, affects many people this time of year and is fairly common, especially in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  Our winter weather can last for days-on-end with very limited sunlight and LOTS of snow that can make us feel trapped inside our homes.  That being said, there are numerous things you can do to fight those feelings during the winter months when the days are short and the air outside is frigid.  Here are some ideas: Do something you love! Whether it’s watching a funny movie, throwing a party, jamming out to a favorite song, volunteering by … Continue reading

If you are a business owner, you know that you are responsible for insuring your business.  What would happen if a fire or other incident occurred and you did not have enough insurance coverage to rebuild?  No one wants to think of worst case scenarios, but if you own a building or property, you will want to insure what you own to value.  Insuring to value refers to the cost to rebuild an identical building from scratch, and that equates to the amount of insurance coverage you would want.  Essentially, it’s the cost to repair or replace what you own. … Continue reading