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

How important is it when choosing an insurance carrier that they be admitted (standard market) vs. non-admitted (excess or surplus lines)? Although it may be important, it may not be as important as choosing an insurance company with financial stability. For example, an admitted company with an A.M. Best rating of C may be more of a risk than a non-admitted carrier with a higher A.M. Best rating. Typically, insurance will not be placed with a non-admitted carrier unless it has been declined by admitted carriers (the agent is required to do their due diligence in seeking a standard market … Continue reading

Insurance for caregivers is a topic that is often overlooked, or it is often assumed there is coverage on the homeowner’s policy, but usually that is not the case. First, let’s cover who is considered a caregiver. A caregiver could be a nanny that watches your children, someone who looks after an elderly parent in their home most or all of the time, or even a housekeeper. Caregivers can be paid by W2 or 1099, but they do not work for a separate business that has its own insurance. They are considered an employee, which is essentially what excludes them … 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

After the winter that Northern Michigan and the Midwest in general has experienced, it may be safe to say that spring is quickly approaching. The sun is getting higher in the sky throughout the day, bringing warmer temperatures and now with Daylight Savings Time our daylight hours are extended. With the incredible snow totals, and extreme cold temperatures we’ve endured this winter, there are some items you may want to take into consideration when preparing your home, office building, or structures in general to be sure they are foundationally sound for what they’re about to go through this melting season. … 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