Great Thinking
Employee fraud and dishonesty currently cost American businesses $400 billion each year.
One mistake projects fall victim to is not including their risk management representative in contract negotiations.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed into law in March, 2010.
When mission-critical equipment breaks down, production falters, deliveries fall behind, communication suffers, and income is interrupted. In worst-case scenarios, operations stop and clients are lost. Every business and organization is subject to this risk.
In 2010, diabetes afflicted 25.8 million people in the United States, an overwhelming 8.3% of the total population. Diabetes mellitus, commonly referred to as diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases where the body does not produce enough insulin to control the blood sugar.
Since its formation in the 1950s, businesses have discovered the benefits of the unique alternative for risk management called captive insurance. This opportunity appeals to many business leaders with an entrepreneurial drive to control risk. In a captive you become an owner of your own insurance company, which allows you to finance your risk.
Great news! Your firm has just been awarded a new contract. You eagerly review the key terms involving scope of work, schedule and fees. As usual, the insurance requirements appear to be written in a foreign language, but you are confident everything will be okay.
While the healthcare debate continues to rage on at a national level, most employers continue to struggle with the increasing health-risk factors of their employees and rising financial trends each year.
When technology as newsworthy as the Insurance Brokerage Exchange (IBX) becomes available, it merits single-subject focus on its features, benefits, and source.
In today’s environmentally conscious world, comprehensive environmental insurance has become as necessary for many businesses as general liability and automotive insurance. Driving the need are numerous liability risks, some of which will be detailed here.
Any organization with a database, web presence, e-mail or computer-based confidential records is at risk for cyber theft. Whether from laid-off employees with a grudge or hackers half a world away, the damages of cyber theft, sabotage and ineffective privacy protection can devastate any business.
Workers’ Compensation claims requires employers to know the right math equation to determine the effect to your company’s bottom line. This issue of News For You shows you how to solve the problem. It also suggests ways to reduce the occurrence of worksite injuries and their financial impact.
With success comes rewards — and risk. That fact of life has many executives and their companies looking for greater protection through Group Personal Excess Liability (G-PEL) insurance. Even those with personal excess liability (commonly known as umbrella insurance) policies in place seek the greater security of G-PEL’s higher-limit coverage.
Learn about Holmes Murphy’s approach to risk and what it can do for your company.
Directors and Officers insurance (D&O) is a complex and non-standardized form of liability protection with approximately 100 variables. The current economic climate and litigious environment make understanding D&O timely and its purchase critical.
Distracted driving is quickly becoming a public safety concern across the United States. One of the biggest distracters is the prevalent use of cell phones and electronic devices while driving. Iowa and Nebraska are stepping up their efforts to combat distracted driving by implementing a new anti-texting law effective July 1 in Iowa and July 15 in Nebraska. Drivers will incur fines if they are caught composing, reading, or sending electronic text messages or emails while driving.
Don’t let the name throw you. Inland Marine owes its origins — and misnomer — to the 17th century insurance for cargo-shipping on the high seas. Today, Inland Marine provides coverage for a wide variety of commercial exposures even those far from the salt sea air.
Homes and businesses located in high-risk zones have a one in four likelihood of flooding during a 30-year mortgage period. Such properties are nine times likelier to be damaged by flood than by fire. Even homes and businesses in low- to moderate-risk areas are statistically in danger; 20 to 30 percent of all flood claims come from these zones. Furthermore, floods account for 90 percent of all federally “declared natural disasters.”
What began in the 1870s as “Protection and
Indemnity Clubs” has come into its own in
the first decade of the 21st century. Captive
insurance is an alternative risk transfer
solution now practiced by 40 percent of
major U.S. corporations.
The rising demand for new answers to an old problem has
finally been met. Business owners are taking strategic
steps to increase employee productivity and wellness,
drive down the cost of disability, and enhance benefits
without raising costs. The approach to disability has
now shifted to Wellability.
Spend seven short minutes watching this informative video and learn how Holmes Murphy can measurably improve the health and productivity of your workers in twelve short weeks — and improve your bottom line as a result.
There are two ways to rate your risk management team. See how they rank on the service scorecard provided here, or wait and see. There is a lot more risk involved in option two.
Many business and property owners let the prospect of a flood rush right past them — like the images of natural disasters that only happen to other people in other places. Regardless of where one lives, works or owns property, the risk of floods far exceeds the threat of rising river waters.
Savvy employers know the
importance of offering comprehensive
Employee Benefits. Yet rising costs
and media commotion have directed
most attention to healthcare insurance
and wellness programs. Meanwhile, on
the sidelines sits an often-overlooked
employee recruitment and retention
solution: voluntary benefits.
Two preventive priorities are critical to
the success of a Workers’ Compensation
program. The first is to prevent conditions
that lead to injuries. The second is to prevent
a job-injured employee from retaining
an attorney. This article will
explore the second risk and provide preventive
recommendations for employers.
Risk is a given in any business. Taking
on the risk of others need not be. Yet,
contracts routinely contain language that
transfers risk. Signing such documents
without having them reviewed first by
an attorney and your insurance broker is
risky business.
Most businesses routinely enter into contracts
that contain indemnification language, hold-harmless
agreements, and insurance requirements that obligate them
to assume the liabilities of others. Before taking on the
risk of others, it is critical to understand
contract language and its implications for exposure. From an insurance
perspective, contracts are risk management in black and
white. And it’s where your attorney and your insurance
broker are invaluable resources.
Many employers assume their property insurance covers crime-related losses.
Typically, crime is not included in most property policies. Even those businesses
that buy crime coverage rarely purchase enough protection. Most business insurance
policies either exclude or provide only nominal amounts of coverage for loss of
money and securities as well as employee dishonesty exposures.
For most business leaders, risk and reward
are the yin (passive) and the yang (active)
of the game. For those leaders with an
entrepreneurial drive to control risk,
captive insurance removes “passive” from
the picture.
Consumer-driven healthcare has become a
permanent part of the big picture. What it
means and how it is being achieved has
changed.