As the effects of COVID-19 continue to impact businesses, it will, surely be an uphill battle to have insurers confirm coverage under most standard insurance policies. Ultimately, a flurry of litigation and government intervention will determine how insurers deal with the losses that their insureds are suffering and will continue to experience stemming from this disaster.

Over the next few weeks and months (maybe years), as these claims unfold, insurers will be faced with the task of interpreting policies and informing their insureds how coverage will or won’t respond. In the meantime, there are some things a business can do to preserve their position with potential COVID-19 claims.

As part of any effective risk management program, the quantification of the Total Cost of Risk (“TCoR”) is an important number to focus on.

This article focuses on how Workers Compensation (“WC”) costs contribute to a company’s TCoR and, specifically, how the Experience Modification (“X-MOD”) factor works and can be managed.

We take TCoR seriously in our risk advisory practice as having a TCoR that is lower than a company’s peers gives that company a competitive advantage in, both, how it conducts its business and the opportunities it can pursue.

Request a copy of Total Cost of Risk (TCoR) – Strategies for Cost Savings, below: 

Yesterday, the Governor of New York announced that he was going to extend the Coronavirus shutdown order until May 15^th, which, although necessary from a health standpoint, adds additional pressure to many people who need to get back to work. One of the areas that is hit very hard by this shutdown is the construction industry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, construction occupations are at the second highest number of suicides across all occupational groups, an alarming statistic to say the least.

As Coronavirus spreads worldwide, companies are thinking of ways to keep productivity up, as well as, mitigate the risks to both their employees and the organization’s bottom line. One of the ways a company can manage this is to have its employees work from home. This can be a great way to keep your business running, but only if you can identify and manage the risks involved. This article from Insurance Business America does a great job in outlining potential Workers’ Compensation risks for employees who work from home, and what you can be doing to insure your business is prepared to manage those risks.

We have all heard that phrase before, and now that Thanksgiving has passed it will be a sprint to New Year’s Eve – surely, with a few holiday parties in the middle. This is when companies often are not thinking about the risks that come with partying employees, liquor, music, dancing and potentially driving. Certainly sounds like a volatile mix!

I came across an interesting case that illustrates how critical it is to properly notice a “downstream party” of a claim (or potential claim) and require proof that notice was filed with their insurer.

The recent Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Workshop held by North Carolina State University was chock full of valuable information. It was attended by seasoned risk and audit professionals all looking for ways to improve the effectiveness of their own ERM programs.

One of the most misunderstood areas of the insurance business is claims handling. Often mishandled, this function is the reason companies buy insurance. To be certain the following four key elements are being managed effectively, there are several points to remember when evaluating your claims management program:

1. Do you have an excellent working relationship with your carrier and intermediary [broker or third party administrator (TPA)], including a written agreement on roles, responsibilities (key performance indicators – KPI’s) and communication?

Are you an owner of an ATV, snowmobile, jet ski or RV? Then you know the value of a good time. What is not so easily known is where to find the best insurance protection for your toys. Homeowners and Auto policies rarely cover both property and liability adequately for these types of vehicles. Therefore, in most cases, it is a best practice to procure a stand alone policy. A stand alone policy has the best safeguards in place to ensure proper coverage is in full effect. At a minimum, liability insurance is required in most states and relying on a Homeowners or Auto policy to provide the necessary coverage is a risky assumption that can lead to gaps in coverage. ATVs, RVs, jet skis and others are generally seen as a carveback on most policies. However, when specifically scheduled on an auto policy, ATVs are only covered for liability, not medical payments or physical damage and restrictions exist on who and what is covered. Another downfall is the increase in overall deductibles and elimination of liability coverage for other people.

How to Design Directors & Officers Program That Protects Company’s Assets both in the United States and Abroad

As we highlighted in Part 1 of doing business abroad, understanding the personal exposures of Directors and Officers is a challenge for today’s multinational companies. This is particularly important when you begin to contemplate company employees’ individual duties, the probability of potential lawsuits and the regulatory landscapes that can vary widely from country to country.