As September approaches, college students are collecting textbooks, polishing up their class schedules, and shopping for that perfect dorm room setup. Insurance is probably not the first thing on their minds. Unless - you are a Risk Management undergrad at Temple University. ALS Intern, Jason Glickstein, outlines why insurance should be on every college students’ back to school checklist.
Topics: Personal Cyber Risk, Property Risk, Risk Management Blog, Total Cost of Risk, homeowner's insurance
For the last several years Allianz has published a concise and informative report on the top risks that businesses face globally. It is a great opportunity to think about how these risks could affect your business operations and what the impact would be. When thinking about risk, it is important to think about "materiality" and what "financial impact" would be material for your company to cause a disruption. Even through many of the risks on this year’s report are readily insurable, the "disruption factor" of having to manage through a loss is worth considering.
Topics: Cyber Risk, Property Risk, Risk Identification, Supply Chain Risk
Traditionally, a cyber breach occurs and otherwise private information is stolen or made public resulting in costs such as notification expenses, IT forensics, data recovery, public relations/crisis management, legal defense, business interruption, brand/reputation damage and regulatory fines and penalties; just to name a few. However, the breadth of cyber-attacks has proven to be ever expanding. Now, breaches resulting in physical property damage are being reported more regularly which leads to the immediate question, “am I covered for such an event?
Topics: Cyber Breach, Cyber Risk, Data Breach, Property Risk, Risk Management Blog
As the world is ever changing, so are the way insurers interpret the natural disasters and how they will respond to cover these terrible events. Over the years, the U.S. has seen an increase in earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and more. The insurance industry now has created a stricter view of how they will cover these events. In particular, as we have seen with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy, the insurance industry has developed a new terminology and deductible related, specifically, to “named storm/named windstorm.”
Topics: named storm/named windstorm, Personal Lines, Property Risk, Risk Management Assessment, Risk Management Blog, The ALS Group
The construction and real estate industry continue to grow and so do the risk exposures from a fundamental inconsistency between a contract’s commercial intent and insurance policy language. “Additional Insured” is a very common requirement in a real estate or construction contract and many times there is a distinct lack of specificity with what is, actually, being required and why the provision is appropriate. Additional Insured status provides vicarious liability coverage to an outside entity, usually, an owner or general contractor, under the subcontractor’s policy. It is often a requirement in construction contracts, and it can be the source of insurance disputes if not handled correctly given the changes in the regulatory framework of today’s insurance policies.
Topics: Construction, Construction Accidents, Construction Premiums, Construction Project Risk, Insurance, Limit of Liability, Property Risk, Real Estate, Risk management, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management, The ALS Group, Total Cost of Risk
It is vital to understand specific terms found in insurance policies. The inability to do so may result in an unwanted surprise such as a lower than anticipated claim payment following a loss. For example, Actual Cash Value (ACV) and Replacement Cost (RC) are two different methods of valuation that will determine how the insured is indemnified.
Topics: Claims Management, Personal Lines, Property Risk, Risk management, Risk Management Blog
It should not be surprising that as technology evolves, so does the way that these innovations are implemented in everyday business. The construction industry tends to exemplify this notion, as new equipment that increases efficiency at the worksite is utilized and embraced. Construction giant, Komatsu, announced this month that it plans to release a series of drones that will be capable of providing the heavy lifting of the foundation work in new construction, deeming the process: “Smart Construction.” This includes equipment such as “aircraft, bulldozers, and excavators” operating unmanned, all of which could, drastically, change the landscape of construction contracting.
Topics: Construction, Construction Project Risk, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Property Risk, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management
I’m sure everyone remembers the day the lights went out for 34 minutes during the Ravens/49ers Super Bowl in 2012. Other than Ray Lewis having some choice words about the outage being more than a coincidence, the effects were minimal. What would have happened if they did not go back on?
Topics: Property Risk, Reputational Risk, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management, Super Bowl, Total Cost of Risk, Total Cost of Risk (TCoR), Travel Risk
Jury verdicts for premises liability against those who own or manage land, stores, taverns, shopping malls and apartment complexes just keep climbing. A few California verdicts include a $7.5 million judgment after a chiropractor slipped and fell in a Starbucks and a $55 million verdict for a gang-related shooting against a security company that oversaw on-site safety at an apartment complex.
Topics: Claim Reporting, Claims Handling, Claims Management, Construction, Limit of Liability, Property Risk, Real Estate, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management, Total Cost of Risk (TCoR)
Each week, landlords and authorities discover 300 methamphetamine labs in the United States, according to National Public Radio. If you own apartments, rent hotels or run boarding homes, you may run into a tenant who decides your rental properties are a great place to cook meth. Better check your commercial property policy now, because recent changes in commercial property insurance coverage forms may significantly restrict coverage for the resultant clean-up from meth “cooking” operations.
Topics: Construction, Political Risk, Property Risk, Real Estate, Risk Management Blog, Strategic Risk Management, TCoR, The ALS Group, Total Cost of Risk, Total Cost of Risk (TCoR)