A Bright Idea: Check Your Vehicle’s Lights and Wipers

As the days get shorter, it’s a bright idea to make sure your vehicle’s lights and wipers are working properly so you can be seen by others and your visibility is not compromised, advises the Car Care Council.

“Lights and wipers play a critical role in safe driving, as the chance of an accident increases if you can’t see or be seen,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. “From the driver’s seat you may not notice a light that isn’t working, so inspect all of your car’s lights and replace those that are out. Also, inspect and replace wiper blades so you can see clearly when wet weather hits.”

Lights are normal wear items that require periodic inspection and replacement. The lighting system provides nighttime visibility; signals and alerts other drivers; and supplies light for viewing instruments and the vehicle’s interior. In addition to replacing dimming, rapidly blinking and non-functioning lights, the following tips can help keep you safe:

• Keep headlights, tail lights and signal lights clean. External dirt and debris can dim
operational lights from being seen by others.

• Make sure that your headlights are properly aimed. Misaimed headlights blind other drivers
and reduce your ability to see the road.

• Don’t overdrive your headlights; you should be able to stop inside the illuminated area,
otherwise you are creating a blind crash area in front of your vehicle.

• If there is any doubt on whether or not your headlights should be on, turn them on. Lights
not only help you see better in early twilight, they also make it easier for other drivers to see you.

The wiper system keeps excessive water, snow and dirt from building up on the windshield, maintaining clear visibility. Many factors can accelerate the replacement interval of wipers, including operating conditions (winter conditions are tough on wiper blades), frequency of use, material and type of wipers and sunny weather. In fact, wiper blades can deteriorate faster and need more frequent replacement in desert states.

How Owning a Dog or Cat Can Reduce Stress

When thinking of ways to reduce stress in life, usually techniques like meditation, yoga, and journaling come to mind. These are great techniques, to be sure. But getting a new best friend can also have many stress relieving and health benefits. While human friends provide great social support and come with some fabulous benefits, this article focuses on the benefits of furry friends: cats and dogs! Research shows that, unless you’re someone who really dislikes animals or is absolutely too busy to care for one properly, pets can provide excellent social support, stress relief and other health benefits—perhaps more than people! Here are more health benefits of pets:

Pets Can Improve Your Mood:
For those who love animals, it’s virtually impossible to stay in a bad mood when a pair of loving puppy eyes meets yours, or when a super-soft cat rubs up against your hand. Research supports the mood-enhancing benefits of pets. A recent study found that men with AIDS were less likely to suffer from depression if they owned a pet. (According to a press release, men with AIDS who did not own a pet were about three times more likely to report symptoms of depression than men who did not have AIDS. But men with AIDS who had pets were only about 50 percent more likely to report symptoms of depression, as compared to men in the study who did not have AIDS.)

Pets Control Blood Pressure Better Than Drugs:
Yes, it’s true. While ACE inhibiting drugs can generally reduce blood pressure, they aren’t as effective on controlling spikes in blood pressure due to stress and tension. However, in a recent study, groups of hypertensive New York stockbrokers who got dogs or cats were found to have lower blood pressure and heart rates than those who didn’t get pets. When they heard of the results, most of those in the non-pet group went out and got pets!

Pets Encourage You To Get Out And Exercise:
Whether we walk our dogs because they need it, or are more likely to enjoy a walk when we have companionship, dog owners do spend more time walking than non-pet owners, at least if we live in an urban setting. Because exercise is good for stress management and overall health, owning a dog can be credited with increasing these benefits.

Pets Can Help With Social Support:
When we’re out walking, having a dog with us can make us more approachable and give people a reason to stop and talk, thereby increasing the number of people we meet, giving us an opportunity to increase our network of friends and acquaintances, which also has great stress management benefits.

Pets Stave Off Loneliness and Provide Unconditional Love:
Pets can be there for you in ways that people can’t. They can offer love and companionship, and can also enjoy comfortable silences, keep secrets and are excellent snugglers. And they could be the best antidote to loneliness. In fact, research shows that nursing home residents reported less loneliness when visited by dogs than when they spent time with other people! All these benefits can reduce the amount of stress people experience in response to feelings of social isolation and lack of social support from people.

Pets Can Reduce Stress—Sometimes More Than People:
While we all know the power of talking about your problems with a good friend who’s also a good listener, recent research shows that spending time with a pet may be even better! Recent research shows that, when conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present! (This may be partially due to the fact that pets don’t judge us; they just love us.)

It’s important to realize that owning a pet isn’t for everyone. Pets do come with additional work and responsibility, which can bring its own stress. However, for most people, the benefits of having a pet outweigh the drawbacks. Having a furry best friend can reduce stress in your life and bring you support when times get tough.

WHEN TO USE EXPERTS IN TRIALS

A recent article in the California Labor Employment Law Review discussed the dos and don'ts of using HR experts in trial. Here's a list of "appropriate" uses:

Common techniques of employee screening and selection.
Methods of employee evaluation.
Techniques for selection of employees for promotions.
Operation of seniority rules in a unionized workforce.
Processes for employee discipline.
Adequacy of policies prohibiting harassment and procedures for reporting it.
The "interactive process" of accommodating an employee with a disability.
The reasonableness of a proposed accommodation in a specific business context.
Adequacy of investigations into workplace misconduct or "whistleblower" complaints.
Management of employees with work-related illnesses or injuries.
Design and application of employee compensation and benefit plans.
Design and application of ethics codes.

What you are doing to bring this level of expert knowledge into your company proactively – thus avoiding the need for an expert at trial?

EXCLUSIONS FROM COVERAGE UNDER EPLI POLICIES

In addition to General Liability, Errors and Omissions (E&O), and Directors and Officers (D&O) policies, some employers also buy Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI). An EPLI policy usually covers claims by employees and former employees under federal, state, and local discrimination laws, including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), etc. EPLI policies usually exclude claims arising under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and sometimes the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

A recent federal district court ruling, that an EPLI policy did not cover a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), reinforces the need for employers to do a careful review of possible exclusions in their EPLI policies.

In Cracker Barrel Old County Store, Inc. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co., the EEOC sued the employer alleging systemic sexual and racial harassment based on 10 EEOC charges. The employer settled the lawsuit and signed a consent agreement with the EEOC to pay $2 million. The company had an EPLI policy and submitted the claim to its insurer. However, the insurer refused to cover the costs of the settlement, arguing that a suit filed by the EEOC was not a "claim" against the employer under the EPLI policy, which defines "claim" as "a civil, administrative, or arbitration proceeding commenced by the service of a complaint or charge, which is brought by any past, present or prospective employee(s)." The employer sued the insurer for indemnification. The trial court dismissed the company's suit, holding that because the EEOC, rather than an employee, filed the suit, the EPLI policy did not cover the claim.

This case highlights the potential cost when an employer does not understand the scope of insurance coverages. Employers should review their policies to ensure that they have a complete understanding of what their EPLI policies will and will not cover. Although this review should occur when the policy is purchased, at a minimum, the employer should review its coverage with the insurer after a lawsuit so that it has a full understanding of what will be covered.

FACEBOOK POLICIES TRICKY FOR EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES

3In the age of instant Tweets and impulsive Facebook posts, more companies are trying to figure out how they can limit what their employees say about work online without violating the law.

Confusion about what workers can or can’t post has led to a surge of more than 100 complaints at the National Labor Relations Board — most within the past year — and created uncertainty for businesses about how far their social media policies can go.

The number of cases spiked last year after the NLRB sided with a Connecticut woman fired by an ambulance service firm for criticizing her company on Facebook. The board ordered the company to change its policy that had banned workers from discussing the company online. In Fall 2011, an NLRB administrative judge ordered a non-profit group in New York State to reinstate five workers it had fired for posting Facebook complaints about working conditions.

The National Labor Relations Act protects all workers engaged in “protected concerted activity” – such as a discussion of working conditions. However, companies are concerned about the effect of disparaging online remarks that hundreds or thousands of people might see. What’s more, not everything workers write on Facebook or Twitter is necessarily legal just because they’re discussing their job; the test is whether the message calls on fellow employees to take some group action or goes “over the top” in criticizing a supervisor or employer.

Our risk management professionals would be happy to discuss this tricky issue with you.

THE REALITY OF RETIREMENT PLANNING

THE REALITY OF RETIREMENT PLANNING

5In August 2011, CNNMoney.com polled more than 8,000 individuals asking whether their retirement plans are on track. More than half (51%) said "Yes," 29% said "Not quite but we've got a plan," 12% said "Retire? I'll be working forever," and 8% said "Haven't got a clue." This is consistent with other polls I've seen about how people manage their finances. For example, roughly half of Americans have a personal budget and the other half don't. Chances are that the half with budgets has their retirement plans on track. Many employees will be working much longer than expected, in large part, due to their financial ignorance.

What implication does this have for employers? Consider this:

More than one in three workers (36%) say they expect to retire after 65, and one in four workers (25%) actually do so. How do you expect to manage this fact? How will it affect any succession planning? What will be its impact on productivity and customer relations? If you're an HR That Works user, please watch our Webinar, Rehirement vs Retirement! Understanding, Attracting and Retaining the Mature Workforce, presented by Gail Geary.
Don't underestimate the importance of financial education. Two years ago, we did a Webinar that remains relevant today with Dave Ramsey's business coach, George Campbell. This Webinar explained how the financial stress of individual employees compounds to affect a company as a whole. We've also brought in the nation's top teachers of accounting to do a Webinar on The Accounting Game. We're currently setting up a webinar with the Certified Financial Planner Organization to teach basic financial planning on the home front.

As employers, we have to acknowledge that if we don't address the two greatest concerns of our employees – how they handle their health and how they handle their money – the impacts of those challenges will fall on our organizations. Please make sure to attend the webinar on Financial Planning.

Happy Travels…

Airport pat downs? Full-body scans? Fuhgeddaboudit.

With the holidays thundering toward us like Rudolph on Red Bull®, the last thing you want to worry
about is the little gift you’ll get from the TSA on your next trip to the airport.

Airport security is an inescapable part of travel. At Identity Theft 911, we watch the wrestling match
between security and convenience play out every day as we help fraud victims reclaim their lives.
And here’s what we’ve learned so far:

You can have great convenience.
You can have great security.
But you rarely can have both.

While we can’t relieve your angst about which option to choose at the security gate, we can offer you a few pithy thoughts to mitigate your agitation during holiday travels and into the new year.

Wishing you safe skies, short lines and a joyous New Year!

Some Gifts Last Forever

With the holidays upon us, everyone is looking for the perfect gift, especially for their children or grandchildren. US News and World Report published an article on its website listing six financial gifts you can give a child that will make future holidays even brighter than this one. Here’s a quick summary of what author Emily Brandon suggested:

A 529 plan: This is a college savings plan – either a prepaid tuition plan for a specific college or an education investment account.

A Roth IRA: If your child is working and earning an income, you can put “matching” money into a Roth IRA, up to $5,000. The money grows tax-free because your contributions were made with after-tax dollars.

A savings bond: This is great for teaching the power of compound interest and investing for the long-term.

Cash: Cash is always great! (But remember, once it is spent, it’s gone – with no lasting memory.)

Financial advice: Use a non-family financial professional. This is especially good for adult children who are trying to get their feet on the ground.

A piggy bank: A bank is an excellent first experience for putting away money instead of spending it.

What the article didn’t mention was the gift of life insurance. A policy that parents or grandparents give can become a lasting gift for the child’s financial future. It can provide cash for college, a new home, a new business or for changing family and financial need, money for emergencies when it is needed most, and protection of the child’s insurability.

Sure, there may be no need for insurance protection today, but there will be in the future. A small policy with a guaranteed policy purchase option for additional insurance in the future may be a gift that can never be duplicated if the child develops health problems.

Think about it. Would you like your grandchild to remember you forever? A gift of life insurance can do this.

SAGE ADVICE

A recent issue of Volleyball USA shared wise advice from 12 of the top volleyball minds in the nation. As someone who not only has coached kids' teams, but also many executives, I found valuable pearls of advice in the article that can help all of us to be better managers and leaders:

Control the controllable. Don't spend time dwelling on the last play – good or bad. This holds true of the workplace. What was not controllable is what Dr. Deming would call a general variation. Eliminating general variations is the responsibility of management. Trying to control uncontrollable or special variations is extremely difficult and tends to be a waste of time. Don't dwell on mistakes made. Correct the problem and move on.
Pursue perfection. It's unattainable, but striving for it will bring out the best in your players. Again, Dr. Deming would say "Amen." He taught Japanese industry to manufacture toward perfection, not toward a tolerance. This is one reason why the Lexus brand is "the relentless pursuit of perfection." Do your best to generate perfect hiring, retention, performance, motivation, teambuilding, and compliance practices. Settling for anything less is a mistake.
Have fun! The team has to be able to laugh, and sometimes it's at the coach's expense. Life is too short to not have fun managing and working with employees. Having fun is a choice. So is being a fun boss – or employee.
When under stress, call a timeout. I'll often call a timeout and gather my work team to do a head check, outside of our "normal schedule." Owners and coaches have to be sensitive to when it's time for a timeout.
Coaching and functional teams are about relationships of trust. If you want to develop trust in your team, you have to prove yourself to be trustworthy. I believe that trust is the single most important factor in the workplace. People who trust each other perform better. People who trust each other don't sue each other. The basis for trust lies in both the ability and the desire to perform. That's true of you and anyone you manage. One of the best ways to know that you can trust somebody is to test their skills and assess their character.
Talent isn't rare. What's rare is a talented athlete who has the work ethic to become the player they're capable of becoming. We've all seen "talented" employees underperform just because they're not driven toward excellence. In a sense, they're wasting their talent. There are also times when management can dampen the desire to perform, especially when most of the energy focuses on pointing out mistakes rather than acknowledging victories.
Championship teams find ways to win when it's difficult to do so. Things aren't going to be rosy all the time – just ask anyone who's been in business for the past three years. However, even in a recession many companies have survived and thrived. As the saying goes, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going!"
Although coaches are change agents, they need to buy in before there can be any significant change. Bosses are change agents, too! How well are you selling your vision and getting buy-in? How can you make the notion of change something that people embrace rather than try to protect themselves against?
Design your offensive and defensive system around your athletes, not your athletes around your system. Determine the strengths and weaknesses of your employees and design a system that plays to their strengths. Again, there's a consistent theme of being clear about employee skill sets and affinities. None of us are good enough to guess at these things – that's the value of using testing and assessment tools. Ultimately, you need to put a square peg into a square hole.
Winning is a by-product of taking care of your players. Focus on helping them become better people and they will become better players. I'm always amazed how many employers don't understand this. Very few employers are willing to invest in their employees and prefer to squeeze what they can out of them. If you're not engaging in education, teambuilding, and other ways of growing your people, there's no way you'll be a long-term winner.
The worst mistake you can make is being afraid to make mistakes. Amen! In fact, we have to make mistakes faster than our competition. We try to mitigate against the potential of making a mistake. See the Webinar I did on "Stop Making Mistakes!"
As a coach, you get what you tolerate, whether errors, technique, or behavior. As the Buddha said, "What comes to you comes from you." What are you tolerating in yourself or others? Are you the type of coach/boss who settles for mediocrity because demanding excellence might require a different quality of effort on your part?
The "we" is greater than the "me." Business is a team sport. As they say, there's no "I" in team. Are you focused on providing incentives for the team first or individuals first? Remember, a rising tide floats all boats. Check out the five-minute video I did on a powerful team-building technique.
Don't allow your people into the game until they're ready to play. Do your employees come to work ready to perform? How many employees prefer to begin the workday by gossiping? As one of the coaches stated, "Once they walk in, it's time to go to work." They should do their talking, texting, and lounging elsewhere.
Get the best athletes who qualify for your program. There's no substitute for getting the right person in every seat on the bus. Great coaches know this – and so do great business leaders. The book Good to Great makes this point loud and clear.
If players have excellent results using their own style, do not change their technique. This is always a Catch-22, especially in the sales arena. For example, you might want your salespeople to sell a certain way that goes against the grain of how a very successful person is selling currently. Remember, what matters most is producing results.
Select the skills to teach by identifying the most athletic movements, and copying the great players. This idea of "modeling" applies to successful people and companies. What's the most important activity or function that your most productive employees perform? What is it about the "how" of their performance that all people who perform this function should consider a "best practice" (bearing in mind the advice about letting top performers stick to their own style)?
Enter the gym with the beginner's mind. Every day offers an opportunity to improve, as long as players remain open to learning. The same thing holds true for coaches and bosses. Do you come to work every day with a "beginner's mind"? Conversely, do you think you've figured it all out already? A great question to ask yourself is: "What can I learn today?"

To what degree are the owners, managers, and supervisors at your company following these well-tested bits of coaching wisdom?

DO YOU REALLY NEED FULL REPLACEMENT INSURANCE ON YOUR CURRENT BUILDING?

The owners of a new company found a building on the market for an affordable price, so they bought it. Built in the 1940s to manufacture aircraft for the war effort, the metal structure had a large open space. The company occupying this space was in the software development business and the building was much larger than it needed, but the price made it seem like a sensible move. However, the owners got a surprise from their insurance agent about property coverage. Insurance companies base limits of insurance on the cost of replacing a building exactly as it was before the loss. The cost of reconstructing this old building was much higher than both its purchase price and that of other suitable properties. The company did not need that much insurance, and paying the higher premium for it would have been wasteful, so the owners asked the agent for alternatives. What if, they asked, we don’t rebuild our building as it was?

After a fire or some other catastrophe destroys a building, its owners may decide not to rebuild or replace with a similar structure for a number of reasons.

As was the case with the software company, the current building’s design may be impractical. The company bought the building because of a good price, not because of its large open space. A software developer ordinarily does not need that much space; if it were to rebuild, it would almost certainly choose a smaller building with a different layout. Also, very old buildings often include materials that builders do not commonly use today, such as plaster and lathe. Reconstruction with these materials is expensive and often unnecessary for the continued operation of the business.
The company may decide to consolidate the operations of two locations into one. The second location may have the capacity to absorb the first one’s operations, and management may feel that it will gain efficiencies by consolidating.
Depending on the building’s age, it may not meet current building codes. The local government may require any new buildings to meet expensive new codes.

The standard Business Property insurance policy states that the insurance company will pay “actual cash value” -- the cost of replacing the property minus an amount for depreciation. However, it offers the option of valuing a loss at replacement cost without deduction for depreciation. A business that chooses this option will need to purchase the amount of insurance equal to the cost of replacing the building “as is.” The company will pay the difference between the actual cash value and the replacement cost only if the property owner actually rebuilds or replaces the property, and then only if he does so as soon as reasonably possible after the loss. The policy also provides a small amount of additional insurance (typically the lesser of 5% of the insurance on the building or $10,000) to cover the increased cost of construction resulting from changes in building codes.

Businesses like the software company, who do not need an exact replacement of their current buildings, should ask their agent about adding a “functional building valuation” endorsement to their policies. It establishes a limit of insurance somewhere between actual cash value and full replacement cost and allows the property owner to replace the building with one that fulfills the same function as the old one at a lesser cost. The discussion with the agent should also include increased “ordinance or law” coverage to provide additional insurance for increased costs from new building codes. With the right attention to detail, a business can get the property insurance it needs without having to waste money on unnecessary coverage.

IRS ISSUES RULES FOR EMPLOYER-PROVIDED CELL PHONES

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidelines to clarify the tax treatment of employer-provided cell phones. The guidance relates to a provision in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which removed cell phones from the definition of listed property, a category under tax law that normally requires additional recordkeeping by taxpayers.

The Notice provides guidance on the treatment of employer-provided cell phones as an excludible fringe benefit. According to the Notice, when an employer provides an employee with a cell phone primarily for non-compensatory business reasons, the business and personal use of the cell phone is generally nontaxable to the employee. The IRS will not require recordkeeping of business use in order to receive this tax-free treatment.

Simultaneously, an IRS memo to its examiners announced a similar administrative approach that applies to arrangements common to small businesses that provide cash allowances and reimbursements for work-related use of personally owned cell phones. Under this approach, employers that require employees, primarily for non-compensatory business reasons, to use their personal cell phones for business purposes may treat reimbursements of the employees' expenses for reasonable cell phone coverage as nontaxable. This treatment does not apply to reimbursements of unusual or excessive expenses or to reimbursements made as a substitute for a portion of the employee's regular wages.

Under the guidelines, when employers provide cell phones to their employees or reimburse employees for business use of their personal cell phones, tax-free treatment is available without burdensome recordkeeping requirements. The guidance does not apply to the provision of cell phones or reimbursement for cell-phone use that is not primarily business related, because such arrangements are generally taxable.

Details are in the memo and in Notice 2011-72, posted on IRS.gov.

TAKING PART IN PREVENTIVE VEHICLE MAINTENANCE

An accident or breakdown of a company vehicle can hurt your productivity and hurt the reputation of your company if it results in late shipments or deliveries and no-shows for appointments. Believe it or not, there is a very easy way to reduce the number of breakdowns and accidents that your vehicle fleet has and that is by continuously providing preventative maintenance.

Preventive maintenance is done outside of the scheduled oil changes and tune ups and instead occurs when an employee spots something that could become a problem and reports it to the maintenance department before it disables the vehicle.

No one knows the company vehicles as well as the drivers and it is up to them to make sure that preventative maintenance occurs. There are several steps you can follow to do so.

The Daily Pre-Drive Checklist. Every day before you begin your work, you should go through a checklist of inspection points for the company vehicle you will be driving. The checklist you use should encourage you to check the following:

The condition of the service, parking, emergency, and trailer brake systems.
Integrity of the wheels, tires, and rims.
Functionality of the horn, reverse alarm, windshield wipers, headlights, brake lights, reverse lights, steering wheel and turn signals.
Visibility and effectiveness of the windshield, side windows, rearview and side view mirrors, side markers, dashboard instruments, and reflectors.
Note the cleanness of the exhaust system and the ability of the vehicle to idle without stalling.
The presence of a safety kit including flares, reflectors, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, tools to assist with minor repairs while on the road, any safety items needed by your industry. You should also check the cleanliness and effectiveness of each item in the kit.

Daily Incident Reports When Necessary. There are many minor problems that can be missed when you complete your daily pre-drive checklist that become abundantly clear when you drive the vehicle for an extended period of time. If you notice any problems while you drive, you should report them to the maintenance department immediately so that the vehicle can be repaired before the problem puts another employee in danger or pulls the vehicle off the line. Be sure to document the signs of the problem, when it occurred and anything that may have been unusual about the driving conditions that day.

IS GROUP LIFE INSURANCE ENOUGH TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY’S FINANCIAL FUTURE?

If you are expecting Life insurance to fully provide for your family’s financial security, then you should think beyond the Group Life insurance that may be provided by your employer. A group policy might give you a false sense of security in believing you have adequate coverage.

Although some employers might offer several times your regular salary in Life insurance benefits, you owe it to yourself to ask if this is enough. How long would this amount last given your current expenses and debts? There is also the question of providing for your children, and their higher educational needs. It is important to make the time and effort to calculate how much is enough to cover your family’s financial needs should the unthinkable happen. This is especially important if you are the sole wage earner for the family.

As a general rule, people should have seven to ten times their annual salary in Life insurance, particularly younger people with families to raise. Younger people need to be aware that now is the optimum time to purchase Life insurance; as their policy will cost much less than if they wait a few years.

If you are starting a new job or thinking about switching jobs, there is vital information about group life insurance benefits that you need to consider.

If you leave a job, the downside of most group policies is that you cannot take the coverage with you; it may or may not be portable. Even if the coverage is portable, the insurer will normally require conversion of your term policy to a higher priced Whole Life policy. Certainly, it is preferable to accept the high priced conversion policy rather than having no coverage at all.

Advantages of Group Life policies:

Employers provide policies, most often at no charge to you.
Policies can be used as a supplement to an Individual Life policy.
Most policies are guaranteed issue with no medical underwriting required.

Disadvantages of Group Life policies:

Group Term Life insurance has no cash value and cannot be borrowed against.
There is no flexibility or choice with regard to the terms of the policy.

When it comes to Life insurance, don’t leave your family in a precarious financial position. Take steps to make certain your coverage is more than a fraction of what is really needed.

DOES A HOMEOWNERS POLICY COVER YOUR HOME-BASED BUSINESS?

With both technology and the internet, more and more people are running home-based businesses, either full-time or part-time. But will a Homeowners policy cover the risks of a home-based business? In nearly every case, the answer is no. The only exception to this might be if a Homeowners policy has a special endorsement, such as an endorsement to run a day care operation from your home. Yet fewer and fewer companies offer such endorsements. Additionally, some policies may give a very limited amount of coverage for business property, such as a computer. The bottom line is, nearly all Homeowners policies clearly exclude business operations and not having a proper coverage in place can leave you with uninsured exposure. This is why you need separate business insurance to cover your home-based business risks.

Home-based business owners might feel that they do not need coverage because nobody steps foot on their premises. The problem is that liability claims often happen away from the business premises. This can include a number of scenarios, including someone taking action for information on your website or someone getting injured from the product or service you provide. Most business policies include coverage for personal injury lawsuits, which means someone takes legal action against you for things like libel or slander. Competitors and customers both can sue a business owner for personal injury. A business policy also covers off-premises injury, such as if someone trips on, slips on, or is injured by any kind of property you take out in the field. It will also cover you during trade shows and usually meets the insurance requirements that some trade shows may require.

From a property standpoint, any business property you might have in your home is usually excluded or has very limited coverage under a Homeowners policy. Getting coverage to protect your computers, equipment, furniture, inventory and any other physical assets helps keep your business in operation with minimal disruption and financial loss. A business policy also usually covers loss of income, which is payment for income you did not earn as a result of a loss covered under your policy. Policies may also include coverage for things like valuable papers, damage to property of others, property coverage off-premises and a number of other additional coverages.

A Business Owner’s Policy includes the coverage described above, and is specifically designed to protect the unique interests and property of a business owner. This package policy includes nearly all, if not most, of the coverage you need. However, if you are providing some kind of professional advice, consulting, or other non-tangible professional services, you might also need a Professional Liability policy. This is also known as Errors & Omissions insurance. In addition, if you have any employees, you are probably required by law to get Workers Compensation insurance. Depending on the type and size of business you own, you might have further insurance needs.

Hoping that your Homeowners policy is going to cover you in the event of a claim will leave you frustrated if your business experiences a loss. Businesses have a much higher risk than a homeowners policy allows for, and homeowners claims adjusters will quickly deny coverage for business-related claims in the event of a loss. Talk to one of our insurance agents today to explore your business insurance needs and options.

DEVELOPING HEAVY EQUIPMENT INSPECTION GUIDELINES CAN HELP KEEP YOUR WORK SITE SAFE

Many modern construction jobs could not exist without the assistance of flatbeds, pickups, off-highway dump trucks, loaders, scrapers, and bulldozers. Needless to say that work sites today are swarming with such heavy equipment. Although crucial to the work being done, this equipment can easily transition from an asset to a danger if it is not properly and regularly maintained and inspected.

What Does OSHA Say? Sadly, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) rules aren’t very comprehensive and can often be vague when it comes to guidelines and checklists on inspecting heavy equipment properly. There are, however, some general guidelines that you should follow:

Materials and equipment should be inspected by a competent employee on a daily basis, or more frequently if needed.
OSHA doesn’t have any specific requirements for mechanized equipment and motor vehicles, with the exception of when they’re being transported or used near power lines. That said, OSHA does state that any equipment that will be left unattended at dark should have reflectors, lights, or barricades so that the location of the machinery can be identified easily.
Off-highway motor vehicles must be inspected at the start of each shift, which should include ensuring all the essential equipment and parts are free of obvious damage that could potentially cause a malfunction or failure and are otherwise in a safe operating condition. The trailer brake connections, emergency stopping system, and hand brake components of the service brakes must be checked. The tires, horn, seat belts, steering mechanism, coupling devices, operating controls, and safety devices must also be checked. Should job site conditions require the use of the defroster, windshield wipers, lights, reflectors, and/or fire extinguishers, these too must be checked. All damaged parts must be repaired properly before the vehicle can be used on the job site, even when the damage is seemingly minor.
OSHA doesn’t have inspection checklists for earthmoving equipment, such as loaders, scrapers, wheel tractors, crawlers, tractors, bulldozers, off-highway trucks, graders, and so forth, but does state that seat belts must be provided.
Employers should designate a competent person, meaning someone who has been trained properly in inspection guidelines, to inspect all heavy equipment on a frequent and regular basis. Note that the word “frequently” generally means “daily” in OSHA language.

Drafting Your Own Inspection Checklists. Since OSHA guidelines are so vague on the proper inspection of heavy equipment, safety experts commonly recommend that employers refer to the manufacturer’s manual for each individual piece of machinery being used on their job site and draw up their own inspection checklists using a combination of this information and that from OSHA.

However, heavy equipment manuals rarely include a detailed, comprehensive checklist. For equipment that doesn’t include one, and many likely won’t, you can use the machine’s maintenance procedures and operating instructions as a guide to create your own comprehensive checklist.

You might want to use the equipment’s OSHA inspection guidelines and the maintenance and operating information that you get from the equipment’s manual to develop several different checklists - one for site safety, one for systems, and one of safety equipment.

Once developed and ready for implementation, make sure that you explain thoroughly each of the checklists to your employees. Any employee that operates heavy equipment should be trained on the checklists and the importance of their completion each day before work ever begins.

It might take a little effort on your part, but having comprehensive, easily understood inspection checklists on every piece of heavy machinery on your work site is vital if you want to keep your business operations running smoothly and your workers safe. Don’t forget that having these checklists in place will essentially be pointless if your employees aren’t trained on how to use them properly.

UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS AND DECLINING HEALTH IMPELS EMPLOYER COSTS

An employer’s health care expenditures are greatly impacted by the overall health of their workforce. In fact, the March 2011 Thomson Reuters Workforce Wellness Index found that the unhealthy behaviors of employees cost their employer an average of $670 per year, per employee.

The Thomson Reuters Workforce Wellness Index tracked the collective health of American workers with an employer-sponsored health insurance plan by considering six risk factors - blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood glucose levels, and alcohol and tobacco usage. The costs associated with less-than-optimal health was also gauged.

The index declined two percentage points to 84.4% between 2005 and 2009. An ideal state of health, whereby there aren’t any behavioral risk factors or risk-related additional health care costs within a certain population present, is represented by a score of 100. The decline in ideal health is a major contributing factor when it comes to the rising health care costs for U.S. employers.

The index found that the six behavioral risk factors mentioned above were associated with 14% of the direct health care costs among the working, privately insured population. And, of the average $670 per employee that unhealthy behaviors cost the employer, $400 is attributed to high BMIs and $150 is attributed to elevated blood glucose levels. A separate study by Duke University also showed a clear relationship between how much is spent on a worker’s Workers Compensation claim and their BMI, which uses height and weight to measure body fat. The Duke study estimated that Workers Compensation claims for obese workers averaged $51,000 and those for workers of a normal/average weight averaged $7,500 dollars.

Given the research, it would be prudent for any employer trying to find ways to reduce their health care costs to confront the behavioral risks among their workforce. Experts recommend that employers and insurance providers compare their beneficiaries against the national norms, as this will help begin identifying and addressing any specific problem areas. What else can you, the employer, do?

Employee Wellness Programs. According to statistics from the CDC, employee lifestyle choices are attributed to 75% of an employer’s productivity losses and health care costs. Workplace wellness programs have been proven to improve employee health and therefore improve a company’s financial bottom line. In fact, the Wellness Council of America found that three dollars in health care costs are saved for each dollar invested in a wellness program.

Although the benefits to employer and employee alike are clear in writing, studies have shown that employee participation in wellness programs only averages 5% when an employer doesn’t offer incentives. A 2011 survey by employee support and work/life benefit provider Workplace Options showed the following:

Of the respondents, 76% felt it’s appropriate for companies to provide incentives for employees to better their well-being and health.
If offered an incentive, 73% of the respondents would enroll in their employer’s wellness program to better their personal health.
Only 36% of the respondents worked for an employer offering initiatives like wellness coaches, fitness programs, and on-site health screenings.

With the cost of health care premiums, absenteeism, and Workers Compensation continuing to rise for employers, many are starting to embrace the idea that offering employees rewards to pursue a healthy lifestyle is a worthy investment gamble. A Fidelity Investments and National Business Group on Health study showed that employee wellness incentives per employee increased from $260 in 2009 to $430 dollars in 2010. Representatives from the study noted that employers now face the challenge of getting employees to continue the healthier behaviors they adopt over the long run, not just temporarily from an incentive.

SEVEN TIPS ON CLASSIFYING WORKERS AS EMPLOYEES VERSUS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

Small business owners can hire individuals as either employees or independent contractors. Which classification a hired individual falls under is often a confusing process for business owners, but it’s this critical classification that affects what tax documents must be filed; how much you, the business owner, pays in taxes; as well as whether or not you should be withholding from a particular worker’s paycheck or not.

If you own a business and hire people, then you should keep these seven points in mind as you go about hiring workers as either employees or independent contractors:

If you, as an employer, intentionally or otherwise misclassified your workers, then you could suffer significant tax bills and be facing hefty penalties for not filing the appropriate tax forms and not paying employment taxes.
You should know and understand how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determines the relationship between a worker and a business. The IRS uses the following three factors in determining this relationship:
Type of relationship, which means how both your business and the worker views the relationship.
Financial control, which refers to whether or not your business can control or direct the business and monetary aspects of the worker’s job.
Behavioral control, which refers to whether or not your business can control or direct how work is done through means like training or instruction.
IRS Form SS-8, which is labeled as the Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding, can be filed by employers and/or workers. This form essentially asks the IRS to determine if a specific worker’s status should be classified as an employee or as an independent contractor. IRS form SS-8 can be obtained online at IRS.gov or by calling 1-800-829-3676.
Generally speaking, a worker should most likely be classified as an employee if the employer can direct or control what is being done and how it’s done.
Generally speaking, a worker should most likely be classified as an independent contractor if the employer only directs or controls the result of the work, and not the manner, means, or methods being used to accomplish the end result.
Do ensure that workers are aware of their classification, or worker status. This will not only help them avoid higher tax bills, but also avoid losing any valuable benefits.
Check out the small business tab on the IRS.gov website and IRS publications 15-A, 1779, and 1976 to find out more about determining a worker’s status as either an employee or as an independent contractor.

SEVEN STEPS TO SAFER, HEALTHIER EMPLOYEES

It’s tough to run a company. However, taking steps can make your job easier and your workplace safer. You’re probably already doing most or all of these things, but just in case, here’s a quick review:

Ensure compliance with safety and health standards. Comply in detail with OSHA standard that applies to your operations and your workplace. Check state regulations, which take precedence, if they’re stricter than federal standards. Enforce compliance with your own safety policies.
Keep employees informed about hazards. Identify every hazard in every work area and in every job, and make sure employees with potential exposure know what the hazards are, how they’re dangerous, how to protect against them, and what to do if they’re exposed to a particular hazard.
Take appropriate steps to minimize risks. This involves many things, including:
Well-conceived and implemented workplace safety and health programs.
Routine and thorough inspections and safety audits.
Effective engineering, administrative, and work practice controls.
Frequent and effective employee training.
Routine workplace maintenance.
Teach employees to work safely. Train frequently to keep workers up to date on workplace and regulatory changes – and to keep them aware, alert, and prepared to work safely.
Monitor performance and provide feedback. Don’t assume that workers will use what they learn in training or do what their supervisors tell them to do. For all kinds of reasons, workers will decide to take risks or ignore warnings and instructions. Make sure your supervisors monitor safety performance and provide feedback to maintain safe and healthy behavior.
Pay attention to employees’ suggestions and complaints. Although you might not be able to use all their suggestions or be thrilled about their complaints, listening to employees is essential to get them on board with your safety and health programs and following your safety rules. The big plus here is that employee participation leads to employee ownership, which leads to employee-driven safety and a safer workplace.
Correct problems quickly. Foot-dragging over hazard abatement tells your employees that you don’t care about their safety. Whenever a safety or health problem comes to your attention, take swift and effective action.

AVOID OSHA PENALTIES EASILY

Employers are fined millions of dollars each year for OSHA violations. The citations that result in fines are often overlooked by supervisors. Although employees usually receive generic information about OSHA standards in most workplaces, it’s important to implement training procedures that make OSHA’s rules clearer. It’s important for employees and employers to be aware of the penalties. To make the workplace more efficient and reduce OSHA penalty risks, consider the following changes.

Ergonomic Support. Companies that find ways to prevent repetitive motion disorders won’t face penalties and citations from OSHA. Another benefit these employers enjoy is a lower Workers Compensation premium. The best way to implement one of these low-cost changes is to analyze how workers perform tasks, look for strain reduction techniques and implement new changes. Focus on strain reduction techniques for backs, necks and joints.

Keep Better Records. Good documentation is one of the best ways to avoid OSHA penalties. When OSHA inspectors note gaps in the 300 log, they usually implement a full safety audit. If there are log deficiencies in the past few years, be sure to invest the necessary time to fix them. Employee files and workers’ compensation records can usually supply the missing information.

Implement a Disaster Plan. It’s important to have a plan that is effective. Famous earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, pandemics and terrorist attacks in history have taught everyone that preparedness is the key to surviving any disaster. Be sure that all emergency disaster plans include the following:

Safe building evacuation procedures.
Training for employees regarding what to do during emergencies.
Proper sanitation and hygiene procedures.
Arranging for business operation from remote locations.
Stocking emergency supplies, food and first-aid kits.
Communication methods and procedures for customers, vendors and families.

Remedy Routine Violations. Some of the most costly safety violations are easy and cheap to correct. The following violations result in costly fines but are easy to fix:

Exits that are partially or fully blocked.
Dirty or hazardous work areas due to poor housekeeping.
Lack of goggles, gloves, covers and other required safety equipment.
Flammable and dangerous materials that are stored improperly.

Although they’re simple problems to prevent initially, they’re on a list of the most common OSHA violations. These problems are often easy to overlook. It’s important to implement procedures and checklists to ensure they’re never an issue.

Consider Safety as a Profit Instead of a Cost. The cost of implementing and maintaining proper safety procedures can be viewed as a profit or a cost. Those who view it as a cost are more likely to find themselves with a handful of OSHA citations. They’ll also find that those citations are far more expensive than the cost of preventing the problems. Employers who view the safety standards as a profit are more likely to implement strict procedures and have a good system for maintaining them. The small cost of keeping safety procedures in operation is considered a wise investment. Another important issue to consider is that insurance doesn’t always cover the cost of workplace accidents that result from employee negligence. Most of the OSHA standards are in place to prevent negligence. With that thought in mind, it’s important to remember that any accident resulting from failure to comply with OSHA may not be covered by insurance. This is another good reason to follow the standards set by OSHA. For questions about workplace insurance policies and the specifics of what is covered in them, contact us.

TRIM COSTLY MEDICAL EXPENSES WITH GOOD HEALTH CARE HABITS

As the cost of health care expenses have continued to increase, health insurance has simultaneously become an important element to prevent people with health issues from choosing between not seeking needed care and going bankrupt. Whether privately purchased or employer-sponsored, health insurance plans do play a vital role in keeping health care costs in America at a somewhat manageable level for most people. That said, a lot of Americans are still unknowingly paying more than necessary on their medical expenses.

Whatever end of the financial spectrum you’re on, you’re probably more than willing to take a few simple steps if it would result in reducing your health care spending. You can actually significantly cut your medical expenses just by becoming familiar with your personal practices and health insurance plan.

Pay attention to your health. Regular exercise isn’t just good for the mind and body, it’s also good for your finances. Living a healthy lifestyle is one of the best financial moves a health insurance consumer can make. Countless studies have shown that those with a healthy lifestyle, including staying active and eating healthy, live longer and spend only a fraction of what those with unhealthy lifestyles do in health care expenses. If you want to lower your medical expenses and visit your physician less frequently, then make sure you’re following an exercise plan approved by your physician and avoiding unhealthy habits like tobacco use or excessive alcohol consumption.

Always remember to follow your health care plan. One of the main causes of patients having to pay a medical bill out-of-pocket is from visiting a doctor or medical facility that isn’t part of their particular health plan’s provider network. Claims for out-of-network providers may be paid at a reduced amount or rejected entirely. To help you avoid such often unnecessary expenses, ask your insurer for a complete listing of the doctors and hospitals in your network. Whenever possible, choose a doctor within the network. You can also make a plan for emergencies that would help you avoid costly co-payments for hospital emergency room visits.

Always know and follow the rules pertinent to your particular policy and insurer. These rules can vary from policy to policy and insurer to insurer; don’t assume one policy will be the same as another. For example, some insurance policies, such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs), are structured to only provide coverage for specialist visits when your primary care physician refers you to the specialist. On the other hand, preferred provider organizations (PPOs) could provide partial reimbursement if you visit an out-of-network doctor, but you’ll still be responsible for a greater portion of the bill than when using a doctor in your network. The insurance lingo itself can also be fairly complex. Ask your insurance agent if you have any difficulty understanding the specifics of your coverage.

A good rule to remember for most any type of insurance policy is that a higher deductible generally results in lower premiums. A lot of people pay high premiums in an effort to keep their co-pays down even though they’ve rarely had a need to visit a hospital or specialist. Those in good health, that don’t have a history of frequent hospital or doctor visits, and that don’t expect either element to change may be spending more in premiums than they would ever save in lower co-pays. In this case, it may be better to consider accepting a higher deductible to save money on your monthly premiums.

Maintaining a health insurance plan is just a necessary evil with the cost of health care services today, but do ensure that it isn’t the only way you’re trying to control your health care expenses. Take every opportunity to trim the fat and control your health care expenses. You surely have better places to spend your money than on costly, bad health care habits that result in additional costs, unnecessary doctor and hospital trips, and high payments.

ARE YOUR SAFE DRIVING SKILLS UP TO PAR?

As if we didn’t already have enough distractions, on-board GPS systems, portable DVD players, iPods, and Smartphones have created more driving distractions than ever before. And, it’s certainly not atypical for a vehicle simultaneously to have ringing phones, cartoons blaring from the backseat, a GPS incessantly yelping orders out, and fast-food fries flying around like ninja weapons.

Even though elements like the above have been proven to make it nearly impossible for a driver to devote their full attention to the road at all times, many drivers still think they’re perfectly safe drivers. Here’s a simple yes-or-no quiz:

So long as I’m not watching, it’s okay for passengers to watch a movie on the vehicle’s in-dash video screen. No. Not only do most front seat, in-dash video screens generally have a feature that prevents it from showing entertainment or business video when the car is moving, but it would also be completely unsafe to do so since it would inevitably catch the driver’s peripheral vision and distract them. Furthermore, many state laws regulate the placement and use of on-board video screens.
Have there been any criminal cases alleging electronic devices were the causative factor in vehicle accidents? Yes. One example would be a 2004 case that took place in Alaska. The driver was allegedly watching something on his DVD player when he struck another vehicle and killed two people. Although the driver claimed he was only adjusting his CD player, he was charged with second-degree murder on the premise that he engaged in conduct showing an indifference to human life.
In-dash monitors for rear-view camera and navigation purposes can be installed in the front seat. Yes and no. If the device has the feature that prevents it from showing entertainment and business video, then it can be installed and used in the vehicle’s front seat.
Is it okay to drive as you eat or drink? No. Although driving as you drink coffee or eat a granola bar usually isn’t as distracting as watching a movie or text messaging is, it’s still an unsafe driving practice. The bottom line is that doing and thinking about anything aside from driving can distract you from the road and lead you to look away, remove your hands from the steering wheel, or become mentally preoccupied.
Does driver distraction cause very many accidents? Yes. More than 6 million crashes, 3 million crash-related injuries, and 42,000 crash-related deaths occur each year in the U.S., of which driver distraction accounts for 1.2 million to 1.8 million, or roughly 20%-30%.
Do federal laws govern the use of mobile devices like a GPS unit in moving vehicles? No. In some states, there are state laws that prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones in moving vehicles, but there aren’t any federal laws regulating the use of mobile devices in moving vehicles.
Can the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulate cell phone usage in moving vehicles? No. Cell phone laws are enacted at the state or local levels. However, the NHTSA is able to regulate the use of motor vehicle equipment and devices.
Are lawmakers concerned with vehicle crashes related to driver distraction? Yes. During the past decade, several states have already passed or presented legislation related to driver distraction and vehicle crashes, and the number of states looking into such laws grows every day.
Do any states totally ban hand-held cell phone use while driving? Yes. Nine states, including California, Connecticut, Washington, New York, New Jersey, and Utah, prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving. Additionally, 30 states and the District of Columbia ban novice drivers from using both hands-free and hand-held cell phones.
Can your employer be held liable if you’re using a cell phone and crash into someone or something? Yes. Your employer can be held liable in a court of law. Under respondeat superior, an employer can be held liable in civil court for employee acts committed within the course of employment.

How many did you answer correctly? Maybe you’ve learned a few new facts, or maybe you gained a new respect for what you already knew. Either way, it’s time to put down the food, turn off that cell phone, and start keeping your mind and body focused on the road ahead of you.

BEWARE: CGL POLICIES DON’T COVER FAULTY WORK

Builders and contractors who buy Commercial General Liability policies with the impression that they will keep them safe from allegations of inadequate or faulty work should beware. It’s important to know that a CGL policy does not provide coverage for work that is faulty. In order to qualify for payment under a CGL policy, there must be a specific type of occurrence that causes property damage. The terms in a CGL policy define an occurrence as an accident. This includes repeated or continuous exposure to conditions that result in bodily injury or property damage. The damages or injuries must occur during the policy period in order to qualify for coverage. These injuries or damages must not be intentional. CGL policy terms specify that property damage is a physical injury to tangible property. This includes all losses of that property that happen as a result of the occurrence. It also covers the loss of use of tangible property that is physically unharmed.

When disputes arise as a result of defects in a building project, there are several factors that must be considered to determine whether the occurrence requirements and property damage requirements have been satisfied. The factors include the work or products that the contract states the policyholder was required to provide, the policy’s definitions, the alleged faulty construction job and the nature of the cause of the faulty work. These dispute conditions apply to defects in a structure sold or built by the contractor. They also apply to defects in a product that the contractor manufactures and sells independently.

If you have this coverage or are considering it, one of our agents will be able to analyze the policy’s terms. We will be particularly interested in the definitions of property damage and occurrence in the policy. This is crucial because each state’s law differs regarding such issues. Our agent will be able to advise whether or not the policy is in accordance with state laws. Some policies’ terms may indicate coverage for situations that a state’s laws may not provide coverage for. Keep in mind that state laws supersede anything written in an insurance contract. Some states specify that third-party property damage is a requirement for potential CGL coverage. Many states also specify that there is no coverage under a CGL policy for replacement or repair of damaged goods provided by the contractor. It’s also important to know that the work of a subcontractor is not covered under this law.

New Jersey was the leading state in addressing and defining defects in a CGL policy. A clear distinction was made between the replacement and repair of faulty materials. This was not considered as property damage covered under the CGL. However, third-party damage to a property may be covered. Since New Jersey’s definitions emerged, many other states have embraced the state’s view of business risks not counting as third-party property damage in the terms of a CGL policy. To better understand what the terms mean, what is covered and what state laws are in effect, contact one of our agents.

THREE POINTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE ALTERING YOUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PLAN

Just like most employees, most businesses start to look at ways they can cut their expenses during difficult economic times. One common focal point of such is employee benefits programs, especially in the area of health benefits. Considering that health benefits are frequently the most expensive aspect of a company’s benefits program, this might seem like a reasonable, logical place for an employer to take cost-cutting measures. However, employers should carefully consider what the consequences will be from making cuts to their employee benefits programs; whether or not there are any alternative cost-cutting options available; and, if benefits cuts are a must, how they can lessen the impact.

The Consequences. Let’s say you, as an employer, decide to target your employee benefits program and make some significant cost shifts toward your employees with the idea you’ll cut costs and save money. If the cost shift involves higher deductibles and/or co-pays for employees, then they might procrastinate in seeing a physician when they’re suffering symptoms of illness or injury, forgo or delay filling vital prescription medications, and do without wellness care. If the cost shift involves premium increases, then many employees, especially young and relatively healthy ones, might decide to drop coverage all together. The exodus could leave your plan with a larger and more undesirable risk pool.

These types of cost shifts can very well cost the health plan more money over the long run. Furthermore, it can impact your company’s bottom line negatively when it comes to employee morale, productivity, disability costs, and absenteeism.

What’s The Alternative? An alternative to cost shifts would be to focus your benefit dollars on the measures that will enhance employee well-being and overall health. Some ideas would include:

Using incentives to motivate employees to participate in wellness activities, such as weight loss and fitness programs, tobacco cessation classes, and nutrition education and counseling.
Using incentives to motivate employees to participate in activities that can screen and detect serious medical conditions, such as glucose level testing, blood pressure screenings, cholesterol testing, and completion of health risk assessments.
Providing extensive preventive care coverage.
Having an employee assistance program (EAP) available to your employees can be especially helpful during poor economic conditions since it can provide resources and/or referrals for things like financial counseling, crisis intervention, and stress management.

If You Must… Despite the negative consequences, you might feel that cost-shifting is your only feasible option. If so, make sure that you do everything possible to soften the blow to your employees. Here are some ideas:

Offer voluntary benefits to your employees. This will cost you little, if any, money. While the employee will be responsible for most to all of the cost, they’ll benefit from group rates, convenient payroll deductions for the premiums, and the ability to personalize their coverage selections to meet their own unique needs.
Offer Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), which will let employees pay for health care expenses with pre-tax dollars and get the most of their health care dollars.
Offer employees Consumer-Directed Health Plans (CDHPs). These plans combine A Health Savings Account (HSA) with a health plan that has a higher deductible.

All of the above options have a commonality in that they each require an employee to get more personally involved in the their own health and the management of their health-related benefits. Whether the change makes the employee more vigilant in scheduling preventive care visits, participating in wellness activities, or budgeting their future health care expenses, the point is that the employee is assuming more responsibility for their health care and management thereof. It is this greater individual responsibility on the part of the employee that can be one of the best long-term cost-management tools available to an employer.

CYBER LIABILITY INSURANCE: A SMART INVESTMENT THAT MIGHT SAVE YOUR BUSINESS

On April 20, 2011, someone hacked the Sony Playstation Network. They found an opening in the online video gaming network’s password-reset system and penetrated the security protecting its customer database. Days later, the company admitted that the hackers had obtained personal information on 70 million or more subscribers. The hackers got names, physical and email addresses, birthdates, and other identifying information, and it’s possible that they got credit card numbers. Sony took the network offline to reinforce it, but within days of it coming back online, hackers broke in again.

Playstation Network is a high-profile target with tens of millions of subscribers, making it attractive to criminals. However, even small businesses that do business over the Internet are vulnerable to the same kinds of intrusions. The federal Internet Crime Complaint Center referred more than 146,000 complaints to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in 2009, 22 percent more than the year before. One out of every three of those complaints was for identity theft, credit card fraud and computer fraud. The Ponemon Institute has reported that the average data breach costs businesses $7.2 million.

What could happen to a business’s data?

Over a seven-year period, a Georgia man stole 675,000 credit card numbers and associated information. He racked up thousands of fraudulent transactions and bills exceeding $36 million. A Texas man received a 110-month prison sentence for hacking into 14 computers in the hospital where he worked as a security guard. He disabled network security systems, installed malicious software, infiltrated a nursing station computer containing patient medical records, and gained remote access to temperature-control systems. The FBI caught a North Carolina man in the act of attempting to access an ATM in 2010. The man had planned to hack into 35 ATM’s located around Houston, Texas in the hope of pocketing more than $200,000.
When consumers and business owners give their credit card numbers and other personal information to a business or organization, they expect that this information will stay confidential. They will hold the organization responsible if they suffer financial harm because their information fell into the wrong hands. The organizations that lost the data face the potential for large jury awards or out-of-court settlements. To protect themselves, they should consider buying cyber liability insurance.

One insurance company advertises a Cyber Liability policy that provides coverage for expenses such as:

Damages to third parties caused by a network security breach
Loss resulting from administrative or operational mistakes made by the business’s own employees or by outside vendors
Expenses resulting from a breach of consumer protection laws, such as HIPAA or the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Costs of notifying customers of a breach
Public relations expenses necessary to repair the business’s reputation.

Nearly 30 insurance companies currently offer Cyber Liability policies. If an organization’s insurance broker does not have direct access to a company that offers the coverage, they might be able to obtain it through a specialty broker.

To prevent or reduce losses and to make themselves more attractive to insurance companies, businesses should implement strong network security systems, and continually monitor and update them as needed. Develop plans for responding to any network intrusion events that do occur. A sound plan identifies who should be involved in the response, has procedures for notifying affected customers and authorities, and has a public relations strategy for keeping the public informed.

The majority of businesses and organizations operating today are vulnerable to unauthorized intrusions into their computer networks. The potential costs are more than most organizations can fund on their own. Cyber Liability insurance is a smart investment that can literally save a company. Call our office today!

ARE MULTI-YEAR POLICIES A GOOD CHOICE?

More and more risk managers are considering multi-year insurance contracts as a way to lock in beneficial terms, conditions, and pricing before today’s “soft” market hardens. Before you make a decision, consider these facts.

A multi-year policy offers significant advantages:

Locks in favorable rates and coverages. Some insurers are slashing rates as much as 25% to attract buyers. The long-term potential for savings can be highly advantageous.
Lessens hassle. Because multi-year policy renewal dates are several years apart, you’ll avoid the time-consuming, costly process of annual policy renewals.
Strengthens relationships. A multi-year policy can help build long-term relationships among you, your agent, and your insurer. You’ll probably enjoy better rates, terms, conditions, or claims services than under single-year coverage or a three-year cancelable policy.

Here’s the downside of multi-year coverage:

Vulnerability to market timing. A multi-year contract leaves you locked in to specific terms, conditions, and rates for an extended period – which can prove frustrating if the cost of coverage continues to drop.
Cancelable or adjustable rates. Many “non-cancelable, multi-year” policies contain one or more clauses giving the insurer an out. Even if a policy is non-cancelable, it might still allow the company to raise rates based on your loss history or other factors.
High up-front costs. The entire premium is often due at inception. Although you might get attractive premium-financing terms, lost opportunity costs on your company’s internal rate of fund returns might offset premium savings.
Fragility of the relationship. Relationships grow from trust and experience over long periods, not from a single multi-year policy from an insurer with whom you might have little experience.

True guaranteed-rate, non-cancelable, multi-year polices can provide a variety of benefits not available with traditional annual policies. However, in some instances, these policies might be little more than marketing gimmicks designed to lure you with the possibility of substantial savings.

For an evaluation of your situation, feel free to get in touch with our risk management professionals.

FIVE SAFETY STRATEGIES FOR AVOIDING CORPORATE COMPLACENCY

Approximately 15 people die each day from injuries or illnesses acquired at work. One of the leading contributors to this statistic is complacency. Safety is, unfortunately, one of the areas in which employees and leaders become too complacent. As they develop routines, their standards start to dwindle. Overseers might begin accepting a lower quality of work. To make matters worse, employees might continue finding shortcuts in their work. When shortcuts become common, accidents happen. Sometimes accidents occur and are not reported at all. Events that almost end in an accident also often go undocumented. Even if they’re lucky enough to avoid disaster, workers with complacent attitudes have the potential to drive the company they work for into the ground. The worst part about this snowballing scenario is that employers begin blaming employees, and employees always blame the employers. There are often blame battles between supervisors and employees also. Fortunately, there are several steps supervisors or overseers can take to minimize the dangers of workplace complacency.

1. Get to know the employees individually. In a society that is individualistic, it’s important to treat people with the respect they have been taught to expect. Supervisors in the workplace must make a point to become familiar with each employee. Ask each person about their safety concerns and discuss company policies. Make sure they understand the company’s policies. When an employee states a safety concern, always do something about it. Employees must never feel that their safety concerns are being ignored.

2. Make safety a main focus in management planning. During organizational and regular meetings, make safety issues a priority. Be sure to speak about safety concerns collected from employees’ suggestions to other corporate leaders. By talking about them during every meeting, it’s more likely that improvements and changes will happen quickly. While presenting the safety concerns, be sure to illustrate how the negative effects of ignoring the issues will hurt the company.

3. Review and analyze all safety reports regularly. Although it’s most important to review injury reports stemming from safety issues, it’s also important to review near misses. Make sure employees know that it’s mandatory to record incidents that were almost accidents. After reading the reports, meet with the employees involved in each incident. Ask injured employees how they are doing and monitor their progress. Employees who had near misses must be interviewed to see if they have made any required changes to prevent future incidents. If the changes are beyond their control to make, be sure to take the necessary steps to implement them.

4. Involve all employees in the safety process. Reward every employee’s effort toward safety involvement. Keep in mind that employees could ignore safety rules instead. To help encourage them to do more, implement a safety committee. Membership for the committee must be voluntary. However, many employees who want to be promoted are happy to join committees. For large workplaces, designate a committee for each department. Encourage the committee members to work together to enforce safety rules. Hold regular meetings at work, and allow safety committee members to voice their concerns. One of the best ways to prevent complacency about safety issues is to hold contests. For example, offer a monetary bonus for employees who stay incident-free for a specific time period. Money is always a valuable incentive to avoid complacency and negligence.

5. Implement an efficient and anonymous reporting system. Employees who are considered tattletales shouldn’t be ignored. If they have safety concerns or see another employee breaking safety rules, it’s imperative to listen to them. Many employees are afraid to talk about others because they want to avoid conflict. Respect their desire to enjoy a comfortable workplace by implementing an anonymous tip system. Never tell an employee who has been reported that a specific fellow employee gave the tip. This only creates animosity. By keeping information anonymous, employees are more likely to follow safety rules. Employees know that anyone may report their actions without fear of being named individually, so they’ll be more careful. In addition to providing anonymity, this system is also a great way to gain the trust of employees.

In order to avoid complacency and negligence, safety must become a culture in the workplace. Employees and supervisors need to see that it’s a part of everything they do. They must also see the dangers and effects of becoming complacent. For example, arrange a seminar each month with a safety speaker who has been disfigured or disabled from a workplace accident. Videos, pictures and real-life exposure to disfigured workers is a good way for employees and supervisors to see the realistic safety risks of workplace complacency. Once a regular plan becomes an official culture that is rigorously enforced, it’s easy for everyone to enjoy a safe workplace.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET RELIABLE HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE?

Individuals have more access to health information than they’ve ever had before. A simple Google search on a specific health topic can yield advice from hundreds of different sources. Although access to the information has improved with the inception of the internet age, the resulting concern is often the quality and reliability of the various information and contributors.

One recent survey discovered 60% of all adults have looked up online health information at least once. Meanwhile, another study reviewed multiple online health-related studies and concluded that online health information aimed at consumers is often biased, inaccurate, or otherwise flawed.

So why is it that so many health websites publish misleading and inaccurate information?

Some entities operating health-related sites have a hidden agenda behind the information they’re providing to the consumer. Drug companies often finance groups promoting awareness for previously unrecognized conditions to literally create consumer demand for their new, expensive drugs - a tactic known as disease mongering. For instance, according to Dartmouth Medical School researchers, restless leg syndrome didn’t become a diagnosed disease until a drug company first developed a drug to treat it. Furthermore, a recently published study in the American Journal of Public Health concluded that many health advocacy groups taking funding from drug companies fail to disclose this fact to consumers.

Other entities operating health-related websites might be providing misinformation because they choose to disregard scientific evidence that disputes or contradicts whatever health belief they’re promoting. For example, despite the exhaustive research that led to the U.S. Institute of Medicine’s 2004 finding that there’s not a relationship between autism and childhood vaccinations, many supposed health websites are still scaring parents into thinking autism can be caused by vaccinating their children against potentially deadly diseases. One can run into a similar situation with Morgellons disease. Despite the current scientific consensus that Morgellons isn’t some new, unexplained dermopathy, but rather a manifestation of delusional parasitosis, many health websites are still making claims that the etiology is a parasitic infection.

The Solution. It’s simply not practical or affordable for an individual to make a doctor appointment for every health question they come across. So the solution isn’t to not use the internet for health questions or information, but rather to use it selectively. Here are two tips:

Before trusting a health-related website’s information, ask yourself the following questions:
Is the information current?
Where did the information come from?
Who’s contributing and controlling the website’s content?
Only use websites that have been certified by a quality rating organization, such as the Health On the Net Foundation (HON), or that have been otherwise deemed trustworthy. HON’s search engine will only show results from websites providing objective information that’s consistent with sound scientific evidence, such as by the Healthfinder.gov website. The nonprofit website FamilyDoctor.org, which is supported by the American Academy of Family Physicians, is another reliable source of medical information for consumers.

The internet can help individuals become more informed about their health and more capable in making some decisions about their health care, such as if they should get screened for a particular cancer based on symptoms they may be experiencing or their medical history. However, one should never use the information on any health website, regardless of its reliability, to self-diagnose and/or self-treat.

USE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE A HOME INVENTORY

We purchase insurance to protect us from what might happen. Hopefully we go through life, never having to make a claim against our Homeowners or Auto insurance policies. We know that the monthly or annual fee is in our best interest, even as we hope to never need its services. Taking home inventory should be just as important. This worthwhile task is yet another method of protecting ourselves against something that might never happen, but could. Yet few people place as much importance on taking home inventory as they do on increasing their Homeowners policy coverage. Although most insurance agents inform their clients about the significance of taking home inventory, it is rarely performed. Homeowners might put the task on their to-do lists, but as time goes by, and their busy lives take priority, it simply never gets accomplished. The result can be a very expensive one indeed.

So now that you realize the significance of taking home inventory, how do you get started? At first glance, it seems pretty simple. Go through your home, room by room, taking pictures of your personal belongings and documenting their approximate value. No problem, right? The problem lies in storing your photographs and data. Unfortunately, for many people, this involves placing their beautifully detailed data in a storage box under their bed, or in filing cabinets in their home office. The files are safe and sound, until the house burns down, is burglarized, or gets filled with murky flood waters -- rendering the information completely useless. This common occurrence is as ironic as it is sad. But in today’s technological world, it should never happen.

Now that you understand how technology can make taking home inventory as secure as it is easy, your next step is to find the best web site or software for your unique needs. Secure servers allow you to document all of your belongings and access them with ease, and they eliminate the need for a physical location in which to store them.

Important factors to consider when deciding on the most suitable home inventory site:

Although many options boil down to personal choice, the options below are helpful regardless of your unique situation.

Make sure your site or software allows you to quickly and easily select information about the products in your home.
It is very helpful if the system is pre-populated with items, based on room and category. For example, Bedroom: Bed, Dresser, Night Stand, Lamp, etc.
You might want to look at the total amount of inventory you have by room, or you might want to see items by category, or it’s possible you prefer a complete list of everything within your home. Look for functionality that allows all of these searches.
And absolutely be certain that there is secure data storage within the web site or software. This cannot be stressed enough.

Here are some home inventory web sites to assist you in the process:

http://www.knowyourstuff.org/iii/login.html - This site provides free, secure online storage in an easy to use format. The system is very user friendly. There is a guided tour to help you navigate the system, and a video tutorial if you are someone who learns by watching. You will need to sign up to get most of the information. There is an FAQ page, but it isn’t as easy to find as on some of the other sites.

http://www.whatyouown.org - This site appears a bit “fancier” at first glance, but when you begin reading, it becomes apparent that it’s just as user friendly. The FAQ page allows you to get a lot of information without having to sign up. However, there is no video tutorial. This site is also free.

http://www.stuffsafe.com/index.php - This site is very user friendly and provides a lot of information prior to signing up. It is also free. As with the other sites, Stuff Safe allows you to print and download reports quickly and easily. The FAQ page on this site is also easy to find and navigate. However, as with the What You Own site, Stuff Safe does not have a video tutorial.

In addition to helping in the event of a theft or disaster, a home inventory also helps you to determine the appropriate amount of insurance protection. Even better, it can help you settle insurance claims faster. The actual task of performing a home inventory is quite simple. Basically, you should start with the most significant items (fine jewelry, electronics, furniture and family heirlooms, among others), and add the less expensive items, such as clothing, at the end. For every item you list, take a photograph, give a description of the item, list the date of purchase, approximate replacement value, and any other relevant information (such as serial number, make, or model). Upload this information to the home inventory software of your choice, and viola! You can rest assured that in the event of theft or disaster, you’ll be many steps ahead of the game when it comes to recovering your losses and getting your life back on track.

DON’T LET CRIME PLAGUE YOUR CONSTRUCTION SITE

Whether it be arson, vandalism, or theft, construction sites are prime targets for criminal acts. These criminal acts can create significant added costs, including insurance deductibles and consequential premium hikes; work delays; and replacement of lost equipment, tools, and building materials. Of course, such an event can also affect your overall job site and your client’s deadline.
The good news is there are several steps you can take to diminish the risk and financial impact of criminal acts involving your job site:

1. Research the work area prior to beginning a job. Carefully researching unfamiliar work areas is especially important if you’re not planning to hire on-site security, but should be done regardless. The local police or sheriff department can tell you if a particular area has a high crime rate. If you ask, they might also be able to send a patrol car out to check your site periodically once the work begins. You might additionally ask friendly competitors if they’ve had any problems in a particular area.

2. Ensure the job site is well-lit and fenced. Most thieves and vandals will think twice before acting if they have to climb or cut a fence and perform their ‘work’ without the protection of darkness. Motion detector lights and lights with infrared triggers will illuminate with movement. This can scare off intruders and alert neighboring businesses and houses that someone might be lurking around. Most experts recommend using a chain-link fence since it, unlike many other barriers, will offer an enclosure that still allows visibility. Of course, chain-link can be a more expensive barrier. If it’s not in the budget, then designate enclosed storage areas to hold tools, construction materials, hazardous items, and flammables.

3. Implement an inventory system for all tools and equipment. This will help you to keep track of everything on your work site. Smaller tools that are easier to carry and conceal are often targeted by thieves. Assign the site foreman or supervisor to keep a running log of when a tool goes out, the worker using it, and its return. You can use an etching tool to create a serial number on any piece of equipment or tool that doesn’t have a distinguishing number. It’s also wise to put your company’s logo or name on expensive items.

4. Consider installing ignition cutout switches and GPS. You can immobilize heavy vehicles and machinery by installing ignition cutout switches. GPS should also be a consideration for expensive heavy equipment and machinery. These are relatively compact and easy to install. The GPS will alert you when the equipment is being used, it’s location, and if it leaves where it should be.

5. Security, be it real or faux. A security camera isn’t just a visual deterrence to criminals. It can also help you catch brazen thieves and possibly retrieve your stolen goods. A security guard and/or guard dog only elevates the level of security at the site. There are also electronic devices that emit a barking sound to give the illusion of a real guard dog. Whether you actually have a surveillance system, guard, and watch dog, post the warning signs as if you do.

6. Control access points to the work site. Whenever possible, a site should only have a single entry and exit point. Keep in mind that it will be increasingly difficult to monitor the coming and going of individuals on a site with each additional access point. You might also consider asking employees to park off-site.

7. Plan out deliveries and installations. Items like HVAC systems, plywood, windows, and doors often come days or weeks before they’re actually ready to be installed. Since the target on these items becomes larger the longer they sit around virtually unattended, you should either install them to some degree as soon as they arrive; store them in an enclosed, secure area; or, most preferably, schedule the delivery as close to the projected installation time as possible.

8. Have a lock-up procedure in place. Designate certain employees to ensure the day’s end lock-up, which should include ensuring that all supplies are locked securely in their designed area, vehicles are locked and key-less, and oil/gas tank caps are locked.

9. Involve the community. Ask nearby residential and business neighbors to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity during non-work hours.