From http://www.propertycasualty360.com 

Costume Coverage 

Gone are the days when a sheet with two holes for eyes constituted a costume. Those trying to circumvent the expense of Halloween by making their own costumes should use common sense around hazards like candles or fireplaces and be sure to read all manufacturer warnings. Susan and Frank Ferlito attended a Halloween party dressed as Little Bo Peep and one of her sheep. Frank lit a cigarette and ignited his sheep costume, which was constructed from Johnson & Johnson cotton balls. A jury found the couple 50 percent at fault, but still awarded the Ferlitos a combined $625,000 in Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson. 

The district court granted Johnson & Johnson’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. On appeal, the court affirmed the district court’s decision to set aside the jury verdict, and noted that cotton is a “simple product with all its essential characteristics apparent, including flammability.” Failure to warn was not found to be proximate to the cause of the injuries the plaintiff sustained and he had not testified that he would not have used the product if there had been a warning. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

From http://www.propertycasualty360.com 

Maze of Litigation .

With the holiday’s propensity for themes of bones, blood and gore, it’s no surprise that Halloween accidents can be dangerous or deadly. In the case of Durmon v. Billings, the plaintiff met with a figure dressed as Jason Voorhees from the popular horror film "Friday the 13^th" while walking through the defendants’ corn maze. 

The character approached “Jason,” who wore a costume and mask, and wielded a running chainsaw above his head. The plaintiff attempted to run away, but fell and broke her leg. In the lawsuit, the plaintiff charged the maze owners with negligence for the muddy condition of the field and for allowing “Jason” to use an instrument that could have harmed her. The court found that, upon entering the maze, the plaintiff had paid to be frightened and that the maze’s condition was obvious. Therefore, the defendants were not responsible from protecting her from Jason. 

If the defendants had failed to mention to their insurers that they operate a corn maze on their land, any accident occurring there would not have been covered by the insurance policy. If found at fault for an accident, the defendants would be solely responsible for paying the settlement.   

MAKE SURE YOU ARE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING THAT PUTS YOU IN HARMS WAY

From http://www.propertycasualty360.com 

Halloween is known for tricks, terror and treats. However, hapless party hosts, pumpkin patch proprietors and corn maze meanderers have haunted courts. Read on about  5 claims lawsuits that would send a shiver down the spine of any agent or broker. 

Haunted Houses 

The Haunted House Assn. estimates that more than 2,000 haunted attractions operate each year. This seasonal industry leaves a lot of room for disgruntled customers, so owners beware: Insure your attractions properly, or you’re in for a scare. In the case of Deborah Mays v. Gretna Athletic Boosters Inc., defendants operating a haunted house at the Mel Ott Playground in Gretna, La., were taken to court by the plaintiff, Mays, who became frightened when an employee jumped out at her. 

Mays ran into a cinderblock wall covered with black fabric and needed two surgeries to repair her broken nose. The court found the defendant had “no duty to protect Mays from her reacting in ‘bizarre, frightened and unpredictable ways'” because that is the natural and expected reaction to haunted houses. Duty of care owed to haunted house patrons is different because courts recognize they are intended to scare people and accomplish that end by producing an environment with limited lighting and scary surprises.   What do you think of this ruling?    

From http://www.businessinsurance.com

A Carbondale, Colo., insurance agent was nabbed by police after pocketing thousands of dollars in an insurance scheme.

Karen Iuele was arrested this month on charges of fraud and felony theft after she allegedly took $6,384 from a customer who was under the impression that Ms. Iuele was securing a new insurance policy, according to the Aspen Daily News.

Ms. Iuele, who worked for Aspen, Colo.-based insurance agency Michael Sailor Insurance Inc. during the allegations, helped the victim of her fraud transfer policies from American Republic Insurance Co., which stopped offering policies in Colorado, to Celtic Insurance Co., the Aspen Daily reported.

But according to police reports, Ms. Iuele, allegedly beginning in June, solicited “retroactive premium payments” from the victim by having her deposit cash or a cashier’s check into a “secure account” held by Michael Sailor Insurance, the news report said.

Needless to say, Celtic never received the payments and was not expecting payment until the end of August.

Furthermore, Michael Sailor, owner of the insurance firm, said there was no such account at his agency.

“This is not how we do business,” Mr. Sailor told the Aspen Daily. “We do not take cash or cashier’s checks from customers and never will a client be asked to transfer money to a personal account of an employee of this business.”

Mr. Sailor was alerted of the alleged fraud in September and subsequently fired Ms. Iuele.

Ms. Iuele, who was arrested on Oct. 1 and released on a $5,000 bond, will make her first court appearance Monday to answer to the charges, the Aspen Daily said.

 

Safeguard your practice and let US Risk help. Contact us for all the programs we  have available to assist you in every way.

US Risk offers a wide and comprehensive range of products for insurance agents nationwide. Here is one glimpse at what we can do for you!  Adult Daycare  Allied/Misc. Healthcare  Assisted Living Centers  Cyberliability  Employment Related Practices  EPLI  Errors and Omissions  Excess Malpractice/Professional  For Profit D&O  Ins. Agents E&O  Lawyers  Non-Profit D&O  Professional Liability  Social Services   Our team  underwrites a Lloyds of London Miscellaneous Professional Liability Program for Insurance Agents, Home Inspectors, and Miscellaneous Consultants. Other professional lines, including Lawyers, Architects and Engineers, are brokered to select markets.  Our Team is experienced in underwriting and marketing for large property and casualty carriers. You can reach Ashton Dooley  at (480) 922-4441 ext. 17015.

From http://www.propertycasualty360.com

When Dave Grohl looked out at the sea of people in Central Park last weekend for the Global Citizen Festival, he was moved to say he did not know if his band, the Foo Fighters, would ever play a concert together again. “We don’t have any shows after this,” he said. “This is where we play as many songs as we can in a short period of time, because, honestly, I don’t know when we’re going to do it again.” Mr. Grohl took pains to say that the Foo Fighters were not breaking up, calling the band “my life” and saying he could never give it up. But he added that members needed a break from one another. “Sometimes it’s good to just … put it back in the garage for a while,” he wrote. (Arts Beat, 10/2/12)

How amazing! A hiatus. If you are a fan of the Foo Fighters, you and I are brothers or sisters in arms. I’ve been a big fan of the Foos for a few years now, traveling to their shows with my partner, air guitaring their music when driving and using their music as the sole fuel for my extended runs. The fact that they are taking a hiatus is sad, but I get it. Sometimes we all just need a break. The beauty of a hiatus is that you don’t quit. Think about your marriage. If you could simply walk away from each other for a while and “behave properly,” the return could be amazing. It’s my thought that most people who are married actually love each other and that what kills the relationship is the often-mundane daily existence, the fact that life truly does get in the way of love. Taking a hiatus from your spouse or partner is a great idea when things get stale, old, or you simply need a break. There has to be much trust that neither will stray for physical attention, but connecting with other humans is not only healthy, but also exciting. Think about your company. Would a hiatus be beneficial for you? I got a call the other day from a very successful client who asked me, “What are the insurance ramifications of us just closing our business?” After I picked myself up off the floor, I asked, "Why would you do that?" The client told the story that as of late, it’s not fun anymore. The business is going through a meritless lawsuit, the lawyer needs to be paid, and the owner is just tired. Financial independence was recognized years ago and thus this could be their reality. I offered a little advice that I, too, have had times in the past when I just wanted to disappear. Sometimes things are not as fun as others and we just need a break. But if you can stick it out, great times are ahead. I’m now thinking that if these owners were to take a brief hiatus of 6 months or so while putting a pseudo-management team in place, it might be the best thing that ever happened to their company. I believe David Grohl to be one of the smartest men on this planet. He’s not even high school educated, but has been able to traverse one of the most difficult industries, the music business, with seemingly breathless ease, while maintaining his personal code to creating great music. I applaud Dave’s decision to take a break. Maybe you should think about doing the same. It could be time for you to take stock of what you have with your marriage, your business or your life.

From http://www.producersweb.com If the public understood just two little words and how to implement these words in their own personal economies, the financial institutions would suddenly become irrelevant in our society. Why do many advisors try to make personal finance so complicated these days? Is it because we have a need to be the only ones who seem to really understand issues, thereby giving the public a greater perceived value of what we offer? Or is it because we don’t want the public to truly understand the most basic truths about financial issues? I believe that we’ve made the whole idea of personal finance complicated to the point of confusion for everyone. Banks, insurance companies and investment firms understand the basics, but tremble at the thought of this information being leaked to consumers. If the public understood just two little words and how to implement these words in their own personal economies, financial institutions would suddenly become irrelevant in our society. These two little, but ultra-important words are “margin” and “arbitrage.” The entire financial world operates on these two words, but we rarely, if ever, hear them mentioned in routine conversation around the water cooler, or at parties and other social functions. I know, how boring would those parties be, right? The main point of this article is to help agents and advisors better understand how to simplify financial issues for their clients. If you could sum up the entire financial and economic world for someone in two words, wouldn’t that be much easier than trying to explain strategies like “be your own banker” and other economic theories we use every day? When trying to educate a client, start with this: "The first word I need to make sure you fully understand is 'margin,' aka 'spread.' This term simply refers to the difference between what it costs you to have access to money and your return on investment. "If you acquire money from a particular source and have to pay 2 percent interest for access and then you loan it to someone else at 5 percent, you have created a 3 percent margin or spread. Everything above the cost of access is profit for you." Isn’t that an easy way to explain an often complicated concept? Now, let’s address “arbitrage.” If you were to view the above strategy on a graph, you would see the cost of access at the bottom of the graph and the return on investment at the top of the graph. Arbitrage simply describes the line where your rate of return intersects the line representing your cost of access. Once you cross that line representing your cost, everything above that should be profit. Wouldn’t your clients like to start seeing profits and understand how to take advantage of them? I know this is a simplistic view, but sometimes we need to get back to basics and stop allowing the world to be so confusing. If people can see you as someone who simplifies the complicated, they will seek you out more often and tell others about you. After all, isn’t that what we all want?   US Risk has a host of markets for agents, visit our website.

From http://www.producersweb.com Small-business hiring dropped 2.55 percent in September after a 1.15 percent increase in August, according to the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index, a barometer for hiring trends among companies with 300 or fewer employees. This drop is the third largest statistical decline for the report. “The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index shows a dramatic drop in employment in businesses with less than 300 employees for September,” says Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services. “Part of the reason is the traditional end of summer and the start of the back-to-school season; however, this drop registers higher than previous September shifts we’ve tracked.” The survey also finds that 18 percent of respondents brought in more employees, and 32 percent respondents reduced staff while 50 percent of respondents report making no changes to their work force numbers. According to CBIZ Payroll Services, this recent decline is enough to consider whether the fiscal cliff is troubling for small-business owners. This could also impact hiring for the holiday season if no solution is present. “If today’s reading is supported by additional negative readings from other indicators and prospective evaluations of the SBEI, the ‘fiscal cliff’ may be causing small business owners to reduce the resources they are deploying,” Noftsinger says. “The inability to act by the federal government is likely a key reason for this situation.” US Risk specializes in the Healthcare, Entertainment and Financial Industries...

If you are in need of help in the area of Entertainment, Finance, Healthcare or more, visit our dedicated page http://usrisk.com/specialty.shtml

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Formerly Jarrett Insurance Brokers, U.S. Risk Brokers has operated continuously since the late 1960's. As a wholesale excess and surplus lines insurance brokerage firm, U.S. Risk Brokers employs over 50 brokers and represents more than 100 companies countrywide. The diversity of U.S. Risk's product portfolio is unequaled in the wholesale brokerage community. Offering all forms of property, casualty, automobile, umbrella, professional and risk management products and services, U.S. Risk Brokers can secure insurance coverage for virtually any type of business. In addition to all types of general insurance, the brokerage divisions specialize in healthcare liability, contractors, liquor liability, habitational, oil and gas, professional liability, aviation, products liability and financial services coverages.

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Organized in 1985, U.S. Risk Underwriters originated as an underwriting manager for miscellaneous errors and omissions and non-profit directors and officers insurance. Based in Dallas, TX, U.S. Risk Underwriters presently has underwriting authorities for companies including; Lloyd's of London, Scottsdale, Markel, Colony, General Star, Chubb Custom, and Hartford.

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Building solid, professional relationships is the foundation of success. U.S. Risk Financial Services, Inc. is committed to this concept and consider it one of the most significant aspects of our business as a service to our agents and their clients. This personalized approach offers an entirely new level of service to our network of agents which is not available from other industry sources. The team at U.S. Risk Financial Services is staffed with internationally known specialists who have focused on the financial services industry throughout their careers. The team includes individuals with experience in various aspects of this very technical industry including: Risk Management; Bond/D&O/E&O Underwriting; Accounting/Auditing; Wholesale and Retail Brokerage; Managing General Agents; The FDIC Department of Liquidation; Loss Prevention/Internal Controls; and the Federal Reserve Bank.