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... could make a big difference in your claims experience. You probably know your clients if you communicate with them regularly, make sure they understand their policies, and help them to identify exposures that aren't currently covered. You might know clients who live in close proximity to your office quite well. However, if you simply mail out policies yearly, renewed as is, and don't communicate in any other way, it surely would be hard to assert that you've kept up with knowing the needs of your customers. Having out-of-state clients certainly adds to the challenge, but proper and periodic communication is still achievable. In the following example, the agent doesn't appear to have realized the challenge — or the consequences — he faced: A claim involved the failure of an agent to provide a computer manufacturer with Warehouse coverage. This particular agency, located in New York, specialized in writing Commercial package policies for computer manufacturers. The agent had met with the client at the client's warehouse in California. Upon his return home, the agent provided the carrier with a binder and specification sheet. When the underwriter inquired whether there were a safe and a guard at the warehouse, the agent replied in the affirmative. When a robbery involving the theft of a large amount of computer equipment occurred at the warehouse, the carrier paid the loss. They then asserted a claim against the agent for reimbursement on the basis that the security wasn't as stated, so the risk shouldn't have been accepted in the first place. The carrier won the case! There's no doubt that this claim could have been avoided. The ...

... significant differences. A fair number of E&O claims involve accounts that are farther away; many aren't even in the same state. Although there's certainly nothing wrong with an agent writing business wherever they're licensed, these accounts require a different level of handling. When an account is located in your hometown, it's much easier to service them and to note changes in their exposures. One of your staff might know the particular customer. You can visit the account or ask them to stop in. When an account is more than 100 miles away your options become more limited, but your need to identify any changes in exposures is just as important. To illustrate, here's a claim that happened to one agent: A carrier brought a suit against a New York agent for the unauthorized binding of warehouse coverage at a client's California location. The underlying claim involved an armed robbery at the client's warehouse. The carrier paid the loss, in excess of $1 million. The basis for the claim: undocumented discussions with the carrier underwriter, and allegations against the agency that the warehouse didn't meet carrier underwriting guidelines. The agency's position was particularly difficult because the agent traveled from New York to California in an effort to service the account but was unaware of the type of security or alarm protection at the property. The claim was resolved through a negotiated settlement. But it would've been defensible had the agent maintained adequate client contact and documented conversations with the carrier's underwriter. Unfortunately, this is a common pattern. Although agents need to service all accounts, distance can create problems. It's very difficult ...

... too many to integrate into its business. What was this gold nugget of a MOT? The customers wanted "on time delivery." You might think this is obvious. However, is it really that clear? Don't we also want the air bill to be easy to complete, the person at the 800 number to be knowledgeable, the pick-ups to be timely, the invoicing to be accurate, the packaging to be sturdy enough to protect the contents, the drop-off locations to be convenient, etc. We have many "wants" regarding our overnight delivery service. Although customers rated all of these "important," what they wanted above everything else was for their package delivered on time. Period. FedEx used this data to redesign its delivery process, hiring and training of employees, warehouse, airplanes, airplane routes, procedures, etc., on a single focus: Deliver packages on time! Period. FedEx knew that if it could outperform its competitors in just this one area, it could charge a premium that its customers would willingly pay. Management was so convinced of the power of this MOT that when an employee hired a small airplane to deliver a package on time, they rewarded him generously. He was an example of an employee who jumped through hoops to do his job. That's what FedEx wanted. Employees who got it! Employees who understood what the customers really wanted. Yet, imagine how these executives would have responded to the employee's hiring the airplane if they hadn't identified their core MOT. They would probably have deemed this employee's efforts overly ambitious, ...

... " If this is the case, be aware of your obligations under the ADA (15 employees or more) and FMLA statutes (50 or more employees) . The advice is always the same: Don't play lawyer, doctor, or psychologist- unless you are one. Treat the employee as you would a loved one. Focus on their performance and what reasonable accommodations, including leave, might help them to meet legitimate performance standards. Do this regardless of whether the employee is sick, inured, disabled, or otherwise limited in their ability to perform. Don't forget the possibility of human error. We all make mistakes. In one case, a CEO asked if he should fire one of his warehousemen for throwing a cigarette into a tire pile, which then ignited and burned down the warehouse. If you face a similar situation, consider signing a "do one more stupid thing and you're out of here" agreement with the offending employee. As a last-ditch effort to defuse a possible claim, consider doing an exit interview. Following these guidelines should go far to reduce your exposure to employee lawsuits. Don Phin, JD, CPCM is president of HR That Works, Inc., a firm specializing in management, employment law, and risk management. He serves as the Human Relations Key Consultant for IMMS.com. You can reach Phin, a past president of the American Academy of Employment Law Attorneys, at (800) 234-3304; e-mail [email protected] ; or visit www.hrthatworks.com . Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. ...

... factors that affect a company's ability to find affordable workers' compensation insurance — but they can have a critical impact on the cost of coverage. The high-hazard workers' compensation program powered by Pride Risk can provide a viable solution for any client that is having trouble finding affordable workers' compensation coverage — regardless of industry. However, some businesses have inherently high risks due to the nature of their work, and specific governing codes can indicate that a company will need a specialized workers' comp solution. Securing Affordable Workers' Comp Coverage Is Often Difficult in These Industries The Pride Risk program covers high-risk insureds in a wide range of industries. Some of the most common governing codes covered under this solution include: Manufacturing HVAC/ Sheet Metal Masonry Landscaping Electrical/ Plumbing/ Painting Food Processing Bakeries/ Hospitality Warehouse Operations Trucking/ Transportation Heavy Construction (Excluded in NY) Cold Storage Retail/ Wholesale Staffing (Excluded in NY) Seasonal Operations (Advised Upfront) Property Mgmt. Janitorial/ Residential Cleaning Multiple Factors Affect the Cost of Workers' Comp In addition to the governing codes discussed above, the following factors are good indicators that a company might benefit from the Pride Risk workers' comp solution. Experience Modifiers over 1.00 Cancelled / Non-Renewed Coverage / Gap in Coverage Large Losses / Poor Claims Experience Few or no options other than the State Insurance Fund Clients with these attributes often have trouble obtaining affordable coverage in the traditional insurance markets. But now, you can provide a solution. The Secret to Marketing High-Hazard Workers' Comp Solutions Do you have workers' comp cases on your desk today that you can't ...

... . Thus, the smell of other gases doesn't mean an absence of carbon monoxide. ARE YOU LIKELY TO BE POISONED? If you have a heart condition, your condition may be aggravated by carbon monoxide. Ingestion of barbiturates and alcohol may increase the gas' health effects. Furthermore, smokers will have higher carboxyhemoglobin than non-smokers, and therefore face higher risk from carbon monoxide exposures on the job. Harmful levels of carbon monoxide are a potential danger to: acetylene workers, blast furnace workers, boiler room workers, brewery workers, carbon black makers, coke oven workers, customs workers, diesel engine operators, dock workers, garage mechanics, metal oxide reducers, miners, organic chemical synthesizers, petroleum refinery workers, pulp and paper workers, steel workers, toll booth and tunnel attendants, and warehouse workers. HOW DOES CARBON MONOXIDE HARM YOU? Large amounts of carbon monoxide can kill in minutes. The more carbon monoxide in the air and the longer you are exposed to it, the greater the danger. Any one or more of the following symptoms can signal carbon monoxide poisoning: headaches, tightness across the chest, nausea, drowsiness, inattention or fatigue. As the amount of carbon monoxide in the air increases, more serious symptoms develop such as lack of coordination, weakness and confusion. The poisoning can be reversed if caught in time. But even if you recover, acute poisoning may result in permanent damage to the parts of your body which require a lot of oxygen, such as the heart and brain. There is a significant reproductive risk involved with carbon monoxide. An ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Capturing The Cyber Customer 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham This content has not been rated yet. Align your marketing program to the needs and desires of today's online customers. "Control the customer and you control the sale." This advice served generations of successful salespeople who knew that they could make any sale once they could get face-to-face with a prospect. When this sales process began to change, the change was so subtle that most salespeople overlooked its impact. Even the waves of consumer catalogs failed to alert the selling profession to the revolution that was taking place. It wasn't catalogs as such that were so important. Whether it was Sears and Roebuck, L.L. Bean, PC Warehouse, or Victoria's Secret, cataloging became a great success story because the cataloguers offered what the customer wanted more than anything else: Convenience. But catalogs were just a rest stop along the world's merchandising highway. Now, it's the Internet. Although some express concern about "security issues," millions of shoppers buy books at amazon.com and other popular sites using their credit cards every day. The experience builds consumer confidence and paves the way for increased spending via the Internet. As Andy Grove of Intel warns, "The world now runs on Internet time." The effects of Internet buying activity are being felt in virtually every industry nationwide. A Dodge dealer in Phoenix, like so many other merchandisers, is seeing it first-hand. Describing the dealership's expanding presence on the World Wide Web, he reports that "we are dealing with a totally ...

... . Seat of the pants' marketing is neither fun nor rewarding. It's only frustrating, confusing, and counterproductive, revealing disorganization and an inability to think through what needs to be accomplished. A useful marketing plan doesn't need to be a highly detailed document. It should be designed to implement rather than impress management. It need be only a simple outline that covers basic issues such as audience, description, objective, message, expected results, schedule, and so forth. What's on paper can always be changed or revised, but the written plan serves to help make sure the plan consistently moves forward toward an agreed-upon objective. Select the right marketing tactics. The business world is filled with nonsense thinking. Here are a few examples: Direct mail doesn't work. (Please tell this to PC Warehouse, L.L. Bean, and Victoria's Secret.) Nobody reads ads. (Pass along this information to Microsoft, General Motors, and Merck.) Newsletters don't make sales. (Who said they did? Salespeople are in charge of getting orders; newsletters help create the bond with customers or prospects.) Selecting the medium that's most appropriate for a particular audience deserves serious attention, including research. In most situations, research findings can be used to create a campaign's marketing tactics. Focus on fundamentals. As difficult as it may be to believe, ignoring the customer tops any list of marketing mistakes. Companies can be so intent on getting their message out that they fail to get it across. Customers want to hear why it's in their best interest to do business with you. Most marketing ...

... science: create an environment in which people feel cared about and valued, that encourages and nourishes their personal growth, and that helps them build self-esteem and self-worth — and customer caring will abound. It's ludicrous to believe that we can deprive people of those basic human needs and then expect that they'll care for customers. And caring is what customers are looking for! Study after study has found that more than two in three (68%) dissatisfied customers leave a company because they believe the business doesn't care about them. Customers buy with their heads and their hearts. All other things being equal (price, quality, availability, and so forth) they prefer to buy from people they like and trust. Every customer seeks value. Some find it in the lowest price and shop at warehouse clubs; others look for the most convenient access and like me, phone catalog companies at 1 a.m. Still others find value in a particular combination of features/benefits such as breadth of product line, availability, product quality, security, reliability, courtesy, money-back guarantee, and potentially dozens of other reasons, both logical and emotional. Value is an equation. We weigh the price we pay against things and feelings we get. Make no mistake about it: value carries a high emotional content. Although many customers would have a difficult time enumerating precisely which factors led to their buying decision, they do know how they feel. Good, bad, or indifferent, they have an emotional opinion about the exchange. In studies on customer loyalty, respondents who were asked why they ...