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NIF Group, Inc. is one of the largest privately held national program manager and regional wholesale broker. Based in NY with offices nationwide, NIF underwrites exclusive programs for nonprofits, social service agencies, governmental entities, and artisan contractors; as well as offering access to specialty property casualty, such as contractors, difficult products, environmental, property and management/professional liability.

...ng, and four units of Long-Term Supportive Housing.  Participants learn how to...

...needs through our Private Client Services. Whether the need is for coverage on...

...ovider of dependent back-up care services. "Particularly as families wait long...om, another provider of backup care services for employees, saw a three-fold i...

Success in this market is all about partnering with the right broker. Your preferred partner for Garage Liability, Garage Keepers and/or Dealers' Open Lot is Midlands where you have direct access to a skilled and responsive underwriting team with decades of combined experience. Partner with us for expert assistance tailoring coverages for the, complex needs of your client’s unique risk.

Given the ever expanded concept of what constitutes a disability, employers will continue to face an ever growing compliance challenge. Here are some basics to be remembered: Knowledge of the need to accommodate an employee can come from numerous sources including a work comp claims manager, a company supervisor or manager, HR, the employee themselves, a union rep, a doctor, poor performance, simple observation, or some kind of hotline call. To have a good process, it must be laid out step-by-step with supporting documentation. Be interactive. Remember the rule that the first to give up on the dialogue process generally loses. Have appropriate education and training. For example, HR could create a simple video to help employees with the accommodation process. Allow managers to engage in simple, easy and quick accommodations. Proper documentation of all steps in the process. Ongoing communication, monitoring, feedback, and improvement. The accommodation process begins with a needs assessment. This means a thorough review of the job description and duties and a clear understanding of the employee's limitations including potential absences etc. Remember you can accommodate an employee by the following means: Changing facilities or equipment Job restrictions Modifying schedules Modifying a test, training, or policies Offering vacant positions within their skill range Offering temporary positions (the ADA does not require you to create a new position for an employee) Support including readers, interpreters, or even dogs A leave of absence Any other idea that would generate a reasonable accommodation Proper documentation of any undue burden One of the biggest mistakes an employer makes is to assume in advance that an accommodation would create an undue burden. If the request is reasonable, the best approach is to let them try it and to be clear about performance standards. Document any shortcomings their accommodations may be causing and continue to communicate about ways to elevate them. There is extensive material on the ADA on HR That Works including flow charts, checklists, forms, and policies to use. There is also training you can provide your managers (a good idea). Also remember if you have over 50 employees the FMLA may allow an employee who has serious medical condition up to 12 weeks of leave which they may use instead of accepting an accommodation.

Employees who don't learn the safe way to work are accidents waiting to happen -- and that means that workplace safety training should play an integral role in your company's risk management program. Repetition is essential to this process. Make sure that your trainers repeat essential work safety concepts, information, and terms several times. Look at it this way: At any moment during a training session, some trainees probably aren't going to be paying full attention -- and if they don't hear something, they're not going to do it when they get back on the job. What's more, many people might need to hear, see, or experience things at least twice before they understand. Repetition is also important when it comes to practical applications of safety information. Employees need the opportunity to practice what they've learned until it's locked into their heads and their performance is flawless. So when a safety procedure involves a practical act, be sure that the trainers give a demonstration, repeat it a few times until everybody catches on, and provide feedback while trainees practice. You'll also need repetition to make sure that workers don't forget what they're supposed to have learned. Training industry leader Bob Pike says that people can remember 90% of what they've learned one hour after training, 50% after a day, 25% after two days, and only 10% 30 days later. According to Pike, full retention of subject matter requires no fewer than six repetitions! That means plenty of follow-up and refresher training -- especially for more complex material. Other experts recommend spacing safety reinforcement training so that employees can practice new procedures and skills or use new information on the job supported by coaching before they go back to the classroom for review and additional training.

Unfortunately, many small businesses ignore business continuity planning - perhaps because this seems so simple that they just don't need to do it. Here are five basic (and cost-effective) steps you need to take before disaster strikes: Define who's in charge. Because you might be unavailable after a disaster - injured, ill, on vacation, etc. - designate an order of succession to avoid confusion and unclear responsibility during the recovery process. Avoid a communication breakdown. Normal communication infrastructure might be disabled after a disaster, so make sure you have alternatives for employees, customers, clients, key suppliers, and subcontractors. At a minimum, have phone numbers (landline and cellular), and e-mail addresses. Don't rely on outdated, unreliable methods such as phone communication trees. Use a voicemail system supported by a vendor with communication equipment offsite. Don't forget to consider backup power needs. Perform data backups. Be sure to make duplicate copies of data regularly, with one copy at a location that's easy and inexpensive to access. Have a Plan B. if your facility is destroyed or access is denied by civil authorities, can you conduct certain business operations from home or a local hotel? For example, what steps can you take to replace computers and retrieve data? Make sure you have enough insurance. In a worst-case disaster scenario (major fire, windstorm, civil disorder, etc.), you might well lose your business assets and face a period of downtime - zero cash flow. Insurance can keep you afloat until you're back on your feet. We stand ready to help design a comprehensive, cost effective program that can make your business less risky.

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For your workers to enjoy the full financial benefits from their 401(k) plans, experts recommend that employee education sessions make sure that participants: Contribute enough to receive the maximum match. One expert estimates that at least one in three employees don’t make the maximum contribution, which means they’re leaving free money on the table. Avoid account trading. Because it’s all too easy for plan participants to panic at market bottoms and be over-confident at tops, advise them not to open their account statements during these periods. Diversify. Concentrating account balances in one or a few funds that employees feel will perform well or are safe means making a risky bet on only one economic scenario. Keep their money in the plan. Employees who take out loans on their funds, make withdrawals or cash out a 401(k) when they change jobs will have to pay taxes and penalties that reduce plan payout by almost 50%, which will make it impossible to save enough for retirement. Keep saving. Workers stop saving for a number of reasons. The equity market falls, their spouse loses a job, they want to save outside the plan for a home, car, boat, marriage, etc. It’s far better to lower their contribution if necessary, without going to 0%. Remember, employees need to average 15% in savings over an entire career to retire at their current standard of living. Focus on the bottom line. The most important factor in a 401(k) is not the allocation of assets, market timing, or investment performance, although these are important. It’s how much the employee saves! Make sure that you follow these guidelines in retirement planning education for your employees. They’ll be grateful for your encouragement and support.