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Here are some featured markets we thought you might be interested in taking advantage of: Contractors General Liability, Property and Casualty Insurance Agents Errors and Omissions (E&O), Garage Service & Repair Insurance, Wind Deductible Buy Back Insurance, Maritime Workers Compensation, Restaurant Insurance, Hard-to-Place Property Insurance, Builders Risk Insured by Zurich ...

International Special Risks (ISR) offers a number of programs for the small to mid-market insured with both State Act Workers' Compensation and Longshore Harbor Workers Act (USL&H) exposures....

There are often benefits to middle-market companies emulating their larger counterparts' risk management examples. “There is a basic risk management process, methodology that has been around for years,” said Patrick Donnelly, co-leader of U.S. broking at Aon Risk Solutions in Chicago. “But only larger companies have been able to make the investment to create the framework to go through those steps.” Carol Fox, director of strategic and enterprise risk practice for the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. in New York, said it's critical for midsize firms to focus on how they're embedding risk management in the organization. Here are 10 risk management lessons middle-market companies should heed in 2014: 1. Business continuity planning One of the steps many larger companies have taken that middle-market companies could benefit from is business continuity planning. “In order to have a good business continuity plan, you really need to understand your business — and that's inside and out,” said Jim Hedrick, area vice president of business continuity planning at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Cincinnati. “A middle-market company may not have the bandwidth to do that,” he said. 2. Establishing a crisis plan Hand in hand with the business continuity process is establishing a crisis management plan. A crisis management plan helps drive decision-making when a crisis occurs and helps ensure that information gets to the right people. 3. Testing the crisis plan A crisis management plan alone isn't enough; it needs to be regularly tested. “To me, if you don't test your plans you might as well not have them,” Mr. Hedrick said. “Not only does it test the validity of the plan, but also it's a terrific training mechanism.” Testing the plan also helps identify “who should be in your plan and shouldn't be in your plan,” he said. “Sometimes you have people in these events who just melt down because they can't handle the stress.” 4. Managing supply chain risks While the effort can be challenging, large companies have increasingly recognized the need to identify and address supply chain risks. Middle-market companies that haven't should do so as well, experts say. Supply chain risk is “the one exposure that I believe has changed significantly since the credit crisis,” said Mark Moreland, executive vice president for strategic consulting at Lockton Cos. L.L.C. in Kansas City, Mo. In trying to squeeze costs out of their supply chains some companies have taken steps to narrow their supply chains, reduce the number of suppliers and change their risk profile in the process, something that must be addressed, he said. 5. Defining a risk appetite Mid-market companies should develop a clearly defined risk appetite. “This is the one thing that we are trying to do with all our clients and prospects: establishing a very clear risk appetite,” Mr. Moreland said. “What may happen in a middle-market organization is they believe, "We know what our risk appetite is because we aren't that large an organization,'” Ms. Fox said. But middle-market companies can find value in having that conversation, clarifying their risks and specifying how much risk they're willing to assume and how much insurance to buy. 6. Benchmarking risk management performance The process of defining a risk appetite also could help middle-market companies recognize how they might differ from companies they're benchmarking their risk management efforts against. “It allows them to benchmark on areas that are different from just insurance buying,” RIMS' Ms. Fox said. “It gives them more data points.” “Benchmarking is always something that clients are interested in. I think the real challenge is to get benchmarking that you can draw clear conclusions from,” Mr. Moreland said. “Benchmarking is one of those underrated tools that I think midsize companies can use in understanding their risk,” said Mark Moitoso, executive vice president and general manager national accounts casualty at Liberty Mutual Holding Co. Inc. in Boston. “What's really nirvana in this is it helps them establish goals.” 7. Using captives to self-insure risks As middle-market companies become more familiar with their risks and their risk appetites, they may choose to retain more risk or find risk financing alternatives and captives can be a useful tool. Middle-market companies are increasingly embracing alternative risk transfer. “The big growth is with the middle-market companies,” said Karl Huish, president of the Captive Services Division of Artex Risk Solutions Inc. in Mesa, Ariz. “These businesses are recognizing they have exactly the same sorts of risks that the larger companies have, they're just smaller in size.” Middle-market companies are starting to use captives both for risks they didn't previously insure and in financing large-deductible workers compensation, automobile liability, general liability and property programs. And the larger middle-market companies are often doing that through stand-alone captives, while smaller middle-market firms frequently opt for group captives. 8. Addressing cyber risks With cyber threats cutting across companies of all sizes, middle-market companies also are increasingly aware of the need to address those risks. When insurers first introduced cyber risk policies, many buyers questioned their value, recognizing the number of incidents that were occurring but not sure about the extent of potential damage, said Patrick Donnelly, co-leader of U.S. broking at Aon Risk Solutions in Chicago. Now nearly every company is recognizing that they have some sort of exposure. “That's extended into the middle markets more in the past 18 months or so,” Mr. Donnelly said. 9. Return-to-work efforts Middle-market companies can also benefit by following larger companies' example in adopting return-to-work programs. Such programs can produce significant workers compensation savings while allowing injured workers to participate in modified work assignments while they recover from injuries. 10. Continuing education Middle market companies always can benefit from following many large company risk managers' lead in looking for continuing education and networking opportunities through organizations like RIMS. “It's not just the courses, the workshops, the online webinars, they can benefit from but the conferences and the networking by belonging to an organization,” Ms. Fox explained. Content provided by http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20131229/NEWS05/312299996?tags=%7C60%7C299%7C305%7C...

When businesses consider Intellectual Property management, they often think about protecting their own assets, in the form of copyrighted material, trademarks, patents and trade secrets. But businesses also need to ensure that they are managing the IP rights of others, according to Kirstin Simonson, a Segment Lead in Global Technology at Travelers. “This is especially true in the technology sector, which faces some of the most complex IP issues,” says Simonson. One common violation of intellectual property is software copyright infringement. A common scenario may include a company that purchases software licensing rights for 400 employees, and then fails to update the licensing for an additional 100 employees later added to staff. According to a BSA Global Software Survey, they found that 43% of the software installed on personal computers in 2013 was not licensed.¹ Why Businesses Need an IP Risk Management Program The survey also reported that only 35% of companies have written policies requiring the use of properly licensed software. It also found that there is an awareness gap about software policies between workers and IT managers. Appropriately ensuring the rights of others is an important part of risk management for your organization because IP, in all of its forms, is a critical business asset. Companies need an IP Risk Management plan because: They may face legal action for copyright infringement and other IP violations. They may have to perform an intensive software audit to prove they have resolved the problem. Use of unlicensed software may put the business at risk for data breaches, data loss or other forms of information security and network security threats. Laws protecting IP can vary greatly around the world, so it is important to understand which ones apply to your business. What to Include in an IP Risk Management Program “Like all risk management, a good IP Risk Management Program needs to be proactive and comprehensive from an enterprise perspective,” says Simonson. “Consider IP rights management as a tool for growth, and not something to consider once the product is out to market.” An IP rights management program should include: The ability to track licensing relationships and royalty obligations. Companies should consider some form of automated tracking to ensure they are not only managing their own IP rights that are licensed to others, but they are living up to the licensing agreements they have in place with third parties. Formal clearance procedure and registration strategy. Engaging legal counsel to perform an IP search may be appropriate in many instances or at the very least, determining whether there are automated tools that can assist in the process. Having a well-defined strategy for determining whether title is clear to the IP, whether it should be registered and how to maintain the registration. Contracting and licensing agreements should include appropriate provisions. Whether it is a work-for-hire arrangement where the IP rights would be assigned to the business or a licensing agreement to use the IP, it is critically important these be spelled out and managed. Response plan or dispute resolution plan in the event someone challenges your IP rights. Just like any peril or loss a business may face, whether it is hurricane, liability allegations arising out of the failure of the product, or a cyber event – a strong response plan when an event happens will save hours and dollars. Education of all employees of what constitutes IP and how their misuse or mishandling can put the company at risk. Train everyone in the company so they understand how they might put the business at risk. Download the White Paper on How to Protect and Maximize Your Company's Intellectual Property > Get Technology Resources that Can Help You Turn Risk into a Business Advantage > ¹ http://globalstudy.bsa.or...

Few business owners have happy thoughts when they think of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). The first thought is usually of red tape and obsolete regulations instead of the possible benefits from taking advantage of the services offered by OSHA to reduce workplace illness, injury, and fatality. There are three very obvious ways in which any effort to mitigate losses from workplace illness, injury, and fatality can help a business: It helps to ensure minimal day-to-day work-flow disruption. It helps to boost employee morale. It helps to manage liability insurance costs, including that of Workers Compensation claims. OSHA helps in these areas through an array of education, outreach, and compliance assistance programs. For example, OSHA offers a variety of training materials and guidelines that can help workers and employers to understand and comply with safety standards. These may be obtained online, on CD-ROM, and in print. There’s also a 24-hour toll free number that employers can call for assistance on workplace safety issues. For small business owners that need onsite help to identify and correct possible workplace hazards and/or establish health or safety programs, OSHA offers free workplace consultations among its many other services. Through cooperative programs, like the Alliance Program, OSHA works directly with entities such as educational institutions, businesses, trade organizations, and labor organizations. Certain industries, such as food processing, shipbuilding, and construction, are specifically targeted through OSHA’s Strategic Partnership Program. The Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) are considered the superstars of the OSHA cooperative programs. One of these programs is called the Star Program. It’s designed for businesses that have shown an exemplary workplace (injury and illness rates below the national average for their industry) through successful and comprehensive health management and safety programs. Businesses in this program will undergo a review and onsite investigation of their health and safety programs, a review of past inspections, an onsite condition assessment, and have their management team and employees interviewed. Incident rates are reviewed yearly and overall reevaluation takes place every three to five years to ensure that Star participants still meet the program requirements. The Merit Program is another voluntary protection program. It’s a stepping stone of sorts to the Star Program and is for those with good health and safety programs. These businesses have areas needing improvement, but demonstrate the potential for excellence. Involuntary inspections are an even large part of OSHA’s preventative measures. Many are the direct result of a workplace injury or death report or complaint. In fact, of the 37,000 involuntary inspections OSHA conducted in 2002, around 9,000 stemmed from an accident report or complaint. These inspections resulted in almost 80,000 violations and $73 million dollars worth of penalties, $11.8 million of which was from the most serious violation category, the willful violation. The average OSHA fine was $28,000 and the most often inspected industries were manufacturing and construction. Since its 1971 start, OSHA has proven itself a successful branch of the Department of Labor. Despite heavy employment growth overall, through OSHA inspection, education, outreach, and enforcement, workplace illnesses have decreased by more than 40% and deaths have decreased by more than 50%. Even though many small businesses, especially those not in frequently-targeted industries, aren’t highly concerned with OSHA compliance and regulatory monitoring, OSHA can still be a valuable asset when it comes to occupational safety and health and risk management. ...

Dallas — October 1, 2013 — U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. (www.usrisk.com ), the eighth largest managing general agency and surplus lines wholesaler in the nation, announced its U.S. Risk Pro division and Western World Insurance Group (www.westernworld.com) have launched a new program for Private Company Directors and Officers Liability. ...

There are good reasons to take safety seriously. In 2012, there were, on average, 89 workplace fatalities a week.1 An estimated $1 billion is paid by employers in direct workers compensation costs every week.2 A safe work environment does not happen by accident. Management must be fully engaged in creating, planning, implementing, communicating and making sure safety programs work and are designed to fit the business. Most importantly, employees have to understand their role in making their workplace safer. Eight Key Components of a Safety Management Program Your safety management program should incorporate the following 8 key components: Demonstrate management involvement – Management must lead by example. A visible demonstration that you embrace a safety culture is imperative to its success. Provide the essential time, budget and resources to create and support a safety program. Communicate your safety plan clearly – Your safety plan must be published and available to all employees. Reminders and updates should be timely and effective. Allow employees to contribute their suggestions to making the workplace safer. Get everyone involved – A safety program is likely to be more effective when employees at all levels are involved. Standardized policies should outline responsibilities and accountability for all employees. Safety goals can become part of job descriptions and employee reviews. Safety committees can help ensure that safety practices are understood and reinforced throughout the company. Positive reinforcement of safe behaviors can be an effective way to help build the desired culture. Train your employees to work safely – Safety training should begin from the moment an employee is hired. Ongoing training is also essential to creating a safety culture. Review, revise, improve – A safety program should be dynamic, especially since most business environments continue to evolve.  An effective safety program should be flexible enough to adjust to changes. Regularly review, evaluate and identify risks that could affect safety, and make the changes necessary to keep your workplace safe. Create safety standards - Each department should set safety standards through a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) to make sure every task is done correctly and safely. Recognize good safety performance, and cite and correct unsafe practices. Investigate every incident and accident thoroughly – Properly trained staff with experience in investigation, analysis and evidence collection should conduct an accident analysis as soon as possible after an incident. Report the claim within 24 hours to help ensure prompt response and injury management. Manage every injury – Even with the best safety program, an employee injury can still occur. Planning helps you to react immediately when an employee is injured on the job. Learn about five strategies that can help you put employees on the road back to productivity. While initiating a comprehensive program can seem like a major hurdle to safety, we can help businesses like yours take the necessary steps to begin creating a safety culture. Get Manufacturing Resources that Can Help You Turn Risk into a Business Advantage > Sources: 1 https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/comm.../www.osha.gov/dcsp/products/topics/businesscase/costs.html

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Cyber and workforce risks rising concern for U.S. businesses. American business leaders worry about the same major risks as they did in 2014, however rising levels of concern over cyber risks and the ability to attract and retain talent have shifted the ranks in some subtle and no-so-subtle ways. 1. Medical Cost Inflation - Medical cost inflation still leads the list of top perceived risks despite a nearly 10 percentage point drop in general concern from 67% in 2014 to 60% in 2015. 2. Cyber Risks - Making the greatest leap from fifth in 2014 to second this year, concern over cyber risk has grown considerably, particularly among large businesses. In fact, 9 out of all 10 industries surveyed report cyber risks and data breaches among their top 5 concerns. 3. Increasing Employee Benefit Costs - Closely related to concerns over medical cost inflation, worry over increasing employee benefit costs, has also fallen, from 62% to 56% since last year. 4. Legal Liability - Although general concern over legal liability has decreased only 2% since last year, its ranking has dropped to fourth from third in 2014. 5. Attracting & Retaining Talent - U.S. businesses are increasingly worried about the challenge of finding and retaining skilled labor, with a 3% increase since last year resulting in a jump from last to fifth on the list of top risk concerns. 6. Regulatory Compliance - Nearly unchanged since last year, among the 51% of all businesses concerned about complying with laws and regulations, 29% worry a great deal. 7. Broad Economic Uncertainty - U.S. business owners showed a slight reprieve from worry over the economy, with concern about broad economic uncertainty down in level (by 6%) and ranking (by 4 places) since 2014. Many U.S. Businesses Still Feel Unprepared for Top Risks While the ranking of top concerns may have slightly shifted, the gaps between how much U.S. businesses worry verses how prepared they feel to manage these risks remains large. In fact, the top risk concerns are often among the 3 to 5 risks businesses feel the least prepared to handle. Furthermore, only 50% of companies report having a written business continuity plan. Global and Political Conflict, Extreme Weather Emerging Concerns While not quite making the cut of top risks, concern over geopolitical conflict has risen significantly among U.S. business leaders. One-third surveyed (32%) worry about global and political conflicts, while one-quarter believe political unrest is of greater concern today than it was five to 10 years ago. More than half of all business surveyed (52%) believe the frequency of severe weather events has increased over the past few years. More importantly, one-third believe these increases in extreme weather also increase the threat of damage to company property and equipment. ...

Pollution and environmental exposure risks on site and during transfer and disposal, such as toxic mold, the disposal of contaminated soil, and broken pipelines releasing toxic materials, are major construction concerns. When such incidents happen, a contractor's reputation and livelihood can be irreversibly impacted. Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) is a type of insurance designed to protect contractors against the liability issues and financial losses that result from such environmental incidents. This insurance covers an array of environmental and pollution risks that are common to construction projects and is considered an appropriate coverage whether a firm is a trade contractor, such as those specializing in paving or HVAC; a general contractor; remediation contractor; or a contractor doing specialized work, such as tank installation or dri...Contractors Pollution Liability insurance is available to cover areas like pollution incidences that result in bodily injury, third-party property damage, or remediation costs. Comprehensive policies can even be customized to provide pollution risk coverage to an entire project, which would include off-site transportation and all contractors involved in the project. Most Contractors Pollution Liability policies are written on a claims-made basis. This basis limits the insurer's risk for unknown future liabilities since it means the policy only pays claims occurring and being filed during the period covered by the policy. Clearly, Contractors Pollution Liability insurance can provide invaluable protection against environmental-related financial losses. That said, such a policy doesn't prevent environmental incidents from occurring in the first place. To help prevent environmental incidences and protect hard-earned reputations, contractors should additionally adopt effective environmental risk management practices. Creating an environmental risk profile will be one of the most important factors when taking steps toward risk management. This allows the firm to identify possible loss exposures and risk areas by thoroughly reviewing their administrative control documents. While some firms opt to conduct the profile in-house, many prefer the expertise and outsider's perspective offered by a professional environmental consultant. In any event, documents related to the following areas should be reviewed during the development of an environmental risk profile: Contractors Pollution Liability policies Standard client agreements All mold prevention programs All environmental management programs Subcontractor's environmental/mold management/prevention systems Language of subcontractor agreements Environmental data searches of job sites Hazard communication programs Quality assurance programs Internal health and safety programs, incident response protocols, and training protocols Trends, history, corrective measures, and employee communications related to environmental losses Environmental assessments for all leased and owned properties Once the above documentation is assessed, the firm can identify strategies to reduce, if not eliminate, their exposures to environmental risks. Combining risk management with a Contractors Pollution Liability policy can help contractors reduce their risk, but still be covered in case the unexpected happens. Contact our office for more information. Content provided by Transformer Marketing.