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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 ...

Here are some featured markets we thought you might be interested in taking advantage of: Schools and Colleges General Liability Insurance (Directors, Trustees, Faculty and Employees), Opportunities for New Jersey Insurance Agents, Religious Organizations Insurance, Commercial Auto Insurance, Grocery Store Insurance, Nonprofits and Social Services Insurance, Restaurant Workers Compensation Insurance, Pest Control Insurance...

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. ...

Glatfelter Program Managers is a strategic business unit dedicated to Glatfelter’s program business. Glatfelter Program Managers manages and markets the company’s various specialty programs, which include, VFIS for fire departments, ambulance & rescue squads and 911 centers; Glatfelter Public Practice for educational institutions, municipalities, independent school bus contractors and water entities; Glatfelter Healthcare Practice for skilled care, assisted living, independent living, continuing care retirement communities, personal care and group homes, hospice, home healthcare agencies and other private homecare agencies; and Glatfelter Religious Practice for churches, synagogues, temples and other religious institutions. The commitment to helping brokers succeed in specialty markets is paramount and Glatfelter is fully committed to providing brokers with the resources to compete and win....

Program Brokerage Corporation (PBC), is a powerful market resource for brokers and agents, we are also a partner for carriers reaching out to the commercial insurance buyer in innovative, cost-effective ways. We’ve pioneered an innovative approach to Purchasing Group Insurance buying, which has won popular acclaim....