ECBM's Blog: Information To Protect What You Grow

There are recognized patterns of higher risk. For example, Hurricanes and earthquakes do catastrophic damage to a specific geographic area. These natural disasters pose unique risks to insurance companies as a result of that history. If an insurance company insures at lot of this type of risk, it can face massive losses and have its financial stability threatened. For this reason, insurance companies try to avoid insuring too many homes or businesses (for this example) in an at risk area for hurricane or earthquake damage. While this helps keep insurance companies financially sound, it can make coverage harder to obtain for those who need it most.

Lawsuits are expensive... and they only ever get more costly as time goes on. To reduce delays, state governments have searched for ways to fairly apportion damages for certain types of accidents without having injured parties resort to filing lawsuits for some time. Workers' Compensation is one example of a system that states have used to avoid and prevent lawsuits in the specific field of workplace injuries by eliminating any requirement for fault or negligence.

Pollution coverage in commercial automobile coverage can be a tricky subject. The standard commercial automobile policy excludes coverage for pollution events unless the pollution stems from a substance necessary to the operation of the vehicle; this means substances like gasoline or brake fluid. There are three ways companies get around this exclusion – through the MCS-90, through transportation pollution liability coverage through a stand-alone policy or as part of a contractor’s pollution liability policy, or through the CA-9948 endorsement.

Have you insured your property to its full value? It can be tempting to underestimate the value of your property when purchasing insurance to obtain lower premiums. Someone thinking about employing this strategy might only want coverage to a certain level and be willing to accept the negative consequences of a loss that exceeds the policy limits.

When people think of cyber losses and cyber insurance, they tend to think of privacy breaches. The exposure of personally identifying information and concomitant risk of identity theft, which is followed by notification costs and regulatory fines is a recognized threat. More and more, though, the interruption of day to day business is the highest cost of a breach. These losses can lead to lost sales, lost productivity, reputational damage, and missed deadlines leading to breach of contract.

The Atlantic hurricane season lasts from June to November, with the peak season from mid-August to late October. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season begins May 15th and ends November 30th. When hurricanes take form, they cause heavy rains that can lead to extensive flood damage in coastal and inland areas. They are capable of producing winds in excess of 155 miles per hour as they barrel through the coastal areas and cause catastrophic damage.  The best way to minimize damage from a hurricane is to be prepared before one strikes, are you prepared?

More and more companies are purchasing cyber insurance as the risks to the company’s businesses from the breach of their networks expand. More companies are also requiring that their vendors and contractors obtain cyber insurance to protect themselves from breaches caused by third parties.  As the cyber insurance market place grows, it’s important for companies to know what they get with their cyber insurance policies to maximize the advantage of their purchase.

The failure to understand insurance coverage can create significant gaps in a company’s exposure. Businesses need to make sure they understand the terms of their policies when shopping for coverage to make sure what looks like a good deal isn’t paying a little less money for a lot less coverage. Professional liability policies, also known as errors and omissions coverage, can create some of these issues simply because of the way these policies vary from normal insurance coverage.

A trend has existed in recent decades increasing the liability of corporate directors for their failures to adequately oversee the companies they are in charge of. Directors and Officers liability insurance policies were created to address this liability trend. Directors and Officers insurance, commonly referred to as D & O insurance, is normally purchased by the corporation and indemnifies the directors, officers, and executives of the corporation from lawsuits filed alleging they acted negligently in running the company. In this sense, D & O insurance functions like malpractice insurance for CEOs and Chairmen of the Board.

The cyber market has evolved incredibly in a few short years. It’s been barely more than twenty years since the internet became a ubiquitous presence in the lives of most Americans. As cyberspace has grown, the risks attendant on cyberspace has grown as well. To meet the challenges of combining scope and risk, legislators and courts have had to move quickly to regulate this area and protect individuals from loss. At the same time, insurance companies have had to tailor policies to protect companies from the risks of doing business online.