ECBM's Blog: Information To Protect What You Grow

In the wake of an aggressive hurricane season doing extensive damage to the southeast part of the United States, many homeowners are realizing that their basic homeowner’s policy does not cover flood damage.  Instead, flood damage insurance in the United States has to be purchased separately.  Most people who have flood insurance policies purchase their policies through the National Flood Insurance Program.  That Program faces a number of challenges moving forward that may affect the affordability of its offerings.

Losses that prevent a company from continuing operations can cause massive headaches for business owners.  When a business cannot continue operating for a period of time, it often continues to incur fixed expenses while no longer generating the revenue necessary to pay those expenses, let alone turn a profit.  It can also affect issues of customer awareness and satisfaction if a shutdown extends too long.  The total losses from even a short cessation of operations can add up quickly.

A series of decisions from the National Labor Relations Board in the past few years relating to determining who qualified as a joint employer had worried many companies across the country. Most notably, in a case involving Browning-Ferris Industries, the Board had promulgated a new test for defining the joint employer relationship that had the potential to increase significantly the liability of companies that contracted out labor or staffing to third party companies.  Businesses protested the change while labor groups celebrated.

Slip and fall torts can pose a major liability to many businesses.  While these accidents may seem harmless, several recent lawsuits have seen damages paid out in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Lost wages and allegations of permanent disability can increase the value of a claim.  Slip and fall accidents put businesses in a difficult position, as even where the business may feel it acted appropriately, the cost of ongoing litigation can make contesting a lawsuit a money-losing proposition.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, and as a business owner in the Philadelphia area — only 50-75 miles from the coastline — you need to take the time to understand how your property coverage will respond to a hurricane or windstorm. If you don’t understand your coverage and deductibles, along with any potential exposure, the aftermath of a hurricane can be devastating to your business, says Phil Coyne, vice president at ECBM.