There is no question that the ownership and use of our autos present us with the greatest personal liability exposure. But our normal daily activities can expose us to the potential of a large liability claim that could threaten our personal assets. One of the best ways to understand the need for a personal umbrella policy (PUP) is to review actual claim examples. Listed below are actual personal liability claims that illustrate the need for higher personal liability limits.

Loss #1
A couple hosted a pool party for their teenage children. They did not provide any alcohol, but it was brought by some of the guests and was available. After leaving the party, one of the guests was severely injured in an auto accident, and the injury was attributed to his consumption of alcohol. This case went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court which decided that anyone who sells or furnishes alcohol to a minor is responsible for the minor’s injuries as well as any injuries caused by the minor. The opinion of the court was that the homeowners should have prevented the consumption of alcohol by minors on their premises. Both the homeowners’ and personal umbrella policies responded to this claim.

Loss #2:
The insured hosted a party at his home. Among the guests was a family friend, who was also the insured’s financial advisor. The friend brought his wife, their 2-year-old child and their baby to the party. The insured gave them a jug of spring water to mix formula for the baby. The 2-year-old child also had a drink of the water. Shortly thereafter, both children became ill. The family left the party and took the children to the hospital. The hospital confiscated the water jug which was found to contain arsenic. An old label was found wrapped around the handle with the words “weed killer” printed on it. The insured had mistakenly given the jug, which was similar to the ones containing spring water, to the family. The baby died and the 2 year old survived after being in critical condition several days. The personal umbrella liability limit was paid.

Loss #3:
The insured’s 18-year-old son was driving his parents’ car to the store with his 19-year-old girlfriend. He left the roadway and hit a tree. The son told the police that another car cut him off, but there were no witnesses, and the girlfriend had no recollection of the accident. She was hospitalized for over a month with multiple fractures and internal injuries and received extensive physical therapy. The personal umbrella insurer settled with the girlfriend for the policy limit.

Loss #4:
An 18-year-old college student was struck by a fraternity paddle during initiation. He sustained facial fractures and blindness in his left eye. The fellow fraternity members and their families were sued. The court awarded $1,300,000.

Loss #5:
A 28-year-old engineer dove into a friend’s above-ground swimming pool, struck his head on the bottom and, as a result, became a quadriplegic. He sued both the homeowner and the pool manufacturer. The court found the homeowner to be 60 percent responsible and the pool manufacturer to be 40 percent responsible, and awarded $10,000,000.

Loss #6:
A babysitter left a 5-month-old infant unattended in a walker. The infant toppled the walker, struck her head on the floor and suffered brain damage. The parents of the infant sued the teenage babysitter and her parents. The court awarded the parents $11,000,000.
The above losses show the consequences of situations that can quickly exhaust the liability limits of the underlying policies.

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day, most folks can purchase a personal umbrella policy with a limit of $1,000,000, possibly $2,000,000 or even $5,000,000.
Jerry Milton, CIC, contributed this resource. The legal profession recognizes him as an expert on insurance coverages. He is also an education consultant for IA&B, working with CISR, CIC and on-demand CE programs.

The data risk management experts cited in the Post’s report recommend that small-business owners consider cyber liability coverage in addition to beefed-up security. These owners must determine whether they’re doing enough to protect sensitive information and whether their standard liability policies would cover first- or third-party losses and damages should a data breach occur.

Read the Washing Post Article Below…

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-small-business/post/cybersecurity-insurance-what-small-businesses-need-to-know/2011/12/28/gIQAYlL5MP_blog.html

For most people, a wedding day is the single most expensive day of an entire lifetime of expenses. When planning a wedding, there are outrageous expenses at every turn, from booking the venues to contracting service providers. Enormous amounts of money can be spent quickly to make everything perfect for a couple on their special day, and though hopefully everything will go exactly as planned, there are so many emergencies that can pop up. The smartest thing that anyone who is planning a wedding can do is purchase wedding insurance to cover all the expenses that will be paid for.

Wedding event insurance is perhaps the more popular of the two types of coverage generally offered. This covers the entire event from planning through wedding day, and insures against extreme situations. It covers illness, disaster, or military deployment that can lead to postponement. It also covers all the deposits paid to vendors in the event that they go out of business, are unable to serve a wedding, or simply do not show up.

There are generally two types of wedding insurance that are offered, and most providers offer them both individually and as a package in order to offer the insured the right coverage for their event. Wedding liability insurance is the first type of wedding insurance that is generally offered. This insurance offers coverage for the wedding couple, or their parents, should they be held responsible for property damages or personal injuries either at the wedding or as a result of the wedding. This type of coverage usually also covers alcohol related incidents that can occur at or after the wedding. This coverage is important, as many venues now require renters to have it.

This system test is the first of its kind. It is designed to broadcast a nationwide message to the American public. Nothing like it has been conducted in the history of the country. There have been tests in the past but none to all parts of the Nation at the same time. The test will run concurrently on all radio and TV bands and the message will run for three minutes. Most messages in the past were anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute.

There is great concern in local police and emergency management circles about undue public anxiety over this test. The test message on TV might not indicate that it is just a test. Fear is that the lack of an explanation message might create panic.  Please share this information with your family and friends so they are aware of the test.

Below are two websites, that will provide more information…
http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm
https://nationaldialogue-emergencyalertsystem.ideascale.com/

Preparing Your Home
• Bring in or secure anything that can be picked up by the wind (bicycles, lawn furniture).
• Close your windows and doors. If needed or advised to do so, windows and doors can be boarded up with plywood.
• Turn the refrigerator and freezer to the coldest setting and keep them closed as much as possible so that food will last longer if the power goes out.
• Turn off all propane tanks
• Fill your car’s gas tank.

General Safety Information
• Drive only if necessary
• Keep far away from loose or dangling power lines and report them immediately to the power company.
• Stay out of any building that has water around it.
• Use flashlights in the dark, avoid using candles.
• Before preparing food or drinking tap water make sure it is not contaminated.
• Watch animals closely and keep them under your direct control.
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls.
 
Preparing your business
Consider taking the following precautions to help protect people and property and guard against disruption of operations:
 
• Review your business continuity plan and communicate emergency evacuation and business interruption instructions to employees. If you don’t have a written plan, now is the time to create one. Each business should have an emergency plan including a detailed procedure for evacuation, a checklist for shutting down processes and protecting buildings, contents, equipment, and yard storage. Procedures should include salvage instructions to follow post-event.
• Back up critical data and computer records off-site so that operations can continue after a disaster. Consider keeping a backup generator and plenty of batteries on hand so your business can continue to operate after a power loss.
• As a hurricane approaches, quick actions should to be taken to install temporary protection features including:  
 
-  Shutter or board up windows to protect them from flying debris

-  Clean out floor drains and catch basins to ensure maximum drainage
 
-  Anchor structures, trailers and yard storage so they are more likely to stay
    put during high winds
 
-  Fill emergency generator and fire pump fuel tanks
 
-  Shut down production processes safely
 
-  Shut off all flammable and combustible liquid and gas lines at their source
 
-  Shut off electrical power at the main building disconnect before the 
    hurricane strikes.
 
• Once the storm has subsided and it is safe to return, a salvage team should be assembled and repair work prioritized, assuring proper supplies are available and safety procedures followed.

These and other tips on how to stay safe during hurricanes and other natural disasters are available on the FEMA website. There is no harm in being overly cautious.  Please be safe!

Professional liability insurance concentrates on the supposed failure to carry out on the behalf of, monetary loss caused by and error to omission in the service or product sold by the policy holder. These are actions that have the possibility to lead to legal action that wouldn’t be covered by a more basic liability insurance policy which focuses on more direct methods of harm.

In most cases professional indemnity coverage also allows for defense costs, including when the legal action brought up turns out to be baseless. This kind of insurance does no include criminal prosecution. It also does not include a massive variety of possible liabilities under civil law that are not listed one-by-one in the policy coverage, but which may be subject to particular types of professional practice, and in some cases is necessary under binding legal documentation by other companies that are the direct beneficiaries of the service or counsel.

Professional indemnity insurance could also have varied forms and names in accordance to the profession. In the medical profession, for example, it is known as malpractice insurance, consultants, lawyers and brokers call it errors and omissions (E&O) coverage. Other professionals who usually have need of professional liability include maintenance and contractors, financial and accounting services and transport.

The main rationale for professional liability coverage is that a normal general liability insurance policy will only cover physical harm, damage to property, advertising injury or personal injury claim. Other kinds of insurance protect employers and public and product liability. There are different kinds of professional services and products that can lead to legal claims without any of the enumerated types of harm covered by such policies occurring. Normal claims that professional indemnity insurance covers include, misrepresentation, negligence, violation of good faith and erroneous advice.

For more information, visit: http://www.rhhinsurance.com/professional-liability.html

Wedding insurance is a little known type of insurance coverage that can be priceless should anything at all go wrong on a wedding day. For the couple themselves, this insurance can help to protect their financial investment and future should anything unexpected happen on their wedding day. And for parents of the wedding couple, wedding insurance can both protect their financial investment and help to insure that the wedding day is perfect.

There are generally two types of wedding insurance that are offered, and most providers offer them both individually and as a package in order to offer the insured the right coverage for their event. Wedding liability insurance is the first type of wedding insurance that is generally offered. This insurance offers coverage for the wedding couple, or their parents, should they be held responsible for property damages or personal injuries either at the wedding or as a result of the wedding. This type of coverage usually also covers alcohol related incidents that can occur at or after the wedding. This coverage is important, as many venues now require renters to have it.

Wedding event insurance is perhaps the more popular of the two types of coverage generally offered. This covers the entire event from planning through wedding day, and insures against extreme situations. It covers illness, disaster, or military deployment that can lead to postponement. It also covers all the deposits paid to vendors in the event that they go out of business, are unable to serve a wedding, or simply do not show up.

Wedding insurance is the smartest purchase anyone who is planning a wedding can make, and will protect the interests of a couple on the most important day of their lives together.

There are numerous types of restaurant insurance policies you can choose from. It is best to understand the laws in your locale prior to picking a policy. There is no need to opt for coverage you may not need in your situation. Consider the type of business you will be running before you choose a policy. It is a good idea to work with an insurer who can provide protection that is specific to your needs.

The most essential types of coverage are general liability, workers’ compensation and property insurance. General liability protects you from lawsuits should anyone get injured or sick in your restaurant. Workers’ compensation provides a similar type of protection for your employees. Property insurance safeguards the building and property in the event of a fire or other disaster.

There are many other types of protection you can use to augment your insurance policy. If you sell alcohol in your restaurant, most states will require you to purchase liquor liability insurance. This protects you if a customer becomes injured after drinking at your establishment. Insurance to cover food contamination due to loss of power is also a good investment. Additionally, specific peril insurance will protect your business from natural disasters.

Restaurant insurance will cover anything from liability issues to faulty equipment. As a restaurant owner, you are obliged by the law to protect your business with insurance coverage. For added protection, consider obtaining a life insurance policy to protect your loved ones from financial obligation. Before you open for business, it is important to determine what type of policy you should commit to. Procuring an insurance policy will safeguard your livelihood so you can reap the rewards of running a profitable business.

 If you have had a home energy audit done in the past, tell us what suggestions were made to make your home more energy efficient….and did it help lower your energy bills?