Tech Talk - Learn the Lingo of Technology Insurance

Every company should have some form of Technology Insurance as a part of their risk management strategy. Even companies that need comprehensive Technology insurance coverage are not limited to those dealing specifically with the design, manufacturing, or serving of business or consumer technology. Practically every business employs technology on some level, and thus is susceptible to "Cyber Risk". It is important to note that "Cyber Risk" is not covered under your General Liability Insurance Coverage. (G.L.I. is for bodily injury or property damage to others.) Since much of technology involves "intangibles" like data, designs, etc. you need Professional Liability Coverage to cover these risks. Technology Insurance is basically Professional Liability Insurance that is customized for Technology companies. In order to get a better idea of how cyber risk can affect your business refer to the common technology insurance terms below.

Because of the rapidly changing field of technology and technology itself, insurance terms and definitions may vary from carrier to carrier. Always consult a knowledgeable technology insurance agent before purchasing any technology insurance coverages.

GENERAL TERMS:

Cyber Risk - Umbrella term for various instances of possible loss faced by any company utilizing technology.

Cyber Liability Coverage - coverage for liability and expenses to your company because of a cyber risk loss

Electronic Data Processing Property Coverage - blanket term usually referring to electronic data, edp equipment, mobile communication property, and communication property. ​ It is very important to have this coverage and to be clear about what this coverage does and does not mean to your individual carrier.

Intellectual Property Coverage - coverage for intellectual property or patent infringements including trademark, copyright, or patent violations. This coverage is usually available in two parts, one part in the case where you are responsible for intellectual property infringement and one part in the case where someone has violated your own intellectual property rights.

Common Types of Losses as a Result of Cyber Risk

Errors & Omissions - Umbrella term for any loss caused by an error or omission on the part of your company.

Data Breach / Data Loss Unfulfilled Contract or Warranty

Data Breach / Data Loss - Loss or corruption of company or client data. This includes, but is not limited to:

Stolen/misplaced hardware (laptop or flash drive) Malicious software (intentionally/unintentionally introduced to company's or client's system) Software Glitch (malfunction causes loss or misplacement of data)

Personal Injury (Digital) - Defamation caused to an individual or company through digital media including:

Company Website E-mail Social Media This is just the tip of the iceberg. When you're looking to keep your business & technology secure, make sure to speak to an insurance agent who specializes in Technology Insurance! Policy Declaration Page Address   Tradesman Tools And Equipment Risks And Insurance Cover   Carpet Cleaner Business Insurance   A Basic Overview Of A Builders Risk Policy   

Commercial Insurance Helps Pay For The Catastrophe Clean Up

Commercial insurance policies provide cover for buildings and property against all kinds of perils, but it is important to consider what it would cost to get your buildings reinstated following a total loss catastrophe such as a fire or major flood, and to ensure that your business insurance policy contains provisions to cover all the costs of reinstatement expenses.

If you under-estimate the total rebuilding costs of your commercial premises when initially applying for cover, then following any future claim, any payouts agreed will be subject to reductions by what is called 'average'.

Average will reduce the claim payout proportionally by the amount of under-insurance of the declared value from the actual current rebuilding costs. For example if your premises costs 150,000 to rebuild and you have declared the sum insured at 120,000, your claim will be reduced by a fifth.

If allowances are not made for all the costs of rebuilding, including those that may not at first be apparent, when applying for a commercial property insurance quote, then it is more than likely that the premises will be under-insured.

Commercial buildings cover may or may not include cover for fees for architects, surveyors or consultant engineers that may be required before rebuilding work can be commenced. These will usually work alongside any loss adjusters appointed by the insurer to minimise costs and agree any rebuilding proposals. Insurance companies will not pay rates for fees above those set by the governing professional trade bodies.

It is important to establish whether professional fees are included in the policy cover and if not, add an amount to cover these to the declared sum insured. When doing so be aware that these professions usually charge a very high hourly rate, and inflation should be allowed for.

Another area that can often cause disagreement between an insured and an insurance company following total loss of the premises, is that of debris removal and clearance of the site in preparation to rebuild.

Most commercial policies will include a section outlining the insurance companies responsibility as regards the insured premises site clearance and debris removal. This typically includes cover for dismantling and demolishing buildings, shoring and propping up dangerous or adjacent buildings and site clearance. More often than not the amount for this is included in the sum insured, in which case this should be calculated and also added in to the rebuilding cost at proposal.

Debris clearance can be extremely expensive, especially if for example hazardous building materials such as asbestos have to be removed, or if the site was storing chemicals or dangerous machinery that have to be treated and removed by specialist clean-up teams.

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Buy a Business Car That Will Lower Your Insurance Costs

The cost of your business vehicle insurance premiums depends on several factors, some of which you have no control over. There are some simple ways to save money when it comes time to buying insurance for your business vehicle. One of these is to choose a car, new or used, that will not be expensive to deliver. These tips will help you determine what type of car/van/truck you should buy to reduce your insurance premiums. Sounds dumb, but think about it. The vehicle merchant will have to charge delivery based on what they are paying for insurance, so if the delivery is high, then you can assume that insurance will also be high.

The first two of the factors that influence the cost of business vehicle insurance are the risks of accidents and theft. If your vehicle is more likely to be involved in an accident and cause damage to others, yourself or your staff in a collision, the more your insurance company will increase the cost of your insurance. Following this logic, sports cars and all high performance vehicles, built for speed, will be more expensive to insure, so unless your business involves impressing clients with fast cars then give it a miss. It's the same for some very small cars, which will not protect the owner in case of crash (except for smart cars). It is best to avoid these types of vehicles.

You must also consider the fact that some business vehicles are more popular with thieves than others. White vans are often a target for thief's to steal or more likely to break into. Check your country records, for the most stolen vehicles records, and then give that vehicle a miss. The vehicles most at risk of being stolen will inevitably cost more in business car/van/truck insurance costs.

Consider an immobilizer as this is an effective way to prevent theft of your company vehicles, just like alarms and steering wheel locking devices. Some models are already equipped with such systems. If the vehicle you choose does not have one, you can pay extra to have them installed. This purchase will be a very good long term investment, since you will save by reducing your insurance premiums.

A lot of business vehicles are also having "tracker" integrated into their machines. These help police locate your vehicles when stolen. This will help bring down your business vehicle insurance costs. You may also have cameras installed that record footage around accidents to help determine costs. This has lowered American insurance costs considerably, as it allows the insurance firms to more easily determine who is to blame for accidents.

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Uninsured Plant Thefts Can Cost Twice the Original Price Tag

As smaller plant items are designed to be easily transported or carried by hand, it makes them much easier to steal and so strimmers, mini-diggers and other portable pieces tend to make up the bulk of plant insurance claims in the UK.

The extent of the problem is widely disputed, but many agree that it is commonplace. According to statistics published by IMIA, plant theft costs contractors and insurers around £1.5 million every week.

Of course the best way to prevent such thefts is to secure compounds and storage facilities to put off opportunists; but construction sites can be huge and contractors often find themselves working with staff from other companies who have been contracted in to fulfill other parts of the project. Managing site security then, can become difficult and with so many unknown persons on-site, the risk of inside jobs occurring can be much greater.

This then presents other problems. Many contractors hire their plant for specific tasks, and so in the event of theft it is down to the contractor to replace the equipment as well as paying every day for the hire of their stolen vehicle until the replacement is delivered to hire company. This in itself is expensive, but this can also cause deadlines to be missed which in turn can push project timelines back; in some agreements this can incur fines for the contractor, or result in them being paid a discounted rate for the inconvenience.

When additional costs of hire, replacement, staffing and contractual fines are taken in to account, uninsured plant theft often costs double the price originally paid for the equipment in the first place.

Luckily, where security prevention measures fail, contractors who manage their business risks can make a claim against their Hired Plant Insurance policy. With tailored wording, a contractor may be able to recoup the costs associated with plant theft in addition to the costs of the stolen goods. In the event of a successful claim, an insurer may be able to provide temporary resources so that the contractor in question can make amends quickly, so that the disruption to the project is minimal.

Due to the speed with which Commercial Insurance Brokers and Insurance Companies can react, in some cases a contractor may already be using a replacement by the time the authorities have found the missing items.

It is therefore vital that contractors asses their risks and manage them appropriately to minimize business interruption.

There are a number of qualified Commercial Insurance Brokers who can help; by auditing your business activity and advising you on how to improve your security procedures, whilst also advising you on the level of cover most appropriate to you.

As the daylight hours increase in summer, the number of outdoor thefts increases dramatically; so if you feel that your plant and equipment is at risk, speak to a Commercial Insurance Broker about your options.

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Errors and Omissions Liability Types

E & O insurance, Errors & Omissions insurance, Malpractice insurance, Technology insurance, are all types of professional liability policies. Professional liability policies come into play when any business is providing professional services that are beyond and above the norm for a particular industry or business practice. Providing technical or unique functions that require a license, special training or membership within a profession usually describes professional services versus normal services. Nowadays there's a blurred line for what is professional services as many industries have a consulting, advisory component to their products and services.

All negligent claims in United States require that four basic elements be met before there is a legitimate negligent claim. That doesn't mean that somebody can't sue and bring a lawsuit but in order to prevail in their claim all four elements must usually be met in a court of law.

The first element is that there must be some sort of legal duty that is owed to a person or entity. Secondly, there must be a breach of that duty that was owed. Thirdly, there must be some sort of injury or damage that is suffered by the person or entity that was owed the duty. Finally, there must be causality that the breach of the duty was the proximate cause of the damage or injury.

If there is no legal duty that is owed then there is no negligence claim by law and the case is usually dismissed. If somebody says that they promised to do something and that type of promise by law is required to be in writing and it is not then there is no legal duty that is owed. Another example would be if somebody promises to do a transaction that is illegal by its nature that is not a legal duty that is owed.

If there is no breach of that duty, legal duty, then there is no negligent claim. If the contract is not finished or the terms have not been completed there is a possibly of a breach. 

The third element, if there has been a legal duty that is owed and there has been a breach of that duty but if there is no injury or damage the chances are the negligent claim will not succeed in court. 

Finally that has to be causality, a connection. The breach of the duty has to be the approximate cause of the damage or injury or again there is no negligent claim. Professional liability protects the insured from claims and losses that are alleged due to an error or omission of professional services. Typically we think of doctors and physicians, accountants, engineers, and attorneys as needing professional liability insurance. Real estate agents, insurance agents, title insurance agents, inspectors, real estate property appraisers, construction management companies, professional property managers, etc. can all have professional liability exposures. 

The general liability policy excludes professional services for almost all types of businesses. Businesses that offer professional services as part of their marketing strategy needs to include professional liability coverage as part of their insurance portfolio. Not all professional liability policies and insurance carriers are the same. It is important to seek out a professional liability policy that is tailor-made to your specific industry. A doctor's malpractice policy is not going to suffice for a structural engineer and the exposures that he or she has. Including professional liability coverage should be a part of your risk management strategies for almost all service industries.

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Automobile Liability and Risk Control

It is usually very hard to avoid the risk of auto liability exposure. You can sometimes outsource this exposure by having other companies do your deliveries on your behalf. Even with that strategy, attorneys can sometimes connect you to your delivery system. So if the delivery system is faulty, it might come back to haunt you. So whether you are providing internally for your deliveries or if you have outsourced it to a third-party, you still need to apply sound automobile risk control principles to limit your exposures to loss.

One of the first steps has to do with the drivers. Driver selection is the primary key to reducing your overall liability exposure. Making sure that you only select drivers that meet the carrier's minimum underwriting requirements will help ensure better success controlling your claims and losses. Checking motor vehicle reports and past claim history of the drivers is an important part of the underwriting. It is important that you train the drivers to make sure that the operations they perform are well within the insurance company's guidelines and your company's guidelines for performance. Training your drivers will only be successful if you have proper supervision of your drivers.

Next on the list of risk control has to do with the vehicles. Selecting your vehicles should be at the top of the list when it comes to risk control for auto liability. Selecting poor quality vehicles or vehicles that are not appropriate for your type of business can lead to unnecessary auto liability claims and losses. Once you've selected the appropriate vehicles for your company, you must have in place a routine and comprehensive inspection and maintenance program for all vehicles.

The last and final step has to do with the routing and scheduling of your vehicles. The times of day that your vehicles are on the road and the length of time your vehicles are on the road during any one delivery can have substantial impacts on the maintenance of your vehicles. This can also but undue stress on your drivers. The logistics of the delivery times and the delivery process of your goods and services can go a long way in making happy clients and happy employees. Unrealistic time restraints and demands upon your drivers and vehicles will in the long run cost you more. The risk management tip of the day is to apply risk controls for your auto liability with a risk control system for drivers, vehicles, and logistics.

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