Risk Management

Property & Casualty – Risk Management

When you purchase insurance you are buying more than an insurance company’s promise to reimburse you, should you suffer a covered loss. You are buying security and peace of mind. Foresight Benefits has an experienced team that manages risk efficiently and cost effectively, meeting the insurance needs of companies ranging from small retail establishments to multinational corporations.

Coverages

Commercial General Liability: coverage is the most basic type of commercial insurance and is limited to liability claims of bodily injury or property damage. Coverage is provided for accidents on your premises. Typically offered as a general liability and property package policy, coverage is also provided for theft or destruction business property, computers, hardware and software.

Commercial Property: insurance helps businesses, including farms and ranches, pay to repair or replace buildings, associated structures, and contents damaged by fire, storms, theft, and other events outlined in the policy.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance: is required by regulation in most states when you have W-2 employees. It provides medical and disability coverage for on the job injuries or work related illness. In many states principals such as owners, officers and partners can exclude themselves from worker’s compensation coverage.

Employer’s Liability Coverage: These policies also provide employer’s liability coverage that protects the company in the event that an employee alleges that the employer’s negligence or failure to provide a safe workplace was the cause of the employee’s injury or illness.

Commercial Auto Insurance: Policy can help protect the assets of your business and provide peace of mind. Commercial Auto Insurance will cover autos, trucks, and vans owned, rented, loaned, leased, or used by your company for business purposes. The coverage is basically the same as with personal auto insurance.

Commercial Auto Insurance Liability: Protects you in case a third party claims that you or an employee driving an insured vehicle for business purposes are legally liable for an accident that causes bodily injury or property damage.

Physical Damage (Collision): Provides coverage for collisions if an insured vehicle is damaged in an accident that involves overturning the vehicle or striking another vehicle or stationary object (building, telephone pole, guardrail, etc.).

Physical Damage (Comprehensive or Other Than Collision): Covers damage to an insured vehicle caused by a variety of risks, including theft, vandalism fire, lightning, hail, and flood.

Towing and Labor: Pays towing and labor charges if an insured vehicle breaks down (available for an extra premium).

Medical Payments (not required in some states): Pays for bodily injuries from an accident that involves an insured vehicle, regardless of fault, up to a set amount. Covers anyone in the vehicle, or any pedestrian injured.

Umbrella Liability: also known as Excess Liability provides additional coverage when the limits of insurance on an underlying policy are exceeded. For instance you have a $1,000,000 coverage under General Liability and you have a claim settlement for $1,500,000, the Umbrella policy would pick up the additional limit. Umbrella Liability policies add coverage to General Liability, Hired and Non owned Auto Liability, and Employers Liability, for a single premium. It is important to note that Umbrella coverage does not apply to the Professional Liability Policy.

Professionals Liability Insurance (Errors & Omissions): This coverage protects you against loss from a claim of alleged negligent acts, errors and omissions in the performance of your professional services. Coverage extends to both W-2 employees and 1099 subcontractors. There is optional coverage for allegations of Copyright Infringement and Intellectual Property Infringement. Personal Injury protects you against claims of libel, slander and invasion of privacy.

Directors and Officers: may be held personally liable to any parties that have an interest in the running affairs of a company, be that a PLC or a Limited company. Most directors of a company should be aware of directors and officers duties, which are wide ranging and sometimes complex. This aspect alone means there is a great need for a company to obtain Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (although it should be emphasized that Directors and Officers Insurance does not provide cover against every breach of a director or officer’s duties).

Surety & Bonds: Bonds are generally divided into two types, Fidelity Bonds and Surety Bonds. Both types differ from insurance in that they always have three parties as central to the contract: a Principal (the entity or person that might cause the loss), an Obligee (the entity that collects under the bond, should the principal cause a loss) and a Surety (the entity that pays the loss, such as an insurance company).

Fidelity Bonds: are technically a form of Surety Bonds, but are usually considered a distinct product in common usage. They are issued as a guarantee against loss due to employee dishonesty. As such, they are an important part of a company’s insurance program, because they cover areas not covered in the company’s Liability and Property coverage. For many businesses, employees’ dishonest acts are a principal area of their insurable risks, and Fidelity Bonds can provide their principal insurance protection.

Fidelity Bonds come in several forms, including:

Individual Bonds— In which an individual employee is bonded. Individual Bonds are not standardized. They can be most easily used for unusual situations or activities, and can be specially scripted.

Scheduled Bonds— In which individual positions (called a Positions Schedule Bond) or named individuals (called a Name Schedule Bond) are covered, for example all branch personnel in a bank, or all tellers.

Blanket Bonds— Used to cover all employees, and thus provide the most complete coverage of the three types. The coverage is especially valuable because of the latitude given in demonstrating a covered loss. The employer doesn’t need to show that a specific covered employee caused a loss. If the employer can show that an employee must have caused the loss, “that it was an inside job”, the coverage will be provided.

Discovery Bonds— An important extension of the Fidelity Bond types. A Discovery Bond allows a first-time buyer of Fidelity Bonds to protect against undiscovered loss that occurred before the bond was issued. If you, as employer, have just realized the need for a Fidelity Bond as part of your insurance coverage, you should also consider a Discovery Bond.

Surety bonds— Are issued to cover an extremely wide range of actions and situations.

They are issued by surety companies, and can be classified into one of the following areas:

• Contract Bonds
• Court Bonds
• Federal Bonds
• License and Permit Bonds
• Public Official Bonds
• Other/Miscellaneous Bonds