Archive for the ‘business insurance’ Category

Insurance Briefs: New Weather Insurance Company in MN

July 20th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in business insurance, earthquake insurance, flood insurance, insurance news

Earlier this month when we talked about the bizzare things people insure, we neglected to mention weather insurance, but there really are companies who offer such a product. It works much like wedding insurance, making sure that you get reimbursed for deposits and such if weather forces you to cancel any kind of event.

A company offering weather insurance products recently opened in Lakeville, MN.

The insurer in question, Milltown Insurance Group, specializes in “…niche property and casualty program business and provides solutions for smoothing revenues, locking in profits and increasing sales through the use of weather insurance products for virtually any type of business, event or promotion.”

The company was opened by Dana D’Arrigo

Milltown says their weather products are extremely customizable as well as being affordable additions to existing insurance and/or marketing programs.

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Marsh Warns PolicyHolders: Notify Your Carriers of BP-related Damages NOW

July 6th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in business insurance

Gulf Coast businesspeople and residents facing the possibility of losses because of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have been advised to submit written notice to their insurance companies as soon as possible, and no later than Thursday, July 8th, at 5:00 PM EDT.

Global insurance broker, Marsh, issued a statement via its website explaining that insurers are saying that the 80-day notice provisions in their policies will be strictly interpreted. For this reason, policyholders should consider April 20, 2010, the date of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, as the start date for calculating such a notice provision.

Marsh advised, “This week, several carriers indicated that they will enforce these time limits strictly, without any weight given to the date the insured first became aware that they faced potential exposure. Therefore, if not already in process, it is important that clients and their legal counsel analyze the potential exposure to damages arising from the Deepwater Event and review all of their current excess and primary policies in order to comply with notice provisions.”

The broker also added that some excess liability carriers are planning to add “…broadly worded, event-specific exclusions to their 2010-2011 policies to prospectively eliminate coverage for the Deepwater Event.”

This means that even if a poilicyholder files a notice in compliance with the time limit, “…it is likely that the carrier will attempt to limit its exposure prospectively via an endorsement that excludes the Deepwater Event,” according to Marsh.

Clients who opt not to notice the BP event at this time may face strictly enforced time deadlines from their insurance carriers even if all damage has not been established, or potential exposures have not been clarified.

Marsh said it is urging carriers to withdraw – or at least narrow – these exclusions, but warns that “…this is an emerging market trend that raises concerns…” with respect to 2009-2010 policies and raises questions about whether circumstances or claims should be notified now.

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Washington Enacts Data Security Law

April 9th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in business insurance, insurance news

In our current age where technology reigns supreme and both credit card and insurance companies are designing apps for iPhones and smartphones to help protect consumers and capture business, who is guarding our information? In Washington, the government is…well, sort of.

According to the Insurance Journal, Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington signed into law this week, legislation that requires financial institutions to comply with existing data security recommendations, or face potential liability if there should be a data breach.

According to the tect of the bill, HB 1149:

“Protecting Consumers from Breaches of Security,” the state recognizes that breaches of credit and debit card information can contribute to identity theft and fraud, and can be costly to consumers. “The legislature also recognizes that when a breach occurs, remedial measures such as re-issuance of credit or debit cards affected by the breach can help to reduce the incidence of identity theft and associated costs to consumers,” the bill text states. Consequently, the new law encourages the re-issuance of credit and debit cards, when appropriate, and allows financial institutions to recoup data breach costs associated with the the re-issuance from large businesses and card processors who are “negligent in maintaining or transmitting card data.”

If a business or data processor doesn’t take “reasonable care” to prevent data breaches, it can be liable to the financial institution for “reimbursement of reasonable costs,” even if no physical injuries occur. Further, a financial institution can ALSO recover attorneys fees and costs of legal action, so long as they are not excessive.

The law will take effect on July 1, 2010.

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Crisis Management Products Now Offered by Fireman’s Fund

April 5th, 2010 by Iris | Comments Off | Filed in business insurance

In an effort to help their business clients weather crisis situations, Fireman’s Fund has created a new line of crisis management products, which coverage will be available to certain clients with commercial umbrella policies.

The specific coverage includes a crisis management response costs endorsement, which provides a sub-limit of $250,000 for response costs to a company wide crisis, no matter who is deemed to be at fault. Such costs include funeral expenses, medical expenses, psychological counseling, security expenses, travel expenses, and temporary living expenses. In addition there is a loss coverage element of the product which provides $50,000 over the written policy limit in order to cover fees and expenses incurred by a public relations or crisis management firm, as well as any costs for the printing, mailing, or advertising of material, and any required travel.

What’s an example of a covered crisis? An airline, for example, could use such a policy to help reclaim their brand after a plane crash.

Clients purchasing property coverage or umbrella policies from Fireman’s Fund are eligible to purchase the crisis management coverage.

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