Financial Exposure Archives - The Reschini Group

To the Rescue: The Value of Personal Umbrella Coverage

By The Reschini Group

Have you ever been caught outside in a downpour? A real soaker? The kind where the rain is coming down so hard and fast, that a standard-sized umbrella simply isn’t enough to keep you completely dry?

That’s when you wish you had one of those big golf umbrellas, with a wingspan so wide that no amount of rain could get any part of you damp or soggy.

You can think of personal insurance coverage in much the same way.

Most individuals have what they consider to be sufficient coverage against automobile accidents, injuries suffered in the home, and so forth. And that might be accurate in some cases. But too many people never realize the level of liability they could face until it happens, and they discover that their coverage may not extend as far as they need.

They could have used a larger umbrella.

The aptly named Personal Umbrella policy provides the extended coverage the policyholder needs when the first line of insurance gets exhausted, but more exposure remains. Say a policyholder is at fault for a multi-vehicle accident where a fatality has resulted. It will not take long for any baseline coverage to meet its maximum limits – then what? There are more expenses, including medical bills, car repairs or replacements, demands for restitution from the victims, and more.

With adequate Personal Umbrella coverage, those responsibilities could be met without needing to worry. What’s more, Personal Umbrella insurance is generally affordable, when considering the benefit it represents should it be called into service. A relatively small price to pay for a larger umbrella – and peace of mind.

The professionals at The Reschini Group can offer guidance related to Personal Umbrella coverage. Contact us at 724-349-1300 to set up a time to talk.

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

The State of Things: The Web of Workers’ Compensation Requirements

Work Injury Claim Form

By The Reschini Group

“Workers’ compensation is a mandatory type of business insurance that provides employees who become injured or ill while on the job with medical coverage and income replacement. It also protects companies from being sued by employees for the workplace conditions that caused such an injury or illness.

Businesses are required by law in all fifty states to pay for the medical treatment and lost wages of employees who suffer job-related injuries or illnesses. In order to avoid crippling expenses in this regard, companies purchase workers’ compensation insurance policies of one kind or another.

Each state determines its own system’s payment schedules, employee eligibility requirements, and rehabilitation procedures. Although provisions of each state’s laws differ greatly, the underlying principle is the same—that employers should assume the costs of injuries, illnesses, and deaths that occur on the job, without regard to fault, and partially replace wage income lost.”

This definition of workers’ compensation, as cited on www.uslegal.com, states the facts of the matter clearly. All employers must provide for workers’ compensation, but the rules, procedures, and guidelines differ by state. Employers based in Pennsylvania, for example, need to know that contiguous states like Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York each have distinct approaches and requirements regarding workers’ compensation.

A sampling of specific workers’ compensation requirements in neighboring states include:

OHIO – This is one of four “monopolistic” states in the union, meaning that coverage can only be purchased from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. In some cases, Pennsylvania-domiciled clients that have employees that travel into Ohio for a period that equates to less than 90 days must still purchase an administrative policy in Ohio, and add the Stop Gap endorsement to either the Worker’s Compensation or General Liability policies, but still must also sign a waiver saying that they choose Pennsylvania benefits as their method of remedy.

NEW YORK – This state requires short-term disability coverage for workers there. New York State must be listed on the workers’ compensation policy purchased by the employer.

WEST VIRGINIA – A worker can sue his or her employer for “deliberate intent” to cause illness or injury, while still collecting workers’ compensation payments in this state. Five criteria must be met for a claim to be awarded, including: that a specific unsafe working condition existed; that the employer had actual knowledge of the condition; that one or more safety standards, whether regulations or commonly accepted, were violated; that the employer intentionally exposed the employee to the unsafe condition; and the employee suffered serious compensable injury or death.

The professionals at The Reschini Group can help make sure you have the right level of workers’ compensation for your specific situation. Contact us at 724-349-1300 to set up a time to talk.

Overlap: Understanding Insurance Limits When Renting a Car on Business

By Mike Drew, The Reschini Group

Understanding Insurance Limits when Renting a Car for Business

Your flight had been delayed and you’re running late for an important appointment in a new city. All you want from the car rental stand is to get registered, grab the keys, and follow the GPS to your destination. But what are the rules? Let’s start with the basics – Liability coverage, which protects against bodily injury or property damage to a third-party arising out of the use of a rented vehicle, and Physical Damage, which protects against damage to the rented vehicle.

Liability Coverage – A firm’s liability risk exposure can be protected when renting a vehicle by purchasing Hired & Non-Owned Automobile (HNOA) Liability coverage, which protects the Insured for liability arising out of the use of vehicles within the course of business, which is not owned by the Insured. HNOA would shield the Insured Entity from liability when exposed to employees using their own vehicles on company business (Non-Owned Auto Liability) and employee renting or hiring vehicles (Hired Auto Liability). HNOA Liability coverage is an extremely important coverage to consider if you have employees using their personal vehicles and renting vehicle for business within the U.S.

Physical Damage – Hired Car Physical Damage provides protection against costs associated with damages to a rental car when used within the course of business in the U.S., and helps mitigate a loss suffered against the company should that vehicle be rented under the company’s name. Since most vehicles are typically rented under the employees’ name, it is prudent to have the “Autos Rented by Employees” endorsement added to the policy. If employees are using corporate credit cards or their personal auto coverage to opt-out of the physical damage coverage when renting a vehicle for business, please note that coverage may not be sufficient to cover a total loss, thus exposing your organization to possible out-of-pocket expenses.

Each year, liabilities assumed under rental agreements have expanded to the point where, if the car spends two weeks in a repair shop following an accident, the renter becomes liable for the rental company’s lost revenue. In addition, storage fees may be passed on to the renter and, under some agreements, the renter may be required to pay for “diminution of value,” or the reduction in resale value for a vehicle that has been in an accident. Responsibility for these damages may be avoided by purchasing waivers offered by the car rental company.

To activate coverage, where a credit card used to rent the vehicle pays for the loss if your insurance doesn’t, the cardholder must be the primary renter and must decline the Limited Damage Waiver/Collision Damage Waiver options. Credit card coverage varies, and may change at the credit card company’s discretion. Also, if the renter violates any terms of the rental agreement, credit card coverage is voided. Plus, credit cards may exclude rented SUVs and weather-related damage, like flood and hail.

Don’t let the hard sell push you into a decision that’s not right for your particular situation. The professionals at The Reschini Group can help you sort out the best option for you to select when renting a car. Contact us at 724-349-1300 to set up a time to talk.

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

Hack Attack: Guiding Parameters for Preparedness in Cyber Security

By The Reschini Group

Maintain vigilance to counter potential cyber hacks.

National Cyber Security Awareness Month reminds us that the need for constant vigilance and action against hackers and data breaches continues – in fact, it not only never ends, but it must be continuously updated as the threats keep changing in shape and scope. The nationwide hack of major web-based systems like Amazon, Netflix, and even The New York Times proves this on one of the largest scales to date.

The federal Department of Homeland Security recently issued a brief report explaining three of the more prolific cyber threats currently faced by American businesses:

Ransomware – A type of malware that infects computers and restricts users’ access to their files or threatens the permanent destruction of their information unless a ransom is paid (www.fbi.gov/news/stories/incidents-of-ransomware-on-the-rise).

Business E-Mail Compromise (BEC) – A type of payment fraud that involves the compromise of legitimate business e-mail accounts (often belonging to the CEO or CFO) for the purpose of conducting unauthorized wire transfers (www.fbi.gov/news/stories/business-e-mail-comporomise).

Intellectual Property Theft – This entails robbery of individuals or companies of their ideas, inventions, trade secrets, proprietary products, and creative expressions, often stolen when computers and networks are accessed by hackers or unscrupulous competitors (www.fbi.gov/news/stories/countering-the-growing-intellectual-property-theft-threat).

A helpful list of Dos and Don’ts related to security breaches can be found here: (https://iapp.org/resources/article/introduction-to-data-security-breach-preparedness-with-model-data-security-breach-preparedness-guide/).

Do not assume, if your business is not a major national presence, that you are immune to cyber security threats. They occur at all levels of business. The professionals at The Reschini Group can help you get a handle on your exposure to, and protection in the event of, a cybersecurity issue affecting your organization. Contact us at 724-349-1300 to set up a time to discuss this important topic.

The ways and means of being hacked continue to expand. So should your safeguards against them.

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

Liable by Association: Understanding Professional Liability Insurance

By Mike Drew, The Reschini Group

The importance of professional liability protection to reduce financial exposure.

A faulty assumption about insurance coverage related to job duties comes into play when one assumes he or she may be liable only when someone else suffers bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury. The fact is, however, that’s what standard general liability coverage addresses.

If you are a professional – which covers everything from architect to home inspector, from attorney to physician, and from real estate broker to accountant, just to name a few – a special classification of liability insurance is required to handle other types of claims that may come against you, related to giving advice or providing a service that could cause a financial loss to a customer. Membership in professional associations, some of which entitle an individual to list credentials as part of his or her name and identification, also point to the need for this type of coverage.

Errors and omissions, another way to refer to professional liability, is defined as follows: “Errors & omissions in the U.S., is a form of liability insurance that helps protect professional advice- and service-providing individuals and companies from bearing the full cost of defending against a negligence claim made by a client, and damages awarded in such a civil lawsuit. The coverage focuses on alleged failure to perform on the part of, financial loss caused by, and error or omission in the service or product sold by the policyholder.”

For example, even a web programmer would be wise to have professional liability insurance. How so? Say the programmer delivers a website to a client, but if that platform did not perform properly – getting e-commerce transactions wrong, or not letting visitors to the site navigate to their intended destinations, resulting in lost revenue and a damaged reputation – the client could file a claim against the programmer, based on negligence, misrepresentation, violation of good faith and fair dealing, and inaccurate advice.

A general liability policy would not be sufficient, since no one got physically hurt and no property had been damaged, so if the professional programmer only had this level of coverage, he or she would face a financial exposure that easily could have been avoided with the right policy.

Be sure about your coverage. The professionals at The Reschini Group are well versed in these questions and how you can be adequately covered in any situation – including the ways in which you apply your professional expertise. Contact us to learn more.

You’ve worked hard to achieve your professional recognition. It’s worth protecting, with the proper level of coverage.

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.