Property Insurance
Property insurance provides protection against most risks to
property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This
includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance,
flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance or
boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main ways -
open perils and named perils. Open perils cover all the causes
of loss not specifically excluded in the policy. Common exclusions
on open peril policies include damage resulting from earthquakes,
floods, nuclear incidents, acts of terrorism and war. Named
perils require the actual cause of loss to be listed in the
policy for insurance to be provided. The more common named
perils include such damage-causing events as fire, lightning,
explosion and theft.
General
Liability
This coverage will pay for damages that the insured becomes
legally obligated to pay due to bodily injury, property damage
or personal and advertising injury arising from the insureds
operations. There is coverage on and off premises, for products
and completed operations and medical expenses. There are standard
ISO forms to provide this coverage. One is a claims-made and
one is an occurrence basis. There are also nonstandard versions
of the coverage which are available in admitted and nonadmitted
markets. The more difficult a risk is to place, the more likely
a claims-made version will be offered. Endorsements are available
to adapt coverage to the particular needs of the insured, including
additional insured for specific projects or locations.
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Commercial
Auto
The person injured in an automobile accident may be a young
child, a wage earner, a surgeon or a homeless person. The cost
of the accident may be minimal or may be in the millions, depending
on the victim and their injuries. Do you have the assets to
handle such costs? Do you want to use your assets in this way?
If not, the Business Auto policy is designed to protect your
assets. The Business Auto Policy provides Liability Coverage,
Physical Damage Coverage, Medical Payments and Uninsured/Underinsured
Motorist Coverage.
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Workers’ Compensation
Under the workers compensation law of your state, workers’ compensation
provides insurance coverage for your statutory liability
for medical treatment for injuries and indemnity payments
for employees disabled by accidents sustained on the job
in your employment. It also provides tort liability coverage
for legal actions brought for bodily injury to employees
that fall outside the state workers‘ compensation
act. The coverages provide the benefits mandated by law
for injuries sustained arising out of and in the course
of employment, including resulting disease or death, subject
to policy terms and conditions. In addition, if the employee
injury is not compensable under the applicable state workers
compensation laws or occupational disease acts, Employers
Liability Insurance responds to the employee's allegation
of negligence by you, the employer, again subject to the
policy terms and conditions.
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Commercial
Umbrella
Commercial umbrella (aka excess) liability insurance is an important
source of protection that supplements the limits of an insured's
underlying policies such as general liability, automobile liability,
and employers liability. Umbrellas also protect insureds from
exclusions and gaps that exist in their primary liability insurance.
Covered causes of loss that are not normally included in primary
policies are subject to a self-insured retention (SIR), which
is the responsibility of the insured to pay. SIRs in the amounts
of $10,000 or $25,000 are common. An umbrella policy's coverage
is triggered when the limits of the underlying insurance have
been exhausted. Less commonly, an umbrella may also respond to
a claim that is not covered by an underlying policy, but only
when the loss amount exceeds the self-insured retention.
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Directors & Officers
insures corporate directors and officers against claims, usually
brought by stockholders, alleging loss due to mismanagement.
More individuals owning stock and more stringent standards
imposed by the courts indicate a growing risk. An outside directorship
liability policy is available as supplementary protection to
assure sufficient limits for the exposure created when a company ’s
director, officer or employee serves in an outside director
position at its request.
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Employment Practices
Covers lawsuits brought by employees (past, present or prospects),
or governmental entities against the insured employer, alleging
wrongful discharge, discrimination or certain types of harassment.
ISO has developed an employment practices liability policy
that can now be used as a standard of comparison. Companies
have developed their own forms and they vary tremendously.
Associations have experienced many claims of harassment.
It is often difficult to draw the line between innocent fun
and malicious abuse. This coverage is important along with
regular procedures and processes to help everyone understand
what can and cannot be allowed.
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Global Package
The opportunities of global business may be obvious, the
risks less so. When employees travel overseas to negotiate
agreements, attend international conferences or participate
in trade exhibits, businesses could face workers compensation
claims their domestic policy does not fully insure.
There
is the chance of loss or theft of laptops, salespersons’ samples
or equipment. An auto accident in another country might
kill or injure a pedestrian and lead to a liability claim.
Overseas facilities such as manufacturing plants, distribution
centers or sales offices could suffer disasters such as
fire, flood, earthquake or windstorm. And, today, there
is always the shadowy threat of terrorism or political
upheaval. Charles River Insurance Brokerage, Inc. offers
an innovative portfolio of multinational insurance products
that respond to these risks and more.
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The size and nature of operations make for varying recommendations
for protection against the widely prevalent threat of property
and financial loss from criminal activity, inside and outside
the premises. There is a choice of coverage plans, the broadest
involving combinations of coverage forms that have long been
identified as blanket or comprehensive crime insurance. Needed
protection is arranged by the use of the specific crime coverage
forms as are appropriate for the insured's exposure.
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Professional
Liability
Professional liability coverage is designed to protect
the professional from actions that stem from their professional
capacity and training. The coverage is called "professional" for
some and "errors and omissions" for others depending
on the particular coverage form and the company issuing the
coverage. Most is written on nonstandard forms and often on
nonadmitted paper. Important comparisons of coverage include
whether the employees are covered in addition to the institution,
exclusions, retroactive dates, limitations to location or place
of service, renewal conditions limits and deductibles.
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Errors & Omissions
Errors and omssions (E&O) is the insurance that covers
your company, or you individually, in the event that a client
holds you responsible for a service you provided, or failed
to provide, that did not have the expected or promised results.
For doctors, dentists, chiropractors, etc., it is often called
malpractice insurance. For lawyers, accountants, architects
or engineers, it may be called professional liability. Whatever
you call it, it covers you for errors (or omissions) that
you have made or that the client perceives you have made.
In short, E&O coverage provides protection for you in
the event that an error or omission on your part has caused
a financial loss for your client.
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Fiduciary
Companies generally create
employee benefit plans to help attract and retain quality employees.
However, you may not be aware of the liability exposure created
from the management of these plans. Or, that utilizing a third-party
plan administrator (TPA) does not eliminate this exposure.
Even
more concerning is that as a Trustee of your company’s
Retirement Plan, or Welfare Plan (including medical, dental,
life and disability), ERISA you are personally liable.
• Fiduciary Liability
Insurance pays, on behalf of the insured, the legal liability
arising from claims for alleged failure to act prudently.
• Fiduciary Liability
Insurance protects the personal assets of a plan fiduciary
due to allegations of breach of fiduciary duties.
• ERISA explicitly
allows for the purchase of fiduciary liability insurance.
And, it could potentially be a breach of fiduciary duty
if a claim arises and no insurance is in place that was
readily available.
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Intellectual Property
In this modern age of technology,
it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to
protect your company’s intellectual
property. The number of suits and the costs associated with
these lawsuits have been rising dramatically over the past
10 years. Insurance coverage is available to protect copyright,
trademarks and patents. First party policies are those which
cover your defense costs when you are being sued they can
also reimburse you for damages awarded against you. Third
party insurance policies are also available to cover the
litigation costs in enforcing your company’s intellectual
property against infringers.
There
are also polices that cover the costs associated with defending
your company against libel, slander, product disparagement
and misappropriation of name. A simple example could be using
a song on your website without authorization, which could
result in a lawsuit.
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Product Recall
addresses the problem of products liability insurance, as
written under general liability policies, that excludes loss
to the insured from recalling distributed products suspected
of being defective. This insurance covers the expenses incurred
by the insured to respond to either a mandated or voluntary
product recall.
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Wrap
Up
Wrap-up insurance policies
are increasingly being used on large construction projects.
For a wrap-up insurance policy, the construction project owner,
manager, or general contractor purchases insurance for itself
and other parties working on the project, rather than having
each subcontractor or contractor provide their own insurance.
If the owner purchases the wrap-up, it is called an Owners
Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP); if the construction manager
or general contractor purchases, it is called a Contractors
Controlled Insurance Program (CCIP). The wrap-up programs are
designed to provide coverage for the length of the construction
project as well as a completed operations period extending
three to five years after construction is completed. This coverage
for completed operations addresses the market need for construction
defect exposure.
A
wrap-up program generally includes general liability, workers’ compensation,
umbrella, and builder’s risk coverages. Combining the
insurance purchased into one program eliminates the traditional
insurance approach in which owners, general contractors, and
subcontractors all purchase coverages from multiple insurance
agencies. Under these traditional methods, there is a duplication
and overlap of coverage as parties are insuring themselves
against the same accidents. This overlap can result in litigation
between insurance companies over claims as insurance agencies
seek to pass off liabilities. Wrap-up policies eliminate this
duplication of coverage with the use of a single insurance
company. Avoiding duplicate insurance coverage and reducing
litigation through the use of one insurance company results
in cost savings for the project owners.
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Builders’ Risk
When you hire someone to work on your construction project,
did you know that you are responsible for the safety of the
jobsite? You probably know that you can transfer that obligation
to the contractor and require that you be named as an additional
insured on its policy but what happens if the contractor's
coverage lapses or is cancelled, or its limits are used up
by the payment of other claims? The best way to protect your
interests under these circumstances may be through the Owners
and Contractors Protective (OCP) Liability Coverage Form.
It is a separate insurance contract
that covers you, as a construction project or property owner,
or a general contractor, for your liability arising out of
operations performed for you by the contractor at the specified
location, or your acts or omissions in connection with your
general supervision of the operations. The liability protection
provided ends when the project is finished or operations
are completed. The coverage provided is limited to the specific
project and/or location.
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Every company, regardless of size, is a potential target
for crime. World wide fraud is estimated to cost corporations
billions a year. Experts acknowledge that this is one of
the fastest-growing, most prevalent problems facing business
today. The changing economic environment, advancements in
technology and international expansion make the threat of
loss more ominous than ever before.
A comprehensive Crime policy is an absolute necessity for
corporate managers concerned with protecting their company's
assets today and in the future. White collar criminals may
not look dangerous, but they can cause financial havoc inside
a company and destroy a business and its credibility. You
can take preventative measures through the implementation
of a comprehensive risk management program, which should
also include Chubb's Crime policy.
The Crime policy can provide coverage
for the following and more:
• Employee
Theft: Losses of money,
securities and other property cause by theft or forgery by
an employee.
• Premises
cover: Losses sustained
due to the destruction, disappearance or abstraction of money
and securities within or from the client's premises by third
parties.
• Transit
cover: Losses sustained
due to the destruction, disappearance or abstraction of money
and securities outside the client's premises by a third party,
while being conveyed by the insured or any authorised person.
• Depositors
Forgery cover: Losses resulting from instruments
which have been fraudulently drawn upon the company's accounts
by a third party.
• Computer
Theft and Funds Transfer Fraud cover: Losses resulting
from the intentional taking of money or securities through
the use of a computer or fraudulent instructions to a financial
institution to transfer, pay or deliver money or securities.
• Investigation
Costs cover: Reasonable expenses incurred
in establishing the existence and amount of any direct loss
in excess of the deductible.
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Employee Benefits
Charles River Insurance
can offer your company employee benefits whether you need a
1 person group plan or a 1000+ group plan.
The Employee Benefits or Group Products that we offer are
as follows:
Medical*
Dental
Vision
Life*
Long term* and short term disability
Long term care*
Section 125 plans
Flexible spending accounts
Voluntary (employee paid) plans such as AFLAC
Retirement Plans*
* also
offered on an individual basis
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