Every business goes through different cycles of profit and loss. This means that your risks and potential exposures are being affected similarly. At the same time, Commercial insurance coverage is also evolving and changing. Nothing in either your business or the insurance industry remains static. This is why you should re-evaluate your insurance coverage at least once a year. A regular insurance audit will help you plug any coverage holes that might impact your bottom-line severely should an unexpected loss occur.
Ask yourself: How much risk are we prepared to accept for our business? Essentially, anything that you are not prepared to take on needs to be covered by suitable insurance coverage. To measure the amount of risk in evaluating the insurance needs of your company, there are a number of key areas you need to examine — in conjunction with one of our knowledgeable insurance agents. The primary areas you should re-evaluate annually are:
General Liability. How much liability protection does your company currently require? The amount of coverage you had purchased previously was probably adequate at the time, but remember: Your business has changed since then and so has your liability exposure. What was suitable for your needs last year might no longer be sufficient if your company has grown and expanded. The larger your growth, the more you become exposed to potential, increased, and significant liability.
Property Insurance. Business property evaluations go up and down as commercial real estate values fluctuate. You could now be paying too little or too much for the necessary coverage. The same applies to your equipment, machinery, and your inventory. Adding or subtracting in these three areas, while factoring in appreciation or depreciation, can affect not only the premiums you pay, but also your overall Property insurance coverage in the event of a significant loss, such as a fire or natural disaster.
Workers Compensation. The premium you pay is largely dependent on the roles of each and every employee — from the shop floor to your managerial staff. If the roles of your personnel have changed relative to how your business has grown, shrunk, or evolved, then you need to re-evaluate these changes relative to the premium rate you pay for each worker. The premium cost changes and/or differences can be substantial.
Business Interruption Insurance. You might have enough insurance to get your business re-built and your equipment replaced in the event of a disaster, but did you also factor in your business operating expenses? Many companies neglect that part of the equation and fail to develop a disaster recovery plan. Even if your company has a plan, what about the vendors that are key to the survival of your business? Your own business might be fine, but in some other part of the state or country, a key manufacturer or supplier could get nailed. Did you know that you could extend your coverage to cover this circumstance, too?
Insurance Protection of Executives. The size of your company doesn’t matter. If you have employees, you can face claims for sexual harassment or wrongful dismissal. You might not have considered the need to purchase Employment Practices Liability insurance before, but if your company has grown, that expansion has increased your risk to potential claims. Similarly, if you sponsor a 401(k) plan for your employees, and its performance has not met expectations or an employee feels the investment was mismanaged, do you have adequate Directors & Officers Liability to handle such claims?
Summary. To safeguard your business from potential risk, an annual insurance audit is a must. You might discover that changes in your business might have exposed you to new risks. Likewise, insurance premiums are a significant expense, and you might find that you are paying too much or covering exposures that are no longer relevant.
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Two new web tools created by the Noble Research Institute will allow cattle producers to easily access Oklahoma cattle auction data. The tools include a price slide table and market charts.
PRICE SLIDE TABL
The first web tool is a breakdown of the price slide (PS) and value of gain (VOG) for the reported markets. The PS and VOG tool looks at the sales receipts for the selected market, as well as frame size, gender, yield grade and the sale date to give producers a glimpse at the type of cattle buyers are looking for.
Cattle with notes about their features aren’t included in the table in order to prevent the PS and VOG from being affected. However, a link to the original USDA-AMS report is provided near the top of the page for producers who want more details and to see where the original data was taken from.
MARKET CHARTS
The second web tool is a set of charts for slaughter, feeder and replacement cattle. The tool offers an option to compare each group across whichever markets the user selects, either during a specific year or across years.
The auction comparison tool was designed to provide producers with information to help them in their marketing and purchasing options. By comparing years, producers can better evaluate how the current year is stacking up against previous years for a particular market.
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On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state governments can collect sales taxes from online retailers, even if a retailer doesn’t have a physical presence in the state. Until this decision, states could only collect taxes from online retailers that had in-state headquarters or another significant connection to that state.
This decision should benefit brick-and-mortar businesses, as sales taxes often forced them to increase prices—making it difficult to compete with the lower prices offered by online retailers. The court’s ruling also said that states should benefit from the decision by gaining access to a new source of tax revenue, estimated to be $33 billion annually across all states and online businesses.
Although critics of the ruling believe that consumers will face higher prices when shopping online, others think that increased competition between online and physical storefronts will cancel out any significant increases.
The ruling has already had a significant impact on the stock values of some major retailers. However, it’s still unclear how small retailers that have an online presence will be affected, and whether states will alter their tax collection practices to account for the size of an online retailer.
For more information on state-specific compliance, contact Scurich Insurance today.
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OSHA Proposes New Rule to Ensure Crane Operators are Qualified
Although cranes are indispensable on many construction sites, they require a large amount of training and expertise in order to operate safely. As a result, OSHA recently proposed a rule to ensure crane operators are qualified to operate equipment.
The proposed rule’s main provisions would clarify certification requirements and reinstate an employer’s duty to ensure employees are qualified:
- Certification categories would change to let more operators meet OSHA requirements
- A requirement for operator certifications to include crane lifting capacity would be discontinued
- Employer requirements for ensuring crane operators have sufficient training, certification and licensing would be extended and clarified
OSHA also published a final rule extending the operator certification compliance date until Nov. 10, 2018, to address employer concerns related to the cranes and derricks in construction standard.
For more information on the proposed rule, see OSHA’s full publication in the Federal Register.
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There are a number of hazards that could affect your home while you’re away, including lightning, theft and flooding. In order to keep your property safe while you’re on vacation, consider the following:
- Unplug small appliances and electronic devices.
- Stop the newspaper and mail. To do this online, visit the U.S. Postal Service’s website.
- Lock all windows and doors.
- Arrange to have your lawn mowed or snow shoveled while you’re away.
- Have a neighbor keep an eye on your home throughout your trip.
- Remove any house keys you keep outside your home, even if you think they’re in a safe place.
- Set timers on inside lights. Install a motion-activated sensor on outdoor floodlights.
- Consider turning off your home’s water.
- Avoid posting photos of your trip on social media until after you return home.
- Raise the temperature on your thermostat or turn the system off completely. This ensures that you aren’t paying to cool your home while you’re away.
Insurance Considerations
Taking the proper precautions before you go on vacation can make all the difference when it comes to preventing damage to your home. However, accidents can still occur, and it’s important to ensure you have adequate insurance coverage. Contact Scurich Insurance to learn more.
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Everyone feels stressed from time to time. But what is stress? How does it affect your health? And what can you do about it?
Stress is how the brain and body respond to any demand. Every type of demand or stressor – such as exercise, work, school, major life changes, or traumatic events – can be stressful.
Stress can affect your health. It is important to pay attention to how you deal with minor and major stress events so that you know when to seek help.
Here are five things you should know about stress:
1 Stress affects everyone.
Everyone feels stressed from time to time. Some people may cope with stress more effectively or recover from stressful events more quickly than others. There are different types of stress – all of which carry physical and mental health risks. A stressor may be a one time or short term occurrence, or it can be an occurrence that keeps happening over a long period of time.
Examples of stress include:
- Routine stress related to the pressures of work, school, family, and other daily responsibilities
- Stress brought about by a sudden negative change, such as losing a job, divorce, or illness
- Traumatic stress experienced in an event like a major accident, war, assault, or a natural disaster where people may be in danger of being seriously hurt or killed. People who experience traumatic stress often experience temporary symptoms of mental illness, but most recover naturally soon after.
2 Not all stress is bad.
Stress can motivate people to prepare or perform, like when they need to take a test or interview for a new job. Stress can even be life-saving in some situations. In response to danger, your body prepares to face a threat or flee to safety. In these situations, your pulse quickens, you breathe faster, your muscles tense, your brain uses more oxygen and increases activity – all functions aimed at survival.
3 Long-term stress can harm your health.
Health problems can occur if the stress response goes on for too long or becomes chronic, such as when the source of stress is constant, or if the response continues after the danger has subsided. With chronic stress, those same life-saving responses in your body can suppress immune, digestive, sleep, and reproductive systems, which may cause them to stop working normally.
Different people may feel stress in different ways. For example, some people experience mainly digestive symptoms, while others may have headaches, sleeplessness, sadness, anger or irritability. People under chronic stress are prone to more frequent and severe viral infections, such as the flu or common cold. Routine stress may be the hardest type of stress to notice at first.
Because the source of stress tends to be more constant than in cases of acute or traumatic stress, the body gets no clear signal to return to normal functioning. Over time, continued strain on
your body from routine stress may contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, as well as mental disorders like depression or anxiety.
4 There are ways to manage stress.
The effects of stress tend to build up over time.Taking practical steps to manage your stress can reduce or prevent these effects.The following are some tips that may help you to cope with stress:
- Recognize the Signs of your body’s response tostress, such as difficulty sleeping, increased alcoholand other substance use, being easily angered,feeling depressed, and having low energy.
- Talk to Your Doctor or Health Care Provider.Get proper health care for existing or newhealth problems.
- Get Regular Exercise. Just 30 minutes perday of walking can help boost your moodand reduce stress.
- Try a Relaxing Activity. Explore stress copingprograms, which may incorporate meditation,yoga, tai chi, or other gentle exercises. For somestress-related conditions, these approaches areused in addition to other forms of treatment.Schedule regular times for these and other healthyand relaxing activities. Learn more about thesetechniques on the National Center forComplementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)website at (www.nccih.nih.gov/health/stress).
- Set Goals and Priorities. Decide what must getdone and what can wait, and learn to say no tonew tasks if they are putting you into overload.Note what you have accomplished at the end ofthe day, not what you have been unable to do.
- Stay Connected with people who can provideemotional and other support.To reduce stress, askfor help from friends, family, and community orreligious organizations.
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Consider a Clinical Trial. Researchers at theNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), NCCIH,and other research facilities across the country arestudying the causes and effects of psychologicalstress, and stress management techniques.Youcan learn more about studies that are recruitingby visiting www.nimh.nih.gov/joinastudy orwww.clinicaltrials.gov (keyword: stress).
5 If you’re overwhelmed by stress, ask for help from a health professional.
You should seek help right away if you have suicidal thoughts, are overwhelmed, feel you cannot cope, or are using drugs or alcohol to cope.Your doctor may be able to provide a recommendation.You can find resources to help you find a mental health provider by visiting www.nimh.nih.gov/findhelp.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Anyone experiencing severe or long-term, unrelenting stress can become overwhelmed. If you or a loved one is having thoughts of suicide, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (http:// suicidepreventionlifeline.org/) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available to anyone.All calls are confidential.
For More Information
For more information on conditions that affect mental health, resources, and research, visit www.mentalhealth.gov, or the NIMH website at www.nimh.nih.gov. In addition, the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus service has information on a wide variety of health topics, including conditions that affect mental health.
National Institute of Mental Health
Office of Science Policy, Planning and Communications
Science Writing, Press, and Dissemination Branch
6001 Executive Boulevard
Room 6200, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
Phone: 301–443–4513 or
Toll-free: 1–866–615–NIMH (6464)
TTY: 301–443–8431 or TTY Toll-free: 1–866–415–8051
Fax: 301–443–4279
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.nimh.nih.gov
NIH Publication No. OM 16-4310
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