Insurance funds losses; it transfers risk from your company to the insurance company for a fee – premium. Deductibles are used to reduce the number of claims by having the business pay small amounts and only reporting larger issues. The order in which claims are funded is: Deductible, liability limits, and then company assets — and sometimes personal assets. Your company needs high liability limits to protect company assets.
Claims exceeding $1 million in liability are infrequent, but not rare. Umbrella insurance covers above all other liability insurance in one million dollar layers. High liability limits become affordable this way. Business nightmares, such as the $3 million cup of coffee, the truck catching fire under a railroad bridge, or your vehicle colliding with a school bus, unfortunately do occur. A million or two is not sufficient coverage for most operations.
Asbestos and tobacco companies produced legal products for years before lawsuits started as the result of long-term exposure, and these very successful companies were brought to the brink of extinction. These companies kept tens of millions in umbrella layers. How much is enough?
Commercial Liability insurance in Watsonville, CA covers injuries to other people and damage to their property caused by your company, your employees, or you. The cause of loss might be vehicle, products, premises, operations, liable, slander, poor advice, or even aviation related. The amount of liability and types of insurance depends on your company’s exposure to risks. Most companies face fleet risks, premises-operations risks, and employee injury risks; some add professional liability risks, aviation risks, common carrier and garage liability risks.
Insurance companies recognize these typical risk scenarios and respond by offering Business Automobile, Truckers, Garage, General, Aviation and Professional Liability policies.
Purchasing sufficient liability limits for disastrous claims is costly when purchased one liability risk at a time. In fact, most companies simply could not afford purchasing insurance this way. Insurance companies offer Umbrella coverage to serve this need. The company proscribes underlying, or first dollar coverage limits, over which umbrellas pay claims settling for more, or in excess, of these policies. Since these claims are infrequent, premiums are affordable; and each added million dollar layer decreases in cost.
In addition, most umbrella forms add liability coverage by insuring more risks than the underlying policies. A relatively modest – $1,000 to $10,000 – deductible is required, but then the umbrella limits cover unscheduled liabilities. So, with an Umbrella policy, the order in which claims are paid is: deductible or underlying liability limits, umbrella limits, and then company assets.
How much is enough combined liability limit? How well can you predict the future of litigation? Products, operations, and vehicle claims in excess of $3 million are not rare. The cost effective answer depends on the amount of assets you’re protecting, the cost of the coverage, company profit from which to expense the premium, your risk tolerance, and the availability of Umbrella coverage.
Three more factors are worth considering: Products claims might take years to discover. Claim inflation requires high limits at the time the claim is paid. Large liability claims take time to settle. Claim inflation is rampant. Even though an event occurs today, you may be settling at the going rate three years from now. Million dollar claims were rare 20 years ago; not so much now. Courts have been chipping away at the corporate liability shield for smaller businesses. Personal assets might be at risk. Now consider how far that erosion of corporate protection might progress by the time you get your day in court.
Umbrella liability limits should be high enough that business assets are not at risk. Business survivability is at risk with a too low limit. Your current limits can be assessed and reviewed by your broker and/or attorney for adequacy.
Scurich Insurance, Watsonville CA
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
Email:[email protected]
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Thanks to the widespread popularity of social network sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn, it’s easier than ever to find personal information about an individual. There’s little hesitation or forethought as users of these sites post everything from their vacation schedules and photos to the most mundane and taboo details of their personal lives. Such information might be intended for the user’s friends and family, but, in many cases, anyone with access to the Internet can see it if they’re looking.
The information an employer can uncover about an existing or potential employee from a simple Google search is often far more detailed and reflective of real life than a job application, resume, and interview combined. On the good side, an employer might find positive articles written by or about an applicant, marks from professional peers, and volunteerism efforts. However, on the bad side, an employer might find unappealing, profane language; graphic videos or pictures; derogatory comments about an employer; or text that clearly shows an unscrupulous demeanor. Good or bad, many of these finding will directly influence an employer’s decision to hire or pass.
Although a quick Google search of a job applicant can be extremely revealing, many employers still wonder if it’s wise for them to conduct one.
One complication would be an employer discovering information that would bias and complicate their hiring decision. Let’s say an employer does an Internet search on a female applicant, discovers that she has several children, and therefore decides not to hire her because her status as a mother might interfere with her ability to put in extra hours at work. If the applicant was to discover that the search was done by the employer and decide to pursue legal action for discrimination, then the employer could be burdened with proving his hiring decision wasn’t based on the applicant’s status as a mother.
Another complication would be an employer using an applicant’s off-duty, legal activities as a basis for discrimination. Let’s say an employer does a search, finds that a male applicant is involved with a political or social cause they don’t necessarily agree with, and therefore doesn’t hire him. Many states actually have laws prohibiting such employer discrimination, meaning an employer can’t legally deny an applicant a position based on political or social views that aren’t relevant to his/her work duties and only take place during off-duty hours. There must be a legitimate business reason for the hiring decision.
Federal law requires employers to make a disclosure if they use an applicant’s credit history to take adverse actions, and some state laws are similarly requiring employers to disclose any adverse information they find in public records about an applicant. Such disclosures are certainly a costly inconvenience to employers. There’s also a question of just how reliable the information is since the information could be pertaining to a different person with the exact same first name and surname as the applicant. Furthermore, it doesn’t take 30 minutes for a begrudged or vindictive individual to create a web page to discredit another individual by passing off false, misleading, or distorted information as fact.
The above points certainly show a liability risk for employers doing Internet searches. However, there’s also a risk in not thoroughly researching potential employees. Let’s say an employer fails to do an Internet search on an employer that later commits a workplace crime. Had the search been done, the employer would’ve found that the employee had a violent past and criminal inclinations. In such a scenario, the employer could face a lawsuit from the employee’s victims for not conducting a thorough evaluation.
When it comes to hiring, the best approach in making an informed, legal business decision is usually to not use one or the other, but rather combine public Internet information with reference checks, interview processes, applications, aptitude testing, and any other credible source of information. Remember, the Internet can be an invaluable hiring tool, but only if used wisely.
For all your Business Insurance in CA, call on us.
Scurich Insurance
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
http://www.scurichinsurance.com/
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With more jobs becoming available today, there is a major problem presenting itself for employers. Employees who are applying for jobs are lying about important aspects of their lives. In most cases, the truth may be a disqualifying factor. To avoid the hassle of hiring an unfit employee, it's important to conduct a background check.
According to the ADP's 2009 Hiring Index, 46% of the 1.7 million applicants reviewed had discrepancies in their resume's employment, credentials, education or reference checks sections. In addition to this, 37% of applicants had traffic violations or convictions, and 6% had criminal charges within the past seven years. While not all applicants lie about convictions, others may fabricate details that make them look more appealing. This practice, which is commonly called resume padding, is a method used by people who aren't qualified for a position to attempt to obtain it. It's important to be able to identify both omissions and lies.
Understanding What Is in a Background Check. Not all background checks are the same. There are hundreds of online services that advertise cheap and fast background checks. However, these companies provide limited information, and often have limited access to databases that are not regularly updated. In order to get the most accurate and recent records it is best to use state resources.
How to Perform a Background Check.
Usually, the office of the Highway Patrol is the best place to begin a search. Some jobs require a prospective employee to manage a budget and handle money. If this is the case, it's a good idea to request a credit check also. It's important to have the applicant's SSN, date of birth and any last names or aliases they've used in the past 10 years. Be sure to have the applicant's approval before performing a background check. Social media sites, such as Facebook, can also be beneficial when researching a potential employee. Keep in mind that people may make fictitious profiles and claims on social media sites, so this information shouldn't replace what is available on a background check. However, sometimes discrepancies between resumes and social profiles are enough to raise a red flag against a potential employee.
Be specific in what information you decide to verify with a background check or credit check, and only perform those checks when there is a direct correlation with job duties. For example, don't request a credit check for an employee who won't be controlling a budget or working with cash. However, if an applicant will be caring for disabled individuals, it's important to verify that they don't have any past charges of abuse, assault or neglect. Always use common sense to determine which bits of information need to be verified.
Employer Reference Considerations. Verifying employment and inquiring about an applicant's work ethic with a previous employer is important. However, it's also important to make the reference call count. Never rely on the phone number provided by the applicant. Either look up the number through an online phone directory or use a reliable source to verify the number. Although it isn't common, sometimes applicants provide erroneous phone numbers that may not belong to the previous employer they listed. In some cases, employees might provide a friend's number instead. That friend will often provide a false reference to make the employee look good. Be sure to ask pointed and concise questions to the applicant's previous employer. The following questions are good examples:
- How do the applicant’s skills with other team members rank?
- What are the applicant’s strengths?
- How does the applicant deal with stress and conflict?
- In what ways could the applicant improve?
The best time to perform a background check is after extending an offer for employment. However, be sure to tell the applicant that their employment with the company is contingent upon them passing a background check. It's always a good idea to state upfront in the job posting that a background check will be performed for qualified applicants. This is usually effective in discouraging applicants who know they have a checkered past and intend to lie about it. Again, the most important thing to remember is to always obtain an applicant's written permission before ordering a background or credit check for them.
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Scurich Insurance
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
Email:[email protected]
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Business owners know an injury to an employee or severe property damage destroys productivity; so all losses should be avoided or reduced. So why do insurance loss control representatives visits and the ensuing safety recommendations bother business owners so frequently? Is it a nuisance? Is it the money to implement loss control strategies? Insurance companies understand that the frequency of claims, that is the number of claims, predicts risk levels much more accurately than does the severity of claims.
Insurance company recommendations tend to reduce the frequency of claims. In the long run, reduced frequency leads to better experience and greater discounts. Selfishly, you should implement loss control recommendations that lead to lower costs.
For small business, as defined as those that cannot afford an in-house full time safety officer, the insurance company loss control representative acts in that capacity to review the overall loss control picture. Use this service to your advantage. The insurance company wants to reduce risk as much as you do. Of course, the company is less concerned about the budget to do so when you’re fulfilling their recommendations. So, what can you do about costly compliance measures? Ask the loss control representative for help. These professionals are in the field all the time and see many solutions to the same problems. They will have some cost effective ideas.
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Scurich Insurance
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
eMail:[email protected]
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Unfortunately, in today’s society, lawsuits seem to be lurking everywhere. If an unexpected accident was to happen, and you were found at fault, are you confident in your liability protection?
Oftentimes, homeowners, auto and watercraft have a limit on the liability insurance that is included within the respective policy—but what if you are looking for that extra degree of security?
Umbrella liability insurance is designed specifically, to help put the minds of policy holders at ease. An umbrella policy provides the added liability protection, not found in your standard homeowners, auto or watercraft personal insurance policies. Scurich Insurance can help you with all of your needs.
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Scurich Insurance
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
eMail:[email protected]
Read more
Disaster can strike a business in a multitude of ways. Fires and explosions can devastate buildings regardless of where they’re located. A building need not be the target of a terrorist attack to feel its effects, as many business owners discovered after the September 11 attacks. After a catastrophic event, evaluating the damage to the facilities quickly and accurately is essential for both insurance recovery purposes and for getting back into operation as soon as possible.
Business owners should talk to Scurich Insurance for resources to help with disaster preparation. Please contact us now for any information you will need.
Scurich Insurance
320 East Lake Avenue, PO Box 1170
Watsonville, CA 95077-1170
Office: 1-831-722-3541
Toll Free: 1-800-320-3666
eMail:[email protected]
Read more
