Of all of your business expenses, none can be as necessary as commercial auto insurance for your fleet of business vehicles. Unfortunately, automobile accidents involving a commercial vehicle place your business as the primary person of responsibility rather than the individual driver, your employee, of the vehicle. As such, when determining the best ways to approach your commercial auto insurance, you need to take some special considerations for your drivers and vehicles.
Driver Responsibility
All of your employees need to exhibit the responsibility and care in driving your commercial vehicles as they literally have the future of your business in their hands. Prior to allowing employees to drive a commercial vehicle, have them complete the following strict set of criteria.
- Pass a standardized drug screen to check for the presence mind-altering substances. In addition, you may need to conduct a questionnaire about each employee’s alcohol use. If you ever suspected an employee of coming to work while under the influence of alcohol, you cannot allow that employee to drive your commercial vehicles.
- Complete a defensive driving course. All of your drivers need to be extraordinarily aware of their surroundings when driving during the course of business. Furthermore, you may consider continuing education for monthly updates on changes to existing traffic laws.
Commercial Vehicle Responsibility
- Do not allow commercial vehicles to be used outside of the course of work. The more time you or your employees spend driving work-related vehicles, your risk for having an accident increases.
- Ensure your commercial vehicles receive proper, routine maintenance. Check the brakes, tire pressure, turn signals, headlights, taillights, and license plate visibility of your commercial vehicles once per week if not every day prior to use.
Although you may have already purchased a commercial auto insurance policy, you have a duty to actively work to prevent auto accidents. In addition to keeping your employees and other drivers safe on the road through driver diligence and vehicle maintenance, you need to make sure your investment will be protected against disasters.
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Starting your own business is the first step towards achieving your dream of self-reliance and fulfillment in your career; however, the chaos of the world will try to bring your thriving business to the ground. You have the ability to prevent undue damage to your business when you purchase an insurance policy for your small business. There are many different types of insurance policies available for small businesses, which range from covering your business structures to your employees’ inappropriate actions, and you need to know what each policy means for your business
Business Property Insurance
If you experience a natural or man-made disaster, a Business Property insurance policy will protect your business from the associated damages, such as from weather, vandalism, or fires.
Liability Insurance
Liability insurance policies protect you against the majority of your concerns as a small business owner. This type of insurance is used to cover any possible issues involving a third party, which includes customers, landlords, products, and even medical expenses. If you were to have a customer trip over your merchandise, a Liability Insurance plan will protect you.
Worker’s Compensation Insurance
If one of your employees becomes injured while at work, you will be held responsible for medical treatment, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Worker’s Compensation insurance shows your employees that you care about their safety while working while protecting your reputation and finances from these unforeseen expenses.
Excess Liability Coverage
Although you purchase a variety of insurance policies to protect your business, you may find that your policy limits do not cover the financial cost of certain claims. In these cases, an Excess Liability insurance policy will provide a cushion above and beyond your existing limitations of liability.
Employment Practices Liability Coverage
This type of insurance for small businesses protects you against allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
Life Insurance
Life insurance covers you, your business partners, your employees, or your spouse in the event of death by accident or other circumstances. It will enable your loved ones or friends to continue the legacy of your business.
Health Insurance
You may choose to offer your employees health coverage or purchase health insurance for yourself. The options for Health insurance vary in amounts respective of deductibles, copayments, and limitations. However, some changes have been implemented since the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, so please check with your insurance agent to select a policy suited to your needs.
It can be difficult to navigate the available insurance policies you need for your small business. However, it’s better to be protected against an unfortunate circumstance rather than lose your business and hard work.
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Being a business without workers’ compensation insurance in California is a serious matter. If an employee is injured during the course of business duties and the business is not insured, it does not mean that the business is absolved of its responsibilities. The Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund was established to ensure that employees are still compensated for their medical expenses even if the business did not comply with the law. Using the power vested in this entity, it can pursue many avenues to ensure that the injured employee is compensated, including placing a lien on the business, imposing a stop order so that the business can no longer legally and delivering fines, penalties and jail time.
If you should decide that you do not want to carry workers’ compensation insurance on your employees and one of them becomes injured or sick while on the job, you will be responsible for paying 100% of the cost of their bills. Without obtaining adequate workers’ compensation insurance, an injured or sickened employee can sue your company to obtain the funds necessary to cover their medical bills. In addition, there is the potential that your business will be fined, penalized and even more for not meeting its obligations to its employees.
The California state labor board, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, is responsible for ensuring that businesses comply with a range of labor standards, including having an adequate amount of workers’ compensation insurance. If the Division determine that the business was lacking in this regard, in addition to fines and penalties, it is possible that you will serve a jail sentence in the county jail. A stop order is also likely to be issued that prohibits the business from using the labor of those employees who are not covered. It is a misdemeanor to not comply with such an order.
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With the passing of Halloween, the majority of Americans will begin to plan their festivities and travels for the upcoming holiday season. While many look forward to the joyous tune in the winter atmosphere, few realize the need to be extra careful when traveling in terms of insurance coverage. A few days away from the house can translate into fires, burglaries, and even damage from the weather. The awesome trip through the woods to Grandmother’s house can turn into a nightmare without proper auto insurance, and of course, the winter makes you more likely to become ill during your holiday travels. Before you plan out what you’ll be doing for Christmas and Thanksgiving, take the time to evaluate your insurance policies.
Auto Insurance
Although state laws require that all drivers maintain liability insurance for at-fault accidents with other drivers, you need to be aware that uninsured drivers will be on the road with you. If you have an accident, you may be stuck with a repair bill or injury that is not covered. Before taking the care across country for the holidays, consider purchasing underinsured or uninsured motorist protection. Uninsured motorist protections cover you if the other driver’s financial responsibility falter or don’t exist.
Homeowner’s Insurance
What goes together better than cookies and hot cocoa? Burglars and empty homes. When you travel this holiday season, remember that your home could be the next target of a break-in. While it’s beneficial to purchase a home security system or service, you need to have an insurance policy to cover your belongings as well as your home. In addition, the risk for fires increases during the winter, so check to see if your current homeowner’s policy covers house fires.
Health Insurance
Sledding all day is a fun and exciting thing to do while visiting friends or relatives away from your home, but what happens if you, your children, or your spouse get sick? Check to see if your health insurance policy will cover visits to emergency centers, hospitals, or other clinics in whatever state or city you will be traveling to. Furthermore, make sure you are up-to-date on your immunizations prior to holiday travel.
If you’re planning a trip this holiday season, you need to take some special considerations in regards to your insurance policies. Make sure your home, vehicle, and the health of yourself and your family will be covered if something happens during your holiday travel.
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Nearly all business owners carry some type of insurance. However, if you are carrying a standard business liability policy, it may be worth your time to review your policy and determine if you have employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) coverage. Not all liability coverage includes this important feature.
What is EPLI?
EPLI coverage includes wrongful termination protection for employers. This allows you to file a claim to cover the cost of legal defense anytime you are sued for wrongful termination. This insurance would also pay claims if you should lose your case.
What is wrongful termination?
Wrongful termination claims may be filed by an employee who feels they were fired from their job unjustly. Some of the common reasons why an employee may claim wrongful termination include:
- Age discrimination – employees over the age of 40 may file an age discrimination claim even if they were fired for other reasons.
- Other discrimination – claims may be filed if an employee believes they were terminated because of their gender, sexual orientation or a disability.
- Whistleblower termination – California law makes it illegal to terminate an employee for reporting certain actions including workplace safety, public interest or other activities that may be considered illegal.
- Written contract violations – while California is known to have an “at will” employer/employee agreement, employees who are fired and have written contracts may still be fired under certain circumstances. This may not prevent them from filing a wrongful termination suit.
Minimizing your risk of wrongful termination claims
Keep in mind, the better you document your reasons for terminating an employee, the less likely you are to face wrongful termination claims. Some ways to avoid this include:
- Documentation of wrongdoing – anytime you reprimand an employee it should be documented in their employment file.
- Witnesses can be helpful – if you need to have a conference with an employee about their conduct on the job, it may be helpful to have another manager or supervisor sit in on the conference.
- Consider consulting an attorney – if you need to terminate an employee, it may be helpful to discuss your strategy with an employment attorney first.
Oftentimes, wrongful termination claims are simply retaliatory but having EPLI coverage can make good financial sense for those unexpected claims.
Sources:http://www.business.ca.gov/StartaBusiness/AdministeringEmployees/EqualEmploymentOpportunityLaws/AtWillEmployment.aspx
http://www.calchamber.com/california-employment-law/pages/termination.aspx
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Sexual harassment suits may be filed against a business for any number of reasons. In fact, some employers are surprised to learn that sexual harassment charges have been filed against them because of suggestive posters, suggestive items on display in the workplace or because of lewd jokes told in the workplace. However, under California law, all of these are considered a violation of workplace rules.
Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace
Employers in California who have five or more employees are under an obligation per the laws in the state to provide a workplace where employees do not feel they are subjected to sexual harassment. It is important to note that there are two specific categories of harassment which are “quid pro quo” and “hostile work environment”. As an employer, you should be aware of what each of these terms means, specifically:
- Quid pro quo – when an employee feels they were denied opportunities for advancement or increase in pay because they refused a sexual advance on the job. In some cases, if an employee reports a sexual advance and were subsequently dismissed from their job this may also be considered quid pro quo.
- Hostile work environment – when other employees, regular visitors or others are telling offensive jokes regularly, an employee may feel the environment is hostile. Keep in mind this could mean racially insensitive jokes, jokes of a sexual nature or other behaviors an employee finds offensive.
According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, during 2011 there were more than 11,000 sexual harassment cases filed. More than 15% of these were filed by male employees. No employer, regardless of size is guaranteed to never have a suit filed against them. It is important to note, that of the more than 11,000 suits filed, settlements exceeded $52 million for suits that were found to have merit. It is imperative to verify that you have the right coverage to protect your business in the event you are sued for sexual harassment.
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