Air, water, and soil pollution pose a serious financial threat for contractors. One small misstep can require thousands – or even millions – to clean up.
Consider these scenarios:
- Remodeling a school kicks up dust.
- Using construction materials generates fumes that pollute the air.
- Hitting an underground storage tank leads to the release of liquid pollutants.
- Spraying to remove a bees’ nest from a work area releases insecticides.
- Tying into a sewer line improperly causes sewage to back up.
Your Comprehensive General Liability (CGL) policy provides severely limited protection against these types of pollution claims. Not to worry! Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) insurance can protect you. (These policies are sometimes written together with Contractors Professional Liability coverage – see the previous article).
CPL covers Bodily Injury and Property Damage – whether by settlement or verdict – as well as the expenses of investigating, defending, or settling claims. Most policies also cover the costs of removing or neutralizing pollutants and restoring the damaged property.
CPL policies usually include a “hammer clause” that works like this: if the contractor chooses to fight a claim, rather than settle it, the insurance company’s liability for damages and claims expenses is limited to what it would have had to pay if the contractor had approved the settlement. As you can imagine, most contractors choose to settle when their insurer recommends this approach.
As with Contractors Professional Liability coverage, CPL policies are usually written on a case-by-case basis, with the size of the policy depending on your situation (for example coverage might be worldwide or limited to the U.S). Our agency would be happy to work with you, and the quality insurance companies we represent, to tailor a program suited for your needs. Feel free to get in touch with us at any time.
Read more
New approaches to building projects, as well as new techniques, are leading to increased demand for Professional Liability insurance for contractors.
A few years ago, people would shake their heads at the idea of this coverage, asking how contractors could be held liable for professional risk when they don’t provide professional services.
However, there has been a blurring of the once-sharp lines between contractors and architects and designers, as more and more contractors are being drawn into the design process. Under the traditional “design-bid-build” method, a project would be designed, bids put out, and the project built. However, the spread of the “design-build” concept – which decreases the amount of time, and the cost, of the project involved – has meant that medium sized and large contractors often take the design responsibilities in-house, and even subcontract them to design firms.
These contractors’ biggest exposure is for claims filed against them for project delays and cost overruns. However, traditional General Liability insurance offers coverage only for Bodily Injury and Property Damage, and does not cover financial or economic losses. Contractors Professional Liability insurance fills this gap.
Because these policies are relatively recent, only a limited number of insurance companies offer them. These companies haven’t paid enough claims for underwriters to establish the underwriting history and set standard rates – which means that policies are usually negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The amount of insurance can be up to $50 million; if a contractor needs more capacity, coverage can be added through excess layers.
If your firm is (or might be) taking on project design responsibilities, a comprehensive Contractors Professional Liability policy can help protect your pocketbook – and provide peace of mind. To learn more, just give us a call.
Read more
In the construction world, we’re often quick to reprimand our workers about safety violations. Such phrases as “Hey, put your helmet on!”, “Seriously, do you really think this is a good idea?” and “Get off that ladder now!” come to mind. All too seldom, do we say, “Thanks. You’re doing a great job in keeping the site safe!”
As you walk your work sites or wander the shop, it’s important to search out potential hazards and people who are not following what’s expected. However, don’t forget to recognize and acknowledge the workers who are doing their jobs right. When you recognize the power of thanking those who do well, their peers pay attention. That’s the reason why merit badges work.
Whether you’re a supervisor, foreman, or project manager, your job is to encourage safe behavior by motivating – not threatening – your workers as often as possible. Showing gratitude goes a long way in forming your crew and your friends. Take the time, and you’ll soon be surrounded by people who want to work for you. When you recognize this, you will understand the power of thanks.
Without trust, there’s little chance of success in any business – including yours. Your role is to help your workers stay out of trouble and eliminate acts and conditions on the job that can harm them. Whenever possible, it’s better to work with them, rather than acting as an obstacle.
Help your construction crews understand the hazards of the work they do and how to get them corrected. Establish a level of trust, and say “Thanks!” more often than “Stop!”
Remember, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Read more
How can you oversee your employees’ use of company e-mails without violating their privacy?
According to a recent nationwide survey, more than 40% of businesses monitor their workers’ e-mails. If you’re one of these companies, a disgruntled employee might well sue you for invasion of privacy (the number of privacy lawsuits has skyrocketed by 3,000% during the past decade).
The best way to protect yourself against this risk is to create a written policy warning employees that you might be monitoring their use of e-mail. Bear in mind that because your business owns the e-mail system – software, network access, and computers – you have the legal right to oversee workers for misusing it to violate company policy or break the law.
The first step in implementing this policy is to have all employees sign a disclaimer that acknowledges the company’s right to monitor their e-mail. You can do this when an employee is hired, at contract renewal, or at a company meeting – and don’t forget to circulate any updates to the policy throughout the company. Apply e-mail monitoring as uniformly as possible, because singling out an individual without a clear reason to do so could leave you vulnerable to a discrimination lawsuit. Finally, be sure to have your attorney review the policy.
A comprehensive e-mail policy can:
1) provide an effective defense against invasion of privacy litigation
2) educate your employees on the proper use of e-mail – which should go far to reduce potential problems from misusing the system.
If you’d like to learn more about how to balance protecting the integrity of your company’s e-mail system with your employees’ right to privacy, please get in touch with us. As always, we’re here to help.
Read more
Recent headlines about electronic spies hacking into computer networks from the Pentagon to China reinforce the dangerous reality that a “malware” (software that accesses systems to steal sensitive financial and client information) is becoming increasingly sophisticated and widespread.
According to a recent report from the NPD Group, the average U.S. household with a Web connection has 5.7 devices – desktops, laptops, tablets, and/or smart phones — which are highly vulnerable to malware attacks. The more workers who use these devices to access the Web sites of their employers, the greater the threat of cybercrime.
To help protect the security of your company’s data against intrusion from malware, experts recommend taking these precautions:
- Identify the business processes and data you need to protect and the risks associated with them.
- Limit access to sensitive data to authorized users. Provide them with strong passwords and don’t allow any sharing.
- Make sure that employees use only secure wireless networks when connecting to your site.
- Provide users with strong authentication measures and anti-malware software.
- Know your users and their behavior. Compare details of incoming login connections with the information you have about the user. If you find anomalies, add such precautions such answering a security question.
- Look for corrupted devices. Authenticated users might acquire malware on their devices that puts your data at risk once they log in. For example, man-in-the-browser (MitB) attacks can hijack authenticated sessions.
- Secure high-value transactions. Identify these transactions and refuse to accept them from devices with suspicious configurations.
Our agency’s specialists can work with you in developing and implementing a comprehensive anti-malware program for your company. Please feel free to get in touch with us at any time.
Read more
A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 69% of U.S. drivers talked on their cell phones – and 31% read or sent text messages or e-mails while driving. “The cell phone can be a fatal distraction for those who use it while they drive,” warns CDC Director Thomas Frieden.
Using cell phones to text behind the wheel can increase the danger of fatal crashes by six to 23 times, and drivers using hand-held devices are four times more likely to become involved in crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
You probably have rules about employees talking on their phones and texting while driving – but are they following them?
According to Jim Evans, president of human resources consulting firm JK Evans & Associates, some bosses turn a blind eye to cell phone use behind the wheel, while others don’t want to cut into their employees’ productivity. His advice to employers: “Dust off the old cell phone policy or unwritten practices and revisit whether employee safety and employer liability is at risk.”
To minimize this danger, your company should require employees who drive on the job to:
- Turn off personal phones or switch them to silent mode before entering a company vehicle.
- Pull over to a safe area if they need to make a cell phone call or send or answer a text message.
- Ask a helper or another passenger to make a return call.
- Contact supervisors or dispatchers when the vehicle is parked.
- Avoid smoking, eating, drinking, reading, and any other activities that distract them behind the wheel.
- Tell people who call them while driving that they’ll call back after reaching their destination.
- Not send or answer text messages, surf the Web, or read e-mails.
Read more
