Employment Practices Liability Insurance: Crucial for Small Businesses

According to a recent study, more than half of all claims filed for employment-related liabilities are against employers with fewer than 50 employees. Alarmingly, the study also reveals that not even 2 percent of small businesses have employment practices liability (EPL) coverage.

High Price Tag of NYC Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employment-related claims can be extremely costly, especially in cases that drag on for years. With a slow economy and increasing adoption of worker-friendly laws, these cases are on the rise—in fact, discrimination claims have increased significantly in the last 20 years. According to data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), most claims are based on race, sex, age, and disability. Many small businesses cannot afford to pay these costs and keep their company afloat.

What Puts Small Businesses at Risk?

Understandably, it can be much more difficult for small businesses to defend themselves against employment-related claims because they tend to have fewer resources and a different work environment. Small businesses are particularly at risk for employment-related claims for the following reasons:

• Many have minimal staff and lack of in-house counsel and/or full human resources department to rely on
• Overall lack of extensive recordkeeping on employee performance
• More intimate working environments may cause personal riffs during layoffs

An Affordable Solution for New York City Employment Practices Liability Insurance Coverage

Fortunately, with employment-based lawsuits on the rise and the economy’s sluggish upward climb, EPL coverage is becoming more affordable. More insurers are beginning to offer EPL insurance policies with comprehensive coverage to smaller businesses to protect them in tough times. In fact, EPL insurance is becoming so important to the success of small businesses that it is being offered at more affordable prices and is tailored specifically for those smaller companies. With the average cost of an employment lawsuit exceeding $270,000, the potential return dwarfs the initial cost of EPL coverage. Talk to Enforce Coverage Group to learn if this risk transfer option is right for your business.

Source: Zywave

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The 3 R’s To Buying Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Review, Reboot, Renew

As a business owner you know that Workers’ Compensation insurance is required by law; but did you know that each time you renew, your business has an opportunity to streamline your costs and methodology? The three R’s to buying workers’ compensation insurance might just help you better
understand what our goal is in helping you.

Review Your New York Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Ask yourself these questions:

• Have the needs of your business changed?
• Did you add or lose employees this year?
• Have there been any classification changes?

The key to having proper coverage is making sure that your policy reflects what is going on with your business “right now!” So what happens after you review & after you make sure that your level of workers’ compensation insurance is at the right level?

Reboot Your Business Insurance

We’re glad you asked! Now, it’s time to look at the company you’re insured with. Think of your upcoming policy renewal as an opportunity to start fresh! Or as we like to call it, Reboot! So what does that mean exactly? We’re glad you asked!

• You want to find a company that can serve your needs with old school attention to detail while at the same time provide the most up to date
  methods of keeping in touch.
• You want to find a company that understands that each workers’ compensation carrier has different rates for different class codes or
  industry classifications. You want them to find that carrier that perfectly matches your industry and thus offers the lowest rates for your
  classification.
• You want to find a company that will keep you up to date on a law that might change that has an effect on your bottom line or a streamlined
  way to file, help you file a claim so you don’t have to.
• Renewing your Workers’ Compensation Insurance is your chance to make sure you’re not missing out on the best service and technology that can be offered.

Renew New York Workers Compensation Insurance Policy

Now you are ready to renew. We are here to answer all of your questions.

Call Enforce Coverage Group today to learn how our agents can quickly & easily take you through the rest of the process making sure you are getting
the best rate & service possible!

The post The 3 R’s To Buying Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Review, Reboot, Renew appeared first on Enforce Coverage Group.

Brewery Insurance: Coverage Insights for Insuring Craft Breweries

In the past 30 years, the number of brewers in the United States has grown from under 100 to more than 2,400. Of these breweries currently in operation, almost 98 percent are considered regional craft brewers, microbreweries or brewpubs. With this continued trend, insurers have begun to offer more effective brewery insurance policies to address the unique exposures faced by this ever-expanding section of the industry.

Given their size and average output, the needs of craft brewers vary greatly from the larger, more traditional breweries. While larger breweries can primarily be described as manufacturing outfits, it is not uncommon for craft breweries to be run in conjunction with restaurants or pubs, often operating in the same location.

Selecting the Right Brewery Insurance Coverage

In addition to the general and property liability coverages that every New York craft brewery business should carry, the following policies help protect against common exposures faced by craft brewers:

• Boiler and machinery coverage: Many smaller breweries are not able to handle the production interruption caused by the loss of a key piece of equipment. This coverage can help with repair or replacement costs for damaged equipment as well as cover losses resulting from production interruption and downtime.
• Supply chain insurance: Many craft breweries do not keep large stocks of ingredients on hand, making regular shipments from suppliers essential. Supply chain insurance will cover losses resulting from decreased production or increased production costs in the event that one or more of your suppliers is unable to provide the materials you need.
• Spoilage and product recall: If a batch of beer is contaminated during the brewing or packaging process or spoils before distribution, a provision for spoilage can cover the initial production cost as well as lost revenue. If a contaminated batch isn’t caught before shipping and the beer makes it to store shelves, coverage for product recall can help offset the costs of removing the tainted product and replacing it.
• Liquor liability: Regardless of whether you have a full-service bar or offer beer tastings after tours, liquor liability is essential to cover damages to persons and property caused by patrons who were over-served at your establishment.

By mixing and matching these policies based on the unique needs of your operation, you can obtain maximum coverage at an affordable price. Some insurers offer these coverages in packages specifically for craft brewers that can be further tailored to address the needs of your individual operation. If your operation involves a restaurant or other type of food service, you will need to consider additional coverage for related exposures.

Work With a Brewery Insurance Expert

The world of craft brewing is rapidly expanding, and as it does insurers are becoming increasingly effective at identifying and addressing its diverse risks. New combinations and specially structured coverages are constantly being made available to brewers. By working with the experts at Enforce Coverage Group, you can be sure that you are being provided with the latest options in brewing coverage. Let us help you build a comprehensive package that will cover all of your exposures, no matter how unique. Request an insurance quote or call us today (212) 947-4298.

Source: Zywave

 

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This Coverage Insight is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice.

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Money Saving Tips: Workers Compensation Insurance Guide

Top 10 Tips to Save your Insurance Agency from Becoming Insolvent

An insurance agency becomes insolvent any time it is struggling to pay off its debts by the due date, or if perhaps it doesn’t have adequate possessions to handle its debts. However business insolvency doesn’t take place in a single day. Continuing to keep a close eye on your business’ productivity as well as cash flow brings you an early word of caution with regards to upcoming complications, and time to do something to steer clear of insolvency. There are a few the actions you may take to abstain from insolvency.

Our 9 years of experience in the insurance sector have guided us to put together our ten best tips for averting formal insolvency for your business.

Have an Official Business Plan: Put together a business plan and modify it on a regular basis. The plan must specify the preferred path of the insurance business and put down how this is to be accomplished.

Identify Where your Agency is and Manage Where it is Heading to: Make sure you understand the existing financial position of your agency and keep it in check to ensure that it moves in the correct direction – put together estimations for a minimum of a year ahead and revise these on a monthly basis; put together month-to-month management accounts. Customers inform us they do not have the time and energy to generate management accounts. To put it accurately, they don’t get the time NOT to.

Understand your Market: Make sure that you understand your market, to ensure that your product(s) is/are appropriately valued and promoted. This procedure must be a continuing one.

Stretch your Risk: Do not set a lot of dependence on just one customer or provider. Think about getting credit insurance coverage against a customer’s inability to pay. Accept any kind of guarantees that you are able to.

Always Remember that Turnover is Vanity, Money is King and Profit is Sanity: Have distinct credit control processes, describing the way complications must be handled. They must be cast in stone regardless of the customer. Take into account using the services of outside financial debt collectors on a no-collection, no-fee occurrence. Credit-check all new clients. Evaluate all customer credit limitations each year and don’t hesitate to rectify the conditions or limitations.

Think about Additional Options for Funding: Asset-based financing may transform assets into cash in case funding is an issue, and invoice discounting is a great means of financing a developing business, however, it’s crucial that any kind of secured debt is wiped out as soon as the incurred asset is discarded and factoring financial obligations can intensify any economic difficulties in businesses which are not developing.

Utilize Retention of title Appropriately: In case appropriate, incorporate retention of title (RoT) clause in your trading conditions. Make sure that the clause is designed by a solicitor, providing you with highest protection. In case a customer gets formally insolvent, show up at the customer’s premises as quickly as possible to fix and concur the goods over which you are collecting RoT.

Do not Settle-back in Case a Customer Gets Bust: If you happen to be having outstanding money, inform the nominated insolvency specialist of your claim immediately, to maximize your involvement. Try not to think that you will get nothing, yet on the other hand do not believe that you are going to get an early dividend.

Outsource Insurance Agency Management Tasks: In case it is becoming to pay your in-house employees their wages because of the cash crunch, it is a wise decision to outsource your insurance agency management tasks to a reliable service provider.

Take Professional Guidance Early: Get professional advice from an authorized Insolvency Practitioner right away if you feel that you’re going towards bankruptcy. This is going to protect your position and assist you in evading personal liability.

Recommended Post: Tips and Tricks: Improve Productivity and Efficiency of your Insurance Agency

Let us at Cogneesol help your insurance business from getting insolvent. We are a professional ISO 9001:2008 certified insurance back-office company helping agencies across the globe. Call at +1 (646) 688-2821 to know more about our offerings.

Source: Top 10 Tips to Save your Insurance Agency from Becoming Insolvent