webnewsltr

A ugust is the time of year for intense thunderstorms and showers. This means it’s likely that your business will lose power when a lightening bolt zaps the local power station. But danger doesn’t come only from being left in the dark, without power, for a period of time. Electrical power also can cause spoilage when going and burnout when coming back—a double threat to your operations. If such outages affected your business significantly, are you confident that your current insurance program covers either type of loss? Standard property insurance forms have several exclusions and limitations that might leave you without coverage when power loss occurs. Fortunately, modifications and endorsements are available that specifically address these types of losses. Give us a call for a convenient time to do a complete review of your current cover- ages. Let’s make sure that when your power goes off, your coverage stays on. n Prepare for August Blackouts As you know, the 100th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake rumbled by recently. But did you know that if the same 7.9 magnitude earthquake were to shake the Bay area today, it would kill thousands of people, dam- age more than 90,000 build- ings, displace as many as a quarter of a million house- holds and result in more than $150 billion in damage? Bill Ellsworth, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA, says that such an earthquake would “have huge social and economic effects on the entire country.” As we have seen with the recent devastation from the Gulf Coast hurricanes, natural disasters of this magnitude can’t be prevented. What’s more, residents of earthquake-prone areas should learn that there’s no substitute for ade- quate insurance. Owning property in an area at high risk for natural disaster makes you responsible for protecting it with the right insurance coverage. In many cases, standard property policies exclude the coverage that you would need if a flood or earthquake were to shut down your business. So it’s imperative to know what you need before you need it, and that’s where we come in. We can provide your business with stan- dard property insurance, as well as valuable supplemental coverage. For more information, call today. n Natural Disasters Don’t Discriminate

In 2005, Americans spent close to $150 billion remodeling the insides of their homes, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Commercial property owners—seem- ingly motivated by low interest rates and surging market values—also spent billions improving commercial proper- ty with hopes of a nice return. As a business owner, we’d recom- mend that you consider these questions: • Have you used the recent surge in real estate activity to push major improvements in your building? • With all the improvements you’ve made (assuming that you’ve made them), do you know the current replacement value of your property? • Even if you purchased your property less than a year ago, do you know what market changes have occurred since then that might impact its replacement value? The bottom line: Without enough insurance for your new and improved structure, a loss could completely wash out your efforts in improving its value. After all, your property insurance is based on the replacement value of the property by today’s standards, not what you paid for it a year ago. We understand today’s rising market values and construction costs, and we’d be happy to help you protect your property regardless of the twists and turns that the market—or Mother Nature—takes. For more information, call today. n We’ve already cautioned you in this newsletter that, if you live or own a business in a disaster-prone area, you need to purchase the appropriate insurance coverage. But perhaps you’re wondering about ways in which you can form a business-continuation plan to help bounce back after a disas- ter. We thought so! Here are seven helpful tips—as out- lined by a leading risk-management company—for creating a business- continuation plan: 1. Establish a committee and set a timetable for implementation. 2. Decide on the maximum allowable downtime for vital company functions. For example, consider those that impact customer service, reputation, revenue, market share and compliance. 3. Pinpoint the resources needed to carry out each function. Remember, outsourcing always remains an option. 4. Create a list of your key clients. 5. Delegate and assign such post- disaster responsibilities as ensuring facility safety, employee communica- tions, media relations, restoring infor- mation systems, etc. 6. Determine which employees must remain on site to conduct operations. 7. Hold someone responsible for determining which employees are suf- fering from stress and what type of assistance your firm will provide. For more insightful advice, consult with us today. You don’t want to be caught unprepared when a disaster strikes. n N ew Orleans seems barely to have begun its recovery from Hurricane Katrina, and already the 2006 hurricane season has begun—and the National Ocea- nic and Atmospheric Adminis- tration (NOAA) predicts four to six hurricanes to reach Category 3 or higher. As Americans brace for this long and violent season, it’s wise to remember that it wasn’t just families who lost everything to storm-related floods last year: Many businesses also were shat- tered, and their recoveries hin- dered, by the lack of adequate insurance coverage. A flood policy, although optional in many areas, should be a part of every commercial insur- ance portfolio (and it takes 30 days to kick in, so think about it well before you need it). Smart business owners also carry busi- ness interruption coverage (some- thing that isn’t covered in an NFIP policy), which will offset lost rev- enue if you can’t re-open your doors for a while. Let’s review the exposures of your business together. Call our service team today. n When It Rains, It Pours Create a Business-Continuation Plan Is Your Building Properly Insured?

COPYRIGHT ©2006. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is under- stood that the publishers are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert advice is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. I f you want to manage risk with- in your firm, then you must familiarize yourself with risk- management language. Here are some basic definitions, provided by the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research, which you can use to build your knowledge base: • Exposure: A situation, practice or condition that might lead to a loss; an activity or resource (assets, people). • Peril: A “cause” of loss; an event that might cause a loss. • Hazard: A condition within an exposure that might lead to an incident; “a peril about to happen.” • Incident: An event that dis- rupts normal activities and might become a loss or claim; “a near miss.” Lifecycle of an incident: Pre-incident, incident, immediate post-incident, post incident, rehabilitation (repair, recovery). • Accident: An incident result- ing in injury or damage to person or property which has, or will become, a loss or claim; “an unplanned event definite as to time and place that causes bodily injury or property damage.” • Occurrence: An accident with the limitation of time removed. • Loss: A reduction in value. • Claim: A demand or obliga- tion for payment as a result of a loss. • Frequency: The number of times an incident occurs. • Severity: The monetary impact of a loss. • Expected losses: Loss projections (“loss pics”) based on probability distri- butions and statistics; frequently developed using actuarial tech- niques. For a review of your current risks, contact us today. n Do You Know Your Risk Definitions? Computer-related crimes have cost U.S. businesses almost $200 billion, and the expense to an individual business—yours—might be more than you realize. On any given day, more than three million “bots” are active around the world. According to the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, they have compromised close to 50 million PCs, or around 7% of all PCs con- nected to the Internet. Although some such codes might be benign (e.g., Google uses GoogleBot for its search engine) or merely annoying, malicious viruses are attacking hundreds of thousands of computers and communications devices each day. Bots can enter your network through an innoc- uous-looking e-mail or instant- message link or attachment. Once in, they control your entire system, including access to sensitive information. Think about what would happen if your business were infected: How long would it take for you to recover financially? How long would it take, and what would it cost, to replace the software or hardware? There are coverages avail- able to assist business own- ers with a crash of, or dam- age to, their computer sys- tem (including loss of income). Unfortunately, this coverage usually isn’t found in a standard business insur- ance policy. You might need supplemental coverage to prepare for the worst—and that’s where we come in. Call us today to discuss your firm’s need for electronic data and technology insurance coverage. n Beware the Bots Hazard: A condition within an exposure that might lead to an incident; “a peril about to happen.”

Thank you for your referrals. If you’re pleased with us, spread the word! We’ll be happy to give the same great service to all of your friends and business associates. T he changing of the seasons provides a natural reminder to pause and consider the direction that you’re taking as a business owner. We couldn’t think of a better time to consult with us to see if your insurance requirements have changed. If you’ve changed the number of persons on your workforce, pur- chased or sold equipment, escalated your sales, increased your busi- ness operations, or moved or added locations, then it’s probably time to come in for a review. You don’t want to go uncovered for a loss that you easily could have prevented. Give us a call today. We’ll make sure that you have the right cover- age in place so that you can focus on driving your business and enjoy the changing seasons. n Summer’s Almost Gone

Please call me about:
	Insuring improvements and betterments
	Business interruption coverage
	Disaster planning
	My business insurance policy
	Employment practices liability coverage

Name:
Phone number:
E-mail address: