We manage more than a quarter billion dollars of premiums for a diverse range of clients around the globe.
One of the areas often overlooked, but vital to an insured, is the defense costs coverage a liability policy provides. As some insureds may be aware, there are two types of defense costs payments, those policies that pay “in addition” to the limits and those whose payments are “within” the policy limits.
The adage that information is power seems to carry more weight now than ever before. Healthcare is moving towards data driven analytics, mobile banking is hitting its stride, and sports at all levels are utilizing advanced statistics to improve competition. However, one major downfall is that all this data must be stored somewhere, thereby creating a risk of breach to the data holder. Hackers are well aware that information is power and data breaches seemingly occur at non-stop rates.
As the world is ever changing, so are the way insurers interpret the natural disasters and how they will respond to cover these terrible events. Over the years, the U.S. has seen an increase in earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and more. The insurance industry now has created a stricter view of how they will cover these events. In particular, as we have seen with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy, the insurance industry has developed a new terminology and deductible related, specifically, to “named storm/named windstorm.”
It is vital to understand specific terms found in insurance policies. The inability to do so may result in an unwanted surprise such as a lower than anticipated claim payment following a loss. For example, Actual Cash Value (ACV) and Replacement Cost (RC) are two different methods of valuation that will determine how the insured is indemnified.
It’s been, roughly, a quarter-century since widespread asbestos installation in the United States came to an end, but the ramifications of its use are still being felt today. While the US has not banned the use of asbestos completely, it is no longer used as a form of insulation in construction projects. The shift away from the use of asbestos came at the turn of the 1990s. Of particular interest is the fact that, many of the buildings constructed during that time are now being demolished or renovated, which exposes workers to the air-borne particles that can cause ailments such as lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Yesterday, January 12, 2015, President Obama officially signed the legislation needed to reauthorize The Terrorism Reinsurance Act (TRIA). Passage of the bill returns stability to insurers, policyholders and lenders after Congress adjourned and allowed the federal terrorism insurance backstop to expire. The executed legislation does modify terms of the prior act.
On December 18 ACE Private Risk Services announced that they were acquiring the personal insurance business of Fireman’s Fund from Allianz SE. While this does not rise to the notoriety of Sony and North Korea, it is of particular interest to those who are written in the so called “high-net-worth” market category. Fireman’s Fund and ACE have two (now one) of the best personal lines programs out there. Other notable carriers are AIG Private Client Group, Chubb and PURE. All are vying for a share of the $1M+ dwelling homeowners market.
The recent cyber security breach to Sony Studios should make companies think more carefully about areas of susceptibility in the company. The focus here is “employee data” – now while this has reverberated in the motion picture industry it should make the average company a bit more cautious with employee data systems.
Everybody has heard of the “famous” traffic delays in Los Angeles. The recent Wall Street Journal article, “A New Traffic Jam Hits L.A.”, describes a new type of delay hitting the city – shipping. This has impacted many of businesses due to the challenge of getting products in and out of the port of Long Beach. It has now stalled the delivery of goods and caused some shippers to redirect their ships to other ports. That, combined with the fact that there are few ports that can handle the larger cargo ships, can impact an organization’s bottom line by increasing its cost of doing business. This article drives home the
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At The ALS Group, we help clients achieve their strategic goals via expert and insightful identification, quantification, and mitigation of the risks that could impact their business, or present opportunities for it.
More Information: [email protected]
Florida
1800 NW Corporate Blvd Ste 202
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Tel: +1-561-437-0024
At The ALS Group, we help clients achieve their strategic goals via expert and insightful identification, quantification, and mitigation of the risks that could impact their business, or present opportunities for it.
More Information : [email protected]
New Jersey
175 Main St
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
Tel: +1-732-395-4250
Florida
1800 NW Corporate Blvd Ste 202
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Tel: +1-561-437-0024
