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Do you or your business provide professional services or advice to other businesses or individuals? Could your counsel or service lead to losses by your client for which you could be held responsible? If so, you’ll likely want to purchase professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance (E&O).

Claims not covered by general liability insurance that are covered by professional liability insurance include negligence, misrepresentation, violation of good faith and fair dealing, and inaccurate advice.

What types of businesses need professional liability insurance?

In some states, professional liability insurance is required, especially for attorneys and doctors. Legal and medical malpractice insurance policies are special types of professional liability insurance. Other professionals that should consider professional liability insurance include:

• Accountants
• Architects
• Engineers
• Graphic designers
• Information technology (IT) consultants
• Insurance professionals
• Investment advisors
• Management consultants
• Real estate agents and brokers
• Software developers

This list is not exhaustive. Consult with your insurance professional or inquire with your profession’s trade association to determine if you might need professional liability coverage.

What’s covered… and what’s not

There are two types of professional liability polices: claims-made and occurrence. Most professional liability insurance policies are “claims-made,” meaning that the policy must be in effect both when the event took place and when a lawsuit is filed for a claim to be paid. If, however, you change careers or retire, you may want to purchase an “occurrence” policy that will cover any claim for an event that took place during the period of coverage—even if the suit is filed after the policy lapses.

Professional liability insurance will pay the cost of legal defense against claims and payment of judgments against you, up to the limit of the policy. In general, coverage does not extend to non-financial losses or losses caused by intentional or dishonest acts. Other fees, such as licensing board penalties, may also be included. Policies will generally have a deductible ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. The amount of professional liability insurance you will need and how much it will cost depends upon the size of your business and the level of risk it poses.

You may be able to include professional liability coverage in a Commercial Package Policy (CPP) as an endorsement. Note, however, the professional liability coverage is not included in an in-home business policy or Business Owners Policy (BOP).

Courtesy of iii.org

Returning to your home after a flood is a big part of getting your life back to normal. But consumers and small businesses may be facing a new challenge: mold. What can you do to get rid of it? How do you get the mold out of your home or office and stay safe at the same time? CDC has investigated floods, mold, and cleanup, and offers practical tips for homeowners and others on how to safely and efficiently remove mold from the home.

In 2005, thousands of people along the Gulf Coast were faced with cleaning up mold from their homes after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One of our first concerns was to let homeowners and others know how they could clean up mold safely. After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, we teamed up with other federal agencies to provide practical advice on mold cleanup. This guidance outlines what to do before and after going into a moldy building, how to decide if you can do the cleanup yourself or need to hire someone, and how you can do the cleanup safely.

Prepare To Clean Up

Before you start any cleanup work, call your insurance company and take pictures of the home and your belongings. Throw away, or at least move outside, anything that was wet with flood water and can’t be cleaned and dried completely within 24 to 48 hours. Remember, drying your home and removing water-damaged items is the most important step to prevent mold damage.

Protect Yourself

We offer specific recommendations for different groups of people and different cleanup activities. This guidance educates people about the type of protection (think: gloves, goggles, masks) you need for different parts of your mold cleanup. It also identifies groups of people who should and should not be doing cleanup activities.

Be Safe With Bleach

Many people use bleach to clean up mold. If you decide to use bleach, use it safely by wearing gloves, a mask, and goggles to protect yourself. Remember these four tips to stay safe:

• NEVER mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaning product.
• ALWAYS open windows and doors when using bleach, to let fumes escape.
• NEVER use bleach straight from the bottle to clean surfaces. Use no more than 1 cup of bleach per 1 gallon of water when you’re cleaning up mold.  If you are using stronger, professional strength bleach use less than 1 cup of bleach per gallon of water.
• ALWAYS protect your mouth, nose, skin, and eyes against both mold and bleach with an N-95 mask, gloves, and goggles.  You can buy an N-95 mask at home improvement and hardware stores.

You can take steps to keep yourself and others protected while cleaning up mold after a flood. Make sure to follow CDC’s recommendations so you can return home safely.

Resources

• Homeowner’s and Renter’s Guide to Mold Cleanup After Disasters
• Population Specific Recommendations for Protection From Exposure to Mold
• Basic Facts About Molds in the Environment
• Cleanup and Remediation

Courtesy of iii.org

Standard homeowners policies cover a wide range of potential disasters, from tornadoes to lightning strikes to winter storm damage. Policies do vary, though, so for your own peace of mind, check yours for the specific perils covered. Learn what’s generally covered by each homeowners insurancepolicy type—and what’s not.
What type of disasters are covered?
You will want to determine what type of coverage you have for:

• Dwelling
• Personal property

Options include:

• Perils Basic HO-1*+
• Broad HO-2*
• Special HO-3*
• Special HO-3
• Renters HO-4
• Condo/Co-op HO-6
• Modified Coverage HO-8

Disasters that are not covered

1. Floods. Flood damage is excluded under standard homeowners and renters insurance policies. Separate flood insurance coverage, however, is available for both homeowners and renters as a separate policy both from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and from a few private insurers. Learn more about flood insurance—whether you need it, how to get it, and more.
2. Earthquakes. Earthquake coverage is available from most insurance companies as a separate policy or an endorsement to your homeowners or renters policy. Learn more about earthquake insurance.
3. Maintenance damage. It is your responsibility to maintain your home and take reasonable precautions to protect your home from damage. Your insurance policy will not cover damage due to lack of maintenance, mold or infestation from termites or other pests.
4. Sewer Backup. Sewer backups are not covered under a typical homeowners insurance policy, nor are they covered by flood insurance. This type of coverage must be purchased either as a separate product or as an endorsement to a homeowners policy, usually at a nominal cost. Learn more about sewers and sewer backup insurance.

 

Next steps: Need to settle a claim after a disaster? We’re sorry—but maybe these tips will make the claims process easier for you.

Courtesy of iii.org

There are more than a half-million professionals employed within the U.S. property/casualty insurance market. And, if you ask many of them how they got into the industry, most will call it a lucky break. My such stroke of luck occurred decades ago. I was working for a real estate developer, the housing market took a(nother) crash, so I needed to find work. A survey of the marketplace introduced the tremendous opportunities in the insurance field and brought me a wonderful, rewarding career. I highly recommend it!

The insurance field brings a meaningful job. This is an industry that helps protect people and their finances. Insurance makes things happen. You need it to drive a car, build a home (or rebuild one after a disaster), to leave loved ones financially secure, to borrow money to build a business – and so on. Check out InsureMyPath for insight into the profession and a review of the types of career roles.

For a student considering a college curriculum, there are universities with a risk management and insurance curriculum throughout the U.S. Among them is the insurance program at Florida State University.

What do young professionals think of the insurance field? The view themselves as “secret saviors” because they help people rebuild after disaster. There are a lot of jobs, and room for self-development and advancement. Join us!

Courtesy of iii.org

Whether you’re running a part-time, seasonal or full-time business from your home, you’ll want to carefully consider your risks and insurance needs. Starting a business—even at home—can be a challenging venture, and having the right insurance can provide a financial safety net and peace of mind.

Your insurance choices should, in part, be based on the type of business you operate. For instance, if you’re a sole practitioner home-based accountant, you’ll have very different insurance needs than your neighbor who runs a childcare business. When considering insurance for your business, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• What type of business do I run? What are the potential risks faced by your type of business?
• What is the value of my business property? Do you have expensive equipment, such as cameras or commercial printers? Do you stock valuable business inventory, such as gemstones?
• Does my business have employees?
• Do customers or contractors visit my business at my home?
• Do I use my car or other vehicles in the course of my business operations?
• Does my business store customers’ financial and personal information on a computer or through a cloud computing service?

The answers to these questions will guide which types of insurance to purchase—and how much coverage you’ll need. For your home-based business, the main types of insurance to consider include the following:

Property and liability insurance

Depending on the nature of your home-based business, you’ll need insurance to protect the value of your business property from loss due to theft, fire or other insured perils. You’ll also need liability protection to cover costs if someone is injured as a result of visiting your business or using your product or service. Your homeowners insurance may provide some protection for your business, but it may not be sufficient. Options for property and liability insurance for home-based businesses include:

• Adding an “endorsement” to your homeowners policy
• Stand-alone home-based business insurance policies
• A Business Owners Policy—or BOP—which combines several types of coverage

Business vehicle insurance

Your personal auto insurance may provide coverage for limited business use of your car. But if your business owns vehicles or your personal vehicle is primarily used for business purposes, you’ll need business vehicle insurance.

Workers compensation insurance

If you have employees, you’ll want to strongly consider purchasing workers compensation insurance to cover costs if an employee is hurt on the job. Workers compensation insurance provides wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment, in exchange for relinquishing the right to sue the employer. In some states, workers compensation insurance is mandatory, so be sure to check your state’s workers compensation website for local requirements.

Other types of insurance may be suitable for your home-based business as well. Your insurance professional can help you evaluate your needs and select insurance to meet your budget.