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Omni Risk Mgmt E‑Newsletter |
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September, 2005 Volume 1, Number 1 |
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In This Issue á Commercial
Lines á Personal
Lines á Surety
Bonds á Life
& Health á Construction
News Insurance Industry Links www.ambest.com www.piany.org Lines Of Business Bonds Property Work Comp Commercial
Auto General
Liability Umbrella Inland
Marine Ocean
Marine Personal
Auto Homeowners Flood
Insurance Group
Personal Lines Pension
Plans Payroll
Deduct Plans Health
Insurance Disability
Insurance Boiler
& Machinery Executives Rob Mastrantonio,
Pres. Rob@omni-risk.com Frank
Strcich, VP Frank@omni-risk.com Glenn
Glubiak, VP Surety Commercial Lines Tara Pattona Tara@omni-risk.com Christine Schuller Chris@omni-risk.com Adam Stone Adam@omni-risk.com Gina Di Paoloa Gina@omni-risk.com Tom Weigand Teressa Richardson Teressa@omni-risk.com Personal Lines Patricia Micari Pat@omni-risk.com Joe Schepis Mechelle Diaz Surety Jennifer Spadaro Jen@omni-risk.com Lori Fay Life &
Health Joe Schepis Claims Debbie Oggeri Accounting Maria Salvo Maria@omni-risk.com Administration Natalie Perry Candace Strasser Candace@omni-risk.com |
Commercial LinesDisaster Planning Tips
At Omni Risk, we've found that over 40% of
businesses that don't have a disaster plan go out of business after a major
loss, like a fire, a break-in, or a storm. But there's no reason a temporary
setback has to turn into a permanent failure. There are things you can you do
now to protect your business before disaster strikes starting with creating a
disaster recovery plan. Below are some tips you may find helpful as you begin
to create your own plan for speeding your recovery after a loss. 1. Focus on prevention The easiest way to ensure that your business recovers
from a disaster? Do everything you can to prevent that disaster from
happening. This means conducting a thorough safety audit of your business'
fire prevention and safety systems. Try to think of everything you might need
in the case of a fire, flood, severe storm or other possible disasters. Check
systems regularly to make sure they're functioning properly. And make sure
your employees know what to do if they're not. 2. Appoint your preparedness team It's important to have a team of employees who know
exactly what to do the instant an emergency occurs. First, select a
Preparedness Coordinator - this is the person who will be responsible for the
development, implementation and continued updating of your disaster recovery
plan. The Preparedness Coordinator should be very familiar with your business
and capable of dealing effectively with both your employees and outside
organizations and the media. Next, select the rest of the Preparedness Team. They
will assist and advise the Preparedness Coordinator with the development and
implementation of the disaster recovery plan. When selecting team members,
it's important to have representation from all areas of the business. For
example, make sure you have one team member who knows your computer
technology inside and out. 3. Establish evacuation procedures Obviously, the most important priority during any
emergency is protecting the health and safety of your employees. So you'll
need to think carefully about how to evacuate your worksite and make sure all
your employees know the procedures. Evacuation plans will vary depending on the facility
and the nature of the emergency. For example, how you exit a building during
a fire could change depending on whether the fire's on the first or second
floor. Or, in some cases, like a tornado or hurricane, you may not exit the
building at all. And don't forget the needs of any disabled employees. Also, don't forget to select a meeting place where
everyone can gather and be accounted for as they evacuate. This should be an
easily accessible location within a short walk of your worksite, but also a
safe distance away. 4. Ensure continuity of computer operations Once you've determined how to ensure the safety of
your employees, it's important to protect the equipment and information most
vital to your business' well-being. In most cases, this means your computers
and related technology. There are two major areas of preparedness to
consider with computer technology: hardware protection and software
protection. Hardware protection measures include surge protectors, battery
backups and other measures that protect the actual computer equipment.
Software protection measures are more often processes, such as continually
backing up data, storing copies of software off-site and documenting your
business' software. Some ways you may want to consider protecting your
hardware:
Some ways you may want to consider protecting your
software.
5. Protect vital records Besides the information and data within your
business' computer systems and software, every company also has many vital
physical records and assets, such as employee records, financial and
insurance records, contracts, permits, building plans and many other
"paper-based" documents. Preserving these critical records during
emergencies, and gaining access to them after emergencies, is essential to
the quick restoration of your operations. Preservation planning should include analyzing and
prioritizing the records and establishing procedures for protection and
access. Consider keeping copies of all your vital records offsite, or storing
vital records where they will be safe but easily accessible in the event of
an evacuation. Who will be responsible for making sure the vital records of
your business leave the building safely? Where will they reside until
operations resume? 6. Establish an emergency communications plan In the event of an emergency, it is essential to
remain in contact with your employees and administration. A communications
failure can be a disaster in itself should it affect vital business
activities. Plan for all possible contingencies that may arise
from a temporary or total communications failure. Consider all the functions
that your business may need to perform in an emergency, as well as the
communications systems needed to support them. Be prepared to accommodate
communications between and among:
When planning your communications system, be sure
to:
7. Get to know those who can help Your organization's relationship with the community
can strengthen your ability to protect employees and property and return to
normal operations. Maintain a dialogue with community leaders; public safety
organizations such as the police, fire and emergency medical services;
government agencies; utility companies; and others. Don't just ask how they
will help your business. Offer your facilities and services to them as well. Ways of involving your business in your community
include:
Remember to make sure you have phone numbers handy
for your local emergency services. 8. Use the media to your advantage During an emergency, you're focused on protecting
your business, ensuring the safety of your employees and restoring your
operations. It's easy to forget how important it is to maintain
communications with the public, your potential customers. If the public hears
of a disaster involving your business, many may assume that you have been put
out of business temporarily or permanently, when this may not be the case.
Obviously, this can translate into big losses in lost business. The news media are your business' liaison to the
general public, with the ability to quickly disseminate emergency information
quickly. It's up to you to use that power to your advantage, with a media
relations plan that will help your business swiftly defuse an emergency,
instill public confidence in your products and services, and maintain your
reputation and good standing within the community. Effective media relations
don't take place overnight. So make sure you develop your plan well in
advance of an emergency. As part of a successful media relations plan, you
should:
9. Establish recovery procedures So far, we've focused on what to do before and
during an emergency. But there's a lot that needs to be done after disaster
has struck and the situation has begun to settle down. That's when it's
important for your business to begin recovering and resuming normal
operations. Advance planning will make the recovery period less difficult and
far more efficient-meaning fewer losses and less downtime. Effective, efficient recovery procedures include the
following elements:
10. Keep your plan up-to-date Your disaster recovery plan is never finished. It
must remain a dynamic, constantly evolving document so that it is always
current and ready to be activated should the need arise. In effect, the plan
is more of a process than a document. Review, audit, evaluate, revise and test your plan
on a regular basis (at least once a year) to be sure it keeps pace with
changes at your facility. Update your plan whenever there are:
Start today to prepare for anything tomorrow! We
hope you have found this information helpful. Flood Insurance Flood Insurance- When your home is flooded,
it can lead to financial ruin if you don't have the proper insurance. And
note this: A basic homeownerÕs policy won't cover your flood damage! You need
flood insurance — a special policy backed by the federal government,
with cooperation from local communities and private insurance companies. About 200 insurance companies, possibly
including the company that already handles your homeowners or auto insurance,
write and service flood insurance policies for the government, which finances
the program through premiums. Although flood insurance is relatively
inexpensive, most Americans neglect to purchase protection. Only about
one-quarter of the homes in areas most vulnerable are insured against flood
loss, according to the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA). In those
areas, flooding is 26 times more likely to occur than a fire during the
course of a typical 30-year mortgage. More than 19,000 communities have agreed to
stricter zoning and building measures to control floods, according to the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Residents in these communities
are entitled to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP), a program FEMA oversees. For more information on the National Flood
Insurance Program and for a copy of the 2005 manual, visit this website, http://www.fema.gov/nfip/manual05_05.shtm. Surety Bonds
A surety bond is a three-party instrument
between a surety, the contractor and the project owner. The agreement binds
the contractor to comply with the terms and conditions of a contract. If the
contractor is unable to successfully perform the contract, the surety assumes
the contractor's responsibilities and ensures that the project is completed.
Below are the primary surety bonds: 1. Bid - Bond which guarantees that the
bidder on a contract will enter into the contract and furnish the required
payment and performance bonds. 2. Payment - Bond which guarantees payment
from the contractor of money to persons who furnish labor, materials
equipment and/or supplies for use in the performance of the contract. 3. Performance - Bond which guarantees that
the contractor will perform the contract in accordance with its terms. 4. Licensce & Permit Bonds. 5. Pension/ Fidelity Bonds. Life & HealthWhat Is a Cafeteria Plan?
In its simplest form, a Section 125 Cafeteria Plan allows
eligible employees to redirect a portion of their salaries to pay for
qualified benefits through pre-tax salary reduction rather than with
after-tax dollars. It doesn't sound like much, but it can save employees
a lot of money! Our cafeteria plan service is designed to help employers and
their employees make the most of tax savings, as illustrated below.
Savings Example 1- Employee The $1,000 Solution
$25 Tax Savings! Cafeteria plans don't only benefit employees. They may also
benefit the employers who offer employee benefits under Section 125.
Employers are required by law to pay FICA taxes equal to the amount that
their employees pay each year. By instituting a cafeteria plan that
saves employee tax dollars, employers may also save on FICA taxes. Savings Example 2 - Employer Employer FICA
Savings
Construction News NY Workers Compensation A
State Fund Safety Group is a cost-plus
plan for Workers' Compensation Insurance producing low-cost non-profit
coverage for groups of employers with similar operational hazards. As an
incentive to Group Members to practice safety, the State Fund returns the
savings generated this way in the form of dividends to the Group Members.
Hence, every dollar saved by a prevented or properly managed claim is a whole
dollar returned to Group Members. Eligible members
are entitled to a substantial competitive advance discount and to also
participate in group dividends. To add someone to this email list, send newsletter@omni-risk.com and put in subject Line ÒAdd to NewsletterÓ To be removed from this email, send newsletter@omni-risk.com and put in subject Line ÒRemove from NewsletterÓ |
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