Launching a tech startup is exhilarating. You’ve got a game-changing idea, a passionate team, and the drive to disrupt the industry. But amidst the excitement, there’s a crucial step many founders overlook: . . .
In the face of economic downturns, the prospect of expanding a company may seem counterintuitive. However, history reveals that successful enterprises often emerge during challenging times. Disney, Hewlett-Packard, Netflix, Citigroup, Groupon, and Lego all thrived during economic recessions, underscoring the potential for growth amid adversity. In this blog post, we’ll explore the key considerations when expanding to a new location during an economic downturn and how to effectively mitigate associated liabilities.
Every expansion comes with its own risks, including property damage, liability claims, and business interruption. Consider working closely with your insurance provider to identify any liabilities related with the relocation site. A customized insurance policy can give financial protection against unforeseen obstacles, allowing your company to navigate uncertainty with greater confidence.
Before expanding, thoroughly examine your contracts for the new location. Ensure that your agreements align with the local regulations and economic conditions. Early contract adjustments can prevent legal complications and financial penalties, providing a solid foundation for your operations.
The talent and well-being of your team are critical to the success of any expansion. Consider offering comprehensive employee benefits and risk management programs to safeguard your team’s health and safety. This not only fosters a positive workplace culture, but it also protects your company from potential liability originating from workplace incidents or employee conflicts.
In the age of digital transformation, companies must emphasize cybersecurity and data protection. With the rising risk of cyber threats, make sure your company invests in strong cybersecurity procedures to protect sensitive data. Also, establish a robust IT infrastructure by assembling a dedicated IT team and conducting comprehensive training programs to ensure seamless technological integration and data security. To reduce potential financial losses, look into insurance solutions that cover cyber liabilities like as data breaches and cyber attacks.
Proactive adjustments are key to successful expansion. Waiting until the last minute can lead to complications and hinder the relocation process. Implement changes early to streamline operations, mitigate risks, and ensure a seamless transition.
The talent and well-being of your team are critical to the success of any expansion. Consider offering comprehensive employee benefits and risk management programs to safeguard your team’s health and safety. This not only fosters a positive workplace culture but also protects your company from potential liability originating from workplace incidents or employee conflicts. Expanding to a new location during a contracting economy requires careful planning, risk assessment, and strategic decision-making. By working with a reliable insurance company and implementing a comprehensive risk-management strategy, your business can not only survive but also thrive during difficult economic times. Don’t forget that proactive actions and a carefully considered insurance plan can be your company’s shield against liabilities, enabling you to expand with peace of mind and resilience.
We can help you find the best policy to provide the coverage you’ll need to bounce back if attacked.
Featured image credit: Envato Elements by Rawpixel | Licensed | All Rights Reserved
As companies adopt digital solutions, they are exposing themselves to risks that can compromise their operations and sensitive data. Preventing these threats is essential and understanding them is the first step to keeping your company safe. In this article, we’ll discuss 6 of the most common cyber threats that companies face today and provide simple and effective strategies to keep them secure.
Employees and stakeholders may not recognize potential threats, making them susceptible to phishing attacks or inadvertently sharing sensitive information.
It is essential to establish and communicate clear security policies, ensuring that employees are well-informed through regular training sessions. Simulating phishing attacks helps test and improve employee vigilance, while encouraging a culture of reporting ensures timely responses to potential threats. Staying informed about the evolving threat landscape and adapting training materials accordingly ensures that the office remains proactive in addressing emerging risks. Through these measures, a comprehensive security culture can be cultivated, providing a collective defense against cyber threats.
Running outdated software exposes the company to vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cybercriminals, leading to data breaches or system compromises.
Keeping your computer’s software up to date is essential for staying safe in the digital world. Cyber-attacks and ransomware have become more sophisticated in recent years, meaning that outdated software is much more vulnerable to malicious threats. Updating your software regularly provides your device with the best defenses against hackers and other online criminals. Not only will you stay protected against attack, but new updates often include improvements to processing speed, additional functions or bug fixes, allowing you to enjoy a faster, smoother experience on all of your favorite program.
Without a tailored security system, companies may lack the necessary safeguards to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats effectively.
If you use your computer for any purpose, it’s important to have a good security program installed. Criminals are more and more technologically advanced, so you need a reliable program that can protect against the latest threats. It’s worth taking the time to research different options, as some may offer more protection than others. Investing in a reputable security program not only safeguards your valuable data but also gives you peace of mind knowing that you’re protected from malicious hackers and viruses. Make sure to set up timely automatic scans and frequently updated virus-definition files to stay one step ahead of any attempted cyberattack.
Reusing weak passwords across multiple accounts increases the risk of unauthorized access, as a breach in one account could potentially compromise all others.
It’s no secret that you should always use strong passwords for email and other account logins. Not only can weak passwords be easily hacked, but reusing the same password across multiple accounts increases your vulnerability to hackers. Your email account might not contain sensitive information (or it may!), but someone could use your email address to gain access to other important accounts with potentially devastating results. Even better than a strong password? A two-step authentication process with a password authenticator — this way, even if someone gets past your password, they still won’t be able to get into your accounts. So take the time to protect yourself and develop an impenetrable defense against cyber intruders.
In the absence of a dedicated cyber insurance policy, companies may find themselves financially exposed to the costs associated with data breaches, legal liabilities, and other cyber-related incidents.
Investing in cybersecurity insurance is an important step for any company owner. With the evolution of technology, data has become increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks, making insurance more and more essential for both small and large companies. There are various types of coverage available that can provide assistance when it comes to reviewing and examining existing security structures as well as responding to any incidents involving data breaches or malware attacks. Having insurance in place will ensure you have the necessary protocols and safeguard your information from digital intruders.
Failure to regularly back up data leaves the company vulnerable to data loss in the event of a ransomware attack or other catastrophic events, impacting organizations’ continuity and recovery efforts.
We’ve all seen the headlines after natural disasters where thousands of people have lost years’ worth of precious data in an instant. Don’t let yourself be one of them! With ever-increasing tech storage and transfer speed, backing up your important family photos, documents, videos, or anything else you don’t want to lose is easier than ever. Take five minutes a month or so to plug in an external hard drive, pop in a USB stick, or click on the button to save your work to cloud storage, and you’re good to go. Trust us – you’ll thank yourself if disaster strikes!
By fostering a security-conscious culture and adopting practical measures, you’re not just securing data; you’re securing your peace of mind. By keeping your software up to date, using strong passwords, and investing in cybersecurity insurance, you can minimize the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime. Don’t wait until it’s too late – take action now to protect yourself and your company. For more information about cybersecurity insurance, contact us today.
We can help you find the best policy to provide the coverage you’ll need to bounce back if attacked.
Featured image credit: Envato Elements by AndersonPiza | Licensed | All Rights Reserved
Recently, Hartford did a study that showed that 75% of all commercial buildings were underinsured. And of those that were underinsured, they’re at 40% underinsured. That means that if you have a property that’s worth a million dollars, you’re only having it insured for 600,000.
If you have a catastrophe, you’re only going to get paid the 600,000 for the rebuild costs now, and not the million dollars that it’s going to cost to make you whole again. What’s really important for commercial building owners is to understand how the insurance carriers rate your properties and it’s called COPE, C-O-P-E: construction, occupancy, protection, and exposure.
In this blog, we’ll discuss COPE and learn more about it directly from the founder of Competitive Edge Insurance, Brenda Jo Robyn.
As a commercial building owner, it’s important to understand how your property is being rated for insurance purposes. The four main factors that go into this rating are construction, occupancy, protection, and exposure (COPE).
Construction is how your building is built. Things like the roof, walls, windows, and doors all factor into how well your building can withstand a disaster.
All commercial buildings are going to be rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best. So if you have a fire resistant building, that would be a 1. If you had a wood frame building, that would be a 10.
Occupancy is what your building is used for. If you have a lot of people coming in and out of your building, or if you have hazardous materials inside, that will affect your rates.
So if you have a retail store, that would be a low hazard. If you had a chemical plant, that would be a high hazard.
Protection is what you do to protect your building. Things like security systems, sprinklers, and alarm systems can help lower your rates.
So if you have automatic sprinklers, that’s going to give you a better fire rating.
Exposure is how likely your building is to be damaged in a disaster. If you’re in a high-risk area for hurricanes or tornadoes, your rates will be higher than if you’re in a low-risk area.
If you’re on a busy street, that’s going to be a high exposure. If you’re in the middle of a field, that’s going to be a low exposure.
All these factors are what carriers take a look at. Understanding COPE can help you make sure you’re getting the best possible rate on your commercial property insurance.
Currently, insurance rates have been increasing and they have also been very unstable for the last year. The instability is being caused by inflation.
The raw material costs are all over the place. They don’t know how much they’re gonna cost when they get ordered by the contractor. Some can order it a week out and some are being told, “Hey, here’s your bill now, but when it comes in, we’re gonna give you what the real cost is.” Obviously, the sluggish supply chain issues haven’t gone away.
There’s a high demand for skilled labor. Not only are we having people retire, but we don’t have enough people being apprentices and it’s not being able to translate to more people being able to do a job.
And lastly, the lingering COVID effect. Unfortunately, during COVID, people were placing insurance on buildings that were only looked at over the internet on your desktop. And what they come to find out later is that the building has not been maintained, that there’s storage of plastics in there and there’s no sprinkler system. So this has all led to an increase of rates.
And what can you do? In order to be a building owner that’s gonna continue to make money, you have to control your costs. And how do you do that? You have to make a commitment to do so, and you’re gonna do it by controlling your losses.
Steps to control your costs:
What is it that’s been able to be implemented in the last three years so that it protects your office building better now than it was three years ago? All these things will go ahead and poise you into a place where the carrier will look at you favorably and give you more credits.
When you are able to show the insurance company that you are in a mode of safety, maintenance, and security, carriers will give you rates that you can live with and you won’t have to pass on to your customers. It’s a win-win for everybody.
All of these things go into how the insurance carrier rates your property and what they’re going to charge you for premiums. As a commercial building owner, it’s important for you to understand how your property is being rated so that you can make sure you’re properly insured. If you have any questions about your commercial property insurance coverage, reach out to us today!
Or if you’re interested in learning more from Brenda Jo, you can check out her other videos including, Why You Need to Audit Your Commercial Property Insurance.
There are a lot of terminologies to keep track of in the commercial insurance world—two of them being additional insured and loss payee.
While additional insureds and loss payees are endorsements that extend insurance coverage to a third party, there are key differences in the scope of coverage provided in each.
Below, we’ll discuss the difference between an additional insured vs. a loss payee.
An additional insured is a third party—either an individual or business entity—who is added to an insurance policy at the request of the named insured because they have a liability exposure in the relationship.
Typically, an additional insured would be someone who is working with the named insured on a project. For example:
Insureon provides a great example: Say “the owner of an office building hires a janitorial company to clean its premises. If a visitor gets injured after tripping on a box the owner left in a hallway, the janitorial firm could be exposed to litigation.”
Therefore, “to protect itself, the janitorial company would ask the property owner to list it as an additional insured on the owner’s general liability insurance or business owner’s policy (BOP). That way, if the injured visitor sues the janitorial services company for negligence, the building owner’s insurance policy will defend the company.”
When listed as additional insured, the party is then protected under the terms of the policy just as the named insured.
A loss payee, on the other hand, is a third party who is entitled to receive payment from an insurance policy in the event of a loss.
The loss payee is typically a lender (i.e. bank, mortgage company, the lender who financed the purchase of a piece of equipment insured under the policy) who has a financial interest in the property that is insured under the policy.
If that property is damaged or destroyed, the loss payee will receive compensation from the insurance policy.
Sound a little complex? Here’s a great example from Embroker:
You own a pizza restaurant (yum!) To make your delicious pizzas, you’ve rented “your pizza ovens from another company. If you add that company to your commercial property policy as a loss payee, both you and that company could receive payments if a fire breaks out in the restaurant and damages… the rented ovens.”
Why do both parties receive payments? “Because both have insured interest in the property that was affected.” It’s important to note, however, that the loss payee has first rights on insurance claim payments rather than the named insured.
A loss payee is added to a policy via a “loss payable clause,” which is typically added to a commercial auto or a commercial property insurance policy.
While additional insureds and loss payees are both parties who are protected under an insurance policy, the scope of coverage that each provides is quite different.
The key difference between an additional insured and a loss payee is that additional insureds receive liability protection whereas loss payees receive property damage coverage.
Additional insureds are protected in the same way as the named insured, while loss payees are only entitled to receive payment in the event of a loss.
Moreover, additional insureds are typically added to a policy at the request of the named insured, while loss payees are typically lenders who have a financial interest in the property that is insured under the policy.
When deciding whether to add an additional insured or loss payee to your policy, it’s important to understand the difference between the two so that you can choose the endorsement that properly protects your interests.
In any project, it’s important to make sure you have the proper insurance to protect yourself and all parties involved.
A Certificate of Insurance (COI) gives a summary of what coverages someone has, whether it be general liability, workers’ compensation, or property. A COI can also include a description of coverages that might be there or attached; such as additional insured status or waivers of subrogation.
Read on for more on what you need to know about certificates of insurance.
Brenda Jo Robyn is not like most business owners. Her background in epidemiology, love for running, and involvement in the Rotary Club of Coronado, California set her apart.
Watch the video below to hear more about Brenda Jo’s involvement in rotary, and the three primary causes that she supports.
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First, what is rotary? According to the official website, “Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”
At Rotary, their mission is to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.”
As you can see from her t-shirt, Brenda Jo is part of the Coronado Rotary Tech Team. This is one of three areas she focuses on in the rotary.
“During COVID we wanted to keep meetings going,” says Brenda Jo. “So, a gentleman in our club started doing Zoom meetings, and I joined a year and a half ago to help out.”
Today, the Rotary Club of Coronado conducts hybrid meetings with international speakers and past youth—this is where Brenda Jo helps out.
“I am on the Tech Team and get to help set up. I do the actual recording [and] help with making the video afterward. It’s been really enjoyable, and it’s kept me up to date with tech as it keeps moving forward!”
The other two areas of Brenda Jo’s focus include:
The Low Tide Ride and Stride event happens every year.
“Once a year,” says Brenda Jo, “you get to run, [walk], or ride your bike on the beach… on super low tide.”
The Low Tide Ride and Stride event is the “Coronado Rotary Club’s biggest fundraiser with a majority of the proceeds going to help support local combat-wounded veterans and first responders.”
“We raise quite a bit of money every year for these organizations and their families,” says Brenda Jo. In fact, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated over the years.
When we asked for Brenda Jo’s final thoughts on rotary, all she had to say was, “I love Rotary. Love, love, love Rotary!”
Interested in hearing Brenda Jo chat more about another area of her expertise—commercial insurance!? Read on to learn about understanding classifications for workers’ comp dual wage.
The supply chain crisis continues to have a massive impact on businesses in nearly every industry. As you might guess, the manufacturing industry has experienced this impact the most.
So, what can manufacturing businesses do to help combat the effects of supply chain issues?
There are a variety of factors that have led to the supply chain crisis that we’ve experienced over the last few months.
Some of these factors include:
Though it feels like we’ve surpassed the COVID-related closures, we’re still seeing the effects of business closures due to employees being unable to go to the office in person.
Everyone remembers seeing the Long Beach port overrun with ships containing products that were unable to get unloaded. With a shortage of workers to move the ships along, backlogs occurred, and as a result, shipping prices increased.
As companies move to a more digital-focused environment, critical data is being shared in a far-reaching global supply chain. With the increase in digital usage comes an increased risk of cybersecurity breaches.
These breaches can cause damage to your business’s operations, finances, and reputation.
In 2021, the American Trucking Association stated that the truck driver shortage could hit historical lows of 80,0000 unfilled truck driving jobs in the US. This shortage led to even more backlogged ports, as products cannot be moved.
The increased demand for specific products alongside the factory closures in 2020 and 2021 has caused production issues across various industries.
Lastly, the effects of natural disasters always affect the supply chain. Whether it’s a hurricane, flood, blizzard, fire, or any other natural disaster, they may be responsible for postponed deliveries, closed ports, and canceled cargo shipments.
It’s important to understand how you might be able to mitigate the effects of the supply chain crisis. Below is a shorthand list of what your manufacturing business can do.
Using one sole supplier for all your business needs can easily cause massive disruption in your manufacturing business’ entire supply chain. Having diversified suppliers allows for the disbursement of risk and reduces the impact of potential disruption.
Similar to a diversified supplier base, you can also combat supply chain issues by ensuring you have backup suppliers and vendors. If, for whatever reason, your supplier is unable to complete an order, you’ll have a backup supplier in place to cover the disruption.
Visibility into the supply chain operational stages allows you to forecast where problems may arise while also tracking progress and ensuring a quick response to issues that might come about.
Risk management is one of the most effective ways to combat any issues within your business. This plan allows you to identify and assess current and potential risks that could disrupt business operations. Procedures and responses can be prepared in this plan, as well as processes to adapt to disruptions within your business.
Investing in cybersecurity protocols helps mitigate the common risks that affect supply chain processes, including breaches, data leaks, and malware attacks.
Alongside the additional protocols and cybersecurity measures, it’s important to invest in a separate cybersecurity policy to ensure your business is protected in the event of an attack.
There are a few insurance policies that can help reduce the impact of supply chain disruptions on your business. Some of these include:
As a manufacturing company, the supply chain crisis is likely one of the most important issues you may face.
On top of that, there are insurance requirements your business needs to follow to remain in business. Take a look at our article “Complying with Insurance Requirements: Construction, Manufacturing, Tech Start-Ups” to guide you through this process.
As many business owners may have noticed, workers’ compensation rates are rising. What does this mean? Why is this happening? And most importantly, what can you do as a business owner in response?
Read on to find out.
If you’re a business owner or an individual who is planning on employing workers when starting a new business, California state law requires you to invest in workers’ compensation insurance.
Why? Employers purchase workers’ compensation insurance to cover the medical costs and lost wages for work-related injuries and illnesses of employees. In turn, workers’ compensation protects your company against employee lawsuits.
Worker’s compensation coverage can help pay for:
Lack of proper coverage can result in fines and even criminal exposure.
Over the past couple of years, workers’ compensation rates have been steadily increasing across the board. They’ve been rising by 7% on average; however, this figure depends on each industry.
Moreover, in July 2022, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California® (WCIRB) submitted its September 1, 2022, pure premium rate filing to the California Department of Insurance (CDI).
The CDI regulates California workers’ compensation rates with the help of the WCIRB, who makes recommendations based on the state’s loss ratio.
In this July 2022 filing, the WCIRB proposed a set of increased premium rates. On average, these rates are 7.6% higher than those approved the year prior on September 1, 2021.
According to the WCIRB, the average of the proposed September 1, 2022, advisory pure premium rates is $1.56 per $100 of payroll.
Read on for the WCIRB filing.
So, why have these premiums been increasing in the first place?
The bottom line is that workers’ compensation rates are rising because there are simply more workers’ comp claims being filed.
Research shows there are many reasons why claims might be increasing, including:
Moreover, as individuals have begun to return to work in person, the number of claims regarding health and safety in the workplace has increased as well. These claims typically include:
With this rise in claims, what can you do to protect yourself as a business owner? You can prevent workers’ comp claims by:
While this list only showcases a few of many ways to avoid high workers’ compensation premiums, it’s important to remember that it’s up to all employers collectively to keep their employees safe—thus, lowering the number of claims being filed annually.
If writing your hefty workers’ compensation check has begun to pain you, at Competitive Edge Insurance, we challenge you to ask yourself a question: “Am I, as a business owner, doing everything in my power to create the safest workplace possible?”
If the answer is no (which it typically is), get in touch with our team today to learn what else you can do.
Learn more about 2022 workers’ compensation changes by reading our article “Insurance Trends in 2022: What to Watch For.”
Wealth advisors who seek the support of an insurance broker not only set themselves up for success but most importantly, they also do so for their clients looking to purchase real estate.
An insurance broker provides a wealth of knowledge to help understand what potential liabilities ensue from the real estate purchase, as well as mitigate risk.
This partnership will help you as an advisor, guide your client to make the best financial decision as well as plan for the future with the guidance of an insurance broker. Let’s dive into why an advisor should work with an insurance broker.
The right insurance to cover your client’s upcoming real estate purchase depends on a variety of factors.
All of these answers will help advisors understand potential additional costs that may go towards insurance coverage (or even potential damage should an unforeseen issue arise).
The different types of insurance policies your client may need for their real estate purchase include:
An insurance broker can assess the real estate property to see what potential risks the property has. If the piece of real estate is located in a fire zone, the insurance broker can identify what coverage would look like.
Essentially, working with an insurance broker helps list out all of the different insurance possibilities your client needs. Basic homeowners insurance or umbrella insurance may come with exclusions for coverage for fires, floods, etc.
Knowing what additional policies may arise allows you to sit with your client and discuss their financial strategy to help them maintain their goals.
Once you have the full picture from the insurance broker you’ve partnered with, you can then budget appropriately. You then have all of the materials necessary to make sure you can give a holistic overview to your client and tell them, “this is a financially smart decision” or, “let’s find a different route for you.”
The main benefits of working with an insurance broker can be boiled down to these three factors:
Read on for more information on risk mitigation.