winter our featured agency claims 2016 fla… · 19/9/2016 · w p m ® couma nsurance group our...

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OUR featURed agencyPatterson & associates insurance agency, inc.richardson, tX | P. 4

Winter Claims P. 6

Tip To Avoid Common

the FLag is a PuBLication oF coLuMBia insurance grouP

FALL 2016

We are improving the accuracy of our Commercial Auto & Farm Auto rating. P.8

Driver profile rating

THE FLAG, FALL 2016 | www.colinsgrp.com

tHOMPSOn’S taKe38,300 people were killed and nearly 4.4 million people were injured on u.s. roadways last year according to the

national safety council (newsweek, Feb. 2016). auto related deaths increased 8% over the previous year, the biggest annual increase in 50 years! the culprit? Lower gasoline prices and an improving economy led to a significant increase in miles driven.

Fortunately, thanks to the insurance institute for highway safety (iihs), the number of deaths were a fraction of what they were when the organization began in 1959 and the injuries are far less severe, despite more miles driven by americans than ever before. you may be most familiar with iihs by their “iihs top safety Picks”, issued annually on most vehicles sold in the u.s. What you may not know, is that iihs was started by and remains completely funded by the insurance industry. this is not a government agency. iihs is an

independent non-profit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing automobile losses – deaths, injuries and property damage – from the crashes on the nation’s roads.

i had the opportunity to spend the day at the iihs Vehicle research center in Virginia this summer and witnessed the crash testing of a brand new 2017 cadillac suV (talk about fun jobs!). the center conducts some 85 such tests annually and to say that i was impressed with the attention to detail that goes into these tests is a tremendous understatement. First, every vehicle tested is purchased right off the lot of local dealers. thus, they are the same vehicles you and i purchase with no opportunity for influence from the manufacturer. chocked full of sensors and cameras, every detail of each crash test is carefully recorded and analyzed.

even the crash test dummy was no dummy at all! Fully equipped with all of the sensors and equipment to effectively evaluate the impact a crash would have on you and i, each crash test dummy costs an estimated $200,000!

When iihs began its moderate overlap frontal crash tests in 1995,

roughly half of the vehicles earned marginal or poor ratings, and more were rated poor than good. today nearly all vehicles earn good ratings for protection in a moderate overlap frontal crash. similarly, when side impact tests began in 2003, not many vehicles earned top ratings, while most get good ratings today. rear and rollover ratings have improved, too.

in an era where “corporate social responsibility” has taken on new importance, you can be very proud to work in an industry that has been focused on the well-being of society for decades. consistent with our core value of being responsible corporate citizens, we are proud supporters of both the insurance institute for highway safety (iihs) and the insurance institute for Business and home safety (iBhs). Both organizations are working every day to make our world a safer one for all of us.

i would encourage you to check out the many resources available to you and your clients:

iihs www.iihs.org

iBhs www.ibhs.org

That’s my take. What’s yours?

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Gary Thompson President/CEO


featUReS

employment Practices newshow retaliation claims affect small businses owners.

avoid common Winter claimsthe weather is changing, and so is the risk for cold weather-related claims.

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Driver Profile RatingWe’ve improved the accuracy of our commercial and Farm auto rating program!

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FEATURED AGENCYPatterson & Associates Insurance Agency, Inc.4

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From left: Micah Hahn, Rustin Goodgion, Ben Patterson, John Moreland (TM), and Byron Smith (BM).


For the fourth year in a row, Patterson & associates insurance agency, inc. in richardson, tX has received dallas Business

Journal’s prestigious “Best Places to Work” awards.

“it’s an amazing place to work because the people who are here are some of the best professionals in the business,” says Ben Patterson, second generation owner of the agency. “good business comes together when everyone contributes in their role.”

This legacy began when Ben’s father, ron, opened the agency in richardson, tX near dallas in 1983, which was his lifelong dream.

When Ben joined the agency 13 years later, they had five carrier contracts. Today, the agency has grown to include five partners and 33 employees.

not only is the agency a great place to work, it has also earned a Best Practices agency distinction for the past three years. “Whenever we get a nice recognition like this, we like to throw a party!”

Industry Involvement ron served on the board of iia of dallas, and Ben followed in his footsteps by serving as board president for the 2013-2014 term.

“i was proud to serve as the association president,”

Ben says. “that commitment of time to serve was simply part of how important we believe it is for the industry to get better and stay healthy.”

another agency partner, stephen Pine, is currently on their board, and their newest partner, dan thomas, is currently the treasurer for dallas chapter of the cPcu society.

Ben believes perpetuation is a huge issue for the industry. one way Patterson & associates is able to help is by getting involved with inVest, a national non-profit program through the Big “I” that helps high school students attend a university with an insurance or risk Management program.

CommunIty InvolvementPatterson & associates partners with different charities in the dallas area, and some of their activities include: 1. conducting a food drive for the north texas Food Bank. 2. hosting a food drive at thanksgiving. 3. serving as a collection site for toys For tots. 4. supporting a children’s grief counseling organization for children who have lost a parent to death or divorce.

A few years ago trusted choice set aside $2 million nationally for local associations, such as the iia of dallas, to request grants of

$10,000 to donate to the local Make-A-Wish Office. Patterson & associates with iia of dallas has been able to present a check for that amount for the past four years, which grants a wish to a child diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition.

featURed agency

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$117,325 Verdict

$30,000 Settlement

$27,500 Settlement

$85,000 Settlement

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the number of retaliation claims grew, again, in the eeoc charge statistics. employees alleged an employer retaliated against them in 44.5% of all complaints. claims of discrimination based on race, disability and sex follow in volume.

retaliation occurs when an employer takes an adverse action against a covered individual because he or she engaged in a protected activity. retaliation claims are increasingly common in part because they are easier to prove than discrimination. retaliation is an employer taking adverse action against an employee in response to complaints or injuries in the workplace. adverse action need not be a termination. a reduction in pay or assignment of a less favorable shift may be enough to support the claim.

these four employers provide examples from across the country: (Not our insureds)

Employer Help – Free Servicescheck out the value of our Legal hotline and risk Management Website for your clients. Both come with our ePLi policy. in response to the latest equal employment opportunity Commission (EEOC) findings and guidelines on retaliation, you can find a best practice checklist to help employers avoid a claim.

Hotline

construction worker assigned to distant building site after returning from Work comp leave that was extended against the contractor’s wishes.

Desk clerk threatened to file an EEOC complaint for age discrimination, and was immediately fired.

60% of businesses without employment Practices Liability insurance believe they

Hispanic worker fired after he complained about discriminatory pay practices.

Hairdresser fired after complaining about a lack of accommodation for her medical disability.

ContraCtor

Hotel Clerk

did you knoW?

salon

distributor

are protected by their BoP and gL policies? they’re not. your clients need to know ePLi is excluded, but it is still a crucial piece of your client’s insurance protection.

New On Our Blog:Why You Need EPLI

Hotline Fact:Follow Up Calls Are Welcome

your clients can call the hotline more than once about a problem, and that’s welcomed with our policy.

How Retaliation Claims Affect Small Business Owners, How Our EPLI Can Help.employment praCtiCes neWs:

THE FLAG, FALL 2016 | www.colinsgrp.com6

The seasons are changing from warm summer breezes to chilly fall winds. This change is the perfect signal to begin preparing yourself and your clients for cold weather and the potential claims that may result from winter weather conditions.

A few common claims we see each winter leave us with mitigation tips for:

Winter ClaimsThings to keep in mind to avoid common

Ice dams form when melting snow flows down a sloped roof and freezes at the roof edge. the ice dam continues to grow and eventually creates a blockage, which allows water to back up under the roof shingles. since the melting snow cannot drain off the roof, pitched or flat, water remains trapped and adds additional weight to the roof.

to prevent ice dams, talk to your clients about taking the following steps: • Increase ceiling insulation to prevent • heat from escaping into the attic. • Keep roof drains, gutters and • downspouts free of debris. • Improve ventilation in the attic spaces • by adding more ridge gable or soffit • venting. • Insulate or seal attic penetrations, • such as soil stacks, vents, roof • • hatches or access doors. • Check our blog for more information.

Your Farmersif your client is a busy summer farmer, fall is a great time to send a reminder to clean their wood burning fire stoves. Creosote can build up in the flue over time, and it is highly flammable.

In addition to checking the flue for build up, ask your farm risks if they want a snow Load coverage endorsement to provide coverage from claims involving the weight of snow on a roof.

Your Restaurants restaurants may see an increase in common grease fires in winter. advise your clients to clean and service all exhaust fans, vents and cooking equipment from the outside into the building. other tips include: • Take reasonable measures to keep your floors dry. • Post warning signs when the floor could be wet or slick. • Encourage restaurant staff to wear non-slip shoes. • Ensure outdoor lighting is in proper working order. • Downspouts should not drain over sidewalks, as water may freeze overtop.

Your Contractors the safety of your client’s employees is especially important if they’re working outside in cold weather. they should have proper footwear that provides traction, warmth and keeps their feet dry. additionally, employees may need longer breaks indoors to warm up.

of course, these are only a few of the many common winter weather-related tips that may be used to research and plan for seasonal safety. Keep reading for more information on other potential winter claims to try and avoid.

iCe dams


frozen pipes | driving | snoW removal

driving

frozen pipes

snoW removal

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it’s no secret. driving in snowy or slippery weather conditions is a challenge, at best; but there are things you can share with your commercial auto clients to improve their fleet driver safety on the road. Here are some tips everyone can use for safe driving in adverse weather conditions: • Drivers should be able to see and be seen. Clean all snow and ice off windshields and windows, outside mirrors, lights, as well as truck or trailer reflectors or DOT reflective tape. • Make sure the vehicle is equipped with good wiper blades and they can make a clean sweep across the windshield to remove debris and snow. • When snow or ice builds up on your windshield or glass, stop and clean it off. • Make sure all tires have plenty of tread life.

• Check tire air pressure regularly to maintain manufacturers recommended pressure. • Drivers should increase the following distance behind other vehicles on the road, and don’t tailgate. stopping distances increase when roads are snow packed or icy.

Commercial fleet managers may consider including a Winter Vehicle Survival Kit in each car in case a driver is stranded in inclement weather. the kit may include: • Bag of sand, salt or kitty litter, or traction mats • Snow shovel, as well as a basic toolkit • Flashlight with extra batteries • Ice scraper with brush • Jumper cables, as well as a mobile phone charger • Drinking water, snacks, and warm blankets

When it comes to the topic of frozen pipes, it’s very important your clients know what is covered in their commercial insurance policy. temporarily vacant properties are particularly at risk of having pipes freeze. help your clients understand a “vacant” property may or may not include those being renovated or between tenants. • Run a steady stream (as thick as pencil lead) of

When winter weather hits sidewalks, parking lots and other common areas may become covered in snow and ice, which could lead to injuries. these are a few important things to consider: • Plow, shovel, and spread sand or ice melt early and as needed during the day when continual winter moisture is falling. shoveling or applying salt, for example, does not impose additional liability on the business owner. • Keep a log book to include date and hour

the sidewalk or lot was cleared of snow, or ask the plow contractor to note the date and times at which the premises was plowed on their invoice. • If a snow removal service is outsourced to others, obtain a certificate of insurance for liability coverage from the plow contractor. • If snow is adding additional weight to a roof, have the snow professionally removed. your client should not to do this themselves, as it may expose them to the danger of falling from the roof.

warm water through faucets and pipes. • Maintain proper heat in the building to minimize • the risk of frozen pipes, and open cabinets for • better heat circulation. • When thawing frozen pipes, shut the water off to • that section of piping.

Ray TrimbleCOO of Mullin Plumbing, Inc.

Columbia Insurance Group Insured

We advise folks to walk around the perimeter of a property to disconnect hoses from the spigot. If frozen water bursts the spigot, water may wick into the drywall, studs and inside the property before you notice any damage.

THE FLAG, FALL 2016 | www.colinsgrp.com8

Beginning august 1 for most states, our new program takes into account the entire fleet driver profile by aggregating non-MVr data of the drivers. the rating weighs additional rating factors based on the combined profile of all drivers on the policy. Some of the public information factors considered are: • New Business vs. Renewal • Length of Driving Experience • Number of Accidents • Residential Address Stability • Number of Derogatory and • non-derogatory Public • records

Premiums for your caP and FaP clients may increase or decrease based on a proprietary algorithm of these new factors. due to this change in rating, we will now require a complete driver list when quoting or rating both new and renewal business. an updated driver list will be required annually prior to renewal for rating. a change to the driver list mid-year will not impact premium until renewal. The renewal driver profile will only be

impacted by newly added drivers and a biannual reevaluation of existing drivers. if there are no changes to the driver profile and the policy is not scheduled for the biannual rating, there will be no change to the premium.

Please direct all questions about this new program to your territory Manager or underwriter.

We are improving the accuracy of our Commercial Auto & Farm Auto rating with a program that will better determine the proper premium for each risk.

Driver profile rating

We Insure Peace of Mind.® | COLUMBIA INSURANCE GROUP 9

Keeping those two beliefs in mind, we aim to provide you with an easy, more efficient way of doing business with us.

Daily Documents maDe Quick anD easy

You are important to us.

We believe innovation anD continuous improvement are vital.

Here’s How To Use It 1. Sign into colinsgrp.com 2. Choose ‘Daily Documents’ under ‘Client Services’ 3. Select your policy documents 4. Start downloading

We recently released an easier way for you to download your policy documents through our web portal. this is in an effort to help with the cumbersome daily task of adding documents to your management system. you now have the ability to download all of your policy documents at once and put them into one convenient place.

you Have optionsall Policy documents, invoices or id cards can be selected using the convenient buttons. if you prefer to bundle any or all of those together, you can select the check boxes located next to each policy and download.

For more helpful tools and tutorials on our other automated options, please log into our website and visit our Knowledge Center. Contact our Automation Specialist at [email protected] with questions.


system security is a big concern for risk managers. yet, in a recent hartford steam Boiler study, more than half (55%) of respondents don’t believe their company is dedicating enough money or trained, experienced personnel to combat current hacking techniques.

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Cyber seCurity

Michael HarrisInformation Security Administrator

Columbia Insurance Group

Data breaches and cyber fraud events can be as damaging to your business as physical disasters, such as fires, thefts or tornadoes. Data Compromise coverage is becoming a business necessity as part of a mature cyber security program.

IS A BIG CONCERN.

Anticipate Hacking Trends“hackers have evolved and so have their methods of attack,” said eric cernak, cyber Practice Leader for Munich re. “simply reacting to new threats is not enough. Businesses of all sizes need to anticipate hacking trends and deploy the resources necessary to protect their private or sensitive information.”

A Rise In Phishingthe most pervasive and costly cyber frauds affecting businesses this year are phishing schemes in which the perpetrator claims to be a senior executive, such as the ceo or cFo, requesting a funds transfer or employee W-2 records.1

Businesses can defend themselves against these types of phishing schemes by employing a combination of measures.

Train Employeesemployees should be directed to refrain from clicking links in emails and to confirm that the sender sent

an attachment before opening it. even if the email appears to be from a trusted source, employees should validate the destination of web links before

clicking on them by allowing the mouse to hover over the hyperlink to reveal the web address.

too many businesses lack insurance coverage to protect their private information; although, 46% of risk managers say their business has either purchased cyber insurance for the first time or increased its

level of coverage in the last year. another 36% of businesses do not have any level of cyber coverage.

We Can Help Protect Critical Dataevery business, regardless of size, should purchase insurance coverage to help protect the private information of customers, employees and others, as well as their own business operational data. We offer affordable insurance programs for cyber risks, data breach and identity theft that are easy to add to your client’s business policies.

25% of breaCHes result from negligenCe

1-3: Hartford Steam Boiler (Website 2015-2016).

We Insure Peace of Mind.® | COLUMBIA INSURANCE GROUP 11

our data compromise coverage helps small and mid-sized businesses respond to the financial burden and service obligations of a data breach. Businesses and institutions have a responsibility to safeguard the data of clients, employees and others. small and mid-sized companies are vulnerable to data breaches by computer hackers, thieves and dishonest employees, but data can also be lost through accidental or inadvertent release. Many businesses lack the resources to effectively respond to a breach.

Why Should a Small or Mid-Sized Business Be Concerned?More than half of small businesses throughout the united states have experienced a data breach. yet only one-third of those businesses notified the people affected by the breach, even though the strong majority of states require that individuals be contacted when their private information is exposed.2

Data Compromise Coverageour data compromise coverage is designed to

help small and mid-sized businesses investigate a data breach, notify individuals, and provide credit monitoring, case management and other services to data breach victims that help prevent identity theft and fraud following a breach of personal identifying information. it pays for the following types of expenses: • Legal review of notification obligations; • Help to find who was affected by the breach and • how to notify them; • Preparation of notification letters; • Credit monitoring and a toll free help line for • affected persons; • Identity restoration case management for identity • theft victims; • Public relations services.

in addition, our data compromise product offers optional legal defense cost and liability coverage as part of the program to protect businesses from lawsuits filed by consumers upset about a data breach when their private information is exposed.

State Mandate Data Breach NotificationsWith so much personal information stored in paper files, computer networks, laptops and flash drives, the risk of a data breach is increasing. Forty seven states have enacted “breach notification” laws requiring a company to notify individuals when their personal, non-public information is revealed and it can cost thousands of dollars to respond. the laws applying are those where the affected individuals reside, not where the breached business resides. generally, these laws mandate expedient notification “without unreasonable delay” and many statutes impose civil or criminal penalties for failure to promptly disclose. More importantly, the damage to a company’s sales and reputation depends on the actions it takes in response to a data breach.

Business ObligationsVirtually all organizations collect and retain data about individuals. in today’s environment, a business that experiences a data breach needs to protect itself from both the cost of the response and the risk to its own reputation. the business must be able to notify all parties that were affected by the breach, effectively communicate the scope of the possible damage, and provide credit monitoring assistance and identity restoration case management to victims of identity theft, victims as a result of the breach.

data compromise coverage is available as a turnkey reinsurance program through our business partner, hartford steam Boiler. Most classes of business are eligible for the program but there are some ineligible classes. Please check with your underwriter for info.

69% of businesses experienCed HaCking

attaCks in tHe last year.3

Data Compromise Coverage Is Important.


read more on page 5.

Let’s put the stats together.

42% of all businesses do not buy ePLi, and they may believe they’re already covered through their other insurance policies. that’s almost half of all companies are not protected when they think they are. this is a huge opportunity to inform your clients of the benefits of this necessary coverage.

What can you do to protect your clients?

share information about our ePLi coverage as a complement to other business insurance products. your clients deserve to know how to protect themselves from a lawsuit, and they may benefit from a policy that offers free Legal and risk Management services.