As a business owner or company director wanting to lease a car for yourself, you have the choice of either business contract or personal car leasing, and each option has its own implications, benefits and disadvantages, particularly in terms of insurance.

And if you are using your new car mostly for work (think sales calls and visiting job sites), and you bought the car in your name, that mistake can cost you as your business won’t be able to insure it properly.

Your personal auto policy will provide coverage for some business use of your vehicle. The same is true for your employees’ personal auto policies, which also cover some business use of their vehicles.

But, a personal auto policy is unlikely to provide coverage if the vehicle is used primarily in business.

The personal auto policy, whether yours or your employee’s, may not have high enough limits to protect your business.

For example, take the scenario: You are driving to a business meeting while having an intense conversation on your phone with your production department and you plow into a car in front of you, injuring the driver and three occupants. Then they sue you and your company.

If you have only a personal auto policy, your insurer will probably defend you personally and pay the claim up to the policy limit. Your personal auto policy insurer will not defend or pay damages on behalf of your business, however. Most certainly, once your policy limits are exhausted your business could be on the hook for the rest of the damages, but your firm’s insurance would likely not cover it.

If you or your employees are driving personal vehicles on business and relying on your personal auto policies, be sure you and they have sufficient liability coverage to protect your business in the event of a serious auto accident.

Do not expect to rely on a personal umbrella policy for any claims that arise from business use of a vehicle. Typically, the personal umbrella excludes all claims occurring in the course of a business endeavor.

The takeaway

If you are in the market for a new car that you’ll be using a significant amount of the time for work, you should seriously consider leasing it in your company name. It will save you from headaches later if you are involved in an accident.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.  

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more. P.S.  FREE Email us for a FREE copy of The Contractor’s Handbook to Picking the Right Financing Option (ßClick Link and Request Copy)

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.      

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

One bit of good news coming from the COVID-19 pandemic is that the economic downturn has boosted efforts to close older workers’ comp claims that have been lingering as both sides cannot agree on a settlement.

Due to the financial pain brought on by the sudden downturn, injured workers who have been reluctant to settle their claims have been coming forward to close them, according to workers’ comp attorneys.

The injured workers are often settling their claims for less than they were demanding before. One lawyer told Business Insurance magazine that he was seeing claimants come in with offers that were on average 10% lower than previously.

This is an important development for employers who have legacy workers’ compensation claims that have stayed open as the injured worker remains on permanent disability and may also still be receiving ongoing or sporadic medical treatment. Employers want to close these claims because the longer they stay open, the more they end up costing the insurer, and hence it drives up the employer’s workers’ comp costs.

One of the most unpredictable parts of older claims is unexpected adverse claims cost development, particularly if the injured worker develops new medical complications that are an outgrowth of or related to the original injury claim.

When that happens, the workers’ comp carrier will also have to pick up the tab for that treatment, further driving up the cost of the claim and affecting the employer’s workers’ comp experience.

Work with your insurer

In a white paper, global insurance giant Marsh recommends that employers try to work with their insurers to proactively settle these older claims to save money in the near and long term, and to reduce the prospects of the claim deteriorating further given the “uncertainty about the post-COVID-19 economic environment.”

Marsh said that businesses should take a strategic approach to closing these old claims by working with their insurer’s claims adjuster and using analytics and claims inventory management tools to identify complex claims and focus on settling them first.

Another smart move is to stay in close contact with injured employees to help them navigate the workers’ comp system. And if they are at home on the mend, the employer should make a point to regularly reach out to them to see how they are healing up and if they have questions about their claim and the process for returning work.

This is one of the best ways to reduce the chances of an injured worker becoming disgruntled and hiring a lawyer to litigate their claim, which will usually drive up the cost of the claim in addition to the time they are away on workers’ comp disability.

Insurers are also feeling the effects of the COVID-19-related economic downturn, which gives them an incentive to try to settle old claims so they don’t have that uncertainty of how much they will eventually end up paying for the claim.

The downturn has also forced some insurers to consider laying off claims representatives as they deal with the prospect of lower premium volumes.

Injured workers may also have an incentive to get their claims closed by receiving a lump-sum payment now, which they may need due to the poor economic environment.

The takeaway

If you have any legacy workers’ comp claims that are still being paid, you may want to consider reaching out to your insurer to see if there is a possibility of getting the injured worker to renegotiate a settlement so you can get the claim closed. The longer it stays open and because of the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic, it would behoove any employer to take this step.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.  

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more. P.S.  FREE Email us for a FREE copy of The Contractor’s Handbook to Picking the Right Financing Option (ßClick Link and Request Copy)

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.   

If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

It is very common for the insurance requirements in a construction contract to include a provision requiring the subcontractor to waive all rights against the owner and general contractor for recovery of damages to the extent these damages are covered by the sub’s workers’ compensation and general liability or commercial umbrella liability insurance. Owners and general contractors insist on this provision because they want to protect themselves from being held liable for injuries to a subcontractor’s employee. Typically, the contractor giving the waiver asks its insurance company to attach a “waiver of subrogation endorsement” to its workers’ compensation policy.

The endorsement states that the insurance will company will not enforce its right to recover payments it makes to an injured worker from the person or organization listed on the endorsement. It applies only to the extent that the employer insured by the policy performs work under a written contract requiring the employer to obtain the insurance company’s waiver. It does not directly or indirectly benefit anyone not listed on the endorsement. With this endorsement on the policy, the company cannot attempt to recover payments it made to an injured worker from the company listed on the endorsement, even if that company was responsible for the injury. Consequently, the loss impacts the employer’s experience modification, probably increasing future premiums. In addition, the endorsement carries an additional premium for the employer, normally some percentage of the premium attributable to the job.

The endorsement and the waiver agreement in the contract do not bind the injured employee. He still has the ability to sue the owner and general contractor for his injuries. However, it is also common for construction contracts to require the subcontractor to defend and indemnify the owner and general contractor from any such suits. Therefore, it is probable that the employer will have to pay an additional premium for the endorsement, pay higher future workers’ compensation premiums for the loss, and pay higher future liability insurance premiums because its policy will cover the other parties’ liability.

For example, assume the sub’s employee suffers serious injuries when tools and materials fall off a scaffold and strike him. He collects workers’ compensation benefits for his medical costs and lost wages. The sub’s workers’ compensation policy includes the waiver of subrogation endorsement, so the insurance company cannot recover any of its payments. The worker sues the owner and general contractor for his pain and suffering. However, the contract requires the sub to cover the owner’s and general’s liability, so the sub’s liability insurance pays for the pain and suffering lawsuit. The sub’s insurance pays twice for the same injury to the same worker.

Owners and general contractors require waivers of subrogation for several reasons. Insurance consultants, brokers, and risk managers usually encourage them to require waivers. Waivers protect their liability insurance and reserve it for other claims. Because a waiver reduces potential liability losses, they become more attractive to liability insurance companies and probably pay lower premiums. Also, subcontractors often do not resist these requirements because they feel they lack negotiating leverage and their insurance companies are usually willing to provide the endorsement.

A few states have curbed the use of waivers of subrogation in their workers’ compensation systems. At least four states have passed laws making the requirements unenforceable, and other states allow the employer to recover from the injured employee some of the proceeds of pain and suffering lawsuits.

In the majority of states that allow waivers, contractors should work with professional insurance agents experienced in providing construction insurance. They can suggest insurance companies that will offer the needed coverages at a reasonable cost and assist with contractual issues such as waivers of subrogation. Above all, contractors must read and understand their contracts so that their agreements do not become an ugly surprise after a loss.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.  

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more. P.S.  FREE Email us for a FREE copy of The Contractor’s Handbook to Picking the Right Financing Option (ßClick Link and Request Copy)

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.                  

 If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

Employers whose businesses continue to operate are obviously concerned about the coronavirus spreading through their worksites, so many have started testing their workers.

Recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance authorized employers to conduct COVID-19 testing and check temperatures of employees. But doing so could expose a business to a number of employee legal actions from invasion of privacy to discrimination and wage and hour charges, say employment law attorneys.

While the EEOC guidance refers to existing Americans with Disabilities Act regulations requiring that any mandatory medical test of employees be “job related and consistent with business necessity,” it left many questions unanswered.

So, if you decide to start testing workers, you will have to navigate a number of issues, such as:

• Which tests are appropriate?
• What are the standards for protecting workers’ privacy?
• Should employees be paid for the time they wait in line to be tested?
• Should you get written consent?
• How will you ensure that the policy is applied consistently?

Employment law experts say there is often a surge in employee lawsuits when new rules or guidance are being issued, and more so with such a sensitive issue as one’s health during a pandemic.

The kinds of claims that employers may see as a result of employee testing include:

• Invasion of privacy
• Failure to protect employees’ personal health information
• Discrimination
• Retaliation
• Wage and hour actions if waiting for testing takes time.

What you can do

Typically, employers would not be allowed to test a worker’s temperature for a specific disease, but these are unusual times and the threat of infection is too great.

Most lawyers are interpreting the EEOC guidance as meaning that employers may take steps to determine whether employees entering the workplace have COVID-19 because an individual with the coronavirus will pose a direct threat to the health of others. Therefore, an employer may choose to administer COVID-19 testing to employees before they enter the workplace to determine if they have the virus.

To cover your bases, you should plan your testing in detail, including:

• How you will be conducting tests (providing at-home test swab kits, testing upon arrival, or offsite).
• Designate a person who is authorized to conduct tests.
• Document how you will be administering tests.
• Plan for how you will account for false positives or false negatives.
• Decide how often should you be testing.
• Budget for the testing.
• What will you do if a worker tests positive or has a fever (if you are just checking temperatures)?
• Don’t have exceptions to the policy or, if you do, keep them to a minimum. The more exceptions to a policy, the more likely you are to be sued.
• The policy should comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as using non-contact thermometers and ensuring social distancing during the process.

Insurance

The risk of being sued when administering testing is real and you should do everything you can to make sure it’s carried out fairly and consistently. But even if you do everything by the book, you can still be sued.

During bad economic times when people are losing their jobs, employee lawsuits tend to rise and, even if you are eventually found to have acted within the confines of the law, you still have to pay the legal fees.

One type of policy that could step in to protect you is employment practices liability insurance. EPLI will cover awards and legal costs in employee-initiated lawsuits. Each policy is different though, so it’s best to consult with us first.

If you are testing or are considering testing your staff, you may want to consider it.

BGES Group’s office, located in Larchmont, NY is a full service insurance agency offering, Property, Liability, Umbrella Liability, Business Auto, Bid & Performance Bonds, Inland Marine, Worker’s Compensation, New York State Disability, Group Health, Life insurance, Personal lines and Identity Theft.  

BGES Group are Worker’s Compensation Specialists for the States of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut – Issues we address: 1) Lowering pricing – we have specialty programs that can save you up to 40%; 2) Finding a new company; 3) Being cancelled or non renewed; 4) Audit disputes; 5) Company creating fictitious payroll at audit time; 6) Lowering high experience modifications factors; 7) Misclassification of payrolls; 8) Lowering or eliminating renewal deposits;   9) Getting coverage when you’ve been without for a few months; 10) Covering multiple states under one policy; 11) Eliminating 10% service or policy fees; 12) Timely issuance of certificates; 13) Always being able to get someone on the phone or by email when you need to.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 50+ insurance companies to market your general liability, umbrella liability, business auto, workers compensation, bid & performance bonds and group health coverages.  We help contractors set up proper risk transfer mechanisms.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer mechanisms, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs that lower them.

Contractors Make More Sales – Close more sales with easy, affordable financing options for your customers.  Everything can be done from your phone.  Thirteen banks to get financing from.  No hidden fees. Click here to learn more. P.S.  FREE Email us for a FREE copy of The Contractor’s Handbook to Picking the Right Financing Option (ßClick Link and Request Copy)

Identity Theft – Over the past year hundreds of thousands of people have had to deal with identity theft.  This has become such a huge problem so we now offer Identity Theft Protection. We heard stories of kids going for car loans and learning they owe $200,000+ to companies they never heard of.  Under our program you can protect yourself, spouse and children.  Anyone you know can purchase this protection though our plan!  Click here to learn more or sign up.

Soon To Be The Best Artificial Intelligence Technology Marketing Platform In The World To Get You New Customers – Sick and tired of paying social media experts thousands of dollars to do your marketing?  Paying Google, Facebook, Linkedin hundreds/thousands of dollars for lousy results?  How would you like to dominate your business niche?  How would you like get in on the ground floor and earn a massive new cash flow every month?   Click here to learn more.              

 If you would like to speak with us call Gary Wallach at 914-806-5853 or click here to email or click here to visit our website.

Company: BGES Group, 216A Larchmont Acres West, Larchmont, NY 10538

e-mail: bgesgroup@gmail.com

website: http://www.bgesgroup.com

© – Copyright – 2020 – BGES Group

One of the biggest mistakes you can make if you incur damage to your business premises is to wait too long before filing the claim with your insurer.

The owners of a hotel in Dallas learned this the hard way when a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the business had waited too long to file a claim with its insurer after suffering hail damage.

The court ruled that because the hotel had waited more than 19 months to file the claim, it was impossible for the insurer to ascertain exactly when the damage had occurred.

The hotel’s property policy required that the insured make “prompt notice” of any claims.

But the insurer rejected the claim when it received it for a hailstorm that had happened more than a year and a half earlier, on the grounds that it could not determine what had caused the damage or when the damage occurred. This was crucial since the policy had expired 17 months earlier – two months after the storm had allegedly damaged the hotel.

Believe it or not, filing late is a common problem and it is one of many mistakes business owners make when filing claims. The following are surefire ways to risk having your claim denied or disputed by your insurance company:

Not contacting your insurer immediately

While most insurance policies state that you must notify the company promptly of a loss, what counts as “prompt” may be a little vague. However, you can wreck your claim by reporting a loss so late that it “prejudices” the insurance company.

For the most part, you should take steps to notify your insurer as soon as possible after you become aware of a loss.

Failing to document the damage

Take pictures and itemize everything that was damaged. Often, you will have to make repairs immediately to prevent additional damage, or move machinery to a new location. If so, be sure to photograph the original scene to document how it was before you started your clean-up effort. Also take photos of any repairs you make.

Disposing of damaged goods

If your business clean-up includes removal of items such as water-damaged merchandise, flooring or insulation, keep it all, even if it has to pile up in the parking lot. The damaged materials are all evidence of the impact of the disaster on your business.

Not appealing an insurer’s low estimate

After the claims adjuster inspects the damage, the insurance company will give you a damage estimate. If you think it’s too low, you can appeal. We can help if you feel the estimate is too low.

But some businesses will hire an outside adjuster to make a second estimate, and then the claim will go to mediation for a final resolution.

Not reading your policy

You should understand exactly what your policy covers. For the most part, commercial property policies will not cover flooding or earthquake damage. That kind of coverage will often require a separate policy or rider.

Not being prepared

If your business suffers damage, you’ll be better off if you know what to do in advance. Some advance steps you can take are:

• Reviewing your policy to make sure you have adequate coverage.
• Knowing where your insurance policy is kept.
• Keeping an extra copy of the policy off-premises or in a safety deposit box.
• Having our telephone number and e-mail address in the contacts on your smartphone, so you can call us immediately if you suffer a claim.

A final word…

Filing a claim is usually not a difficult process, but you should be prepared in advance, like making sure you keep good records of all your assets, including receipts, payment schedules and more.

Finally, if you are unsure whether you should file a claim on any of your commercial policies, you can always give us a call to discuss the event and we can assist you.