While the OSHA Standard is on Hold, Follow Its Rules on Isolating COVID-Infected Staff

Even though Fed-OSHA’s emergency temporary standard for COVID-19 has been put on hold by courts due to its mask mandate, sections governing actions employers must take if an employee tests positive should be heeded.
In fact, legal experts say that employers should go beyond the requirements of the standard to reduce their liability. With no exceptions, employers should remove any employee who tests positive for COVID-19 from the workplace until their condition has improved and they are no longer able to spread the virus.
There are a number of steps you should take to protect the rest of your staff.

Send them home
Immediately upon learning that an employee has contracted COVID-19, they should be sent home to quarantine unless they have serious symptoms.
You should require all employees to notify you if they test positive for COVID-19. Even people that do not show symptoms can spread the virus, and those who are vaccinated can contract and spread it.

Notify other personnel
When you learn that an employee has contracted COVID-19 and likely did so at work, within one business day you should retrace their activities and notify in writing any co-workers who may have come into contact with them in the days prior to their diagnosis.
The standard for that is anyone who came within 6 feet of the employee for 15 minutes or more two days prior to the positive test.
All of those you have identified as possibly exposed should be tested. Make testing available at no cost to employees and during working hours to all exposed employees, except:
• Asymptomatic workers who are fully vaccinated, and
• Employees who recently recovered from COVID-19 and have not developed symptoms since returning to work.

Exclude any new COVID-19 cases discovered during testing as well as exposed employees from the workplace until they are no longer an infection risk. Exposed employees who are fully vaccinated or who recently recovered from COVID-19 and have no symptoms do not need to be excluded.

Bring them back
The question of when to bring an employee who tested positive back is not set in stone, as times vary from person to person in terms of how long they can spread the disease.
You can bring a worker who had mild symptoms back if:
• The employee receives a negative result on a COVID-19 nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) following a positive result on a COVID-19 antigen test.
• The licensed doctor recommends that the employee can return to work, or
• The employee meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s return-to-work criteria:
• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
• At least 24 hours have passed with no fever without fever-reducing medication, or
• Other symptoms of COVID-19, such as loss of taste and smell, are improving. Such symptoms may persist for weeks or months and need not delay the end of isolation.

For people with severe symptoms, 20 days may be required before they are no longer contagious.
People who tested positive with COVID-19 but were asymptomatic may return to work 10 days after their test, assuming they do not develop symptoms in the meantime.

The takeaway
As COVID-19 continues to spread in our communities, it’s imperative that employers isolate staff who test positive to reduce the spread at work and also limit their liability.
Employers that don’t take action, can be hit by significant penalties and even open themselves up to civil litigation if they were negligent in protecting their workers.

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.

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. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

How to Handle a Premium Audit

It might be hard to fathom any type of audit being beneficial, but when your insurer conducts a premium audit for your account, it can just as important to you as it is to your carrier.

When you were first issued your policy, the carrier looked at the estimated sales figures or payroll data that you provided to them. It calculated your premiums based on this information. Now that you have real numbers under your belt and actual experience, the information can be reassessed to determine the correct premium amount.

Depending on how your business operates and the size of your policy, there are several methods your insurance carrier can use to conduct your premium audit, including:

Mail вЂ” Your insurer will mail you an audit form and the instructions to complete it. Once completed, you will return the form by mail to your carrier.

Phone вЂ” Your carrier will hire an independent audit company to conduct your audit over the phone.

Physical вЂ” Your insurance company will usually conduct the audit at your business, but it could be conducted at an alternative location, such as your certified public accountant’s office.

Regardless of the method, the audit will typically include your disbursements and payroll journals, ledgers, tax and Social Security reports, state unemployment forms, and other accounting records being inspected. Depending on the audit, other documents could be involved.

The data is then used for determining and adjusting premium amounts (either higher or lower). If it’s higher, you may be asked to pay back premium for the months that you underpaid for coverage.

Be prepared

The best way to handle these audits is to be prepared, and that means keeping track of certain documents and records and having them conveniently accessible so you can produce them at a moment’s notice.

The most commonly audited policies are liability and all workers’ comp policies. The
audits collect exposure information estimated when the policy was written and compare it to the actual numbers.

Here are the main records you will need to produce:

Liability policies

• Gross company sales
• Independent contractor costs (insured and uninsured)
• Payroll for certain types of exposures.

Workers’ compensation policies

• Actual employee payroll
• Cost of independent contractors if no certificate or proof of other coverage is provided.If you are notified that you will be audited, you can make the whole process easier and less stressful and hopefully end on a positive note if you follow these tips:

How to prepare

Once you’ve been notified that you’re up for an audit, there are a number of steps you can take before the auditor arrives:

• Find out what the auditor will be reviewing by looking at their worksheets and past audit billing statements.
• Determine which of your employees would be best suited to work with the auditor. Look for someone that’s both knowledgeable about the accounting records that will be used in the audit and about what work is done by various employees and departments.
• Collect all the accounting records that will be used during the audit.
• If you use subcontractors, make sure that you have their certificates of insurance on hand. Ensure that your documentation shows all the contractors have their own general liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage.
• Check that your payroll documents include a breakdown of wages according to class code, department and employee.

The day of the audit

• Make sure you have all the applicable records easily available to the auditor. You might request the audit be conducted at your place of business.
• Ask the auditor to explain any points that aren’t clear to you.
• Request a hard copy of the auditor’s findings.

After the audit

Carefully assess the audit billing statement, comparing it to your original policy. Discuss the findings with us for assistance and advice.

Don’t agree to pay any additional premium dollars until after you have talked to us, you’ve made a list of all changes and discussed any problematic areas with the auditor.

Knowing what to expect and how to prepare is the key to a successful audit. Even if you end up being charged back-premium, it could be worse if you don’t keep accurate records. By regularly updating records that your insurer would ask for, you’ll be ahead of the game and you may identify changes that may affect your premium.

Want better rates, better coverage, better service, call Gary Wallach TODAY by dialing 914-806-5853 or emailing bgesgroup@gmail.com.

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.

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.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

Commercial Insurance Rate Hikes to Continue in 2022

Rates for most commercial lines of insurance are likely to continue rising going into 2022, as claims costs mount across the board.

A new report from Marketscout notes that rate increases have accelerated across all major lines, but have been most pronounced in liability coverages.

The composite rate for commercial insurance pricing in the third quarter of 2021 was up 6.8% from the same period in 2020. The year-on-year rate of increase is higher than the 5.9% logged in the second quarter.

The factors driving these rate increases show no signs of waning. There are a number of factors affecting rates and they vary depending on where a business is located as well as the industry in which it operates. Insurance experts are predicting average rate increases of about 5% to 10% across most lines of coverage.

The Marketscout report looking at the third quarter of 2021 shines a spotlight on what business owners can expect going into 2022.

Here’s what happened in the third quarter:

Commercial property

Commercial property insurance rates increased 9% on average in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2021.

Rates will vary depending on the location of a business. Companies in areas at high risk of natural catastrophes, like tornadoes, hurricanes, hailstorms and wildfires, are seeing the highest rate hikes, as well as non-renewals and even difficulty in securing coverage. For example, in wildfire areas of California and wind zones of Florida, rates were up over 20%.

What’s driving rates: Increasing frequency of natural catastrophes, as well as the severity of those events. Also, higher rebuilding costs due to materials price inflation and labor shortages.

Employment practices liability insurance

EPLI insurance rate increases averaged 9% in the third quarter.

What’s driving rates: According to industry experts, retaliation and sexual harassment claims, gig worker classification, the gender pay gap and medical marijuana usage were among the top trending employment practices litigation types.

Moreover, the average cost of employment-related claims is rising, along with the length of time it takes to resolve a claim.

Commercial auto

The premium renewal rate averaged 9% in the third quarter of 2021, continuing a trend of rising rates.

What’s driving rates: An increasing amount of accidents and deaths caused by distracted driving, higher medical costs for accident victims, and rapidly climbing repair costs for vehicles.

General liability

The premium renewal rate rose on average 6% in the third quarter.

What’s driving rates: Higher jury and settlement awards. Increased litigation and higher medical costs for bodily injury claims, as well.

Business owner’s policies

The BOP premium renewal rate increased in the third quarter at an average of 4.7% from the same period in 2021.

What’s driving rates: Since BOPs include property and liability coverage, the reasons rates are increasing are due to why property and general liability rates are rising, as above.

Umbrella and excess liability

Umbrella and excess liability insurance saw rates go up 11.7% in the third quarter from the same period the year prior.

What’s driving rates: Rates for these coverages continue climbing due to a number of factors, including large judgments, the cost of litigation and a rising tide of lawsuits against businesses. Gallagher notes that the median verdict for the top 50 cases has doubled in the past four years.

Workers’ compensation

This is the bright spot as rates have remained flat or falling for many years. The third quarter was no exception.

The takeaway

As your policies come up for renewal, it’s good to get a head start on shopping around. If you are concerned about your rates, give us a call.

Want better rates, better coverage, better service, call Gary Wallach TODAY by dialing 914-806-5853 or emailing bgesgroup@gmail.com.

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.

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.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

A new study has found that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic nearly half of U.S. workers added one new supplemental health-related benefit on top of their group health coverage.

The 2021 “Aflac WorkForces Report” found that 44% of employees bought one additional benefit, with life insurance policies seeing the biggest uptake. The fact that so many workers decided to boost their supplemental health benefits reflects the profound effect the pandemic has had on people and how it has opened their eyes to the fragility of life.

“Anxieties over the past year brought questions about health coverage ― especially about whether current coverage is enough for workers and their families,” Aflac wrote in its report. “The survey found that employees sought ways to help offset the financial burdens they experienced, including through supplemental insurance.”

Interestingly, the largest uptake of these benefits was among millennial workers.

With the pandemic still not over and more people having seen the effects on friends, family and acquaintances, the report predicts that the trend will continue.

The most popular additional benefits

The percentages of workers who have purchased a voluntary benefit since the pandemic started:

• Life insurance: 22% overall and 34% of millennial workers.
• Critical illness insurance: 16% overall and 23% of millennial workers.
• Mental health resources: 14% overall and 21% of millennial workers.
• Hospital insurance: 14% overall and 21% of millennial workers.
• Accident insurance: 12% overall and 19% of millennial workers.
• Disability insurance: 10% overall and 16% of millennial workers.
• Cancer insurance: 4% overall and 6% of millennial workers.

Overall views of supplemental benefits have also improved since the pandemic started. The survey found that:

• One-third of employees say supplemental insurance is more important now due to the pandemic.
• 51% of all American workers view supplemental benefits as a core component of a comprehensive benefits program.
• 90% of employees believe the need for supplemental insurance is increasing.
• 48% employees (and 63% of millennials) are highly interested in purchasing supplemental insurance to help cover the financial costs related to COVID-19 or other pandemics.

The takeaway

In light of these findings, it’s more important than ever that employers offer more than group health coverage and provide their workers with a slate of voluntary benefit offerings, many of which do not cost the employer much extra.

In fact, the study found that 70% of employers believe supplemental insurance helps them recruit employees and 75% say it helps with retention.

But keep in mind that may employees believe they already have enough coverage to meet their needs. Open enrollment is a prime time to educate them about the health-related expenses that group health insurance doesn’t cover, such as death benefits and long-term care.

One way you can put together a slate of offerings that your workforce needs and is interested in, is to conduct a study of your staff to see which options they would most prefer.

And finally: Introduce your benefits consultant (in person or virtually) prior to or at the start of open enrollment. That way, employees become familiar with them and can be more comfortable asking questions about the various coverages they can choose from.

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.

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.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 60+ 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. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

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.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 60+ 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. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

Holding a Safe End-of-Year Holiday Party

Last year, most companies cancelled their holiday parties as COVID-19 case rates started surging after the Thanksgiving holidays and as people started spending more time indoors.

Cases have once again been rising in the run-up to December, so many businesses are approaching their holiday plans with the safety of their staff top of mind.

If you’re concerned about the safety of your staff, there are number of issues you’ll have to consider in light of the pandemic as well as other safety issues that you need to address:

Make attendance voluntary. Many people are still nervous to be in public places or in large crowds. They may be immunocompromised or live with someone who is. They may fear contracting COVID-19 and bringing it home. Don’t force anyone to go to the party. Make it voluntary.

To mask or not to mask? Masks have become a major trigger point in American society and a political issue that inspires outrage among some. The Centers for Disease Control still recommends masking and social distancing, but many companies who have a majority of staff who have been vaccinated have decided to hold parties without mask requirements.

Companies will have to consider transmission rates in their communities before deciding whether to require masks at their parties.

Choose a venue carefully. Select a location that is large enough to provide additional space for your employees, since COVID-19 is still actively circulating. Ideally, arrange for an outdoor space but if you go with an indoor venue, make sure it has ample space.

Keep events small. The scale, nature and venue for your event should be chosen considering the local situation. The number of people attending will have to be within the allowable limits under state or local regulations. If there are no local rules, make sure that you have ample space for everyone to socially distance.

Food and drinks. CDC guidelines recommend that at large events all food be served to people at tables and not offered as a buffet, where people can breathe over the offerings. That also means that appetizer stations are out, as well.

One option if you don’t want to have a sit-down dinner that is served is to provide bento-style boxes of food for people to pick up and bring to a table to eat. That way all the food is covered.

If you do want to have food out so people can graze, consider keeping it under see-through covers liked domed cloches.

Also, you should consider not having champagne towers or punch bowls. Instead try to provide drinks in bottles that your staff can open on their own, or have a bar with a hired bartender who serves bottles and pours glasses of wine or mixed drinks.

Use technology. Some companies are planning to hold Zoom-based celebrations to reduce the risk of transmission, particularly if they are located in areas with high and rising case rates or if a large portion of their staff remain unvaccinated.

A solution for some businesses may be a hybrid event where some people are on-site and others join in via Zoom or other platforms. This is an ideal way to include vulnerable individuals who may be at special risk, for whatever reason.

While “virtual mingling” might not have quite the same zing to it, employees joining in from home can still relax and chat with colleagues.

Live, interactive games that cyberspace attendees can participate in are limited only by your imagination. Invite employees to make suggestions, and you might be surprised by what people come up with.

Ultimate in safety: No party. Some employers are holding off for another year and instead providing their staff with additional time off to spend with their families.

The decision

The decision on whether to hold a holiday party, and how to hold one, requires planning and a focus on safety for everyone who will be attending. While safety should be top of mind for any company event, with the ongoing pandemic in the background, it’s important that employers focus on protecting their staff from infection again this year.

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.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 60+ 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. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

 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 – 2021 – BGES Group

While your health insurance will cover most of your medical expenses, and costs associated with some medical issues, it won’t cover you for lost income and non-medical expenses you incur if you are unable to work due to your illness.

For example, if you have a debilitating stroke or heart attack, your insurance will cover treatment, but you may have to foot a large portion out of pocket and you may need extra funds during your recovery to make ends meet.

So, how do you pay for the expenses that medical insurance and disability insurance do not cover? Critical illness insurance can fill the gap when you need it most.

This is especially true if you have a high-deductible health plan. If you suddenly are faced with a medical bill associated with a cancer diagnosis or a stroke, it could be a massive financial strain, particularly if you are unable to work for a time and don’t have the income to pay those out-of-pocket medical bills.

In this case, you could use proceeds from the insurance to pay your deductible and more. The peace of mind having critical illness insurance when you also have an HDHP is worth its weight in gold. Fortunately, these policies are often reasonably priced.

How it works

Critical illness insurance will pay you a lump sum cash in case of a serious illness. The number of covered illnesses depends on the policy, but the average is 19. Some common ones include:

• Stroke,
• Heart attack,
• Cancer,
• Serious COVID-19 hospitalization (depending on the severity and incapacitation),
• Alzheimer’s disease,
• Kidney failure, and
• Paralysis or paraplegia.

The size of the payment depends on the policy limits. It can range from $5,000 up to $100,000. A few policies offer a lifetime maximum of up to $500,000. The higher the lifetime maximum, the more you will pay in premium

Typically, individual critical illness coverage is guaranteed renewable for life, as long as the policy is purchased before the age of 70. That said, after an insured turns 70, the policy’s benefit amount is reduced by half.

That means if you buy critical illness insurance with a $50,000 benefit amount prior to age 70, and if you make a claim when you are 76, the policy will pay $25,000.

Once you have the funds, you can use them for anything you need, like health insurance deductibles, special equipment, wheelchair, costs of seeing a specialist for whom your health insurance won’t pay, transportation and childcare.

You can even use the funds to pay your mortgage, utilities and other day-to-day necessities. There are no restrictions on how you spend the money. Once it’s yours, it’s yours.

How much it costs

The cost of a critical illness plan will vary on your age, health, whether you smoke or not, and what kind of work you do.

Critical illness insurance can be relatively inexpensive.

A 35-year-old non-smoking male architect in Savannah, Ga. would pay about $50 per month for a single plan benefit of $50,000. At 55, that same man would pay $148 a month. Smoking raises premiums substantially.

The policy price will also depend on how many illnesses or health issues a policy would cover.

What to do next

You may be wondering if this type of insurance is right for you. If you’re interested, please call us and we can go over the specifics and help you shop around for a policy.

You may also want to check with your employer, as many companies offer it as a voluntary benefit to their staff at group rates.

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, Payroll Processing and Identity Theft.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 60+ 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. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

For high-net-worth individuals, the financial consequences of being sued can be serious business.

They typically have more assets at risk should be they be hit with a large court settlement or judgment and, while compensatory damages may be standard across the board, some juries have seen fit to punish the rich especially hard for their negligence.

But if you don’t think it can happen to you, consider these not-so-far-fetched scenarios:

• You agree to host a charity function at your home and when 65 guests are on your backyard deck, it collapses, injuring many.
• One of your teen children is involved in cyber-bullying a child and his parents sue your child and you for inflicting emotional harm.
• Your husband is at fault in an auto accident that kills two passengers in the other car and severely injures the driver.

While your underlying automobile or homeowner’s policy would pay for many of these damages, the policies usually cap liability payouts at a certain amount – typically $500,000.

Any damages above that would come out of your pocket and assets unless you have an umbrella policy, which will kick in after your primary insurance limits are breached.

But the problem for high-net-worth individuals is that a typical umbrella policy is often capped at $5 million, and that may not be enough if a large judgment is leveled against you.

Ideally, you would secure enough liability coverage in a personal umbrella policy to ensure your wealth is not wiped out from a lawsuit, and there is a special line of umbrella coverage that is geared towards high-net-worth individuals that require higher limits.

Fortunately, there is a select group of companies that offer specialized personal umbrella policies that have limits as high as $100 million – and they can be customized specifically to your situation.

Why you need it

As a high-net-worth individual, you also have more liability risks than most individuals, since you are more apt to:

• Hold a charity function or other event at home
• Serve on boards of directors
• Have swimming pools, trampolines and personal watercraft
• Rent out properties
• Employ residential staff like maids, nannies, drivers and gardeners.

Making matters problematic for wealthy households are common-law joint and several liability statutes, used in cases where two or more defendants are found liable for damages. In such cases, the winning plaintiff may collect the entire judgment from any one of the parties.

Joint and several liability

Consider the following sequence of events in an actual case:

• Four teenagers were horsing around in a car driving through a neighborhood and hitting trash cans placed on the side of the road for garbage day the following morning.
• One of the boys stuck his arm out the window to hit one of the garbage cans with his fist, but in doing so half his arm was severed.
• Although all of them were essentially culpable for the accident, the plaintiff’s attorney for the injured boy only went after the rich father of one teenager – and the other boys got off scot-free.

How a personal umbrella policy works

Basically, the umbrella policy sits on top of the liability portion of your automobile, homeowner’s or watercraft policy and it begins to pay when you’ve exhausted the limits of the primary policy.

You need to have specific minimum primary liability coverage amounts on the primary homeowner’s, auto or watercraft policy to make sure there is no gap between when the primary liability policy stops paying and the personal umbrella liability policy begins to pay.

There are two main types of liability that the policy will cover:

• Physical injury to someone and personal injuries (such those sustained from slander or defamation).
• Property damage to a third party that was caused by the insured.

Lawsuit Threats Keeping Wealthy Households Awake

• An auto accident 47%
• A worker or household employee is injured while on your property 31%
• A visitor is injured while on your property 29%
• Being accused of misdeeds or being held liable for incidents in connection with volunteer work 22%
• Being sued as a result of a side business you conduct on your property 19%
• Being accused of libel, slander or invasion of privacy 18%
• Your pet causes someone injury or does serious property damage 18%
• Being accused of sexual harassment, discrimination, abuse or wrongful termination by a nanny or other household employee 17%
• A dispute with a neighbor 15%
• An altercation involving you or a family member 14%
• Other 20%

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.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 60+ 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. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

Contractors Insurance; Contractors Liability; Higher insurance costs due to delays; Builders Risk

Increasing construction project delays are combining with a hardening market for builder’s risk and liability insurance to create headaches for project owners and contractors.

If your project suffers from delays, you may find it difficult or costly to extend the length of your insurance coverage as insurers have tightened their underwriting policies and some have stopped underwriting construction projects altogether.

Owners need to understand the insurance marketplace and take steps in advance to keep insurance issues from throwing a monkey wrench into a project.

Delays weigh on contractors

Contractors report several reasons for delays:

• Projects are increasingly complicated and have long durations.
• Initial budgets and estimated timelines may prove to be inadequate or over-optimistic.
• The process of obtaining permits can take years, particularly if there are environmental concerns about the project.
• Increasingly volatile weather conditions are setting some projects back, as hurricanes, floods and wildfires can prevent work from starting or damage work already completed.

Insurers’ response

This is happening at a time of persistently tight insurance market conditions. The size of court damage awards is growing. More frequent and intense storms have sent the cost of property damage losses soaring.

Some insurers have responded by reducing their appetites for insuring construction projects, while others have pulled out of the construction market entirely.

Those that remain are hiking rates, increasing deductibles and self-insured retentions, and adding provisions that reduce the scope of coverage.

In a state like New York with a difficult legal environment, it can be a struggle to obtain adequate coverage at affordable premiums.

Consequently, when an insurer is asked to extend the coverage expiration date for a construction project, the agreement may come with these unpleasant strings attached.

Also, the project budget likely did not contemplate increases in insurance costs and uninsured loss costs midway through the process.

What you can do

Solving these problems is not easy, but there are things that can be done to address them, as follows:

Identify solid insurers — At the beginning of the process, owners and contractors should work with their insurance brokers to identify insurers with long track records of providing construction coverage.

Some insurers may jump in and out of markets, depending on how profitable they appear at the time. Multi-year construction projects require insurers who will not exit the market when their profit margins slip.

Where one or more of the project’s insurers have departed the market, it is impossible for the project owners to negotiate a solution. However, if the insurers are still willing to offer coverage, those that have solid, long-standing relationships with owners and contractors may be willing to negotiate terms satisfactory to all.

Negotiate automatic extensions — Owners and contractors should attempt to include automatic coverage extensions during negotiations for the original policies.

These projects involve multiple insurers providing different layers of coverage and it’s important to try to negotiate these coverage extensions with all of them. If one insurer drops out, it may be possible to get some of the others to fill in the gap.

Consider a ‘captive’ — In some cases, contractors may have the option of turning to “captive” insurers to fund higher retentions and uninsured losses. A captive insurer covers the risks of its owners; companies sometimes create them because of tax and cash flow advantages.

Stay on schedule — Do all you can to stay on schedule, so you don’t run into insurance issues. This requires closer coordination among all the contractors and the subs and more attentive management of the project. That may mean additional outlays by the project owner, but staying on schedule is less costly than blowing through the completion deadline.

With the current supply-chain problems not easing anytime soon, the problem of project delays will likely continue. Insurance problems may complicate that further, but they can be managed.

Before your next project, call us so we can get the ball rolling early.

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.

Special Contractor Insurance Programs (NY, NJ, CT) – We we have 60+ 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. If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group

Whole Life vs. Universal Life Insurance: What’s the Difference?

Whole life and universal life insurance are two popular types of permanent life insurance policies. That is, they are intended to extend coverage for life, or for far beyond the coverage available under a term life policy.

Both types of policies share these key characteristics of life insurance:

• They provide a tax-free death benefit to widows, orphans and other beneficiaries.
• They are designed to last many years longer than a term insurance policy.
• Unlike term insurance, whole and universal life policies build cash value. Policy owners can access at any time and use for any purpose.
• Cash value grows tax-free while the policy remains in force. (If you cancel the policy and cash out, you would pay capital gains tax on any proceeds over what you paid in).
• Both qualify for tax-free exchanges to another life insurance policy, or an annuity.

Differences

But there are important differences between the two types of policies, as well — mostly in the different guarantees under each type of contract.

Whole life insurance typically provides for more stability and guarantees. But the initial premium commitment may be higher.

Whole life Insurance

• Guaranteed-level premium for life
• Must pay premiums as scheduled
• Guaranteed cash value growth rate
• Can be ‘guaranteed paid up’ at a certain age
• Fixed, with no risk of market loss.

Universal life Insurance

• Cost of insurance goes up over time
• Flexible premiums and payment
• Cash value growth rate fluctuates
• “No-lapse guarantee” riders available — for higher premiums
• Can be fixed or variable. Variable universal life insurance subaccounts may lose money.

Universal life advantages

Universal life policies offer flexible premiums. You can contribute premium when you like.

Consider paying extra premium in good times to fuel the policy’s cash value and stay ahead of the rising cost of insurance as you age. That provides the flexibility to contribute less during lean times, if need be.

Universal life insurance may also allow for faster build-up of cash value for living benefits, such as tax-advantaged retirement income, college funding, etc., compared to whole life — especially if you can overfund the policy during the early years.

Universal life disadvantages

It’s important to understand that under universal life contracts, the cost of insurance gradually increases as the insured gets older. Universal policies may require higher and higher premium payments to keep the policy in force.

If you don’t pay the full premium, the carrier will deduct from the cash value each year to pay it, until the cash value is exhausted.

Many people have been caught by surprise when they learn a universal life insurance policy they expected to last a lifetime will lapse unless they contribute a large amount of premium to keep it in force.

To sum up…

Whole life insurance provides less flexibility. But it also provides for fewer surprises. Universal offers more flexibility and possibly more cash value growth — up to a point. Eventually, the rising cost of insurance takes its toll.

In either case, it’s a good idea to monitor any permanent life insurance policy carefully. Stay in touch with us and call us to review the status of your policy each year.

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.

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.  If you’re a contractor we offer extensive information about insurance markets, coverages, risk transfer, subcontractor screening, ways to lower your insurance costs.

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) Replacing policies that are 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.

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 – 2021 – BGES Group