Stolen Cyber Data Used for Marketing – The market for stolen cyber data will continue to evolve as private user information is captured and shared by social media platforms and sold directly to legitimate business channels for activities such as lead-generation and marketing.

Mobile Web-based Attacks – Expect increased attacks aimed specifically against mobile web browsers as the tension between usability and security, along with device constraints (including small screen size), make it difficult to solve mobile web browser security flaws.

Search Poisoning – Attackers will increasingly use SEO (search engine optimization) techniques to optimize malicious links among search results so that users are more likely to click on a URL because it ranks highly on Google or other search engines.

As cyber attacks continue to show up with unprecedented sophistication and reach, the ability to compromise and control millions of computers continues to be a serious threat. It is increasingly important to understand possible threats, make sure your policy includes cyberinsurance, and have a plan in place to recover if your data is compromised.

While allowing employees to work from home has added benefits for both the employee and the employer, there are workers compensation exposures related to at-home workers.  As an employer, it is essential that you take a proactive approach to keep your employees safe and avoid potential liabilities.

1. First, consider which candidates are best suited to work from home.  Employees who have been with the company for a period of time long enough to prove their work ethic and trustworthiness are better candidates for at-home work than new employees.
   
   
2. After approving an employee to work from home, assist in setting up their workspace to ensure a safe work area.  Be sure to include an ergonomically-correct office arrangement.  Once the workspace is set up, it is a good idea to take several photographs for proof that a safe area was established, should a workers compensation claim later arise.
   
   
3. Provide a computer program for tracking time at work and time off.  If a workers compensation claim is made, an accurate tracking of the employee’s actual work time will aid in determining if an incident actually occurred during working hours.

To ensure your risk management is keeping pace with the changing trends in your workplace, contact your Leavitt Group insurance consultant.




Employers who supply their employees with company cell phones, laptops, BlackBerries, iPads and other portable devices could be in for a surprise if an employee is injured while using the device when off site or off the clock.

Insurance claims professionals say that claims made by workers who are injured, and the relation of the injury to their employment is unclear, are on the rise. The increasing use of mobile devices is challenging traditional notions of work-related injuries.

A few decades ago, when an employee’s work environment was easily defined by a physical location and time period, compensability was more easily determined.  With mobile devices, people can, and increasingly do, work from many locations.  Even if management does not encourage the behavior, they could still have some responsibility if it is happening, just as it might in harassment situations.

An employer can reduce the risk in offering these devices to employees by collaborating with their human resources department to establish a “best practices for mobile devices” policy.  This policy should be communicated clearly and enforced with all employees.




If you have questions about any of the coverages discussed in this article, please contact your Leavitt Group agent.

Business interruption insurance makes it possible for you to quickly resume business activities in the event of a disaster.  There are typically three types of business interruption insurance. 

• Business Income Coverage. This coverage will compensate you for lost income if your business suffers a property loss or damage from a covered peril such as windstorm or fire.  Your business will be covered, after a brief time deductible, until restoration of the lost or damaged property is complete.  In addition, the policy will cover operating expenses, such as utilities, that continue even when your business has temporarily halted activity. 

• Extra Expense Coverage.  During the restoration period following a loss, you may incur extra expenses to keep your business operating.  Extra expense coverage reimburses your company for a reasonable sum of money that it spends over and above the normal operating expenses to avoid having to shut down during the restoration period.  Extra expense coverage may also cover payroll to key employees so that you may retain them as employees. 

• Contingent Business Interruption Insurance. This policy will reimburse your company for its expenses and lost profits when it can’t operate because a disaster has struck a supplier or manufacturer.  For example, the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 led to supply chain disruptions around the world.  Companies who were affected and who had contingent business interruption insurance were able to use this coverage to reimburse expenses and lost profits during the shipment delays.

Note:  Damage due to flood is excluded from most property policies.
 


Part of risk management involves not only having an insurance policy in place but making sure you have the right elements included in your policy.  In addition, a regular review of your policy with your insurance agent will help ensure your policy is kept up-to-date with the changes in your business and industry.  The following is an outline of four elements of your insurance policy that we recommend you review regularly with your agent.
A building and personal property (BPP) policy covers the building, your business personal property, and the personal property of others. Categories covered include furniture, fixtures, merchandise, personal property owned by you and used in your business, tenant improvements (if leasing/renting), etc. To ensure you have adequate coverage for all of these assets, the value of your property needs to be accurately reported and updated annually to reflect inflation and other changes in costs. 

To protect the property of your employees, you will need personal effects and property of others coverage added to your policy.  This coverage extends up to $2,500 worth of business personal property coverage to your personal effects as well as that which belongs to your officers, partners, and employees.  This coverage also protects the personal property of others in your care, custody, or control.  Limits higher than $2,500 can be purchased if needed for this policy.


A commercial general liability (CGL) policy protects your business assets against many common liability claims, including bodily injury, property damage, personal injury (including slander or libel), and advertising injury (damage from slander or false advertising).  A CGL policy will cover the cost of defending or settling claims.  The two major forms of liability insurance policies are occurrence and claims made.  An occurrence policy covers you for the policy amount you had in place when the actual injury occurred, not when the claim was made.  A claims-made policy covers you for the policy amount you have in place when the claim is made.
 

Commercial auto insurance differs greatly from personal auto insurance.  The type of coverage you need depends on a variety of factors.  Here are a few tips to help determine if you need commercial auto insurance:

• Whose name is the vehicle registered under?  If it is registered in the name of the business, you need commercial auto insurance. 

• How is the vehicle used?  If you or your employees use the vehicle for business purposes, then you need a commercial policy. Even personal vehicles may also need commercial auto coverage if they are being frequently used for business purposes. Although your employees’ vehicles are covered by their own personal insurance policies, this coverage will take effect if an employee is involved in an automobile accident with damages that exceed the limits of their own private policy.

Another substantial economic risk arises if an employee injures someone else in an accident. If an employee caused the accident due to the distraction of a cell phone, you will likely be liable for any injuries or damages caused by the accident. Additionally, if you do not have any policies or guidelines regulating cell phone use while driving, your liability could be even greater.
Understanding applicable state and federal laws pertaining to cell phone use while driving is critical when developing guidelines and a written policy. Here are some sample statements you may choose to include:

• Cell phones are not to be used while driving a moving vehicle or operating moving machinery, as such distractions can cause accidents and injuries.

• Employees are required to comply with all state and local laws regarding the use of cell phones while driving. If cell phone use is necessary while driving, all employees must use a hands-free device.

• All text messaging, including typing or reading text messages, while operating any vehicle (employer-owned, rented, or personal) when conducting company business is prohibited.

• Any violations of this policy will subject employees to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

The safest and most conservative policy would be to prohibit any use of a cell phone while driving. If you feel your employees need to have access to a phone while driving, you should implement policies that still keep usage with certain parameters (e.g. hands-free device). Doing so will lessen the potential liability for both your employees and your company.

In wildfire situations, most homes are not destroyed by the initial fire front of the wildfire but by the embers from that fire.  Creating defensible space around your home and regular clean-up of vegetation and flammable materials will lessen the opportunity for those embers to cause another fire.

Here are a few recommendations for protecting your home against wildfire:

• Use fire-resistant materials when possible (especially on the roof of your home).
• Create a safety zone around your home by clearing leaves, dead limbs, and other flammable vegetation. If you live in a community at risk of wildfire,  FEMA recommends creating a 30- to 100-foot zone around your home.
• Remove leaves and debris from roof, gutters, vents, and under structures.
• Safely store flammable items such as gasoline and oily rags in approved safety cans and away from your home or other structures.
• Keep a garden hose within easy access. It should be long enough to reach any area of your home and all structures on your property.
• Prune trees and bushes regularly to keep them clear of power lines and chimney outlets. Remove dead branches that extend over the roof.

For more suggestions on protecting your home, visit www.fema.gov. 
Source: www.fema.gov 





Even if your home is not located in a high-hazard flood zone, you are still at risk. Hurricanes, winter storms, and snow melt are common and often overlooked causes of flooding. New land development can increase flood risk, especially if the construction changes natural runoff paths. Nearly 25 percent of all flood claims come from moderate to low flood risk areas.

Though you may not be required to hold flood coverage based on your geographic location, this is still important coverage to add to your policy. Remember, standard homeowners and renters insurance policies do not cover flood damage, so you will need to discuss this coverage with your agent in order to add it to your policy.


The value of your insurance policy should be based on the cost to rebuild your home rather than the market or tax value of your home. The purpose of the homeowners policy is to rebuild your home and replace its contents in the event of a total loss, so the policy value should be based on actual rebuilding and replacement costs rather than perceived market value.

How do you determine how much coverage you need? Your insurance agent has access to tools that will help estimate the rebuilding costs of your home. Your help in maintaining an accurate home inventory will aid in ensuring your policy is adequate for your needs.


While it is easy and convenient to add a boat or personal watercraft to your homeowners policy, the coverage options are limited. A separate watercraft insurance policy provides more in-depth coverage, including the following options:

• Uninsured/underinsured watercraft bodily injury
• Fuel spill liability and wreckage removal
• Personal effects
• Unattached equipment coverage
• Emergency assistance

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are designed to reduce insurance costs for both employers and employees.  If you are considering offering an HSA as part of your employee benefits plan, here are some additional benefits you will realize.

Lower insurance costs.  Switching to an HSA-qualified high-deductible health plan should reduce your insurance premiums.  In addition, rather than paying 100 percent of insurance dollars towards premiums, an HSA allows you to distribute some of these funds directly to your employees by making contributions to their accounts.

Offer a more diverse benefits package.  Including HSAs in your benefits plan can enhance your benefits package and aid in attracting and retaining key employees.

Reduce taxes.  Contributions you make to your employees’ HSAs are made with pre-tax dollars.*

Minimize administrative costs.  Employees own and administer their own HSAs, so there are minimal administrative and compliance issues for employers. 

Share the cost of health care benefits with your employees.  An HSA gives your employees the ability to build a savings account with tax benefits and motivates them to take a vested interest in their health care choices and expenditures — a win-win for all parties.

*States that do not provide state tax exemptions for HSA deductions are Alabama, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.



An increasing number of employers are incorporating health savings accounts (HSA) into their group benefits plan.  The following is information you can share with your employees to help them understand the benefits and requirements of HSAs.

An HSA is an account set aside specifically for paying qualified medical expenses.  The account is typically set up as a tax-exempt trust or custodial account.  HSAs are offered by some employers to give their employees more control over funds allocated for health care services. 

Both employees and employers can contribute to an HSA.  The 2011 maximum annual contribution is $3,050 for individual coverage and $6,150 for family coverage.  These limits will increase in 2012 to $3,100 for individuals and $6,250 for families.  You can expect to see future changes in contribution limits as they are indexed to inflation. 

Individuals who have an HSA and are at least age 55 by December 31st may make a one-time annual “catch-up” contribution of $1,000 to their HSA (as long as they are not enrolled in Medicare).  Because accounts are owned by an individual and are technically not family accounts, when both a husband and wife are eligible to make catch-up contributions they must own separate accounts to do so.

For more information regarding health savings accounts, contact your Leavitt Group insurance advisor.

SOME OF THE BENEFITS* OF AN HSA ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• You can claim a tax deduction for HSA contributions made by you or someone other than your employer.
• Contributions made by the employer are excluded from taxable income.
• Unused contributions in your account roll over from year to year.
• Earnings on contributions are also not subject to income taxes. 
• Distributions for qualified medical expenses are tax free.
• Certain preventative services can be covered in full and not subject to a deductible.
• If you change employers or leave the workforce, you still own your HSA.   

YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR AN HSA IF:

• You are covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP).
• You have no other health coverage except what is permitted by exception.  These exceptions include supplemental coverage without a high deductible for such things as specific injury insurance or accident, disability, dental, vision or long-term care insurance.
• You are not enrolled in Medicare.
• You cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return.

*States that do not provide state tax exemptions for HSA deductions are Alabama, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Sources:  IRS.gov and EBRI.org

As part of a benefits package offered to employees, many employers provide retirement options.  Two employee retirement plan options you can provide include a defined benefit plan and a defined contribution plan.

»  Defined Benefit Plan

»  Defined Contribution Plan





Understand basic investment principles.  A variety of factors will influence how much you will have saved at retirement, including inflation, type of investments, and how long your money has had time to grow.  Pay attention to your investments and meet with a financial advisor on a regular basis to ensure you are staying on track to meet your financial goals.  Diversify your investments to reduce risk and improve return.  Knowledge equals financial security.

Contribute to your employer’s retirement savings plan.  If your employer offers a retirement savings plan, start contributing.  Set a goal to contribute at least enough to qualify for the full employer contribution.

Set realistic goals and stay committed.  Set a realistic savings and investment strategy to meet your financial retirement goal.  Start small if you have to and increase the amount over time. The sooner you start saving, the more time your money will have to grow.

Don’t touch your retirement savings.  If you withdraw your retirement savings prematurely, you will lose principal and interest and possibly tax benefits.  You may also have to pay withdrawal penalties.  If you change jobs, don’t withdraw the savings; instead, roll them over to an IRA or your new employer’s plan.

Invest in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).  There are two IRA options - traditional IRA or Roth IRA.  The tax treatment of your contributions and the after-tax value of your withdrawal will depend on the type of IRA you choose.  Annual contributions can be up to $5,000 and there are certain tax advantages in contributing to an IRA as well.

Learn about your Social Security benefits.  Review your annual Social Security statement so you are familiar with how much your estimated benefit will be and when you can expect to receive it.  On average, Social Security currently pays benefits that are equal to about 40 percent of what you earned before retirement.  For more information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov.

Ask questions.  While these tips provide suggestions for preparing for retirement, you need more in-depth information to determine your retirement needs and make sound investment decisions.  Consult with a financial adviser for more detailed information and guidance.

Source:  www.dol.gov

With increasing health care costs and major changes to the health care system, many employers are implementing wellness programs and health incentives for their employees. With a little creativity and participation from your workforce, you can create a wellness program that meets the needs of your employees and helps them maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Here are a few ideas to help you start or improve your own company wellness program:

Wellness Program Ideas & Initiatives:

• Sponsor fitness and weight loss competitions.
• Sponsor a walking program.
• Sponsor company sports events, such as softball tournaments or 5K races.
• Substitute snacks around the office with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Incentives for Participation in Wellness Programs:

• Provide a monthly cash incentive for meeting fitness goals. 
• Offer discounted health club memberships.
• Give gift cards for health-related products and services.

Wellness programs offer attractive benefits to employees, but they also add value to the employer as well.  Some of the reasons employees are motivated to participate in wellness programs include:

• Desire to achieve better overall health.
• Reduce personal health care costs.
• Increase longevity of life.

The benefits an employer can expect to see while maintaining a wellness program for employees include:

• Improved energy and productivity among employees.
• Employees will be motivated to work harder and perform better.
• Decrease in absenteeism due to illness.
• Improved employee moral.
• Decrease in health care costs as employees reduce unhealthy behaviors and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• Gain control of illnesses, conditions, and unhealthy behaviors before they become more serious.
• Recruit and retain top talent - wellness programs can help employees feel more appreciated and also increase loyalty to the company.

   * “American Workers Say Wellness Works to Improve Health, Save Costs.”  Business Wire.  February 16, 2011.