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What to Know About Small Business Liability Insurance

When it comes to your business, protecting the time and effort you’ve put forth is important. Business owners realize there are different areas where they may be at risk. Every small business owner should consider investing in liability insurance. A typical general liability insurance policy will only respond to a bodily injury, property damage, personal injury or advertising injury claim. You may need more than that, however.

What Type of Liability Insurance Do I Need?

Liability insurance can fall under different names depending on the industry you are in.

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If you’re at risk of being sued by a third party for negligence or misinformation that results in a significant damage or loss to a client or customer, you need some form of liability insurance.

  • Public: Some small businesses may not feel public liability insurance is worth the cost. However, if a claim were to take place, the out-of-pocket costs could be so damaging that your business can no longer operate. Public liability insurance can cover you in the event that your business is responsible, or is claimed to be responsible, when someone is physically injured, has property damaged, or both, at your place of business.
  • Product: If you manufacture or supply goods, you’ll want product liability insurance. This type of liability insurance covers your business in the event your product causes harm or injury to someone resulting from a manufacturing, marketing or design defect. You may not see a defect taking place, but it is better to be safe than sorry and plan in advance.
  • Professional: Technology firms and consultants need to consider a professional liability insurance policy. Covered incidents may include errors and omissions that result in the loss of client data, claims of non-performance and negligence leading to a loss of money, customers, etc.

What Should I Look For?

Now that you’ve determined which type of liability insurance you need, you’ve reached the even more difficult part of the process. From choosing the right provider to the right plan, it can be overwhelming. When investing in liability insurance, these are the steps you’ll want to take before buying.

  • Research business insurance providers. Look for online reviews and ask other businesses in your industry for recommendations.
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    Online research shouldn’t be your only source of information as reviews that rave about a product could be written by someone from the company, and a poor review could be authored by a competitor.

  • Compare pricing and coverage. Ask at least three different providers for quotes on a policy. Shopping around before your initial investment—and every few years after that—can result in better coverage for less.
  • Watch out for low ball quotes. Pricing should be fairly similar across all the providers you choose to compare. A quote that is significantly lower than the rest may be a result of less coverage, poor customer service or additional fees.
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  • Look for a provider and policy with scalability. While your business may only have potential risks in a few areas now, the future is undetermined. With expansion may come new risks and you want a policy you can adjust to meet those new needs.

When it comes to liability insurance, speak with an insurance provider who has worked with other small businesses similar to yours. Compare providers and discuss the areas where your business may be at risk both now and in the future to find a provider and policy that can meet those expectations. More than anything, you want to look into investing in liability insurance before an incident takes place to make sure you’re covered and your small business can continue to grow.

2012 RIMS Canada Conference: A Photo Essay

The 2012 RIMS Canada Conference in Saskatoon was a resounding success. But instead of telling you how much fun it was, I’d like to show you.

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Here it is, the conference highlights in photo (and even a bit of video) form:

RIMS President Deborah Luthi speaks with a 2012 RIMS Canada attendee during the opening ceremony in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Province.

Guests enjoying the opening reception.

RIMS Executive Director Mary Roth and one of the conference’s “referees.

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Games and prizes at the opening reception.

Saskatoon’s very own beer was on hand during the opening reception.

Can you spot Craig Rowe from ClearRisk?

RIMS board member Robert Cartwright with guests at the conference’s opening reception.

Performers at the conference tailgate party.

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Click here to see Nowell Seaman perform with the band.

Canada’s best cover band performing Madonna’s “Holiday.”

Important members of the conference at the grand finale — the 2012 RIMS Canada Conference’s tailgate party.

Until next year in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia.

The Key to an Effective ERM Program

What is the key to an effective ERM program?

Culture.

That’s according to Diana Del Bel Beluz of Risk Wise, Inc. Her session at the 2012 RIMS Canada Conference focused on the culture of an organization and how it can make or break a company’s ERM program.

“What is enterprise risk?” she asked. “Events or circumstances that could influence either the organization’s ability to achieve its mission or strategic objectives or its reputation, strength and viability.”

The purpose of risk management:

  • Establish strategic context
  • Monitor and review risks
  • Respond to risks
  • Identify risks
  • Assess and prioritize risks

“We do these things to communicate and align to risk appetite,” said Del Bel Belluz.

She stressed that corporate culture is the actions of leaders — observable artifacts, shared values and tacit assumptions.

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It is this culture, she says, that is the number one ingredient for effective risk management

But what is risk management? “The culture, processes and structures that are directed towards realizing potential opportunities whilst managing adverse effects,” said Del Bel Belluz.

To her, the traits of a healthy risk culture are:

  • Accountability — “It’s not about blaming, it’s about understanding why it went right or why it went wrong.”
  • Open and inquiring
  • Performance oriented
  • Prepared and ready
  • Collaborative
  • Vigilant
  • Innovative
  • Adaptable and resilient

“To implement sustainable risk management you need to create a plan, have a strategy, create buy-in and have implementation — leadership, communication, for example, educating, listening, coaching,” she stressed.

There are three sources of resistance, however. They are:

  • Rational 20% — the business case (costs, benefits)
  • Emotional 60% — self-interest, fear, comfort, attachment
  • Political 20% — shift in power structure

Del Bel Belluz then breaks down the categories of resistance:

Rational resistance

  • Establish urgency
  • Form guiding coalition
  • Create vision
  • Communicate vision
  • Empower employees to act
  • Generate short term wins
  • Consolidate gains and produce more change
  • Anchor new approaches

Emotional resistance

“You have to revert down to the bottom of the hierarchy when dealing with emotional resistance,” said Del Bel Belluz.

Political resistance

To best explain political resistance, Del Bel Belluz referred to a famous quote from Niccoló Machiavelli, which states:

There is nothing more difficult to execute, nor more dubious of success, nor more dangerous to administer than to introduce a new system of things: for he who introduces it has all those who profit from the old system as his enemies, and he has only lukewarm allies in all those who might profit from the new system.

Whether you fully agree with Del Bel Belluz or not, one thing is certain — culture most definitely plays a part in establishing an effective enterprise risk management program. How much of part depends on the company. But those who feel culture is insignificant to ERM may find, sooner or later, that their program is deeply flawed.

The Evolving Role of the Risk Professional: A Panel Discussion at the 2012 RIMS Canada Conference

The role of the risk manager is in a state of continuous flux, with responsibilities for risk managers being added as modern risks are revealed. At the 2012 RIMS Canada Conference, a panel of some of the finest minds in the discipline gathered to discuss this issue in a panel discussion titled, “Are We There Yet? The Evolving Role of the Risk Management Professional.”

The panel included:

  • Robert Cartwright, loss prevention manager for Bridgestone Retail Operations, LLC
  • Nancy Chambers, director of risk management and insurance for NRES, Bentall Kennedy LP
  • Dan Kugler, assistant treasurer risk management for Snap-On Inc.
  • Deborah Luthi, RIMS president and enterprise risk manager for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

The following are each speakers thoughts on the matter:

Robert Cartwright: “Risk management has changed from the traditional buying of insurance,” said Cartwright. “We have a multi-generational focus today.”

The different approaches to risk management, as stated in the Marsh Excellence in Risk Management study:

  • Traditional — you have your job and I have my job, focused on transferring, not linked to corporate strategy
  • Integrated/advanced — focuses on mission statements and you’ll get the attention of the c-suite
  • ERM — enterprise means everybody, no longer a silted approach. everyone in the org has a risk. develop 3-5 ear plan and now we have a rm program.

The current, inter-generational workforce

  • For the first time, we have five generations in the workforce
  • There is a shift in management philosophies
  • Lack of historical/knowledge transfer, “That’s the biggest problem that we have,” said Cartwright. “There is historical knowledge that needs to be passed on to the next group. Without historical knowledge, your company is doomed to fail and repeat mistakes.”
  • Communication gaps — the issue of how we say things
  • Technical abilities drive work ethic
  • Motivation through generations

Social media guidelines:

  • Major news source — “You don’t have to wait for the newspaper to come out anymore,” said Cartwright. “You can go to Twitter.”
  • Generational usage differs — “How many people use Facebook for investigating their employees on workers comp,” Cartwright asked. “We do. Facebook is a public entity. There is no governance. We have to find a way to govern it but most companies don’t even have a social media policy.”
  • Lack of workplace guidelines creates confusion
  • Insurances to protect employers
  • Use in hiring practices

Nancy Chambers: What is your place within the organization?

  • Clearly defining and establishing your role, “You really have to look at the expectations of your senior management, then look at what value you are providing to the organization.”
  • Identifying and responding to expectations
  • Demonstrating value to the bottom line of the organization

What’s on the Horizon?

“There is an increased focus on data,” said Chambers. But there are things to consider regarding data, including:

  • Must be comprehensive and credible
  • Senior management must make informed decisions
  • Insurers desire a well-risk-managed account (ERM)

The changing risk landscape:

  • Reputational — “We have a reputational risk because our major resource is our people,” said Chambers. “For us reputational risk is huge.”
  • Cat loss categorization — “Used to be only earthquakes. Now they’re looking at windstorms, flood plains and hail storms.”
  • Regulatory change — “Especially in the areas of environmental.”

“Make the most of your opportunities,” said Chambers. “Be aware and make the most of your message. Be visible, be valuable, be strategic.”

Dan Kugler voiced his support for an idea that may be new to many: entreprenuerial risk management, or ERMe.

“There is an evolving risk professional,” Kugler said. “I  wasn’t going to talk about this but I think RIMS is looking at how we are going to put everybody into the risk professional tent. One article that I keep in my mind is the 2012 RIMS Benchmark Survey. It asked risk managers where they go to get risk management expertise. It said we go to our brokers, to our insurance carriers, it said we go to outside vendors.

“So start thinking about not only the evolving job you have, but who is a risk professional.”

ERMe is a balance between the traditional concepts of preserve, protect and comply (the downside of risk) with build, expand and exploit (managing the upside of risk).

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  • preserve, protect and comply + build, expand and exploit = entrepreneurial risk management
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Kugler then shared an interesting fact about the number of Google searches for “risk management.”

  • 2006 and 2007: 3.2 million
  • 2008 and 2009: 27.3 million
  • 2010: more than 63 million

According to Accenture, 85% of companies said that risk managment has become a driver of competitive advantage for their company. Kugler wrapped up by sharing his favorite quote:

“Failure to exploit an opportunity or competitive advantage can be considered a significant risk.”

Deborah Luthi delved into the top three risks as identified by those at the 2012 RIMS conference in Philadelphia. They are:

  1. Another economic decline or stagnation
  2. Cyber risks
  3. Bridging the talent gap

“A couple of years ago, these wouldn’t be on the list,” Luthi said. “Is there an insurance product out there for numbers one and three? No, there isn’t. We’re all beginning to think about un-insurable risks that our organizations have and we can’t purchase insurance for them.”

She then referenced the “Excellence in Risk Management” survey, listing senior management’s desired changes:

  • Integrating risk management deeper within operations
  • Executing daily risk management activities more efficiently, “This is directly related to data, being able to quantify those risks,” Luthi said.
  • Providing improved analysis and quantification
  • Leading ERM activities — “Oftentimes we are here talking about how many of you are doing risk management, but I think sometimes we wait to be invited to do that. Dan talked about how you need to be looking for those opportunities. We can all be entrepreneurial risk managers by helping our organization understand what risk management is.”

“Are we there yet? I certainly hope not. I hope this is the beginning. I think a name change is in order. ‘Risk manager’ comes with a lot of baggage.”

Are we there yet? According to the panel, if you believe so, you may be in for a rude awakening. Just as business risks continue to evolve, so too must the role of the risk manager.