R&R Insurance Blog

Agency Contract Review Disclaimer - R&R Agency Contract Review Disclaimer

At your request, our agency will review the insurance requirements in the contract furnished to us.

Scope of Review. Our agency will review only the insurance requirements contained in the contract. In performing this limited review, our agency is not providing legal advice or a legal opinion concerning any portion of the contract. No lawyer-client relationship is created by our review of this or any other contract. We strongly suggest that this contract be reviewed by your own legal counsel.

The scope of our review will be to determine if the current insurance program which you have placed through our agency addresses the types and amounts of insurance coverage referenced by the contract. We will identify the significant insurance obligations and advise you of any changes required in your current insurance program to meet the requirements of the contract. At your request and upon your authorization, we will make the necessary changes in your insurance program.

Our agency is not undertaking to identify all potential liabilities that may arise under this contract. This review is provided for your information, and should not be relied upon by third parties. Any descriptions of insurance coverage(s) are subject to the terms, conditions, exclusion, and other provisions of the policies and any applicable laws or regulations.

Disclaimer of Liability. In no event shall our agent and its related, affiliated and subsidiary companies be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the limited contract review.

1. Additional Insured: A person or organization not automatically included as an insured under a policy, and is added by endorsement to the policy at the request of the first named insured. The person or organization then becomes an insured for a specific project, product or premises.
2. Primary and Non-contributory: Primary is a term used to determine whose policy is going to pay first; non-contributory is a term used to indicate that the primary policy will not seek contribution from the other policy until the full claim is paid or the policy is exhausted.
3. Waiver of Subrogation: The insurance carrier has the right to recover its claim payments from those who were responsible for the loss. By endorsing its policy with a waiver of subrogation, the carrier is stopped from pursuing this recovery.
4. Ongoing Operations: Work or other business activity that is in process and has not yet been completed or abandoned.
5. Completed Operations: Work of the insured that has been completed under a contract or work order, or has been put to its intended use.
6. Indemnify: To make compensation to an entity, person or organization for injury, loss or damage; to make the other party “whole”.
7. Hold Harmless Agreement: A provision in a contract that requires one contracting party to respond to certain legal liabilities of the other party. Typically, hold harmless agreements will be “basic”(or “limited"), “intermediate” or “broad”.
8. Indemnitor: The party agreeing to indemnify and hold the other party (indemnitee) harmless.
9. Per-Project Aggregate: Required by many project owners or general contractors, this is a standard endorsement to the general liability policy which allows a contractor to specify the application of a separate general aggregate limit to individual construction projects, subject to the usual maximum limit the policy will pay per policy term.
10. Alternate Employer Endorsement: Applicable when one employer lends, rents or leases an employee to another employer. This endorsement resembles an additional insured endorsement to the workers compensation policy and is attached to the regular (lending) employer’s policy.

Click here to download a copy of this blog.

R&R Insurance Services is pleased to provide this information to you as a guide. It is intentionally condensed. For a thorough explanation of these and other terms, and if applicable in your situation, please contact your Knowledge Broker.

An uninsured subcontractor can increase your exposure to liability and workers compensation claims, affect your experience modification factor and increase your premium. If the subcontractor does not carry insurance, your policy could respond in the event of a claim. An uninsured subcontractor will be considered to be your employee.

The insurance company’s auditor will ask for both payroll and 1099 records in order to determine final premium. If certificates from subcontractors cannot be produced, the cost of those subcontractors will be included in your audit.

Some tips for a successful certificate management program:

• Advise subcontractors up front that certificates will be required
• Ensure that dates on the certificate align with the length of time they will be on the project. If the project goes longer, ask for a renewal of the certificate
• The certificate must show evidence of both general liability and workers compensation insurance
• Don’t allow for exceptions, even if the subcontractor claims to be exempt from the workers compensation requirement (sole proprietor, no employees, etc.)
• Your R&R agent can assist you in setting up specific insurance requirements concerning limits and policy provisions designed to protect you such as:
  • Additional insured status
  • Primary and non-contributory insurance
  • Waiver of subrogation

We urge you to require your subcontractors to be insured and to furnish a certificate of insurance as proof. Click here to download a copy of this blog.

R&R Insurance Services is pleased to provide this information to you as a guide. It is intentionally condensed. For a thorough explanation of these and other terms, and if applicable in your situation, please contact your Knowledge Broker.

What is "Not-for-Profit Directors & Officers Liability" and why do I need it?

The typical Not-for-Profit D&O policy will:

• Protect entity and its directors and officers from claims that arise from their decisions and actions
• Protect entity for non-bodily injury claims
• Cover the personal liability of directors and officers as individuals and reimburses the company for claims that it has paid to a third party
• Cover defense costs, settlements, and judgements
• Answer on behalf of the entity to stakeholders, members, employees, and the public

Types of claims brought against not-for-profits:

• Financial mismanagement / misuse
• Anti-trust violations
• Restraint of trade
• Membership discrimination
• Defamation
• Conflict of interest
• Breach of contract
• Mistakes or errors in judgement
• Employment related claims
  • Discrimination / harassment
  • Wrongful termination / refusal to hire

It also may be easier for a not-for-profit organization to enlist parties willing to serve on the board of directors if there is D&O insurance in place. See: "Exposures of Being a Member of the Board"

D&O policies can vary widely, as do the needs and exposures of not-for-profits. A thorough review with your agent is necessary to choose the right carrier partner for your organization.

For additional information and to receive a quote on this valuable coverage, please contact your R&R knowledgebroker.

Spring is full of reminders: turn your clocks ahead, replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and file your submission for the Wisconsin Contractors Premium Adjustment Program credit (WCPAP). The attached document offers information on how to submit your payroll data to the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau for consideration. The due date to submit your information varies by your policy's effective date. Please see the FAQ section of the WCRB website to determine when your information is due. For contractors who have policies renewing in summer, your submission is due very soon.

Don't hesitate to contact your agent if you have questions about this process, or if you would like information about your past credit(s).

Businesses today rely heavily on the use of computers to manage their internal operations. Placing customer orders, inventory control, accounts payable to name a few. In addition, online banking has become an easy and efficient method of bookkeeping. Unfortunately, it could potentially make a thief's job easier too; that's why computer crime coverage is essential for businesses today. This coverage is designed to protect you from the loss of money, securities and other property fraudently transferred by computer from your premises (or the bank's premises) to somewhere else (most likely the thief's foreign bank account ).

Computer crime coverage, combined with fraudulent funds transfer, also protects you from loss of funds resulting from a fraudulent instruction given to a financial institution to transfer, pay, or deliver funds by phone, fax, or some other means other than computer. Thefts such as these are happening more frequently, and can deplete the bank accounts of their victims in a matter of seconds.

Speak to your Knowledge Broker about these coverages and how they may be important to your business.

One of R&R's best resources for information, The National Underwriter, has published a slide show on its website showing the top 10 stolen pieces of heavy equipment in the U.S. You can view it here:

Is your equipment covered in the event of theft? Please spend some time reviewing your current inventory of equipment and call your agent to be sure it's adequately covered. Remember that our loss control specialist, John Brengosz, can offer advice and assistance in your loss prevention program.

A recent article in Lawn & Landscape advises that DuPont Professional Products has cautioned lawn care operators of the damage to conifers and other trees potentially caused by the use of the herbicide Imprelis™. Click here to read the online article in Lawn & Landscape.

One very obvious result of the economic downturn is how many times we notice once-thriving businesses we drive past every day are now sitting empty. This is troubling from an insurance perspective as well.

Vacant buildings are prone to certain types of perils. It's important to know that the majority of property insurance policies contain a vacancy condition that eliminates coverage entirely for vandalism, sprinkler leakage, building glass breakage, water damage, theft or attempted theft. This condition applies if the building that you own (or in which you are a tenant) has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days. If another peril caused the loss, such as fire, the loss payment would be reduced by 15 percent.

Most policies apply the vacancy condition if less than 31 percent of the building's square footage is rented or used to conduct customary operations (note that buildings under construction are not considered vacant).

Wisconsin businesses, if you have a concern with vacancy, please contact a knowledgebroker so we can address the situation with your carrier. There are options - and we can help.

The standard commercial general liability policy is intended to cover bodily injury or property damage that a product may cause. However, sometimes a product does not cause injury or damage, it merely falls short in performance and causes a financial loss to a customer, leaving the manufacturer contractually obligated to compensate its customer for damages. Manufacturers E&O coverage can fill this gap in products liability. There are several insurance carriers offering this type of coverage, some with the option to add coverage for the cost to recall a product. Please call your agent to inquire about the availability and cost of this coverage enhancement.