R&R Insurance Blog

All adolescents are at risk of cyberbullying, according to mental health professionals. But there are characteristics that make individuals more vulnerable to such harassment - and more likely to be a victim of cyberbullying.

Most susceptible to cyberbullying:

• Individuals with a developmental disability
• Individuals with mental health issues
• Adolescents who are gay or lesbian, or those who are struggling with their sexuality or gender identity
• Youths who recently moved to a new school
• Children who are perceived as outsiders by their peers
• Adolescents who spend a lot of time online, or texting

For parents and teachers, it is essential to check and recheck the habits and attitudes of adolescents under their charge. Listen to their conversations. Parents - it's OK to have a cell phone parental agreement with your children and educate them about the consequences of cyberbullying.

With suggestions from several employees, we've compiled a Cell Phone Agreement that you too can use. It sets expectations and encourages responsibility. Here's the sample cell phone parental agreement, customize it for your own needs. P.S....it's working for parents at R&R..... Good Luck!

Did you know that on February 1st, companies that employ more than 10 people will be required to post an OSHA 300A form? What is that? Is your company required to do this? How do you do it? What goes on the 300 log? Learn more about the OSHA 300 Log...

Want to know more about the OSHA 300 Log? Join our free webinar - 2 sessions available before the OSHA deadline of February 1st!

OSHA 300 Log - Free Webinar from R&R Insurance:

Both webinars run 10:00am - 11:00am CST

December 14, 2010

January 20, 2011

Cybercrime is real and it's only a question of time before your business feels its effect. Any business that accepts credit card payments, utilizes social networking, has a web site, stores personal information on its employees, conducts business on the internet or is using technology to conduct and advance their business is at risk. This risk can be significant and is most likely uninsured.

In an article published by Rueters news service on March 24, 2010, Inside a Global Cybercrime Ring, they tell the story of Innovative Marketing Ukraine. This company employed hundreds of computer geeks, most of them putting themselves through college, crammed into three floors of an office building churning out code at a frenzied pace. They were creating some of the world’s most pernicious and profitable computer viruses. In a rare victory in the battle against cybercrime, the company closed down last year after the US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit seeking its disbandment in US federal court. However, it is estimated that in 2008 Innovative Marketing had revenues of $180 million selling programs in two dozen countries.

Being a victim of a security breach will take most businesses by surprise. In fact, most small to medium size businesses convince themselves that they will fall under the radar of cyber criminals. The reality is that most are at a greater risk since they usually lack the resources and finances to implement and maintain adequate security measures. They are also frequently lax when it comes to enforcing security protocols within their organization. Having a disaster plan to respond to a breach is rare but may be one of the most important policies for a business to have readily available.

Responding to a security breach can be expensive and may, in fact, drive some businesses to the brink of bankruptcy. Unbudgeted and unforeseen expenses will include the forensic expense to determine the cause and scope of the breach, notification expenses, credit monitoring, call centers, identity restoration and public relations.

Do not expect traditional property and liability policies to respond to cyber losses either to your business or to your customers. Losses of this type were not anticipated at the time these policies were drafted and therefore are not covered under either the definition of property or cause of loss. Many insurers are specifically excluding cyber losses so that it is clear that the insurance company will not respond to these claims.

Here are 5 tips you could do for your business right now to reduce your risk of being a victim of cybercrime:

1. Develop a security policy and communicate/educate users on your security policy
2. Implement sound password and encryption
3. Utilize security software and conduct penetration tests
4. Develop a network breach disaster plan
5. Ensure that you have the proper insurance coverage to protect you in case of a security breech

As part of a risk evaluation at R&R insurance we will work with your organization to assess your risk and design an insurance program to address the exposures of your business operations. The insurance industry has approximately 200 different policy forms available to protect businesses. It is important to understand your risk and how your insurance carrier will respond on your behalf when cyber criminals strike. Contact a knowledgebroker today!

In the United States, the law requiring contract surety bonds on federal construction projects is known as the Miller Act. This law requires a contractor on a federal project to post two bonds: a performance bond and a labor and material payment bond.

What’s important to know is that the threshold at which these bonds are required has recently been changed. Here is an excerpt from the July/August issue of The NASBP Pipeline, one of our Bond news sources:

Federal Miller Act Increases to $150,000 effective October 1, 2010

As noted in the Federal Register that was issued Monday, August 30, 2010, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Councils have instituted the Consumer Price Index increase to the Federal Miller Act that will be effective October 1, 2010. This raises the current threshold for all payment and performance bonds when agencies acquire federal construction contracts from $100,000 to $150,000.

There are varying limits for State and Local Bond requirements. If you have any questions about this change or any other Bond related issue, please contact our Bond Specialists at 262-502-3829 or email Jay Zahn at Jay.Zahn@rrins.com.

A recent survey by the National Business Group on Health reveals that large U.S. employers predict their health care benefits costs will rise an average of 8.9 percent in 2011 (up from 7 percent in 2010).

Top strategies employers plan to use to control costs include:

• Raising employee contributions (63 percent)
• Raising out-of-pocket maximums (46 percent)
• Raising in-network deductibles (44 percent)
• Raising out-of-network deductibles (40 percent)
• Raising copay/coinsurance for specialist care (21 percent)
• Raising copay/coinsurance for primary care (6 percent)

One of the most common cost-controlling tactics cited by employers was offering a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP). In 2011, 61 percent of employers plan to offer a CDHP, while 20 percent will offer it as their only plan option (up from 10 percent in 2010).

Other survey trends include:
In 2011, 5 percent of employers will drop retiree health benefits, while 60 percent are considering doing so. Many employers will offer premium discounts for completing health risk assessments (41 percent) or participating in tobacco cessation programs (22 percent).

A quarter of respondents will raise their copay/coinsurance for retail pharmacy prescription drugs, and 21 percent will do the same for mail order pharmacy benefits.

Trick-or-Treaters:

• Never trick-or-treat alone. Have at least two friends go with you.
• Plan your entire route and make sure your family knows what it is.
• Carry a bright flashlight to illuminate sidewalks, steps and paths. Use new flashlight batteries and check it before you leave the house. Chemical glow light sticks can be used along with flashlights.
• Always WALK, do not run.
• Stay on sidewalks. If there is not a sidewalk, walk on the left side of the road facing traffic. Walk single file, facing the traffic.
• Obey traffic signals and only cross at corners.
• Don't assume you have the right of way.
• Because one car stops, it doesn't mean others will!
• Stay in familiar neighborhoods.
• Don't cut across yards or driveways.
• Wear a watch you can read in the dark. Set the watch alarm if you have time limit for trick-or-treating.
• Avoid wearing masks while walking from house to house.
• Carry only flexible knives, swords or other props. Avoid pointed props such as spears, or wands that endanger other children's eyes.
• Wear clothing with reflective markings or tape.
• Make sure your costume doesn't drag on the ground or you might trip on it.
• Wear comfortable walking shoes, and make sure they should fit properly.
• Visit houses that have lights on, especially houses with Halloween decorations.
• Stay away from animals you don't know.
• Do not enter homes or apartments without adult supervision.
• Accept treats only in the doorway. Never go inside a house.
• Always carry a spare Halloween bag just in case yours breaks.
• Take a cell phone with you if possible.
• Always be polite and don't forget to say "Trick-or-Treat" and "Thank You"!

Parents:
SAFETY

• A parent or responsible adult should always accompany young children on their neighborhood rounds.
• In order to discourage youngsters from filling up on Halloween treats, make sure they eat dinner before going out.
• Secure emergency identification (name, address, phone number) discreetly within Halloween attire or on a bracelet.
• Older children should carry a cell phone with home number ready.
• Be sure to watch young children carefully near the street.
• If your children go on their own, be sure they wear a watch and set their alarm to a time when they should return home.
• Older children should know where to reach you and when to be home.
• Older children should trick-or-treat in groups. You should know where they're going and with who they are going with.
• Although tampering is rare, tell children to bring ALL the candy home to be inspected before consuming anything.
• Review with your children the principle of "Stop-Drop-Roll", should their clothes catch on fire.
• Teach children how to call 9-1-1 (or their local emergency number) if they have an emergency or become lost.

TREATS

• Give children an early meal before going out.
• Insist that treats be brought home for inspection before anything is eaten.
• Report to the police anything that appears suspicious about treats.
• When in doubt, throw it out.
• Although sharing is encouraged, make sure items that can cause choking (such as hard candies), are given only to those of an appropriate age.
• If you child has an allergy, look at the ingredients of the treats they bring home.
• Limit the amount of treats they consume to avoid sickness.
• If your child is diabetic, read this article for helpful information Halloween and Diabetes.

COSTUMES

• Costumes should be loose enough so that warm clothes can be worn underneath.
• Plan costumes that are bright and reflective.
• Only purchase costumes, wigs and accessories if they clearly indicate they are flame resistant.
• Make sure that shoes fit well (even if they don't go with your costume).
• Make sure that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.
• Consider adding reflective tape (usually available in hardware, bicycle and sporting goods stores), striping or glow sticks to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility.
• Secure emergency identification (name, address, phone number) discreetly within Halloween attire or on a bracelet in case the youngster gets separated from the group.
• Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives.
• When buying special Halloween makeup, check for packages containing ingredients that are labeled "Made with U.S. Approved Color Additives," "Laboratory Tested," "Meets Federal Standards for Cosmetics," or "Non-Toxic."
• Follow manufacturer's instruction for application.
• If masks are worn, they should have nose and mouth openings and large eye holes.

HOMEOWNERS

• Take extra effort to eliminate tripping hazards on your porch and walkway.
• Check around your property for low tree limbs, support wires or garden hoses that may prove hazardous to young children rushing from house to house.
• Pets get frightened on Halloween. Put them up to protect them from cars or inadvertently biting a trick-or-treater.
• Glow sticks, light sticks or battery powered jack-o-lantern lights and candles are preferable to real flame candles.
• If you do use candles, place the jack-o-lantern well away from where trick-or-treaters will be walking or standing.
• NEVER leave any flaming candle unattended.
• Be prepared. Have a fire extinguisher handy.
• Be sure the path and stairs to your front door are well illuminated and clear of obstacles.
• Make sure paper or cloth yard decorations won't be blown into a flaming candle.
• Consider purchasing individually packaged healthy food alternatives (or safe non-food treats) for those who visit your home.
• Include packages of low-fat crackers with cheese or peanut butter filling, single-serve boxes of cereal, packaged fruit rolls, mini boxes of raisins and single-serve packets of low-fat popcorn that can be microwaved later.
• Non-food treats (great for those with diabetes or food allergies): plastic rings, pencils, stickers, erasers, coins.

PET AND ANIMAL OWNERS

• Halloween can be a very traumatic and even dangerous time for your pet.
• Don't leave your pet out in the yard on Halloween.
• Strangers visiting in costumes can be scary for dogs.
• Put your pet in a cage or separate room to keep them from darting out the door.
• Trick-or-treat candies are not for pets.
• Chocolate is poisonous to a lot of animals.

DRIVERS

The National Safety Council urges motorists to be especially alert on Halloween and offers the following driving tips:

• Drive SLOW, SLOW, SLOW!
• Be aware that in Wisconsin, not all communities hold trick-or-treat on Halloween.
• Kids may be out trick-or-treating the weekend prior to Halloween up through Halloween night!
• Watch for children darting out from between parked cars and walking on roadways, medians and curbs.
• Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully.
• If you are driving children, be sure they exit on the curb side, away from traffic.
• Do not wear your mask while driving.
• At twilight or later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing.
• Adult Halloween parties should have a designated driver.
• Turn your lights on even in daylight - lights make you more visible.
• Drive cautiously to give yourself extra time to react to children crossing the street.

Have Fun! Happy Halloween!

Effective August 1, 2010, Employer Notification is available to employers of regular Class D drivers. Employers may enroll any employee whose employment responsibilities include the operation of any motor vehicle. Wisconsin Statutes 343.245 authorizes this program.

Employer Notification allows participants to create and maintain their own roster of employed drivers in PARS. The program will identify any enrolled employee with recent activity on their driving record and allow the purchase of a current driver record abstract.

More information can be found on Wisconsin's DOT website.

OSHA is implementing several changes to its administrative penalty calculation system. Many of the agency's current penalty adjustment factors have been in place since the early 1970's, resulting in penalties which are often too low to have an adequate deterrent effect.

Administrative penalty adjustments will therefore be made to several factors which impact the final penalty issued to employers. These factors include:

• History Reduction
• History Increase
• Repeat Violations
• Severe Violator Enforcement Program
• Gravity-Based Penalty
• Size Reduction
• Good Faith
• Minimum Penalties
• Additional dministrative Modifications to the Penalty Calculation Policy

A brief description of each penalty adjustment factor and planned changes are provided below:

History Reduction
The time frame for considering an employer's history of violations will expand from three years to five. An employer who has been inspected by OSHA within the previous five years and has not been issued any serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate citations will receive a 10 percent reduction for history.

History Increase
An employer that has been cited by OSHA for any high gravity serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violation within the previous five years will receive a 10 percent increase in their penalty, up to the statutory maximum. Employers who have not been inspected and those who have received citations for serious violations that were not high gravity will receive neither a reduction nor an increase for history.

Repeat Violations
The time period for considering the classification of repeated violations will be increased from three to five years.

Severe Violator Enforcement Program
Where circumstances warrant, at the discretion of the Area Director, high gravity serious violations related to standards and hazards identified in the SVEP will not normally be grouped or combined, and may be cited as separate violations, with individual proposed penalties.

Gravity-Based Penalty (GBP)
The gravity of a violation is the primary consideration in calculating penalties and is established by assessing the severity of the injury/illness which could result from a hazard and the probability that an injury or illness could occur. OSHA is adopting a gravity-based penalty structure for serious citations which will range from $3,000 to $7,000.

Size Reduction
OSHA will be amending its penalty reduction structure based on the size of employers, allowing for a penalty reduction between 10 and 40 percent for those with less than 250 employees. No size reduction will be applied for employers with 251 or more employees.

Good Faith
The current good faith procedures in the Field Operations Manual will be retained. A penalty reduction is permitted in recognition of an employer's effort to implement an effective workplace safety and health program. Employers must have a safety and health program in place to get any good faith reduction. Good faith reductions are not allowed in the cases of high gravity serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate violations.

The 15% Quick-Fix reduction, which is currently allowed as an abatement incentive program to encourage employers to immediately abate hazards identified during inspections, remains unchanged. However, the 10% reduction for employers with a strategic partnership agreement will be eliminated.

Minimum Penalties
The minimum proposed penalty for a serious violation will be increased to $500. When the proposed penalty for a serious violation would amount to less than $500, a $500 penalty will be proposed for that violation. The proposed minimum penalty for a posting violation will increase to $250 if the company was previously provided a poster by OSHA.

Additional Administrative Modifications to the Penalty Calculation Policy
Final penalties will be calculated serially, unlike the current practice where all penalty reductions are added and the total percentage of reductions is then multiplied by the gravity-based penalty to arrive at the proposed penalty. All penalty adjustment factors will be applied serially.

These changes will establish general agency policy and do not preclude the agency from assessing a different penalty, where appropriate under the Act, in light of all circumstances in a particular case.

In September 2009, ACORD revised the ACORD 25 Certificate of Insurance form. R&R Insurance will begin using this new form in the near future.

You will notice that the new ACORD Certificate of Insurance has a new appearance, and is now a single-sided document, making faxing and emailing more efficient. Most notably is the removal of the cancellation notice provision.

Prior versions of the ACORD 25 contained a section stating that the insurance carrier will endeavor to give the certificate holder a certain number of days notice in event of policy cancellation. The notice of cancellation provision in your policy(ies) is a provision given to you, the insured. Your policy does not contain any provisions to notify certificate holders that your policy has been cancelled, therefore, ACORD has modified its certificate to coincide with policy provisions.

A certificate of insurance must, by state law, be a true and accurate representation of policy coverage. However, many certificate holders have required our policyholders to ask their agents to furnish them with certificates that cite verbiage that doesn’t exist in the policy, or to reference indemnity clauses.

It is our practice at R&R Insurance to be in full compliance with state statutes and our licensing agreement with ACORD. We will not be able to issue an older version of the ACORD 25, although the certificate holder will likely request it. Likewise, we cannot alter the current certificate to add the cancellation language requested by the certificate holder.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the new certificate, we are here to help you and happy to answer your questions.

Contractors' equipment may be insured either on a scheduled basis, meaning listing an amount of insurance for each item, or on a blanket basis, with a larger amount shown for all tools and equipment. With either method, it's important to realize that the insurance policy almost always requires the contractor to insure the equipment for a minimum amount (80%, 90% or 100% depending on the insurance carrier). If the contractors' equipment policy is written on a replacement cost basis with a 90% insurance-to-value requirement, then all equipment must be insured to 90% of what it would cost to replace it. Failure to do so can result in a reduced claim payment, most commonly referred to as a coinsurance penalty. Please talk to your agent about adequate insurance limits on your equipment. He or she will advise you about the proper amount of insurance required to avoid any unpleasant surprises at the time of a loss.