{"id":31849,"date":"2019-04-11T16:12:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T20:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=31849"},"modified":"2019-04-11T21:26:50","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T01:26:50","slug":"agents-recommend-business-people-meet-with-them-regularly-to-review-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2019\/04\/agents-recommend-business-people-meet-with-them-regularly-to-review-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"Agents Recommend Business People Meet With Them Regularly To Review Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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John O\u2019Brien is the president of O\u2019Brien Insurance in Glens Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Christine Graf
\nBecause the insurance industry is constantly changing, insurance agents suggest that business owners stay abreast of these changes by meeting with their agents to review their policies on an annual basis.
\nJohn O\u2019Brien, president of O\u2019Brien Insurance in Glens Falls, said this is the only way for agents to ensure that their clients have the coverage they need. O\u2019Brien has been in the insurance business for 40 years. His father, Robert, founded O\u2019Brien Insurance in 1957.
\nAccording to Jennifer Longtin, owner and president of Lighthouse Insurance Agency in Ballston Lake, annual reviews don\u2019t always result in additional coverage or increased costs for business owners. She has owned Lighthouse Insurance for 17 years and has worked in the insurance industry for more than 30.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not always about just adding more expense. It\u2019s really about providing the right protection for whatever their needs are. Insurance should always change as the times change and as the business changes. And honestly, I don\u2019t know any business that stays in business for years and years and doesn\u2019t change,\u201d she said.
\nDuring annual reviews with business owners, agents stress the importance of having adequate cyber liability and data breach insurance. This insurance covers costs associated with data security breaches as well as liabilities that can result from the use of social media.
\nIn 2018, New York State Department of Financial Security began requiring banking, insurance, and financial service businesses to develop and implement effective cybersecurity programs.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a good thing because they are raising the level of awareness,\u201d said O\u2019Brien. \u201cWe are now seeing and hearing and talking to our clients more and more about cyber liability.\u201d
\nA small amount of cyber liability and data breach insurance\u2014typically $10,000\u2014is included in most business general liability policies. Longtin recommends adding additional coverage and increasing this amount to $50,000.
\n\u201cIf you did have a data breach\u2014it depends on how much data is in there and how many clients were affected\u2014$10,000 is not a lot. There are lot of legal things that you have to do,\u201d said Longtin.
\nFor example, she said business owners must hire forensic engineers to determine how a breach occurred. They must also hire lawyers and notify all their customers about the breach. In some cases, business owners must pay for their customers to receive credit monitoring subscriptions.
\n\u201cWe have seen this shut down businesses,\u201d said Longtin. \u201cCompletely shut them down.\u201d
\nO\u2019Brien said some of his clients purchase what he described as a broader and more comprehensive cyber liability policy. These separate policies provide excellent coverage and cost between $800 and $1,000.
\nIn addition to cyber liability, O\u2019Brien said another \u201chot topic\u201d in the insurance industry relates to Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI). EPLI covers liabilities related to claims of sexual harassment, wrongful termination, discrimination, and other illegal employment practices.
\n\u201cMost regular policies do not have EPLI as an automatic coverage,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to buy a separate policy. Some companies might give you a little coverage\u2014kind of a throw in. If you need a comprehensive policy, you definitely want a separate policy similar to the separate cyber liability policies. It\u2019s a tough sell though. You want to think you have great employees and nothing is ever going happen. Let\u2019s face it, you hope that the case. But you just never know.\u201d
\nO\u2019Brien said it is important to understand that EPLI insurance also offers protection in situations where false accusations are made against business owners. \u201cSomeone could bring a lawsuit even if you didn\u2019t do anything wrong. At least by having a policy, you have coverage for defense costs. You don\u2019t want to have to pay an attorney for five years while this thing is being settled. It could go on for years.\u201d
\nLongtin echoes the same sentiment to her clients. \u201cIf you are accused of something or get lawsuit papers, you want your insurance company to defend you. During that defense process, it can be financially devastating if you had to pay that all out of pocket. So, it\u2019s not always about being negligent or being wrong, it\u2019s about going through the defense process as well,\u201d she said.
\nO\u2019Brien said it is also important for business owners to have enough general liability insurance to protect their businesses. \u201cOne of the things we have seen in the past five to ten years is that we are having discussions with clients across the board about whether their general liability\u2014their slip and fall insurance\u2014is enough. A lot of people are questioning that, and we are writing a higher limit of liability insurance than we\u2019ve ever done in the past.\u201d
\nO\u2019Brien also urges business owners to have adequate insurance to cover the replacement cost of their buildings. \u201cIf you own a building and it burns to the ground like what happened unfortunately to our friends at Common Roots, do you have enough money to rebuild the building? That rebuilding cost can be totally different than market value or sales price,\u201d he said.
\nAdditionally, O\u2019Brien said business owners should make changes to their workers\u2019 compensation policies when and if their payroll costs change during the year. If a business owner underestimates their annual payroll at the beginning of the policy term, it will result in an additional premium when their annual workers\u2019 compensation insurance audit takes place.
\n\u201cThat can be a cash flow nightmare for small business,\u201d said O\u2019Brien. \u201cNone of us want those hits to our cash flows. What can we do as agents? We can be talking to people all of the time. We can make changes as you go.\u201d
\nO\u2019Brien said it is larger employers who are more likely to benefit by shopping around for their workers\u2019 compensation policy. \u201cThere\u2019s more wiggle room as you get bigger and have more employees.\u201d
\nWhen discussing trends in the insurance industry, O\u2019Brien said he is particularly troubled by the high cost of liability and worker\u2019s compensation insurance for those in the construction industry. Contractors in New York pay up to 10 times what contractors in other states typically pay for general liability insurance. This is because of New York\u2019s Scaffold Law, which assigns absolute liability to owners and general contractors in cases where someone is injured on the job\u2014regardless of who is at fault.
\n\u201cThere are contractors in New York State who either went out of business or never went into business because of the cost of workers\u2019 comp and liability. The cost is ridiculously high,\u201d said O\u2019Brien. \u201cIn the insurance business, we have talked to our legislative people for years about general contractors in New York State. But nobody wants to work on it. It\u2019s a solvable problem, and other states have tackled it.\u201d
\nO\u2019Brien admits that insurance is a topic that can be overwhelming for small business owners. He said it is his job to educate and inform his clients and then to allow them to make their own decisions.
\nIn addition to educating his own clients about insurance, O\u2019Brien teaches the subject twice a year at a class called Start-Up ADK. The eight-week class takes place at SUNY Adirondack and is designed for entrepreneurs and small business owners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Christine Graf Because the insurance industry is constantly changing, insurance agents suggest that business owners stay abreast of these changes by meeting with their agents to review their policies on an annual basis. John O\u2019Brien, president of O\u2019Brien Insurance in Glens Falls, said this is the only way for agents to ensure that their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":31850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nAgents Recommend Business People Meet With Them Regularly To Review Policies - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2019\/04\/agents-recommend-business-people-meet-with-them-regularly-to-review-policies\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Agents Recommend Business People Meet With Them Regularly To Review Policies - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Christine Graf Because the insurance industry is constantly changing, insurance agents suggest that business owners stay abreast of these changes by meeting with their agents to review their policies on an annual basis. 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