Risk & Business

You can go to any exercise facility or health spa and see a plethora of wearable fitness devices on people.  This technology delivers to a smart phone exactly what is happening in the body during a workout. Now small business is getting in the act with the help of the insurance industry.  Placing wearable devices on employees to monitor their work habits is a new trend. The employer can determine if the employee is at risk physically and if there is unsafe behavior going on. Insurance companies are hoping to see less claims as the result. Small businesses could  see lower insurance premiums for work comp or health insurance as a result to this practice. However employees see it differently. Workers tend to think that wearable technology is a spy program that could be used against them in the employer-employee relationship. Also many employees feel that this is an invasion of their privacy. Only time and litigation will determine the usage of wearable monitors. Technology...

Many small business owners believe they are not required to keep OSHA logs on their employee injuries and illnesses. This is not the case. Under the OSHA regulations, if an employer has over 10 employee equivalents then they have to keep the logs. This means that each year the employer needs to keep an OSHA 300 log. This form records injuries, illnesses, and loss work days for each incident that occurs during the year. Also the OSHA 300A , which is a summary of the 300 form,  needs to be posted from January to April each year so all can see. In addition the OSHA form 301 needs to be filled out separately for each employee injury or illness within seven days of the incident. Can you get an exemption from doing this?  On the OSHA website there are some business that are exempt. You can determine if your industry is one of them by typing in your SIC code in the search engine on the website.  What happens if you don't keep the records?  Well, that means you could be ...

A few years ago  Delaware changed the law requiring independent contractors that are sole proprietors, in the construction trades to get work comp coverage on themselves. They also made general contractors responsible for the work comp premium if they use independent contractors that do not have the coverage. If the independent contractors are a corporation or an LLC then the individual can exempt themselves ( and other officers), from Work Comp coverage with the proper corporate documents and Comp Bureau forms. Also the general contractors will not be charged for the independent's work comp. This sounds pretty straight forward right? well, there is still much confusion.  This confusion always comes to the surface during an insurance audit. The insurance company auditors are charging general contractors for the work comp coverage of independent contractors if their exemption paper work or certificates of insurance are not up to date or ...

On January 2 in the early morning a small earthquake hit New Jersey. Most people did not even notice it, and  no property damage was reported.  So is it time now to start talking about insurance coverage for earthquakes?  In most property insurance policies , damage by earthquakes is not covered. In the Mid-Atlantic region earthquake coverage is rarely purchased by small business owners. However it may be time to start adding this coverage to your insurance portfolio. A few years ago there was an earthquake in Delaware and tremors hit PA and NY.  Many business owners do not purchase the coverage because damaging earthquakes just don't happen in our area of the MidAtlantic. However based on recent small "shakes" that our area has experienced , it is now time to have a conversation with your insurance professional about earthquake coverage. Until next time be careful out there and know your risks. G. Kevin Nemith President CNC Insurance Assoc. & Small Business I...