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Monthly Archives: December 2018

3 Network Security Threats to Watch Out for in 2019

Cyber security attacks continue to increase in both size and severity. In order to truly protect themselves, businesses must remain informed on the latest cyber security trends. While it can be difficult to predict the emergence of new risks, the following is a list of major threats experts have identified for 2019 and ways to protect your business:

  1. Viruses and worms—Computer viruses and worms are malicious programs designed to infect core systems and destroy essential data. What’s more, viruses and worms can replicate themselves, infecting an entire network quickly. To protect your system, install anti-malware on all network devices.
  2. Drive-by download attacks—Drive-by download attacks generally refer to the unintentional download of malicious code from an app, operating system or browser, which, in turn, opens you up for an attack. What’s most concerning about these attacks is users don’t have to click, download or open anything to become infected. The best way to avoid these types of attacks is to keep your web browsers updated and ensure users don’t navigate to potentially dangerous sites.
  3. Phishing attacks—Phishing scams are a common strategy for hackers—one that requires minimal technical know-how and can be deployed via email. With every opened email, users risk becoming the victim of monetary loss, credit card fraud and identity theft. Successful phishing attacks oftentimes go unnoticed, which increases the risk of large and continued losses, particularly for businesses. To avoid becoming the victim of an attack, organizations need to train users on how to identify and avoid common phishing scams.

For more information on network security threats and prevention strategies, contact your insurance broker today.

© Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved


Contingent Business Interruption Insurance

Just one brief business interruption can be incredibly costly for an organization, often leading to serious reputational damages or long-term closures. Standard business interruption policies are vital in these instances, providing protection against a variety of common interruptions, including natural disasters, equipment damage and vandalism.

But what happens when one of your suppliers or customers experiences an interruption that derails your operations? To help address this concern, contingent business interruption (CBI) insurance is crucial.

What is CBI Insurance?

Unlike traditional business interruption insurance that compensates the policyholder for a loss resulting from damage to its own property, CBI insurance lets businesses transfer the risk of certain losses to the property of a third party. CBI insurance is an optional extension of business interruption insurance that reimburses lost profits and extra expenses resulting from an interruption of business at the premises of a customer or supplier. Coverage is typically triggered by physical damage to a customer’s or supplier’s property, or to property on which the insured company depends.

In the policy itself, the covered third party property may be specifically named, or the coverage may simply blanket all customers and suppliers. There are a variety of scenarios where this type of coverage is useful:

  • When an insured business depends on a single supplier or a handful of suppliers for materials. In these instances, CBI insurance can help the insured stay afloat should they experience a break in the supply chain.
  • When a business relies on a single or a few key customers to purchase goods or services. For instance, if a natural disaster affects your primary customers and they are no longer able to purchase your goods, CBI insurance can provide coverage for lost revenue.
  • When a business depends on a nearby attraction or neighbouring commercial operation for customers. For instance, if your business is located next to an amusement park that attracts new customers to your store and that park closes down, CBI insurance can respond in kind and help keep your doors open.

When in place, CBI insurance can help employers cover ongoing expenses—like payroll and rent—should the insured’s revenue stream be impacted by interruptions at a third party. In many cases, it is not necessary that the customer’s or supplier’s property be totally shut down to trigger CBI insurance.

CBI coverage is provided for a covered loss during the “period of restoration.” This is a time frame specified by the insurer and relates to the reasonable amount of time it should take for the affected property to repair any damages and resume normal operations.

Evaluating Your CBI Needs

To truly understand your CBI insurance needs, it’s important to assess your exposures. CBI exposures will differ depending on the industry you operate in, but are most common in manufacturing, retail, hospitality and professional services.

Prior to meeting with your insurance broker and securing coverage, ask yourself the following:

  • If there is a temporary production stoppage at one or more of my suppliers, can my business survive? How long?
  • How much of my company’s operations rely on another entity?
  • Do I have alternative suppliers in place should an interruption occur?
  • Do I rely on one or a few customers to purchase the bulk of my products? Do I rely on a neighbouring business to attract customers to me?

To get started or to learn more about CBI insurance, contact your insurance broker today.

© Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved


Reduce Your Exposures During Work Events

Businesses host parties for a variety of reasons, including the holidays and organizational accomplishments. While these events are fun, team-building opportunities, they can create a number of risks for the hosting company. In fact, in the event that an employee is injured at the party or causes property damage, the employer is usually the one held responsible. This can lead to costly litigation and reputational harm that can affect a company for years.

To avoid major losses, it’s not only important for employers to secure the right insurance coverage for every individual risk, but to also have a thorough understanding of common holiday party exposures.

Alcohol

Anytime you provide alcohol to individuals in a non-commercial manner, you are considered a social host. This is important to note, as a social host may be responsible for the acts of their guests should their conduct create harm. These risks are compounded when alcohol is served, and employers may be liable for damages following a drunken driving accident or similar incident.

While the best way to reduce alcohol liability risks is to avoid serving it altogether, this isn’t always feasible. To promote the safety of your employees and guests at company-sponsored events, consider the following:

  • Hold the event off-site at a restaurant or hotel.
  • Provide plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages throughout the night.
  • Serve drinks to guests rather than offering a self-serve bar. Limit the amount of alcohol you will serve. Require servers to measure spirits.
  • Set up bar stations instead of having servers circulate the room. Place table tents at each bar that remind employees and guests to drink responsibly.
  • Don’t price alcohol too low, as it encourages overconsumption. Offer a range of low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks at no charge.
  • Close the bar an hour before the scheduled end of the party. Do not offer a “last call,” as this promotes rapid consumption.
  • Entice guests to take advantage of safe transportation options by subsidizing taxis or promoting a designated driver program.

Marijuana Consumption

Similar to alcohol use, marijuana and other drug consumption can directly affect the safety of your party guests. In fact, according to the most recent data from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, approximately 34 per cent of vehicle crash deaths can be linked to drug-impaired driving, which is nearly as many as those related to alcohol.

Marijuana contains hundreds of chemicals, many of which act directly on the body and brain. Individual sensitivity to marijuana can vary, but the general effects include the following:

  • Dizziness, drowsiness, light-headedness, fatigue and headaches
  • Impaired memory, concentration and ability to make decisions
  • Disorientation and confusion
  • Suspiciousness, nervousness, anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations
  • Impaired motor skills and perception
  • Dry mouth, throat irritation and coughing
  • Increased heartbeat

These health effects can last long after an employee smoked, increasing the potential for accidents or major health concerns. In addition, federal, provincial and local laws may prohibit marijuana use in certain areas, making it all the more important to educate employees on behaviour expectations.

To keep your party guests safe and avoid any liability concerns, consider making clear rules for marijuana use at your party. Remind employees that even though they are at a social event, they are still attending a work function and workplace policies on the use of marijuana still apply.

Workplace Harassment and Discrimination

Even when holding company-sponsored events off-site, employers are expected to enforce their workplace policies and safeguard their employees. In particular, employers must pay extra care to prevent issues of harassment and discrimination at their events, as they can lead to employment claims and costly litigation.

To help keep employees safe at company parties, employers should ensure all of their policies related to harassment, violence, discrimination and code of conduct are up to date and account for company-sponsored events. Policies should be specific as to what is and is not tolerated, and redistributed them as thoroughly as possible.

In addition, employers should:

  • Consider making the event a family party where employees can bring their spouse, significant other, children or a friend. This can help deter inappropriate behaviour.
  • Keep event themes and decorations appropriate. Parties should be neutral and not make reference to specific religions or beliefs. In addition, plan your party on a day that does not conflict with religious holidays.
  • Consider having just one entrance to your party. This will allow you to control who enters the venue and ensure that uninvited guests do not attended.
  • Have supervisors and managers chaperone the event, looking closely for inappropriate behaviour. Hire third-party security personnel as needed.
  • Avoid making attendance for company-sponsored events mandatory.

Food Exposures

Food is a staple of many company-sponsored events, and can actually be a useful way to keep party guest sober and limit alcohol-related liability (starchy foods can help reduce the absorption of alcohol). However, when serving food, there are a number of risks employers should consider.

For instance, employers need to be wary of potential food allergies. In the event that a guest gets sick from the food, they could sue the employer for negligence.

To help protect against this, employers should ask party guests to disclose any of their allergies, either in their RSVP or by contacting the event coordinator directly. In addition, you should specify what ingredients are in every food item, both on the menu and on display cards near the food itself.

For added protection against illnesses, it’s critical that employers promote safe food preparation and handling practices. Moreover, when working with a third-party provider, employers should do their due diligence to ensure they are securing reputable vendors.

Property Damage

Property damage can occur at just about any kind of party, even small, company-sponsored events. As the host, it’s your job to ensure your guests remain safe, behave appropriately and respect the venue and its contents.

To do so, employers should:

  • Set behaviour expectations before the party.
  • Have supervisors and managers chaperone the event, looking closely for inappropriate behaviour. Hire third-party security personnel as needed.
  • Remove valuable items from the party area wherever possible. Make sure any areas that you don’t want guests to enter are locked, roped off or secured in some way.
  • Review your liability insurance and know what it covers.
  • Ensure the venue is equipped to handle the number of individuals invited to the party.

Secure the Coverage You Need in Advance

Even if you take all the appropriate precautions, incidents can still occur. As such, it’s important for all organizations to secure adequate insurance.

Each business is different, and may require additional policies to account for all of their exposures. Contact your insurance broker to learn about your coverage options when it comes to hosting a party.

© Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved


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