E&O Weekly Prevention
Strategies for the Professional Agent
AOA Newsletter Banner  
September 13, 2012

 

Compliments of Agents of America.ORG

Marketing Trends and Updates

 


About Us

Benefits of AoA

E&O Blog

Free eBook

Free Membership

Free Newsletter

Free Social Media EBooks

Market Solutions

Press Releases

Meet the Experts  

Editor (Chief Fire Starter)

Managing Editor 

Publisher

Insurance Blog

Recommended Reading

 

Insurance Resources

A.M. Best Search
CE State Requirements
Life & Health Carriers
MGAs & Wholesalers
P&C Carriers
P&C Licensing Directory
Professional Organizations
Publishers & Publications

The 10 Best Industry Blogs

 

Follow Us on Linkedin

Agents of America

Insurance Open Network 

 

 

Find us on Facebook
        View our profile on LinkedIn       Follow us on Twitter

Meet the Authors

Of our Brand New Ebook

entitled

"Insurance Agents Brokers Risk Management Program"

AOA Strategic Partners 

 
Upcoming Events

 
AOA Preferred Partners


AOA Preferred Partners


AOA Preferred Partners


AoA Advertisers


Swett Static Ad


Learn.com



 


 





Firebrand Social Media

Geologix Ad
Visit AgentsofAmerica.org for more information.

284C E. Lake Mead Parkway
Henderson, NV 89015
702-560-7766
What is AgentsofAmerica.org?
 
 
AgentsofAmerica.ORG is an Insurance Agent's Association and indispensable resource for news, products, services, education, and industry information throughout America. The organization's Mission is to deliver the BEST people, products, information, and services to Agents on a daily basis all designed to help them manage and grow their business, increase their revenues and provide ongoing value to their clients. Our motto is "Bringing the BEST Together."

AgentsofAmerica.ORG is offering a FREE MEMBERSHIP to anyone interested in learning about the valuable benefits the new organization offers. All members are eligible for additional discounts and access to an extensive array of other membership programs.
Printing Tips

If you would like to print an article from this newsletter follow these steps:

  • Click the "Read More ..." link of the corresponding article.  
  • That will get you to the article page.  
  • At the end of the article click "print this page" button to print the article. 

 

Letter from the Editor

 

This week's edition of AOA E&O Prevention:  

  

Table of Contents    

  

Still Crazy After All These Years: Lateral Moves and Non-Compete Agreements 

By Jonathan S. Ziss, Esq.

Homeowners' Insurance Does Not Cover Claims of Negligent Entrustment of a Motor Vehicle Says a Connecticut Appellate Court 

By Stephen P. Brown, Esq., Carl J. Pernicone, Esq. & Samuel I. Reich , Esq.

Contract Liability Exclusion Precludes D&O Coverage for Tort Claims 

By Kathryn A. Formeller, Esq.

N. J. Law Applies to the Question of the Allocation of Coverage Among Excess Insurance Policies 

By Thomas Paschos, Esq

 
Check out this week's edition of World Risk & Insurance News at WRIN.tv, Also available this week is our new feature, "Recommended Reading" where we will suggest books, articles and interesting topics written by one of our "Experts", today we feature, attorney Peter Biging, he has written a chapter, "Defending the Professional Liability Claim Involving Allegations of Fraud or Other Intentional Malfeasance" and it is now available at Amazon.com.   

 

AgentsofAmerica.ORG has partnered with WebCE, a leading nationwide provider of Continuing Education for insurance professionals, to provide you with state-approved self-study CE courses to satisfy your CE requirements online! Check out your CE State Requirements.
 
Also available is our most recent edition of "AOA Tips, Views, News & More," including our new feature "Insurance Resources."  Remember to tell your friends and business associates that membership in AgentsofAmerica.ORG is FREE! Also if you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions, please email me at info@agentsofamerica.org.  
  

 

"Bringing the Best Together"

Brit Weimer 


______________________________________________________

 

AOA News, Views, Tips and More

 

 

Britton D. Weimer. Esq. of Jones Satre & Weimer PLLC

 

The top 8 rules of EPL discrimination claims prevention.
 
Rule number one: "Make employment decisions based upon an applicant's or employee's qualifications under the written job description."

 

Rationale: The at-will doctrine protects employment job decisions made based upon genuine business considerations. However, the law prohibits employment job decisions made based upon an employee or applicant's membership in a legally-protected group such as race, gender, age or disability. 

 

Virtually all employment-practices claims have a plaintiff who is a member of a legally-protected group. So the core issue is almost always the same: was the employer's decision made based upon the plaintiff's membership status, or based upon a genuine business need.

 

The best defense against such claims is documentation. Specifically, the employer wants to have a written job description, and to show from that job description that the employee or applicant did not meet the practical requirements of the job. If proven, the plaintiff's membership in the protected class is irrelevant.

 

Source: Weimer, Employment Practices Liability, Chapter 6 (2nd ed. National Underwriter 2012).


Contact Brit 952/820-8403 or bweimer@jonessatre.com  


___________________________________________________________________________ 

 

E&O Loss Prevention Tip  

Description of Claim:

 

Classification of employees - Employee vs. Independent Contractors

Allegations against the Agent:  The agent wrote a business owners policy (BOP) on the claimant's beauty supply store location approximately 20 years ago.  The agent also handled all of the claimant's personal lines policies such as auto and homeowners coverage.  Five years after the first location opened, the claimant opened a second location.  This location was added to the current BOP.  In late 2009, the claimant lost their lease at the first location and moved all of their stock to the second location.  The agent knew of this move but he never asked if the claimant needed to increase their policy limits.  The increase in business personal property amounted to $77,000.

 

The underlying loss:  A fire occurred to the building, which contained the claimant's business in April 2005.

 

Damages:  The claimant's business was a total loss and the damages suffered were $550,000. After all of years of being their insurance agent, the claimant relied on him to be their advisor on what was adequate coverage for all of the policies.    

     

Risk Management Tip:  Create a check list or a procedure when a client makes a change to a policy.  This will ensure that the right questions are asked to the insured.

Brought to you by:

 

CalSurance Associates - A Division of Brown & Brown Program Insurance Services, Inc.   info@calsurance.com  or (800) 745-7189

________________________________________________________                                          

Results of Last Week's Poll Question    

 

Does your agency have a written procedure on how to handle claims, lawsuits sent to you by your clients/insured's

 

Yes  80%

No    20%
________________________________________________________                                          

This Week's Poll Question

 

Effective use of an Exposure Analysis Checklists is widely regarded as a key component in an agency's E&O loss prevention program. Please note whether you utilize an Exposure Analysis Checklist in your agency and if so, to what extent.

a) We use an Exposure Analysis Checklist for all of our new commercial business, regardless of premium size

b)  We use an Exposure Analysis checklist for our new business accounts over a specified premium size  

c)     It is up to the producers whether they want to use this tool

d)     We don't use an Exposure Analysis Checklist in our agency

e)     We are not sure what an Exposure Analysis Checklist is

Articles 

A1

Still Crazy After All These Years: Lateral Moves and Non-Compete Agreements
By Jonathan S. Ziss, Esq.

 

Lateral moves among insurance agencies can be as hurtful and damaging as any breakup - but having the right agreements in place can help make severed employment relationships as amicable and drama-free as possible for all parties involved. 

 

  

 ______________________________________________________

  

  

  

  

 ______________________________________________________

  

  

 

 

Connecticut courts continue to expand the "motor vehicle use exclusion" in homeowners' insurance policies. In New London County Mut. Ins. Co. v. Bialobrodec, 137 Conn. App. 474 (2012), the appellate court held that negligent entrustment of a vehicle is not covered based on the motor vehicle exclusion. 

 

Read More...

  

 ______________________________________________________

  

Firebrand Social Media   

  

 ______________________________________________________

  

 
The contract liability exclusion precluded coverage for negligent misrepresentation and fraud in the inducement claims arising out of a written contract, according to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Federal Insurance Co. v. KDW Restructuring and Liquidation Services, LLC, No. 3:07-01357 (M.D. Pa. August 17, 2012).  
 
_____________________________________________________ 

 

 ______________________________________________________

 

A4

By Thomas Paschos, Esq.

 

In In re Liquidation of Integrity Ins. Co./Sepco Corp., --- A.3d ----, 2012 WL 3600009 (N.J.Super.A.D. August 23, 2012), the court addressed two appeals, which raised the same issue of the application of conflict of law principles to breach of contract actions filed by claimants Sepco Corporation and Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA) against Integrity Insurance Company in Liquidation. These appeals followed the denial of the claims of each by Integrity's Liquidator, as based on an improper method of allocating loss, and the affirmance of the Liquidator's decision by the Special Master and the trial court overseeing the liquidation.

 

_______________________________________________________ 
This newsletter is produced in conjunction with Agents of America, www.agentsofamerica.org. The contents of which may not be reproduced without the express written permission of Agents of America. Copyright 2012