| Greetings!
Ha! You thought my mad typing skills were slipping, didn't you? Believe it or not, that's not a typo. Well... not this time. The other day DID find me adding that rogue "s" into the word "hesitate" as I was typing (you're shocked, I know!) Of course, I quickly corrected my error and sent my email, sans grammatical errors and typos.
But that slip up stayed with me all day. I kept thinking about my made up word (hey, if Presidents can create words, so can I!). Hesitaste. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it (and not just because it's MY word - eat your heart out, George W!)
It conjured up for me the idea of stopping long enough to take in the true flavor of life as it happens around me. What would that look like? Maybe something like this...
- Instead of seeing my commute to the office as something to be suffered through, it could become an opportunity to drink in the beauty of the world around me (ok, PARTS of the commute are beautiful).
- That mandatory staff meeting? What if instead of being a mere exchange of ideas, it became an atmosphere in which I could really get to know the people that work with me? How could that change things?
- Rather than being a routine meal, lunch can become a quest to find the best food the South Shore has to offer - and a chance to savor it!
I don't want to wake up one day and discover that while I worked very hard (a noble pursuit), I've missed out on something. I believe it's entirely possible to continue with my current course, and yet experience life with more color... more texture... more flavor.
I want that for you, too. That's why we work so hard at Mason & Mason to take care of the little details for our clients. We want you to be freed up to really take a bite out of life... and to RELISH it.
So go on...
Hesitaste!
Tom Messier, Vice President
Mason & Mason Insurance Agency
M&M Assurance Group
P.S. If you enjoy this newsletter, check out our website at www.mmins.com. Click the "Clients" tab at the top of the page and then enter the site with username: "Client" and password: "INFO4U". You'll find more helpful articles on a wide range of topics. We'd love for you to LIKE us on Facebook (and invite your friends!) If you have any questions, give us a call at (800) 298-0802. We'll be happy to hear from you! |
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EVERY CONTRACTOR SHOULD CONTROL THESE SIX SAFETY HAZARDS
Construction accidents have wide-ranging effects on a contractor's business. They cause pain and suffering for employees, hurt the morale of other employees, deprive the business of the injured employee's talent and skill, hurt productivity, require paperwork, increase Workers Compensation costs, and possibly subject the business to penalties from regulators. It makes both moral and good business sense for a contractor to implement safety measures. When choosing the specific protections to put in place, the contractor should consider a number of factors to ensure the effectiveness of the program.
The contractor should examine the reasons why an unsafe condition exists. If the contractor integrates safety considerations into all procedures, injuries will become less likely and less severe. Therefore, it is important to look into the reasons why, for example, a scaffold was improperly guarded, why workers using cutting tools were not wearing eye protection, why a crane operator left the engine running while he was out of the cab, or why workers used power drills with frayed electrical cords. These are symptoms of a workplace culture that overlooks safety concerns. Sending the right messages and incentives about safety will gradually change the culture and reduce accidents.
With a new system and culture in place, the contractor can focus on specific hazards, such as...
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DON'T LEAVE YOUR BUSINESS UNPROTECTED DUE TO ABSOLUTE EXCLUSIONS
Liability insurance policies include provisions, known as "exclusions," that limit or eliminate coverage. Insurance companies put exclusions in policies for various reasons: Because another type of policy covers that kind of loss, to limit the cost of the insurance, and because some types of losses are so severe that they are uninsurable (for example, losses resulting from a war). Many exclusions eliminate coverage for some incidents or things but give it back for others. The Commercial General Liability policy (CGL) does not cover losses for which the insured assumed liability under a contract, but it gives back coverage for liability assumed under "insured contracts," as the policy defines that term. However, there are some exclusions, called "absolute exclusions," that eliminate coverage entirely with no give-back. Left unaddressed, these exclusions can leave a business exposed to large uninsured losses.
Insurance companies did not create these exclusions to cheat their customers. Rather, over the years they found that courts were interpreting policies in ways that the companies had not intended. In the 1970s and early 1980s, companies used wording such as, "Coverage does not apply to," or "to any claim based upon." They thought this language clearly stated that they did not intend to cover certain losses. Some courts disagreed, found the wording to be ambiguous, and ordered...
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About Mason and Mason
For more than 20 years we've been committed to meeting the insurance and bonding needs of the construction industry. The success and leadership of our practice has led to strategic and proprietary relationships with insurance companies similarly committed to the industry. Our clients benefit from our insurer relationships in the form of products designed with their special needs in mind. Our access to many construction specialty insurers also assures our clients are afforded a range of options at various cost levels in order to match the level of protection for their particular needs. As important as these insurer relationships are, our true competitive edge is the people who serve our clients. We have team of construction insurance professionals who understand the complexities of the worker's compensation and general liability insurance regulatory environment as applied to the industry. We leverage this specialized knowledge and our broad risk management expertise to the benefit of our construction industry clients.
Mason and Mason Insurance M&M Assurance Group
458 South Avenue 3304 White Mountain Hwy
Whitman, Massachusetts 02382 North Conway, NH 03860
T (800) 759-1452 T (800) 298-0802
F (781) 447-2832 F (603) 356-9290 |
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OSHA Lead In Construction Manual
Looking for more resources about Lead Paint Compliance? Click here for your copy of OSHA's Lead In Construction Manual! |
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If you've heard about payroll deducted workers comp and have questions, give us a call! We can fill you in on the advantages (and disadvantages) of this program and see if it's right for you. That's what we're here for! :) |
FOR RESIDENTIAL CONTRACTORS, UMBRELLA POLICIES ARE ESSENTIAL
The recent recession has been devastating to home builders and the subcontractors who work for them. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of new homes built dropped by 59% between 2005 and 2009, a decrease of more than 1 million homes per year. This huge shortfall in work has left those residential contractors that are still in business looking to reduce expenses. Because insurance premiums can be a significant cost, many contractors have considered dropping coverages. Some coverages, such as Workers Compensation, are often required by law and cannot be cut. However, some Liability insurance policies, including Umbrella policies, are not required, and some contractors might consider reducing their Umbrella coverage or dropping it altogether. However, doing so could have some serious consequences for...
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