E&O Weekly Prevention
  
Strategies for the Professional Agent
May 8, 2014



Agents of America





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Letter From  the Publisher

E&O Tip of the Week  

Each week AOA thru the Learning Center will be providing E&O tips. These E&O tips will be developed from AOA's extensive library of high level educational material and will be included as part of the webinar / seminar package currently in development, that both agents and carriers will find beneficial in reducing E&O Claims. 
 

Check out this week's E&O TIP on "Policy rescission - potentially your worst E&O nightmare?"

 

A review of the top stories on World Risk & Insurance News at WRIN.tv. Here is your opportunity to see the online video news stories you may have missed. Watch them now "Week in Review".

 

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Also if you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions, please email me at [email protected]. 

 

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Angelo J Gioia

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AOA News, Views, Tips & More

What You Should Know About A Designated Responsible Licensed Producer (DRLP)

By Barbara Donnar, CEO of Supportive Insurance Services

 

When speaking with our clients regarding insurance licensing, we find there is confusion regarding a Designated Responsible Licensed Producer. We thought it would be helpful to explain what a Designated Responsible Licensed Producer is and how it relates to the insurance licensing process. Keeping the state insurance department informed of your agency's current Designated Responsible Licensed Producer is a vital part of agency insurance licensing.

 

By Allen R. Wolff, Esq. and Anna M. Piazza, Esq. of Anderson Kill P.C.

 

Insurance policies contain both defined and undefined terms. As the drafter of your insurance policy, your insurance company has likely defined a term when it finds it advantageous to do so, and may leave other terms undefined and purposefully vague. Policy construction principles have evolved to protect the policyholder from the insurance company's maneuverings in this regard. Understanding these principles will prove critical when your insurance company attempts to benefit from an undefined term, especially if that term appears in an exclusion.


U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Long-Standing Tax Treatment of Severance Pay 

By Bruce Schwartz, Esq. of Jackson Lewis P.C.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court has held unanimously that severance compensation paid to involuntarily terminated employees is taxable wages subject to FICA (Social Security and Medicare) taxes, sustaining the long-standing position of the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Tax Court and several Federal Courts of Appeals. U.S. v. Quality Stores, Inc., et al., No. 12-1408 (Mar. 25, 2014). Justice Elena Kagan did not take part in the decision.

  

Employment Compliance

By Aaron Peterson, Editor Agents Advantage

 

By itself or with other agencies, the U.S. Department of Labor administers several employment programs to assist both employees and employers. In particular, One-Stop Career Centers established under the Workforce Investment Act offer a variety of services for individuals seeking employment, as well as resources for employers seeking workers. Employees who lose their jobs due to changes in business conditions may wish to file for unemployment insurance benefits, which are administered by the various states with assistance from the Department of Labor. 

 

Claims for Alleged Failure to Train and Supervisory Liability Relating to Police Psychological Evaluation Dismissed

By Lawrence J. Bartel, Esq. of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, P.C.

 

Wiggs v. City of Philadelphia, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24978 (U.S.D.C. East. Dist. Pa., 2/14)

 

The plaintiff, an African American woman, was 50 years old when she applied for a position with the Police Department. The City has responsibility for testing, hiring, training and supervising employees of the Police Department. As part of the job application process, the plaintiff was required to undergo a psychological evaluation conducted by a doctor, a white woman. The defendants conducted the psychological evaluation in a manner that was contrary to the standards prescribed by the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. 
 

Failed Bank Coverage Litigation - Insured v. Insured Exclusion - 1st Circuit Finds Duty To Pay Defense Costs

By Joseph Monteleone, Esq. of Rivkin Radler LLP

 

In a somewhat folksy Opinion by Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, the First Circuit affirmed an Order of the District Court for the District of Puerto Rico holding that an insurer had an obligation to advance defense costs in underlying litigation brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) against directors and officers of a failed bank.  W. Holding Company, Inc. v. AIG Insurance Company - Puerto Rico, No. 12-2008, (1st Cir.  March 31, 2014). [See here for a link to the decision]

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