This expiry may have a destabilizing effect on an already unsteady financial sector. For example, businesses, universities, charities, local governments and other institutions who remember the string of bank closures of the last four years may decide to protect funds over and above the insured amount by removing them from financial institutions, further weakening the banking sector.

So what is the future of TAG, and what options do municipalities have if the program expires?

The Benefits of TAG
 

According to the FDIC, $1.4 trillion in bank deposits were protected by TAG at the end of 2011. Many of these investors include local governments and other public funds that use these accounts for payroll, operating expenses and other short-term purposes.
 

Your county facilities probably have countless electrical tools and devices capable of delivering a fatal electric shock. Electrocution or shock from unsafe work practices or faulty electrical equipment can literally throw you off your feet. That's why it's a good idea to have frequent reminders about electrical safety.
 

Here are some practices to help you work more safely around electricity. Do not work near electrical equipment or outlets when hands, feet, counters, floors or equipment are wet. Consider any device that trips a circuit breaker as defective and prohibit its use until the device is inspected by qualified personnel. Do not use electrical equipment, appliances or wall receptacles that appear to be damaged or in poor condition. Repair all damaged receptacles and portable electrical equipment before placing them back into service. Finally, employers should use ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) on all 120-volt, single phase, 15- and 20- ampere receptacles.
 

When assessing your county's tools and devices the following characteristics must be considered incorrectly grounded and unsafe. Three-wire plugs attached to two-wire cords, grounded prongs that are bent or cut off, ungrounded appliances resting on metal surfaces, extension cords with improper grounding and ungrounded, multiple plugs typically found in offices. Personal electrical appliances, such as radios, coffeepots, fans, power tools and electric heaters brought by workers from home, need to be inspected with the same guidelines. Are these devices grounded? Do they have frayed cords or show other signs of wear or damage? Toasters, blenders, hand mixers, fans, refrigerators and radios should be grounded or double-insulated. Items designed for household use should be checked to ensure proper grounding for workplace application.
 

Here is more good advice to enhance your knowledge on electrical safety. Turn off switches and pull plugs before adjusting or cleaning power equipment and devices. Equipment being serviced or cleaned should be tagged as "out of service." When permanently-wired equipment is being serviced by qualified personnel, the electrical power to the equipment must be disconnected and safe lockout procedures must be followed. To prevent someone from unintentionally turning the power on while the unit is being serviced, a lock and a tag should be placed on each disconnecting means used to de-energize the equipment. Each worker should apply his own lock and only the person who applies the lock should remove it.

Electrical repairs must be carried out only by persons who are qualified and authorized to do so. Makeshift repairs of electrical equipment have resulted in many deaths and injuries in the workplace. Remember, you are in danger or electrocution if testing and repairs are done incorrectly.
 

Adding other entities as Additional Insureds (AI) to an insurance policy is very common. In fact, the request to add an Additional Insured to someone's policy has become so routine, the status is often agreed to by the insured(s) with very little thought. Sometimes the request is appropriate. Problems develop when the request is not proper.
 

Additional Insured status is usually asked for or granted because of some type of business relationship that the insured has with the AI. Insureds can have various business relationships in which they are providing Additional Insured status to another entity or are receiving Additional Insured status from some other organization, usually an independent contractor.
 

The Additional Insured (AI) amendment adds the AI's interest to the insured(s) policy by amending the "Who Is Insured" definition in the policy. Each Additional Insured amendment has limiting and qualifying language designed to narrow the protection extended to each Additional Insured based on the business relationship the AI has with the insured.
 

In other words, your liability insurance coverage is extended to the Additional Insured laterally. The Additional Insured acquires limited protection and defense coverage up to the limits in your policy for a lawsuit alleging negligence. Your policy would pay on their behalf, as well as yours, when your acts, or omissions, or the acts or omissions of those acting on your behalf are the sole, or partial cause of "bodily injury," "property damage," and "personal and advertising injury" as defined in the policy. All of this protection is subject to the terms and conditions of your policy and must be in connection with your operations, or in connection with the premises you own or lease.
 

Most Additional Insured requests are clear and easily handled. Sometimes confusion develops from complex business relationships. For example, assume an organization wants to lease your facilities and doesn't have its own insurance policy. They will bring their own staff, intend to operate their own programs, and provide their own supervision. Your operations are limited to providing the facilities. Under these circumstances, requests to add their organization to your policy as an Additional Insured would be inappropriate.
 

Complying with such a request could jeopardize your business relationship with your insurance company if something happens that results in a claim. Actually in this circumstance, good risk management practice would dictate that you not rent your facilities to anyone unless they have their own insurance and add you to their policy as Additional Insured - Lessor of the Premises.
 

If the scope of an Additional Insured amendment is not properly arranged, unintended insurance coverage may be extended to the Additional Insured. This could adversely affect your loss ratio and jeopardize your insurance. Make sure you give your insurance producer the details of your relationship and the services you are performing, if any, in these business arrangements.
 

Good risk management practice dictates that you should request and receive Additional Insured status on the liability insurance policy carried by all independent contractors that you work with. Always put your request in writing. It is best if you actually sign a contract with the independent contractor, which includes the Additional Insured status requirement. Specify the minimum limit of liability acceptable (i.e., $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate). Always request a Certificate of Insurance. The Certificate lists the name of the insurance producer, the name of the insurance company providing liability insurance, the limits of liability, the policy number, and policy dates, all valuable information in case something happens. In addition, you should request a copy of the amendment to the insurance policy, which actually adds your interest as Additional Insured. Share a copy of the Certificate and the Additional Insured endorsement with your insurance producer or CCAP representative. Ask them to review the documents and bring any issues to your attention.