Vicarious Liability for Employees: Are You Your Employees’ Keeper? Technology, such as cell phones and laptops, allows employees to work further away from the office and direct supervision. Unfortunately, restoration contractors are now being held responsible for their employees’ actions while they are away from the office. Over the next few blog posts, we’re going to discuss what vicarious liability is, how it affects restoration contractors, and what you can do to prevent potential litigation. What is Vicarious Liability? Just because an employee is not in the office or performing actions during regular business hours, doesn’t mean that the employer won’t be held responsible for the actio
Debris removal coverage is an insurance coverage that very few people understand, but is one that can cost you thousands of dollars without having the proper limit in place. What is Debris Removal Coverage? Debris removal coverage provides coverage for the cost of the removal of covered property damaged by a covered claim. Most commercial property policies will provide two limits for debris removal: 1.) $10,000 in the event of a total loss or 2.) 25% of the claim amount for partial losses. One of the things we recommend, though, is evaluating the standard limit to determine if that amount is enough to pay the actual cost of removing debris in the event of a claim. Here are some things to ke
Workers compensation audits are never fun. The unknown of exactly what documentation to provide, the anxiety of the potential premium increase, and the time dedicated to preparing for the audit can create a stress situation. Here are three tips to help your restoration company save money on your next audit: 1. Payroll Separation: If your policy has more than one classification code, then it is worth the time and energy to split all of the payroll among the right classifications be employee. Otherwise the auditor will assign all payroll to the highest-rated (and most expensive) classification. 2. Remove Overtime Pay: In certain states, you can deduct the premium portion of overtime pay fro
Common client requests for restoration contractors are for types of liability insurance. Clients have increasingly been requesting a waiver of subrogation to go along with their general liability policy. So, what exactly is a waiver of subrogation? What is subrogation? Subrogation, in the simplest of terms, is when an insured party agrees to have the insurer cover the losses incurred by a third party. The insurer then inherits the right to recover those losses from the third party responsible for the loss for a paid claim. For example, suppose you and your client face a common lawsuit for negligence. Part of that claim alleges you were faulty in delivering your services and part of it allege
