The Bull Stops Here Blog

The Puget Sound Business Journal recently reported that the Seattle Rotary Club had $350,000 embezzled from them by an employee.  It was a hired bookkeeper, which is not uncommon in larger service clubs.  I’ve been asked if Directors & Officers Insurance is needed to protect the organization.  You need to know the distinction between Directors & Officers and Employment Practices Liability for your own business insurance.

Directors & Officers coverage provides financial protection for directors and officers of an organization if they are sued with respects to the performance of their duties.  It’s like an Errors & Omissions policy for management of the board. It’s about performance failure and negligence.  This would not protect the Seattle Rotary Club in this situation because this was an intentional act by an employee.

What they need to have (and you too) is Employee Dishonesty coverage.  This protects you if your employee steals money or products from you.  I had a client whose bookkeeper absconded with over $25,000 over a two year period.  She even had the audacity to charge her entire honeymoon to my client’s bank account!

Any organization - profit or not for profit - that has employees needs to have Employee Dishonesty.  Period.  Nobody thinks they are going to be robbed by an employee.  The reality is it happens all too often.  My client was in shock because they thought their employee was golden.  Of course he did.  That’s why they were in that position.  Bad stuff happens.  That’s why you need this insurance.

Be safe.

I saw this article in the Puget Sound Business Journal today.  I have written many times about employee dishonesty.  Too many times I’ve heard clients and others say, “I would have never suspected they would do that.”  No kidding!  If you had, they would have never been put in charge of the money.

Whether it’s your own business or your favorite non-profit, make sure that specific practices are put into place so you don’t wind up on the front page of the paper AND out of your money!

Read the story

Be safe.

Not more than about a month ago, I was in the best cardiovascular shape I’d been in for quite some time.  I was consistently running 3 to 3 and a half miles every few days.  I’d dropped about 6 pounds and was feeling great.  In fact, I was starting to think I could run a 5K!

Well, in the time since, I’ve become more inconsistent.  I’ve traveled, caught bronchitis, and just got a little lazy.  Some things I couldn’t control; some I could.

This past week, I attended Alan Weiss’ Million Dollar Consulting ® Consulting College in Rhode Island.  On the first morning, I took a run (outside as there was no gym at the facility) and went about 2 and a half miles.  Not bad for running outside and not having run in a while.  Well, the rest of the week got busy and quite frankly I didn’t make the extra effort to keep up the work.  In fact, I ate very well for the week, which I knew would come back to haunt me!

Reclamation day was this afternoon.  I am staying at the La Quinta in Warwick ready to leave for home tomorrow.  I turned on ESPN and hit the treadmill.  I could barely run 2 miles!  It seemed that all I had done (and NOT done) put me squarely back at step one.  It’s now time to start the road back to better fitness.

The same thing can happen to your safety program if you’re not careful.  You may start out with good intentions, get it going really well, and then let other factors and laziness take over.  Before you know it, your safety program is out of shape and barely running.

In your personal fitness, you can end up getting hurt and sick.  Same thing with safety.  Injuries are more likely to occur, morale dips, and workers compensation premiums increase.

If this situation looks familiar, it’s not too late to get back on the treadmill.  Start on Monday.  Start slowly, but be consistent.  Plan out your program, set expectations, delegate responsibility, and monitor progress.  Before you know it, your safety program will be back running at full steam.  The results?  Less injuries, more efficiency, and lower premiums.

You and I should both be motivated now.  See you on the starting line!

Be safe,

Last weekend, I watched my team, the Seattle Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams 28-0.  At first glance, it looks like a route, right?  In reality, with 49 seconds to go in the 2nd quarter, it almost was 7-7.  With the Seahawks up 7-0, Olindo Mare lined up to attempt a 49-yard field goal to increase Seattle’s lead.  The FG attempt was blocked by the Rams, scooped up and returned for a touchdown.  Talk about a stunned crowd!  The Rams were soon the ones stunned as it turned out they had 12 men on the filed (for you non-football readers, that’s one more than allowed).  I guess it’s easier to block field goal attempts with that extra guy.

That penalty turned the game around. Seattle was given a first down and they went in to score another touchdown, giving them a 14-0 lead at halftime, rather than a tie game.  The Rams never recovered.

Take a look at your business and how it operates.  Are there potential “12th men” in your operations?  Here are a few to consider:

• Poor housekeeping
• Inconsistent safety meetings
• Poor recordkeeping
• Faulty wiring
• Poor hiring practices
• Discriminatory practices
• Not understanding your insurance

You see, any one of these, plus many others, can be potential game changers.  Just like the Rams, you lose one of these and you might never recover.  Don’t be penalized for lack of discipline.  If you practice sound risk management strategies and stick with consistently, you will find yourself the winning team.

Be safe.

I was asked today by a client why, as a landlord, do they need to require that they be named as an additional insured on their tenant’s General Liability policy.  Great question.  For those of you who are either landlords or tenants, here is the answer…

A landlord needs to be named as an additional insured on a certificate of insurance because:

Your liability exposure created by the tenant is now transferred to their insurance policy, not yours.

Example – Someone slips and falls in your tenant’s space and is claiming outrageous damages.  Not only are they sued, but so are you because you own the building.  It happens.  If you were not named as an additional insured, your insurance policy would be triggered, thus becoming a claim for you.  This means potential deductible, poor loss history, potentially increased premiums, and maybe even non-renewal.  Not only that, but if your General Liability has an aggregate limit (which almost all do), then your limit would have been exhausted by someone else’s claim.

As a named insured on your tenant’s policy, their insurance company must defend and pay for your exposure.  This leaves your insurer out completely.

Questions?

Dan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Consultant Attends Professional Designation Training

Training focuses on insurance risk management techniques

Poulsbo, WA (September 2, 2009) – Dan Weedin, CIC, of Toro Consulting, Inc. has successfully completed the Certified Risk Managers (CRM) Financing of Risk course held in Las Vegas in August.

The risk management course attended is one of five parts offered by The National Alliance of Insurance Education and Research. After the successful completion of all five courses covering all major areas of the risk management field, and five comprehensive examinations, Mr. Weedin will be awarded the CRM designation. This is the third course he has completed. The National Alliance of Insurance Education and Research is the nation’s foremost provider of professional insurance and education.

Mr. Weedin has held the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation from the Society since 1996. He also serves as a faculty member for the Society in one of their other designation programs for insurance agents.

For more information, contact Dan Weedin at (360) 697-1058; (360) 824-8100 (fax); or dan@danweedin.com. Please also visit our website at www.InsuranceGo2Guy.com.