Rust Belt Business Law - June 2021

Rust Belt Business Law - June 2021

www.RustBeltLegal.com 814-315-9255

June 2021

THE FINE PRINT Do You Know What’s in Your Insurance Policies?

who had access to credit cards or other financial accounts, and they stole money, that money is difficult to recover.

Insurance is a big deal. Many people and businesses are underinsured. To complicate matters, they might not realize they are underinsured — or they may not know what they need, so they only buy basic policies. June 28 is Insurance Awareness Day. To most people, “insurance awareness” sounds like an odd day to appear on the calendar, but it’s important. Too many people don’t know what they’re getting when they buy insurance — or decide not to buy insurance or an add-on to an existing policy. For instance, many of my own clients get general liability insurance and assume that’s enough for their business. When you first start out, you can get away with it. However, as a business grows, so do the problems. General liability insurance simply doesn’t cover all of the issues that can arise as a business grows. I’ve worked with businesses that lack employment practices liability insurance (EPLI). This form of insurance covers claims made by employees or former employees. This includes wrongful termination, retaliation, discrimination, sexual harassment, and other workplace issues that can arise in virtually any business. We also get a lot of calls from employers who discovered that employees have stolen from them. Here’s the kicker: They don’t have an employee theft or dishonesty policy. In many cases, if you’re dealing with an employee (often a former employee at this point)

If the employer was properly insured and had coverage for employee theft, they would be able to recoup some, if not all, of the losses. Don’t assume that because something has yet to happen to your business (such as employee theft) it will never happen. The reality is, you never know. This especially applies to cyber liability. The great thing about cyber liability insurance is it generally costs very little — and yet it has the potential to save your business. Many businesses assume that because they have never been hit by a cyberattack or been victim of a cyberthreat, it won’t happen to them. This is a dangerous line of thinking. Yes, the odds are slim that you will be hit by an attack or be taken down by a computer virus or malware, but it happens, and it’s increasingly common. If you are a victim of a cyberattack, the damages can be massive. Cyberattacks have destroyed many small businesses simply because they do not have the money or resources to recover lost or stolen >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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