Host Liquor Liability

Over the next several months there will be many reasons for businesses and individuals to host events and parties where alcohol may be served. Businesses may have happy hours for celebrations such as Mardi Gras, March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day, and Cinco De Mayo where they will be providing alcohol for employees or customers. Individuals may use the same reason to have friends and family over to celebrate and consume alcohol. Taking my party hat off for just a moment and putting my risk management/insurance hat on, let me discuss something called Host Liquor Liability.

This is a coverage that often is part of a Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy and also included in homeowner policies as long as the individual and/or businesses are not in the occupation of making, selling or distributing of alcohol for money (meaning bars, distilleries, wineries, restaurants, etc. would have a different coverage simply called Liquor Liability). Host Liquor Liability is a coverage to help protect in cases where injuries happen because of alcohol incidents. One common example would be a participant is driving drunk and as a result crashes and injures people in an auto accident. Wherever the drunk driver last consumed alcohol could find themselves facing a lawsuit for injuries that were caused by the driver. They could be pulled into the situation because it was at their event and under their supervision that this driver consumed alcohol and then got behind the wheel intoxicated and drove off.

So here is one key thing about host liquor liability that all your employees, customers and/or friends and family will like to hear: if you are going to have an event with alcohol you are best to give it away. If at your event money changes hands and people are then able to consume alcohol you would have violated the no making, selling or distributing of alcohol for money rule. If you are having alcohol at a charity event the alcohol would have to be donated for the event or have a very good paper trail showing that none of the moneys collected to get in the event went toward the purchase of alcohol. Now, if your event is going to have a cash bar you will need to look into purchasing two items. The first is a temporary liquor license from the state and the second is a Liquor Liability insurance policy. Both of those can be costly and time consuming to acquire so your best bet is to just give it away… and be more popular with your employees, customers, friends and family.

Ohio Workers' Compensation for Your Home or Business (repost from Oct 29th, 2009)

If you are in the State of Ohio and employ at least one employee to whom you pay $160 or more in a three month period, you are required to carry Ohio Workers’ Compensation. Your employee could be with your business or simply a babysitter or person you hire to mow your grass.

In Ohio you buy Workers’ Compensation from the State’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. Their website address is www.ohiobwc.com or you can call them at 1-800-OHIO-BWC.

Unfortunately your Homeowner Policy Personal Liability cannot help you in situations where you are paying the employee more than $160 in a quarter, so we highly recommend that you purchase an Ohio Workers’ Compensation policy if you are in this situation.

Workers’ Compensation pays for injuries to your workers and includes not only medical expenses but loss of income benefits, too.

The website at www.ohiobwc.com is actually very helpful. If you decided you need to buy a policy, you can do it all on-line including paying for the coverage and printing out a temporary policy to show you have the protection.

Please feel free to contact one of our friendly agents if you wish to learn more about workers’ compensation.

Safewindshields.com

A cracked or broken windshield is a very common driving incident. It can happen at any time and anywhere. It could be a bouncing rock that was kicked up from another vehicle or a blown truck tire that crashes into the windshield. What is even more unfortunate is that it could happen whether you are in town or out of town traveling.

Since a cracked or broken windshield is so common you would think it would be no big deal when and where you get it fixed. However, if you think about it, a windshield is the one major piece of the car that helps to keep you inside a vehicle incase of a head on collision. This could be a matter of life and death and when you put it in that light it becomes a little bit more important to make sure you have the windshield fixed and fixed by the appropriate shops. Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standards Council (AGRSS) works to certify and set stand for glass repair companies. Their website www.safewindshields.com, is a very helpful tool when it comes to getting your vehicle windshield replaced, especially if you are out of town traveling. The top right part of the screen has a “Registered Shop Locator” where you can type in a zip code and find the accredited glass repair shops near your current location. This way, even when you are out of town, you can find a qualified glass repair shop to fix your windshield and know that it will be installed correctly and securely.

So next time you get a rock in the windshield be sure to visit the AGRSS website or call your friendly Fey Insurance Services agent to make sure you get a high quality glass repair shop.

Legal Limits vs. Adequate Limits

Several auto insurance companies are doing a great deal of advertising about keeping you legal for less premium. What does that mean? All states including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Canadian provinces require you to carry Automobile Liability Insurance with certain minimum limits of coverage. In Ohio those limits are $12,500/person/$25,000/accident for Bodily Injury and $7,500 for Property Damage Liability. In Indiana and Kentucky the minimum limits are $25,000/50,000/10,000. In Wisconsin, for example, the minimum limits are $50,000/100,000/15,000. In some of the Canadian provinces the limit is $200,000. In short, if you carry the minimum required limits in a particular state or Canadian province, you are legally in compliance with that state or province's Financial Responsibility Laws.

But if you are legally in compliance, is that the same as adequate limits of liability protection? In our opinion, higher limits of protection are highly recommended to protect your assets, future earnings and driving privileges. For example, if you rear-end another party and cause serious bodily injury and/or property damage, your minimum limits Auto Policy might initially take care of the other person's medical bills, loss of income and pain and suffering and/or repair their car, but if it is not enough, the injured party could come after you for more. They could tie up your assets, you future earnings, your driver's license and car registration, etc. for long time. Even if you file bankruptcy they could still make it difficult for you to function while you are going through the process.

So what are adequate limits? Unfortunately there is no formula for determining this. With your home you can insure it for the replacement cost of the house using various estimation tools plus discussions with architects and contractors can help you determine the proper amount. There is no such simple formula to determine how much liability insurance to carry, but it is safe to say that Ohio's limits of $12,500/25,000/7,500 are not adequate even if they are legal in the event of a serious automobile accident. We would suggest limits of no less than $100,000/300,000/100,000 or $250,000/500,000/100,000 for your consideration. In addition, if you desire and need higher limits, buying a Personal Umbrella Liability Policy with limits of at least $1,000,000 or higher is highly recommended.

In Fey Insurance’s opinion, the minimum limits of protection imposed by states and the Canadian provinces are a start vs. no insurance at all, but they are not adequate to protect you in the event of a serious automobile accident.

2010 Discriminations Charges

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released some very interesting data for the fiscal year of 2010. 99,922 workplace discrimination chargers were filed which set a new record. The types of claims that were filed where:

Retaliation Charges

Race-Related Charges

Sex Harassment

Disability

Age

National Origin

Religion

Equal Pay Act

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

What is even scarier about this number for business owners is that Commercial General Liability (CGL) doesn’t cover these types of claims. Employment Related Practices claims are excluded under a business CGL. In order to have protection for these types of claims you must purchase Employment Related Practices Insurance. Be sure to talk with your insurance agent today about quoting this coverage for your business.

Do You Blog? Let Your Insurance Agent Know.

The Cincinnati Insurance Board in its January 2011 newsletter posted a great article about the risk that bloggers face. If you blog and or spend time writing in chat rooms on the internet you should contact your friendly Fey Insurance Services agent to discuss. Read why:

Blogging and the Possiblity of Lawsuits- CIB Jan 2011 Newsletter

A growing number of lawsuits are targeting individuals who blog or post allegedly libelous material on the Internet according to the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI). One report indicates a 216 percent increase in libel lawsuits against bloggers and online posters in the last few years.

These postings and blogs can result in nasty lawsuits. For example, earlier this year, a Florida man was sued for $15,000 over a negative remark he posted on eBay against the seller of a reportedly defective clock. A blogger in Georgia was sued for $2 million over his claims about the alleged misdeeds of a local government employee. Are these types of claims covered under a standard, unendorsed homeowners policy? What type of protection, if any, does the homeowners policy offer for these types of lawsuits?

The liability insuring agreement under nearly all homeowners policies pays for damages arising only from bodily injury or property damage, not from any type of personal injury, such as libel. In most cases, the only way that these claims might be covered is if the insured's homeowners policy includes a personal injury endorsement.

So it is a good idea to remind your clients who are active bloggers and online posters of the wisdom of procuring personal injury coverage and a personal umbrella policy (which typically provides even broader personal injury coverage). Clients should also be advised that if the blogging is related, say, to a home-based business, there will likely be no coverage under either of these options due to various business exclusions and restrictions. A home-based business endorsement is essential in these situations.

In addition, you should know that the Internet is not a law-free zone where anything and everything goes. There are ramifications to consider for those avid and active posters and bloggers, ramifications that can turn out to be painful and very expensive

Safe Travels this Holiday!

The Holidays are in full swing and with Christmas just a couple of days away; many have already started their Holiday travels. Being the insurance people that we are, here are a few tips for a safe and secure season of travel.

1) Make your home seem like someone is still there. You can do this several ways. Leave your front and back porch lights on so that at night your house is lit up. Ask a neighbor to collect your mail while you are gone so it doesn’t stack up. You can also ask the post office to hold if for you until you get back. Another way to make it look like you are home is to ask a neighbor to pull in and out of your driveway at some point if it snows giving the appearance that you have been in and out of your house.

2) Don’t show off to the Facebook world that you are on vacation. I know this can be tough for some but letting everyone know you are out of town on Facebook can be dangerous. We recommend waiting until you get home from your trip before you post vacation pictures.

3) Car travelers should be prepared for heavy snow at all times. The best way to do this is to make sure you have extra blankest, windshield washer fluid, ice scrapers and even a small shovel. You never know when you might need any of those things. Also, be sure to have your phone charged during the trip so that you have it in case of an emergency.

4) Don’t skimp on heat in your home: This time last year our big recommendation in our “Traveling Over the Holiday” blog article was to keep the heat in your house at a reasonable level so your pipes don’t freeze. Again, we recommend this.

Those are just a few simple tips. We here at Fey Insurance hope you have a wonderful Holiday and Merry Christmas!