EVERY BUSINESS, no matter what the size, has certain people that are crucial to its success. Nowhere is this more evident than in a small business. These key people are the ones whose absence would put the company in jeopardy because they are involved in every aspect of the operation. Because their value is immeasurable, it is vital to cover these people with key man insurance. The concept behind key man coverage is quite basic. A company purchases a life insurance policy on that person, whether it is the owner or a staff member, pays the premiums and is the beneficiary of the policy. If that person unexpectedly dies, the company receives the death benefit. What makes this coverage so important is that the death of a key person in a small business can often lead to the demise of the company itself if no line of succession has been established. And, as is usually the case, small companies find themselves completely occupied with day-to-day operations, so they seldom thin

GOOD NEWS: Your out-of-pocket prescription drug costs under your Medicare Advantage plan may be coming down soon. A recent change from the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) grants permission to Medicare Advantage plans to allow “step therapy” for Part B drugs. Essentially, this allows plans to start patients on lower-cost generics, where appropriate. Patients would still be able to move to costlier name-brand drugs on Part B medications where the generics are not effective. Part B drugs differ from Part D drugs in that Part B treatments are delivered in health care facilities and for drugs administered in doctors’ offices, while Part D drugs are those that the consumer purchases from pharmacies. Step therapy has been routine for Part D plans for years, but has been prohibited for drugs administered in health care facilities. The move by the CMS reverses a 2012 decision by the Health and Human Services Administration. “By allowing Medicare Advantage plans to neg

HOW WOULD you escape from your workplace in an emergency? Do you know where all the exits are in case your first choice is too crowded? Are you sure the doors will be unlocked and the exit access, such as a hallway, will not be blocked during a fire, explosion or other crisis? Knowing the answers to these questions could keep you safe during an emergency. And the answers should be readily available to all of your staff in your organization's emergency action plan (EAP). Almost every business is required under Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards to have an EAP. The purpose of these plans is to facilitate and organize employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies. Well-developed emergency plans and proper employee training (that helps workers understand their roles and responsibilities when executing the plan) will result in fewer and less severe employee injuries and less structural damage to the facility during emergencies. A poorly prepa

MOST BUSINESS managers and owners are well aware of the threat of loss from outsiders, and they will install alarms, hire security guards and take other preventative measures. But, most employers pay less attention to reducing the risk of theft by an insider. No one wants to believe that an employee will purposely defraud the company of money. Most people want to trust their employees, and rightly so. But it only takes one bad apple to do significant damage. Depending on the person’s position within the company, and the length of time the theft continues, substantial losses can result. Business owners often have a tendency to believe that it can’t happen to them. Unfortunately, employee fraud is quite common. Furthermore, no riskreduction measures can be guaranteed to keep it from ever happening or to detect every instance of fraud or theft.

What you can do

Institute an anti-fraud policy – Many employers wrongly assume they don’t need to discuss insi

AFTER ANOTHER Christmas, more American homes now include a new addition: a drone. While these gadgets can be loads of fun to fly, they also come with responsibility and risk of property damage and bodily injury. As people start flying drones, there will be accidents and injuries, followed by claims – and even lawsuits. If you are like most people, you were not thinking about insurance when you purchased a drone for your kid. But you’ll want to make sure you are properly covered for any accidents, particularly if the victim is a third party. The liability protection in homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policies will sometimes cover damage or injury from a drone crashing into a neighbor’s house, vehicle or child. Yet, this coverage isn’t universal and some policies specifically carry an aviation exclusion that encompasses recreational drones, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently classifies as small aircraft. While your homeowner’s policy wou

THE STAGED car accident scam is growing as perpetrators are getting craftier about entrapping unsuspecting motorists. Scammers usually meticulously plan their staged car accidents, leaving nothing to chance. You may not even know it was staged, while witnesses may only catch a glimpse and think they saw something they didn’t. Here are some common scams:

The T-bone

In this staged accident the scammer will wait for your car to proceed through an intersection and then floor it and T-bone your vehicle. When police arrive, the scammer’s helpers will claim you ran a red light or ran the stop sign.

The wave

In this scenario, the scammer will see you are trying to switch lanes and they wave you ahead. But when you do switch lanes, they will accelerate and hit your car. Once police arrive to take the accident report, they’ll lie and say you switched lanes when it was not safe to do so and they didn’t have time to brake.

Dual-turn sideswipe<

WORKPLACE DISTRACTIONS are ever-present. They reduce workers’ productivity, increase their stress, cause injuries, and lower morale. Some are the result of modern technology, but others have been around a lot longer.

Following an interruption, it typically takes a couple of minutes to return concentration to work. These short interruptions and recovery periods add up to large amounts of lost productive time.

There are many distractions that can affect employee safety and productivity that employers need to be aware of. Smartphones – Smartphones and tablet computers are a major distraction, especially in office environments. Text messages, alerts and the urge to check Facebook and news – not to mention game apps like Candy Crush and Words with Friends – can pull employees’ attention away from the task at hand.

E-mail – Misuse of e-mail can be another productivitysapper. This includes strings of e-mails sent to arrange a time for a meeting or con

A NEW study has found that people who have had workers’ comp claims in the past are more likely to file future claims compared to those who have never suffered an on-the-job injury.

The study - the subject of an article published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine - concluded that a past claim is the most predictive factor in determining the likelihood of future workers’ comp claims.

While the findings shed light on a significant driver of workplace injuries, employers are in a difficult position as asking prospective employees about past claims experience is illegal in most jurisdictions. The main findings of the study, “Reoccurring Injury, Chronic Health Conditions, and Behavior Health:Gender Differences in the Causes of Workers’ Compensation Claims,” are: A higher proportion of both men and women who had filed workers’ comp claims in the past also experienced a subsequent workplace injury. For both genders, a past claim i