Of all the property casualty insurance that organizations purchase, which policy do you think is most important? In other words, on which policy can you least afford to make an error? Or, if a company could only buy one type of insurance, what would be your choice?

For most organizations I think it is the umbrella/excess liability program. Properly arranged, it covers the catastrophic losses that could cripple or bankrupt an organization. Because it covers such a wide spectrum of exposures—premises, products, completed ops, auto, employers liability—it is a complex form with much potential for error or omission.

Depending on the nature of the insured’s operations, you may feel some other policy is more important. Perhaps it is the D&O policy for a publicly held company, a professional liability policy for a healthcare institution or professional firm, or a property policy for an organization with concentrations of values in a limited number of locations.

While these would be legitimate considerations, I believe that the umbrella/excess liability program is of such importance that it deserves special attention by risk professionals. And sometimes I wonder if it gets this special attention.

What do you think? Is the umbrella/excess liability program the most important coverage for most organizations? Are the terms of these policies subjected to the degree of analysis and negotiation that they deserve? What process do you use to review umbrella/excess liability coverage terms and conditions? [See reader responses.]

I hope you are planning to attend the 26th IRMI Construction Risk Conference. Early bird registration ends next Friday (8/18). You'll pay $125 less by registering online before then. Review all the details or register here.

Thank you for choosing to be part of the IRMI subscriber family. We truly appreciate your trust and confidence.

Have a great day.

Jack

Jack P. Gibson, CPCU, CRIS, ARM
President
IRMI

Risk Tip

Don't Forget Post-Injury Management Training—The concept is so fundamental that we many times forget to even consider how important it is to train management, supervisors, and staff on proper post-injury management. However, it is the single most important and cost-effective technique that can be done to manage claims, return the injured worker to his or her pre-injury condition and reduce the overall cost of claims. Proper and timely responses to incidents can make certain that the injured worker gets the appropriate care and information needed to allow that person to rehabilitate and recover from their loss.

The training should include an emphasis on immediately reporting the claim to the insurer or third-party administrator. This allows the adjuster and other ancillary resources to be most effective in getting the injured worker comfortable with an unfamiliar process of making a claim, the follow-up care needed, and, if lost time is involved, the required payment of indemnity wages. This will many times help the injured worker know that he or she is being treated fairly, improves morale for the injured worker and other employees close to the situation, and reduce the anxiety that might drive the injured worker to an attorney when one may not be needed.

If you do not believe that you are qualified or capable of providing this training, most insurers, brokers, and consultants have some form of training for post-injury management. Review a few of the options and make modification suggestions to best fit your organization's needs.

By: Randy McKnight
Director of Corporate Risk Management, Belz Enterprises
Memphis

Suggest a Risk Tip. Send us a practical tip (less than 300 words) for identifying and managing risks, buying insurance, managing claims, or filling gaps in insurance coverages. Submit your tips. We'll acknowledge your contribution as we did for Randy.

What's New in Your IRMI Library

We have recently updated a number of the reference manuals in the IRMI library and published new issues of The Risk Report and Captive Insurance Company Reports. To make sure you don't miss any of this new information take 30 seconds to scan the "What's New" summary page.

For IRMI Online and Print Subscribers.

For SilverPlume Sage subscribers.

New Expert Commentary

There are now over 800 risk management and insurance articles on IRMI.com. Below you'll find summaries of some recent additions with links to the articles.

Sharing of Information between Insurers To Fight Fraud—When insurers fail to communicate to combat fraud, no one benefits. Barry Zalma looks at legislative initiatives to stop this practice.
Failure To Submit to EUO Constitutes Breach of Contract—Kevin Merriman describes a recent Indiana case holding that insureds are prohibited from imposing prerequisites to compliance with the insurance contract.
Pre-Tender Defense Costs: Who Pays?—Steve Rawls explains how assigning responsibility for pre-tender defense costs based on the notice provisions of the policy mixes apples with oranges.
Why You Should Start a Captive in a Soft Market—Mike Mead advises to make hay while the sun shines—have the captive in existence and ready to perform when needed.
Graham v. USI MidAtlantic: Should I Be Concerned?—Are standard insurance proposal materials copyrightable? A recent court case says yes. Sanford Warren and Eric Klein explain.

Conference Nears Sellout as Early Bird Discount Expires

More than 1,300 of your peers have secured their registration to the 26th IRMI Construction Risk Conference, October 9-12 in San Diego. Last year's Conference was a sellout, and based on the rate that registrations are coming in, another sellout is likely in the next week. The $125 early bird savings for online registration also ends August 18, so please act now if you plan to attend.

Online Ethics CE Course Meets State Requirements

"Ethics for Property and Casualty Insurance Professionals" is one of our many online insurance CE courses. Passing the course will not only give you 4-6 hours CE credit, depending on your state, but also meet your state's ethics course requirement. And you won't believe how reasonable the cost of these courses is. Check all the courses out.

How To Get IRMI Update E-mails

IRMI Update is sent to subscribers by plain text e-mail twice each month. To initiate your free subscription, use the e-mail registration form.

IRMI Update—Issue #142

In This Issue