2016 Insurance And Risk Management Checklist

As we start a new year, there is no time like the present to evaluate your company's insurance and risk management program and plan for the year. Here is a brief checklist of steps to take and things to consider as you move into 2016.

1. Take inventory of all of your coverages

• Do you have all the coverage you need?
  
  
  • General liability insurance
  • Errors & Omissions liability insurance
  • Directors' & Officers' liability insurance
  • Employment Practices liability insurance
  • Employee Benefits liability insurance
  • Fiduciary liability insurance
  • Cyberliability and Data Privacy insurance
  • Property and Business Interruption insurance
  • Fidelity & Crime insurance
  • Terrorism insurance
• Are your coverage limits adequate to protect the business?
• Are you comfortable with your deductibles or self-insured retentions?
• Are all of your affiliates insured?
• Are your officers, directors and employees adequately insured?
• Do you anticipate any upcoming purchases, sales, and/or mergers or acquisitions?
• Do emerging risks such as global climate change, terrorism, and data and systems security need to be addressed in your planning?

2. Plan for your policy renewals

• When do each of your policies expire?
• Plan ahead for renewals—don't wait for the last minute
• What are you trying to accomplish with your renewals?
  
  
  • Increase coverage limits
  • Broaden coverage
  • Obtain better pricing
  • Change insurance carriers
• Review policies that afford the right to provide a notice of circumstances that may lead to a claim to assess pros/cons of providing such notice in the current policy period

3. Analyze the substantive terms of your policies

• Do they really cover what you think they cover?
  
  
  • Carefully review coverage provisions, endorsements and exclusions
• Has your coverage grown with your business?
  
  
  • Don't rely on just carrying over your coverage from one year to the next
  • When your business changes and expands, your coverage must change and expand with it

4. Put systems in place for administering your policies

• Know what the notice requirements are in each of your policies and have systems in place for providing notice
• Know what constitutes a claim that must be reported under the terms of your policies
• Know what your policies require regarding submitting proofs of loss and the timing of such submissions
• Know what your policies require regarding cooperation and insurance company consent before incurring expenses and settling claims
• Do you have systems in place so that those responsible for providing notice to insurers are aware of claims or potential claims that must be reported?

5. Review your broker agreements

• Are they one-sided boilerplate agreements provided by the broker?
• Do they clearly spell out each side's respective responsibilities?
• Do they clearly spell out the compensation to be paid to the broker and for what services?
  
  
  • Do they permit the broker to obtain contingent compensation from insurance companies?
• Are the termination provisions clear and sufficient?
• What will you owe the broker if the agreement is terminated?
• Do they contain provisions regarding data protection, data breaches, and protection of private information and trade secrets?
• Are there provisions limiting the broker's liability and addressing how disputes are to be resolved?

6. Review your vendor agreements

• Do they contain sufficient indemnification provisions?
• Do they contain adequate insurance requirements?
  
  
  • Are vendor policies primary and non-contributory with respect to your own insurance policies?
  • Do you have systems in place to ensure compliance with insurance requirements?
• Do they contain provisions regarding data protection, data breaches, and protection of private information and trade secrets?
• How are disputes to be resolved?

This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.