Directors Liability Insurance

Attorney Professional Liability Insurance in Austin, TX

Posted on by Melvin

Attorney Professional Liability Insurance in Austin, TX is vital for those times when, for any number of reasons, a relationship between you and a client turns sour. When this is in fact the case, while you may hope for a peaceful resolution, it may end with an unsatisfied client and litigation is likely to be pursued. A couple of common issues that often develop are a situation where you may decide to withdraw for certain reasons, or the relationship between you and your client breaks down to the point where you both decide to part ways. In either case, this is the time when your professional liability policy will come into play.

Have you provided your client with good service?

Perhaps no professional shortcoming is more widely resented than procrastination. A client’s interests can often be adversely affected by the passage of time or any change of conditions. For example, if you were to overlook a statute of limitations your client’s legal position may be jeopardized and this could result in them bringing a claim against you. Even when your client’s interests are not affected in substance, any unreasonable delay may cause your client needless anxiety and undermine their confidence in you.

Unless either party terminates the relationship you should carry through to conclusion all matters undertaken for a client. Once the matter has been resolved the relationship naturally terminates. The client may assume that you will continue to serve on a continuing basis unless you give notice of withdrawal. Any doubt about whether a client-lawyer relationship exists should be clarified by you in writing so that your client will not mistakenly suppose that you are looking after his or her affairs when in fact you have ceased to do so.

Whenever a representation is terminated, whether by the lawyer or the client, the lawyer still has certain responsibilities to consider. A lawyer must take steps, to the extent reasonably practicable, to protect the client’s interest, including giving reasonable notice, allowing time for the client to engage other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled, and refunding any unearned retainer.

These are the times when every attorney can benefit from having Professional Liability Insurance in Austin, TX. Speak to an agent with any questions or concerns pertaining to this coverage.

Protecting Your Staff with Workers Compensation Programs

Posted on by Melvin

You know that the stakes are awfully high for workers in nursing homes simply for the fact that they face the risk of injury due to all of the strenuous duties and tasks they perform every day. These injuries can often be the result of activities performed in their regular service to patients residing at their facility.

Various nursing home Workers Compensation Programs allow you to provide insurance to your clients that face the concern of losing staff to injuries, sometimes severe enough that they may miss work for weeks or even months. This coverage is not only mandatory, but it provides the type of financial and medical support those injured individuals will rely on during their recuperation and, with any luck, a subsequent return to the workplace.

Types of injuries covered by workers comp insurance

Provided that the injury occurs at work, or while on the job, most are covered under any standard workers comp claim. Musculoskeletal injuries are rather common, and these can often occur as a result of a simple slip and fall accident. For example, falling on a floor that was recently mopped can lead to sprained ankles, torn muscles, and even bruised tendons.

Nurses and other staff responsible for carrying residents, often in a fragile state and especially at awkward angles, can easily become injured. Such activities can result in back strains, herniated discs, and over-extension of certain muscles, plus there is the additional risk for major back problems and other musculoskeletal problems.

Exposure to pathogens and other infectious agents

The American Nursing Association estimates that as many as two out of three nurses report being accidentally stuck with needles at work. This raises concerns about the possibility that a syringe that may contain viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens could puncture the skin, and this could quite possibly put that nurse at risk for serious illness. Nurses are also asked to handle biological waste, as well as perform work with medicines and chemicals that could cause an adverse reaction.

There are also concerns about psychological issues developing. This could be due to long hours, lack of natural sunlight at some facilities, and even poor eating habits, all of which could produce any number of psychological ailments, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and even problems related to sleeping.

Therefore your clients operating nursing homes need the valuable protection of Workers Compensation Programs to deal with all types of issues related to the health of their staff.

Clients, Employees, and New Jersey Contractors Insurance

Posted on by Melvin

There are many ways to protect your construction business and having proper new jersey contractors insurance is just one of them. One of the first areas that need considerable thought is your hiring practices. You’ll want to hire a team of employees that is dependable and responsible. Having good people in place working for you is one of the keys to success. Make sure that you not only hire competent workers, but also ensure that you keep them happy and continue to retain good workers for all of your company’s projects.

Make the client your number one priority

Always put the client first. This is accomplished by having a good line of communication. While performing the work, make sure to stay in communication with the client along with others you’ll be working with. Not only will this allow for the project to run smoother, it may also lead to being awarded future projects.

You’re going to be judged first and foremost by the service you provide. The best way to increase customer referrals is by offering quality service to all of your customers, big and small. Satisfied clients will offer referrals that will grow your client base and increase profitability. It is a prudent practice to make sure that you are not only reaching out to potential new clients but also checking in on previous ones. Make sure that they know how to contact you in the event that there are any issues with the work you’ve performed.

Also, remember that the world is constantly changing. It’s important to stay up to date with technological advances within the industry. Being familiar with any new technology can help increase production as well as allow for better networking.

Having all the necessary New Jersey contractors insurance coverage in place will give you some much needed security. Growing your business requires that you take certain precautions to help ensure the security of yourself, your clients, and your employees, including visitors to work sites and even unexpected guests or intruders. You need a policy that will protect you and the business against injury and property loss.

Directors Liability Insurance and Concerns Over Wrongful Acts

Posted on by Melvin

Directors and officers (D&O) insurance is often purchased by individuals that sit on a number of board of directors and therefore face exposure to lawsuits. Sometimes referred to as directors liability insurance, because directors can be personally sued by a number of people with whom they do business or come in contact with during the performance of their duties, including shareholders, creditors, employees, suppliers, customers, competitors or regulators.

The suits can be bought about for a variety of reasons. Shareholders might sue for insider trading. Creditors might sue over allegations of misrepresenting the financial health of the company. Competitors have been known to sue for anti-trust or unfair trade practices. Basically, a suit can be due to anything construed as a “wrongful act”. Wrongful acts include errors and omissions, as well as misstatements, misleading statements, neglect or breach of duty. Beneficiaries are the directors, officers or the corporation itself.

Lawsuits can seriously affect a director’s ability to govern

Being personally involved in a lawsuit can have a crippling effect on individual directors. Simply fearing the risk of a lawsuit might very well cause qualified individuals to decide against taking director positions, and it could also motivate existing directors to act with excessive caution in pursuing a corporation’s interests.

This obviously does not bode well for these corporations, which is why insuring directors, or officers, against personal liability for their own wrongful acts helps to address these types of concerns.

D&O insurance policies cover claims made during the policy period. It doesn’t matter when the wrongful acts occurred. A claim arising from a lawsuit filed this year for a wrongful act committed last year is covered by this year’s policy.

Most policies have an exclusion against one insured suing another. Another standard exclusion is for a failure to maintain adequate insurance. If, for example, a corporation’s headquarters were to be destroyed by a fire, and one of its directors had let the property insurance lapse, the corporation cannot file a claim under its D&O insurance policy.

Don’t let these concerns make a difficult job even harder. Protect yourself, or your directors, with a directors liability insurance policy. Speak to a qualified agent today.

Directors Face Personal Liability in Their Professional Lives

Posted on by Melvin

Protection for Directors Amy was excited when she heard the news from the executive search firm she had hired to secure her a position that would allow her to climb the next rung in the ladder of her success: she had been offered a position as a director at an up and coming firm that was creating a lot of buzz in the industry. Sure, the compensation package was only just comparable with the marketplace, but the benefits and perks were out of this world, and the company was only a 15-minute drive away-much better for Amy, who had previously faced a two-hour daily commute. Now, looking to return to the workforce after several months off to have a baby (which turned out to be twins), Amy was looking for a challenging position that would offer her some work/life balance, beginning with a more reasonable drive to the office. She had hit it off right away with the chief executive officer, she knew the chief financial officer from another job years ago where they had worked together. The only thing that gave Amy pause was the fact that the company did not have a directors liability insurance program in place to protect high-level executives. In true leadership fashion, Amy told her prospective employer why they needed this coverage that protects directors from the many risks associated with the executive decisions and management actions they make in the course of every business day:

  • The median settlement for 65 court-approved securities class-action settlements in 2011 was $5.8 million dollars
  • Many top executives make the presence or addition of such a policy a condition of employment in order to ensure their personal assets are safeguarded, so if a firm wants to attract the best executives, it needs to be prepared to offer this coverage
  • These executives can be held personally liable for the decisions they make and the actions they take on behalf of the company they work for
  • Lawsuits can come from many directions, including employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, creditors, competitors, and even regulatory agencies

Facing such a compelling argument, Amy’s would-be employer lost no time in contacting its professional insurance agent to ensure a directors liability insurance policy was in place before Amy’s first day on the job. Call your agent today to learn more about this important coverage.

What You Should Know About Directors Liability Insurance

Posted on by Melvin

Many businesses underestimate the amount of liability insurance that they should hold, especially if they have very few directors or officers in their company. However, it is important to note that your business could be sued at any time, and your high-ranking officers can easily become the targets of various lawsuits. Whether your company officers and directors are actually at fault or not, you could be stuck with hefty legal fines as the result of a lawsuit filed against you by a customer, vendor, or any other individual that has worked with your company. If you want to keep yourself well protected financially, here are some things you should know about directors liability insurance.

What D&O Insurance Covers

Directors and Officers Liability insurance provides protection against your company and officers in case someone claims that your company or officers have made a poor decision that affected them negatively. Directors and officers are required to make tough decisions every day, and they should not have to worry about facing the full cost of lawsuits brought against them as a result of those decisions.

Protect Your Company Today

D&O coverage is ideal for private, non-profit and publicly-held companies that want to give their high-ranking employees more comfort when making important company-related decisions. To make sure your company is not forced to handle legal costs completely on its own, make sure you have directors liability insurance today.

 

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