Attorney Advises On Social Media Exposures

According to Daniel Maldonado, attorney with Kunz Plitt Hyland & Demlong,the Internet and Social Media increasingly affect businesses, which also can cause substantial loss exposures.

Social Media Liability can be defined as a liability exposure arising out of using social media or networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or LinkedIn. The risks involved in using these social media sites are including possible insurance claims filed for libel, slander, privacy invasion, intellectual property infringement, and harassment.
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2 votes, 4.50 avg. rating (86% score)
Categories: General Liability, In The News, Tech Insurance

What Policy Covers Stolen Client Property In Your Possession?

How often do you have your client’s personal property in your office or in your car?  Did you know that property damage to personal property of others in your care, custody, or control is not covered under a standard General Liability policy?  The exclusion under the General Liability policy reads:

Exclusion J. Damage to Property:  “Property Damage” to (4) Personal Property in the care, custody or control of the insured.

For example, your client drops off their laptop to you for repairs.  You take the laptop with you as you head to another client’s location.  While you are there, someone breaks into your car and steals numerous items, including your client’s laptop.  Your General Liability policy would not respond; however, if you purchase a Property policy or are able to add Property coverage to your existing General Liability policy, there is a coverage that can be included called “Personal Property of Others”.  You are able to choose the desired limit of coverage and it must be combined with coverage for your own business personal property or building.

0 votes, 0.00 avg. rating (0% score)
Categories: General Liability

Advertising Injury Coverage Gaps Requires Cyber Liability for Many Non-Media Firms

The 1986 ISO General Liability policy form provided relatively broad coverage for advertising injury for non-media companies. On the other hand, media companies such as newspapers, television stations, and advertising agencies were required to purchase a special Media Liability policy. However, due to recent restrictions on advertising injury coverage under a General Liability policy, many non-media companies should strongly consider the purchase of a Media Liability (offline) or Cyber Liability (online) policy in order to close certain coverage gaps.

The 2001 ISO version of the General Liability form includes a new exclusion that eliminates coverage for “injury arising out of the infringement of copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights.” However, the new exclusion excepts “ infringement in your ‘advertisement’ of copyright, trade dress, or slogan.” Therefore, coverage is now specifically excluded for all trademark and trade secret claims. In addition, coverage for the three remaining types of intellectual property claims (copyright, trade dress, or slogan) is dependent upon such offenses arising out of an ‘advertisement’.
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1 vote, 4.00 avg. rating (80% score)
Categories: Advertising Injury, Cyber Liability, General Liability

Fax Blast Class Action Lawsuits

In the recent Florida Supreme Court case of Penzer v. Transportation Insurance Company, the court ruled that the standard General Liability policy form covers lawsuits alleging that fax blasts are in violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

 In this case, a class action lawsuit was filed against Nextel (or its agent) for sending unsolicited fax blasts in violation of the TCPA. The TCPA is a federal law making it unlawful to use a fax, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement to a fax machine. Each fax sent in violation can result in the greater of actual damages or $500.
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Categories: General Liability, Personal / Advertising Injury

Are Your Laptops Secure?

“Many employees disable the encryption solutions on their laptops, putting their employers at risk for data breaches, according to a study by Absolute Software Corp. and The Ponemon Institute.”

The study specifies “Corporate America” is being affected by the behavior of employees who destabilize data protection.  This behavior is resulting in encryption not being enough to protect laptops and other mobile devices that have sensitive information stored on them.  The number one source of data loss is from lost or stolen laptops.  When a laptop has been stolen, 3 out of 4 companies will incur a data breach.

Necessary safety measures are not being taken by business owners to secure their laptops.  Some business managers even deactivate their laptops’ encryption making themselves and their clients more vulnerable to identity theft.  Additional layers of security can be utilized to identify data that has been accessed, even delete sensitive information remotely, and find a lost or stolen laptop.  Employers can not afford to rely on the behavior of their employees nor encryption technology to provide the data protection they need according to this study.

Source: Absolute Ponemon http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2009/04/27/99982.htm

1 vote, 4.00 avg. rating (80% score)
Categories: Breach Of Security, Crime, General Liability, Identity Theft, Risk Management

Tech Professional Services Not Covered By General Liability

Tech companies and IT professionals need General Liability to provide coverage for claims or lawsuits for negligence alleging bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and advertising injury.

Many General Liability policy forms have an exclusion which takes away coverage for a laundry list of professional services including legal, accounting, architectural, engineering, medical, health care and computer consulting, design, or programming services including web site design. 
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1 vote, 3.00 avg. rating (70% score)
Categories: General Liability