Driving Personal Cars for Business Use?

Driving Personal Cars for Business Use?

Do Your Employees Drive Their Own Car for Work?

Driving a personal car in lieu of a company-owned vehicle may seem to minimize an employer’s liability, but companies can be held partially liable for damages in the event of an accident, and if an insurer discovers the individual was driving for business it may take action against the employer for subrogation purposes. When employees will be driving their own cars for work, there are several actions that you can take as an employer to reduce the risk for your company.

If the employee is making a work-related phone call or taking part in any business-related activity, the employer will be held accountable. When employees will be driving their own cars for work, there are several actions you can take as an employer to mitigate risk.

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Understanding Non-owned and Hired Business Auto Liability Insurance

Does your California business have potential automobile loss exposures that you are not aware of? You’ve taken all of the necessary steps to ensure that your own fleet operation is properly insured in the event of an accident. But what about the potential loss that arises from individual employees who operate their own personal vehicles for company business? This is where non-owned and hired business auto liability insurance comes to play.

Do Your Employees Drive Their Own Car For Business?

There are many situations that present a potential for you to be held accountable for the actions of your employees while they are driving their own vehicles:

  • Do administrative employees use their own vehicles to go to the post office or bank on your company’s behalf?
  • Do you occasionally send an employee to pick up a visiting client at the airport?
  • Have you sent employees to pick up lunch, drop off mail or pick up office supplies?
  • Have you ever rented a vehicle while on a business trip?
  • Do you have a sales force to which you provide a car allowance for business use of their personal vehicles?

If an employee has an accident under any of these situations, your business can be held accountable and sued for damages. Basic business automobile policies only cover employees while they operate company-owned vehicles to perform company business. Your best protection: non-owned and hired automobile liability coverage. This type of coverage will kick in if there is an accident and your company is found legally liable.

Typically, an employee’s personal automobile insurance will provide primary insurance to both the employee and the business if the employee is using their own vehicle on company business. However, there is the chance that charges will exceed the employee’s policy limit and would then be passed on to the company. Without non-owned and hired automobile liability coverage you may be vulnerable to a potentially costly exposure.

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 Purchase Hired and Non-owned Coverage

Any company that allows or requires employees to use their personal car for business should either purchase hired and non-owned coverage or add it to an existing automobile policy. Hired coverage is for autos that are not owned by the company or the driver, and non-owned coverage protects vehicles owned by employees but used on behalf of the company. In the event of an accident, these policies supplement the driver’s personal auto policy, which is typically activated first. For minimal yearly premiums, these policies generally protect the company only, not the car or the driver.

What Does Non-Owned Auto Liability Insurance Cover?

Non-owned and hired automobile liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage caused by a vehicle you hire (including rented or borrowed vehicles) or caused by non-owned vehicles (vehicles owned by others, including vehicles owned by your employees). This coverage is typically added to your business automobile policy; however, it can be added to your general liability policy if you do not have a business automobile policy. It protects your company if it is found legally liable as a result of an automobile accident that you or your employee has in a hired or non-owned vehicle while on company business. Hired automobile coverage replaces or augments the liability coverage offered by automobile rental agencies.

Non-owned and Hired Automobile Insurance: The Basics

Here are the first things you need to know about non-owned and hired automobile coverage:

Who needs non-owned and hired automobile coverage?

If you or your employees ever drive vehicles not owned by your business for business purposes, then you need non-owned and hired automobile coverage.

What is non-owned automobile coverage?

Non-owned automobile insurance provides liability protection when an employee occasionally has to drive his or her personally owned vehicle for business purposes. It assumes that the vehicle is not owned, registered or contracted in your name or on your behalf.

What is hired automobile coverage?

Hired automobile insurance provides liability protection when you or an employee is driving a rented, hired or borrowed vehicle.

 Use a Company Policy to Reduce Risk

According to the National Safety Council, 28 percent of car crashes are attributable to cell phone use while driving. Since distracted driving accidents can have serious implications for companies, a company policy that emphasizes the importance of driving attentively and restricts the use of mobile phones is essential to preventing employee accidents in all vehicles, both personal and company-owned. In addition, the policy should clearly state when the use of a personal vehicle will be expected or allowed, and all employee job descriptions should specify when driving a personal vehicle will be a job function. As a condition to employment and thereafter at least on a yearly basis, those employees driving personal vehicles should be required to provide:

  • Proof of a driver’s license
  • Motor vehicle safety inspection certificates
  • Copy of auto insurance certificates proving liability coverage at or above an established company limit including personal injury and medical limits
  • Proof that the employee has declared the use of the auto for business to his or her insurer
  • Exhaustive lists of all prescribed controlled medications

Further, you should reserve the right to check motor vehicle records annually or more frequently.

 Enforce the Driving Policy

After the driving policy has been instated, it should be actively communicated and enforced. Managers of employees utilizing personal vehicles should be directed to monitor the safety and maintenance of those vehicles. Employees found out of compliance with the company policy should be subject to reassignment or termination. It is every employer’s responsibility to ensure its employees’ safety on the job, and those that use personal vehicles on business are no exception.

What Should You Do Next?

If you do not already have this type of coverage and your employees occasionally use their own vehicles for business purposes—even quick errands—consider adding it to your business insurance package today.  Consult with GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. to review your business automobile and general liability policies to ensure you have adequate insurance coverage and liability limits for non-owned and hired automobiles.

Any type of loss exposure, no matter how small, is too big to ignore. Call us today at 209-634-2929 to ensure that your California Business Auto Insurance meets your needs.

Ask your GDI Insurance Agency Broker for more help assessing your company’s risk regarding the use of personal vehicles, or to learn more about hired and non-owned coverage.

Let your GDI Insurance Agency Broker help you set up your Vehicle Fleet Safety Program.

Guide to Safety and Health Recordkeeping For Your IIP

Guide to Safety and Health Recordkeeping For Your IIP

Safety & Health Recordkeeping

No operation can be successful without adequate safety and health recordkeeping, which enables you to learn from past experience and make corrections for future operations. Records of accidents, work-related injuries, illnesses and property losses serve as a valuable purpose.

Under Cal/OSHA recordkeeping requirements, all information on accidents is gathered and stored. Upon review, causes can be identified and control procedures instituted to prevent the illness or injury from recurring. Keep in mind that any inspection of your workplace may require you to demonstrate the effectiveness of your program.

Download Our Full Guide to Developing a Workplace Injury and Illness Prevention Program!

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Injury & Illness Records

Injury and illness recordkeeping requirements under Cal/OSHA require a minimum amount of paperwork.

These records give you one measure for evaluating the success of your safety and health activities: success would generally mean a reduction or elimination of employee injuries or illnesses during a calendar year.

Five important steps are required by the Cal/OSHA recordkeeping system:

  1. Each employer (unless exempt by size or industry) must record each fatality, injury or illness that is work-related, is a new case, or meets one or more of the general recording criteria specified in Title 8, Section 14300.
  2. Record each injury or illness on the Cal/OSHA Log of Occupational Work Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300) according to its instructions.
  3. Prepare an Injury and Illness Incident Report (Form 301), or equivalent.
  4. Annually review and certify the Cal/OSHA Form 300 and post the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (Form 300A) no later than February 1 and keep it posted where employees can see it until April 30.
  5. Maintain the last five years of these records in your files.NOTE: Additional information on recordkeeping can be found on the Internet at: www.californiaosha.info or www.dir.ca.gov/DOSH

During the year, regularly review these records to see where your injuries and illnesses are occurring. Look for any patterns or repeat situations. These records can help you identify hazardous areas in your workplace and pinpoint where immediate corrective action is needed.

Since the basic Cal/OSHA records are for reportable injuries and illnesses only, you might expand your system to include all incidents relating to workplace safety and health, even those where no injury or illness resulted. Such information can assist you in pinpointing unsafe acts, conditions or procedures.

Exposure Records

Injury and illness records may not be the only records you need to maintain. Cal/ OSHA standards concerning toxic substances and hazardous exposures require records of employee exposure to these substances and sources, physical examination reports, employment records, and other information.

Employers using any regulated carcinogens have additional reporting and recordkeeping requirements. See Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations for details.

Documentation of Your Activities

Essential records, including those legally required for workers’ compensation, insurance audits and government inspections must be maintained for as long as required.

For most employers, Cal/OSHA standards also require that you keep records of steps taken to establish and maintain your Injury and Illness Prevention Program. They must include:

  1. Records of scheduled and periodic inspections as required by the standard to identify unsafe conditions and work practices. The documentation must include the name of the person(s) conducting the inspection, the unsafe conditions and work practices identified, and the action taken to correct the unsafe conditions and work practices. The records are to be maintained for at least one year. However, employers with fewer than 10 employees may elect to maintain the inspection records only until the hazard is corrected.
  2. Documentation of safety and health training required by standards for each employee. The documentation must specifically include employee name or other identifier, training dates, type(s) of training and the name of the training provider. These records must also be kept for at least one year, except that training records of employees who have worked for less than one year for the employer need not be retained beyond the term of employment if they are provided to the employee upon termination of employment.

Also, employers with fewer than 10 employees can substantially comply with the documentation provision by maintaining a log of instructions provided to the employee with respect to the hazards unique to the employees’ job assignment when first hired or assigned new duties. Some relief from documentation is available for employers with fewer than 20 employees who are working in industries that are on the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR’s) designated list of low-hazard industries, and for employers with fewer than 20 employees who are not on DlR’s list of high-hazard industries and who have a Workers’ Compensation Experience Modification Rate of 1.1 or less.

For these industries, written documentation of the Injury and Illness Prevention Program may be limited to:

  1. Written documentation of the identity of the person or persons with authority and responsibility for implementing the program;
  2. Written documentation of scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions and work practices; and
  3. Written documentation of training and instruction.

Keeping such records fulfills your responsibilities under General Industry Safety Order 3203. It also affords an efficient means to review your current safety and health activities for better control of your operations and to plan future improvements.

California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management

GDI Insurance

As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.

With locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive California workers compensation insurance quote!

Safety Communications and Your Injury and Illness Prevention Program

Safety Communications and Your Injury and Illness Prevention Program

Safety Communications and Your Injury and Illness Prevention Program

In California every employer has a legal obligation to provide and maintain a safe and healthful workplace for employees, according to the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973. As of 1991, a written, effective Injury and Illness Prevention (IIP) Program is required for every California employer.  Safety Communications plays a big role in this requirement.

Your GDI Insurance Agency, Inc Broker can help you create and keep your IIP Program free of charge. We then will coordinate this plan with your OSHA compliant safety program, which your GDI Insurance Agency Broker will also help you create, manage and implement free of charge.

These programs, besides being required, if used correctly with the help of your GDI broker will help you keep the cost of your workers compensation insurance and modification factor down.

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Safety Communications

Your Injury and Illness Prevention Program must include a system for safety communications with employees – in a form readily understandable by all affected employees – on matters relating to occupational safety and health, including provisions designed to encourage employees to inform the employer of hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.

  1. While this section does not require employers to establish labor-management safety and health committees, it is an option you should consider. If you choose to do so, remember that employers who elect to use a labor-management safety and health committee to comply with the safety communications requirements are presumed to be in substantial compliance if the committee: Meets regularly but not less than quarterly.
  2. Prepares and makes available to affected employees written records of the safety and health issues discussed at the committee meetings, and maintained for review by the Division upon request.
  3. Review results of the periodic scheduled worksite inspections.
  4. Reviews investigations of occupational accidents and causes of incidents resulting in occupational injury, occupational illness or exposure to hazardous substances, and where appropriate, submits suggestions to management for the prevention of future incidents.
  5. Reviews investigations of alleged hazardous conditions brought to the attention of any committee member. When determined necessary by the committee, it may conduct its own inspection and investigation to assist in remedial solutions.
  6. Submits recommendations to assist in the evaluation of employee safety suggestions.
  7. Upon request of the Division, verifies abatement action taken by the employer to abate citations issued by the Division.

If your employees are not represented by an agreement with an organized labor union, and part of your employee population is unionized, the establishment of labor management committees is considerably more complicated. You should request clarification from the Cal/OSHA Consultation Service.

If you elect not to use labor management safety and health committees, be prepared to formalize and document your required system for communicating with employees.

Here are some helpful tips on complying with this difficult section:

  • Your communication system must be in a form that is “readily understandable by all affected employees.” This means you should be prepared to communicate with employees in a language they can understand, and if an employee cannot read in any language, you must communicate with him/her orally in a language that is “readily understandable.” Your communication system must be “designed to encourage employees to inform the employer of hazards at the workplace without fear of reprisal.” It must be a two-way system of communication.
  • Schedule general employee meetings at which safety is freely and openly discussed by those present. Such, meetings should be regular, scheduled and announced to all employees so that maximum employee attendance can be achieved. Remember to do this for all shifts. Many employers find it cost effective to hold such meetings at shift-change time, with a brief overlap of schedules to accomplish the meetings. If properly planned, effective safety meetings can be held in a 15- to 20-minute time frame. Concentrate on:Occupational accident and injury history at your own worksite, with possible comparisons to other locations in your company.Feedback from the employee group.Guest speakers from your worker’s compensation insurance carrier or other agencies concerned with safety.- Brief audio-visual materials that relate to your industry.
    – Control of the meetings.
    – Stress that the purpose of the meeting is safety.
    – Members of management should attend this meeting.
  • Training programs are excellent vehicles for communicating with employees.
  • Posters and bulletins can be very effective ways of communicating with employees. Useful materials can be obtained from Cal/OSHA, your workers’ compensation insurance carrier, the National Safety Council or other commercial and public service agencies.
  • Newsletters or similar publications devoted to safety are also very effective communication devices. If you cannot devote resources to an entire publication, make safety a featured item in every issue of your company newsletter.
  • A safety suggestion box can be used by employees, anonymously if desired, to communicate their concerns to management.
  • Publish a brief company safety policy or statement informing all employees that safety is a priority issue with management, and urge employees to actively participate in the program for the common good of all concerned. (Model policy, statements are found in Appendix A.)
  • Communicate your concerns about safety to all levels of management.
  • Document all communication efforts, as you will be required to demonstrate that a system of effective communication is in place.

Safety Planning, Rules & Work Procedures 

Planning for safety and health is an important part of every business decision, including purchasing, engineering, changes in work processes, and planning for emergencies. Your safety and health planning are effective when your workplace has:

  1. Rules written to apply to everyone and addressing areas such as personal protective equipment, appropriate clothing, expected behavior, and emergency procedures. You and your employees should periodically review and update all rules and procedures to make sure they reflect present conditions. Rules and procedures should be written for new exposures when they are introduced into the workplace.
  2. Safe and healthful work practices developed for each specific job.
  3. Discipline or reward procedures to help assure that safety rules and work procedures are put into practice and enforced. Reward or positive reinforcement procedures such as bonus, incentive or employee recognition programs should provide positive motivation for compliance with safety rules and procedures.
  4. A written plan for emergency situations. Your plan must include a list of emergencies that could arise and a
    set of procedures in response to each situation. Some emergency procedures, such as those covering medical emergencies or fire evacuation, are mandated by Cal/OSHA regulations.
  5. If you have operations involving hazardous substances, procedures or processes, you must designate emergency response teams to be specifically trained and equipped to handle possible imminent hazards.

Safety & Health Training

Training is one of the most important elements of any IIP Program. It allows employees to learn their jobs properly, brings new ideas into the workplace, reinforces existing ideas and practices and puts your program into action.

Your employees benefit from safety and health training, including safety communications, through fewer work-related injuries and illnesses and reduced stress and worry caused by exposure to hazards.

You benefit from reduced workplace injuries and illnesses, increased productivity, lower costs, higher profits and a more cohesive and dependable work force.

An effective IIP Program includes training for both supervisors and employees. Training for both is required by Cal/OSHA safety orders.

You may need outside professionals to help you develop and conduct your required training program. Help is available from the Cal/ OSHA Consultation Service, your workers’ compensation insurance carrier, private consultants and vendor representatives.

Outside trainers should be considered temporary. Eventually you will need your own in-house training capabilities so you can provide training that is timely and specific to the needs of your workplace and your employees.

To be effective and also meet Cal/OSHA requirements, your training program needs to:

  1. Let your supervisors know:
    o They are key figures responsible for establishment and success of your Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
    o The importance of establishing and maintaining safe and healthful working conditions.
    o They are responsible for being familiar with safety and health hazards to which their employees are exposed, how to recognize them, the potential effects these hazards have on the employees, and rules, procedures and work practices for controlling exposure to those hazards.
    o How to convey this information to employees by setting good examples, instructing them, making sure they fully understand and follow safe procedures.
    o How to investigate accidents and take corrective and preventive action.
  2. Let your employees know:
    o The success of the company’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program depends on their actions as well as yours.
    o The safe work procedures required for their jobs and how these procedures protect them against exposure.
    o When personal protective equipment is required or needed, how to use it and maintain it in good condition.
    o What to do if emergencies occur in the workplace.

Keeping Your Employees Informed

An effective IIP Program requires proper job performance by everyone in the workplace. As the employer, you must ensure that all employees are knowledgeable about the materials and equipment they are working with, what known hazards are present and how they are controlled.

Each employee needs to understand that:

  • No employee is expected to undertake a job until he/she has received instructions on how to do it properly and safely, and is authorized to perform the job.
  • No employees should undertake a job that appears to be unsafe.
  • No employee should use chemicals without fully understanding their toxic properties and without the knowledge required to work with them safely.
  • Mechanical safeguards must always be in place and kept in place.
  • Employees are to report to a superior or designated individual all unsafe conditions encountered during work.
  • Any work-related injury or illness suffered, however slight, must be reported to management at once.
  • Personal protective equipment must be used when and where required, and properly maintained.

Your supervisors must recognize that they are the primary safety trainers in your organization. Encourage and help them by providing supervisory training. Many community colleges offer management training courses at little or no cost.

You as the employer are required under Cal/ OSHA standards to establish and carry out a formal training program. A professional training person, an outside consultant or your supervisors may provide injury and illness prevention training to your employees.

This program must, at a minimum, provide training and instruction:

  • To all employees when your program is first established.
  • To all new employees.
  • To all employees given new job assignments for which training has not been previously received.
  • Whenever new substances, processes, procedures or equipment are introduced to the workplace and present a new hazard.
  • Whenever you or your supervisors are made aware of a new or previously unrecognized hazard.
  • For all supervisors to assure they are familiar with the safety and health hazards to which employees under their immediate direction and control may be exposed.

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California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management

As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.

Experience the GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. Difference

With locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business.

Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive workers compensation insurance quote!

Employee Handbook Template Download- Customizable

Employee Handbook Template Download- Customizable

Free Employee Handbook Template In Word With Linked Table Of Contents 

With today’s headlines having a well written and up to date Employee handbooks that explains the relationship and responsibilities of the employee and employer and provides clear communication on a variety of employment topics is just not optional if your business is to survive and if you really want to!

employee-handbook

GDI Insurance Agency, Inc., provides a 180 page with a linked table of contents, employee handbook in Word so you can edit it as you see fit.  You can download it here!

A get way to start.  For our clients we also give them free access to attorneys to help establishes guides for the workplace and protects the employer from liability.  (Sorry the legal cost we pay for our client is too high to give you that part)  The good news is the manual has been updated for 2018 so you can’t go too wrong!

Why Do You Need An Employee Handbook?

An employee Handbooks specify expectations, rules and compensation. A comprehensive employee handbook will include information regarding:

  • Compensation
  • Benefits
  • Dress code
  • Human resources issues
  • Time off
  • Workers’ compensation
  • Performance reviews
  • Discipline and rewards
  • Drug and alcohol policies
  • Anti-discrimination policies
  • Social media usage
  • Safety guidelines
  • And various other behavioral and procedural expectations.

Legal Protection When Drafting Your Employee Handbook

It is essential to be aware of and adhere to all federal, state and local laws. The employee handbook should clearly define the legal obligations and rights of both the employer and employee. The employee handbook is vital from a legal standpoint—in many employment lawsuits, the handbook will be a key piece of evidence that can either protect your company or provide ammunition for an employee (or former employee) who is suing you.

Not only with GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. give you a free template just for the asking.  But we will set you up with access to free legal counsel to answer those small quick questions you may have while creating your employee handbook.  No one does more for their clients than GDI Insurance Agency.  This is our way of showing you what we have to offer.  And it is free!  ThinkHR is a paid service that GDI pays for and will give you access to just for asking.

The Value of Setting Employee Expectations

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You can drastically reduce your liability by clearly laying out all employee expectations and prohibited behavior. Plain English and Readily Available Thorough, up-to-date, legally compliant, understandable and readily available—these are the essential characteristics of an effective employee handbook. Aside from keeping a current copy easily accessible to employees, it is also wise to have employees sign a form stating that they received and reviewed the employee handbook. This signature will ensure that an employee cannot later claim that he or she was unaware of a particular policy.

Human Resources For Your Company

Time Crunch HR departments are often short on time and inundated with numerous important tasks. With increasing pressure and a time crunch for all the responsibilities in HR, finding time to write an employee handbook and keep it updated, can be difficult.

GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. can provide you with educational resources and dozens of sample handbook policies to assist you as you put together your employee handbook and work to keep it updated. You can reach GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. at 209-634-2929.

Extra bonus free offer as well, we will also send you an new employee on boarding kit.

Please note all this is copyrighted, but we give you permission to use it in your business and to modify it as needed.

Let me know if you would like to know about our full OSHA compliance programs as well.  Again free for the asking

Commercial Umbrella Insurance for Your Business and for Peace of Mind

Commercial Umbrella Insurance for Your Business and for Peace of Mind

Commercial Umbrella Insurance for Your California Business and for Peace of Mind

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

In a culture where litigation is commonplace, business owners have so many more worries than making profits and retaining top employees. For instance, if a business’s product injures a consumer, the organization could face a devastating lawsuit, exponential damages and a ruined reputation within the marketplace. Find out how Commercial Umbrella Insurance can help your business from GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. 209-634-2929

To assist with the financial burden of a claim, many business owners are electing to purchase Commercial Umbrella Insurance on top of their standard Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance policies. An aggregate limit is established on most CGL policies that, once exhausted, will not cover any other excess claims.

Why you need both a Commercial and a Personal Liability Umbrella! 

An easy way to understand how quickly a claim can exceed the first $1,000,000 of coverage is to consider a person that is 35 years old, earning $30,000 a year. If that person is injured and cannot work as a result of your business activities or your employee’s activities the loss of income between 35 and 65 would be $900,000 alone.  Not to mention pain, suffering etc…  The amount grows to $3-$4,000,000 quickly.  A higher wage earner grows even faster.

Although this blog is about commercial umbrella coverage it is important to point out that more family owned businesses are lost because of personal activities such as personal car accidents than because of business liability claims.  Your GDI broker can help you coordinate a personal umbrella to cover your personal activities and those of you family members which you are responsible for.

Purpose of Commercial Umbrella Coverage

Umbrella coverage is designed to protect an organization against monumental liability claims that can demolish a business through a large financial judgment. Typically, an umbrella policy serves the following purposes:

  1. Provides coverage for potential damages and court defense courts that exceed underlying insurance policies (typically CGL policies).
  1. Provides coverage in situations that are not covered by underlying insurance policies but are not excluded from the umbrella policy. This benefit is subject to a self-insured retention (SIR), similar to a deductible, in which thepolicyholder is responsible for losses up to the SIR amount.
  1. Applies to claims where the aggregate limit of the underlying policy has been met. The umbrella policy will cover the portion of the claim that cannot be paid with the underlying policy because there are not enough funds available in the policy to cover the entire claim. For instance, if at the time of a claim, your CGL policy has $500,000 remaining and the claim in question is $1.5 million, then the CGL policy will cover $500,000 and then the umbrella policy will cover the remaining $1 million.

Coverage Details

A typical Commercial Umbrella Insurance policy has the following features:

  1. Offers coverage for the following: worldwide; personal injury; blanket contractual liability protection; care, custody and control; non-owned aircraft liability; watercraft liability; advertisers liability; liquor law liability and XCU liability.
  2. Offers an extension of insurance protection for additional insured’s.
  3. Policies are “following form” in which they abide by similar provisions and cover similar losses as the underlying policy. If claims are not covered by an underlying policy, the umbrella policy makes the business responsible for the loss (if the loss exceeds SIR limits). The damage must also involve personal injury, property damage or advertising injury.
  4. The insurer has the right to investigate all claims not covered by any underlying insurance.
  5. Policies cover all individuals or parties that gain insured status within the contract. Policies also protect an organization’s executive officers, regular employees, directors and stockholders acting on behalf of the organization. Protection for additional insured’s in typically excluded when claims involve motorized vehicles, watercrafts and aircrafts.

GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. Your Trusted Insurance Brokers

GDI Insurance

Beyond these stipulations, a Commercial Umbrella Insurance policy ascertains that an organization must hold an underlying insurance policy during the term of the policy. To learn more about averting your business risks with Commercial Umbrella Insurance, contact your GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. broker today.  1-888-991-2929, or visit us on the web at http://www.gdiinsurance.com