Federal Coverage Demands for Non-Seamen Employed on Waterways
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Federal Coverage Demands for Non-Seamen Employed on Waterways

The federal government plays a part in protecting the employees across the nation, whether they work on land or sea. The United States Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Acts is applicable to maritime employees whose primary place of employment is maritime water that is in or adjacent to the United States. This act usually renders these employees ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits at the state level, nor are they eligible for coverage under the Merchant Marine Act or the Jones Act. These individuals are not considered seamen.

Filling the Coverage Gap

The USL&H requirements for coverage exclude:

  • Sailors
  • Seamen
  • Masters and crews of any ship, vessel, or watercraft

These individuals are eligible through the other maritime laws and acts, and without the USL&H, those who work to build or repairs vessels and load and unload them would be left without coverage. The requirements of the act extend protection to those who perform an operation on or over navigable waters, including harbor workers, ship repair personnel, shipbuilders, harbor and longshore workers, and shipbreakers. Areas of operations could be a dry dock, terminal, pier, wharf, marine railway, or facility used to build, repair, or load ships.

Failing to provide compensation to an injured employee covered by the USL&H requirements could lead to heavy fines, a misdemeanor conviction, and time in jail. The entire company could face litigation, costing millions in defense costs.

The Liability Risks to Your Gun Range
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The Liability Risks to Your Gun Range

Every business requires some form of liability protection. Some industries, such as the firearm industry may require more liability protection than other businesses. If you own a gun range, then you need to consider a multitude of risks. With the right gun range liability management, however, your business should remain in functioning for years to come.

Here are some liability risks that you need to mitigate.

Slips and Falls

One of the most common accidents at a firing range is a slip and fall accident. This is common in most businesses. When someone falls on your property, it is your responsibility. As a business owner, whether it is a guest to your club or a staff member, you are liable for the injuries suffered. Without liability coverage, it may be difficult to handle these costs.

Ear Damage

Firing ranges are loud. It is up to you to ensure that all your clients are protected. If you have defective ear coverings or if someone files a claim against your company for ear damage, then you could have to pay legal fees and medical costs.

Every firearm establishment or gun range requires customized insurance options. Your company has unique needs and it is up to you to ensure that you have adequate coverage.

Talking Pays Off: Communicating to Reduce Health Coverage Costs
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Talking Pays Off: Communicating to Reduce Health Coverage Costs

Your pool of employees probably contains at least one person with a chronic medical condition. A study by a health care company discovered only 39 percent of patients felt comfortable managing their ongoing medical conditions. Therefore, a key to keeping health care costs down is helping employees reach out to their primary care physicians. Encouraging communication reduces health coverage costs.

Encourage Connection

There are many ways you can support employees in talking with their doctors to keep on top of their health and prevent more serious illnesses from occurring. Options include:

  • Offer specific inducements. Give employees incentives for talking regularly with their doctors concerning their health and successfully managing their conditions. Such prizes could include extra time off, an office party, or gift cards for restaurants and shops.
  • Send regular emails. Periodic email alerts are an effective way of reminding and gently persuading employees to keep in touch with their doctors. Regular email notices make it easier for some employees to commit to wellness routines and scheduled checkups.
  • Provide in-house support. Research has found that people who get support from their employers are more likely to stay on top of chronic conditions, consult their doctors, and embrace healthy lifestyles.

Encouraging employees to talk with their doctors now about disease management makes a huge difference in reduced health care costs in the future.

Local vs. Organic SEO
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Local vs. Organic SEO

If your company has a website, then you undoubtedly know that SEO stands for search engine optimization, and that using it can increase the number of visitors to your site. However, you may not be familiar with the terms organic and local as they relate to the same subject. Knowing the difference between the two, and how to use them to your advantage, is extremely important for internet marketing.

Organic SEO

As this Local vs. Organic SEO video by Agency Tsunami explains, organic SEO is the process of making a website rank high in search results. The strategies for doing so have to do with search engine algorithms that reward websites with all the indicators of being authorities in their fields. These include things such as the following:

  • Using certain keywords
  • Having links back to the website
  • Providing original content

Local SEO

Local SEO is the strategy of choice for any company with one physical location. This method uses the location of customers near your place of business to direct them to your website. Strategies include positive customer reviews and location-specific descriptions.

Both types of SEO are more cost effective than paid listings, and can dramatically increase website traffic. For a company like a bank that has multiple branches, both local and organic SEO should be used.

Protecting Social Service Organizations From Cyber Security Issues
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Protecting Social Service Organizations From Cyber Security Issues

The social services industry provides critical services for society’s most vulnerable populations. In order to provide care, sensitive data is obtained, stored and shared. In today’s technological world, ensuring information safety and privacy can be a challenge. The threats to system security often come from simple human error and a lack of a high-quality cybersecurity program that can have catastrophic results, as well as intrusion from hackers. There are steps that organizations can take to reduce data vulnerabilities.

Important Steps for Building Cyber Security

Social services cybersecurity can be greatly improved by taking assertive actions that will safeguard client data. The first step is to determine the data your organization collects, stores and shares. All data should be considered privileged and confidential, as erroneous judgement calls can result in costly litigation should a systemic breach occur. Once you have identified the data, the following processes will shore up your cybersecurity:

  • Establish safe, protected storage technologies
  • Restrict access to data to only protected devices
  • Protect every device from which data storage and retrieval are necessary
  • Train employees in cybersecurity protocols and practices
  • Establish multi-factor authentication programs

Protecting client data is the responsibility of every social service organization, yet in today’s technologically connected world, breaches in cyber security are not uncommon. With a few proactive steps, you can ensure your company does not fall victim to the costly ramifications of intended or unintended security failures.

Racing Insurance for Yacht Owners and Clubs
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Racing Insurance for Yacht Owners and Clubs

Yacht club racing is a popular sport with owners of large recreational vessels for a lot of reasons. The open ocean, the spirit of competition, and the combination of engineering prowess and strategic insight all come together to make winning such an event an indescribable experience, which is probably why so many people who buy a yacht eventually give it a try. It’s a risky sport, though, which is why race teams often bring in professionals who have experience with many vessels. It’s also why the marine insurance industry creates specialized yacht racing insurance just for these events and the vessels that participate in them.

What Does Racing Insurance Cover?

For owners, the insurance policy needs to cover the yacht under all operating circumstances the race may encounter. It also needs to cover the team and anyone else aboard. In many ways, a racing policy for owners is a more robust marine insurance policy that still closely resembles a basic plan. For clubs, however, racing insurance is a must-have method of managing the risks that come with the role of the event host. That includes risk insurance for the event itself, as well as coverage for the club’s grounds and race officials, among other unique provisions that you only need if your organization hosts yacht races. It’s just the right coverage for clubs that host competitions, built to work well with your other marine business plans.

Choosing the Right Homeowner’s Insurance for Your Needs
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Choosing the Right Homeowner’s Insurance for Your Needs

Buying a home is a big investment. It can be a step toward financial security if well planned. Having the right insurance to protect your home and family is an important part of that process.

Understanding Coverage Options

A homeowners insurance policy is not a one size fits all instrument. It should be tailored to your home and personal situation. Coverage generally falls into one of three categories: liability, structural damage, and personal property.

When most people think of home insurance, they automatically picture the dwelling. That is an important part of your coverage. After all, fire or storm damage can lead to costly repairs or rebuilding. Outbuilding and the personal property within any buildings are also covered by your policy.

Liability insurance will cover legal and medical expenses if someone is injured on your property. Property features like a pool or trampoline can affect your liability rates.

Choosing the Right policy

The right policy will depend on the value of your home and possessions, the risks associated with its location and features, and how comfortable you are covering some loss. Features like excess value coverage, flood and water damage insurance and umbrella coverage can help round out areas that a standard policy does not cover.

Be sure to discuss your concerns with your insurance agent. They will help you design a package of coverage that fits your needs and your budget.

Why Social Media Marketing is Important to the Insurance Industry
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Why Social Media Marketing is Important to the Insurance Industry

One of the best advertising platforms going into the new millennium is social media. These days, it seems like everyone is on social media. For insurance business, an investment in social media marketing can pay huge returns. Here are three reasons why your insurance business should be marketing on social media.

  1. Half the World’s Population Uses Social Media

If you want people to find your brand, social media platforms are the place to be. Statistics show that in the United States, three-quarters of the population use social media.

  1. Targeted Audience

Social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn provide tools for advertising campaigns that target your specific audience. This means your ad shows up to the market you choose. If you want to attract automobile collectors, you can target people who show automobiles as an interest in their profile. Targeting the right audience ensures your funds are spent wisely on the right audience.

  1. Engagement

Social media provides you the opportunity to engage with your clients and potential clients. Nothing gets more attention on social media than interesting videos and informative articles. When you engage with your audience, they remember you, and they come back.

Marketing on social media does take skill. If you don’t know how to write engaging posts or capture exciting videos, outsource your social media marketing. You’ll be glad you did.

Finding the Future With Staffing Analytics
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Finding the Future With Staffing Analytics

Understanding how the past affects the future is the heart of data analytics. Staffing firms can learn a lot from looking into how staffing procedures affect workflow, efficiency and standard practices. These insights from staffing analytics may help agencies and companies hire more effective employees and develop new procedures.

The Power of Data

According to the experts at World Wide Specialty Programs, companies stand to see upwards of 80% increases in profits over a three-year period when analyzing staffing data to make larger corporate decisions. Looking at how specific staff interacts with the business and clientele helps managers and corporate officers make better decisions about who to hire and when to promote certain individuals. Staffing analytics looks at a variety of factors.

  • Where the most productive employees are located
  • Discover where the most talented recruits come from
  • How to incorporate new talent into existing staffing structures
  • Predicting the best time to hire or when the business should reduce recruit intake
  • Calculate the ROI for each employee as well as teams as a whole

being able to make accurate predictions is how every business stays ahead of the curve. Taking advantage of the power behind staffing analytics may help a company find the best candidates to bring their workforce, organization and shareholders towards a very profitable future.

Lowering Costs With Captive Market Options for Workers Compensation
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Lowering Costs With Captive Market Options for Workers Compensation

Over the past decade, companies in many industries have begun working harder to implement safer work practices and more protected environments for their employees. These improvements have resulted in a decline in workplace injuries, which in turn reduced the number of worker’s compensation claims. Hopefully, this trend will continue as more workplaces become safer for employees, but it creates a problem for the business itself. With a reduced risk of workers compensation claims, many businesses find themselves spending far more than they need to for insurance in this area.

A Solution to Overpriced Workers Comp Insurance

To solve the problem of paying too much, captive market workers comp insurance might be the right choice. The best candidates for these insurance options are large risk groups. According to the insurance professionals at Monarch Partners Group, this type of policy not only benefits the company but also serves the workers better than a policy with excessive premiums.

Captive market insurance avoids traditional insurance market cycles and it provides more flexibility and control for the business owners. Tax savings are an additional benefit of captive market insurance. Some groups may offer a separate cell system that will allow you to continue operating with your own capital structure and avoid the economic impacts of other companies’ risk results. With reduced insurance premiums and quality protection, you and your workers can focus on producing your best work.

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