Last year, most companies cancelled their holiday parties as COVID-19 case rates started surging after the Thanksgiving holidays and as people started spending more time indoors. Cases have once again been rising in the run-up to December, so many businesses are approaching their holiday plans with the safety of their staff top of mind. If […]
Trade secret theft by employees is a serious and growing problem in the U.S. According to an analysis of federal court cases, 85% of such theft is committed by employees or business partners. Lately, companies have been focusing on high value, high-tech cyber attacks by outsiders that breach databases, but threats from the inside are […]
Businesses are getting better at beating ransomware extortionists and more victims are refusing to pay to unlock their systems, according to a new report. The ratio of ransoms that the cyber criminals demand to ransoms actually paid fell to just 12% in the third quarter of 2021, compared to 44% in the same period in […]
There could be significant changes coming for a number of construction dual-classification codes that could see the threshold for the higher-wage workers jump by as much as $5 per hour. Currently, 16 of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s construction and erection class codes are divided into two separate classifications based on the hourly wage […]
When it’s the rainy time of year, companies with staff that need to drive, delivery drivers or those making sales calls, and all in-beteen need to double down on road safety. A good idea is to hold a training session on “Driving in the Rain”. While it may seem redundant, it’s an important exercise to reinforce the importance […]
California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has proposed plans to start requiring COVID-19 claims to be included when calculating employer X-Mods, according to a report by an industry trade publication. The proposal, which would have to be approved by the state insurance commissioner, would bring to an end current rules that exclude the impact of […]
Rates for most commercial lines of insurance are likely to continue rising going into 2022, as claims costs mount across the board. A new report from Marketscout notes that rate increases have accelerated across all major lines, but have been most pronounced in liability coverages. The composite rate for commercial insurance pricing in the third […]
Commercial property insurance rates are continuing to climb, as the segment faces a number of headwinds that have pushed claims costs to new heights. There are number of factors that are colliding, including the frequency and severity of claims from extreme weather, the cost of rebuilding, rates for commercial properties are not keeping pace with […]
You may not think of postal delays as a cost of doing business or a risk to your operations, but slower mail can pose a number of issues for timely correspondence and package deliveries. The U.S. is facing the specter of longer delivery times for first class mail, and the longer the mail has to […]
With about 75% of employees in the U.S. using their own devices for work communications and productivity, businesses must implement safeguards to avoid company data from being compromised should a device be stolen, hacked or contract a virus. The BYOD (bring your own device) trend has grown as many employees have eschewed company-issued mobile devices, […]