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Policies to Manage Cyber Risk
All companies should develop and maintain clear and robust policies for safeguarding critical business data and sensitive information, protecting their reputations and discouraging inappropriate behaviour by employees. Many companies already have these types of policies in place, but they may need to be tailored to reflect the increasing impact of cyber risk on everyday transactions,…
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Keeping Greenhouse Workers Safe in the Rising Heat
As temperatures rise, it’s important to monitor greenhouse workers for symptoms of heat stress and take proper precautions to avoid health and safety concerns. The following are ways to ensure greenhouse workers are safe in the rising heat: If a health concern does arise, it’s important to provide treatment as quickly as possible. Make sure…
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Safely Returning to the Workplace After COVID-19
As the vaccine rollout continues and COVID-19 cases decline, organizations will need to plan for a safe return to the workplace. Most of the responsibility will fall upon management teams to navigate their workers through the transition back from remote working once government restrictions are lifted. Consider the following when returning to the workplace after…
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Overland Flood Insurance
Floods are the second most common natural disaster in Canada, occurring five times as often as wildfires. Just a few centimetres of water from flooding can cause costly, irreversible damage to your home. When it comes to protecting homes from floods, most property owners assume their home insurance policies will provide adequate coverage. This is…
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What is Equipment Breakdown Insurance?
Problems with your business equipment can be risky, if you are not properly insured. A standard property insurance policy will not cover these types of losses. To combat potential risks, equipment breakdown insurance—formerly known as boiler and machinery insurance—will cover you in the event of a breakdown or damage. The following are typically covered under…
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Golf Course Maintenance Safety
Using lawn mowers, hedge trimmers and gardening tools. Course maintenance is essential to our club’s success and is the crucial factor in maintaining the image of a quality course. We want you to remain safe as you beautify the course with the proper equipment. Follow these safety tips: Hedge Trimmers Before-Use Precautions: During-Use Precautions: Lawn…
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Restaurant Risk Exposures
Those who run restaurants are often some of the most passionate business owners, investing time and money to deliver a high-quality experience to their customers. However, the hospitality industry can be unforgiving, and it’s a constant challenge for owners to deliver exceptional food and service while maintaining profitability. These challenges are magnified when you consider…
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Dental Office Insurance and Exposures
Running a dental office can be demanding, and it’s a constant challenge for owners to deliver exceptional care while maintaining profitability. These challenges are magnified when you consider that dentists also need to balance risks related to property damage, equipment breakdowns, crime and cyber liability. The list below provides an overview of these risks and…
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Beauty Salon Insurance and Risk Management
There are many hazards present at a beauty salon that deserve your attention. This overview of common issues will help you to correct potential hazards, keep your employees safe, and help you to avoid potential liability claims. Slips, Trips and Falls Accidents can occur when employees trip on uneven flooring or fall when trying to…
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How to Prioritize Cybersecurity
Organizations today are under constant threat of cyberattacks as technology continues to evolve rapidly. Cybersecurity threats can not only compromise an organization’s data, but they can also be costly. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach report, Canada has the third-highest average cost for data breaches at $4.5 million. While 88 per cent of…
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Trends and Challenges for Last-mile Carriers
According to Omnitracs, last-mile carriers serviced 21 per cent more stops in 2020 than in 2019 as demand for same-day and next-day delivery options accelerated during the pandemic. With North America’s last-mile delivery market expected to reach nearly $45 billion by 2024, carriers should take advantage of this growth by working closely with shippers and…
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Fire Safety
Fires are a serious risk for businesses of all types. It’s up to employees to take the proper precautions to keep themselves and their co-workers safe from fire hazards. Lower the Risks of Fire Here are some simple things employees can do to prevent fires at : Combustible Storage Make sure employees always store combustible…
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Beating the Summer Heat
Summer heat can be more than uncomfortable; it can be a threat to your health, especially for older adults and children. Whatever your age, don’t let the summer heat get the best of you. Heat Exhaustion Heat exhaustion occurs when a person cannot sweat enough to cool the body – usually the result of not…
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Construction Risk Advisor
The Importance of Safety Training in the Workplace Safety training in the workplace is necessary in order to eliminate work-related illnesses and injuries. Common construction hazards can be contained or avoided when proper training is administered. While keeping employees safe is the main goal for a safety training program, a safe workplace can also reduce…
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The Cost of Poor Management
Approximately 2 in 5 Canadian professionals have quit a job because of a bad manager, according to research conducted on behalf of staffing firm Robert Half. The survey found that 39 per cent of respondents resigned from their jobs due to poor management. Poor management can occur in several forms, such as: These shortcomings can…
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Manufacturing: Managing Your Total Cost of Risk
As a manufacturer, how do you quantify your true cost of risk? For example, if you are faced with a recall, how do you calculate your loss of reputation or market share? It is difficult, at best, to quantify this scenario. In contrast, other components of your cost of risk are easily identified, such as…
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Emerging Construction Management Trends Due to COVID-19
Construction management has been forced to adapt throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports have found that the pandemic has accelerated the time it takes to adopt new construction management trends—which can typically take three years—to under a year. The following are trends that have emerged within construction management and will continue to prevail even after the…
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Using Technology in Learning and Development
As organizational needs accelerate and evolve, it’s important that employees also have the necessary skills to succeed. By leveraging technology in learning and development efforts, employers can help engage employees, improve the employee experience and create efficiencies in learning and development. A tech-enabled learning and development strategy can also address today’s talent shortages and skills…
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Common Exposures for Plumbing Contractors
Plumbing contractors provide much-needed services for both residential and commercial customers alike. However, plumbers have a number of unique risks to consider. In fact, any incident involving installing and repairing pipes or fixtures can lead to major property damage, as well as potential legal action. These challenges are magnified when you consider that risks related…
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Why Do I Need Errors and Omissions Insurance?
Tracy, the owner of an Ontario-based event planning firm, was hired to provide event management services to a trade association holding its annual convention in Toronto. During the course of the event preparation, errors were made in the advertising flyers sent to the convention attendees. The flyers incorrectly listed the speaking times and topics, making…
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Contractors Equipment Insurance
Most contractors know that it is essential to obtain various forms of insurance coverage to protect themselves from liability and litigation. However, some contractors are surprised when they learn that certain types of equipment that are transported from job site to job site are not always covered under standard commercial property insurance policies. For the…
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Pollution Liability Insurance
Pollution and environmental conditions are growing exposures for many businesses − exposures that are not covered under standard insurance policies. A steadily increasing focus on the environment paired with an expanding list of known pollution sources have led to many recent costly law suits that companies never saw coming. Due to the unknown nature of…
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Why do I need Directors & Officers Insurance?
A company’s directors and officers have a tough job. When making decisions, they have to consider the best interests of employees, customers and shareholders, while also keeping in mind corporate best practices. If they have limited information and a short amount of time to make those decisions, sometimes costly mistakes can happen and they can…
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Tips to Prevent Common Trucker Injuries
Transportation is among the top industries for lost-time claims and fatalities, according to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada. Fortunately, most trucker injuries are preventable with the proper precautions. What Causes Trucker Injuries? Truckers typically experience long hours of driving with very little exercise. These factors make truck drivers prone to musculoskeletal disorders…
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Technology Professional Liability: Errors and Omissions Coverage
Every business has unique risks that can seriously harm an organization’s operations if it is not properly protected. As a business using technology to produce and deliver products and/or services, it’s important to recognize and take precautions against risks that your Commercial General Liability coverage doesn’t include. Technology Professional Liability coverage, also referred to as…
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Overcoming Cyber Threats in a 5G World
As the fifth generation (5G) mobile network becomes increasingly accessible, cybersecurity risks also increase. While 5G has many benefits—including more reliability, massive network capacity and improved efficiency—the increased connectivity also allows for more cybersecurity threats that could greatly impact society. There are several moving parts to navigate when it comes to cybersecurity in a 5G…
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Manufacturing Risk Advisor
The Benefits of Building a Manufacturing IoT Environment The internet of things (IoT) refers to the connection of physical devices around the world connected to the internet, all collecting and sharing data. Industrial IoT employs a network of sensors to gather critical production data that can be turned into valuable insights about the efficiency of…
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Cyber Risks & Liabilities
Remote Working Burnout a Factor in Security Risk Human error is one of the largest threats to the cybersecurity of an organization. As remote work continues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian workers are reporting burnout, which can lead to more cybersecurity errors. According to Microsoft’s recent World Trend Index, Canadians are “trending more toward…
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Protecting Your Workers From Coronavirus
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has impacted a number of businesses across a variety of industries, forcing them to rethink their daily operations to ensure the safety of their employees and the general public. This is no different for construction firms, where multiple contractors and tradespeople on a job site may be working in the same…
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Home-based Business Insurance
If you conduct business in your home, insuring your business properly is part of a solid risk management plan. We can help! What Protection Does it Offer?Common coverages for home-based businesses include personal business property, professional liability, business income, personal and advertising injury, loss of business data, crime, theft and auto coverage. Depending on the…
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In Alberta, S.P.F. No. 1 Automobile Wording Changes Are In Effect
New changes to the Alberta Standard Owner’s Automobile Policy, which has been approved by Alberta’s Superintendent of Insurance, will take effect May 1, 2021. In addition to the implementation of gender-neutral language, Section B, Section C and Statutory Conditions will be updated. Section B reflects amendments that came into effect on Nov. 1, 2020, in…
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Best Practices for Avoiding Fatigue
Fatigued workers can lead to serious problems in the workplace. Lack of sleep can significantly increase the risk of injury, thus creating a dangerous work environment. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, 13 per cent of chronically tired workers have suffered a workplace injury. To keep the work environment safe, it’s important to make sure…
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4 Ways to Support Remote Employees
Working remotely doesn’t always come naturally to employees, especially among those who are used to the accountability of in-person workplaces. Remote work requires focus and restraint amid the countless distractions present in the home, and it lacks the socialization capabilities that come with physically going into the workplace. What’s more, remote employees often need to…
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Benefits of Electronic Logging Devices
An electronic logging device (ELD) is a piece of electronic hardware that attaches to a commercial motor vehicle engine to record driving hours. ELDs enable professional truck drivers and commercial motor vehicle carriers to easily track hours of service (HOS) compliance. By connecting to the truck’s engine to record whether the truck is in motion,…
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Cyber Liability: A Real World Example
As technology becomes increasingly important for successful business operations, the value of a strong cyber liability insurance policy continues to grow. The continued rise in the amount of information stored and transferred electronically has resulted in a remarkable increase in the potential exposures facing businesses. In an age where a stolen laptop or data breach…
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Communicating With Employees About COVID-19 Vaccines
Employee communications related to the pandemic have played a major role in keeping employees safe and healthy while navigating operational changes and challenges. Now, the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccines have become available after Health Canada issued authorization for three vaccines. As initial supplies of COVID-19 vaccines are allocated for priority populations, employers can and should begin…
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COVID-19’s Impact on Cyber Threat Activity
A cybersecurity crisis emerged as a result of the 2020 global health crisis as cybercriminals posed an increased threat to the safety of individuals and organizations. Experts are seeing an uptick in cyber threat activity as workforces continue to move to the digital landscape. Increased Individual Attacks In 2020, cybercriminals capitalized on fear surrounding the…
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Construction Risk Advisor: Minimize Work Site Distractions
Minimize Work Site Distractions Distractions on a work site can be incredibly costly, resulting in accidents, inefficiencies, increased downtime and even employee injury. In fact, distractions are one of the leading causes of accidents and injuries in the workplace. An estimated 90 per cent of construction accidents are caused at least in part by distractions…
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Live Well, Work Well: Effective Hand Sanitizer, Low-Stress Diet Tips, and How to Make Decisions When Feeling Anxious
Choosing an Effective Hand Sanitizer Hand hygiene is an important response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends washing hands with soap and water. If those aren’t available, using a hand sanitizer can help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs. Even if hand sanitizer is hard to locate, it is…
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Cyber Risks & Liabilities: How to Safely Use Video Conference Software and Safe Social Media Use
How to Safely Use Video Conference Software The COVID-19 pandemic has led many organizations to rely on video conferencing technology to conduct meetings and stay connected. However, the increased use of video conferencing technology also means increased cyber risks. For example, cyberattackers who gain access to a conference room can: The risk is even greater…