GENERAL

Do you use outside contractors to perform work for you?  If so, you should obtain a Certificate of Insurance reflecting the General Liability, Automobile Liability and Umbrella Liability insurance and Worker's Compensation insurance carried by the contractor.  Failure to do so may result in your paying higher-than-necessary premiums for your own General Liability, Automobile Liability and Umbrella Liability insurance and Worker's Compensation insurance. 

Have you recently reviewed the completeness and accuracy of the Named Insured specification in each of your policies?  Is it consistent among the policies?

If you are a tenant or landlord, have you recently conducted a review of the insurance-related sections of your lease?  Insurance terminology and concepts constantly change and a periodic review of these lease provisions is recommended.  Ultimately, this should be done by competent legal counsel; however, if we can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to call on us.

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (“TRIPRA”) extended the original Terrorism Risk Insurance Act from its expiration on December 31, 2007 for a seven-year period that will end on December 31, 2014. As was the case with the original Act, TRIPRA coverage is automatic for Workers’ Compensation insurance; but it is optional for other forms of insurance. As was the case with the original Act, an “Act of Terrorism” means an act that is certified by the Secretary of the Treasury, in concurrence with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General of the United States. Unlike the original Act (which restricted the definition of an “Act of Terrorism” to acts perpetrated by non-citizens of the United States), TRIPRA’s definition is extended to include acts of all perpetrators – whether citizens of the United States or not). This means that, whereas under the earlier Act, acts of domestic terrorism were not specifically excluded from insurance, under TRIPRA, such acts fall under the same certification process as acts of foreign terrorism and that, except for Workers’ Compensation insurance, coverage for them is optional. For a full understanding of TRIPRA, you would be well advised to refer to the Act itself. Do not hesitate to call on us if you have any questions about this or if there is any other way in which we can be of help.