Risky Business: The 12 Claims of Christmas

Insurance Info & Risk Management Tips

By Hadley Wood www.hlinwood-insurance.com

The12Claims of Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.... or is it?

December is full of excitement and festivities but often this can lead to excess, forgetfulness, mishaps and misfortune.

Forget about Lords-a-Leaping and Turtle Doves, here are some REAL holiday headaches!

• Tipsy Charlie drives home from the business holiday party and runs into a parked car. Luckily the company has an event policy that covers liquor liability and damage.

• Candice leaves the candles burning and sets off the office sprinklers. It damages the office and the neighboring tenant’s stuff. Thankfully they have the BPP coverage to cover the contents damage and GL to cover damage to the neighbor’s stuff.

• Steven dances through the Xmas tree and knocks it over on Lola. Lola is Ok but if she wasn’t, they have General Liability to cover this Bodily Injury.

• Tomas sends Holiday cards out using another company’s trademarked slogan. A huge mistake but his General Liability coverage can cover this under the policy Advertising Limits.

• Janice spills the punch and Marcel slips in it. It might be work comp if the company party was on company hours, otherwise it is General Liability that will cover this. • Sandra misses the shipping deadline for a client’s big order. Depending on the type of business it could be either a General Liability or Professional Liability claim. Thankfully they have both coverages included on their policy.

• Jonny doesn’t secure the server and it is hacked into. Thankfully they have Cyber Liability coverage to cover this data breech.

• Peter gets a little touchy-feely at the office X-mas Party. Eileen files a claim for harassment and thankfully it is covered by the EPLI policy the company has.

• Sandra brings her dog to work, and it bites a client. The General Liability policy covers this, and Sandra changes her rules and regulations.

• The Boss gives out bonuses, but poor Betty doesn’t get one. She claims discrimination and files a claim. Thankfully their EPLI coverage will consider this.

• Ezra fails to send the collected and promised donations to the non-profit org. The fiduciary coverage and D & O would kick in to protect the business and Directors.

• The new drone taking the overhead office Christmas party picture falls and crashes on top of an unsuspecting bystander. Thankfully the company has an Un-Manned Aviation policy to cover this injury.

Anyone can file a claim against you and/or your company, regardless of your culpability.

Whether your insurance carrier considers the claim depends on the circumstances but primarily if it is a covered cause of loss in the policy. There is no such thing as total and full coverage on a policy.

Read through your Policies and discuss the coverages AND exclusions to your policy with your Broker. Document any Claim with pictures, video and witness accounts and make sure to contact your Agent/Broker right away with details.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a safe and Claim-free, festive holiday season!

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