Today’s post is courtesy of John Campos of Diversified Insurance Venture Practice Group. John is a Vice-President at Diversified Insurance Group and works primarily with Emerging Growth, Technology and Franchise Companies. If you want to get a quick bio click HERE. Enjoy!

Crime in Utah

A quick review of Utah Foundation’s most recent Utah Crime Statistics reveals a few very interesting details about our society and the realities it faces:

1. Property Crimes (Larceny and Burglary, specifically) make up over 85 percent of all crimes in Utah (2006)

2. Note that “larceny” means “the unlawful taking of property without the use of force.” Though Utahns fear white-collar crime and fraud/scams, old-fashioned stealing beats white-collar crimes (Bribery, Counterfeit/Forgery, Embezzlement and Fraud) TEN-FOLD (6.3% vs. 66.2%)

3. That said, ID theft is the new and fastest-growing crime in America with 800,000 complaints resulting in $1.2 billion in consumer losses and certainly a force in Utah (see graph).

What does this mean for you?

Well, besides supporting your local sheriff (direct correlation in reduction in crime when compared to increases in law enforcement spending), focus on the tried and true asset-protection methods while utilizing new resources and technologies like credit monitoring, updated, broader training (your insurer has vast libraries) and automated systems including check-and-balance protocols.

One of the oddities of working in the insurance industry is the unique perspective that insurance geeks have on seemingly everyday events.

Take the Democratic National Convention being held in Denver, Colorado – How many people would stop to think of the liability risks associated with that event? Just what I thought – nobody.

Street festivals, art fairs, skateboard events, and outdoor concerts are all fun for participants and spectators but can be quite challenging to insurance agents and carriers. Spectator liability is the major concern for event organizers. Outdoor events often provide large numbers of people and accident-producing conditions. Large numbers of people milling around often distract people from watching where they are stepping. Uneven ground, loose cables, discarded food and intoxicated spectators all provide many trip/slip and fall accident-producing conditions.

General liability / spectator coverage for special events outside of the normal business operations will protect the event planner and organizer from claim incidents. Injury to participants or any person in the evetn are – such as motorbike riders, mechanics, guides, clowns, and entertainers-are special risks. The most important questions to be answered when applying for special events coverage are the following:

• What type of event is requiring coverage? – Is it a concert, art fair, skateboard show?
• Are there first-aid facilities?
• What is the age demographic of the expected audience?
• Have liability waivers been signed by participants in racing or sporting events?
• Is seating reserved or general admission?
• Is there bleacher seating, and is it portable or permanent?
• Have certificates of insurance been provided by vendors, exhibitors, and amusement device operators?
• Is there event security/crowd control?
• Do performers interact with audience?
• What’s the total event capacity?

Most events are of a temporary nature lasting from a few hours to a few days. Make sure you are covered if your business decides to organize or sponsor such an event.

The soft market cycle for insurance has traditionally left environmental pollution coverage alone. Not so anymore. National Underwriter’s feature article for a recent issue highlights the changes.

Thanks to the current economic downturn, real estate and construction have fewer projects going and thus have lower demand for pollution coverage. That combined with increased supply have caused prices to drop. Prices are dropping between 10 and 35% depending on the size of the risk – larger risks are experiencing renewal decreases up to 35%, smaller risks are seeing smaller premium decreases.

Primary insurance players include ACE, AIG, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, XL and Zurich. It is now being bundled with package policies for not a lot of money. Stand-alone policies, however, are still the norm for complex and large risks.

Every business has an environmental exposure, but most are not aware of it. “Unfortunately, too many insureds become acquainted with their environmental exposures by suffering a pollution loss, only to discover coverage doesn’t exist because it was excluded from their standard policies” according to Howard Tollin of Aon.

Pollution coverage is often ignored but is still one of the most affordable insurance coverages. The cost is modest relative to the catastrophe risk coverage that is provided.