Other Liability Coverages

Businesses today largely rely on technology in their operations.  However, a traditional business liability policy is extremely unlikely to protect against the impacts of cyber attacks.  Standard commercial policies are written to insure against injury or physical loss and will do little, if anything, to shield you from cyber breaches.  Exposures are vast, ranging from the content you put on your website to stored customer data.

Possible exposures covered by a typical cyber liability policy may include:

• Data breaches – a breach could allow access to clients’ personal information.  Notification of those affected is required by law in Alberta and that will come with costs.
• Intellectual property rights – this can include libel, copyright or trademark infringement, and defamation
• Damages to a third-party system – if a virus is sent from your system crashes the system of a customer, you could be held liable for the damages
• Cyber extortion – hackers can hijack websites, networks, and stored data, denying access and they often demand money to restore your systems to working order.  This can cause loss of revenue as well as costs associated with paying the hacker’s demands.

Pollution and environmental conditions are growing exposures for many businesses.  The risk of pollution may seem obscure, but it is one that could arise at any time.  New forms of pollution and contamination are frequently being discovered and these can lead to large lawsuits involving property damage and even bodily injury.   A third-party claim could also include hefty cleanup costs.

Most standard Commercial General Liability Policies do not cover losses due to pollution.  However, Pollution Liability coverage can be obtained.  Currently, there are several types of pollution coverage available, and most policies are customizable to fit a company’s unique risks and exposures.  They will often even include additional coverage such as contamination during the transportation of goods.

Our expert  brokers can help you assess your exposure to loss and find the right coverage that applies to your specific needs.

As a business professional, what happens if you make a mistake?  The failure to meet even just one of your responsibilities to your clients could make you legally liable for the financial consequences this could entail.  This could jeopardize the financial stability of your business, and possibly your personal assets as well.

Mistakes can and do happen.  Any business that provides advice, opinions, or even healthcare can find themselves at risk.  This can include accountants, lawyers, advertisement agencies, architects, and even event planners.

There are two types of Professional Liability policies available.

• Errors & Omissions Liability – for those that consult, advise and offer opinions.
• Malpractice – for those engaged in the health care field.

Our brokers can help you obtain the correct policy that you may need, designed to respond to your specific business or industry.

Regardless of whether your business is public, private or not-for-profit, Directors and Officers are called upon to make decisions on behalf of the organization.  These decisions can affect the employees, vendors, investors, customers and other parties.  If a mistake or oversight occurs, then the directors and officers can be held legally responsible.  They can even be personally sued for actual or even alleged wrongful acts in managing the company.  Even a small business that has employees could find themselves facing a wrongful dismissal charge, for instance.

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance will help protect the assets of the company and the individual directors and officers as well.  It will include legal fees, settlements and other costs involved.

In some instances, a business may require higher limits of liability than what they are able to obtain on their Commercial General Liability (CGL) or Commercial Auto policies.  This is particularly important if you are in a high risk or high liability industry.   Society has become increasingly litigious, and settlements continue to rise.  An Umbrella Liability Policy adds an extra layer of coverage which will respond when your CGL, Auto, Aircraft, Watercraft Policies, etc limits are exhausted.  It provides an excess limit, over and above the limits you have under your commercial policies.  This provides extra protection for the business in case of a catastrophic loss.   This policy may also broaden the coverage under your existing or underlying policies to provide an additional layer of protection for coverage gaps.