Home based businesses at risk of costly insurance surprises
More North Americans are running businesses from home with figures from the US Census, Small Business Administration showing that more than half of the 28 million small businesses in the US are home-based. Those businesses are often at risk of the misconception that they are covered by home insurance policies. National Association of Insurance Commissioners President Monica Lindeen warns: “Unfortunately, business owners often don't discover this mistake until after a major incident puts their business and personal finances at risk. When it comes to insurance, what you don't know definitely can hurt you.” The association advises that home-based business owners check their home policies to see what is and isn’t covered and that they should consider commercial lines products to protect their business.
Risk managers reveal their ‘top task’
A global survey of more than 1,400 risk management professionals has revealed the task that is most important for effective risk management practices. The Global Association of Risk Professionals is holding its annual conference in New York and has released results of the survey showing that ‘communicating risk to stakeholders’ is the task considered most important followed by estimating, interpreting and reporting value at risk (VaR). Awareness of regulatory compliance and of basic risk types also rank highly as skills that risk managers should have. When asked about the challenges and changes for risk managers in the next 2-3 years regulation and compliance came top, followed by a stronger focus on stress testing rather than VaR and more focus on data quality and information security.
Long term care benefit claims increase to record level
America’s long term care insurers paid a record $7.85 billion in claim benefits to a quarter of a million individuals last year. A report by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) shows a 5 per cent increase in payments last year as insurers carry the cost of people living longer. AALTCI director Jess Slome says that it’s a myth that most of the insurance claims are for skilled nursing homes: “The vast majority of long term care insurance pays for care in the home or in assisted living communities. Consider long term care insurance as nursing home avoidance protection.” There are wide differences between the costs of policies; AALTCI's 2015 Price Index study of policies from leading insurers reveals that costs for virtually identical policy coverage varied by as much as 119 percent.
