Are Your Employees
Sharing Company Secrets?

Whether an employee works for you for one year or ten years, it’s likely he or she will learn a lot about your company. Customer lists, product and pricing information, marketing plans—these are all examples of the kinds of confidential information employees may come into contact with on a daily basis. When an employee leaves your company, if the information is shared with a competitor—either intentionally or by mistake—it could have a devastating impact on your business.

Confidential information may sometimes be leaked because a company’s confidentiality policy is unclear. To reduce the chances that employees will divulge confidential information, it is up to you to take appropriate precautions. Here are some suggestions for safeguarding your company’s secrets:

• Require all new employees to sign confidentiality/nondisclosure agreements that make clear exactly what information you consider private.
  
• Limit access to confidential material to employees on a "need to know" basis. Since courts generally allow employees to use information they recall or can reconstruct from memory, it’s probably best if an employee isn’t exposed to confidential information in the first place, unless he or she really needs to use it.
  
• Stamp all documents and other material containing private information "confidential."
  
• Store all confidential material in locked cabinets and drawers, or in restricted-access areas. You may be hard-pressed to convince a court that information is confidential if you’ve never treated it that way.
  
• Meet with departing employees before they leave. Provide a copy of their signed confidentiality agreement, and remind them what information is confidential and what may be shared.
  

The secret to retaining your competitive edge may lie in how well you safeguard your company’s confidential information. Employers must take clear steps to control this situation. Not only can this help prevent the inadvertent leaking of company secrets, but it can also help bolster your case in the event of a lawsuit. Being able to demonstrate that you’ve taken appropriate steps to guard your company’s confidential information can make a difference in how a court judges any security breach that may occur.

If you’re looking to buy a new corporate car, you probably have several things in mind, including price, comfort, looks, performance, and gas mileage. Another important factor that is usually high on potential buyers’ priority lists is safety.

A vehicle’s year, make, and model have a lot to do with the cost of insurance. Whether a vehicle is a car, van, or truck, its design, engineering, and features can make a big difference in how it is rated for safety. Broadly speaking, the higher a vehicle’s safety rating, the lower its insurance premiums.

Here are some features that can affect a vehicle’s overall safety: airbags, anti-lock brakes, structural reinforcement, and vehicle size and weight. Visit the National Highway Safety Administration’s website at www.nhtsa.gov/ncap for information about vehicle safety and crash test ratings. Even if your vehicle’s safety features do not directly affect insurance costs, they may help to mini-mize the risk of an accident.

Understanding the Role
of the Insurance Professional

Businesses today face a number of risks related to property and liability exposures. Consider what might happen if your business were to experience a weather-related disaster, a burglary, a product lawsuit, or an interruption in business operations. Would you have sufficient financial reserves to recoup the losses that could result?

In many cases, businesses can be protected from risks through insurance. When considering risk management and insurance, business owners must ask themselves: what exposures are faced by my business, what is the dollar value of potential loss to my business, and how much protection does my business need? Because of the variety of insurance products available, your insurance professional can be a valuable resource to help you obtain the coverage you need to protect your business.

Risk Analysis Services

A professional insurance agent is trained in risk analysis, which involves evaluating risk exposures to gauge the likelihood of loss to your business. Considering the business property you own and the specific business your company conducts, your agent can recommend specific insurance products and perhaps uncover risk exposures you may have overlooked. In addition, insurance professionals are schooled in the insurance coverage options available in your state, as well as the legislation that governs them. With this expertise, your agent can suggest options from a vast menu of risk-management products and be sure you are following all regulations concerning required insurance coverage. Your insurance professional can also amend a basic policy by adding endorsements, which alter or expand the coverage provided by a specific policy. The resulting insurance program developed by your agent will be tailored to your business’s unique protection needs.

Your insurance professional can also recommend non-insurance strategies to help you manage risks before they turn into losses. Where appropriate, your agent may suggest that your accountant and attorney be brought into the discussion to review the legal and tax implications of suggested strategies.

Other Services Provided

In addition to developing risk management strategies, your insurance professional and your insurance company may provide other important services to policyholders. These may include the following:

Legal defense. Liability insurance, particularly for property damage and bodily injury, generally includes legal defense at no additional charge when the policyholder is a party to a lawsuit that involves a claim covered by the policy. The legal defense provision greatly reduces the potentially high costs of litigation to the policyholder.

Rehabilitation services. Insurance companies that issue workers compensation policies may provide access to extensive rehabilitation services for policyholders. Generally, these services help injured workers return to employment, and in some cases, they may even help train them for new jobs.

Inspection services. Certain insurance policies may provide for property inspection by the insurance company’s specialists as a part of the policy agreement. For example, since many cities require businesses to conduct regular inspections of the steam boilers in commercial buildings, boiler and machinery insurers generally provide this service.

Loss control services. Some commercial insurance policyholders may also qualify for consulting services from the insuring company’s loss control department. This department is staffed with engineers and safety experts who specialize in inspecting business premises; identifying hazards, perils, and possible risk exposures; and recommending possible solutions.

Claim management services. Agents and commercial insurers often provide claim management services that support the policyholder in loss analysis after an insured event occurs.

Insurance, with all its varied forms, is a complex and detailed subject. One of our qualified professionals can explain your insurance options, recommend the right coverage, and help you avoid financial loss. Give us a call if you have any questions about the services we can provide for your business.