On October 9, 2008, President Bush signed Michelle's Law (named after a college student who continued her studies while battling colon cancer, so she could maintain health insurance coverage).

You probably didn't know, but a new bicycle commuting fringe benefit was added to IRS sec. 132 as part of the emergency economic stabilization legislation that was recently signed.

"A long-negotiated patent overhaul bill sought by technology companies and opposed by big pharmaceutical makers is in deep trouble in the U.S. Senate, Democratic and Republican aides said."

"Big high-tech companies such as Cisco and Hewlett-Packard began pushing for reform legislation years ago to cut the number of patent infringement lawsuits and the amount of damages paid."

"Under current law, damages can be calculated as the entire market value of the product. That number can be tripled when the patent infringement is found to be intentional or willful."

Most businesses utilize email as an efficient way to communicate. However, users and managers should be aware of potential risk management issues concerning use, storage, and deletion of electronic messages. What you can do and what you should know:

Intellectual Property, Privacy and Communications Liability: Risk Management Checklist

Chubb Insurance Group, 6/2007

Click Here to Download Checklist

The threat of an intellectual property, privacy or communications lawsuit is commanding the attention of corporate America these days. While the internet and other electronic media have opened up exciting avenues of doing business, they have also created areas of risk that didn't exist years ago. As a result, companies are being forced to establish management practices to protect their assets from am intellectual property of privacy lawsuit, with litigation averaging $1 million or more.

Chubb Insurance Group has prepared a checklist to assess your company's management practices and the likelihood of being exposed to an expensive lawsuit of regulatory enforcement action. Click here to download checklist.

Chubb Insurance takes the checklist on step further and has published Intellectual Property, Privacy and Communication Liability Risk Management Handbook, which provides in-depth recommendations and suggested best practices for reducing any risks identified in the checklist. If you would like a copy of the handbook, please complete form below.

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Computers, computer networks and the Internet have opened up a new universe of opportunity for small businesses, but they’ve also popped the lock on a Pandora’s box of risk – most of it uncovered by traditional insurance policies.

“The carriers have, over the last five years, rewritten their policy language so that you’re not going to get coverage for cyber items under a traditional commercial insurance policy,” asserts Julie K. Davis, executive vice president and managing director of the Wired for Growth program of Aon, a risk management, reinsurance and human capital consulting company in San Jose, Calif.

While some small businesses may wish to roll the dice and forgo cyber insurance, other companies won’t have that option, according to Davis. “If a small business wants to do business with someone, oftentimes they’ll have to produce a certificate of insurance certifying they have certain cyber coverages in place,” she maintains.

According to insurance experts, small businesses typically buy cyber policies covering $1 million to $5 million in damages. Deductibles range from $2,500 to $25,000; premiums, $2,500 to $15,000 annually. Factors affecting premium amounts include a business’s industry, the type of risks it’s exposed to and whether a policy includes “third party” coverage of a customer or supplier, for instance. Premiums for policies with third-party coverage may be twice as high as those that cover just the policyholder.

In the last 12 months, the emphasis of the coverage has changed, as more states adopt laws requiring public disclosure of data security breaches, according to Toby Merrill, assistant vice president of ACE Professional Risk in Philadelphia. In 2003, only California had such a law; today, 35 states have them and more are expected to enact similar legislation. A company experiencing a data breach may have to assume a whole host of costs connected to these notification laws, including:

For business owners unschooled in cyber insurance, new liability policies can be baffling. “In this area, there’s pretty much no standardization,” contends Pamela A. Eudowe. “No two policies are alike, as they would be when buying general liability or automobile insurance.”

What should small business owners take into consideration when determining if cyber liability insurance is for them? Here are some recommendations from the experts:

Check the breadth of the exposures covered by the policy. For example, do the privacy protections extend beyond network breeches to other things such as stolen laptops or misplaced flash drives?

Ascertain if the cost of regulatory actions are covered. Those actions can occur well before any legal action is taken regarding a breech and can result in legal costs and escrow payments.

Web sites, on-line services, e-mail and software programs have created vast new industries whose clients demand that insurance coverage is in place prior to awarding contracts.

Aside from creating new business opportunities, these complex technologies present new exposures to companies that are not covered by standard Miscellaneous Professional Liability and/or Commercial General Liability policies. In addition, trends of increased computer virus and third party hacking activity, post 9/11, means that the exposures are multiplying far faster than most companies keep up with. How does an agent convert these complex issues into simple terms that a customer can understand?

First, Cyber Liability exposures or more accurately described as Technology, Media and Professional Services (TMPS) exposures and liabilities are not routinely understood by insurance professionals or insured's. The understanding of common terms is an essential building block to gaining expertise. This will position you to better understand your clients business, their customers, competitors and potential risk exposures.

Second, a working knowledge of the sources of TMPS claims is very helpful to determine whether or not a company needs to purchase a TMPS policy. This will provide you with the armor to endure and successfully survive the typical questions like… Why do I need this policy? A client may bring suit against a company for a number of different allegations, including:

For example, let's say you're meeting with a company that provides information technology consulting services. The company provides consulting services to help clients improve web site performance, maintenance, service offerings and return on investment. If the company advises a client to move their Web site to a new hosting facility and there are major service interruptions during the process, the company can be sued for breach of contract and misrepresentation.

In the meantime, if the company lists the client on their Web site as a reference without their permission, the client could allege copyright/trademark infringement.

Third, an appreciation for trends and statistics concerning risk and exposures helps to validate the vulnerabilities that companies are dealing with today, and into the future.

Studies show that virus attacks unauthorized computer access, a.k.a. "hacking" is on the rise, some with significant consequences while others, are a small nuisance. Either way, the outcome(s) can be unpredictable, which makes stopping them a challenge, however, an absolutely necessary task as they could potentially impair a company's obligations to third parties.

HARTFORD, Conn., September 17, 2002 - After piloting an innovative set of insurance products and services aimed at technology companies, The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG), a leader in innovative insurance products for small and mid-sized businesses, has introduced its FailSafe line of products to all Hartford agents.

FailSafe, The Hartford's new suite of professional liability products for technology companies, can meet the complex protection needs of small and mid-sized firms, using three increasingly powerful products - FailSafe MEGA, FailSafe GIGA and FailSafe TERA - and with expanded standard lines products and an integrated underwriting approach. This enables The Hartford to provide a comprehensive risk management program for technology firms.

"This is just what we needed," says Richard Leavitt, principal of William Gallagher Insurance in Boston, Mass., a participant in the pilot launch. "The products are innovative and flexible; the integrated underwriting approach means our customers are less exposed to coverage gaps; and we're excited to have a new major player in the tech insurance marketplace."

The Hartford developed its technology company products and services after extensive research that showed technology companies grow and change throughout the life cycle of their business and therefore need insurance that can respond to those changes. Research also indicated technology companies prefer to purchase their insurance from a single carrier.

"When developing our technology professional liability products, we created a suite of coverages to address the shifting business models of the modern tech company," says Laura Johnson, vice president of The Hartford, and leader of the technology insurance unit of its Hartford Financial Products organization. "We also mobilized the various specialists within The Hartford to create a unified approach to technology insurance underwriting that minimizes gaps between professional and standard lines coverage forms." That unified approach works.

"As we continue to grow, our coverage needs change quickly," says Melinda Smith, vice president, finance at edocs, Inc., a Natick, Mass., provider of account management and customer self-service software. "The Hartford's expanded coverage options and flexible product offerings have made the transition seamless."

The Hartford's unified approach to meeting the needs of technology companies starts with its new suite of technology professional liability products. For small technology companies, FailSafe™ MEGA is a Technology Errors & Omissions (E&O) coverage that seamlessly becomes part of The Hartford's SPECTRUM small business policy so a business' needs are handled easily by a single insurer. FailSafe™ GIGA is a monoline Technology E&O policy including breach of warranty protection. FailSafe™ TERA is the most robust technology coverage form offering E&O, Content (e.g. copyright and trademark infringement), Personal Injury (e.g. libel, slander, invasion of privacy ), and Security (e.g. failure to prevent unauthorized access and/or introduction of malicious code).

These three products are customizable, further honing in a company's individual needs. For example, a tech company can purchase the FailSafe E&O and Content coverage but choose not to buy Security and Personal Injury coverage. Or, The Hartford can work with an agent and company to customize the definition of their insured technology services by modifying the policy form rather than adding an endorsement.

In addition to developing new professional liability products, The Hartford has enhanced its standard lines product and service offerings for technology companies by expanding its eligible classes and modifying policy forms to fit with the professional liability coverage. The company also made it convenient for agents to sell the products to small businesses. Now, through our online quoting system, our agents can get real time quotes for the FailSafeä MEGA Technology E&O coverage part together with our SPECTRUM business owners' policy.

The Hartford (NYSE: HIG) is one of the nation's largest investment and insurance companies, with 2001 revenues of $15.1 billion. As of June 30, 2002, The Hartford had assets of $179.6 billion and shareholders' equity of $9.7 billion. The company is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; business property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance.