business safety
The following blog posts have the category Business safety
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As the temperature drops and winter settles in, businesses face a unique set of challenges. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures can create significant risks for commercial properties, employees, and day-to-day operations. Preparing your business for winter not only ensures safety but also minimizes disruptions and financial losses. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you winterize your business and ensure you have the right insurance coverage.
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Fire extinguishers are crucial safety devices designed to tackle small fires before they escalate into major emergencies. Proper maintenance, care, and understanding of their use are essential for ensuring they function correctly when needed. This blog post will guide you through the key aspects of fire extinguisher maintenance, care, and usage, helping you stay prepared for any fire-related incidents.
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If you've picked up a newspaper in the past year, you've heard about the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Most of the media coverage pertains to the down sides, including fears of privacy breaches, the spread of misinformation, biased algorithms, plagiarism, job displacement, and the list goes on – to the point where legislation and policy changes are being considered around the globe.
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Holiday cheer in the workplace can spice up the regular workday for both customers and employees. At the same time, business owners need to consider setting up some guidelines to ensure that the office remains free of discrimination. Aside from legal considerations, it's important to be respectful and inclusive of all staff and clients when decorating the office and planning holiday parties, if you choose to host one.
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Business is a great way to supplement your income, pursue your passions, or build a foundation for a future full-time venture. However, it's important to be aware of the risks involved before you take the plunge.
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Remote work options, both fully and hybridized off-and-on site iterations have overtaken traditional office models, studies have shown that it can have adverse effects on some employees' mental health. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) conducted a comprehensive online survey in the spring of 2021 of 1,000 remote workers' self-reported mental health, and the majority reported negative impacts on their mental health. In fact, Since transitioning to a remote model; isolation and loneliness, in particular, were noted by nearly two-thirds of respondents.
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Fraudulent charges to your personal or business accounts can be both financially and emotionally devastating. Even if you do eventually recover the funds, the stress and time that results from having been stolen from can take a toll.
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When COVID-19 shut the entire world down two years ago, many wondered how businesses would pivot and persist. As closures and restrictions continued far beyond anyone's initial projections, it became obvious that "business as usual" was going to be anything but. And, while the transition to a remote model for schools and businesses throughout the world was an unprecedented shift with no real map for structure or outcomes, many made the adjustment with relative ease and found the remote model was not without benefit. Now, as the corporate world attempts a return to what was, it faces a number of concerns and considerations, not the least of which being a pool of employees that might rather remain remote.
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Business travelers, and the travel managers who plan for them, have different concerns when it comes to addressing unexpected inconveniences. Corporate travel insurance policies can be a great fit for any business looking to mitigate expenses related to company travel, including non-refundable costs associated with emergency flight or hotel changes, necessary medical treatments for traveling employees, and equipment or property loss. While canceled flights, missed connections, baggage delays, and medical emergencies are difficult for any traveler, there are unique considerations for corporate travelers and specific provisions for the business travel insurance policies that cover them.
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the modern workplace has undergone some massive changes. And while adjusting to these has involved some growing pains, especially for employers, this new world of work is not necessarily a bad thing. If you're a small business owner, you may have some concerns and hesitation about adopting a flexible workplace model. Here are some steps you can take to explore what it means to have a hybrid workplace and find solutions that work for you and your business.
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Whether you're a business owner, contractor, or employee, most likely you take job safetyand on-the-job injuriesseriously. But many people have incomplete or incorrect information about Workers Compensation Insurance, which is designed to support both employers and workers when an injury does occur. Take the time to read about some common misconceptions about Workers' Compensation Insurance, and set the record straight.
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As youngsters, the more serious-minded among us were vigilant about making the Scout motto "Be Prepared" a reality. Now with the latest round of fires, earthquakes and hurricanes, the old adage is more relevant than ever. Even in Pennsylvania, we all have the potential to encounter the occasional unpredicted mishap. But few events can be as unpredictable, or devastating, as natural disasters: hurricanes, floods, wildfires, tsunamis, severe storms, tornadoes, and landslides, many of which we've been faced with lately.
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So your business is growing, and that's a great thing. But as you add employees, assets, services, or any other elements, your business operations naturally become more complex. In addition, as your business grows, different laws and regulations may start to apply. If you're at a point where it's getting hard to keep up with all the rules you're supposed to be following and monitor whether your employees are fulfilling their legal and ethical responsibilities, it might be time to look into hiring a compliance officer.
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As a small business owner, you want to keep your business, employees, and customers safe. Whether you're a new business owner or a veteran who just wants to make sure you're doing things right, here's a checklist of things you can do to promote a safe and healthy working environment.
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All business owners in Pennsylvania need solid, affordable insurance, and many companies require multiple types. But what happens when something goes wrong and your insurance doesn't cover it? If the cost to pay for injury to others exceeds your policy limits, or worse, is excluded by the insurance policies you have, you could be stuck with potentially crippling out-of-pocket costs.
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This year, many of us got a much more up close and personal relationship with our families, our houses, and our things. And many of us realized: we have way too much of all three. While you can't get rid of your 6-year-old or your spouse, there are plenty of places you can go to unload excess stuff.
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Training employees can be costly and time-consuming. Even if you don't work in an industry with a high turnover rate, we now live in an era where many people switch careers multiple times in their lifetime, making it harder to find employees you can really nurture and invest in the long term. So how do you decide how much time, money, and energy to invest in training new employees? Consider these things to help you decide how to develop your workforce in a way that makes the most sense for your business.
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If you're a small business owner, chances are the pandemic has been especially tough on you and your family. You may have had to change your business model, lay off employees or worse, close up shop indefinitely. But what about your employees? If you're a small business owner looking to support your staff through the pandemic, here's what you need to know.
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For small business owners, hiring and managing employees can be a rewarding but stressful part of the job. During uncertain times, maybe you need extra help but are thinking twice about committing to an official employee. So when should you hire, and when might an independent contractor or outsourcing company be a better fit? Here are some tips to guide that decision.
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For business owners, operating during a pandemic is complicated to say the least. You want to do the right thing by your staff and customers, without losing the business you love. In many cases, there is a lot you can do to make patronizing and working at your business safer for everyone.
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So your business has grown enough that you have full time employees and want to start offering benefits, including paid time off. How do you craft a vacation policy that works for you, your business and employees? There's not a one-size-fits all solution, but here are some things to think about and tips for getting started.
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Whether you use a single vehicle or an entire fleet for your business, keeping them running smoothly is critical to fulfilling your business goals. And if employees are using those vehicles, that adds in another layer of complexity. Here's what you need to know about how to keep your business vehicles well maintained, and keep your employees safe on the job while using them.
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We've had a number of clients ask questions about not just insurance but small business loans, grants, payroll protection, and the family first act. We're trying to keep informed to help direct those questions. We can't offer legal of financial advice, but we've been trying to help our clients wade through the muddy waters of the information that is out there and give advice about how this effects their insurance and how they can prevent or mitigate new risks that could arise. (And advice is always free).
I was reading the * Malwarebytes 2019 'State of Malware' Report today and one part of it that particularly interested me was related to Phishing Attacks.The reason I found this particularly interesting is that I seem to get A LOT of phishing emails.I won't go into all of the reasons why, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that I own a couple dozen domain names including this one and I don't try to hide my identity on any of them.You can easily find me at Bill@Since1849.com on many of those sites as well as on the sites of many of our insurance companies.I HATE phishing emails and I particularly resent what is called 'spear phishing' attacks.Simply put, a phishing attack might appear to be from American Express or Google or Sam's Club or a bank.They are often fairly general and claim that you need to log on to a website to check or reset your password.Spear phishing on the other hand is very direct and appears to be a more personal email from someone that you work with or perhaps someone that is a vendor or insurance company.They may have links, but more likely they might have attachments that are named things like Invoice or Your Order or Payment or SexyPic or whatever - - - all of these are designed to trick you into opening the document and view it.Sometimes they are harmless, but more often they contain Trojans or Viruses that are designed to compromise your computer or help the 'actor' gain access to information on your network.
This past year, it seemed like just about every week there was a new headline about some serious privacy breach, intentional or otherwise, occurring at a major organization. With the increasing popularity of technologies, from genetic testing to health tracking apps and electronic payment services, we're putting more of our important personal information online, and we have less and less understanding of what's being done with that information or how to keep it safe. Here are a few important takeaways from the year in digital privacy, and a few things you can do to make your information safer this year.
Owning a business means that you're responsible and often liable for the welfare of your staff and clients. Winter can bring extra hazards and increase the possibility of accidents and injury.
Everyone is entitled to a safe and healthy work environment: your employer is required by law to provide a safe workplace, adequate training in a language you understand, and appropriate safety equipment, among other things. If you are injured on the job or have a safety concern, it's your right to file a report and to be free from retaliation by your employer for speaking up. Read on to find out all about OSHA and how to exercise your right to health and safety at work.
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For their abilities to help a business run smoothly and thrive, today's Internet-related technologies leave business owners wondering if the companies they have worked so hard to build are truly safe in cyberspace. Here, we take a look at weak spots, and how you can protect your business and your clients in Pennsylvania.
My favorite security author (Brian Krebs) published a blog post this morning that struck me right between the eyes.The full article is available here and is titled "Windows 10 Shares Your Wi-fi with Contacts"... WHAT!?!Here's the opening paragraph: Starting today, Microsoft is offering most Windows 7 and Windows 8 users a free upgrade to the software giant's latest operating system -- Windows 10. But there's a very important security caveat that users should know about before transitioning to the new OS: Unless you opt out, Windows 10 will by default share your Wi-Fi network password with any contacts you may have listed in Outlook and Skype -- and, with an opt-in, your Facebook friends!
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When an employee in Pennsylvania gets injured on the job, the negative repercussions can affect everyone. Worker's Compensation Insurance ensures that both employees and employers are protected in the event of a worker accident, illness, or injury.
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Today many of us have a multitude of passwords to keep track of at work and at home. As passwords multiply it is easy to succumb to the temptation of using easy to guess words or simply leaving a sticky note on your computer. But these are generally bad ideas. Better is to come up with a strong password and keep it secret.
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