A house fire can be devastating. Even if you, your family and your pets manage to escape unharmed, the loss of precious mementos and possibly even your home itself can feel overwhelming.

Any one of us could be the victim of a fire. Would you know what to do if you experienced a fire? Piecing your life back together might seem insurmountable, but there are things you can do to help restore a sense of normalcy.

File an insurance claim right away. Contact us as soon as possible so you can begin cleaning up, restoring and repairing your damaged home. You may also need to find a new place to live. Some insurance companies provide loss-of-use coverage, which pays additional living expenses such as dining out instead of cooking at home.

Find a temporary home. Staying with family members is often a first choice for those devastated by fire, especially because it provides a familiar place for you and your loved ones. If staying with family is not an option, hotels are a substitute. The YMCA may also provide temporary shelter, sometimes for free.

Make a list of items destroyed in the fire. If you don’t already have a home inventory, make a list of items that were lost or damaged to help with insurance reimbursement. Online banking or credit card statements may help provide proof of purchases and costs. Also, create a list of important documents that were destroyed in the fire. Birth certificates, passports and medical records all need to be replaced immediately.

Rent a storage unit. There may be salvageable items left after a fire. If so, rent a storage unit to house these items while you search for a new place to live. Consider professionally cleaning items if they were contaminated with fire extinguisher chemicals. Throw out any items that aren’t salvageable, including nonperishable foods, cosmetics, medicines and electrical equipment.

Board up your home and notify the police. Board your windows and doors to discourage anyone from entering. Make sure the local police department is aware that your home is empty and you’ve relocated. They can keep an eye out for theft.

Stay on top of financial responsibilities. Remember that your bills still need to be paid, regardless of your fire loss. Also, cancel cable, landline and internet services if you know you’ll be out of your home for a while. You’ll likely need to purchase everyday items, so keep receipts to get reimbursed quickly.

Once you get past the initial shock of a devastating fire, reclaiming normalcy is possible. Being prepared will help ease your anxiety and help you move forward.

Ask us to review your homeowners coverage, including any exclusions that may apply.

Newsfeed alerts about cyberattacks occur every day. It can feel like you’re in perpetual defense mode. You might feel hopeless about weathering a direct cyberattack because you assume cyber insurance isn’t for regular people. Think again.

Take this personal cyber insurance quiz to see how much you know. The answers and explanations are at the end. (Sorry, no cheat codes.) Good luck!

1. Personal cyber insurance covers cyberbullying. It may even help pay for psychiatric services and lost wages.

True or false?

2. What’s the purpose of personal cyber insurance?

A) To protect you after a cyberattack

B) To protect your devices from physical damage

C) To prevent malware from infecting your devices

D) All of the above

3. Which of these events is covered under a personal cyber policy?

A) A data breach

B) Identity theft

C) Cyberbullying

D) All of the above

4. Personal cyber insurance, cyber risk insurance and data breach insurance are the same thing.

True or false?

5. What are “first-party damages” in a personal cyber insurance policy?

A) Damages experienced by other people

B) Damages experienced by you and the people listed on your policy

C) Damages experienced by businesses you have accounts with

D) Damages experienced by the hacker after they’re caught

6. Basic personal cyber insurance is included in your home or renters policy.

True or false?

7. What is the main difference between personal identity theft insurance and personal cyber insurance?

A) Identity theft insurance is for physical theft; cyber insurance is for online theft.

B) Identity theft insurance responds only to identity theft; cyber insurance prevents cyberattacks from malware and phishing.

C) Identity theft insurance has services to monitor and respond after your identity is stolen; cyber insurance covers a broad range of cyber threats like cyberbullying and data breaches.

D) There is no difference between them.

8. The more digital assets you have, the higher your personal cyber insurance premiums will be.

True or false?

9. A personal cyber policy will cover any situation that involves attacks originating online.

True or false?

10. What costs would a personal cyber policy cover if a phishing attack released malware into your laptop?

A) Repairing physical damage to the laptop

B) Recovering lost data and restoring systems

C) Purchasing a new laptop

D) Subscribing to antivirus software

11. You get an email from your child in college. They claim there was an issue with their tuition payment. They send you a link and ask you to pay the bursar’s office immediately, or they’ll get unenrolled from their classes. You click the link, enter your banking information and authorize a fund transfer. But when you call the bursar’s office to confirm the transaction, they tell you there was no issue and they never received a transfer. 

You realize you’ve been tricked into sending money to scammers under false pretenses. Good thing you have deceptive transfer fraud protection in your personal cyber policy. You’re covered.

True or false?

12. What is cyber extortion?

A) Destroying someone’s online data and files

B) Holding someone’s computer access or data for ransom

C) Sending someone a computer virus

D) Hacking into someone’s financial accounts

13. Which of the following does personal cyber insurance cover?

A) Illegal bank and credit card transfers

B) Counterfeit money issues

C) Phishing attacks

D) All of the above

14. How can personal cyber insurance help after a data breach?

A) By paying legal fees

B) By covering lost wages

C) By funding a forensic IT review to find out what went wrong

D) All of the above

Answers and explanations:

1. True. Personal cyber policies differ depending on the insurance company writing them. Some policies cover cyberbullying, including reimbursing you for counseling, lost wages and temporarily relocating from your home.

2. A. Cyber insurance helps you recover after a cyberattack, like a data breach or phishing scam. Insurance responds during or after the incident, not before. While using antimalware software and other protection strategies is essential, that’s different from cyber insurance. You can claim physical damage to your computer under your home or renters policy if it’s from a covered loss, like a theft. But you can’t claim physical damage to your computer under cyber insurance.

3. D. Personal cyber insurance protects against data breaches, identity theft, cyberbullying and more. Depending on your policy terms, it can even cover your connected car.

4. True. Personal cyber, cyber risk and data breach insurance cover the same things.

5. B. First-party damages are direct losses you experience due to a cyberattack, such as the cost to restore your data. Third-party damages are losses other people or businesses experience. People who willingly commit crimes aren’t covered by insurance, so the hacker’s losses are irrelevant.

6. False. Personal cyber insurance isn’t included in standard home or renters policies. You can add cyber insurance to some home insurance policies, or you can buy a separate, stand-alone policy. Stand-alone cyber policies don’t affect your home insurance claims record.

7. C. Personal identity theft insurance helps with the aftermath of identity theft. It defends you in court, disputes fraudulent charges and helps restore your identity.

Personal cyber insurance covers an even broader range of cyber threats, like:

• Reimbursement for financial losses
• Computer restoration
• Forensic IT investigations
• Defense for lawsuits resulting from fraudulent acts committed using your identity

8. True. Insurance companies review the type and amount of digital assets you have when determining your premiums. If you have a smart home with multiple connected devices like appliances, lighting, and home security, you’re at a higher risk for a cyberattack. The more digital assets you have, the more entry points there are for a criminal to hack into your systems.

9. False. Every insurance company has different terms for their cyber insurance. They might exclude certain scenarios from coverage. For example, some policies don’t cover ransom payments or income interruptions, while others do. That’s why it’s important to evaluate your risk exposures to find the best policy for you. (And no insurance policy covers you if you intentionally participate in the fraud.)

10. B. Personal cyber policies cover damages caused by malware, such as recovering data and restoring your computer’s functionality. However, standard policies don’t include new hardware or software subscriptions.

11. True. Deceptive transfer fraud is a type of fraud where individuals are tricked into sending money to criminals under false pretenses. Some personal liability policies cover this.

12. B. Cyber extortion is when hackers inject malware into your computer, usually from a fake email link or download. They take over your computer so you can’t access it. Then they demand a ransom payment to restore access to it.

13. D. Personal cyber insurance covers illegal bank and credit card transfers, counterfeit money issues, and phishing attacks. Cryptocurrency could be excluded, so verify this coverage before you buy your policy.

14. D. A personal cyber policy covers things like:

• Legal fees to restore your identity or establish liability
• Lost wages because of the cyberattack
• Forensic IT services to pinpoint how the cyberattack happened

Questions about your cyber risk? Call us. We’ll help you decide on coverage options.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve with unprecedented speed. And the high stakes of AI make it essential for your HR team to be ready.

Generative AI, according to McKinsey,

“describes algorithms (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini) that can be used to create new content, including audio, code, images, text, simulations, and videos.” These tools draw from a vast database of information and language to generate humanlike responses to questions, searches and requests.

The technology has quickly become too big to ignore. Some praise it as a game-changing technology that can free employees to focus on strategy, creativity and other tasks requiring human ingenuity. Others fear its potential dangers, from creating new business vulnerabilities to replacing human roles across industries.

While opinions about generative AI vary, there’s universal agreement that organizations must understand the opportunities and challenges it poses and develop policies for its use.

To start, your HR and leadership teams should collaborate to create a company policy for current and future AI technologies. With the widespread and growing adoption of generative AI tools, it’s vital to communicate regularly and consistently with your employees. Be clear about specific usages and limitations.

Opportunities

As noted, these tools are already being used. Some applications might be relatively insignificant, like employees using them to craft emails. But other applications can be as dramatic as companies using them to shift core strategies.

Potential uses for your organization may include generating text for:

• Job descriptions
• Employee handbook policies
• Onboarding tasks, including documentation, support and reminder emails
• Training materials
• Performance reviews
• Employee and customer surveys
• Communication templates such as sales and marketing communications and company announcements
• Standard operating procedures and process documentation

Any use of generative AI should be part of a collaborative effort between employees and technology.

Regardless of the output, employees will still need to verify facts, use good judgment and customize content for appropriate audiences. A human understanding of company culture, social norms, and employee and client expectations is required to make sure the generated text is appropriate and valuable.

At its best, generative AI can help employees brainstorm ideas, create basic communications and offload administrative tasks. This can increase productivity and performance. It also lets your employees focus on idea generation, prospecting, and identifying key audiences and other high-level details.

Challenges

As with any new technology, the promise of generative AI also brings risk. Among the biggest concerns are:

• Plagiarism and copyright infringement: Generative AI can pull data from anywhere on the internet, which could lead to plagiarized passages or the improper use of copyrighted material. It’s also not yet clear who (if anyone) owns the copyright to outputs generated entirely by algorithms rather than people.
• Incorrect or insensitive information: The founders of ChatGPT warn that it is not 100% accurate; other generative AI tools have comparable limitations. Because they combine information and draw from a wide range of source documentation, the results could include inaccurate or offensive material.
• Outdated information: While generative AI tools acquire new information all the time through user prompts, they are not a reliable source for news, information or trends.
• Data protection violations: If users input personal information, AI can gather and share it. For example, if a hiring manager enters the names, addresses and employment histories of potential candidates, that personal information becomes part of the data set the algorithm can draw from and share. Candidates may not have consented to (or even know about) this use of their personal information.
• Cybersecurity: Generative AI presents the same risks as any third-party software, especially regarding sensitive company, employee and client information. Employees must avoid sharing personal, proprietary or other confidential information with generative AI tools.

Current best practices are to limit or avoid the use of generative AI for legal advice, personal guidance, market analysis or private business data. As mentioned above, employees should also avoid inputting personal or confidential information. Once data is entered into a generative AI tool, it may be shared in answers with other users.

Legal experts warn that lawmakers have not kept pace with the newest AI technology. Expect new legislation to address generative AI’s impact on hiring decisions, biases, the sharing of personal information, third-party vendors and more. Employees should act with the expectation that legal responsibility lies with your organization, not AI technology companies.

There are also concerns that generative AI could further ingrain cultural biases because it draws on past and current practices regarding gender, race and other protected characteristics. The technology could overrepresent certain views of gender, race and culture.

In addition, HR should be aware of employee concerns about having their career paths derailed or being replaced altogether. Multiple surveys show that employees are worried about having their roles diminished or losing their jobs.

Moving forward

Generative AI tools are becoming a core part of doing business. Your HR team will play a big role in balancing the risks and rewards.

Moving forward, it’s paramount to assess the opportunities and challenges for your employees and your organization as a whole. Craft a policy on internal and external use, review it regularly for timeliness and accuracy, and clearly communicate the rules and expectations to your employees.

Business income insurance, also known as business interruption insurance, is a type of coverage that replaces lost business revenue due to a covered loss, or “peril.” The cause of the loss must be covered by your commercial property insurance, since these policies are either added to property coverage or included in a business owners policy.

For example, if a fire or windstorm destroyed your place of business and you had to close for an extended period, a business income policy would help cover payroll, rent, utilities and taxes. Most policies also help pay for relocation, and there are other features you can add as discussed below.

Because a disaster can shutter your business indefinitely, business income insurance is an important coverage.

Be mindful of policy exclusions

Business income insurance won’t cover all causes of a shutdown. When considering a business income policy, take the time to understand what it covers and what it doesn’t. In general:

• Coverage is tied to your underlying property policy. If a peril is excluded from your property insurance, it’s excluded from your business income policy, too. For example, property insurance doesn’t cover floods, earthquakes or mudslides, so your business income policy wouldn’t cover lost income from these events. However, you may be able to purchase additional coverage for these types of perils.
• Business income losses are almost always caused by physical damage to property. Pandemics, viruses and communicable diseases (such as SARS and COVID-19) are typically excluded from coverage. Even all-risk policies usually list pandemics as an exclusion.
• Shutdowns mandated by civil authorities that directly causes business losses are usually covered, even if there is no physical damage to your property. Still, coverage is limited to the perils listed in your property coverage, and some policies require a direct physical loss. For example, if local authorities required your business to close due to its proximity to a fire, you may be able to make a claim. Coverage is usually limited to two weeks of interruption.
• Broken items aren’t covered, nor are utility disruptions. However, you can purchase utility service interruption coverage as part of your commercial property insurance. Utility service interruption policies kick in when water, gas, electricity or other services are suspended. A “time-element” policy covers loss of service within a specified period. “Direct-damage” insurance extends the coverage in your property policy to include damages resulting from downed power lines, broken water mains or other utility disruptions.
• Some types of operating expenses, such as marketing and research and development costs, don’t qualify for replacement.

Types of expenses that are covered

Business income insurance helps you pay your expenses so you can keep your business afloat. To successfully make a claim, you’ll need accurate records of your income and expenses. Income that’s not listed in your financial documents won’t be covered. Generally, a business income policy covers:

• Employees’ wages, salaries and commissions
• Taxes
• Loan payments
• Fixed costs such as rent, operating expenses and other costs you incur to generate business
• Profits that would have been earned had you remained open
• Replacement of equipment and associated training costs
• The cost of moving to a temporary location

How long will you be covered?

Policies have a specified “restoration period,” which is the number of days they will cover lost income while a business recovers. These periods are generally 30 days, but it’s possible to purchase extended coverage of up to 360 days. An extension will help your business if it takes longer than anticipated to resume full operations and return to profitability. There is usually a waiting period of two or three days before the restoration period starts.

Understand that payments cease once you resume operations, even if you’re working out of a temporary location and your main location hasn’t been restored. Ask your insurance broker about appropriate limits and the amount of time you may need to recover.

Remember, your property insurance pays the cost of repairing physical damage to your property, while business income insurance replaces lost income while your business is shut.

Extra expenses to consider

You may want to add extra expense coverage to pay for items not normally included in a business income policy. Some examples include:

• Leasing equipment you may need
• Paying employees overtime or hiring extra employees
• Replacing items such as furniture and computers
• Renting a temporary location while your property is being worked on

What if a supplier or vendor is disrupted?

You can also purchase “contingent business interruption” coverage. This kicks in when a supplier or vendor you rely on closes and it disrupts your business, or if a primary buyer, store or venue closes and you can’t sell your products. Payouts are generally limited to losses covered by your property insurance, and there may be a physical damage requirement.

Don’t skimp on business interruption coverage

Whether you add business income to your commercial property insurance or purchase it as part of a package, talk to an insurance broker about what it covers, what it excludes and whether you need to purchase any add-ons.

You’ll also want to analyze your sources of income and the costs you incur to generate that income. You’ll need to have accurate financial records to make a valid claim. If you fail to document a source of income, you won’t be able to include it in your claim.

You should also draw up a disaster response and business continuity plan so you’re prepared for a business interruption and can recover quickly. Planning and proper insurance are the keys to surviving a disaster.

According to an annual survey from the Canadian Payroll Association, 44% of Canadians would not be able to meet their financial obligations if their paycheque was delayed by even a single week. One insurer reports that 48% of Canadians have disability coverage through their workplace benefits. However, of the remaining 52%, the majority have no disability coverage at all.

These individuals choose not to buy coverage for many reasons:

• They don’t see the value.
• They have other financial obligations or expenses.
• They can’t afford coverage.
• They think they don’t need it.

Statistics Canada reports that about one in five individuals has some form of disability. However, neither workers’ compensation nor disability benefits will cover many of the situations these individuals will face. Workers’ compensation covers only work-related injuries, and government disability benefits are approved under stringent requirements.

Why offer disability coverage?

Disability insurance provides increased financial security. It helps bridge the gap between paid time off and the time when an employee would have to use their savings to pay for everyday expenses like rent, food and utilities.

A medical exam is not usually required to purchase group disability insurance. So, more employees may qualify for coverage than if they tried to purchase individual coverage. Premium rates may be lower as well, since the group helps offset the risk.

For employers, working with a disability vendor can simplify leave management. You receive the assistance you need to manage the plan and avoid discriminatory lawsuits and fines for noncompliance with federal and provincial regulations.

You may also get support in managing a return-to-work program. This can help your organization and employees focus on getting people back to work rather than the potentially traumatic experience from which they are recovering.

Offering individual disability for young executives, partners and business owners

Individual disability policies are available to cover:

• The buyout of a disabled partner
• Continued contributions to a disabled partner’s retirement plan

Without these policies in place, you may be expected to pay out of pocket to buy out the partner who has become disabled.

If you are interested in learning more about these policies, we can help you understand who may be considered under an individual policy.

What are my administrative options?

You may choose to manage your disability plan in-house. Or, you may want to outsource the administration. Disability vendors can package leave administration with group long-term disability plans. They may incorporate:

• Short-term disability
• Compliance with provincial laws that require either paid or unpaid leave in certain situations
• Family and medical leaves
• Reasonable accommodation requests

Your third-party administrator (TPA) may also be able to handle plan administration and work directly with your disability vendor.

Choose modern technology

Many payroll and human resources information systems (HRIS) vendors now offer leave management. This eliminates the problem of multiple systems tracking multiple data points. Electronic data feeds are sent directly to your disability vendor.

Some companies even offer:

• Application programming interface (API) to make exchanging data even easier
• Artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate claims, coach a customer service representative during a call and walk individuals through filing claims online.

For more information

If you have questions about how disability insurance can benefit your employees and what to look for in a plan administrator, contact us. We can design a disability program that protects your employees’ income and minimizes your administrative burden.