Straight From The Source Blog by Higginbotham Insurance

Ask business owners to name their least favorite things about running a business, and OSHA inspections will probably be somewhere on the list. Nobody likes that kind of surprise or that kind of scrutiny.

With the holiday season in full swing, it’s company party time and a great opportunity to celebrate with your team. As you plan this year’s event, be cognizant of what you hope to achieve and what you hope to avoid. We’ve all heard the stories about those who drink too much, say too much or do too much at company parties. Today, in the age of social media, employees can instantly share their colleagues’ bad judgement through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, placing your company’s reputation at risk. And then there are more serious exposures such as sexual harassment, food poisoning and driving under the influence. These risks can quickly turn your festive event into a costly regret. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. Some careful planning can ensure that your company party goes off without a hitch – and without a hit to your bottom line. 

One of the joys of the trucking business is the ability to travel across the country and experience the beauty of different roads from coast to coast. However, this also means you must prepare for various types of driving conditions. Whether you're driving through a busy metropolis or sparsely populated country roads, there are heightened risks to be aware of in winter. Here are some good practices to keep you and your cargo safe in the winter months.

Sometimes the insurance requirements of a contract aren’t in agreement with the indemnification provision. This can result from a simple error due to edits by multiple parties, or it can be an attempt to circumvent anti-indemnity statues – or even bury a provision that, in effect, is a broad-form indemnity. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, many states have enacted anti-indemnification statutes, making certain broad-form indemnifications void as against public policy. Any provision that attempts to circumvent an anti-indemnity statute will also be void, and a conflict between insurance and indemnity can lead to litigation. In this edition of our contract review series, we review some of the statutes that address those provisions and study examples so you can identify such a provision when you see it in a contract.

Is your workplace safe from gun violence? In 2017, 61,839 incidents of gun violence, including 346 mass shootings, resulted in 15,637 deaths and 31,248 injuries, according to the Gun Violence Archive. So far in 2018, there have already been 40,536 incidents. Data from the CDC shows that the number of homicides committed using firearms is on the rise.

Lawsuits can come from many sources, including customers, competitors, vendors and partners. But in many cases, when a company faces litigation, the lawsuit is related to employment practices. To protect your business against these lawsuits, it’s important to understand why they occur.

In the second part of our contract review series, we discussed the anti-indemnity laws affecting Texas contracts pertaining to a "well or mine service." As we explained, the Lone Star State has specific anti-indemnity laws for the commercial construction, oilfield and common carrier transportation industries. It’s important to understand these laws and how geography can affect them before your company signs a contract. Not knowing how laws from different states can affect your existing agreements can result in significant costs—both litigation costs and potentially out-of-pocket claims costs.

In this edition, we explore the specific laws affecting Louisiana oilfield contracts and compare them with the Texas oilfield anti-indemnity laws. But first, be sure you understand the three basic types of indemnity (limited form, intermediate form and broad form) by referencing the first edition of this series for a review.

Summer’s here. The long, hot days are great for anyone who wants to spend the day by the pool, but for anyone who has to work, the heat can be uncomfortable. In some cases, it can even be dangerous. Heat-related illness is a serious threat. With a little care, however, employers can keep their workers safe and prevent heat-related workers’ compensation insurance claims.

As the weather heats up, people will turn to the pool to cool down. While this is normally good summer fun, it can take a tragic turn in an instant.

The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1. According to the initial predictions from Colorado State University, this year’s hurricane activity isn’t expected to be quite as bad as last year’s. That’s good news, since the 2017 hurricane season was especially bad, with six major hurricanes.