Be Cautious When Using Smart Devices

Mobile devices used by you personally or provided by your business or employer offer wonderful advantages to make you more productive, but they come with potential hazards. Security breaches either by accident or intentional "hacking" can put your personal information and/or your business information at risk.

Most corporate security types say the biggest issues involve personal mobile devices use to "hack" into corporate servers and data bases. Data encryption and passwords are highly recommended along with the ability to wipe out data from a Smartphone or tablet issued by the company. The latter can be extremely helpful in the event a personal Smartphone is stolen, and the corporate IT people want to wipe the phone of all secure access information remotely. Some corporations allow access to company data through personal mobile devices but only with devices that were provided by the corporation. Some corporations are requiring employees to register personal devices with corporate security/data processing so they can control how their corporate data is being accessed. All of these precautions are highly recommended by Fey Insurance.

It isn't just the business world that faces possible problems with personal smart phones, iPads, etc. accessing data. Accessing your personal and private financial information via Smartphone, iPads, etc can also be an issue. Many people have their banking applications on their devices as well as applications that have all their stored passwords. A lost device could result in access to your personal bank accounts and do a lot of financial damage. Password protecting your devices is key. The more passwords and protection you employ the better in protecting you and your family from potential financial ruin. Apple iPhones have tracking capabilities so if your phone is lost you can use your personal computer or another iPhone to track its location. They also allow you to wipe the phones clean of all data and make them useless to anyone who might find the lost phone and want to cause serious problems with your data.

If you have further questions, consult your Smartphone or table manufacturer, your phone service carrier or your corporate IT/security people for help.

Tips to Keep Your Home From Being a Target for Burglars

Advice from Consumers Union of U.S., Inc.

A home is robbed every 14.6 seconds and the average dollar loss per burglary is $2,119, according to statistics just released by the FBI. And that's the good news because burglaries were down slightly in 2010 compared to 2009. Sure you lock your doors and windows when you're not home (you'd be surprised how many people don't). But here are ten things that you're probably doing that make your home a target, and what you should do instead:
 

1. Leaving your garage door open or unlocked. Once inside the garage, a burglar can use any tools you haven't locked away to break into your home, out of sight of the neighbors. Interior doors between the garage and your home often aren't as strong as exterior doors and may not have deadbolt locks.
Instead: Always close and lock the garage door. Consider getting a garage-door opener with random codes that automatically reset.

2. Hiding spare keys. Burglars know about fake rocks and leprechaun statues and will check under doormats, in mailboxes, and over doorways.
Instead: Give a spare set to a neighbor or family member.

3. Storing ladders outdoors or in unlocked sheds. Burglars can use them to reach the roof and unprotected upper floor windows.
Instead: Keep ladders under lock and key.

4. Relying on silent alarm systems. Everyone hates noisy alarms, especially burglars. Smart thieves know that it can take as long as 10 to 20 minutes for the alarm company or cops to show up after an alarm has been tripped.
Instead: Have both silent and audible alarms.

5. Letting landscaping get overgrown. Tall hedges and shrubs near the house create hiding spots for burglars who may even use overhanging branches to climb onto your roof.
Instead: Trim any bushes and trees around your home.

6. Keeping your house in the dark. Like overgrown landscaping, poor exterior lighting creates shadows in which burglars can work unobserved.
Instead: Replace burned out bulbs promptly, add lighting where needed, and consider putting fixtures on motion sensors or light sensors so that they go on automatically.

7. Not securing sliding doors. These often make tempting targets.
Instead: When you're out, put a dowel down in the channel, so that the door can't be opened wide enough for a person to get through.

8. Relying on your dog to scare away burglars. While barking my deter amateurs, serious burglars know that dogs may back away from someone wielding a weapon, or get chummy if offered a treat laced with a tranquilizer.
Instead: Make your home look occupied by using timers to turn lights, radios, and TVs on and off in random patterns.

9. Leaving "goody" boxes by the curb. Nothing screams "I just got a brand new flat-screen, stereo, or other big-ticket item" better than boxes by the curb with your garbage cans.
Instead: Break down big boxes into small pieces and bundle them together so that you can't tell what was inside.

10. Posting vacation photos on Facebook. Burglars troll social media sites looking for targets.
Instead: Wait until you get back before sharing vacation details or make sure your security settings only allow trusted "friends" to see what you're up to.
Copyrighted 2009, Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. All Rights Reserved.

WSJ Article on Flood Insurance

Wall Street Journal had a very interesting article about flood insurance.   In the wake of all that is going on in the aftermath of Irene, we thought this article would be a good one to share.  As you may recall from our previous posts on flood insurance, it is run by FEMA.  What is going to even make this whole flood topic even more interesting is that the FEMA flood program expires on Sept 30th, 2011 unless the lawmakers decide to continue the program.  Stay tuned.

Click below to read the article:
As Homeowners Dive Into Pool Of Flood Insurance, Caveats Abound

Directors and Officers of Non-Profit Organizations

Many people today have a servant’s heart and wish to volunteer on different non-profit boards to help better their community.  As board members they steer the path of the non profit organization by helping with fiscal policy and with major decision making.  We at Fey Insurance strong encourage people to take part in boards to help better their community; however, we caution them to make sure these boards have Directors and Officers Liability. 

Many people think that if they buy a personal umbrella policy they will be covered for anything that could happen to them while serving on a board.  Unfortunately this is not always true.  Many umbrella policies only cover you for Directorships or Trusteeships if they are non-profit and only for Bodily Injury, Property Damage and Personal Injury.  Most lawsuits that could arise out of your service on a non for profit board will not be for Bodily Injury, Property Damage or Personal Injury.  They will be because other members of the organization that are not on the board disagree and disapprove of a financial decision or just an overall steering decision that the board made.  Lawsuits such as these are considered wrongful acts and do not fall under the Bodily Injury, Property Damage or Personal Injury and would therefore in many cases not be covered by your homeowner or personal umbrella.

This possibly large gap in coverage is why we strongly encourage our customers that sit on boards (for-profit or not-for-profit) to make sure the boards have Directors and Officers Liability (D&O liability).  D&O Liability is special coverage designed to protect for wrongful acts or supposed wrongful acts of the board.  We recommend this coverage to all boards not only to protect our individual insured’s but to also protect the organization itself.  Even if a claim of wrongful acts is frivolous it can still cost the organization thousands or tens of thousands of dollars just to defend itself.

So next board meeting you attend be sure to ask if they have Directors and Officers Liability.  If they say no and tell you that you should be fine if you have a personal umbrella be sure to reference this article to help them understand the possible large limitation that a personal umbrella has in covering you as a board member.