BIG ‘ I ’ RESOURCES
ADA and Website Review
Consider the following :
5 Agency websites are considered part of your physical office , so they need to be just as accessible to visitors as your physical office .
5 Lawyers are trolling ( via “ bot scroll ”) the web looking for non-ADA-compliant websites , and small businesses are a hot target . They know they can make a quick buck as most businesses will settle out of court .
5 The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially increased the amount of traffic on the web by consumers ( and your customers ) as they look for ways to complete tasks / get answers to their questions that they used to accomplish inperson .
Agencies need to take reasonable steps to ensure their websites are compliant . Review the Legal Advocacy FAQs at independentagent . com / legaladvocacy / Members-Only / Memoranda / faq-website- ADA . aspx for a written privacy policy and upload this to your website .
ACT also has an all-you-need-to-get-started resource with background on ACA & Accessibility and links to vendor resources . Find it at Independentagent . com / ACTADA .
� AVAILABLE RESOURCES :
Remote Work Best Practices Independentagent . com / ACTRemoteWorkBPs
Remote Work Agreement Independentagent . com / ACTRemoteWorkAgreement
SECURITY AND CYBER-HYGIENE Cyber threats have been on the rise for years and have also evolved to take advantage of our pandemic-related stresses .
These will escalate even further as states roll out updated versions of cyber regulations , and bad actors develop increasingly complex ways to phish and prey on our work practices .
Because of the increased attacks with remote work , there will be more opportunities for breaches and exposures such as : accessing personal Wi-Fi and routers , combing personal and work computers to address business needs , and preying on systems without adequate encryption and virus software , etc . Companies need to increase their incident planning significantly . Agencies need solid cybersecurity best practices in place proactively .
� AVAILABLE RESOURCES :
Agency Cyber Guide Independentagent . com / ACTCyber
Written Information Security Plan template Independentagent . com / ACTCyberPolicy
WHAT TO ANTICIPATE Coverage // The industry will likely tighten coverage , removing any perceived gaps in the business income policy ’ s exclusionary language . Currently , policy language ( though not ambiguous ) can be interpreted differently by different carriers and courts . As we advance , one option carriers will likely consider is removing any question of intent or any ability to come to a different conclusion .
The industry may also choose to narrow the breadth of coverage – particularly on the property side . If courts or legislatures succeed in broadening the grant of coverage under the business income policy , it ’ s possible carriers may consider going as far as no longer offering open peril / risk of direct physical loss policies . Named Peril property policies may become the norm .
Underwriting // On the underwriting side of things :
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