Fires and Fire Insurance
Fires are risks that are sometimes inevitable and thus business owners are advised to insure their premises. There are several factors in play, especially for insurance company underwriters when determining the fire insurance premium policy for any business structure. Some of these crucial factors include the presence within the building structure of fire precaution installations such as fire extinguishers, water hoses. Accurate and safe electrical installations should equally be highly observed and scrutinized to verify they meet acceptable standards. Also, of great importance is the construction material used to put up the building. There are several building materials some which are more prone to fire hazards while others can withstand the risk. Similarly, the location of the building should be a great concern. Some buildings are within regions that pose a great risk of fire hazards and are already predisposed. Other buildings can be considered to be in a safe location unless otherwise, a fire is unlikely to occur. Lastly, the distances between the intended building to other neighboring building should be within an acceptable range that poses it as a stand-alone risk.
Business Interruption Insurance
Question 3
A business interruption insurance policy is also termed as a Business Income and Extra Expense Insurance. This is a policy that is designed such that it covers income that is lost when a business owner closes down business due to circumstances that are beyond their control. It provides cover above the usual common policies such as property insurance. For instance, fires are often inevitable and could happen to any business owner. This causes loss of property as well as income. While the Property Insurance covers the damages incurred, Business Interruption Insurances covers income lost during the event. Most typical Business Insurance Policies cover employee wages, taxes, revenue, relocation, rent, and loan payments.
Indemnity period
This refers to the duration of time upon which an insured business receives its benefits under the Insurance policy. This period of time is mostly associated with the disability and Business Interruption Insurance policy. The policies strictly follow time constrictions. Once the time duration lapses, the benefits can no longer be issued regardless.
Suppliers extension
This refers to when a business owner is insured for the interruption of the supply of products by another party for their business. However, the policy covers only what the business owner has personally insured against.
Customer extension
This, on the other hand, covers goods and products directed towards the business clients/customers. The policy covers the damaged and lost goods within the jurisdiction of the business owner before they are delivered to the client.
Roles in the Insurance Industry
Question 4
The property insurance underwriter- These are individuals who work for insurance companies. Their role is to determine who and what the insurance company insures depending on their risk assessment. Risk Consultants- These are individuals who exercise their expertise in business, finance, and mathematics in order to assess the stakes of financial decisions for their customers. After, they draft policies for their clients intended to reduce the risks. The loss adjuster- this is an insurance agent whose responsibility is to determine how much compensation is issued to a client upon their claim on their insurance policy. The loss assessor- These are individuals who have been hired by insurance policy-holders to negotiate on their behalf with the insurance companies on how much compensation they will be issued upon a claim. Finally, insurance brokers- are individuals who offer proper advice to insurance clients. They help business owners identify what they need to insure.
Security Measures for Unauthorized Persons
Question 5
Prevention of unauthorized persons can be done via physical security or employing equipment that prevents tailgating. These strategies ensure that only the authorized personnel and staff members access the building. Some of the systems that have been used effectively as a backup to the already existing system securities include the use of biometrics, PIN numbers, laser sensors, visitor badges, long-range readers, camera analytics, man traps as well as smart cards and turnstiles. Physical security requires that multiple independent measures are employed. These include security guards, locks, protective barriers, CCTV surveillance, and access control protocols.
Doors and windows to any premises can be accessed unless extra protection measures are employed to ensure more protection. Some of the measures include the use of alarms that alert upon burglary attempts. Smart locks are also used to allow only approved persons to enter into any building. Deadbolts too are greatly used which prevent picking, lock bumping and are resistant to impact failure. Door chains, on the other hand, allow only one to peek outside while the door still remains closed. This helps one to access the safety before opening doors.
Intruder Detectors and Alarms
Question 6
There are several intruder detectors including ultrasonic detectors, microwave detectors, and photoelectric beams. Ultrasonic detectors are used in a way that they detect the slightest movements that are made within an enclosed and limited space. Frequencies that are transmitted are relatively low, 25 kHz and 75 kHz which, are inaudible to human beings. Sudden changes detected beyond the stabilized frequency cause the alarm to trigger. Movements within this enclosed region disturbs the frequencies causing the alarm to go off. Microwave detectors are quite similar to the ultrasonic detectors. Unlike the ultrasonic use of sound waves, microwave detectors use high-frequency radio waves. The radio waves are able to penetrate through obstacles thus more effective. Finally, photoelectric beams use infrared light beams so as to detect intruders. These beams are aligned in rows of twos or more. The alarm goes off when the beams are obstructed.
Confirmable alarms are essential for prompt actions of the authority. They require that two separate alarm points are triggered, which confirms the presence of someone within the building. False alarms result in withdrawing police response. The premises owner should, however, notify the insurance so that they can look into the matter and possibly avert similar future occurrences. There are several dual-path intruder signaling devices. Among them is the DualCom International which is designed especially for the extremely high-risk premises. This is a perfect signaling device for premium commercial installations. They are polled often, a duration of 3 minutes apart, to ensure that intruders are detected earliest possible. Also, it has a 96-hour memory log that provides an irrefutable account of events that occurred. The device is also capable of alerting the ARC even when the IP or the PSTN pathy have been tapered and compromised. Most insurance companies require that their clients install the dual path signaling alarms since they are more reliable, have increased accountability not to mention increased security levels.
