1/13/25 1/13/25

The Need to Safeguard Use of AI

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has become ubiquitous across all aspects of modern life, including every type of business. Its ability to access and process information from an unlimited pool of knowledge and existing documents is staggering, but so are the potential shortfalls.

Businesses large and small are wise to develop clear and consistent policies on using this technology. Some concerns that need to be considered include recognizing the uncertainty about who owns the AI-created content, as well as security and privacy concerns regarding proprietary or sensitive information.

An AI usage policy should also acknowledge that the accuracy of AI-generated content cannot be relied upon with any certainty, as it may be outdated, misleading or even fabricated.

Guidelines also could address reviewing AI-generated information for accuracy before relying on it for work purposes. If a reliable source cannot be found to verify the accuracy of AI-generated information, for example, a policy would determine whether that information should be used.

AI promises to change how we work. A well-researched, well-planned, and well-executed AI usage policy can help make sure that those changes remain positive and avoid the problems that otherwise may result.

While insurance isn’t a fix for improper use of AI, cyber insurance should be a part of any business’ overall data security plan. Contact The Reschini Group for ideas to how to best safeguard your business.

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

1/6/25 1/6/25

The Cost of Identity Theft

In case there was any doubt that identity theft remains one of the easiest and most lucrative ways to steal much more than an individual’s identity, consider these statistics:

According to the Identity Theft Research Center (ITRC) Annual Data Breach Report, 2023 had a record-high number of data compromises in the U.S. in a single year—a 72-percentage-point increase from the previous all-time high set in 2021. At least 353 million individuals were impacted.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2023, the bureau received 880,418 complaints of cybercrime as reported by the public, a 10 percent increase from 2022. The potential total loss increased to $12.5 billion in 2023, up from $10.3 billion in 2022. California, Texas, and Florida had the highest number of cybercrime victims.

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network took in over 5.39 million reports in 2023, of which 48 percent were for fraud and 19 percent for identity theft. Credit card fraud accounted for 40.2 percent of identity thefts, followed by miscellaneous identity theft at 25.1 percent. This category includes online shopping and payment account fraud, email and social media fraud, and other types of identity theft. Georgia, Florida, and Nevada had the most identity theft reports.

Cybersecurity tools exist to deflect and avoid falling victim to these attacks against your business and your employees. The Reschini Group provides guidance to help establish safeguards against identity theft and other cybercrimes. Contact us today to learn more.

The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

11/25/24 11/25/24

Essential Industries Coverage Benefits Everyone

Think of the industries you rarely stop and think about. Energy, medical facilities, heating and cooling, home builders, trucking and transportation. What would modern society be like if these industries could not function in a steady, predictable, and safe manner?

Now that’s something to think about.

Each of those areas face certain operational risks and benefit expenses, as do all industries. Each needs to evaluate and secure the right level of insurance coverage and employee benefits, too. And, just as with any enterprise, the funds required to maintain those considerations get baked into the cost of doing business, and passed on to customers.

When you consider how much exposure and potential costs these essential industries could face without insurance—and the ripple effect it could have on their cost of doing business, and by extension, the cost to their customers—the value to all parties becomes clear.

The Reschini Group is honored to provide coverage and benefits packages to many such essential industries in our communities. We can do the same for your business.

The Reschini Group provides these updates for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

11/4/24 11/4/24

Self-Diagnosing Through Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is all the rage these days. It can write your essay, it can create new family recipes, it can even diagnose your illness.

Or can it? Perhaps a better question may be: Should it?

While AI is not meant to replace professional, human-based health care providers, it has the potential to serve as a good supplementary resource to increase your health literacy and get some answers more quickly. At the same time, health care providers continue working to find ways to harness the power of AI, instead of relying solely on it. By seeing AI as a valuable tool – instead of their replacement – health care providers can leverage the enormous pool of information and the deeper abilities to analyze and interpret it, to make their jobs even more effective.

Individuals would be wise to see the emergence of AI as a tool, as well, especially when trying to diagnose an illness. While AI represents great potential, it’s important to understand the limitations and pitfalls inherent in an over-reliance on this digital universe, including accessing false or faulty information, misinterpreting that information, dealing with ethical concerns about privacy, and most concerning, ignoring the advice of trained medical professionals.

Make no mistake, AI looks to be able to offer some attractive advantages, like reduced costs, increased accessibility to information, quicker assessment of a medical situation, greater health literacy, and anonymity. This tool will most likely have an increasingly prominent role to play in health care moving forward.

But the warning today is for the inexperienced user – the patient – not to rely on AI as a single source to figure out what is going on with a personal health concern. The chances of making an erroneous self-diagnosis can result in letting a legitimate problem fester unnecessarily, handling an issue with the wrong treatment protocols, or even making a serious situation even worse.

Contact your health care provider for the most accurate and personalized information and guidance. The Benefits team at The Reschini Group can offer information on this and many other benefits-related topics.

Copyright 2024 The Reschini Group
The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only, and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

10/14/24 10/14/24

Safety Means Success

Of course, it saves the cost of medical bills and lost productivity. But a solid safety program should – and does – mean more than dollars and cents. It represents an organization’s commitment to its people, and as cliché as it may sound, people remain the most valuable asset any business can have.

And here’s another hard truth – the best business strategy is one where nobody gets hurt in the first place.

So, naturally, the most successful businesses operate with the highest levels of safety. That applies equally to the heaviest manufacturing concerns, as well as the most desk-bound service provider. An employer that respects its people by keeping them safe typically reaps the business rewards.

The Reschini Group offers a safety consultant staff unlike other providers. Armed with educational backgrounds in safety and health, plus hands-on experience with scores of customers, our team brings the skills and insight to improve the safety performance of your business, along with the benefits in premiums that can result.

Customers have appreciated the practical ideas our safety experts have introduced, such as establishing an on-site safety committee to earn discounts on workers’ compensation coverage, raising job-related safety as a core competency to reduce injuries and associated workers' comp expenses, and paying closer attention to driver behavior to lower accident rates and the cost of recovery.

We start with an honest assessment of your current program to evaluate together where any safety-related gaps may exist. Then, our Safety team walks you through the services and plans that address your risks and opportunities. We collaborate with you through the entire process to determine the best path forward to ensure the safety of your team and protect your investment.

Can there be an easier, more efficient, and more rewarding way to improve your productivity and profitability than by upgrading your safety program? Contact us today to learn more.

Gillian Hadfield 9/23/24 Gillian Hadfield 9/23/24

Countering Cyber Coverage Misperceptions

The world of online cyber operations can be complicated. Add a layer of determining how to adequately anticipate, deter, and recover from attacks, and that world gets appreciably cloudier. Even to the point where top C-suite executives in major publicly traded companies can hold misperceptions about what their exposure might be and how their assumptions about protection can be far off the mark.

A report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago* cites a survey of chief financial officers at companies with more than $1 billion in revenue that had been performed by a major commercial property insurer. The survey found that 71% of those CFOs believed their insurer would cover “most or all” of the losses their company would suffer in a cyberattack. However, the damages those CFOs expected to suffer in such an event are not, in fact, covered by typical cyber and property insurance policies.

Ambiguities about cyber protection can filter down to small- or medium-sized organizations as well, with just as serious an impact. A key “value add” for such privately held organizations would be adding insurance-backed cyber resources at the time of loss, including immediate access to cyber forensics, legal, claims management, and public relations services. These services would speed up the return to normalcy and protect the insured’s balance sheet and income statement.

In the world of cyber security, fully understanding your organization’s exposures and knowing what the right insurance can and cannot cover – both before and after a breach – only becomes more important with each passing year. Contact the experts at The Reschini Group to get a clear picture of your cyber security situation.

* https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2019/426

Gillian Hadfield 9/9/24 Gillian Hadfield 9/9/24

Protecting Your Non-Profit and Its Leaders

Every organization needs liability coverage, but it can be easy for non-profits to overlook a type of liability insurance that protects their corporate body as well as their leaders.

Non-profits need insurance to protect themselves from financial loss and liability that can arise during normal operations. This insurance can help cover expenses while affording donors and stakeholders peace of mind. The types of insurance a nonprofit may need depend on many factors, including:

Legal action could have devastating financial consequences for non-profits that often rely on donations and grants.

Workers' compensation/accident insurance can pay for medical expenses, disability, and death benefits for employees injured on the job.

Cyber liability insurance can protect non-profits from financial losses that may occur after a data breach or ransomware attack.

The risk of injury to volunteers and third parties can vary depending on the type of operation the organization runs. For example, non-profits that engage in counseling, vocational training, or other kinds of instruction have significant professional liability exposure.

Maintaining a positive public perception for non-profits is key in obtaining grants and charitable donations, so protecting their reputation is essential.

Also, directors and officers liability (D&O) insurance becomes especially important to nonprofits because many individuals take on these roles with limited experience, lacking the proper knowledge and appreciation of their legal duties and responsibilities related to the organization. Non-profit leadership can become a target for litigation related to wrongful acts, such as mismanagement of resources, employment issues, or failure to fulfill fiduciary duties.

D&O coverage protects those individuals against personal losses, should they be sued as a result of serving in their roles, and also can cover the costs stemming from legal fees, settlements, judgments, and wrongful allegations brought against the non-profit.

Being smart about non-profit insurance proves that the notion, “No good deed goes unpunished” doesn’t need to be true. A better idea is that, “No good deed should go unprotected.” The Reschini Group offers exceptional expertise in coverage for non-profits. Contact our professionals today to learn more.

Gillian Hadfield 7/29/24 Gillian Hadfield 7/29/24

Cyber Liability Trends to Watch

Cybersecurity remains a core concern worldwide. Leading experts in the field have cited the following areas warranting particular attention in 2024:

Artificial intelligence (AI)

ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence have made AI mainstream, but its long-term effect remains difficult to forecast. Experts expect cyberattacks to become increasingly automated and personalized, as well as cheaper and faster to unleash. On a positive note, it is anticipated that AI capabilities will also increasingly augment the efforts of cyber defenders.

Ransomware

Ransomware remains the dominant risk and loss driver. Advances have led to stronger ransomware groups, including ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) models, driven by AI capabilities reaching multiple regions simultaneously. Extortion methods are expanding beyond encryption, toward exploitable data for sale, potentially targeting employees, suppliers, customers and other third parties.

Email Compromises

A sharp increase in email attacks are anticipated, where employees are deceived into performing harmful actions, such as making unauthorized payments or sharing sensitive data externally. As scammers seek to prey on comparatively low-hanging fruit, email remains a top attack target, especially since it requires virtually no technical knowledge while reaping very high rewards.

Data Breaches

By the end of 2024, 75% of consumer data worldwide will be covered by privacy regulation, but 60% of all regulated global entities will struggle to comply with intensifying data protection regulation and privacy requirements. It remains critical to remember that value and criticality of data will only encourage more groups offering hack-for-hire and data theft services.

Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

Dependence on software and hardware supply chains and digital services will continue to increase, which will continue to attract attackers. Businesses can also expect a greater number of “supply chain attacks as a service,” opening this field to less tech-savvy hacker groups.

The professionals at The Reschini Group can work with your business to fashion the best protection coverage for your particular cybersecurity needs.

Gillian Hadfield 7/15/24 Gillian Hadfield 7/15/24

The Value of Advocacy

The very nature of a transaction means it has an end point. One side provides a product or service, the other side provides payment, the exchange occurs, and that’s the end of it.

It can be easy to assume that insurance works within that same transactional formula. The policyholder pays a premium, the insurance provider stands ready to process a claim – if one should ever be filed – and the transaction occurs on a predetermined basis until either side decides to stop.

But insurance as a simple transaction leaves so much missed value on the table. In the best relationships, advocacy fills those gaps.

Take just one example of advocacy in action. When a business is considering major changes to its structure, or operations, or business model, or any other significant variable, the insurance aspect needs to be considered as early as possible. The insurance agent should be consulted with as much urgency and credence as an attorney. Getting a comprehensive understanding of changes being considered needs to be the first step in the insurance agent ensuring proper protection and coverage.

Say a company plans to transfer ownership to another entity. The time to bring in the insurance provider is as soon as the idea arises. Waiting until 30 days before the scheduled transfer only causes undue pressure, opening the door to potential gaps in coverage, holding up progress and causing delays that didn’t need to happen.

The Reschini Group practices a stewardship approach to customer support. We never see relationships with our customers as transactions, and we do not think of our service to you as a commodity. It has been a central tenet of our business approach to serve as your advocate, a valuable resource, serving your interests in a comprehensive manner.

Regardless of who provides your insurance coverage, make sure they also demonstrate an eagerness to serve as your advocate.

Gillian Hadfield 6/17/24 Gillian Hadfield 6/17/24

Keeping Your Young Athletes Safe

It’s the All-American way of life to let young people enjoy sports. The lessons about teamwork, sacrifice, mutual support, developing individual skills, being gracious in defeat, and humble in victory – sports have a special way of teaching them all.

Millions of children participate in organized leagues and pick-up games across the nation, from summers on the baseball diamond to autumns on the football field to winters on the ice rink or basketball court. But an alarming 4 million of those young people, ages 14 and under, suffer sports-related injuries each year. This becomes especially troubling when you consider that young athletes are at an increased risk of injury because their bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments are still growing.

Parents and coaches can protect children from sports-related injuries by consistently taking these safety precautions:

Know and follow the rules of the sport. They are there to keep all participants safe.
Make sure each child is in good physical condition before beginning any sport.
Wear proper apparel and protective gear at all times.
Know how to use the athletic equipment safely and properly.
Make sure each participant stretches and warms up before playing.
To prevent dehydration, have participants drink plenty of liquids before playing.
Remove a player from the game if he or she is tired or in pain.
Have participants cool down afterward.
Make sure that a responsible adult is in attendance at every practice and game.

Should an injury occur, prompt treatment can help prevent further problems. This includes RICE therapy (rest, ice, compress, and elevate). A child may need medical attention if any of the following signs are seen:

An inability or decreased ability to play.
Visible deformity.
Severe pain that prevents the use of an arm or leg.
Symptoms that persist or affect performance.
Headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, blurry vision, or confusion, which are symptoms of a concussion. Helmets should be worn, but concussions can still occur even when wearing one.

Talk with the Benefits professionals at The Reschini Group about this topic. We consider all the angles in helping you keep your team – and their families – properly protected.

Gillian Hadfield 6/3/24 Gillian Hadfield 6/3/24

One Size Does Not Fit All in Cyber Security

Think back to studying fractions in elementary school mathematics. The common denominator represented a number that could be related to all denominators in a group of fractions. The numerator could be any number, though. It didn’t have to be a multiple of others in a group. You solved the problem to identify the numerator, the variable.

Now you’re all grown up, and you haven’t thought about fractions for years. But you’re still solving for that variable, and in ways that can impact your organization’s reputation and financial performance. The common denominator these days is cyber security, but the numerator represents the different ways to achieve it, depending on the size and function of the organization. Clearly, no one size fits all.

For sophisticated larger organizations, better visibility and accountability should be built into the organization’s cyber policies. Continuous controls monitoring (CCM), which measures cyber security on an ongoing basis based on the spectrum of tools deployed, holds promise for these types of organizations.

An integrated and holistic measure of cyber security, indicating gaps and priorities, can provide an important framework and data source for larger organizations. This holistic approach also helps to enable responses to increased regulatory oversight driven by government authorities.

Smaller organizations, of course, are no less at risk. They can achieve cyber security through services organizations, such as specialized managed security service providers, or more general managed service providers. Those platforms can help ensure protection against cyber attacks. More options remain available, based on cost and complexity.

While every business must guard its information against cyber criminals, the means to do so remain open to customization and interpretation. To control that variable, talk with the professionals at The Reschini Group about cyber security protection for your enterprise.

Adapted from:

[Forbes Article](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2023/04/27/making-cyber-risk-insurable-disrupting-the-cyber-insurance-industry-in-2023/?sh=6431bdc258eb)

Gillian Hadfield 4/29/24 Gillian Hadfield 4/29/24

Emotional Support in a Practical Package

In a sign of progress in societal acceptance of the issue, the need to provide mental health services has become a topic more openly discussed and addressed. Mental health is just as important as physical health – some say even more so – yet access to counselors and therapists remains an issue.

A Congressional committee learned that 55% of all U.S. counties have no practicing psychiatrists, psychologists, or social workers. Yet the need remains high nationwide:

About 1 in 5 adults experience a mental illness in a given year.
About 1 in 5 teenagers experience a severe mental disorder in their lives.
Serious mental illness costs the U.S. nearly $200 billion in lost annual earnings.

A growing trend to address these issues comes with the idea of Telemental health, providing live online counseling through video conferencing. This option can quickly, easily, and inexpensively provide needed mental health services to those in rural areas or those unable or unwilling because of social stigma to travel to a hospital or counseling center.

Results of the practice of Telemental health show many positives, including:

A significant reduction in psychiatric hospitalization rates.
Low-income and homebound seniors have experienced longer-lasting effects than those receiving in-person treatment.
Because mental health providers rarely need to perform any physical services on patients, the Telemental option is much more practical.
There is little-to-no difference in patient satisfaction between Telemental counseling and face-to-face treatment.

Shortcomings include: not all insurance plans cover Telemental health sessions; some non-verbal cues may be more difficult for a counselor to detect when working online with a patient; and not all patients can access or operate the online technology needed.

Telemental health services are sure to expand, which could serve to diminish or alleviate these issues. It represents a workable system to provide needed mental health support to more patients in more locations. Talk with the Benefits professionals at The Reschini Group about this topic and more regarding providing benefits for your employees.

Gillian Hadfield 4/15/24 Gillian Hadfield 4/15/24

AI as a Force for Good

As the number of human users of online systems continues to grow exponentially, so does the number of non-human users, like Internet-of-Things (IoT) machines, the “cloud” of digital storage, and so on.

As this growth gallops along with no sign of slowing down or stopping – ever – another chilling fact comes into view. The attack surface for malware and cyber criminals also gets bigger every second, every minute, every day.

But a source that in some ways may cause a pause could be used as a deterrent against such potential online damage – artificial intelligence, or AI.

AI-based automation tools are being used by businesses to capture and prioritize their vulnerabilities based on their risk categorization. AI has the potential to foresee events and provide preventative actions in cybersecurity, deploying widespread countermeasures to giving businesses confidence that they are prepared in case of a cyberattack.

In addition, AI will be able to identify complex assaults, halt them, and prevent future attempts of cybercriminals by establishing their identities and acting against them. Experts also anticipate advanced automated detection systems that discover assaults with a high probability without the current costs involved. Automated root-cause analysis to determine why a security flaw exists and how to remedy it is coming, as well. Some solutions can isolate an attacker and initiate automated incident response to successfully throw them off the network.

Artificial intelligence can be a little scary in some ways. But its depth, breadth, speed, and ability to deter and stop cyber attacks represents an amazing set of tools that more businesses are sure to adopt in the ongoing fight to protect their people, information, and reputation.

Talk with the professionals at The Reschini Group about cybersecurity protection for your enterprise.

Gillian Hadfield 4/1/24 Gillian Hadfield 4/1/24

Considering All the Angles In Workers Comp

Successful businesses pride themselves on being nimble, able to accommodate slight shifts in strategy or compliance. Sometimes, though, the rules get shuffled and reset in ways that can truly test an organization’s ability to withstand the stress. Such a time appears to be upon us right now.

The Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau (PCRB) has instituted major changes to its workers compensation “experience modifier” calculation, which take effect today, April 1, 2024. No joke.

These changes, the first since 2004, carry significant impact to the more-than 60,000 businesses with experience mods across the state. Under the new system, businesses with the strongest performance in avoiding employee injuries will benefit the most, while poorer performers will see higher modifiers. Either way, the PCRB changes will certainly increase the financial impact – positively or negatively – of employee injuries on workers compensation modifiers.

Experience modifiers use historical employee injury data to forecast future risks and adjust workers' compensation premiums accordingly. Prior to the change now taking effect, the modifier calculation included all employee injury costs up to $42,500, with annual modifier fluctuations capped at 25%. However, the PCRB's new plan aims to reflect each business's loss ratio more accurately by more directly recognizing the balance between injury costs and paid premiums. Key changes include:

By lowering the premium threshold for modifier eligibility from $10,000 to $5,000, approximately 21,000 additional businesses will become eligible for experience rating.
The injury cap will now be based on an employer's size, ranging from $10,000 to $300,000, replacing the flat $42,500 injury cap. This ensures a modifier that better corresponds to an employer's actual injury history.
Effective April 1, 2026, the PCRB will revise swing limits by eliminating the cap on decreases while setting a new 40% cap on increases, as well as a maximum modification formula for each business. This means a business's modifier can only rise by 40% or up to its calculated maximum, whichever is lower.

Contact the professionals at The Reschini Group to understand how these new workers compensation guidelines can impact your business. We consider all the angles when advising our customers, and that is never more important than when the rules change.

Gillian Hadfield 3/18/24 Gillian Hadfield 3/18/24

The Shocking Reach of a Data Breach

It’s hardly a secret that data breaches occur and carry significant costs to correct. But just how often they happen, and the true financial damages they inflict, can still be stunning.

According to statistics collected by security.com, here is just a sampling of data breach fallout ramifications, compiled for 2020, the most recent year for which statistics are available:

On average, data breaches globally cost companies $3.86 million each.
The U.S. represents the most expensive nation for data breaches, with the average cost of each instance totaling $8.64 million.
Breaches also decrease productivity and disrupt workflow, with companies requiring 280 days—more than nine months—on average to identify and resolve data breaches.
In 2020, a total of nearly 4,000 data breaches were publicly reported, which, at first glance, appears to be a 40% improvement from the prior year. However, delays in reporting and declining media coverage mean that fewer breaches were actually reported. The true total of breaches, therefore, remains unknown and could be as high or higher than the year before.
Data breaches in 2020 reached an all-time high number of exposed records of more than 37 billion.
Fully 72% of data breaches affected large companies, with the remaining 28% impacting small businesses, proving that no one is completely safe from this phenomenon.

The professionals at The Reschini Group can help create an approach to cybersecurity coverage and data breach prevention that makes sense for your specific business or enterprise. Contact them to learn more.

https://www.reschini.com/contact-us

Gillian Hadfield 3/4/24 Gillian Hadfield 3/4/24

Honoring Our Legacy of Women in Leadership

At The Reschini Group, celebrating Women’s History Month can only begin in one way – by celebrating Rose Reschini, our founder and the inspiration of the legacy she established.

In 1938, this confident and daring twenty-eight-year-old trailblazer overcame many obstacles and naysayers to become one of the first women to start an insurance agency in Pennsylvania. Her tireless work ethic, constantly expanding knowledge, commitment to community causes, and undeniable sense of assurance and pride in her company, created the foundation for what has become a powerhouse insurance broker, The Reschini Group.

Our talented team continues to exemplify and honor Rose’s approach to complete customer service and the highest standards of professional excellence. In our work with businesses large and small, school districts, not-for-profits, and many others, we draw inspiration and confidence from the indomitable spirit and steadfast practice of our founder, Rose Reschini.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day on March 8 and Founder’s Day, Rose’s Birthday, on March 11, we are wise to remember everything it took for her to begin this endeavor. But, as importantly, we pledge to emulate Rose, applying our utmost efforts to continue the growth of this enterprise, whose success she knew so clearly resided in serving customers the best way possible.

Gillian Hadfield 2/20/24 Gillian Hadfield 2/20/24

Putting Responsibility for Risk Where It Makes the Most Sense

It only makes sense that the people closest to any given situation have the best ability to control it, protect it, or maintain it. By that same logic, those same frontline people have the most riding on the ongoing safety of any variables impacting that situation.

Managing risk effectively, in other words, stands the best chance when those closest to the potential for risk take responsibility for it. In the business world, this concept goes by the term contractual risk transfer.

This represents a legally binding way to transfer risk to the party that may be in the best position to control the risks related to the service to be provided. It involves the use of contractual obligations, such as indemnity and exculpatory agreements, waivers of recovery rights, and “hold harmless” insurance requirements that pass along to others what would otherwise be one’s own risks of loss.

Most often, it means transferring the risk of injury or property damage caused by a company you hired – a subcontractor, vendor, or supplier, for instance – through a contract or insurance policy. Say, for example, a commercial property tenant assumes the risk for keeping sidewalks clear, or an apartment complex transfers the risk of theft to a security company, or a subcontractor assumes the risk for work performed for a contractor on a property.

Contractual risk transfer actually benefits all parties involved. The primary party can take comfort that the secondary party – the subcontractor or vendor – will carry out its responsibilities, since it has accepted responsibility for the risk. Entering into these risk transfer agreements can also lower the cost of insurance for the primary party.

At the same time, the secondary party can benefit from agreeing to contractual risk transfers because it opens the door to increased business relationships and revenues – while also helping to ensure that its employees are well trained, diligent, and responsible.

The professionals at The Reschini Group can help you determine the viability, advantages, and details of entering into contractual risk transfer agreements, to put the responsibility of risk where it makes the most sense. Contact them to learn more.

https://www.reschini.com/contact-us

Gillian Hadfield 1/22/24 Gillian Hadfield 1/22/24

Cybercrime by the Numbers

As more business owners realize the importance of, and are securing, cybersecurity insurance for their enterprises, the rate of cybercrime continues to expand and explode. Here are some statistics from the FBI marking the increase in instances of cybercrime from 2019 to 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged. Because more businesses were driven by necessity to operate on a greater digital platform, it created a much wider canvas for cybercriminals to exploit, as seen here:

Social attacks (phishing) – Up 197.6%
Credit card fraud – Up 22.5%
Investment scams – Up 119.8%
Identity theft – Up 169.9%
Denial of service – Up 49.2%

Additional noteworthy statistics about cybercrime include:

Ransomware is common (and often lucrative). In 2020, 1 in 6 businesses that fell victim to cyberattacks faced ransomware, and about half paid the ransom.
Cybercrime reports nearly doubled. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) saw a 69 percent increase in the number of cybercrime reports in 2020 versus 2019. On average, the FBI received 2,000 cybercrime reports per day in 2020.
Data breaches affect personal data. In 2020 alone, data breaches exposed over 37 billion personal records, 82 percent of which came from only five breaches. Data breaches affect not only companies and organizations but also individuals.
Identity fraud causes serious losses. Identity fraud losses in 2020 cost its 49 million victims $56 billion in total. That breaks down to $1,100 per victim.
Cyber attacks are the most common: For those familiar with cyber insurance, 70 percent have experienced a cyber attack, followed by identity theft at 69 percent, cyberbullying at 64 percent, and cyber extortion at 69 percent.

Cybercrime shows no indication of slowing down or becoming less dangerous. Having the proper protection is more than prudent – it has become a necessity. Contact the professionals at The Reschini Group to learn more about assessing your exposure to cybercrime, and assembling the right insurance coverage to minimize your risk.

https://www.security.org/insurance/cyber/statistics/

Copyright 2024 The Reschini Group The Reschini Group provides these updates for information only and does not provide legal advice. To make decisions regarding insurance matters, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional or firm.

Gillian Hadfield 12/11/23 Gillian Hadfield 12/11/23

Understanding Changes to ACA for 2024

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) made a number of reforms to group health plan coverage when it was enacted in 2010. Since then, changes have been made to various ACA requirements, such as annual cost-of-living increases to certain ACA dollar limits, extensions to ACA reporting deadlines, and updates to preventive care coverage guidelines.

Changes to some ACA requirements will take effect in 2024 for employers sponsoring group health plans. Most notably among these is the affordability percentage under the ACA’s employer mandate rules for applicable large employers (ALEs),which will be at its lowest point, requiring many ALEs to lower their employee contribution rates.

The following plan design requirements have changed for 2024:

Limits on cost sharing for essential health benefits.
Coverage affordability percentage under the employer mandate rules.
Dollar amounts for calculating penalties under the employer mandate rules.

Additional considerations when planning for other major plan design changes include:

Confirm that your plan’s out-of-pocket limit for essential health benefits (EHB) does not exceed the ACA’s limit for the plan year beginning in 2024.
If you have a health FSA, confirm that its dollar limit on employees’ salary reduction contributions will not exceed the adjusted limit for the plan year beginning in 2024.
If you have a health FSA that allows carryovers of unused amounts, confirm that the maximum unused amount from a plan year starting in 2024 (that is allowed to be carried over to the immediately following plan year beginning in 2025) does not exceed the adjusted limit.
Confirm that your health plan covers the latest recommended preventive care services without imposing any cost sharing.
If you offer an excepted benefit HRA, confirm that its maximum benefit amount for the plan year beginning in 2024 does not exceed $2,100.
If you have a grandfathered plan, determine whether it will maintain its grandfathered status for the 2024 plan year.
Will you be an ALE for 2024?

Employers should review these ACA requirements and develop a compliance strategy, ensuring that their health plan documents, including the summary of benefits and coverage (SBC), are updated to reflect any new plan limits, and that up-to-date information is communicated to employees at open enrollment time.

Of course, the law is much more complex than can be provided in an overview like this. Contact the Benefits professionals at The Reschini Group for a more complete explanation and to get informed guidance on how your organization needs to prepare for changes to the ACA in 2024.

Gillian Hadfield 12/4/23 Gillian Hadfield 12/4/23

Understanding the Mind of a Cyber Attacker

Cybersecurity breaches continue, even as systems and techniques to prevent or combat them have steadily improved. It becomes more important to understand and anticipate the mind of the cyber attacker, to keep the damage such a person can cause to a minimum. According to industry experts*, here are three core motivations of the cyber attacker:

Diligence: "Curiosity might have killed the cat, but the car has nine lives."

Curiosity drives hackers to explore and understand systems, networks, and software in order to identify vulnerabilities. Not only are they constantly seeking new knowledge and skills to improve their abilities and stay ahead of security measures, they're constantly applying newly learned approaches, tricks, and techniques in different systems.

An Adversarial Attitude: "Move fast and break things"

This mindset is always looking for ways to defeat security measures, challenge the status quo, and push the boundaries of what is possible. Hackers are often driven by a desire to prove their own abilities and to test the limits of systems and networks. Hackers constantly ask themselves: "How can I break this?", "How can I exploit this?", or "How can I bend this to my will and cause maximum damage?"

Persistence: "Of course I struggle, I just don't quit"

Hackers may encounter roadblocks and failures, but they don't give up easily. They will continue to work until they have achieved their goal. Hackers remind themselves that cybersecurity teams need to identify and remediate all vulnerabilities while a hacker needs to find only one. The relentless pursuit of vulnerabilities is at their core.

So, how can organizations properly protect themselves against such plotters? By applying these same thought processes to their cybersecurity strategies. For example, employing an adversarial mindset can serve as an essential critical thinking tool to drastically improve an organization's cyber posture by preemptively detecting and remediating vulnerabilities.

Making sure you have the right cybersecurity insurance coverage plays a vital role in this process, as well. Consult with the professionals at The Reschini Group to learn more.

* https://thehackernews.com/2023/02/how-to-think-like-hacker-and-stay-ahead.html

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Indiana, PA 15701