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Are Insurance Workers Eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccine?

​​Question from a Big I New York member: Do you know if insurance workers are eligible for the COVID vaccine coming March 17th? Answer: The state's guidance isn't all that clear. The website states: Beginning March 17, the following essential workers are eligible:Public-facing government and public employeesNot-for-profit workers who provide public-facing services to New Yorkers in needEssential in-person public-facing building service workersThere is no explanation of what that last one means. However, the phrase “public-facing building service workers" sounds to me like custodial type workers. That conclusion is backed up by the news release the governor issued the other day: Under this new expansion of eligibility, the following essential…

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No Coverage For Loss Caused By Rolling Stones

[embedded content] ​"​And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills 'Til the landslide brought me down ..."​​-- Stephanie Lynn (AKA Stevie) Nicks, American singer/songwriter​Here in the Empire State, we generally don't have to worry much about earthquakes. New York gets some seismic activity, but it's usually minor and certainly not on par with what our fellow citizens in the midwest and west must contend with. But does that mean we shouldn't be concerned about the ubiquitous earth movement exclusions found in personal and commercial property insurance policies? A couple in Colorado has learned the hard way that there are different kinds of earth movement losses, and their experience could…

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DFS Warns Against Microsoft Exchange Security Holes

​The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has warned all entities it regulates about newly discovered security vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Exchange Server software. The department advised all entities to take immediate actions to address the problem. The DFS regulates banking, financial services, and insurance organizations doing business in New York. If your agency is running this software, you may be at risk of having suffered a data breach already or of having one in the future. Agencies that use a cloud-based hosting service for email should not be affected.In a letter dated March 9, the department relayed Microsoft's report that it had found four…

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