URGENT: You Must Activate Your HERO Act Prevention Plan Now

​All private employers in New York State must activate the airborne infectious disease exposure prevention plans they adopted over the last two months. The action is required under the New York State HERO Act​, which became law last spring. All insurance agencies should activate their plans immediately.The HERO Act required all private employers in the state to adopt prevention plans that equaled or exceeded the standards in model prevention plans provided by the state Department of Labor. The law required employers to adopt plans by August 5. The plans must be designed to prevent exposure to airborne infectious diseases by employees and the public. They…

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How Property Insurance Applies to Ida Water Damage

​<a title="Tommy Gao, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HurricaneIdaNYC2021.jpg"> As we're sure you know, horrible flooding hit the New York City metro area yesterday as the remnants of Hurricane Ida arrived, dumping a shocking amount of rain, stranding commuters, and costing lives. The loss of life is tragic and immeasurable, and the disruption to the lives of survivors is immense. And property was damaged. The Big I NY and Big I CT research departments have received questions from members about how personal and commercial property insurance may apply. Unfortunately, the news isn't good.Many commercial property insurance policies contain exclusions similar to this one from the ISO…

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Hochul Taps Former Economic Advisor to President Obama to Lead Department of Financial Services

​​On August 31st, Governor Hochul nominated Adrienne Harris as Superintendent of Financial Services, the head of the Department of Financial Services. Harris replaces Linda Lacewell, who resigned on August 24th.Harris brings extensive experience in economics and financial services. She served as a special assistant for economic policy for President Obama at the National Economic Council, and previously worked for the Brunswick Group as a senior advisor to financial companies, venture capital firms, and fintechs. Since leaving the White House in January 2017, Harris went on to serve as General Counsel and Chief Business Officer, and presently as Advisor at States Title, Inc. (now DOMA), which…

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