THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Social networking changing risk at lightning speed
Do your business clients have “fans” on Facebook? Do they tweet on Twitter? Are they on Linkedin? And if your clients have employees, do they have any clue about how their employees participate in social networking, either on or off the job?
Social networking is moving at lightning speed. Hundreds of millions, probably billions, of people participate in social network sites, and that number grows daily. Individuals use their networks to comment on products and services, obtain and disseminate information and copy the postings of others. Businesses are increasingly feeling pressured to have a presence on social network sites to sell products, provide customer service, vet potential employees and even investigate insurance applicants.
And all of today’s technological advancements are contributing to tomorrow’s risks.
Social networking is important to us in two ways: as insurers of the risks and as risk-takers ourselves through our businesses’ participation in social media. How do we harness social media for business purposes while protecting ourselves from the actions of our employees and others who publicly post about what we do?
Some things we know:
Businesses are at risk when they and their employees participate in social networking. They can be responsible for copyright and trademark infringement, personal privacy violations, breaching confidentiality agreements, defamation, consumer fraud and deceptive business practices, just to name a few.
Some things we don’t yet know:
As liability suits wend their way through court, businesses could find themselves liable for employment discrimination, harassment and cyber bullying through their own social network postings or those of their employees, both on and off the job. Some have even suggested that employers’ hiring practices could be found negligent if they don’t check out applicants’ social networking posts. And I recently read that an insurance company is being sued for its alleged denial of coverage based on a person’s Facebook posts.
All of this publicity is making business owners more aware of the rapidly changing risks they face and more interested in help from agents and brokers to steer them to the right coverage solution. At RPS AVRECO, we help agents and brokers by keeping abreast of the latest social media risks and how to insure against them. Our experienced insurance professionals are experts on the newest coverages and policies. We can help agents find the coverage their clients need. And we can help every step of the way.
We have access to a variety of markets that are bringing out the latest, most comprehensive social networking coverage to protect businesses. These leading insurers are quick to make changes and adapt to cover business risk as it emerges.
Social networking coverage is just one of the many high-tech protections we help find for your clients. Some others include coverage for data breaches, privacy and security issues.
Let’s talk. Call me at 312.294.5625 or contact me at bill_yurek@rpsins.com to find out how we can work with you.
Kind regards,
Bill Yurek, AVRECO President