Life Happens 365 - Are You Managing the Risk?

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr If you’re a commercial trucker, you should know that the US House of Representatives is doing its best to increase your liability requirements nearly seven-fold.   You heard me right.   HR 3781 which was sponsored by Representative Matt Cartwright in July 2019, proposes to raise the minimum liability limit you are required by law to carry from $750,000 to $4, 923,153.29.   The bill which was named “Improving National Safety by Updating the Required Amount of Insurance Needed by Commercial Motor Vehicles per Event Insurance Act of 2019,” is being touted as a necessary update to the commercial trucking insurance law that has been on the books since 1980.   The reason given by Mr. Cartwright for the seven-fold increase in the requirements was that $4,923,153.29 is the amount needed to achieve the same purchasing power as $750,000 with regards to medical-cost inflation.   That’s the bad news.   The good news is that while the bill has been assi

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr I just happened to be channel surfing last night when I stumbled upon a recent episode of Nova that was all about self-driving cars.   After taking the time to go through the evolution of fully and partially automated cars, along with the aftermath of several fatal crashes, the show pointed out the fact that like it or not, more and more cars on the road already have some form of automation installed at the factory.   Think about it.   What car doesn’t come equipped with Cruise Control these days.   Some of the pricier models even have Adaptive Cruise where the car’s speed is adjusted for the traffic ahead.   Most luxury models built today have what’s referred to as Lane Maintain that’s designed to keep the vehicle between the dotted lines.   Top of the line vehicles have automation that do everything from hitting the brakes if a hazard appears ahead to automatic lane change ability.   My point is that like it or not, automotive automation

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Public Domain Vectors Halloween is supposed to be a night when kids and some adults don costumes to play at being something they’re not.   Whether the costume of choice is a superhero, a witch, a goblin, or just an opportunity to pretend for a few hours that you’re a doctor, an astronaut or the devil himself, the charade is something done in fun.   Unfortunately, the start of the holiday season is also the time of year when conmen and women kick their nefarious activities into high gear.   Just like Halloween, these scam artists try to trick the unwary into believing they’re something they’re not.  

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I’d take a few minutes to remind homeowners about liability issues associated with hosting parties.   Unlike a decade or so ago, today’s host or hostess has to worry about a lot more than whether their guests have a good time.   They also need to be concerned about what occurs during and after the festivities.   At least they do if they don’t want to wind up being eaten alive by lawsuits.  

By Diane Tait Image courtesy flickr There’s nothing more heartwarming than watching the kids in the neighborhood cavorting in from door to door in their adorable costumes on Halloween.   Trick or treating has been a seasonal rite of passage for children for generations in the US.   When I was little, about the only scary thing about Halloween from my mother’s perspective was whether I was going to get sick from eating too much candy.   Of course, that was then and this is now.   Today, parents of trick or treaters of all ages are concerned about many perils when they let their kids wander freely on the street at night.   If Halloween scares you, this blog should help calm your nerves.