News Currents

N.Y. agents see E&O trouble

New York insurance agents face potential errors and omissions claims if they follow a New York City requirement on certificates of insurance for road contractors, an agents group has warned. The city’s transportation department requires sidewalk and roadway contractors to provide certificates with a notarized statement, signed by the insurance broker or company, attesting that the insured’s coverage meets the requirements of specific city regulations.

But the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York, Inc. has advised agents and brokers not to sign this statement due to the potential E&O claims that may result and because they fear that doing so may violate state insurance department directives.

Representatives from IIABNY met with city transportation officials recently to air their concerns. IIABNY has agreed to draft revised certification statement language for the city to consider.

Chesapeake Bay storm warning

Scientists show that hurricane storm surges in the Chesapeake Bay could get dramatically worse than the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003. Under some conditions, the researchers found, a Category 4 hurricane could produce storm surges as high as 18 or 20 feet in Baltimore at high tide, 10 feet above Isabel’s high mark. The 18-foot storm surges are possible along the shoreline of Baltimore County.

“I guess I’m a little surprised the values are as high as they are,” said Wilson Shaffer, of the National Weather Service. He said the precise conditions needed to generate an 18-foot storm surge are rare but “within the realm of possibility.”

Topics Agencies New York