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Category Archives: Insurance
Hospitality Industry Insurance Solutions: “Hospitality Workers’ Compensation Fundamentals” By Brad Durbin Of Petra Risk Solutions
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Filed under Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risks: Criminal Hackers Target Hotels Lacking “Advanced Data Security Safeguards” On Local Credit Card Transactions; “Chip-And-Pin Cards” Coming Soon
“…criminal hackers gravitate to some hotels because, like retail stores and restaurants, hotels do many credit card transactions at a local level, where centralized and highly sophisticated data security safeguards may be lacking…Most hotels are locally owned, though managed by big 
hotel chain companies. For hotel owners, it is expensive to come into full compliance with the tough global data security criteria set by the credit card companies…That includes using complex passwords, being wary of public Wi-Fi, updating antivirus software — and checking credit card statements carefully…”
“…In the United States, credit cards use magnetic strips that are more vulnerable to hacking than the electronic chips embedded in credit cards in Europe and elsewhere. Such cards also require entry of a PIN…these so-called chip-and-PIN cards are headed our way, said Kathy Orner, vice president for information security at Carlson Rezidor, a worldwide hotel company that is among the industry leaders in data security…all of the major credit card issuers plan to start introducing these cards in the United States within two or three years…”
In its 2013 Global Security Report, Trustwave, a data security management firm, says that the top three industries targeted for data breach attacks in 2012, measured by the number of its investigations, were retailing (45 percent), food and beverage (24 percent) and hotels (9 percent). Three years ago, the hotel industry was at the top, but hotels have since made “significant strides†in improving credit card security measures, the report says.
Last year, for example, the Federal Trade Commission sued Wyndham Worldwide, the hotel chain, for what it said was inadequate safeguarding of credit card information that led to three data breaches at hotels in under two years, with “millions of dollars in fraud loss, and the export of hundreds of thousands of consumers’ payment card account information to an Internet domain address registered in Russia.â€
The threat is constant, Mr. Roman said. “The best protection is vigilance, and that takes work,†he said.
For more:Â http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/business/data-security-begins-with-the-traveler.html
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Filed under Guest Issues, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology, Theft
Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: California Restaurant Employee Injured By Co-Worker’s Prank Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Only; Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Employer
 “…The waiter received workers’ compensation benefits and sued his employer…The court explained that even if the exception extended to an 
assault by a “managing representative” the waiter did not show that the lead cook was a managing representative. The lead cook did not exercise general discretionary power of direction and control over the restaurant business or even the kitchen. At most, she made decisions regarding the kitchen work in the evenings…The California Court of Appeal dismissed the suit, finding that workers’ compensation held his exclusive remedy…”
A pizza cook at a restaurant heated a pan before placing a pizza on the pan for a waiter to bring to a customer. Because the pizza pans were generally kept cool, the waiter picked up the pan with his bare hand. When he did so, he screamed and dropped the pan. He suffered serious and permanent burn injuries.
The waiter acknowledged that before his burn injury there was substantial horseplay among the restaurant employees. The employees routinely engaged in practical jokes. He claimed that after he burned his hand he saw the lead cook and other employees laughing.
The court rejected the waiter’s argument that exceptions to the exclusivity provision applied. He did not show that the employer committed a physical assault or had any involvement or knowledge of the incident or that the lead cook or pizza cook acted on the employer’s behalf.
The waiter also did not show that the employer or any managers were aware that the lead cook had any responsibility for his burn injuries or that she was involved in an assault toward him. A restaurant manager questioned employees about the incident but only learned that the pizza cook was responsible for placing the hot pan.
For more:Â http://www.riskandinsurance.com/story.jsp?storyId=533354776
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Filed under Claims, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hotel Pool Preparation, Maintenance And Checklist” By Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Manager Joe Fisco, CLSD (Video)
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/52436189]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Manager, Joe Fisco, CLSD , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Update – ‘Hotel Pool Preparation, Maintenance And Checklist’.
P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.
For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Restaurant Sued By Man Who Fell On Step Hidden By “Busy Carpet Pattern”; “Dangerous Condition Created”
“…The suit asserts the defendant should haven known that the excessive pattern on the carpet obscured patrons’ abilities to detect the step and 
that it confuses the eye…the suit further alleges there were no warning signs of the dangerous condition…the plaintiff is suing for his alleged past and future medical expenses, mental anguish, pain, impairment and lost wages…”
Orange County resident Danny Stilley is blaming a “busy carpet pattern†at an area restaurant as the reason why he tripped and fell. Stilley filed suit against Kampus Korner Restaurant on Aug. 14 in Jefferson County District Court. According to the lawsuit, on Feb. 4, 2012, Stilley was a patron at the restaurant, located near the Lamar University campus. He purchased a cup of coffee and was instructed to go sit at an elevated section of the diner.
Stilley sat at his table for some time and when he got up he failed to “detect the change in floor elevation and tripped,†hitting the ground and knocking himself unconscious.
“The elevated area was covered with a carpet with a busy pattern,†the suit states. “Due to the very busy pattern on the carpet, it is difficult to detect the rise in elevation.â€
For more:Â http://setexasrecord.com/news/288504-busy-carpet-pattern-caused-mans-fall-suit-alleges
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Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Property Risks: California Restaurant Fire Caused By Electrical Short In Ice Maker; Over $75,000 In Damage To Structure, Contents And Loss Of Business
“…An electrical short in an ice maker caused the fire…the restaurant’s sprinkler system did go on, but not right away..Damage to the structure and contents is 
estimated to be about $75,000 and loss of business about $10,000, fire officials said…”
A fire at Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant in Mission Valley was swiftly knocked down Sunday afternoon by an engine company that happened to be in the restaurant parking lot dousing a car fire, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department reported. About 1:15 p.m., the restaurant manager hailed the fire crew in the parking lot at Mission Center Road near Camino de la Reina. Firefighters found waist-high smoke and flames in the kitchen, said San Diego fire department spokesman Maurice Luque.
About 200 diners and Gordon Biersch staff were evacuated and no injuries were reported, Luque said. The restaurant was closed for business for the rest of the day.
Per procedure, the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health was notified and will inspect the restaurant to determine when it is safe to reopen for business, Luque said.
For more:Â http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/aug/18/gordon-biersch-fire-icemaker/
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Filed under Fire, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Information Risks: “Cyber-Risk Insurance” Protects Businesses Against “Data Breaches”
…CFOs are looking for insurance against cyber threats. In the past few years, cyber-risk coverage has become one of the fastest- growing businesses for insurers…Businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools in the U.S. reported 343 data breaches this year through July, reports CFOJ’s Maxwell Murphy. That exceeds the number reported in all of 2006 and puts 2013 on pace for 588 breaches, the most since 2010…”
Data breaches have been on the rise after a dip in the past two years, and experts say the publicly disclosed breaches of computer networks may be only a fraction of the total.
Cybersecurity used to be something that Ciena CFO James Moylan Jr. delegated. But now he spends as much as 10% of his time making sure Ciena and its technologies are protected from hackers, cutthroat competitors and other potential cybercriminals. “With all the things that have been in the news—hackers and, frankly, the Chinese—it’s all caused us to think about†how to cut the potential cost of a data breach, he says. The average cost of a breach is about $188 per stolen record, and the average loss per incident is $9.4 million, according to a study last week from the Ponemon Institute.
For more:Â http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-300092/
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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft
Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Virginia Restaurant Kitchen Fire Spreads Inside Walls And Ceiling; $100,000 Interior And Water Damage
“…After extinguishing the flames in the area of a kitchen broiler, firefighters discovered “there was fire in the wall behind the burner … and up in the ceiling…part of the wall had to be torn away and ceiling tiles had to be removed to finish quelling the blaze…a rough estimate put the damage to the restaurant at $100,000 — “a lot of that due to the cleanup that will be necessary…”
The TGI Fridays restaurant at the entrance to the Downtown Short Pump shopping center remained closed Monday after a fire erupted Saturday night. A manager said Monday that the restaurant could reopen in about two weeks.
The restaurant, at 11600 W. Broad St., was closed Saturday night after a kitchen fire erupted about 9:40 p.m. and the Henrico County Fire Department was called. Firefighters responded and had the blaze under control in about 30 minutes.
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Filed under Fire, Insurance, Risk Management, Structural Damage
Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Washington Restaurant Destroyed By Fire Caused By Cleaning Towels Left In Dryer “Spontaneously Combusting”
“…It was the second restaurant fire in Olympia in two years caused by towels in the dryer, and the fifth in five years to other businesses including hair salons…the cleaning towels that were left inside the dryer smolder for hours and then spontaneously combust. The greases and oils used in the cleaning process apparently don’t all get washed out…”
Investigators have determined a fire that destroyed the Oyster House restaurant in Olympia started in the dryer, when cleaning towels spontaneously combusted. Now, they’re sending out a warning to all restaurants, hair salons, and even bowling alleys where towels are used to clean things and then washed and tossed in the dryer.
Olympia fire investigator Brian Schenk gave KOMO News a close look at the dryer where the Oyster House fire started. “I see a very distinct burn pattern here that shows me the fire came from the inside out,” Schenk said. “It just looks like it’s towels.”
The restaurant manager said the night of the fire that they used the dryer just before closing.
“And so when they get thrown in the dryer and left, they’ll continue to spontaneously heat even after the dryer cycle has stopped and people have all left,” said Assistant Chief Robert Bradley, the Olympia fire marshal.
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Filed under Fire, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Structural Damage
