To that end, in the summer of 2022, John embarked on an exciting new venture – the pursuit of a Fundamentals of Welding certificate at Scott Community College in his native Iowa. “It was a little intimidating at first because, truthfully, I’m not even that handy around the house,” John admits, jokingly. “But I thought it was a unique opportunity to build a new skillset that will ultimately be helpful in underwriting gas and welding business.”

As recommended by John’s supervisor, Senior Vice President of Amerisure Programs, Rob Sedlak, coursework started with a 10-hour OSHA class followed by six hands-on welding classes, complete with a virtual reality welding machine to help students get acclimated to various welding processes, joint positions, and other situations they may face in a welding workshop.

“I was open-minded to the idea, and as Rob and I talked about it more, I realized how valuable this training could be,” said John. Donning all the necessary PPE – including a welding mask, jacket, gloves, and boots for grinding, plasma cutting, and welding, John balanced his regular workdays at Amerisure with daytime and evening classes in a welding workshop.

“It was like learning a whole new language,” he explains. “I learned all of the lingo, like how to read blueprints and directions from engineers. Moving forward, this expertise will be valuable in helping AMP craft the best solutions for our client’s needs.”

One place where John was able to showcase his expertise was at the annual GAWDA (Gases & Welding Distributors Association) Convention this past October. “I believe I was the only insurance underwriter there with first-hand knowledge and experience,” John says. “It gives us credibility and a real edge when talking to potential new customers to show that Amerisure can offer something that other companies simply don’t have. Not only that, it highlights that we’re a team of dedicated experts who go the extra mile to continue to transform the insurance experience.”

What’s next for John?  He’ll be able to leverage this knowledge along with his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation and prior experience. “­I’d also like the opportunity to continue to strengthen my new skillset,” he explains. “I’m looking into getting a part-time welding job with my brother in law’s business—even if it’s just 10-15 hours a week—to stay informed and engaged.”

He goes on: “AMP has always differentiated itself by working to truly understand the unique risk characteristics of a particular industry in order to provide innovative insurance solutions designed to outperform industry standards. I’m confident that my newfound knowledge will serve this mission well.”

To learn more about all that Amerisure Programs has to offer, visit our Amerisure Programs page.

Top Blogs of 2022

OSHA Announces Top 10 Safety Violations for 2022

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its list of the most frequently cited safety standards for fiscal year 2022. The annual list, announced at the National Safety Council Safety Congress & Expo, is determined from worksite inspections and aims to alert employers and safety professionals about frequent citations and violations to help prevent their occurrence.

Manufacturing Industry Trends: What Successful Companies Are Doing Differently

Safety, technology, and strong teamwork to enhance collaboration are just some of the factors that manufacturers are focusing on to create improved efficiencies. As the manufacturing industry eyes positive economic indicators amid continued supply chain disruptions, now is the time for companies to consider some of the key characteristics of future-ready manufacturers.

Honorable Mention
Amerisure-Sponsored Athlete J.J. Spaun Earns Victory in San Antonio, Ticket to Augusta

It’s an exciting time for 31-year-old J.J. Spaun, an Amerisure-sponsored golf professional who rallied from a double bogey start in the final round at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, Texas, producing birdies and pars thereafter to regain the lead. He dropped to 13 under par and held it, winding up with his first PGA TOUR victory by two shots and an invitation to the Masters this weekend. Fans, followers, and the Amerisure family cheered him on and are ecstatic for Spaun and his hard-fought victory.

Top Blogs of All Time

Amerisure has been sharing helpful information for �鶹ԭ�� on our Insights Blog for nearly a decade. Below are some of our most-read blogs of all time.

• Why a Clean Construction Site is a Top Priority
• Four Construction Accidents that Shook the World
• What is “Construction Defect” and Why all the Fuss?
• Pros and Cons of a Return to Work Program

How Does Errors & Omissions Work?

Errors & omissions (E&O) coverage can help provide valuable protection to manufacturers beyond typical liability coverage by covering a customer’s financial loss and a policyholder’s potential legal costs.

Typically added to a general liability policy, E&O extends beyond basic coverage to provide security against financial loss caused by negligence in the design, manufacturing or installation of a product. This helps protect manufacturers from lawsuits alleging they are responsible for financial loss.

An Example Scenario: A manufacturer called Clock Flower designs specialized metal gear components for clocks. One of their clients, a company called Tick Time, discovers that one of their clock brands is not working properly due to a flaw in Clock Flower’s metal movement gear. Tick Time had to spend considerable resources swapping out the faulty component and, in turn, sues Clock Flower for costs associated with removing and replacing the metal gear related to the design or manufacturing defect. E&O coverage would help indemnify Clock Flower for the costs to defend and resolve Tick Time’s claims.

How Does Product Recall Work?

A product recall is the action of retrieving a defective or unsafe product from the market. Up to 400 U.S. products by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Product recall coverage helps to protect manufacturers from the unexpected risks and financial burden that can be associated with recalling a product from the market. This can include coverage for inspection or testing of products to determine if a product recall is justified, crisis management staffing, packaging and transportation of defective products (and disposal of products that cannot be reused), and reasonable costs to regain customer faith and approval. Sometimes the insurance protection can even help cover the costs for the manufacturer to repair, replace or repurchase the product.

An Example Scenario: A candle manufacturer called Candles Chandlery manufactures a double-wick candle, and suddenly finds out that their candle’s double wick burns too high, causing the candle to break, and must take steps to recall the product from the marketplace. Product recall coverage can help pay for the costs associated with the recall.

Protection Forged in Partnership
Amerisure is expanding its focus on the manufacturing industry by investing in our products and people who provide the expertise you rely on to help protect your manufacturing business. Learn more about the unique coverage and technologies to complement your manufacturing programs, including our new products, expanded appetite to provide industry-leading service to more manufacturing businesses, and an increased investment in our expert employees with manufacturing knowledge.

Resources for Policyholders
Refer to our new features covering these products:

• Errors & Omissions
• Product Recall

So, what is a Business Continuity Plan?
A Business Continuity Plan is essentially the answer to the question, “How will we continue working if we lose power or access to our business?” While it seems like a simple question, it is in fact very involved. There are many day-to-day operations that are easy to overlook. And although they’re vital to your business, you don’t know their true value until they’re gone. To keep this painful realization from occurring, we recommend conducting a thorough Business Impact Analysis.

Conduct a Business Impact Analysis 
The first step is to identify time-sensitive or critical business functions and processes. This is known as a Business Impact Analysis (BIA). The purpose of the analysis is to help business owners prioritize the business functions that are most important to day-to-day operations.

Some impacts to consider:

• Lost sales and income
• Regulatory fines
• Contractual penalties or loss of contractual bonuses

Depending on the size of the organization, business owners may want to enlist some help in completing the business impact analysis. The Department of Homeland Security has a helpful BIA questionnaire for business owners to print off and distribute to managers.

Appoint a Business Continuity Task Force
Every business is different. Business owners may not even fully realize all of the planning that must take place in an effective business continuity plan. In most modern businesses, information technology (IT) can be the highest hurdle to clear – networks, desktops, laptops, wireless devices, data and connectivity. It’s recommended that all businesses form a Business Continuity Task force that includes members from all departments – especially one representative from the IT department.

The purpose of the task force is to explore all of the business functions and processes that must be maintained in the instance of a shutdown – whether it’s a three-hour power outage, a weeklong shutdown, or several months out of office.

The questions that should be answered include:

• Where are we going to work?
• How will we communicate?
• How will we continue to operate?
• How will operation resume?

Conducting the BIA and forming the task force is crucial. Once those steps have been completed, make sure that everything is written down and shared with the staff. In the event of an emergency, it will be extremely helpful to have a staff that already knows the backup plan. Even knowing that there is a backup plan will help alleviate a lot of the anxiety that occurs when business is disrupted.

Our final piece of advice is to practice your Business Continuity Plan and to update the plan when processes change or new systems are added. Practicing your plan helps work out any kinks. It also familiarizes your staff with the plan and allows them to provide feedback. And as your business evolves, so must your continuity plan. We recommend revisiting the plan at least once a year. Once the plan is updated, run another drill to work out the kinks and educate your staff. It’s always better to have a Business Continuity Plan and not need it rather than to need a plan and not have one. Your customers, employees and your bottom line will be thankful that you planned ahead.
If you need more help developing a plan for your business, there’s a wealth of information and planning materials online at . We encourage you to check them out. If you have any specific questions or need help mitigating risk at your workplace, . From construction to healthcare and manufacturing, our expertise is reducing risk and keeping employees safe in all work environments.