InterWest’s Distinguished Employee: Donna Unsworth Donna is kind, funny and direct. She’s not afraid to speak up if she sees something inappropriate or potentially harmful to the company. Donna does not shy away from difficult situations. She is a fantastic support to InterWest’s employees and managers. She has a wonderful gift of keeping spirits up…
As the number of cyber attacks against businesses continues to grow, insurers that provide cyber liability and other cyber-related coverage have started intensifying their scrutiny of their clients’ databases and operational security. When a business suffers a cyber attack it could result in fraudulent wire transfers or having its systems rendered frozen, which can be…
Are your safety meetings a drag for your workers? Are they shifting in their seats as they sit through yet another presentation on slip and fall hazards? Safety meetings are a key part of a safety awareness program and are one of the best methods to motivate workers to take safety out of the classroom…
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that President Biden signed into law on March 11 contains a number of provisions intended to help small businesses and other organizations hurt by the pandemic. Foremost, it includes additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans to struggling businesses, and a number of special grants to companies in…
As the country and our businesses continue trudging along and hope that vaccines will pave the way out of the COVID-19 crisis, employers are increasingly seeing the effects of pandemic fatigue among their workers. The same issues people are grappling within their personal lives — exhaustion with social distancing and masking, a sense of loss…
Cyber insurance rates are going to increase dramatically in 2021, driven by more frequent and more severe insured losses, according to a recent industry study. The report by global insurance firm Aon plc predicted that rates would jump by 20% to 50% this year due to two main factors: 1. Cyber attacks are becoming more…
InterWest’s Distinguished Employee: Diane Larsen Diane always has a positive attitude, is a wonderful listener and has a natural aptitude for figuring out how to get the job done. One of her broker teammates was out of the country recently and had some new business to be written. As always, Diane did not hesitate to…
New research warns that so many people working remotely could result in an increase in musculoskeletal health issues, with four in five workers who began working remotely in lockdown developing some form of musculoskeletal pain. Remote work was quickly forced on millions of workers when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Most of them were unprepared to…
OSHA recently updated its COVID-19 safety guidance to recommend that employees who have been vaccinated should continue wearing face masks, practice social distancing and comply with any other COVID-19 safety protocols while on the job. That means that the same workplace protocols that apply to unvaccinated employees will apply to those who have received their…
It’s always an unwelcome surprise when an employer finds out that a workplace incident aggravated a pre-existing injury that one of your workers sustained at a prior job. Fortunately, there are steps you can take if you don’t want to inherit a claim that someone incurred at another employer, or an injury that they may…