Essential measures to minimize the risk of a freeze or water damage loss
- Keep furnace on and thermostat set at or above 68 degrees
- Make sure all hoses are removed from exterior water spigots/faucets
- Drain water lines in lawn sprinkler system where appropriate
- Inspect windows and repair all broken glass
- Place additional insulation on exterior walls and windows
- Insulate exterior doors appropriately, and assure all close and latch completely
- Attach and secure downspouts with extension from foundation, not draining onto the driveway, sidewalks, or patios and fully displace water from walking areas
During periods of extreme colder temperatures
- Open the indoor faucets slightly to allow water to trickle as moving water does not freeze as easily
- Leave the doors to cabinets that contain water lines open, this will allow heat to enter the area and help prevent freeze
- If the power goes out, note the time of the outage and have a plan to keep perishable food cold. Potentially hazardous foods, including meat, dairy, eggs, and cooked vegetables need to be stored at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit.
- e a plan in place if you are without power and heat for extended amount of time
Additional safety measures during colder months
- Clear all necessary snow and ice from sidewalks, fire escapes, and walkways which may result in a slip and fall hazard
- Use fireplace, wood stoves, or other combustion heaters only if they are properly vented to the outside. Exercise caution when heating with these devices, as well as propane appliances, and older wall or floor gas furnaces.
- Never use a charcoal or gas grill indoors—the fumes are deadly.
- Check that you have a working carbon monoxide detector.
- Keep as much heat as possible inside your property. Check the temperature in your home often during severely cold weather.
ChubbWorks (www.chubbworks.com) is a critical component of Chubb’s Employment Practices Liability Loss Prevention Program. This free Web site, created specifically for Chubb employment practices liability customers, is an on-line resource for companies seeking assistance with employment issues. ChubbWorks offers self-registration, web-based training modules, model employment policies, procedures, and forms, a checklist database, as well as access to an extensive library of employment articles and valuable publications.
Follow the following easy steps to enroll and to get the most of the training features:
- Choosing a site administrator: The site administrator is the person who oversees ChubbWorks for your organization and is the first person to register onto the site. He/She has access to the training records for his/her organization and is often someone who works with personnel, personnel legal matters, and/or training matters. The original site administrator may add other site administrators later if there is a need to share this duty.
- Completing registration: The Site Administrator should initiate enrollment to ChubbWorks by visiting www.chubbworks.com. Within the log-in box click on REGISTER. This will prompt you to enter a password, which is your Chubb EPL policy number. Refer to your Insurance Overview or contact your Client Executive for your EPL policy number. Complete the information fields requested and create a personal password for future use.
- Recruiting additional users: Once logged in, the Site Administrator may extend an invitation to employees and volunteers within the organization to enroll in ChubbWorks by opening the Control Panel. Within the Control Panel click on Recruit New Users. Enter the email addresses of each invitee separated by commas. These employees will receive an invitation via email asking them to enroll in ChubbWorks. They can then self-register with the password received within the email, and later create their own personal username and password for future use.
- Using web-based training for supervisory personnel: Once an employee registers for ChubbWorks they are automatically assigned web-based training modules which are due within 30 days. If the Site Administrator wishes to adjust these training dates they may do so within the training section of the Control Panel. All users will receive automatic email reminders regarding the training due including due date.
- Accessing and completing training: Employees can log into ChubbWorks at any time by using their personal username and password. Once logged on, user clicks on Training to bring up a list of training due. He/She then selects the lesson to be taken. Each training module has complete instructions and a link to contact the Trainer if the trainee has any questions. In order to complete a lesson, a trainee must achieve a perfect score on that lesson’s quiz. A trainee is given several chances to change incorrect answers before he/she is directed back to the section of the lesson where the answers can be found. There is no limit on the number of times a trainee can review the lesson; the goal is to understand all the major points before moving on to the next lesson.
- Training records: The Site Administrator(s) has exclusive access to training usage reports, including how many lessons employees have completed. The Site Administrator accesses this information under the Control Panel. Select Reports for an overall view. To check the training records of an individual, go to Users under the Control Panel. Choose Add/Edit Approved Users and click Edit next to the name of the employee and then View Training History. Reports can be exported to Microsoft Excel and printed and/or saved to your hard drive.
If you need assistance, ChubbWorks is ready to respond.
Simply click on the Contact link, which is located in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
Use the contact button for any questions regarding ChubbWorks, and a representative will respond in less than 48 hours.
It is increasingly common for other organizations and/or people (third parties) to request some evidence that the fraternity/sorority or chapter has insurance coverage in place. The form that confirms that coverage is, in fact, in place is called a Certificate of Insurance, and it shows your limits and coverages.
We will need the following information from you in order to provide you with a Certificate of Liability Insurance:
- Fraternity/Sorority and Greek Chapter Name
- Date of the event
- Type of event (i.e. Philanthropic, Social, Chapter-Oriented, etc.)
- Whether or not alcohol is being served (if alcohol is being served, who is serving the alcohol?)
- Name and address of the venue and/or individual requesting the Certificate of Insurance
- The contact information and preferred contact method (i.e. e-mail, fax, etc.) for the individual to whom the Certificate should be sent
- If the venue is requesting Additional Insured status, please forward the contract immediately to us for review.
Please provide all of the above information and any questions you may have by completing the Certificate/Event Request Form.
In addition, it is also very common for you to receive a request from a lendor requesting that you provide evidence that you carry property insurance. Banks often require you to list them as a Mortgagee or Loss Payee on your policy for property for which they provide a loan. Companies from whom you lease equipment, such as a copy machine vendor, also often request proof that you are carrying insurance to cover any damage to their equipment. This document is referred to as the Property Certificate of Insurance.
In order to process your Property Certificate request, please provide us with the following information by completing the Non-Event Specific Certificate of Insurance Form:
- Name and address of the entity/individual requesting the Property Certificate
- Any written documentation, such as a contract, that stipulates your obligation to provide the entity/individual with proof of insurance
- Loan number, if applicable
- E-mail address of the entity/individual requesting the Property Certificate
Engaging in a building or renovation project is an exciting, albeit stressful, endeavor. In addition to the hundreds of decisions regarding design, budget, decorating, and other items, there are insurance and risk management concerns to consider in order to protect the House Corporation and the organization from loss.
In an effort to simplify at least the insurance portion of the building process, we have developed a glossary of sorts to help you familiarize yourself with the associated terminology, as well as our recommended limits when applicable.
General Liability
General liability covers physical and bodily damage for which the general contractor and its employees would be held liable as a result of completed operations or product liability. We recommend that any independent contractors carry a minimum of $1M per occurrence in general liability limits.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation is insurance paid by companies to provide benefits to employees who become ill or injured on the job. We recommend that independent contractors carry a minimum of $500,000 per accident.
Automobile Liability
Automobile liability insurance protects the insured against financial loss because of legal liability for automobile-related injuries to others or damage to others’ property by an auto. We recommend that independent contractors carry a minimum of $1M per occurrence in automobile liability limits.
Builders’ Risk
A builders’ risk policy is a property insurance policy that is designed to cover property in the course of construction. Coverage typically applies not only to property at the construction site, but also to property in transit or at off-site storage locations. We use the estimated completed value of the project as the builders’ risk limit.
We recommend that you have an MJ Client Executive review contracts associated with any building projects prior to signing them. We also recommend that the Fraternity/Sorority, House Corporation, Chapter, etc. be indemnified in the contract language from any loss or damage caused by the independent contractor/s. Because of the complexity of these types of issues, we recommend that you engage the services of a local attorney familiar with your local laws and statutes in the contract negotiations.
It’s Back to School time!
Take advantage of the last of the slow summer days and of an empty chapter house to do some Back to School cleaning and organizing.
| Back to School Property Checklist | |
| Date Completed | Item |
| Kitchen | |
| Remove contents of cabinets and clean interiors | |
| Clean appliances (ovens, microwaves, stove tops, etc.) | |
| Organize pantry, discarding expired food | |
| Take stock of kitchen supplies to see what needs to be donated and/or replaced | |
| Dust off refrigerator condenser coil | |
| Formal Rooms | |
| Rotate stacked books to prevent warping | |
| Clean leather furniture and vacuum upholstered furniture | |
| Hire someone to inspect your fireplace and chimney and prepare them for colder weather use | |
| Have carpets cleaned | |
| Throughout House | |
| Wipe baseboards and moldings | |
| Wash all windows | |
| Vacuum blinds and other window coverings | |
| Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors | |
| Declutter and clean out the attic, if applicable | |
| Clean ceiling-mounted light fixtures | |
| Clean carpets, doormats, and rugs. Replace any summer rags with winter ones. |
| Outside the House | |
| Check weather stripping and caulking around doors and windows; repair and replace as necessary | |
| Check and clean gutters | |
| Clean the patio furniture | |
| Check the exterior paint and touch up as needed | |
| Visually inspect the roof. If necessary, hire someone to replace missing shingles and recaulk as needed. | |
| Additional Reminders | |
| Make sure your House Corporation Inventory Checklist is up-to-date and store in offsite location | |
| Complete the Chapter House Self-Inspection and Recommendations. We recommend you complete the self-inspection on an annual basis. | |
| Check your flood zone to make sure that there have not been any changes in the last year at www.floodsmart.gov. |