Strategic Insurance Advisors

Loved this interview with Brian Davis.

The New Slip and Fall If you've operated a business storefront or done work in a public space, then you're familiar with slip and fall exposure you face. While many of the claims are legitimate, a large amount have been found to be fraudulent. According to one source, fraudulent slip and fall claims cost $2M per year. A utility contractor of mine, recently had a bogus slip and fall claim, from a pedestrian that claimed she tripped on a chalk line. While slip and fall claims are still a threat for many company's, a new type of slip and fall threat is increasing. Digital accessibility claims. More specifically ADA Accessibility Lawsuits. These lawsuits allege that a company’s website, mobile app or its digital features violate the American’s with Disability act by denying access to those with visual or hearing impairment or other disabilities. I had been relatively aware of this issue, but more recently it came to the forefront of my mind after talking with two different people in the last month who brought this issue up out of the blue. One is a friend who runs the marketing for a consumer product company, and the other a website designer. According to Accessibility. com there were 2,352 lawsuits in 2021. Sadly, many of these are being driven by "litigation trolls", as 22% of the claims were from 5 plaintiffs. The lawsuits typically average at least $20k-$40k. You may be thinking - "I own a construction company, this doesn't apply to me, since no one buys from me online". While this would make sense, according to rulings businesses who both have a retail presence and those who do not have been targeted. Also, many businesses assume general liability insurance would cover this or their cyber policy, but these policies often require physical injury or slander to be triggered. The policy where you would most likely be to find coverage would be employment practice liability (EPL) insurance. The policy would need to include 3rd party coverage - and not all do. The good news is that many of these claims arise from simple formatting and programming errors. Digital accessibility claims appear like they're here to stay - consider this your heads up!