This is our introductory newsletter! We hope that you will enjoy it. It is our plan to use this tool to share important insurance related topics with our clients and friends. We wish you all a prosperous New Year.

Have you noticed the growing popularity in home improvement? It seems like almost every town has at least one home improvement store.

As consumers, we have become more focused on improving our homes' functionality and value. This, in turn, has led to us pouring more money into our homes in recent years, upgrading our kitchens or bathroms, or adding on to our backyard decks.

More than one in three (36 percent) private companies, many of which were uninsured, experienced an employee theft averaging nearly $350,000 within the past five years, according to research by the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. And more companies may now face a similar situation as they execute plans for staff reductions and budget cuts — actions which tend to motivate employees to steal funds, equipment and inventory.

Not long ago, few insurance companies wrote employment practices liability insurance that included third-party coverage. When EPLI was introduced, the loss potential of third-party coverage was not fully understood, which made many insurers apprehensive. While most EPLI carriers now offer the coverage, a few still don't, mainly because there is not enough actuarial data to statistically support it.

Third-party EPLI is intended to protect an insured entity and its employees from allegations of various wrongful acts committed against the insured's customers, clients, vendors, suppliers and visitors. The list of potential claimants may even include medical patients, volunteers and all other non-employees. A few EPLI forms also grant coverage for wrongful acts committed by such third parties against the named insured's employees.

Whether at a private wine tasting or at a vineyard, the rules of etiquette for wine drinking and tasting are the same. The following are some tips that will make you seem like a pro at your next wine tasting . . . host or guest.