DO YOU KNOW THERE’S NEW INSURANCE COVERAGE OUT THERE TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS?

Malia Mills insures her bikinis.

That might sound a bit extreme, until you realize that the 32-year-old fashion designer’s $1 million-a-year business, Malia Mills Swim Wear, depends on what happens to those scraps of cloth. With proper coverage, if catastrophe should strike at any point while the bikinis are being sewn, transported or displayed in her Manhattan boutique, the business won’t collapse.
Mills’ business is insured for loss of income if, for some flukey reason, a disaster occurs that prevents her from operating, such as a water main breaking outside her shop and flooding the store. She also has insurance on the expensive plate glass windows in her shop. And, should she die suddenly, her nine shareholders will receive payments from her personal life insurance policy because of a product called key-man coverage, which protects the capital her shareholders have invested if the business could not survive without Mills to steer it.

“I think we’ve got all the bases covered,” Mills says.

Just like other industries that are giving customers the chance to customize everything from jeans to coffee to computers, the insurance industry is offering more specialized coverages for entrepreneurs. Whether you’re a bathing-suit designer or a barber, an accountant or an auctioneer, there are insurance policies geared specifically to you. Pro golfers, expert witness consultants, translators, wedding party planners - even magicians - can choose from a wide variety of specialized umbrella coverages.
Want the trees and shrubberies on your property covered? No problem; there’s a policy for that. How about protection for your flags? Again, not to worry. How about coverage in case your delivery guy runs over a little old lady while driving his own car on a company errand? Relax - you’re covered.

Independent insurance agents and some underwriters, such as Petersen International Underwriters in Valencia, California, can help you prepare for the unthinkable. Afraid you’ll be kidnapped and held for ransom on a trip abroad? Fretting that a botched nose job will impair your earning power? Concerned that rain will put a halt to your outdoor event and you’ll be left holding the financial bag? Rest easy. “The insurance industry is known for taking your lemons and making lemonade,” Petersen says.

While there are a growing number of policies to cover specific professions and incidents, entrepreneurs should consider a number of new policies offering broader coverages, according to Madelyn Flannagan, director of research and information for the Independent Insurance Agents of America:

* Employment practices liability. One of the hottest new insurance coverages, and one that until recently was available only to large businesses, these policies now protect small businesses in case of lawsuits by employees charging any type of discrimination or sexual harassment. It can pay defense costs and damages ranging from $1 million to $50 million.

* Electronic data processing. This coverage reimburses the full cost of replacing computer hardware, software and mechanics; it also compensates for lost income during downtime.

* Valuable papers and records coverage. Imagine the horror of losing key records and documents relating to your business. This policy reimburses the holder for the cost of software and staff assistance to recreate the documents.

* International medical insurance. When the owner of a one-person retail business made a buying trip to the Amazon, he realized that, should he fall ill, his U.S. medical coverage would not pay for his treatment in Peru. When he returned home, he purchased International Medical Insurance so he would be covered on his next trip.

Immediately after touring private and public hospitals in France, B. C. Premier Gordon Campbell told a Vancouver Sun reporter that he would consider allowing private for-profit hospitals to be funded by the government “as long as it doesn’t violate the Canada Health Act.” Two weeks later, on March 17, Campbell told the Williams Lake Tribune that French-style user fees were not on his agenda, but he did say that expanding private facilities to contract with the public system was a priority.

Campbell told the Sun he was struck by the fact that there was almost no debate over the propriety of privately owned hospitals, whether they are for-profit or not-for-profit, operating in France’s complex health-care system.
“The thing I found most surprising here was there was virtually no discussion about the public versus the private system,” Campbell said. But a Tyee correspondent based in Berlin, Dawn Paley, h.ad little trouble discovering such controversy in France.

300,000 Without Coverage

Doctors Without Borders, for example, estimates that over 300,000 people in France are now, after the most recent “reforms,” totally without health-care coverage. The organization, best known for its work in the developing world, has begun providing medical care at clinics in Paris and Marseilles for patients who are denied insurance coverage under the new reforms. Le Monde, one of France’s leading newspapers, editorialized in August of 2004 that “all the reforms that are proposed in France today tend toward an American style ‘reform.’”

Helene Mandroux, mayor and president of the administrative council of the University Hospital in Montpelier, would disagree with Premier Campbell’s opinion that there is no debate in France about health-care and private enterprise. She wrote on Jan. 20, 2006 that “once again, the public hospitals are being penalized and in proportionally to the increase in activity, which is even worse … It is the will of the government to break the public system and social security.”

Claude Evin, president of the Federation Hospitaliere de France, which represents all public hospitals in the country, spoke out the week after Campbell left Paris, characterizing the government’s “reform” measures as “the threat these financial restrictions represent for the modernization of hospitals, for the revival of investment, for the following of the blueprint for public health and especially for the mental health plan.”

So although the premier didn’t find it during his overnighter in France, it appears there is substantial debate underway in that country about whether it is sound policy to privatize and restrict public health care, or whether that shift foolishly apes American models.

How French System Works

The current French health-care system is, unlike the systems in the other European countries visited on the Campbell tour, based on coverage through an array of insurance schemes.

This is in contrast to the systems in Sweden, Norway and the United Kingdom, in which the main payer for health services is the government. These are known as Beverage systems, in contrast to the insurance-based Bismarck system that is in place in France. Insurance schemes also play a big role in the health-care systems of Germany and the Netherlands.

Almost everyone in France is covered by one of three insurance schemes: general, agricultural or self-employed/non agricultural. These insurance schemes refund between 60 and 70 per cent of what the patient pays a doctor, and approximately 80 per cent of the country’s 60 million residents buy supplementary insurance to cover some or all of the remaining charges, while some low-income French residents get their co-payments covered by a free insurance scheme.

This patchwork of insurance schemes does not, as evidenced by the presence of Doctors Without Borders within France, guarantee that everyone has access to medical care, but even with that caveat, the French system is widely admired for its extensive coverage and its fiscal and clinical efficiency.

France vs. Canada

In 2000, the World Health Organization named France as the best health-care system in the world. In 2002, according to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Health Data study, French and Canadian health systems were similar on some key measures.

In 2002, Canadian health spending per capita was US$2,931.00 while France spent US$2,736.00. Private spending accounted for 30 per cent of health-care expenditures in Canada, while in France, the private payer covered 24 percent of all health-care spending.

France did have significantly more doctors per 1,000 people than Canada, with the French figure at 3.3 and the Canadian at 2.1. Similarly, France had 4.2 hospital beds per 1,000 people, while the equivalent Canadian figure was 3.2.

Canadian life expectancy was marginally higher than French figures. The French system provides public payment for 67 per cent of pharmaceuticals prescribed, while the Canadian system only picks up 38 per cent of drug costs through the public sector.

Well, it is never boring in our industry. Insurers of special events exclude SARS from policies. Some of the oldest and biggest names of insurers are gone from the scene. And, under “what next,” as reported in USA Today, a man clocks in at his place of work, kills three people and wounds five others, then drives to the police station and, after shooting at two officers, kills himself. “Naturally” his mother files a workers compensation claim.
NAPSLO (National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Ltd.) recently held its 29th annual convention. “Our attendance swelled to over 2,700 making it the largest ever,” says Jim Griffith, president. Among the guest speakers was Lord Levene, Chairman of Lloyd’s. The condition of the marketplace was certainly an issue and those in attendance were rewarded with a very active meeting, which included panels on the future regulation and, financial integrity of the insurance industry.

According to Griffith: “One of the topics of our convention was submission quality. With fewer standard market players, more business continues to flow into the surplus and specialty markets. Because so many opportunities are presented to our segment, both our broker and insurer members state that only the complete and carefully crafted submission is going to be considered for a quote.”
Another area that is a priority for Griffith as NAPSLO’s president is partnering, not only with other associations such as AAMGA and IIABA but within their own ranks as well. NAPSLO includes membership categories such as wholesale brokers, MGAs, insurers, the Lloyd’s insurance community, adjusters, technology firms, and other service providers. “We recommend partnering to our production sources as well as the independent professional agent and broker. It is important that they establish a strong relationship with their local professional surplus lines broker and communicate that they want to regard this relationship much as they would that of their own insurers. For it is clear that this troubled hard market will continue at some level into the next few years, until the insurance companies can put their balance in order,” says Griffith.

Griffith says that they are happy to accept new relationships with professional agents who have an appreciation for this industry segment and also are willing to acquaint themselves.

Medical malpractice, general contractors, nursing homes, manufacturers, and importers of herbal and diet supplements face daunting challenges today countrywide, according to Griffith. A moderation of rate increases and coverage terms can be seen in other areas of risk. Also some standard markets are showing interest in returning to certain classes.

Relationships have and always will be the real key to this business. If you don’t believe that, don’t make any contact with your carriers, specialty markets, and clients and you’ll see the results (as some already have).

Underwriting profit and discipline are two phrases that will ring throughout next year. After all, isn’t the goal of all involved supposed to be a profit?

Tom Talbot, executive vice president of TWIG (The Wholesale Insurance Group) of Brampton, Ontario, says that the Canadian wholesale market stayed hard in 2003. “Our markets continued to tighten the screws on capacity and withdrew from classes of business where risk was perceived as high. Jewelry block and hospitality are two examples of classes experiencing this phenomenon,” he says.

In general, according to Talbot, wholesale rates were impacted by reinsurance capacity, underwriting and investment returns. With equity markets returns stagnant, insurance rates were double-digit. “Our market’s whole business returned to profitability in 2003 as loss ratios plummeted due to the improved rates and tighter underwriting,” he points out. Talbot expects 2004 to see some softening and stabilizing of rates. Softening should accelerate if new carriers enter certain classes or capacity expands.

If new carriers enter the marketplace in any country, be sure to do your homework as to their financial stability. In prior “soft” market returns, some of the carriers leading the charge were not exactly the vision of stability and thus weakened the industry before their rapid demise. So-when and if there’s a return to the sales pitch of “I can get you 20% off of last year,” your client may be the one to suffer.

“Commercial property rates are flattening and we’ll continue to see this in 2004. The market saw a post-9/11 rate lift, but they are on a slight downward path and will continue to flatten next year,” according to Bill Donnell, president, P&C Select, GE Commercial Insurance. Donnell says that while workers compensation rates will vary depending on the state, medical loss inflation is driving continued rate increases to the high single-digits to low double-digits. General reserve deficiencies throughout the industry are also contributing to this rate lift. Loss inflation and torts awards that have dominated the excess casualty area will drive continued rate increases in 2004. Commercial auto underwriting guidelines are tightening and there will be rate increases-but they’ll be more conservative than those on excess casualty.

PHILADELPHIA — Against a global backdrop of geopolitical upheaval and uncertainty, the frequency and scope of security threats to U.S.-based organizations doing business in foreign markets continues to increase. According to ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, when U.S.-based businesses and organizations fail to identify, assess and respond to international security threats–employees, products and financial resources are vulnerable.

“The global marketplace can be a place of enormous opportunity for U.S.-based businesses, as well as an extremely risky environment for doing business. As recent events have shown, businesses must be prepared to respond when their employees are stranded, hurt, kidnapped or threatened overseas,” said William House, Senior Vice President, ACE Global Solutions.
According to Mr. House, organizations of every size and type, not just multinational conglomerates, must take a realistic approach to managing overseas risk. “Large, small, or someplace in between, it is critical for U.S.-based organizations doing business overseas to understand, assess and take steps to minimize security threats and other risks to their people, products and financial assets. Every organization–including U.S.-based non-profit and educational institutions operating worldwide–must be proactive to better minimize risks to employees working or traveling overseas, and be prepared to respond quickly and expertly when employees are threatened,” he said.
Offered through ACE Global Solutions, a division of ACE USA, International Advantage(R) services and insurance coverages minimize exposures that occur when employees travel outside the U.S. (or are temporarily or permanently stationed in other countries); when products are exported outside the U.S.; and, when products are sold or services marketed outside the U.S.

ACE USA’s International Advantage(R) Package Policy addresses the full range of risks associated with doing business outside the U.S. on a package basis. Features include:

–Commercial General Liability: Provides worldwide jurisdiction for bodily injury and property damage for claims arising out of third-party suits if your company is taken to court in foreign country.

–Employers Responsibility: Voluntary compensation and related coverages that address occupational injuries.

–Executive Assistance(R) Services: Provides business travelers with 24/7 access to professionals who are thoroughly familiar with local customers, languages, and pertinent regulations. Covers most of the cost of repatriation when an employee is injured overseas.

–Kidnap & Extortion: Reimburses extortion and ransom payment if employees or their families are kidnapped outside the U.S.* Includes incident response services provided by Neil Young Associates, a world leader in the special risk market.

–Commercial Property and Business Income: Optional - Available with package policy.

–Commercial Auto Liability: Contingent automobile liability.

–International AD&D and Medical - Employee: - $25,000 AD&D included with package; other limits & medical coverage optional with package policy.

Little more than a decade ago, half the indemnity health plans offered by employers didn’t cover any prescription contraceptives, and managed-care plans often weren’t much more generous. Today it’s a different story: Surveys indicate that more than four-fifths of employee health plans include such coverage.

While more plans have shifted to offer contraceptive coverage, however, some may not have adjusted that coverage to take advantage of the latest developments in contraceptive care, even though the factors that spurred the increase in coverage of birth control pills–the first covered form of prescription contraception–apply equally well to newer forms of contraception.

Susanne Martinez, vice president for public policy at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in Washington, D.C., says the increase in employer coverage of contraceptives has been spurred by three factors: “litigation, legislation and greater public awareness that led more employees to request it.”

Many employers might add another factor: cost-effectiveness. Because contraceptive coverage helps employers avoid the health care costs and lost productivity associated with unintended pregnancies, some economic analysts have concluded that providing such coverage is actually less expensive than not providing it.

Yet, companies that cover prescription contraceptives under their health insurance but do not offer a wide spectrum of products–including those that reflect the latest options–may not be getting the most out of their benefit program dollars.

Coverage Grows, Gaps Remain

The Society for Human Resource Management 2005 Benefits Survey found that 82 percent of human resource professionals said their companies offer contraceptive coverage, up from 70 percent three years ago.

Recent surveys from other organizations also found high coverage rates. For example, a benefits survey of large employers by the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that 89 percent of covered workers have coverage for oral contraceptives. And a national study of employee health plans by the Alan Guttmacher Institute in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, found that almost every type of contraceptive product or service was typically covered by at least 89 percent of plans (not including self-insured plans).

Some data, however, suggest that gaps exist in the extent of contraceptive coverage offered. A national survey released last year, sponsored in part by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)–a nonprofit association of health care providers, researchers and educators–found that many contraceptive options weren’t covered nearly as often as that old standby, the pill.

Among the less frequently covered options were the patch, vaginal rings, diaphragms, injections, IUDs and emergency contraceptives (known as the “morning-after pill”). (For more on these options, see “Rx Contraceptives at a Glance” on page 88.) In general, there seems to be a trend for “newer products to be less likely to be covered,” says ARHP President and CEO Wayne Shields.

One caveat: The Guttmacher study didn’t find these types of discrepancies, so more research is needed to determine just how big the coverage gap is between the pill and other methods.

A Lack Of Knowledge?

In cases where certain contraceptives are excluded, it may be due primarily to a lack of familiarity with these products, rather than differences in cost or effectiveness.

“Unfortunately, the insurance companies don’t keep up-to-date,” says Shields. “A lot of newer methods are less expensive than the pill,” he points out, so cost presumably isn’t the reason companies aren’t offering these new options. What is? “It’s lack of knowledge,” he concludes.

If that’s the case, it may be up to human resource professionals to become familiar with the latest options and discuss coverage with insurance providers to make sure that their employers’ contraceptive coverage truly meets the needs of the business and of employees.

Why Fewer Options Matters

Does it really matter if an insurance plan covers only one or two types of prescription contraceptives, rather than all of them?

“Absolutely,” says Dr. David Grimes, vice president of biomedical affairs at Family Health International, a non-profit public health organization based in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Grimes, a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist, says, “Based on empirical studies, we know that when clinicians try to steer women in the direction we think they ought to go, the women don’t continue [using the contraceptive] as well. So in general, the best method for any woman is whatever she wants.”

Further, while personal preference will be the key determiner for most young, healthy women, in some cases there are medical reasons why a woman cannot or should not use a certain method of contraception.

Says Grimes, “In that situation, it’s all the more important to have options to fall back on.”

University of California regents voted last month to make insurance a mandatory requirement for students, believed to be the first such requirement by a major U.S. university system.

The insurance issue stemmed from concerns about the estimated 40 percent of undergraduates who have inadequate or no coverage. Twenty-five percent of the system’s annual dropouts are due to medical issues, with a significant portion due to insurance problems, a report found.

The requirement passed by voice vote with little debate, although Regent Judith Hopkinson registered her opposition. Hopkinson said she was worried the requirement would be a financial burden to some.

Students who don’t have their own insurance will be able to buy coverage from their campuses for between $400 and $500 a year. Financial assistance is available for needy students. The measure was endorsed by the Associated Students of the University of California, but some students have said they think the requirement is too much.

Michael Drake, UC vice president for health affairs, says campuses will try to help students afford the coverage. But he says the costs of going without health insurance are far greater. Health insurance is already mandatory for all graduate and international students at UC and for undergraduates at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. Officials from those campuses say students have welcomed the coverage.

HOSPITALS usually don’t go farther than across town seeking new patients, but UCLA has set it sights across the Pacific.

The university’s medical center has entered into an unusual insurance pact that will bring in well-heeled Koreans for major orthopedic surgery and treatment of cancer, heart disease and neurological conditions.

Cambridge, Mass.-based WorldCare Inc., which until now facilitated second opinions by U.S. specialists to foreign patients via the Web, will provide the patients.

Its new insurance subsidiary is selling secondary insurance to Korean residents–who otherwise are treated by that country’s national health service–that will provide them access to UCLA and three other top U.S. health systems.

UCLA officials don’t expect that the agreement will immediately draw large numbers of foreign patients, but they say it should expand the number now being treated, which amounts to about 1 percent of its caseload.

“It does provide an opportunity down the road to see a larger number of patients,” said Mark Gelhaus, director of international relations at UCLA Medical Center. “It’s fairly unique.” Officials with WorldCare say they brought UCLA into the network because of its West Coast location, top reputation and the fact that Los Angeles has the largest population of Koreans outside the Korean peninsula. Some Korean nationals already come to UCLA for treatment.

“It was very important to us that the hospital was able to cater to an international clientele,” said Dr. Joel Kahn, president of WorldCare’s Global Health Plan.

The plan is aimed at upper-income Koreans who can afford a supplemental insurance policy, with costs ranging from about $300 a year for children to $4,000 for a 50-year-old person. It provides up to $1 million in medical. surgical and travel expenses, but it’s a catastrophic plan limited to the four major illness categories.

Kahn said other international insurance carriers market secondary policies in countries with national health services but usually they only provide a cash benefit and patients are on their own in locating a U.S. doctor.

The other participating systems are the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Health Systems and Partners HealthCare System Inc., which includes Massachusetts General Hospital.

SINCE the end of World War II, the provision of medical care in the United States and other advanced countries has displayed three major features: first, rapid advance in the science of medicine; second, large increases in spending, both in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars per person and the fraction of national income spent on medical care; and third, rising dissatisfaction with the delivery of medical care, on the part of both consumers of medical care and physicians and other suppliers of medical care.

Rapid technological advance has occurred repeatedly since the industrial revolution–in agriculture, steam engine, railroad, telephone, electricity, automobile, radio, television, and, most recently, computers and telecommunication. The other two features seem unique to medicine. It is true that spending initially increased after nonmedical technical advances, but the fraction of national income spent did not increase dramatically after the initial phase of widespread acceptance. On the contrary, technological development lowered cost, so that the fraction of national income spent on food, transportation, communication, and much more has gone down, releasing resources to produce new products or services. Similarly, there seems no counterpart in these other areas to the rising dissatisfaction with the delivery of medical care.

These developments in medicine have been worldwide. By their very nature, scientific advances know no geographical boundaries. Data on spending are readily available for 29 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. In every one, medical spending has gone up both in inflation-adjusted dollars per person and as a fraction of national income. Data are available for both 1960 and 1997 for 21 countries. In 13, spending more than doubled as a fraction of gross domestic product. The smallest increase was 67 percent, the largest, 378 percent. In 1997, 16 of the 29 OECD countries spent between 7 percent and 9 percent of gross domestic product on medical care. The United States spent 14 percent, the highest of any OECD country. Germany was a distant second at 11 percent; Turkey was the lowest at 4 percent.

A key difference between medical care and the other technological revolutions is the role of government. In other technological revolutions, the initiative, financing, production, and distribution were primarily private, though government sometimes played a supporting or regulatory role. In medical care, government has come to play a leading role in financing, producing, and delivering medical service. Direct government spending on health exceeds 75 percent of total health spending for 15 OECD countries. The United States is next to the lowest of the 29 countries, at 46 percent. In addition, some governments indirectly subsidize medical care through favorable tax treatment. For the United States, such subsidization raises the fraction of health spending financed directly or indirectly by government to over 50 percent.

What are countries getting for the money they are spending on medical care? What is the relation between input and output? Spending on medical care provides a reasonably good measure of input, but, unfortunately, there is no remotely satisfactory objective measure of output. For the hospital segment, number of beds occupied may at first seem like an objective measure. However, improvements in medicine have included a reduction in the length of hospital stay required for various medical procedures or illnesses. So, fewer patient days may be a sign of greater, not lesser, output. The desired output of medical care is “good health.” But how can we quantify “good health,” and equally important, allow for the role that factors other than medical care–such as plentiful food, pure water, and protective clothing–play in producing “good health”?

The least objectionable measure I have been able to find is expected length of life at birth or at various later ages, though that too is a far from unambiguous measure of the output attributable to spending on medical care. The remarkable increase in life span in advanced countries during the past century reflects much more than spending on medical care proper. Moreover, it does not allow for changes in the quality of life–attempted measurement of which is still in its infancy.

Five years ago, Ed Betof, vice president of talent management and chief learning officer for Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD), a medical technology firm headquartered in Franklin Lakes, N.J., arrived in his office with 30 boxes of training books and a charter from his CEO to create a corporate university.

Faced with the prospect of developing this learning organization from the ground up for 25,000 employees worldwide, Betof created a vision in which the bulk of the face-to-face training would be delivered by company leaders. Doing so would fill the instructor gaps quickly and cost-effectively.

“We started with a blank sheet of paper, no track record, no credibility, no momentum. We had no programming,” recalls Betof. “Inch by inch, we developed programming with powerful impact.”

Now, 10 months into the program, he not only has developed a dynamic learning organization, but also has seen the unintended benefits of having employees create and teach the curricula. Those benefits include increased employee morale, better talent identification, enhanced high-potential employee leadership development, improved companywide communication, higher employee retention and lowered costs.

It is important to become a teaching organization, not just a learning organization, asserts Noel Tichy, professor of organizational behavior and HR management and director of the Global Business Partnership at the University of Michigan Business School in Ann Arbor.

Having employees teach others is nothing new, but many companies, such as BD, are formalizing the process and making it the primary way in which they deliver training and develop their employees–as both teachers and students.

On-Target Training

Not only does employee-led training save companies the cost of outside consultant trainers, it also lends itself to better content, targeted for the individual company. After all, it’s being taught by people who know the company, and its needs, intimately.

“The courses are on target since the trainer knows our business,” says spokeswoman Diane Hoey, from Chandler Chicco Agency (CCA), a health care public relations agency in New York whose employees lead most of its training efforts.

Amanda Cote, a member of the business development group for CCA, who leads training courses at the agency, agrees: “Trainees seem to have a higher level of respect for a trainer who is entrenched in what she is teaching. All participants are willing to learn because they understand how this fits into their day-to-day work.”

Hoey believes this is why employee-led training generates greater attendance than non-mandatory training taught by outsiders.

Credibility is one of the reasons 90 percent of training is employee-led at J.D. Power and Associates. “Internal employees bring a high level of credibility to the subject matter, and associates know that the training was not developed in a vacuum,” says Donna Delaney, director of training and development at the marketing information services firm headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif. “This also encourages consistency in the practices used throughout the organization.”

Almost any class that can be taught in-house is suited to employee-led learning. However, the most common employee-led classes include information technology skills, finance, leadership development and performance management.

Dozens of employees at Atwell-Hicks, a land development surveyor and consultancy headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., teach courses on everything from leadership to poison ivy awareness. “One learns best by teaching others,” says Tim Augustine, vice president of corporate services at Atwell-Hicks. “When the class is over and a skill application question arises, the instructor is on the job with the answer.”

Adds Kelly Tapp, program leader for staff training and development at Atwell-Hicks: “We prefer employee-led training because [the trainers] make direct application of the skills much easier for the students.”

Equally important is which courses employee teachers should not teach. In many cases, this decision will be based on your industry and employees’ skill sets. For instance, at J.D. Power and Associates, courses that aren’t taught by employees are “courses that are not company-specific, such as effective speaking,” says Delaney.

Other classes that may not be suited to employee teachers are regulatory classes. “A lot of our legal compliance training is done by [outside] lawyers,” says Sharon Douglas, vice president of HR and chief people officer at Aflac Inc., an insurance company in Columbus, Ga., that also uses employee trainers. “With sexual harassment training, it’s better when it comes from an expert in handling those situations.”

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc (NYSE: AAI), has partnered with AEGON Direct Marketing Services Inc.

The airline said that the aim of teaming up with the company is to offer the most comprehensive, highest value travel protection product in the market. The product will reportedly be available for a nominal fee to anyone who purchases a ticket on the airline’s website. It is expected to help customers recover the cost of any expenses incurred due to a delayed trip, such as rental cars, lodging or other expenses, change and cancel fees in the event of a forced cancellation, or additional transportation costs to resume an interrupted trip, up to a maximum benefit amount.

AirTran said that the insurance product reimburses a customer for air ticket costs if the customer’s trip is cancelled, additional transportation expenses incurred to resume an interrupted trip or other expenses incurred during a delayed trip due to events such as sudden illness or injury; weather delays; natural disasters; being subpoenaed or called to jury duty; documented theft of passports or visas; fire, flood, or natural disaster affecting the client’s home; or a domestic or international terrorist incident.

The insurance is available for USD14.99 per passenger and can be purchased at the same time as the customer purchases their ticket through AirTran Airways. This price includes coverage for trip interruption, trip cancellation, travel delays greater than 12 hours, baggage loss and delay, and medical evacuation, the airline said. There is also a basic product can be purchased for USD12.99 that includes trip cancellation and interruption coverage.