WorldWide Drilling Resource

In a word, YES, but let’s start with what exactly is a gap? It’s a risk to you personally. Think of it like this: A gap in coverage is the distance between certain coverage in one circumstance and coverage in another. It’s anywhere you’re unprotected. The bigger the gap, the more things and bigger situations could fall into it - leaving you holding the bag, footing the bill, or suffering the consequence, and that is the trap! When it comes to insurance, we like to think about the ways in which we’re covered, and we all generally feel better about being protected from the risks and expenses which we either don’t want or can’t afford. However, insurance isn’t designed to protect anyone from every eventuality, in all cases and circumstances, meaning in- surance policies have specific limitations and exclusions to be understood and respected. Some policy ex- clusions are obvious while other exclusions are interwoven into the very language which constitutes the policy itself. Those can be tricky to understand and even more difficult to accept - especially when unwittingly brought about by agents, underwriters, and claims adjusters unfamiliar with the drilling industry, equipment, or terminology as it relates to the insurance you buy. Ignorance might be bliss, but it is one of the most common gaps and most costly traps of all! This is especially true of the traps lurking just outside of an insurance policy. Most devastating of all are those for which not only is there no insurance coverage, but for which you could be in for a legal battle and ultimately on the hook for punitive damages. While there are more than enough traps out there to fill a book, perhaps one of the most pervasive and dangerous ones has to do with autos. Here is a firsthand example of what happened to a client just BEFORE we met: An employer purchased a new truck, had his agent add it to his policy, then sent an employee to drive it. Unfortunately, the new employee caused a catastrophic accident with a fatality. This was truly a bad day for everyone, but it was made worse because the employee had a three-year-old DUI (Driving Under the Influence) on his record. Making issues even worse, the vehicle was titled personally and not to the business, and was added to a personal policy with low liability limits, not the commercial policy. Things went downhill from there until the business owners finally had to personally settle without insurance for several hundred thousand dollars! A personal hit paid out of their pocket. I encourage you to drill down into the details of your insurance program. Raise your awareness; think and act with clarity, as well as wisdom, to secure your future and success - come what may. Kyle Kyle Rehme may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com Kyle Rehme uses his personal knowledge of the water well, drilling, and environmental in- dustries to provide cus- tomers with practical insurance solutions. Can Coverage Gaps Trap You? (From Kyle’s seminar at the 2016 Shallow Exploration Drillers Clinic in Catoosa, Oklahoma) by Kyle Rehme VolkBell Property & Casualty Insurance, LLC , . *#! ' , , . &#," 1 0% "& 1 * ', &#," (%$ %% *() *,0 +- %,0 '+-* ' *#%% *+ 1 '- ,-* *+ 1 -))%# *+ 1 '!#' *+ 1 ('+-%, ',+ 1 , * %% 1 ,"( # 1 '.#*('& ', % 1 (," *& % 1 (' - ,(* (% *#%% *+ 1 #% # % *.# + 1 , * -&) *.# ) #* (',* ,(*+ /,(' * (*, (%%#'+ 20 JUNE 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®