Packaged exclusively for CBP Members by Community Newspapers Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (CNRIE)

Contacts:
Lucia Shepherd ext. 223 Shelley Ford ext. 234
3050 Harvester Road, Suite 103 Burlington, ON L7N 3J1

Phone: 905-639-8720
Fax: 905-639-6962
Email: cnrie@ocna.org

Coverage

Growing numbers of Canadian Business Press Members have called the association office seeking reasonably priced errors & omissions and libel insurance coverage. This fact, coupled with an increasingly litigious business environment, convinced Directors that CBP should provide access to economical insurance covering the publication liability needs of its Members.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, CBP approached the Community Newspapers Reciprocal Insurance Exchange with a request to package a policy exclusively for the Members of the Canadian Business Press. CNRIE has offered coverage for damages arising out of an error or omissions due to libel, invasion of privacy, plagiarism, piracy or infringement of copyright, to the community newspaper industry since 1986. Effective November 1, 2004, CNRIE will begin offering similar coverage at exclusive discounted rates to Members of the Canadian Business Press.

Coverage extends to owners, publishers, editors, writers and correspondents while acting within the scope of their duties for the insured publications.

Web site coverage is limited to the part of the web site that is the same content as the print edition.

Pre-publication and legal advice services

These services are provided as part of our standard policy at no additional cost.

The pre-publication program gives you direct access to lawyers to review material prior to publication. A lawyer from our experienced panel is assigned to provide pre-clearance advice for each area of the country giving members access to their service during their business hours.

The 1-800 telephone number enables publishers and their staff to contact legal counsel for advice on areas of law, such as publication bans, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Criminal Code, and contempt of court issues.

Coverage Amounts

The Reciprocal provides coverage up to $1,000,000 per claim in excess of the deductible. The first $25,000 incurred is directly insured by CNRIE. At this level Insureds are subject to a maximum claims aggregate per publication, during any one policy year of $100,000.

CNRIE obtains supplemental insurance to cover individual claims in excess of $25,000 to the one million dollar limit, which it administers directly on behalf of Insureds.

The terms of the supplementary insurance for the group are:

• Limit $1,000,000 per claim per policy year in settlement of claims or satisfaction of judgments in excess of $25,000.
• Aggregate limit for all Insureds of $2,000,000 per policy period.
• Coverage includes expenses incurred to investigate, defend, settle, arbitrate, mediate or litigate claims.
• This policy excludes payments of fines, penalties, and punitive or exemplary damages.
• This policy is limited to claims brought or filed in Canadian courts only.

Premiums and Deductibles

CNRIE was established to provide publishers with access to reasonably priced insurance coverage for specific perils related to publishing.

Premiums are assessed based on circulation, publishing frequency and claims experience.

Deductible options of $1,500 and $2,500, per claim, are available. The deductible is payable directly by the Insured once costs are incurred on a claim. Once the deductible is exceeded, CNRIE pays directly on behalf of its member; no additional monies are paid by the Insured and there are no forms to complete.

Policy

Policies are written based on the calendar year. Premiums will be prorated based on the number of months remaining in the year, for those who are accepted after the first of January.

Each policy will commence as agreed between the Insured and CNRIE, subject to payment of premiums.

CNRIE's policies are occurrence-based, so only claims on items published between commencement and expiry of the policy are covered.

Summary of Services

• Experienced legal counsel. You gain access to some of the best media lawyers in the country. Immediate, direct access to legal advice, when you need it to check or 'pre-clear' your controversial stories before they run, at no additional cost.
• Competitive rates - deductible options to suit your claims experience.
• One-stop coverage for all in-house writers and correspondents and all your publications, including web sites and vertical publications.
• Toll-free telephone advice on related matters such as bans on publication, Youth Criminal Justice Act, etc.

Governance and Management

CNRIE is a not-for profit entity whose members include publications from across Canada. In Ontario, CNRIE is regulated by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and is governed by the Insurance Act of Ontario.

The Reciprocal operates from the offices of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association with whom it shares staff. It is governed by its own Advisory Board that is composed of publishers and employees of its member publications.

Who We Are and What We Do

CNRIE was founded in 1986 by newspaper publishers. It provides access to a panel of lawyers, representing some of the best professional advice available. In a Reciprocal Insurance Exchange, subscribers are shareholders in the organization. The Reciprocal binds together the companies that hold the policies in a reciprocal agreement. Surplus funds are managed to cover the cost of claims, provide additional benefits to members and shelter its members from radical fluctuations in premium costs.

CNRIE provides coverage for damages arising out of an error or omissions due to libel, invasion of privacy, plagiarism, piracy and infringement of copyright. CNRIE provides this coverage to a variety of print publications, and can provide coverage for web sites where the print publication is reproduced, and other vertical publications.