FASHION TIP: FOR MEN WHO LOVE BLACK OUTFITS

If you like to wear black as much as I do, listen up. I have become quite aware of the way different fabrics hold black dye as well as which fabrics and textures look good together. With this in mind, I live by these six rules.
 

Matching Your Blacks

No matter what the fabric, shades of black differ so be careful when putting an all black outfit together. For example, when pairing a black shirt with black trousers, the black shirt might have a purple cast while your black trousers have a brown cast. These differences are subtle, but important.

Mix Textures and Fabrics

There is a right and wrong way to wear black clothes. As with any ensemble, it's important to mix different fabrics and textures. For example, a heavily textured sweater with a smooth pant looks dashing as does a plain merino wool sweater with a tonal stripe pant. Doing this will make you look less like you are wearing a uniform more like you put a little effort into your outfit.

Cotton - Proceed with Caution

When it comes to cottons, they fade rather quickly which is why I like to buy black cotton shirts that have a touch of Lycra in them. The synthetic fiber helps cotton hold the dye better. I also like to buy mercerized cotton shirts since the blacks are deeper and richer than other cottons.

Caring for Your Black Clothes

If it is black (or dark), dry clean it. Even if you launder your shirts, dry clean the black (or dark) ones. It will keep the color from fading as quickly. When it comes to washing black (or dark) cotton items at home, use a cup of vinegar the first time you wash a new article. The vinegar helps set the dye. If that sounds unappealing, you can use WOOLITE Dark Laundry Fabric Wash which is specially formulated to minimize the fading of colors and maintain color intensity. Also, always use cold water with your dark items.

Know When to Say Goodbye

Retire clothes when they start to fade. Faded blacks just

COMMON INSURANCE TERMS

Material Fact:

Any fact which would influence the insurer in accepting or declining a risk or in fixing the premium or terms and conditions of the contract is material and must be disclosed by a proposer, or by the insurer to the insured at inception of the policy, at renewal and during the period of the cover. Examples of a material fact could be previous claims, convictions, financial difficulties, i.e. CCJ’s, bankruptcies, liquidations, non-standard construction of premises, previous declinatures of cover or terms imposed

Maximum Indemnity Period:  

Under a Business Interruption insurance the period during which cover is provided for the disruption to the business following the occurrence of an insured peril. 


  Claims Notification: 
Different Insurers will have different conditions on claims reporting, failure to adhere to these could seriously affect your ability to claim. It is therefore essential that you comply with the notification conditions and, our advice is to notify us or your Insurers at the earliest possible opportunity.


Limit of Indemnity: 
The maximum amount payable. For Employers’ Liability and Public Liability policies, this is a limit for all claims arising out of a single cause, whereas this is normally stated as an aggregate amount payable in any one period of insurance in the case of Products Liability or Financial Loss insurances. In the case of Professional Indemnity insurances the Limit of Indemnity may be expressed as one or the other. 

 
Long Term Agreements or Undertakings:
 
Where a policy is subject to a Long Term Agreement (LTA) or Undertaking (LTU), for which a premium discount has been allowed as a specific amount or within the overall calculation of premium, you are bound to renew with the current insurer. If, however, the insurer seeks to amend the terms or conditions of the policy or the rates of premium charged (though this does not apply to changes in premium caused by amendments you request or changes in the rates of any applicable taxes) then you are no longer obliged to renew.

 

10 THINGS TO BE LEARNED FROM WORKPLACE POLITICS

1. They say you shouldn’t burn bridges, and that’s true. But I’ve burned bridges before, and it’s hard not to be angry sometimes if you feel like you’ve been taken advantage of. The trick is to buck up and apologize if you’ve made a mistake, and try to be professional. it might take a few months for some water to flow under the bridge, but it’s worth it. In my experience, people really respect somebody who can admit their mistakes and confront a situation honestly.
2. Sometimes you can be professional and it doesn’t make a difference. If you are in a situation that is really not working, keep your head up and look for something new. Just stay professional. You’re better than that, right?
3. I’d like to say that I’ve never gossiped or been passive-aggressive at work or had a negative attitude, but then I’d be lying. When you feel stressed or powerless, you sometimes have a bad attitude. I don’t believe it when I read columns by consultants that talk about the importance of avoiding all office politics and gossip. We aren’t robots, and it’s tough not to get sucked in when you’re building relationships with colleagues, celebrating victories and commiserating over failures. You want to be careful though… negativity builds on itself.
4. When you enter a new job, learn about that place before you start making changes. Understand the office culture, the history, what has been tried before. Take time to get to know your colleagues and direct reports. Be honest and open and see opportunities, not challenges. Bring Timbits for everybody.
5. Be strategic about what is important. Let’s say you were just elected president of the United States of America due to an overwhelming wave of support. What is the first piece of legislation you will pass? Because you might only get one thing that will pass through relatively unopposed before your popularity and power begin to subside.
6. Be collaborative. Silos are dangerous. Help out your colleagues and they will help you out.
7. Do the things you hate doing. Those are your weak areas and blind spots. For me, that means getting better at project management and organization. For some people, it’s sales or relationship-building. Fear can be a powerful motivator. I feel fear before I step on stage. If I’m not afraid, it’s a problem; it means I’ve become complacent.
8. Try not to sleep with anybody you work consistently with. It happens, I get it. But do your best. Because it can make your office a pretty tough place to work if it doesn’t work out. So… yeah. Make sure it’s true love.
9. With Facebook and social media, it’s easy to stay friends with former colleagues and bosses. Do it. They will come in handy in the future. They will give you advice, write a reference letter, or be a reference on the phone. Maybe, down the road, they will give you other work too. Unless your boss was a total lunatic, it’s good to have a cordial relationship with them after you’ve left.

Job transitions are happening more and more often these days, and we have to learn to be good at them.

INDEMNITY AND INSURANCE PROVISIONS IN CONTRACTS AND POLICY LANGUAGE

Indemnification and insurance provisions are common features of many types of commercial contracts, including construction, engineering, oil and gas, and product distribution contracts. These contractual provisions reflect an effort by parties to contractually allocate risk, and to provide for insurance as a backstop for the contractual allocation of risk.

This contractual allocation of risk and insurance backstop involve three separate components: (1) an indemnification provision; (2) an insurance provision; and (3) an additional insured provision.

Much has been written about the different types of indemnification provisions — how they have been interpreted and restrictions on indemnifying a party for its sole negligence. Thus, this article will focus on contractual insurance provisions and additional insured provisions that may be used as a backstop.

Scope of Additional Insured Coverage: Contractual Provisions and Language of Insurance Policy

Contractual insurance provisions and additional insured language in insurance policies are often viewed as intertwined with indemnification provisions in a contract. In other words, parties may intend that the additional insured’s right to coverage apply to the other party’s indemnification obligations, but not to cover any liability of the additional insured that is beyond the scope of any contractual indemnification provision.

For example, many jurisdictions prohibit indemnification for the indemnitee’s sole negligence, and the parties may assume that the additional insured’s rights only extend to liability arising out of the indemnitor’s negligence and not to the indemnitee’s negligence or even sole negligence To the extent the parties intend for the indemnitee’s rights as an additional insured to be limited to the indemnitor’s obligation to indemnify, it is important for the parties to pay careful attention to both the insurance provisions of the contract as well as any additional insured provisions or endorsements.

While the parties may assume that both merely backstop the indemnification provision, cases in several different jurisdictions — including recent cases in Texas involving the petroleum industry — demonstrate the potential that insurance provisions in a contract and additional insured provisions in a policy, may be interpreted to provide the additional insured with coverage for all of its liability, including liability beyond any contractual indemnification obligation, and extending to the sole negligence of the indemnitee.

Initially, if the parties’ intention is that the additional insured is entitled to coverage for only the indemnitor’s indemnification obligation, this intention should be explicitly stated in the contract’s insurance provision so that the court does not extend the additional insured’s right to coverage beyond its right to indemnification under the contract, including the sole negligence of the indemnitee.

Happy New Month