Business Benefits and Risks of Social Media Are Explored in New ACE Canada Podcast

ACE Canada, the Canadian-based operating division of the ACE Group, today announced the release of its new podcast entitled, “Social Media: the Business Benefits May be Enormous, But Can the Risks be Mitigated?” In this new podcast, ACE Canada explores the potential business benefits and risks of using social media. The benefits are becoming impossible to ignore, but the risks of social media should be well understood. These risks may be reputational, legal, and operational in nature, and can have an impact on privacy, intellectual property, and employment practices, among other significant issues.

The podcast features Michael Trendler, Vice President, ACE Professional Risk, and Eric Dolden, Senior Partner, Dolden Wallace Follick LLP, as they explore the perils of social media participation, the liability that can arise if customer information is used improperly, discuss a few basic steps to address a company’s social media risks, and provide a roadmap to help make social media work for Canadian organizations.

“Social media opens up a whole new world of privacy, security, intellectual property, employment practices, and other legal risks,” said David Brosnan, Division President, ACE Canada Property and Casualty, and Chief Underwriting Officer, ACE Canada. “Once you’ve taken the steps to mitigate these considerable risks, your company will be in the best possible position to reap the enormous business benefits of social media participation.”

“The opportunity to use social media to interact with anyone, anywhere, at any time is too big to ignore, and it has changed the way companies approach advertising and promotion through the media,” commented Mr. Trendler. “It’s important to understand the considerable downside that coexists with the remarkable upside of using social media for business.”

Mr. Dolden added his perspective, “Organizations seeking to incorporate social media into their business strategy may want to follow certain practices to ensure their corporate safety online — including identifying the laws and legal risks that may apply — and design programs to mitigate that risk to an acceptable level.”

To access the podcast, please visit our website.  The material presented in the podcast is not intended to provide legal or other expert advice. It is presented as information only. Listeners should consult legal counsel or other experts, as applicable, with any questions they may have. This podcast is based on a paper published by the ACE Group, in conjunction with The Information Law Group, a firm that addresses a broad spectrum of legal matters, including transactions and e-commerce, compliance, breach notice and incident response and litigation.

About Dolden Wallace Follick: Dolden Wallace Folick LLP is a Vancouver-based law firm and was voted one of the Top 5 Insurance Boutique Law Firms in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine. Eric Dolden, the senior partner, has been practicing law for 34 years and in 2011 was named one of Canada’s top commercial insurance lawyers by Canada’s Lexpert magazine having also been the insurer’s choice of counsel on some high profile insurance cases that have been heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. Mr. Dolden has published numerous papers on management liability and coverage issues which have appeared in the Canadian Journal of Insurance Law and the International Journal of Insurance Law.

ACE Canada® refers to ACE INA Insurance and ACE INA Life Insurance, subsidiaries of the ACE Group, and is rated AA- (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor’s and A+ (Stable) by A.M. Best Company. ACE Canada, through its underwriting companies, provides insurance products and services throughout Canada. Additional information on ACE Canada and its products and services can be found at www.ace-ina-canada.com.  The ACE Group is one of the world’s largest multiline property and casualty insurers. With operations in 53 countries, ACE provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. ACE Limited, the parent company of the ACE Group, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ACE) and is a component of the S&P 500 index.  Additional information can be found at: www.acegroup.com.

http://www.ace-ina-canada.com