Bedbugs may be small, but they can create big problems for commercial property owners and others.

Bedbugs also may take the biggest bite out of a company's reputation, experts said during a panel discussion at the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc.'s recent Annual Conference & Exhibition.

“The big numbers are all attached to reputational risk,” said Marshall N. Glinksy, a shareholder at New York-based law firm Anderson Kill & Olick P.C. A huge “ick factor” is associated with the bugs. A company associated with bedbugs can suffer a tremendous hit to its reputation, which could mean loss of revenue when potential guests skip infested hotels.

“It's an issue that is best handled if you confront it and take care of it,” said Mr. Glinsky. A bedbug infestation can have a “tremendous ripple impact on business,” and not just hospitality businesses, he said. “The big exposure is reputational exposure.”

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