Articles

"The world's not a less risky place." "We're clearly in historical hard market conditions for property and casualty." "I don't think we're going to see anywhere near the same level of flow back into the admitted market." These are the words of top leaders in the excess and surplus lines industry who believe today's risk is more complex and riskier than ever before. And the world of E&S is chan...

We had some work done on our home recently and the contractor wasn't what I was expecting. When I spoke with the GC (General Contractor), he told me that his sub (contractor) would be at my house, working on some general labor kind of work. This sub drove up in his boxy little car, pulling a little trailer behind him filled with bins and tubs containing all kinds of tools and things. His was a min...

The year was 2016. New high net worth (HNW) insurance carriers were entering the market. Established underwriting operations had become a consistent source of profits for investors and parent companies. Aging brokerage owners with sizable private client books of business were selling their companies for high revenue multiples and preparing to sail off into retirement (sometimes literally). Anyone...

A challenging legal arena, a continuing talent shortage and alternatives to traditional insurance products are three areas impacting nonprofits today, according to industry reports that recently shed light on headwinds yielding a cloudy outlook for many organizations. Highlights from several of those publications are detailed below. "A shrinking number of carriers want to insure this sector," Aler...

A recent Insurance Journal article decried the state of insurance for churches and it's mostly about their property insurance issues and we all know that the property insurance space has struggled in recent years, especially in storm-prone areas. But why would churches in particular have property insurance issues, and is there anything that can be done about it? Insuring churches is generally done...

There's something very human about attempting to master nature itself. We live in an uncertain time, however -- one in which unpredictable weather patterns make it increasingly difficult to protect our property and communities from severe and destructive storms fueled in part by the climate. This classic push-and-pull -- the uncertainty of nature, coupled with the human desire to resist and defend...

Beset with massive rate increases, dramatic rejections of coverage, and severely dwindling market capacity, the current youth sports liability market is historically challenging, according to insurance professionals with expertise in the area. "I feel like there's been a massive shift that's been happening," said Tyrre Burks, founder and CEO of Players Health, a sports-centric insurance provider....

The condominium building is an interesting form of owning property where an individual owns their unit, what is sometimes referred to as a box of air, and at the same time, becomes a part of the condominium ownership association, which owns the real property. In essence, one becomes a shareholder and stakeholder in the larger organization simply by owning the place where they live. It's a bit more...

Inflation is cooling, employment growth is normalizing and the workers' compensation outlook is good, according to a national economist specializing in workers' compensation. The economy and the property/casualty insurance industry are inextricably linked together, said Stephen Cooper, executive director and senior economist at the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), speaking at the...

When it comes to most of the personal lines market, it's pretty straightforward. A person buys a car, and they need insurance. A person buys a home or rents an apartment, and they need insurance. Often, they can benefit from the marketing device we call bundling because they have both. Is that all that the insurance consumer needs? Could they benefit from some additional risk management? What Abou...

The insurance industry came in sixth in a ranking of 10 major industries based on current AI risk, and seventh based on future risk, with healthcare replacing IT as the most exposed sector in the next 10 years. The rankings appeared in a new white paper from Swiss Re Institute titled, "Tech-tonic shifts: How AI could change industry risk landscapes," which highlights the opportunities for insurers...

Even during the post-pandemic boom in the entertainment industry, when event and live performance venue attendance reached pre-COVID-19 levels, insurance markets in the sector could be difficult. Now, the post-pandemic momentum may be slowing as entertainment businesses contend with rising costs of doing business, staffing shortages, and an insurance market that remains somewhat restrictive and mo...

Systemic cyber risk is being discussed as a growing concern for insurers as technology advances and interconnectivity increases, but how is this risk defined? That may be one of its gray areas. "As you go through different owners of risk in the ecosystem, the word systemic means a lot of different things," said Matt Prevost, chief underwriting officer for cyber at Chubb. "So, in the ecosystem of c...

You don't have to look very far to understand that the gaming (gambling) industry in the United States is booming. What was only available for those who wanted to travel to Las Vegas or Atlantic City is now available on your smartphone. Even before the expansion of betting apps, we watched a rising gambling economy driven by partnerships with indigenous tribes who could capitalize on legal reasons...

While the overall number of wildfires per year is declining, the increasing size and intensity of fires have led to more property damage than ever before. The average fire size has tripled over the past 30 years, according to a recent report by CoreLogic. Wildfire activity is cyclical and doesn't follow a uniform pattern from season to season. In 2023, when an El Ni—o weather pattern brought incre...