Articles

So far in 2022, the U.S. has experienced multiple tragic mass shootings. One only needs to see the images on the news following the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Tex., or the attack during the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., to be reminded of the heart-breaking, human impact these incidents have. There are varying ways to define an active assailant shooting incident....

As the pandemic recedes, the art market is getting back to business. Record-breaking auction sales, breakthrough success of young contemporary artists, and a range of new material and media used in artists’ creations are hot trends dominating the art scene today. Art collecting has also diversified in recent years, broadening the appetite of the collector class. Some are new to the market, drawn t...

Many reinsurers across the globe increasingly have been doing business with certain select managing general agents (MGAs), seen as market innovators, by reinsuring the fronting insurers that provide the paper for MGAs to underwrite. In recent years, it is a trend that has continued from the soft market into the current hard market — as long as the interests of MGAs and their capacity providers are...

A busy summer travel season provided a much-needed boost to the hotel industry but rising insurance costs and other economic factors threaten to undermine the sector’s ongoing recovery. After nearly three years of losses related to COVID-19, hotel industry revenue and occupancy may actually exceed pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA...

The insurance market for condos has always had its challenges with limited appetite in the marketplace to begin with but the post-COVID environment has been especially challenging, according to Brian Davidian, executive vice president, casualty at RT Specialty LLC. The overall property/casualty market continues to see hard market conditions. At the same time, carriers are seeing upticks in claim f...

The real estate insurance market is in a state of transition. Increased frequency and severity of natural catastrophe losses have taken their toll on the real estate property market. Add in losses due to civil unrest endured in 2020 and top that off with inflation and other economic challenges, the market sees even tougher conditions ahead, says Ryan Flanagan, senior vice president at Heffernan In...

Much has been written about concerns related to use of 3D printing in the office or home, including potential risks associated with health, safety, product defects, and more. Now, imagine taking your 3D printer outside and watching it morph from the size of a milk crate to that of a triceratops — such devices are already a reality; there are currently numerous types of large, 3D printing construct...

Wholesale broker Risk Placement Services (RPS) said more than 20 new insurance companies and managing general agents have entered the excess and surplus marketplace over the last couple of years — and they may be more aggressive than incumbent insurers. “In my 30-plus year career, I’ve never seen so many new market entrants come in within a few months of each other,” said Bill Wilkinson, president...

Increased interest in creating more energy efficient, resilient buildings is expected to fuel growth in the green construction industry, particularly as the government looks to spur investment in these projects through new incentives. But insurance specialists in the space say supply chain disruptions and a lack of qualified labor, as well as the unknown exposures of newer construction materials,...

The hard market for cyber insurance, which is expected to continue for “some time,” and a lack of capacity has made captive insurers an “attractive risk management option for corporations,” said AM Best in a recent market report. As part of its look at the U.S. cyber market, AM Best said captives can customize policies to allow parent organizations to assess damage and react quicker, but “sufficie...

I find that almost all agents and a high proportion of insurance carrier employees possess inadequate knowledge of insurance carrier surplus. Also, many think the knowledge they possess is accurate, however, in my experience, it is not. Assessment of insurance company surplus is complex. That is why actuaries make the big bucks. A.M. Best has developed a proprietary scoring system that is complex...

During my 17-year stint at the Big “I” national association, I received tens of thousands of coverage questions from member agents. One of the most common questions was whether someone needed [insert type of policy here] insurance for certain activities. One that came up on multiple occasions was whether someone with primarily an auto exposure also needed CGL coverage. These questions ranged from...

Music may not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering the cybersecurity and insurance industries, but these industries could have more in common than it seems, according to guests on a recent episode of The Insuring Cyber Podcast. “When it comes to helping people become aware of complex subjects that are maybe unengaging or a little bit boring, music is one of those things that we c...

The world of work is changing fast, with the pull of the digital revolution and the push of the pandemic shifting mindsets and introducing far greater flexibility in how we organize our working lives. In the two years since the pandemic struck, those that could worked from home. Some are now retuning to the office for the first time and many will happily never set foot in a physical workplace agai...

The pandemic has led to a rise in mental health-related workers’ comp claims for first responders, according to Safety National’s Chairman and CEO Mark Wilhelm. There is also an uptick in mental health issues for injured workers, he said. “Almost all states cover mental health as it relates to a physical injury,” he said. “Many states have passed the PTSD presumption, post-traumatic stress syndrom...