FLOOD INSURANCE Will the private market be big enough to make a big difference? By Joseph S. Harrington, CPCU We’ve come to a significant milestone in the troubled history of U.S. flood insurance. As of July 1, 2019, real estate lenders seeking to sell mortgages to federally sponsored secondary market agencies (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.) are required to accept private flood insurance policies on collateral properties, provided those policies
Specialty Lines
SPECIALTY LINES MARKETS FOCUS ON WORKERS COMPENSATION Wearable technology and machine intelligence contribute to safer workplaces and fewer claims By Lori Widmer The news was good heading into the fourth quarter of 2018: Workers compensation claims were declining. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) reported claims for individual states declining at a rate of 3.5% to 19.1%. Nationally, NCCI reports a five-year decrease of 91% in claim frequency. What’s
Customer Service Focus By Paul Martin, CPCU RISK MANAGEMENT AND UNDERSTANDING SPECIALTY MARKETS Specialty and niche market courses can expand your risk horizons Manufacturers, distributors, contractors, retailers, service and e-commerce operations have many common denominators. At the same time, each business sector has its own specialized business insurance and risk management demands. Think about all the specializations within these areas: hospitality, energy, farm and ranch, cyber, transportation, healthcare, large commercial.
ISO Emerging Issues Perspective By Dr. Arindam Samanta REFINING THE VIEW OF WILDFIRE RISK AFTER THE DEVASTATING 2018 CALIFORNIA FIRES Well-informed agents can help mitigate the risk Catastrophic perils have a way of raising their own profile in the insurance industry through historic events. In 2018, wildfire continued its surge to prominence. Much as Hurricane Andrew in 1992 boosted awareness of tropical cyclone risk, the blazes that ravaged the western
Focus on architects and engineers insurance As the number of new build starts remains steady, so does the market competition By Lori Widmer All that goes up must come down. Likewise, a down cycle eventually turns upward again. According to data released by Dodge Data & Analytics, new starts in the construction industry this year are predicted to total $808 billion, nearly equal to that of 2018 starts, which totaled
