Rough Notes

TOP 5 WAYS TO EMBRACE OSHA CHANGE

Navigating the revised Hazard Communication Standard Adjustments can be difficult. They’re even tougher with a negative attitude. By Michael Wayne Twelve years ago, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a revision of its H...

Posted: Jul 22, 2024

CYBER SHIFT

Will the first hard cyber insurance market slow the shift to stand-alone coverage? A decade ago, stand-alone cyber insurance accounted for less than half of all cyber premium. By 2022, it had become the coverage of choice for larger accounts, account...

Posted: Jul 18, 2024

HOSPITAL LIEN ACT DEBATED

When a literal and minor technicality was litigated, appealed and re-appealed Technically, the medical center “won.” Practically speaking, every party lost. By Bruce D. Hicks, CPCU, CLU The Court Decisions column is a popular part of Rough Notes maga...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

LEADING WHILE ANXIOUS

How anxiety looks and feels will be different for each person experiencing it According to the World Health Organization, 4% of the population has an anxiety disorder, making anxiety disorders the most common of all mental disorders. By Meg McKeen, C...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

MANAGING THE RISK OF A KEY HIRING DECISION

What is the appropriate course of action when a candidate works for a competitor? With any key hiring decision, time and analysis are needed to identify risks and exposures and to determine the proper control and mitigation methods. By Sarah J. Warha...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

CONTINUING EDUCATION AND AGENCY STANDARDS

Take continuing education seriously For those of us who are agents, the evolution of exposures—and in many cases corresponding coverage forms—is why continuing education is so crucial. By Marc McNulty, CIC, CRM If you’re new to the insurance industry...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

A TRIP TO THE LAUNDRY

The NAIC will provide anonymized climate data to the feds The association will launder the industry data through its servers and remove the stains of any … attributable … redlines. By Kevin P. Hennosy As this edition of Rough Notes goes to print, the...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

LOOMING INSURANCE IMPLICATIONS OF AI

How will coverages be affected, if at all, by the use of AI? By Paul Broussard Artificial  intelligence (AI) will without a doubt reshape industries. As AI integration becomes more widely accepted and adopted in various industries, the insurance indu...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

WHAT YOU FEED AND WATER WILL GROW

Spreading the good word Perhaps we can take a lesson from Mother Nature that applies equally to our industry, our organizations, and our own careers. By Cheryl Koch, CPCU, ARM, AAI, ACSR, AFIS, and Mary Belka, CPCU, ARM, ARe, RPLU, CIC Feeling both e...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

UNLOCKING SUCCESS

Propel your agency beyond the competition with an effective differentiation strategy By setting yourself apart from competitors, you eliminate the need to compete on price. By Carolyn Smith, APR, TRA Are you tired of finding yourself in a 90-day bidd...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

AUTOMATING THE WAY TOWARD RETIREMENT READINESS

DC plan providers, employers share their strategies “[A]utomatically re-enrolling employees in our [DC] plan … has helped narrow the gap in participation among racial and ethnic groups.” —Carole Mendoza                                                ...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

IT’S CLASSIFIED (CORRECTLY)

Tech firm delivers a clear view of customers’ business activities Without clear insight into the customer’s business operations, coverage premiums and terms could fall short. By Lori Widmer Right now, in the United States, over 33 million small busin...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

Winning business through niche podcasting

How to get started for less than $100 By Derek Hayden, CIC, CRA, CBWA Why should your prospects and clients trust you more than other agents? How do you provide value before ever meeting with a prospect? How do you gain attention in a crowded, frustr...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

CONSUMERS QUOTE, YOU CLOSE

How embedded quoting tools can work for you By Raghav Tanna Quoting is the most time-consuming part of the insurance process for agents and clients alike. Agents must visit individual portals for each carrier, rekeying data repeatedly. Clients, meanw...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

HELPING OTHERS (BUT NO BLOOD, PLEASE)

Alabama young pro leaves captive world and starts agency from scratch after switching career path from nursing “[T]he more education you have, the better you can help your clients. There wasn’t one time that I left a [CIC] class and didn’t think to c...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

CULTIVATING ACULTURE OF GROWTH

5 tangible steps to build a culture that attracts success By Angelo Ganguzza When you are tapped to lead an existing agency, you are often focused on specific challenges, such as improving production or developing stronger relationships with carriers...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

Youth AND LONG-TERM HEALTH PROSPECTS

Three reasons more young people are buying long-term care and life insurance By Adam Bezman, CLTC Would it surprise you to hear that people in their 20s and 30s represent almost half of the purchases we see for Trustmark Voluntary Benefits’ life and...

Posted: Jul 01, 2024

Cannabis heist

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Cannabis heist Apex Solutions, Inc., ran a cannabis business in Oakland, California. On June 1, 2020, Apex sustained property and business income losses when un...

Posted: Jun 28, 2024

Jet ski claim is time barred

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Jet ski claim is time barred The owner of A.C. Watercraft Rental, Sayed Mohammed, had sought liability insurance for all his business-owned watercraft through F...

Posted: Jun 28, 2024

Hospital Lien Act debated

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Hospital Lien Act debated In December 2017, the Long Beach Medical Center treated Vernon Barnes for injuries he received in a car accident. Afterward, Barnes su...

Posted: Jun 28, 2024

FIVE WAYS CHAOS AND OUR BUSINESS OVERLAP

Leaders, artists and even fictional characters offer insight on your everyday existence Regardless of how much preparing we do, there will always be elements outside of our control … outside of anyone’s control. Chaos takes on all sorts of forms: aut...

Posted: Jun 27, 2024

MORTGAGE MATTERS

Federally sponsored mortgage enterprises weigh in on homeowners loss settlement IIABA and NAMIC argued that barring purchases of mortgages protected by ACV policies would deprive consumers of one means to reduce  premium at a time when many are strug...

Posted: Jun 20, 2024

No joy for condo insurer

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS No joy for condo insurer American Coastal Insurance Company issued San Marco Villas Condominium Association, Inc., a policy that covered the complex against per...

Posted: May 31, 2024

Injured employee claims total disability

INSURANCE-RELATED COURT CASES Digested from case reports published online COURT DECISIONS Injured employee claims total disability Lorri Hagen was injured in the course of her employment with Serta/National Bedding Company, LLC, on February 21, 2017,...

Posted: May 31, 2024

BECOMING A BVP AGENCY IS SIMPLE, BUT NOT EASY

When “good enough” is no longer good enough The reality is that most agencies won’t hit their goals, but they’ll meet their standards, which typically are too low. By Roger Sitkins Do you know what a Best Version Possible (BVP) independent insurance...

Posted: May 31, 2024