Happy fall! Today kicks off the official start of the fall season, and it seems that the weather is starting to change too. 

In this week's Big I Buzz, we are looking into the effect catastrophes and COVID-19 have had on real estate, resume red flags to look out for and why deepfakes are considered a threat to the industry. 

Catastrophes and COVID-19 Fallout Proving Challenging for Real Estate Companies

The combination of COVID-19 plus severe weather events has caused major issues for the real estate sector. Real estate companies are having trouble managing their risks between tenants having difficulty paying rent, COVID-19 safety rules, construction and labor costs and hurricanes and wildfires. 

According to Insurance Business Magazine, "One of the biggest challenges real estate companies are facing right now is finding capacity for CAT exposures. Given recent rends, the market is getting more restrictive - carriers are more apt to exclude CAT exposures, or potentially decline to write the whole schedule, which could force the real estate company to split out their CAT-exposed properties." Additionally, COVID-19 has caused difficulties in getting building valuations correct. Read more about how COVID-19 and catastrophes are affecting real estate here. 

Top 6 Resume Red Flags

Independent Agent has released their top 6 resume red flags that employers should look out for when hiring: 

1. Job-hopping - while it's not considered as negative now as it once did in the past due to lay-offs, company closures, COVID, you should give a deeper look into why this happened. Talk with the candidate to see why these positions didn't last, and recognize how they communicate about the past position. Did they have even more jobs than listed on their resume, did they badmouth their boss during the conversation with you or did they give constructive criticism? These questions are important for getting a deeper look at why they switched positions.

2. Gaps between employment - During the hiring process, you'll want to verify that the candidate's experience is relevant to the position they are applying to. If there is a large gap between the last position and what they're applying to now, it may take longer to get them up-to-speed.

3. Typos and spelling errors - Resumes are your first look at the candidate. A resume should have received careful consideration and review prior to your receipt of it. If there are grammar or spelling errors, this is probably an indication of how the candidate will perform in the office. 

4. Career regression or lack of progress - If a candidate has stayed in the same position over the years, or took a step down to a lesser position, they may not have the drive to grow or their is an obstacle holding them back from progressing. 

5. Non-work related filler - if a resume is filling their resume page with content aside from their work experience, this may be a way to draw your attention away from their deficiency in a relevant experience. 

6. One-size-fits-all resume - Verify the resume and cover letter has been customized for the position they're applying to. If it seems generic, this could mean the candidate applied anywhere and everywhere and won't remember who you are when you call.  

Learn more about resume red flags here. 

Deepfakes: An Insurance Industry Threat

Deepfakes use artificial intelligence to alter or synthetically generate videos, that are extremely difficult for humans and even machines to detect. According to NU Property Casualty 360, "Whereas deepfakes have largely manifested as a novelty on social media, deepfakes and similar AI-generated photos and videos can pose a significant threat to industries that make important financial decisions on the contents of photos and videos, such as insurance. The ability to distort reality in ways that are difficult or impossible to detect significantly increases the risk of digital media fraud in insurance claims at a time when many carriers have rapidly adopted self-service as a way to process claims during the COVID-19 pandemic." Any processes driven by the insured in a self-service manner are susceptible to manipulated for fake media such as auto or home claims, establishing existence and condition of assets during underwriting.  There are some suggestions for implementing a layer of defense such as in-line detection, which is the process of using AI-based forensic analysis while reviewing every photo or video prior to processing a claim, and in-line prevention. This means only allowing a user to take the photos/videos in real-time instead of allowing users to upload their own photos/videos. 

Read more about how deepfakes are affecting the industry and what steps can be taken to weed out the fraud and deception here. 

For more news, check out the Action news section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click here to add your email to our emailing list. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!