Good morning and happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing our new monthly newsletters and changes to Big I Buzz, emerging risks to watch this year and how to keep homeowners covered this Super Bowl Sunday. 

Don't Miss Out on our Monthly Newsletters

Starting next Monday, the IIAW will be sending out monthly newsletters with content curated just for you and your job role. We'll be putting together four monthly newsletters, and you can choose which newsletters best fit your role! You can choose from the following areas to receive our monthly newsletter: personal lines, commercial lines, employee benefits or industry relations and operations. Make sure you and your team are on our list to receive these communications here. We'll be including information tailored specifically to you and your job role, education opportunities that matter to you and other industry insights that you won't see anywhere else. 

We'll continue to send out our weekly Big I Buzz, but with a twist. Now, we'll be segmenting the Action News section between these four categories. You'll get the same news stories you know and love, but instead of in one jumbled section, you can read the news that matters to you! Then, in each of the monthly newsletters, we'll highlighted the most-read news article from your interest area in case you missed it the first time. 

Don't forget to sign up today! The first Personal Lines monthly newsletter will go out next Monday, February 14th, Commercial Lines will receive their newsletter on Monday, February 21st, Employee Benefits on Monday, February 28th and Industry Relations & Operations will receive their newsletter on Monday, March 7th. 

Emerging Risks to Watch this Year

Insurance Journal has examined 10 industry sectors to identify new and emerging risks for the year ahead and beyond. Watch these sectors and read more about why you should keep an eye on these risks: 

1. Cyber - with an increase in ransomware attacks, there are more cyber threats to be expected throughout 2022. 

2. Political Risk - Social media users taking to social media has increased large-scale demonstrations and protest movements, which could lead to an increase in property damage losses. Additionally, larger and more frequent natural disasters due to climate change can displace vulnerable populations and disrupt economics, which could lead to more political instability and violence, according to Insurance Journal.

3. Telemedicine - As more and more patients turn to telemedicine, plus an expected increase in telemedicine in 2022, health care providers can expect to see an increase in medical professional liability claims. According to RPS, these claims related to telemedicine has been "historically low", but the broker expects growth in the telemedicine segment will lead to more incidents."

4. Product Liability -A report from Willis Towers Watson's "Insurance Marketplace Realities 2021 Spring Update" stated "The pandemic has dramatically increased then umber of companies manufacturing, distributing and selling COVID-19 products, which has in turn increased the demand for life sciences insurance coverage.... Underwriters in the life sciences space have been "inundated" with policy submissions. And while capacity hasn't changed, carriers are being more selective about which risks they will entertain."

5. Mobility & Transport - Transportation continues to change as it's disrupted by the pandemic and technology. According to Insurance Journal, "The emergence of new digital companies that provide “wheel-based” services has accelerated the demand and growth of gig workers during the pandemic, Marsh said in a recent report titled “Mobility in a post-pandemic world: From evolution to revolution.”

Marsh said these trends will rapidly evolve for at least the next year, but insurance products designed to protect the income of these workers are lagging behind."

6. Entertainment -2020's overwhelming amount of event cancellations led to major losses for insurers and rates have risen across the board. While we are seeing a return for live entertainment, there's a shortage of experienced workers which could increase the potential for accidents and cancellations, according to a recent report by HUB International.

7. Commercial Real Estate - The future of office real estate is largely unknown and the insurance market for some multifamily classes remain a challenge, according to Insurance Journal. 

8. Management Liability - In 2021, the overall public company D&O marketplace continued to stabilize due to a significant decrease in federal securities class actions. "While pricing challenges remain for many D&O buyers, new capacity and new competition are finally on the way with new entrants to the D&O insurance market, according to Woodruff Sawyer's 2022 D&O Looking Ahead Guide."

9. Employer Liability - "Another situation to watch: in the face of resistance to vaccine mandates in the U.S., there may be an increase in retaliation and discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Civil Rights Act of 1964 (specifically, for religious discrimination), USI stated in its recent 2022 Commercial Property & Casualty Market Outlook.

10. Nonprofits - Nonprofits have experienced overstretched resources due to the pandemic. Their workforce took a significant hit but researches estimate the sector may not see a full return to pre-pandemic workforce levels until fall 2022. 

Read more here. 

Super Bowl Sunday - Keeping Homeowners Covered

Super Bowl Sunday is almost here and we are ready for football (and commercials)! Ken Gregg, CEO and founder of insurtech platform Orion180 shared that the biggest risk for party hosts surrounds liability. "Guests can potentially fall down the stairs, trip on something, or worse, get in their car to drive home under the influence," he said. "Many homeowners don't consider their exposures when hosting a party."

Ken suggests that brokers and agents should focus on communicating liability risk mitigation strategies with their clients. You can use your social media channels to get the message out to some clients. Share information about guest safety when hosting parties and encourage homeowners to reach out so they know what their insurance will cover. Read more 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.