Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing yesterday's Issues Briefing, surprising events covered by homeowners insurance and the 2023 prediction for commercial property insurance.

Issues Briefing: FTC's Proposed Rule on National Ban of Noncompete Agreements

Yesterday, the IIAW hosted a 30-minute issue briefing on the FTC's proposed rule banning noncompete agreements. During this briefing, IIAW's CEO, Matt Banaszynski, walked through the proposed rule, the FTC's rulemaking process and key takeaways. If you missed the briefing, you can watch it here. For a copy of Matt's presentation, click here.  We have opened access to these materials to all independent agencies, regardless of membership, due to the importance of this issue.

The IIAW and IIABA will continue to monitor and work closely with the FTC to make sure our members' voices are heard as this rule makes it way through the FTC rulemaking process. The IIAW and IIABA will be engaging with the FTC and will provide comments to the FTC on our stance regarding this proposed rule. We will continue to review the proposed rule and we'll be providing updates as they come in. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to Matt at matt@iiaw.com. 

A Dozen Surprising Events Covered By Homeowners Insurance

Research from insurance.com and bankrate.com has listed a dozen unusual losses that homeowners may be surprised to learn are covered by their property insurance: 

1. Lawsuits - "A homeowner's personal liability insurance clause would cover litigation related to an event at the home such as a child's trampoline accident or an icy-sidewalk fall."

2. Things that fall from the sky - "Damage from meteors, airplane parts and other things that may drop onto an insured residence is covered."

3. Meteorites - "Just like the destruction from other objects that may fall from the sky, damage from 'space junk' is covered."

4. Hot Lava - While homeowners need separate policies for flooding or earthquakes, damage from a volcanic eruption is often covered. However, this coverage may be limited to the immediate residence and its contents."

5. Robbery - "Possessions stolen from the home are covered."

6. Rotten Food - "Homeowners have a valid claim should vittles in the "fridge go bad due to an unforeseen event such as a power outage."

7. Headstones - "These are considered a personal possession and are therefore covered should they crack, become crushed or defaced by an act of vandalism. 

8. Violent Crime - "Few events have the potential to make an unprecedented mess inside a home like a murder, suicide or unattended death. The cost of correcting the damage from such violence is often covered."

9. Identity Theft - "This is often provided through an optional homeowners-insurance rider. That coverage could come in handy as correcting identity theft can take house and cost thousands of dollars. "

10. Damage Outbuildings - "Homeowners who take advantage of "other structure coverages" as part of their insurance will find they have a claim when fences, guest houses, detached garages, mailboxes or sheds are damaged."

11. Pet Bites or Attacks - "Personal liability coverage as part of a homeowner's policy comes into play should an animal owned by the homeowner get out of line."

12. Hotel Expenses After a Covered Loss - "Should a policyholder need to relocate during repairs following a house fire or other covered loss, that expense would be covered." 

Read more here. 

Property Insurance Rates to Keep Surging in 2023

According to market experts, "Commercial property insurance buyers can expect further rate hikes this year due to a confluence of factors, with catastrophe-exposed and loss-hit accounts bearing the brunt of tightening capacity and increases of 25% or higher. 

Last week, Gallagher Re released a report that stated property catastrophe reinsurance rates for loss-hit U.S. accounts jumped between 45% and 100% at Jan. 1 renewals and that the effect from this is unclear at this time. Read more from Business Insurance 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. Additionally, we send out monthly newsletters with content curated just for you and your role. Make sure you're on the list to receive our communications by heading to bit.ly/industrynewsforyou to stay in the loop!

Happy Wednesday! Today's Big I Buzz is the last for 2022, so we have a lot of information to share. 

First, the IIAW office will be closed from December 26th to December 30th. We will resume normal business hours on January 2nd. Our team will be monitoring emails while we are out of the office. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year. 

AAA Holiday Travel Forecast

AAA is predicting 113M people will travel 50+ miles from home over the holiday weekend, which is 3.6M than 2021 travel levels. In Wisconsin, they're estimating 2.2 million Wisconsinites will hit the road between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, just in time for the incoming storm. 27 WKOW is recommending travelers from the south central part of the state don't travel at all on Friday, as heavy winds will cause whiteout conditions, making it difficult to safely travel. Read more about the holiday travel forecast here.

IIAW Emerging Leaders Holiday Party

A new date for the Emerging Leaders Holiday Party has been selected! Join the IIAW Emerging Leaders at 1 p.m. on January 26th at the Great Dane on the east side of Madison. Donations for the humane societies will remain open until the party, so don't forget to support the Emerging Leaders Annual Fundraiser by either making a monetary donation or bringing in physical donations to the holiday party on Jan. 26th. RSVP for the Emerging Leaders Holiday Party 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. Additionally, we send out monthly newsletters with content curated just for you and your role. Make sure you're on the list to receive our communications by heading to bit.ly/industrynewsforyou to stay in the loop!

Since its inception in 2007, Independent Market Solutions (IMS) has expanded its partnership to include 13 state associations across the United States. The IIAW has invested in IMS with the goal of bringing scale and efficiency that provide for the development of better products and terms for producing agencies.

Through your membership in the association, IMS provides independent agents with a viable option for market access while also affording 100 percent ownership of expirations. Many IMS programs are established to allow subagents to reach a predetermined premium volume and qualify for direct appointment at no additional cost to the agent. While incubating with IMS, subagents are paid competitive commissions and can also participate in any earned contingencies.

IMS market availability in Wisconsin includes 13 participating carriers that offer personal, commercial, and various specialty lines. See the full list of carriers IMS can get you connected with here.

2021 Wisconsin Act 73 created new requirements related to insurance data security that applies to all insurers, intermediaries, and persons required to be licensed, authorized, or registered under Wis. Stats. chs. 600 to 655. This email contains the information your entity will need to comply with this requirement. Additional information regarding these requirements is available on OCI’s website at https://oci.wi.gov/Pages/Cybersecurity.aspx.

Wis. Stat § 601.952(8) requires that licensees provide an annual certification to OCI that the licensee is in compliance with the information security program requirements of Wis. Stat. § 601.952. Licensees must maintain records that support the certification for at least five years and shall produce the records when requested by OCI. The certification requirement only applies to licensees who are domiciled in the state of Wisconsin.  Annual certifications are required to be provided to OCI not later than March 1 every year beginning in 2023. 

• The certification form will be included in insurers' annual financial packets.
  

• Intermediary firms and other business entities licensed by Agent Licensing must submit a certification form. Certify compliance with the information security program requirements here .

• Individual producers are not required to submit a certification form; the exemption for licensees that have fewer than 50 employees would apply.

Note: Completion and submission of the annual certification form is required even if the licensee maintains that it is exempt.

Step-by-step tips for completing the Cybersecurity Certification Form:

1.     The certification forms will be submitted electronically at https://public.oci.wi.gov/finform/public/cybersecurity on or after January 1, 2023.

2.     We recommend that you use the Chrome browser.

3.     Enter the licensee’s NPN: After you enter the first 3 digits of your NPN, you will see a list of licensees. Clicking on your entity’s name will bring up the certification form. The form will be prepopulated with the licensee’s name, license type and NPN.

4.     Choose the Filing Year from the drop down: The certification attests that the licensee complied with the cybersecurity requirements during the prior calendar year. For example, the certification submitted by March 1, 2023 attests that the licensee was in compliance during the calendar year 2022. You should only choose the prior calendar year unless you receive a request from OCI.

5.     Exemption: If the licensee is claiming an exemption, check all boxes that apply. You may also add information in the text box.

6.     Attestation: Be sure to check the attestation box

7.     Enter the name of the contact person and his/her email address

8.     Submit: The Submit button is on top right of the form. If you get an error message, review the form to verify that all required information is entered.

9.     Download the pdf: Be sure to save or print the completed form for your records. Licensees are required to maintain records supporting the certification for at least five years.

Questions regarding the Cybersecurity Annual Certification form should be emailed to: OCICyberReport@Wisconsin.gov with the subject line: Annual Certification Form.  IIAW Members are also encouraged to contact the Matt Banaszynski, CEO of the IIAW with any questions pertaining to compliance. He can be reached at Matt@iiaw.com or by calling 608-256-4429.

Happy Wednesday - we are back from Thanksgiving break to bring you all another week of Big I Buzz.

IIAW Emerging Leaders Annual Fundraiser

Yesterday was Giving Tuesday, and we saw great support for this year's Emerging Leaders Fundraiser! Last year the IIAW Emerging Leaders surpassed their initial fundraising goal of $500, donating an incredible $5,725 to the American Family Children's Hospital. This year, our fundraising goal is $1,500 and we hope you'll help us reach our fundraising goals by donating today!

We are also accepting physical donations, and you can find a list of what items each humane society is looking for here. You can bring physical donations to the IIAW office by contacting evan@iiaw.com to setup a drop off time or attend this year's Emerging Leaders Holiday Party and bring your physical donations with! 

We will accept physical and monetary donations through December 15th. 

Have you taken advantage of your free Catalyit Full Access Subscription?

Go into the New Year with your agency tech resolutions already accomplished with Catalyit.com. The number of ways independent insurance agencies can leverage tech to increase profit and serve customers is nearly unlimited. But time, know-how and fear of risk are getting in the way. Catalyit solves it for you. As an added IIAW member benefit, all IIAW agency members receive a free Full Access Subscription to Catalyit.

Here's what you gain when you activate your FREE subscription: 

Tools: An in-depth tech assessment with a custom roadmap report for your agency awaits. Get a free consult with an expert and guidance on the best approach for your tech stack. If you have questions, not to worry - call the Catalyit Help Line.

Guides & Reviews: Selection guides for each area of your tech with side-by-side comparison charts of solution provider features and reviews. 

Training: Cybersecurity, budgeting for tech workshop, insurtech trends, q&as and so much more - you'll get an entire library of on-demand learning for your team. 

Consulting: One-on-one expert support to help you implement solutions. 

Insights: You don't have to hunt for the latest tips and tech news. We send the tips and terms you need to know in your inbox each week. 

So no matter where you are on the technology spectrum - from early adopter to experienced implementer - rest assured, with Catalyit, you're in the right place. Empower your agency with Catalyit today.

The Biggest Factors Impacting Home Insurance Heading Into 2023

PropertyCasualty360 is anticipating insurance shoppers to seek more options in 2023 because of three significant market conditions. 

These are: 

• Inflation - this likely comes as no surprise, as we've been covering how inflation is affecting auto insurance over the last two weeks. The same goes for home insurance. PropertyCasualty reports, "For consumers who are already feeling their budgets squeezed by rising prices just about everywhere, higher insurance rates can be crippling... Companies can leverage bundles while lowering overhead by keeping staffing and internal costs down are able to pass more savings on to the buyer."

• Natural disasters are increasing - luckily, we don't have to worry about hurricanes in Wisconsin, but that doesn't mean we're protected from all natural disasters. "Many property owners are not properly insured against catastrophic events like floods. According to FEMA, floods are the most common and costly natural disasters in the United States. Too many homeowners discover after a flood that their policy doesn't actually include flood insurance.... It's important for consumers to understand what their policies do and do not cover when it comes to natural disasters. This type of coverage is also a big differentiator when comparing insurance companies."

• Relocations, general anxiety and rate increases trigger shopping. "According to a Consumer Pulse Survey conducted by Transunion in Q2 of 2022, topping the concerns of most Americans are inflation, the possibility of a recession and increased housing costs. As people reduce their spending in response to anxiety, they also take a closer look at their current expenses, including what they pay for home insurance. More consumers are likely to visit digital insurance aggregators in times of uncertainty."

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. Additionally, we send out monthly newsletters with content curated just for you and your role. Make sure you're on the list to receive our communications by heading to bit.ly/industrynewsforyou to stay in the loop!