Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing our December Member Benefit Spotlight, the changes to A.M. Best commercial property market outlook and where employers stand on the 'new normal'. 

This Month's Spotlight on Member Benefits

December is here, and we are highlighting a new member benefit for the month, Catalyit.You told us harnessing tech in your agency isn't easy. We listened, and did something about it. The solution is here today! Introducing Catalyit: All the agency tech guidance you need... in one place. 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. The IIAW partnered with six state associations and industry tech leader, Steve Anderson, to create Catalyit. 

To super-serve Catalyit subscribers, access to catalyit.com is limited to four windows a year. So, for now, access to Catalyit opened October 14, 2021, and will close December 15, 2021. With a brand new year right around the corner, you won't want to wait. Take advantage of the current sign up window. Your IIAW membership grants you free access to a Basic subscription. You can get a full-access pass (all tools, guides and learning unlocked) for your entire agency with an exclusive IIAW discount. Learn more here. 

A.M. Best Revises Commercial Property Market Outlook

According to Business Insurance, "On Tuesday, A.M. Best updated its outlook for the U.S. commercial property insurance market from negative to stable, citing ongoing rate increases by insurers and a decline in business interruption claims." The report stated that inflationary cost pressures may push rates upward throughout 2022. "Appropriate rate and pricing actions by commercial property insurers as well as ongoing efforts to ensure the adequacy of property valuations will mitigate the effect over time," Best said. Read more here. 

Where Employers Stand on Vaccines, 'New Normal' Workplace, Remote Work, Travel 

A recent survey from Willis Towers Watson found that more than half of US employers require or plan to require COVID-19 vaccinations of employees, but their support depends on whether the courts approve the Biden Administration emergency workplace safety rule requiring vaccinations or weekly testing. Originally, the deadline for comments was set for December 6, however as of this morning, it was pushed back to January 19th. Insurance Journal reported that, "About three in 10 respondents (29%) [to the survey] say their organizations have already reached their "new normal" in terms of returning to the workplace and ending pandemic-related policies. Roughly the same amount (28%) say they don't expect their organizations to reach the new normal until the third quarter of 2022 or later. Additionally respondents report that 34% of employees are now working remotely. This is expected to drop to 27% in the first quarter of 2022. Employers that have returned remote workers to the workplace report that public health recommendations (79%), state regulations and recommendations (74%) and business needs (71%) were considerations in their decisions." Read more on the survey findings about business travel, vaccination rates and federal contractors 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.

Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing Thanksgiving safety tips, the states with the worst drivers and the rise in U.S. retail sales. 

Thanksgiving Safety Tips

With Thanksgiving a week away, it's the perfect time to review some basic Thanksgiving safety tips. Be sure to share these with your clients. 

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, "Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires with more than three times the daily average for such incidents. Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranked second and third, with both having nearly twice the daily average."

Unattended cooking is the number one reason for cooking fires and fire deaths on Thanksgiving so make sure to follow these Thanksgiving safety tips: 

• Keep an eye on the food and the stove throughout the day. 

• Keep kids away from the stove, hot food and liquids. 

• Keep electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer from dangling off the counter where a child could reach them. 

• Make sure that your smoke alarms are working and test the prior to Thanksgiving. 

• If you choose to deep fry a turkey, the location is important. You should fry a turkey outside of the house in an open area away from buildings and other nearby items. 

The Worst Drivers in the U.S. Live in These 10 States

QuoteWizard has studied more than 2 million insurance quotes from all 50 states to determine which states in the U.S. have the worst drivers. Surprisingly, Illinois evaded the top 10 list from QuoteWizard. Here's what they found: 

10. Wisconsin

9. Tennessee

8. New Jersey

7. Idaho

6. Utah

5. Alaska

4. California

3. Virginia

2. North Dakota

1. Iowa

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that, "Roughly three out of five drivers in the U.S. completed some type of driver's education before securing their license." Read more about the QuoteWizard study here. 

Retail Sales Rose by 1.7% in October Despite High Inflation

Consumers have accelerated their level of spending in October, even with high inflation. The measure of how much consumers spent on goods ranging across categories from autos to sporting goods and food and gas, increased 1.7% for October, compared with 0.8% the previous month, according to the Commerce Department. They reported that the price hike on goods jumped at their fastest pace since the 1990s. 

According to CNBC, "Online shopping posted the biggest relative gain for the month, rising 4% and good for a 10.2% gain from a year ago. Soaring prices at the pump pushed gasoline sales up 3.9% in October. Year over year, sales increases at stations have surged 46.8%." 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. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!

Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing this month's featured member benefit, new insurance technology you should know about and the future of the construction industry. 

Spotlight on Member Benefits: WI P&C Marketplace Report

We're jumping into a new month, which means we are spotlighting a new member benefit. This month's benefit is our WI P&C Marketplace Report. In addition to the annual report we send out highlighting the top lines of business, agent penetrations, loss ratios, percentage of surplus lines and the biggest writing insurers, we will be sharing quarterly updates as well. This data is a deep-dive into the insurer industry data for the state of WI from an independent agent's point-of-view. The goal is to provide a baseline of our state's marketplace that can be very useful in your agency for planning purposes. Agents can see the large writers overall, those insurers using agents and writing as surplus lines, and premium & loss ratio trends. Information from this report is compiled by Paul A. Buse from Real Insurance Solutions Consulting. This report is free for IIAW members. Nonmembers can access this report for $99. Head to our website here to see the data from Q2. 

Insurance Technology: Catalyit; CyberCube; Tremor; TransUnion and e2Value

Insurance Journal recently released a list of new technology solutions that you should know about. First named, Catalyit. Catalyit is a new technology resource for independent insurance agents. The Catalyit platform brings consulting, training, tools, reviews and community all in one place. In addition to the wide catalogue of resources, there's live coaching, product demos, on-demand classes and a video vault. Don't just take it from us, head to Catalyit.com to learn more. Catalyit is accepting new agency subscribers through December 15, 2021, when the open enrollment period expires until 2022. 

Other tech companies Insurance Journal named include CyberCube, TransUnion and e2Value and Tremor. Read more about these companies here. 

Construction Industry Set for Huge Growth But Labor Challenges Remain

According to a new report from Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Oxford Economics, the global construction industry is set to be a global engine for economic growth and recovery following COVID-19. Insurance Business Mag wrote, "The report, entitled 'Future of Construction: A Global Forecast for Construction to 2030,' predicts that global construction output will grow by 42%, or $4.5 trillion, between 2020 and 2030, driven largely by government stimuli and the demand for residential construction. In 2020, the output was 410.7 trillion, and the report's authors expect output to grow approximately $13.3 trillion by 2025 and $15.2 trillion by 2030. Average growth in construction output is predicted to hit 3.6% per annum over the decade to 2030, which is faster than either the manufacturing or services sectors." However, there are some worries in this growth as labor and supply chains challenges continue to arise.  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. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!

Happy Wednesday! We are quickly moving through October, and as a reminder, the IIAW is running a fundraiser throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month in honor of Trisha Ours, our Director of Insurance Services. METAvivor is an organization dedicated to the specific fight of women and men living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. 100% of every donation to METAvivor goes directly toward their research grant. If you would like to donate, please head to our team page :donate.metavivor.org/team/383943. 

In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing what insurance agents need to know about the future of work and how retailers are responding to the supply chain crisis. 

What Insurance Agents Need to Know About the Future of Work

Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance has released the e-book, "The Agent's Guide to the Future of Work". This e-book offers insights on hiring talent, creating great agency cultures and building the next generation of insurance leaders. Here are some key takeaways that Property Casualty calls out from the e-book: 

1. 65% of employers are looking for a new job because of burnout, salaries/benefits, lack of growth opportunities, desire for more flexibility, feeling undervalued and a shift in priorities. 

2. Flexible work arrangements are here to stay - 83% of workers prefer hybrid working arrangements, 49% of millennials and Gen Z workers would consider quitting if their employer weren't flexible about remote work and 57% of business leaders say their investments in the digital workplace improved business agility. Additionally, 66% of business decision-makers are considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments, 83% of employers say the shift to remote has been successful for their company and 45% of workers at least partially working from home say they're more productive. 

3. Workplaces are becoming more human - 89% of HR leaders agree managers must lead with empathy in the hybrid environment, 78% of workers strongly believe their employer is responsible for helping them become net better off, 80% of employees would consider quitting their current position for a job that focused more on employees' mental health and 39% of people say they're more likely t be their full authentic selves at work compared to one year ago. 

4. Diversity is essential - 76% of job seekers say that a diverse workplace is an important factor when evaluating job offers. 

5. Studies show that companies with more diverse workforces are better positioned to outperform less diverse companies in profitabilities, enter new markets, understand client needs and innovate. 

6 - Top things agencies can do to prepare for the future of work - get comfortable with hybrid, invest in technology, lead with empathy, invest in DE&I and create more growth opportunities. 

Panic Ordering By Retailers is Making the Supply Chain Crisis 'Even Worse'

Supply chains everywhere have been hit by massive disruptions this year from container shortages to floods and COVID-19 infections setting off port closures. Because of the supply chain shortages, retailers and manufacturers are overordering in hopes of receiving product early. Unfortunately, this overordering is making things much worse. According to CNBC, "The situation of retailers overstocking is causing a bigger crunch on capacity, and leading to what Jonathan Savoir, CEO of supply chain firm Quincus called a "bullwhip effect". That's a term describing how small changes in demand at the retail level can progressively cause larger movements in demand to impact wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers. The supplier of raw materials will feel the biggest impact. The end result of this effect could include distorted demand forecasts and unfulfilled orders." Those purchasing items for holiday shopping should get a head start as the supply chain industry has warned that there will likely be a shortage of goods, or prices will rocket due to high demand and low supply. 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. We hope that everyone has a great rest of their week!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and to start off this week's Big I Buzz, we'd like to raise awareness about the importance of early detection. 

Early Detection Remains the Best Defense Against Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. According to WSAW.TV, "In Wisconsin, 5,200 women have been or will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021." In addition to wearing pink to show your support throughout out the month and donating to breast cancer research, make sure that you are taking precautions to detect breast cancer early. The best way to detect breast cancer early is to perform a self-exam at least once a month. Self-exams require you to feel for lumps or changes in your breasts, and it's also important to check tissue as high as your collar bone and under the armpits to examine the entire area. Checking monthly will allow you to know what is normal for your body and detect changes. If you find a change, make sure that you go to your doctor to get it checked out. To remember to perform a self-exam, we suggest putting a monthly reminder on your calendar for these self-exams. 

Gen X's Wealth Has Gone Up 50% During the Pandemic

In between the Baby Boomers and Millennials sits Generation X, adults ranging from 41-56. Gen Xers experienced a wealth boom in the U.S. during the pandemic. According to data from the Federal Reserve, "Gen Xers saw robust gains in equities and pension entitlements, while their share of the nation's consumer debt declined." This generation's careers have since stabilized and has allowed them to invest money into the stock market and 401ks retirement accounts. According to Bloomberg, "As of June this year, Generation X held 28.6% of the nation's wealth, up 3.9 percentage points from the first quarter of 2020, according to Fed data. In dollar value, that translates into a 50% gain in their aggregate net worth -- the difference between a household's assets and debts. The shares held by the so-called Silent Generation, born before 1946, and the Boomers, the largest demographic group by far, declined in the same period." Read more about Gen X's growing wealth here. 

Millennial X Factor: How Does Your Digital Strategy Stack Up? 

According to Property Casualty 360, "Of the 78 million millennials living in the United States as of 2019, 45% own a house, and 80% own a car. It's safe to say that this group has come of age as the first digitally native generation, with Gen Z following in rapid succession. Consequently, the demands and expectations of younger generations - of which 85.9% of millennials were digital buyers in 2020 - should be front and center for today's insurers." A report from Liberty Mutual Insurance and Safeco Insurance found that millennials are more likely to connect with agents and research agents through digital channels than their older counterparts. According to the report, "80% of millennials wanted an agent to help them understand their insurance." Insurers that expect to remain relevant will understand that millennials expect simple, fast and transparent processes but they also value human interaction.

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!