Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing a new update to the Dane County COVID-19 restrictions, how social media ghosts can cause a risk management nightmare and how you can stay up-to-date on what's happening in politics and government.

Dane County Issues New Public Health Order, Increases Outdoor Gathering Limits

A new Emergency Health Order goes into effect on Wednesday, January 13th. The order allows for indoor gatherings of up to 10 people (mirroring the previous Emergency Health Order) and limits outdoor gatherings to 50 people (increased from the last Emergency Health Order's outdoor capacity limit of 25 people.)

Schools are still allowed to continue in-person learning for all grade levels, and colleges, universities & other higher education centers can also remain open. 

Restaurants in Dane County can offer indoor seating capacity of 25%, while restrictions remain the same for bars and taverns. 

According to the City of Madison, violation of the emergency order could result in a $1,000 fine. Read more here. 

Social Media Ghosts Are Real

In May, the United Way of Southeast Missouri faced a fake social media profile that claimed to be an employee of their business posting racist memes and causing an uproar online. While they worked to mitigate the damage from this fake profile, they are still needing to respond to comments about the fake profile months later. This 'ghost' caused reputational damage and they needed to use their workforce for the first week of this incident to respond to angry emails, comments and other communications about the fake profile. 

According to Property Casualty 360, "The organization did not have insurance coverage for the incident for this incident. And even if it had a cyber policy, it is unlikely it would have responded. Cyber insurance typically covers losses from computer-based attacks on a firm's information technology systems. Claims payments compensate for costs from the theft of data, loss of funds from online fraud, or lawsuits from privacy or regulatory violations... But the reputational damages from incidents like this are tricky to quantify. While there's no simple, easy-to-buy insurance protection from social media ghosts, you and your client organizations can take away a few important lessons from the United Way's ghostly experience:

• Create a crisis plan.

• Engage experts.

• Stay on message. 

• Move fast.

• Ask critics for viral help.

• Strengthen your diversity and inclusion action plan."

Learn more about the incident and how you can prepare for this harsh social media reality here. 

Stay Up-to-Date on What's Happening in Politics and Government

The IIAW's Online Community offers 11 different Groups to join, one of those being our Government Affairs Group. This Group will keep you informed on all the state and federal changes happening politically and emerging issues. This Group monitors legislation on state and national levels, they help direct grassroots lobbying efforts to support legislative activities. If you're not already one of the over 180 members of our Online Community, click here to join. 

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 Holidays! We hope everyone has a safe and happy holidays with their loved ones. On this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing where those late holiday packages may be hiding, what you can do to help small businesses become cyber safe and where the COVID-19 relief bill sits today.

Bipartisan COVID-19 Relief and Government Funding Deal Struck

On December 20th, Congress poised to pass a roughly $900 billion COVID Relief Package. The package would allow direct payments of $600 for most Americans. The relief package included a $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and contains other end-of-session priorities such as money for transit systems, an increase in food stamp benefits and about $4 billion to help other nations provide a COVID-19 vaccine for their people. The COVID-19 relief package includes a number of consequential legislative victories for Big "I" members and their clients. The package includes roughly $325 billion in small business relief, including an additional $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) which is reauthorized through the end of March 2021. 

Late Tuesday night, President Donald Trump called on lawmakers to increase direct payments for most Americans from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples.The original relief bill contained a two-year tax break for corporate meal expenses, which President Trump stated was not enough to help struggling restaurants. According to Fox 59, "The White House did not signal any objections to the legislation before it passed, and gave every expectation that Trump would sign it. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was involved in the negotiations over the bill." At the time of writing this, White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump's intentions. Read more here. You can also stay up-to-date on changes to this and other COVID-19-related news on the IIAW's COVID-19 Resource Center. 

Holiday Packages Held Up in Transit at Wisconsin Sorting Center

Many holiday shoppers have turned online to find the perfect gifts for their family and friends. But, shipping delays may be keeping many of those packages from arriving on time. According to Satish Jindel, president of Ship Matrix, an estimated 2.2 million packages are falling behind each day. Most of those packages are delayed by just one day, but some are showing up as many as six days late. If you're in the same boat as many Americans, waiting for your gifts to arrive, try getting creative. You can print out a photo of the item and sticking it in a card under the tree or you can come up with a riddle or small scavenger hunt to help clue in the recipient to what's in store. Gift for a kid running late? Tell them that their gift fell off Santa's sleigh, but that an elf or reindeer will be by later to drop it off. Today, December 23rd is the last day for shipping, should you choose to ship USPS Priority Mail Express Service. 

Do Your Part to Help Small Businesses Become Cyber Safe

In a recent survey, 64% of small businesses have reported not having cyber insurance coverage. According to Insurance Business, "As agents and brokers become more aware that cyber is a high-priority issue for their customers, they should work with their insurance markets to get up to speed on what the latest coverages are and the benefits of them. One benefit is the fact that most cyber insurance providers include robust education and training resources with the insurance. You can see more information about how and why small business are seeing an uptick in cyberattacks, and what can be done to combat the rising threat here with CyberScout's free whitepaper, "Small Business, Huge Risks". 

Big I Buzz will return after the holidays on January 6th, 2021. 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 Holidays!

Happy Wednesday! Christmas is only 16 days away - time to get that last-minute holiday shopping done. On this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing the IRS announcement about retirement plan contributions, when to expect the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines in Wisconsin and a few ways how auto insurers can exceed customer expectations post-sale. 

IRS Announces 2021 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits for 401(k)s and More

The Treasury Department has announced inflation-adjusted figures for retirement account savings for 2021. According to Forbes, "The basic salary deferral amount for 401(k) and similar workplace plans remains flat at $19,500; the $6,500 catch-up amount if you're 50 or older also remains the same; but the overall limit for these plans goes up from $57,000 to $58,000 in 2021. That helps workers whose employers allow special after-tax salary deferrals, and self-employed folks who can save to the limit in solo or individual 401(k)s or SEP retirement plans. Learn more here. 

Wisconsin Expects First Batch of COVID-19 Vaccines Soon, General Public May Not See it Until Mid-2021

Wisconsin health officials say the state could receive its first batch of almost 50,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine yet this month, but cautioned that it may not be until next summer before the general public can begin to receive vaccinations. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, "During a media call Monday with reporters, Julie Williams Van Dijk, deputy secretary with the state Department of Health Services, said the state expects to receive the first round of Pfizer's vaccine - 49,725 doses have been allocated - in the coming weeks, once the U.S. Food and Drug Administration grants emergency approval. First priority would be given to Wisconsin's roughly 450,000 health care workers and long-term care facility workers. Next up the vaccines would be given to other population groups that could include essential workers or those with at-risk conditions before the general public will be able to be immunized. Learn more here. 

Three Ways Auto Insurers Can Exceed Customer Expectations After the Sale

A recent study from MDgo found that the price of auto insurance policies is what motivated a majority of consumers int heir purchasing decisions, with 52% of consumers choosing cost as the major driver when purchasing auto coverage. Auto insurers are challenged to focus on their on-going customer experience and the quality of their touchpoints after the quote to improve customer retention. According to NU Property Casualty 360 insurers can exceed customer expectations post-quote by, 

1. Be there to support policyholders when they need it most - consider how you can offer policyholders a sense of security and support in their purchasing decision

2. Show that data privacy matters - show how consumers data is being used. Property Casualty suggests, "to gain access to the detailed accident data that powers personalized customer engagement and experiences, auto insurers should not only focus on collecting user-based data on an on-going basis, but also offer to only collect data at the moment of an accident, when it's needed the most." 

3. Acknowledge customer expectations in real-time - Auto insurers can leverage their knowledge to provide policyholders with a tailored response to their immediate needs, be it a reference to a nearby repair shop that specializes in certain kinds of damages or a recommendation to immediately visit the hospital based on the severity of injuries, said Property Casualty 360. 

By going above and beyond the quote, auto insurers can go above and beyond the quality of their customer touch points and personalized experience overall. 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! 

We hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving! On this week's Big I Buzz, we're discussing the upcoming SBA Office of Advocacy's Small Business Virtual Tax Roundtable, the latest update to Wisconsin's COVID-19 restrictions and the IIAW's upcoming Agency Leadership Webinar.

First, before we jump into this week's news, we'd like to remind everyone that our office will be closed on Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th. We will resume normal business hours on Monday, November 30th.

SBA Office of Advocacy's Small Business Virtual Tax Roundtable

On Friday, December 4th, you can join the SBA Office of Advocacy as they discuss federal and state tax issues surrounding PPP Loans. From 10 a.m. to 11:40 a.m., you'll hear from Tom West, Principal, Passthroughs Group KPMG; Jared Walczak, Vice President of State Projects with the Center for State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation and; Charles Jeane, Assistant Chief Counsel at the SBA Office of Advocacy. You can learn more about the Roundtable here.

Wisconsin Gov. Evers Extends Public Health Emergency, Mask Mandate

On Friday, November 20th, Wisconsin Governor, Tony Evers officially extended the state's public health emergency and mask mandate. Originally, the mask mandate was set to expire on Saturday, November 21st. Gov. Evers' new order now extends the mask mandate and the public health emergency by 60 days. Learn more here.

Agency Leadership Webinar Series: E&O Claim Trends

Join us on Friday, December 4th at 10 a.m. for our next Agency Leadership Series webinar! Donna Asta, Vice President and Claims Expert at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions will discuss many COVID-related topics, including what types of cases the courts are seeing from an E&O perspective, claims that are being made and when to report a claim to the E&O carrier. If you plan to attend the Small Business Virtual Tax Rountable on Friday at the same time, don't worry! If you register for our webinar series ahead of time, you will receive a recording of the webinar after it has ended. Click here to register.

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 and a very happy Thanksgiving! 

Happy Wednesday, we are almost to the halfway point through November which means we are quickly speeding into the holiday season. On this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing the possibility of a new COVID-19 vaccine, where Gov. Evers' capacity limits currently stand and how social movements and COVID-19 have affected the EPLI market.

First, before we dive into the news from the past week, we want to call out a great fundraising effort from our Emerging Leaders. Last year, the IIAW Emerging Leaders Committee collected gifts for children receiving care at the Children's Hospital during the holidays. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the hospital cannot accept in-kind gifts so instead our Emerging Leaders Committee is making donations to the Child Life Department Fund to purchase gifts for patients throughout the year. Please join us in contributing to this great cause - every bit helps! You can donate here. 

Pfizer Vaccine Trial Success Signals Breakthrough in Pandemic Battle

According to Reuters, "Pfizer Inc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90 percent effective based on initial trial results, the drugmaker said on Monday, a major victory in the war against a virus has killed over a million people and battered the world's economy." On Monday, November 9th, we saw the Dow soar 1,500 points after a weekend full of news about the potential for a vaccine from Pfizer, the election and a potentially split Senate. The vaccine had an immediate impact on the market. Learn more about the vaccine trials here. 

Wisconsin Supreme Court Sends Virus Capacity Limits Case to Lower Court

According to Insurance Journal, on November 4th, the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to consider reinstating Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' coronavirus restrictions limiting the size of public gatherings deferring to a lower court to decide. Evers' administration issued an order in early October that limited the size of indoor public gatherings to 25% of a building or room's occupancy or 10 people in places without an occupancy limit. The powerful Tavern League of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit challenging the order, arguing it would drive bars and restaurants out of business. A Sawyer County judge blocked it on Oct. 14, only to have a Barron County judge reinstate it five days later. That sparked an appeal from The Mix-Up bar in Amery and Pro-Life Wisconsin, which argues that the capacity restrictions limit its fundraising gatherings. Learn more about Gov. Evers' restrictions here. 

A Changed Landscape: EPLI in the Age of COVID-19 and Social Movements

Headlines regarding social movements and COVID-19 are dominating the headlines in the business environment. According to the Independent Agent Magazine, "As states introduce legislation and rules protecting potential victims, the employment practices liability market is feeling the impact. "We have a lot of states that are enacting separate laws to govern the employee-employer relationship," says Joe Kelly, senior vice president, employment & ERISA liability national practice leader, Sompo International Insurance. "Add to this the ramifications of COVID-19, and we have the perfect storm for the EPLI market."

How will this impact the future? According to the Independent Agent Magazine, "Carries are not looking to take on a lot of extra employer risk right now; some are not even offering terms...For independent agents, making an early start on acquiring the coverage your client is looking for is key." Read more about how COVID-19 and social movements are impacting the EPLI market 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!