Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing our August Sales & Leadership Conference, the Memorial Day weekend travel forecast and states hit hardest by inflation. 

AAA 2022 Memorial Day Travel Forecast Shows Pre-Pandemic Travel Levels

AAA has released their 2022 Memorial Day Holiday Travel Forecast, and it seems as though travel through this holiday is full-steam ahead! Travel for the holiday weekend is nearing pre-pandemic levels. 

Highlights from the forecast: 

• Memorial Day travel to increase 8.3% over 2021 to 39.2 million. Rising prices are not deterring travel's resurgence this Memorial Day weekend, with travel volumes expected to reach 92% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. 

• Car travel to increase 4.6% over 201 to 34.9 million. Despite historic highs in gas prices that began in early March, car travel remains a popular choice and will approach 93% of 2019's volume. 

• More than 3 million people will fly this holiday weekend. Air travel continues to rebound, up 25% over 2021 and will make up 7.7% of all holiday weekend travelers, the highest share for air travel since 2011. 

• Travel by other modes will triple from last year's level, with 1.3 million people using transportation like buses, trains and cruise ships. 

The IIAW has shared a graphic outlining the forecast highlights on our Facebook page and in our Big I Buzz email. Feel free to share this with your clients to encourage safe & alert travel this holiday weekend. 

2022 Sales & Leadership Summit  - An IIAW & MarshBerry Partnership

Join the IIAW on August 23 & 24 in Neenah, WI for our 2022 Sales & Leadership Summit, a partnership with MarshBerry. MarshBerry is a nationally recognized advisory firm and top growth consultant for insurance agents, brokers & carriers. MarshBerry instructors will deliver an action-packed 1.5-day summit filled with fantastic topics you won't want to miss. Whether you are looking to train a new sales producer or develop a sales management team, this summit will provide solutions to build and maintain sustainable sales practices and strategies. Stay tuned for our June magazine, where we'll be giving an in-depth look at the different topics that will be covered throughout the summit. 

Registration is $249 per person and includes your ticket and dinner for the Timber Rattlers game. We have limited space available for the event and we encourage everyone to sign up early to secure your spot. Learn more about the event here. 

QuoteWizard: States Hardest Hit By Inflation

A recent study by QuoteWizard, an insurance shopping website, compared the impact of inflation in 2021 versus 2022. Their study found that these are the top 10 states affected (spoiler alert: Wisconsin is among the top 10 states impacted!).

10. Idaho - 5% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 12% in May 2022. 

9. Montana - 5% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 12% in May 2022. 

8. Maine - 6% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 15% in May 2022. 

7. Washington (tie) - 4% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 10% in May 2022. 

7. Louisiana (tie) - 10% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 25% in May 2022. 

6. Wisconsin  - 5% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 13% in May 2022. 

5. New Hampshire - 5% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 13% in May 2022. 

4. Indiana - 5% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 13% in May 2022. 

3. Missouri - 6% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 16% in May 2022. 

2. Florida - 8% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 22% in May 2022. 

1. Arkansas - 5% of people had a "very difficult time" in June 2021 vs. 15% in May 2022. 

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.

Whether your agency is big or small, the more markets you have access to, the better chance you have to write more business. Wisconsin has made market access an integral part of your membership through our investment in the Independent Market Solutions (IMS) program, a market access solution for any size agency.

For new or smaller agencies with few or no direct appointments, IMS can help you gain new carrier appointments as IMS subproducers. As an IMS subproducer, you’ll start building relationships directly with carriers, earn standard commissions, and, once minimum premium thresholds and performance standards are met, gain the opportunity to “graduate” to a direct appointment. Agents can also participate in any earned contingencies as an IMS subproducer.  

If you manage a mid- to large-sized agency, there are likely times when you’re presented with niche pieces of business. You’ve worked hard to earn your clients’ business, so why turn away a request on a risk that your agency doesn’t currently write? Our IMS program can help satisfy your clients’ needs without taking on additional minimums or referring them elsewhere due to the lack of available markets.

No matter the size of your agency, the IMS menu is constantly evolving to include new carriers intended to expand your strike zone. Click here to see which carrier partners might be the right fit for your agency.

By: Chris Boggs, Big "I" Executive Director of Risk Management and Education

This article was originally published within the VU Research Library here August 2021.

Compared to more common property insurance policies, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy forms are quite intriguing. First, the Federal government wrote them; and second, they use terms and conditions not found in other property policy forms. The three NFIP coverage forms are highlighted in the following paragraphs.

Three Policy Forms

Each Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) form issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) specifies the terms, conditions, and agreement between FEMA (as the insurer) and the named insured. Major provisions are essentially the same among the three forms with the only differences being the qualifications for coverage, the limits available and the property valuation methods applied.

Dwelling Form

Approximately 85 percent of current NFIP policies are written using the dwelling form. It is designed for one- to-four-family structures primarily occupied as a residence. Homeowners, residential renters, owners of two-to-four-unit residential structures, residential townhouse or row house owners, and the owner of an individual unit in a condominium building are eligible for the dwelling form.

Property insured on the dwelling form is valued at replacement cost provided two requirements are met:

• Property is insured to at least 80 percent of

   its value or the maximum coverage

   available—whichever is less; and

• The insured lives in the residence at least

   80 percent of the year.

If either of these requirements is not met, the most the insured is going to receive is the property's actual cash value (ACV).

Although the policy states that replacement cost is paid if 80 percent of the value is carried, this is not a coinsurance form, it is an “insurance-to-value" form.

Like the homeowners' form, the SFIP dwelling form pays the greater of actual cash value or the amount developed in the insurance-to-value calculation; but only if the insured lives at the residence 80 percent of the year. If both conditions are not met, losses are paid at actual cash value. These caveats are why this is not the equivalent of a coinsurance form.

In regular program communities, coverage for buildings and contents is limited to a specified maximum. Current (as of August 2021) maximum limits are $250,000 on the structure and $100,000 on contents (which applies to renters as well).

General Property Form

Owners or lessees of “other residential" and nonresidential structures or units are eligible for protection under the General Property Form. Residential structures with five or more units, hotels or motels, apartment buildings, cooperative condominiums, assisted living facilities and dormitories are examples of “other residential" structures insurable on the general property form. Nonresidential structures, as is evidenced by the name, are any structures where people do not live and includes stores, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, churches, schools, detached garages, commercial condominiums, and any other eligible structure not normally considered a place of residence.

Structures and contents insured on the general property form are valued at actual cash value with no other option available.

Maximum limits differ depending on the classification of the structure. “Other residential" structures are limited to a maximum of $500,000 on the structure and $100,000 on the contents. Nonresidential structures are eligible for maximum limits up to $500,000 on the building and another $500,000 for the contents. (As of August 2021.)

Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP)

The Residential Condominium Building Association Policy (RCBAP) provides building coverage and, if desired, can be used to provide contents coverage for common use personal property for residential condominium buildings, provided 75 percent or more of the building is residential use. Coverage is written in the name of the association for the benefit of the association and the unit owners. Only buildings with a condominium form of ownership are eligible for this coverage form. The unit owners must take title and deed to specific units.

Cooperative condominiums are not eligible for the RCBAP as title to a specific unit is not passed to the occupier of the unit; an “owner" buys stock in the cooperative and is allowed to live in a particular unit (based on the amount of stock purchased). Timeshare buildings may be eligible for the RCBAP if condominium-style ownership is offered in jurisdictions which allow that title to individual units be vested in the owners' names (a fee simple-type arrangement allowing the title to be transferred to heirs).

Property insured on the RCBAP is valued at replacement cost. In fact, this is the only form that offers a true insurance-to-value (coinsurance) clause similar to the homeowners' or commercial property policy.

Much higher limits are available for buildings insurable under the RCBAP. Up to $250,000 per unit, per building is available. For example, an insured can purchase up to $2.5 million in protection for a 10-unit building. Coverage for commonly owned personal property is limited to $100,000 per building.

Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing how inflation could affect your retirement accounts and the fraud rates across different industries. 

See you on May 9-10th for InsurCon2022

Thank you to everyone who registered for InsurCon2022! We are looking forward to seeing everyone on Monday and Tuesday! If you're a registered attendee, keep an eye out for our email on Tuesday where we outline the schedule for the day!

How Will Inflation Affect Your Retirement Accounts? 

As prices continue to creep upward, it's causing Americans' spending habits to change. Benefit News reported, "According to a survey from insurance firm Voya, 66% of Americans are concerned about the impact inflation will have on their ability to save for retirement, and 71% are feeling the effects of inflation on their ability to maintain their current lifestyle... Without integration and understanding, employees are increasingly reacting to short-term emergencies and savings blips, rather than feeling confident in their ability to ride it out, Jeff Cimini, SVP or retirement product Management at Voya say. The Voya. survey found that 43% have used finances they set aside for retirement to deal with inflation-related expenses."

Industries That Saw the Biggest Fraud Rate Change from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022

TransUnion has released their quarterly fraud analysis report for Q1 2022 and according to Property Casualty 360, "It showed that global fraud decreased globally by 22.6% from Q1 2021." These are the 9 industries that saw the biggest change from Q1 last year to Q1 2022, both increase and decrease in fraud:

9. Financial Services: -63.6%

8. Telecommunications: -20.4%

7. Retail: -7.6%

6. Communities (online dating, forums, etc.): -6.1%

5. Gaming: +6.9%

4. Travel and Leisure: +13.3%

3. Logistics: +42.7%

2. Gambling: +50.1%

1. Insurance +134.5%

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.

Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we are discussing how you can win $1000 in Catalyit consulting time, Lee Harvey Oswald's life insurance claim and 2022 workplace trends. 

Catalyit Tech Stack Survey

Take a quick and easy survey to win some fantastic prizes. We're working with Catalyit to kick the next round of tech resources into high gear. To do that, we want to learn what tech agencies are using now and how you feel about them. 

There's no right or wrong answers, and feel free to ask others on your team as you are filling it out. Those who complete the quiz are entered to win gift cards and the grand prize, $1000 Catalyit consulting time! Take the survey here: https://s.surveyanyplace.com/techstack

JFK Killer Lee Harvey Oswald's Life Insurance Claim Sells for Nearly $80K

During Boston-based RR Auction, the life insurance policy of Lee Harvey Oswald sold for nearly $80,000. Oswald's mother received only $863 when she filed his death claim. According to History.com, "Oswald was shot and killed by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby at the Dallas police headquarters shortly after he was arraigned for the murders of the president and a Dallas police officer, J.D. Tippit. Ruby was found guilty of murdering Oswald and sentenced to death, but both his conviction and death sentence were overturned and he died before he could be retried." Associated Press reported that Oswald's mother was adamant about her son's innocence, but she was criticized for trying to profit off her son's death. 

Workplace Agility and Innovation Will Rule 2022

A workforce transformation is happening, and these are the three trends that employers should be watching: 

1. Helping employees navigate rising health care costs - as inflation ripples through the economy, experts believe that health care costs are next. With people returning to their post-pandemic "normal" many of those elective surgeries that were put off during the pandemic will be at the front of people's minds. With this, there will be a surge in demand that will impact health care costs. 

2. Boosting the efficiency of HR teams - digital transformation has been a key phrase at the IIAW for the last two years as everyone needed to implement new technologies, systems and processes to ensure business continuity in the move towards remote work. Experts anticipate organizations build on their current tech-stack. (P.S., if you need more guidance about your current tech-stack, head to catalyit.com! Catalyit puts all the agency tech guidance you need in one place.)

3. Improving engagement for a hybrid workforce - we've covered news stories like this before, so it's no surprise that hybrid work and increased flexibility as popular among employees, but engagement can struggle when working from home. This year, experts expect to see a strong focus on engagement. Read more about these trends 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.