Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing the InsurCon2022 kickoff event, March U.S. tornado activity and this month's spotlight on member benefits. 

InsurCon2022 Kickoff Event: Be There or Be Spare

Join us at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 9th for a fun night of networking & bowling in the Kalahari's expansive bowling alley and lounge, Volcano Lanes. Registration for this event is $40 and includes pizza, beer and bowling for the event. Not interested in bowling? We have a reservation option for non-bowlers too! Non-bowling registration is $25 and includes beer and pizza. The bowling alley has plenty of room for networking with industry friends, axe throwing, golf simulator games and so much more! Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Save your spot here: iiaw.com/insurcon.

March U.S. Tornado Activity Likely to Set Record

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center reported that there were more than 250 tornados throughout March in the U.S. Most of these tornados happened in Mississippi, Texas, Iowa, Alabama, Florida with Louisiana experiencing some strong tornados too. The previous record for most tornadoes was set in March of 2017 with a total of 192 tornadoes. The preliminary tornado total from March 2021 was 191, but that may be higher than anticipated. According to Aon, "Severe convective storms caused $26.7 billion in losses in 2021." Preliminary data from NOAA states, "There were 1,376 tornadoes in the U.S. in 1021 compared with 1,075 in 2020. You can learn more here. 

IIAW's Spotlight on Member Benefits for April:

This month's featured benefit is WAHVE, Work at Home Vintage Experts. Finding the right talent is a time-consuming, often frustrating process. Fortunately, WAHVE has pretiring experts with decades fo experience who are ready to fill your resource needs for less than you'd expect. With WAHVE you can fill staffing needs when you can't find the talent, whether part-time or full-time. You can save on hiring, training, managing, overhead and turnover costs and you can generate operational efficiencies and drive growth. Learn more about WAHVE 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 covering 3 reasons why you should register for InsurCon2022, NFT insurance and whether corporate culture can survive remote work. 

3 Reasons to Register for InsurCon2022

If you haven't registered for InsurCon2022 yet, now's the time! Here are three reasons why you should register for this year's must-see event: 1. New Convention Format for 2022 - Our new format is inspired by TED Talks and will feature a variety of engaging speakers! Our speakers will focus on topics like agency technology, cybersecurity, COVID economic impacts and more! Your registration will give you access to all events (bowling on May 9th is a separate registration), lunch, dinner, two drink tickets and access to BOTH Exhibitor Showcases. 

2. Evening Entertainment - We're elevating our Evening Entertainment for 2022! This year, our evening will start with Networking & Cocktails in the Convention Foyer for complimentary drinks and time to network with industry friends. Then, dinner will be served and so will great entertainment! Matt Banaszynski, IIAW CEO, will sit down with Garth Wicinsky to talk about his vision for the future as he takes over the helm as SECURA CEO. Then, Mike Ansay will lead a walk down memory lane alongside industry legend, Dave Gross, as we honor Dave on his retirement as SECURA CEO. Last but certainly not least, evening entertainment will be provided by Bill Walton, NBA and College Basketball Hall of Famer. As entertaining as he is insightful, Bill is widely considered one of the best speakers from the world of sports. 

3. Exhibitor Showcases - Back by popular demand, InsurCon2022 will feature Blackout Bingo! This year, we'll have two showcase opportunities to fill in your bingo card, which means more time to network! First, during our Exhibitor Networking Luncheon, you can grab lunch from one of the available food carts and sip on a drink from the bar (lunch & two drink tickets included with your registration) while you mark off your Blackout Bingo cards and network with exhibitors. We'll have a second Exhibitor Showcase opportunity later in the day that will conclude with awarding the winners of Blackout Bingo and all the Super Door Prize winners!

Bonus! Join us for our InsurCon2022 kickoff event of Networking & Bowling at the Kalahari's Volcano Lanes! Registration for this event includes pizza, beer & bowling for the evening. Not interested in bowling? Not a problem! We have a registration option for you as well, which includes pizza & beer. The bowling alley has plenty of room for networking with industry friends, axe throwing, golf simulator games and so much more!

Secure your spot and don't miss out on the fun of InsurCon2022! Register today at iiaw.com/insurcon.

NFT Insurance: Understanding the Challenges and Solutions

Do you know what an NFT is? You should, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) hit the mainstream in 2021 and owners are looking for ways to protect their investments. To quickly summarize how NFT's work, Independent Agent wrote, "Prior to NFTs, a copy of the digital file was identical to the original. Because NFTs are built on blockchain technology, they care connected to a decentralized historical record that allows for the provenance of a digital file to be established. Ownership of an NFT is established and authenticated by immutable blocks of data on the blockchain. As a result, the original is non-fungible, or not interchangeable with any copies that might be made. By allowing for authentication and ownership of digital assets, NFTs also allow digital assets to be valued and sold, which creates the need for NFT insurance."  There have been challenges to insuring NFTs because there's confusion as to whether they can be covered as fine art. However, for the most part cyber insurance policies would address the marketplace's liability, rather than covering losses that might be experienced by individuals with marketplace accounts, according to Independent Agent. You can read more about the challenges and solutions for insuring NFTs here. 

Leadership Conundrum: Can Corporate Culture Survive Remote Work Models? 

The insurance industry is expected to maintain a hybrid work model as the pandemic begins to dwindle. But, that's left a lot of companies questioning how they can continue their corporate work culture. While companies saw an increase in productivity as employees spend less time commuting, eating longer lunches and stopping to grab a coffee, there has been a negative impact on innovation for everything that requires teamwork and brainstorming. So, how do companies keep a strong corporate culture when they're faced with a hybrid workplace? Charles Cooper, chief executive of Reinsurance, AXA XL, says that spending time to get to know employees remotely is a great way to do that. You can read more about maintaining corporate culture while offering remote or hybrid workplace settings 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! It's officially spring, and although we've been dealing with some rain this week, the forecast is looking up. In this week's Big I Buzz we are discussing an upcoming E&O Risk Management class, how credit can affect auto premiums and the top states for alcohol consumption. 

E&O Risk Management: Less Risk. More Reward. 

Join us from 9 a.m. to noon on April 13 for a live virtual E&O course full of storytelling, statistics and E&O risk mitigation tips. This course is open to everyone and has been approved for 3 WI CE credits. These credits can not be awarded if this course was completed within the last two years. The course qualifies for 10% premium credit for Swiss Re E&O policyholders. Covered topics include: agency defenses to E&O claims (documentation, consistent procedures and exposures checklists), E&O claim statistics, E&O exposures when using social media and understanding standard of care and duty to advise. The webinar will be conducted via Zoom and everyone within an agency is encouraged to attend. Register for this course here. 

Poor Credit Can Affect Auto Premiums More Than Accidents

A new study from The Zebra has found that a bad credit score can affect your auto insurance premium more than having a  hit-and-run on your record. "Even drivers with squeaky-clean records can see their rates double if their credits tank."

There are a few states that have banned insurance companies from using credit scores to price or deny insurance policies and those are California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan. However, there are further bans being considered on using credit rating for insurance. According to NU Property Casualty 360, "For drivers with poor credit, The Zebra recommends the following tips to save as much as possible: 

• If you believe you're paying too much, don't be afraid to shop around for carriers. Some may be more willing to work with customers with less-than-ideal credit scores than others. 

• Make small improvements to your credit where you can.

• Take advantage of any discounts (for staying accident free, taking defensive driving courses, etc.) your carrier offers to lower your premium. 

• Even customers with decent credit should work to improve it in order to take advantage of even more savings. 

You can read more about this study here. 

10 U.S. States with the Highest Alcohol Consumption

World Population Review has ranked the top states for alcohol consumption. Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. ranks 25th globally for alcohol consumption, with the average American drinking about 2.35 gallons of alcohol per year. Here's their findings for the top 10 states: 

10. South Dakota

9. Colorado

8. Wisconsin

7. Idaho

6. Vermont

5. Montana

4. North Dakota

3. Nevada

2. Delaware

1. New Hampshire

Wisconsin ranked #8 but reported quite a bit more alcohol-impaired driving fatalities than some of the other states higher on the list - reporting 183 fatalities just in 2019. DUI arrests were also high, with Wisconsin reporting 23,934 DUI arrests in 2019. 

Read more about the study 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 insurers using drones, small businesses being a big target for fund transfer fraud and a top reason behind the Great Resignation.

Insurers Taking Flight with Drones

A new whitepaper from Adorama's Business Solutions Team titled "Insurance & Drones: What to Know to Capitalize on New Technology", focuses on the use of drones in the insurance industry. According to Insurance Business Mag, "The various insurance industry-targeted applications for drone technology are outlined in the whitepaper, ranging from roof and boiler inspections, post-disaster claim inspections, pre-disaster mapping, to the integration with Artificial Intelligence." As severe weather events continue to increase, drone technology could be a great opportunity for insurers. Claim adjusters can have better access to storm-affected areas and can stay out of the path of a storm's aftermath with drones. The whitepaper expects drone technology to be used more frequently by insurers in the years ahead. Read more about the opportunities here. 

Half of Employees Quit Their Job for Their Mental Health in 2021

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that more than 47 million American workers quit their jobs during 2021, a.k.a. The Great Resignation. Human Resources Director wrote that a portion of the Great Resignation could have been avoided by companies taking steps to alleviate stress and burnout. "According to non-profit organization Mind Share Partners, 84% of employees reported at least one workplace factor that negatively impacted their mental health. Furthermore, 50% of employees claimed to leave their jobs for their mental health in 2021." The article continues to share results from a Lyra Health survey which found that 60% of employee benefit leaders said employee expectations around mental health support rose over the past year with 92% said that providing mental health support became a higher priority for their company over the past year. Read more here. 

Small Businesses Are Big Targets for Fund Transfer Fraud

Small businesses were heavily targeted for fund transfer fraud cyberattacks in 2021. Larger companies are usually targeted for their data, but because small businesses don't have as much data to obtain and less digital infrastructures, it leaves less leverage for cybercriminals to do a ransomware negotiation. Instead, they target small businesses for fund transfer fraud.

Fund transfer fraud is done by cybercriminals who access a business email through phishing and business email compromise. From there, cybercriminals can manipulate contracts or modify payment instructions. They also send payment instructions to look as if its coming from customers or vendors. 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! It's hard to believe that today is already the last Wednesday in February. We might be moving closer to spring on the calendar, but we're still dealing with winter storms.

This ties into our first topic of today's Big I Buzz: Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek has shared tips and reminders for Wisconsinites who may have experienced property damage as a result of the recent winter storm. You can share this news release with your clients! 

Remind your clients that they should notify you about winter storm damage to begin the claims process. Additionally, the experts at OCI have recommended these tips as they respond to storm damage: 

"1. Make a list of damaged items, including cracks in walls, missing shingles, spoiled food due to a power outage, etc.

  2. Take photographs of the damages before you begin to clean up. 

  3. Don't throw out any damaged property without the claim adjuster's agreement." 

You can read the full OCI press release here. 

New Strain of Bird Flu Related to 2015 Virus

Next up for discussion is the new bird flu strain. While we're still hearing headlines about COVID-19, there are a few stories coming out about a new bird flu strain. 

A new discover has found that there's a virus infecting a commercial turkey flock in Indiana. This has caused a fear of a repeat of 2015's bird flu outbreak that killed 50 million birds across 15 states. Related to the 2015 virus, the new strain is H5N1 and has been identified in Europe, Asia and Canada before being seen in the U.S. According to Insurance Journal, "U.S. surveillance efforts have identified the virus in wild birds in recent weeks in New Hampshire, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and South Carolina, making it apparent that this is in the environment broadly.... Producers who want to ensure eligibility for government indemnity payments in case of disaster must have a biosecurity protocol on hand that is updated regularly. To help with that, the USDA has developed a 14-point biosecurity plan for producers, which is audited yearly and reviewed every two years by state agriculture agencies, said Dr. Yuko Sato, a veterinarian and assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine at Iowa State University." You can read more here. 

Is This the Biggest Test for the Wholesale Insurance Market? 

Last up on our discussion for the day is a recent podcast from Insurance Business Talk. The episode discusses the importance of building durable, trusted partnerships for navigating new and emerging risks in an increasingly complex and dynamic marketplace. Tune in to hear more about how commercial insurance distribution is evolving and the importance of identifying new pathways to grow in the wholesale marketplace. Click here to access the podcast. 

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.