Business

June 17, 2021

How to Evacuate a High-Rise Building

When asked, most people would say that they should “stop, drop, and roll” if their clothes caught fire. There are a few other basic rules most people know to follow, such as crawling on the ground because smoke rises. But many residents of apartment buildings are fuzzy on the details when it comes to emergency...

June 7, 2021

Industries That Experience the Most Fatal Work Injuries

During 2019, a total of 5,333 fatal occupational injuries occurred, marking the largest annual number since 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which reported an American died every 99 minutes from a work-related injury. Overall, fatal work injuries increased by 2% nationwide during the year. Further, the fatal work-injury rate did not change...

May 24, 2021

Amenities Are Reopening, With Technology At Their Core

Last year, once-bustling amenities in multifamily properties fell silent as residents stayed socially distanced in their units. Meanwhile, property managers sought alternative ways to engage residents and empower them to take advantage of the amenities they pay for while still feeling safe. They found that technology provided the bridge they were looking for.  “In the past year, we’ve seen a rise...

March 30, 2021

New California COVID-19 Leave Law is Retroactive to Jan. 1

Under a new law, California employers with more than 25 employees must provide up to 80 new hours of supplemental paid sick leave for specific COVID-19-related reasons. The leave requirement takes effect March 29, 2021, but is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021. Reasons for Leave Employees may take leave if they cannot work or telework because...

March 29, 2021

Seven Post-Pandemic Changes To Improve Your Commercial Building

Commercial property investors and property managers are bracing for the return of their tenants in 2021. Whether they’ll need to wait until the summer or fall is largely undetermined at this point. The major pushback to the office is dependent on how quickly the population can be vaccinated and reach herd immunity.  What is clear...

March 24, 2021

Work-From-Home Shift to Stretch Firms’ Cyber Cover

Roughly a year after the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly around the world, many employees in various industries are working from home to avoid contracting or spreading the virus in the office or on their daily commute. This has made it harder for organizations to secure their networks, and cyber insurance policies that used to be...

March 22, 2021

2021 General Liability Insurance Market Outlook

In recent years, the general liability market has consistently underperformed, resulting in heightened underwriting losses and subsequent rate increases. As worsening social inflation concerns, surging medical expenses and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continue to contribute to a rise in liability claim frequency and severity, the market has preceded to harden. Due to these market conditions,...

March 18, 2021

2021 Commercial Property Insurance Market Outlook

The commercial property market has steadily hardened in recent years, resulting in rate increases every quarter since Q3 2017. Unfortunately, these rate increases—as well as additional policy restrictions—are expected to continue in 2021. We predict that many insureds will experience double-digit rate increases, lowered available capacity and various policy restrictions or exclusions—especially regarding losses tied...

March 15, 2021

Perspectives: Companies Increasingly Turn to Captives as Employee Benefits Evolve Due to COVID-19

COVID-19 has been the biggest disruptor in the health care sector in years, catapulting change in the delivery of care and putting greater focus on the emotional and financial well-being of employees as part of a broader business resiliency effort. To manage this more expansive set of benefits, companies are increasingly turning to captives for...

February 18, 2021

Maintaining Effective Sprinkler Heads

Sprinkler heads are largely responsible for detecting the presence of a fire at your commercial property and activating the sprinkler system’s water dispersal capabilities—thus suppressing the flames and mitigating damage. Data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) suggests that effective sprinkler systems can reduce total deaths and property loss from fire incidents by over...