Uncategorized
September 8, 2023
3 Economic Forces Putting Strain on Construction
It’s been a tough three years for the construction industry. Lingering labor shortages and supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic have caused project costs to shoot up. In an effort to govern inflation, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates, resulting in higher borrowing costs. Noticing a pattern? Today’s economic conditions are increasing...
September 6, 2023
Preparing for the DOL’s Proposed FLSA Overtime Rule
On Aug. 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule to amend current requirements that executive, administrative and professional employees (EAPs) must satisfy to be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime requirements. If the rule is finalized and implemented, the overtime protections will extend to approximately 3.6...
September 1, 2023
Captives Address Emerging Risks
Businesses are increasingly looking to captives to address emerging risks as commercial insurance market conditions remain difficult. Demand is growing for innovative insurance programs for cannabis and cryptocurrency risks, among others, panelists said last month at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association’s 2023 annual conference. “The search for capacity doesn’t end when your insurance broker says...
August 31, 2023
4 Trends Shaping the Casualty Market
No. 1: Inflation is changing the game. After peaking at 9.1% in June 2022 following more than two years of pandemic-induced growth, global inflation has trended down slowly for the last few quarters. Still, inflation remains a concern across the entire property and casualty (P&C) value chain. Naturally, rising costs will have a direct impact on insurers...
August 30, 2023
How Voluntary Benefits Help to Expect the Unexpected
In life, we need to expect the unexpected. One could argue that this is an apt description for voluntary benefits, which were long viewed by brokers and employers as a labor-intensive afterthought. Individually underwritten policies like accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, identity theft, pet protection and numerous other coverages offered through payroll deduction weren’t seen as strategic...
August 18, 2023
OSHA’s New National Emphasis Program Aimed at Preventing Warehouse Injury and Heat Hazards and Its Possible Implications on California
On July 13, 2023, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) announced the launch of a three-year National Emphasis Program meant to prevent workplace hazards in warehouses, processing facilities, distribution centers, and high-risk retail establishments. OSHA’s announcement explains that warehousing and distribution centers have experienced tremendous growth over the past 10 years, with over 1.9 million...
August 15, 2023
What is an Experience Modification Factor?
The experience modification factor (EMF) plays a significant role in the cost of workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Also known as the e-mod, this figure represents an employer’s workers’ compensation claims history compared to other businesses of a similar size in the same industry. It is determined based on a formula set by the National Council...
January 9, 2023
Personal Protective Equipment Considerations for Women
Historically, the construction industry has largely been a male-dominated field. In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women currently account for just 10.3% of those employed within the sector—a statistic that has been relatively steady for much of the past two decades. As a result of this workforce trend, many suppliers and...
December 22, 2022
How Property and Casualty Insurers Can Bring New Value to Partnerships
The world of property and casualty insurance sales has radically changed since in recent years. Trends that were already gaining speed before the pandemic have been fast-tracked: Consumers have massively adopted digitization, and companies have invested in digitizing interactions that were previously face-to-face. Data evolution has followed suit, with connected vehicles generating more and more data about our roads and...
December 2, 2022
Buy-Sell Life Insurance
After putting considerable time and effort into building a business, you don’t want to risk it falling into the hands of someone who may not care for it. A buy-sell agreement is a contract among business owners that, upon the death of one of the owners, requires the remaining owners or the company itself to...