HIN 2022-2023 5th Edition

HOUSTON INSURANCE NEWS WHAT WE DO:

COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT

Organ ze and collect content for our b -monthly d g tal magaz n Keep our membersh p up to date on current events and nformat on n the ndustry

Spotl ght and promote our members Seek advert sers and support from the ndustry

A committee who loves to share news, the HIN Committee publishes our bi-monthly digital newsletter with rich content aimed at informing our members of upcoming & past events, educational & legislative information, industry updates, acknowledgment of achievements of people in the industry along with articles relevant to current topics. Make plans to join us at our next meeting. See you soon!

Monthly meetings @ 4:00 PM via ZOOM

For more info contact, ayla@iiah.org

OCT 6th

OCT

4th

DEC 7 th Centennial

JAN 20th

JAN 26th

FEB

FEB

Volunteer Projects

COMMITTEES 2022 - 2023

are what breaths life into our association. With 9 active committees there are at least 100 people actively serving the association with their unique skills. We are always looking to put your skills to use to further drive the association’s mission forward. No matter what your skills are, or what you are passionate about, we likely have something of interest to you. The end result is to better the industry we all serve. Join a Committee today and become part of the mission.

Charitable Projects/ Fire Prevention

Vice Chairman: Sarah Beck

Education, I.T., CE

Chairman: Michelle Dennis

Vice Chairman: Katrina Masek

Houston Insurance Day

Chairman: Ashley Newton

Vice Chairman: Nancy Euginio

Vice Chairman: Matt Romano

Legislative

Chairman: Kyle Dean

Vice Chairman: Wes Kurtz

IMPACT

Chairman: Wes Kurtz

Recreation

Chairman: Amber Stevenson

Vice Chairman: Carisa Cole

Young Insurance Professionals

Chairman: Derek Pierce

Vice Chairman: Grant Pierce

PR/Media Matters

Chairman: Scott West

Social Media

Chairman: Daphne Clark

Vice Chairman: Cassie Shanks

Houston Insurance News

Chairman: Amy Weimer

Vice Chairman: Cassie Shanks

Happy End of Summer!

I just hope that the weather will cooperate and start acting like Fall very soon! I think that we have all had enough 100 degree days to last us for a lifetime!

As we come to the close of another fiscal year, I must stop and thank our entire membership for another great year. You guys always amaze me with everything that you do to make our Association better. A quick thank you also to our outgoing board and executive committee members. Thanks you for your years of service to make our organization what it is today. I can say for sure that you are leaving it much better than you found it, and for that reason I really appreciate all that you have done!

As we start the new fiscal year, there is a lot of excitement! We had a wonderful Strategic Planning meeting in March and you will see in 2023-2024 that we are implementing many of the ideas that were discussed at that meeting. Exciting times for our Association also as we turn 100 years old!! I can’t wait to start the celebration on January 20th with a concert with dancing by the up and coming country/western star, Randall King. From what I hear, you better get your tickets early because it will definitely SELL OUT! We can have 1,000 people at the venue and I know for a fact that there is lots of interest in the event, if the phone calls I am getting about the event are any indication!

We are also welcoming six new board members. I think this is the most we have installed in a long time and I am so excited to see what new ideas that they will bring to our group. The only way we will get better is to get new ideas from our members.

I look forward to our new event, Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament in October. We will see who is the best player in Houston and the location sitting in the Porsche showroom around all of the beautiful cars should just add to the experience and excitement of the event. Please sign up now as this event is sure to sell out as well.

As always, we appreciate your all your support and we are here for you and to make your Association the best it can be!

ANNUAL SPONSORS

Titanium Elite Sponsors

Imperial PFS

Burns & Wilcox, Ltd.

CRC Group

Southwest Adjusters

Platinum Partners for Excellence

RT Specialty

Texas Mutual Insurance

UFG Insurance Company

WSG Specialty Underwriters

Gold Patron Sponsors

Chubb

CNA Insurance Companies

Jencap | Delta General Agency

Travelers

WRIGHT Flood

NEW MEMBERS

New Agency Members:

Stepped up Insurance Agency

True Insurance Agency

Vertex Insurance Group

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jason Nybakken

Adam Harris

Jason Knecht

Susan Zipperer

Jesse Sanchez

David Wuthrich

Jim Drew

Ryan Beavers

Kevin Comiskey

Laurie Dempsey

Matt Leicht

William Peachey

Wes Weatherred

Chairman

Chairman Elect

Vice Chairman

Treasurer

Treasurer Elect

President & CEO

Past Chairman

David Wuthrich

Renee Stager

Ayla Benavides

Deb McRae

Sarah Beck

John Collado

Tom Fitzpatrick

Tony May

BOARD OF DIRECTORS STAFF

President & CEO

Sr. Managing Director

Managing Director

Advertising/Membership

CHARITABLE BENEFACTOR

Based i Housto , TX. Missio K9 Rescue pro ide assista ce a d support for Worki g Dogs worldwide. Our orga izatio ’s purpose for existe ce is to ser e retiri g a d retired Military Worki g Dogs, Co tract Worki g Dogs, a d other Dogs who Ser e as they may fit i to our missio a d scope.

OUR MISSION

To Rescue, Reu ite, Re-Home, Rehabilitate a d Repair a y retired worki g dog that has ser ed ma ki d i some capacity.

Rescue – A y a d all CWDs a d MWDs as well as a y other worki g dog that may eed our help. Missio K9 Rescue is committed to sa i g them a d gi i g them the retireme t they deser e; whether it be bri gi g them back from o erseas or rescui g them out of a poor e iro me t stateside

Reu ite – A y retired worki g dog that has a ha dler that wa ts him, a d has pro e that they are the right home (ha dlers always get first prefere ce) Missio K9 Rescue will see to it that the dog is tra sported to the ha dler

Re-Home – A y retired worki g dog that does ot ha e a desig ated ha dler, Missio K9 Rescue will work to fi d the perfect lo i g home for the dog

Rehabilitate – Ofte retired worki g dogs ha e bee i situatio s that ca cause them se ere a xiety a d stress. Ma y retire with issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These dogs eed time with us to decompress a d rei tegrate i to society.

Missio K9 Rescue works with these dogs i order to get make the suitable for adoptio

Repair – Worki g dogs trai like professio al athletes their e tire career. Ofte times whe they retire, they ha e exte si e medical issues that ca become quite costly. Si ce they do ’t recei e retireme t be efits, Missio K9 Rescue pro ides much eeded fu di g to assist ha dlers/ a d or adopters with medical bills.

AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT

SERVPRO is the largest company in the cleaning and restoration industry. Market research shows SERVPRO is currently the #1 recognized brand, and #1 consumer chosen brand, for both commercial restoration and residential restoration. Founded in 1984, SERVPRO Team Wilson is one of the Top 5 largest ownership groups within the SERVPRO franchise network, with locations in Downtown Houston, TX, Cypress, TX, Downtown Dallas, TX, Frisco, TX, and Birmingham, AL.

SERVPRO Team Wilson specializes in all types of water and storm damage mitigation, fire damage and smoke cleanup, mold remediation, property restoration and reconstruction. Our team also services national corporate accounts across the country, assisting with small everyday losses, large and complex commercial loss, and catastrophic storm response. We are a "one stop shop" for any size disaster.

With agreements in place with over 200 carriers, SERVPRO is a no risk referral for most insurance brokers and agencies. Having a partner you know and trust can help quantify a loss situation, make a good decision based on claim-worthiness, and potentially affect retention by avoiding needless claim frequency. Wherever property loss occurs, our team is always ready to help make whatever happens like it never even happened.

By: Wendall C. Braniff

Go to: to join the CPCU Society.

https://www.cpcusociety.org/Public/Membership/Join_Renew/Public/Membership/Join_Renew.aspx?hkey=b3555150-eab0-4cdb-93c5-273c2df0013e

By joining the Society, you will automatically be referred to your local chapter, which you can also join to be included on their mailing list and receive the benefits of attending monthly meetings which offer Continuing Education (CE) credits toward licensing requirements, networking opportunities as well as valuable information, resources and fun social events with industry professionals in the Houston area, which are free to members who pay annual chapter dues, which are Professional Members & Academic $150; Pathways & Post Career $75; Students Free.

September 21, 2023

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Jason

Nybakken

JasonNybakken@ibc.com

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of you for allowing me to serve as your President this past year. The Board and Executive committee have been extremely proactive and instrumental in making substantive changes to the Association that will propel us into the future, and I am grateful to be a small part of that journey. I would like to thank David Wuthrich, Renee Stager and Ayla Benavides for their continued exceptional work organizing our amazing events and supporting all our stakeholders.

Our committee chairs, committee members and volunteers play an integral role in our success and I thank them for the time and contributions. I would also like to thank past chairman Jim Drew for his support and mentorship. As we move into our Centennial Year, I know Adam Harris will do a fantastic job taking us to even greater heights as the next chairman of IIAH.

Until the next event, take care!

Jason Nybakken

IIAH President 2022-2023

COVERAGE SPOTLIGHT

By: ANNEMARIE MCPHERSON SPEARS

Environmental liability insurance is the elephant in the room: the market is expanding, capacity is excellent, the risk is relevant to essentially every commercial client that comes across an agent's desk … and yet few agents are seeing it as an opportunity.

“Our research shows that fewer than 15% of licensed agents are actively working in the space, and yet 100% of commercial insureds are impacted by environmental exposures," says Chris Bunbury, president & CEO of Environmental Risk Managers Inc. (ERMI).

Those environmental exposures are becoming harder to ignore, with “a combination of greater awareness of human impact on the environment and increases in science that show harm at very low levels of exposure to pollutants are increasing the overall risk," says David Dybdahl, CEO of ARMR Specialty Holdings. “At the same time, insurance companies are eliminating loss exposures to specific contaminants—and that void in coverage is filled by adaptations of the environmental insurance product line." All this leads to a market that is continuing to grow “20% to 30% a year," says Daniel Drennen, environmental practice leader at Amwins.

As far as capacity is concerned, “the environmental insurance market capacity has exceeded demand for the last 20 years or more," Dybdahl says. “If limits happen to be an issue, most carriers are willing to write excess of other carriers' underlying policies, so building towers is a very common thing we do now," Bunbury adds.

With great capacity and an expanding market, the biggest obstacle for independent agents is education. In the CIC designation, Dybdahl notes that the class guide skips right over the pollution exclusion, Exclusion F, in the commercial general liability policy. However, Environmental Risk Managers recently partnered with the National Alliance to create the Certified environmental Strategist (CeS) program designation to help educate agents about environmental liability.

As awareness of risks continue to prompt more stringent pollution exclusions, here are some of the biggest environmental exposures that impact commercial lines clients today:

1) Engineered chemicals. Thanks to scientific advancements, the impact of chemicals created by humans is just beginning to be measured, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS or simply “forever chemicals," and microplastics.

From PFAS' presence in the blood of humans and animals around the world and its potential link to cancer, according to the Environmental Protection

Agency, to microplastics in baby bottles, according to NPR, these engineered chemicals are inescapable. Other emerging risks include 6PPD, a tire preservative that when washed into rivers by rain has been found to be deadly to fish, according to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

“As testing gets better with technology, there's definitely more exposure for attorneys to link specific chemicals to a specific disease," Drennen says. “While historically you couldn't test to a micro-level of what's in the environment or in someone's body, it's gotten better—that's going to lead to more lawsuits."

2) Natural disasters. In 2022, the U.S. experienced 18 separate weather and climate disasters costing at least $1 billion each, with a total cost of at least $165 billion to rank third-highest in total cost behind 2017 and 2005, according to Climate.gov.

“If you have insureds located in areas with floods, hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes, they're good candidates for pollution coverage because we're seeing the amount of claims after natural disasters for environmental liabilities on the rise," Bunbury says. “It's something we're really noticing as more natural disasters occur."

3) Cyberattacks. Cyber policies have a pollution exclusion, Bunbury says, meaning that “agents should round out a cyber policy with a pollution policy," he says. “Cyberattacks have hit waste treatment plants and caused hundreds of thousands of gallons of untreated sewage to spill into the river and neighboring properties."

Businesses beside waste treatment facilities are not immune, either—an ERMI article points out that hackers can impact the operation of watercraft, trains, aircraft, dam operations, HVAC, plumbing and other systems that depends upon computers, and a cyber policy will exclude resulting pollution liabilities.

4) Biohazards. The exclusion of fungi and bacteria from property and liability policies has opened swathes of insureds to losses. “It affects basically all commercial buildings," Dybdahl says. “It helps to know that water intrusion indoors accounts for 60% of all property claims, and if it takes more than three days to take care of it, mold will grow on drywall just about every time."

“There's absolutely no training for insurance agents on fungi and bacteria exclusions, so they're not telling their customers about the effects of the exclusions," he continues. “It also helps to know that the average sub-limit for mold on a commercial property is about $15,000, while the average mold cleanup job in commercial buildings is $250,000."

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Annual Charity “Hero” Bowl. We had a great turnout with 39 teams and raised a super amount for our beneficiaries The Brookwood Community, Mission K9 Rescue and Texas Association of First Responders. IIAH is so grateful for the support of our membership, with your help we raised over $11,000 for our charity partners! See you next year on July 13, 2024.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor

Vintage Underwriters

Liquor Wagon Sponsor

Pathfinder/LL&D Insurance Group

Trophy Sponsors

Hotchkiss Insurance

Risk Placement Services

Ball Sponsor

RT Specialty

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

Our membership had the pleasure of volunteering their time each Friday in the month of August supporting the Women’s Home. Our volunteers helped by sorting through and organizing donations at the Cottage Shop. The Cottage Shop has been a Houston treasure in the Montrose area since 1971. This one-of-a-kind resale boutique is owned and operated by The Women’s Home, which means that 100% of sales contribute to the mission of building communities that strengthen women and support families as they reclaim their stability. In addition to offering high-fashion clothing and home goods at incredible prices, the Cottage Shop serves as a vocational training site for our clients. Volunteers and residents staff the store six days a week under the supervision of our professional staff.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit, please do so! The Cottage Shop has a wide selection of new and gently used men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, jewelry, handbags, and home goods. The Boutique and Vintage sections offer high-end designer brands. Their inventory is constantly changing – the latest stock hits the floor each Wednesday – so you are sure to find a great bargain.

Have a collection of gently used gems hanging in your closet? Bring them over to the Cottage Shop and they’ll put them to good use! The Cottage shop accept all types and sizes of men’s, women’s, and children’s new or gently used clothing, shoes, and accessories (belts, jewelry, bags, etc.). They will also gladly accept delivered home goods and/or furniture.

By: Wes Kurtz

What is a Political Action Committee?

A political action committee or PAC is a group that is formed to give money to the political campaigns of people who are likely to make decisions that would benefit the group’s interests.

Why should I support IMPACT?

We cannot afford to ignore government decisions that have profound effects on the independent agency system in Texas. Your contributions and participation in the political process are needed to ensure IIAT members continue to compete, innovate, and grow.

IMPACT funds help support pro-business candidates and elected officials who understand the importance of a vibrant independent insurance agency system in Texas. IMPACT’s strong reputation helps IIAT form productive relationships with state legislators who support the interests of independent agents.

What does IMPACT do?

IMPACT is your vehicle for political success as an independent agent. IMPACT collects voluntary contributions from independent insurance agency principals, producers, customer service reps and other staff members across the state.

These funds are pooled and contributed on a nonpartisan basis to candidates for public office who support the interests of independent insurance agents and the insurance industry. A full 100 percent of every dollar raised stays in Texas for state and local elections.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

HAVE YOU

The Insurance Marketing & Communications Association (IMCA) announced UFG Insurance as a winner of six 2023 Showcase Awards during its Ignite annual conference in June.

“For over 60 years, the IMCA Showcase Awards have recognized the most effective and innovative work from the best minds in insurance marketing and communications,” the association explains on its website. UFG received three silver and three bronze Showcase Awards for 2022 creative. Honored work includes a baseball-themed contest, social media content, digital collateral, a marketing campaign for the state Land Improvement Contractors Association (LICA), an agent holiday card with digital animation and an inspiring video production of UFG’s Go Beyond Award recipient.

“We are grateful to be recognized by the IMCA for the ingenuity of our marketing and communications team,” states Casey Prince, AVP and marketing communications manager at UFG. “These awards serve as a true testament to our ability to push the boundaries of creativity, innovation and excellence in insurance marketing.”

The organization also received four awards from the 44th Annual Telly Awards in June. UFG was awarded gold for a fully animated holiday message. UFG was also honored with three bronze awards for their employee appreciation, Go Beyond Award and community support videos.

Lee Loftis retired from the IIAT and has been appointed as the new Director of Sales & Carrier Relations at Watkins Insurance Group.

YOU HEARD

Hotchkiss Family, we have a new little one.

A BIG CONGRATULAITONS to the Fondren Family. Briggs Ryan arrived by stork today, August 3rd at 8:28 am weighing in at 7.9 lbs, 20 inches long.Proud brothers and sister (left to right) are Turner aka TBear, Ella and Wyatt. Briggs is a sweet (and maybe final) addition to this beautiful family. Congratulation again, Keni and Chase. Your family is precious!!!

Happy Birthday Mike Hotchkiss! August 8th

IN MEMORIAM

Nelson Andrew Waite Jr.

Nelson

Andrew

03/31/1945

-

Waite, Jr

07/30/2023WAITE,

JR, NELSON A. (SKIP) – Passed

away in Houston, Texas on July 30, 2023. Skip was born on March 31, 1945, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Mr. & Mrs. Nelson Waite.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Nelson A. Waite, Sr, and Anne Dunlap Waite. He is survived by his brothers, Richard D. Waite (Kimberly) of Santa Rosa, CA, and Philip T. Waite of Spartanburg, SC. He is also survived by his son, Gregory Scott Waite (Victoria), four grandchildren Sage, Dakota, Noah & Elizabeth Waite, great granddaughter Kirra and his nephew, Ricky Waite. Lastly, Skip is survived by numerous cousins from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Savannah, GA, where the family roots began, his extended family in California who know him as "Uncle Skip" and several loving friends from Houston, TX.Skip was quite an athlete playing football, basketball, and baseball in his high school years, where he graduated from Glenrock High School in Glen Rock, New Jersey. He went on to play baseball for Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina where he earned a B.A.in Psychology in 1967. After graduating from Davidson and the ROTC program he joined the Army as an officer in a tank battalion serving our country for 4 years. After returning home from his time in the Army to his then wife, Nancy, and son Scott, he went on to begin his career in the insurance industry in Chicago at Chubb & Sons. Skip later divorced and moved to Houston, TX continuing to work in the insurance industry. He had a stellar career serving as an Officer with Chubb & Son, Inc, VP with Marsh & McLennan, VP with Reed Alexander Stenhouse of TX, VP with River Oaks Insurance Services and retiring with AON Insurance Services.Skip's passions in life when not working included teaching his son, Scott, how to play ball, sailing, golfing, playing tennis and spending many hours pouring over the Julia Childs cookbook while cooking fabulous dinners for many friends and family over the years. He belonged to "gourmet supper clubs" with dear friends, and also enjoyed hosting dinners in his home. His favorite annual trips were to California at Christmas time to see his son, Scott, and 4 grandchildren, Sage, Dakota, Noah & Elizabeth…and always an annual trip at Thanksgiving to spend time with his brother, Rick and his family, visiting the wine country and hosting "his dinner" at Bacci Café in Healdsburg with extended family.Per Skip's request, no formal services will be held, instead please prepare your favorite meal with your loved ones and toast him with a great bottle of French wine, his favorite!

WHO HAS... THE LAST WORD

Renee Stager

Where do you work?

IIAH

What sound do you love?

Sound of the ocean

If you could paint a picture of any scenery, you’ve seen before, what would you paint?

The Alaskan mountains against the emerald waters at sunrise.

What was the first thing you bought with your own money?

A car

If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?

35

What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?

Slamming my bedroom door!

What is something you learned in the last week?

That people in the state of Washington truly don’t understand the real meaning of a “heat alert”!

Weirdest thing you have ever eaten?

Menudo

What is your pet peeve in traffic?

Cars racing and weaving in and out of traffic.

Do you have any hidden talents?

Not really!

What is your favorite flavor of jellybeans?

Black or Red

What is your LEAST favorite electronic device?

Printer

What is the longest car trip you have ever taken?

Texas to D.C.

Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

Why not?

Ninjas or pirates?

Pirates

What was your favorite childhood television program?

The Waltons

Are you a collector of anything?

Miniature objects to go in my antique printers drawer.

At a movie theater, which arm rest is yours?

Right