HIN 2022-2023 5th Edition

HIN

2022 - 2023 5TH EDITION

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HOUSTON INSURANCE NEWS COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT

WHAT WE DO:

Organize and collect content for our bi-monthly digital magazin Keep our membership up to date on current events and information in the industry Spotlight and promote our members Seek advertisers and support from the industry

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!

MEETING Monthly meetings @ 4:00 PM via ZOOM For more info contact, ayla@iiah.org DETAILS

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HIN

2022 - 2023

FEATURES

5TH EDITION

CHARITY HERO BOWL

21-26

YIP LOFT 18

27-28

IIAH GIVES BACK

31-32

CONTENTS 2 COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT

4 EVENT CALENDAR 6 PRESIDENT & CEO MESSAGE 12 AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT 13-14 CPCU UPDATE 17 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

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20 COVERAGE SPOTLIGHT 29 WHAT DO YOU SAY 33 IMPACT 35-36 HAVE YOU HEARD 38 IN MEMORIAM 39 WHO HAS THE LAST WORD

EVENTS OCT 6th Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament OCT 26th 4th Annual ELITExas IIAH YIP’s Corn Hole Tournament DEC 7th Holiday Happy Hour JAN 20th Centennial Charity Concert JAN 26th One Pot Cook Off FEB 20th ELITExas YIP’s Salute to Exhibitors FEB 21st Houston Insurance Day Celebrates IIAH Centennial

Volunteer Projects Kids Meals Brookwood Fall Fest Brookwood Poinsettia Rings & Spacing Brookwood Poinsettia Sleeving Brookwood Open House

SEP 7 th SEP 15th OCT 12th NOV 30th DEC 1st

EDUCATION SEP 21st Overview of Oil & Gas Basics 4

COMMITTEES 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.

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2022 - 2023 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

August 31, 2023

David Wuthrich Dwuthrich@iiah.org

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!

David Wuthrich IIAH President & CEO 6

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 Chairman

Adam Harris

Chairman Elect

Jason Knecht Vice Chairman

Susan Zipperer Treasurer

Jesse Sanchez Treasurer Elect

David Wuthrich President & CEO

Jim Drew Past Chairman

BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

Ryan Beavers

Kevin Comiskey

Laurie Dempsey

Matt Leicht

William Peachey

Wes Weatherred

Sarah Beck

John Collado

Tom Fitzpatrick

Tony May

David Wuthrich

Renee Stager

Ayla Benavides

Deb McRae

President & CEO

Sr. Managing Director

Managing Director

Advertising/Membership

STAFF

7660 Woodway #535, Houston, Texas 77063

www.iiah.org P: 832. 769.4666 F: 832.324.3503

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CHARITABLE BENEFACTOR

Based in Houston, TX. Mission K9 Rescue provide assistance and support for Working Dogs worldwide. Our organization’s purpose for existence is to serve retiring and retired Military Working Dogs, Contract Working Dogs, and other Dogs who Serve as they may fit into our mission and scope.

OUR MISSION

To Rescue, Reunite, Re-Home, Rehabilitate and Repair any retired working dog that has served mankind in some capacity.

Rescue – Any and all CWDs and MWDs as well as any other working dog that may need our help. Mission K9 Rescue is committed to saving them and giving them the retirement they deserve; whether it be bringing them back from overseas or rescuing them out of a poor environment stateside Reunite – Any retired working dog that has a handler that wants him, and has proven that they are the right home

(handlers always get first preference) Mission K9 Rescue will see to it that the dog is transported to the handler Re-Home – Any retired working dog that does not have a designated handler, Mission K9 Rescue will work to find the perfect loving home for the dog Rehabilitate – Often retired working dogs have been in situations that can cause them severe anxiety and stress. Many retire with issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These dogs need time with us to decompress and reintegrate into society.

Mission K9 Rescue works with these dogs in order to get make the suitable for adoption Repair – Working dogs train like professional athletes their entire career. Often times when they retire, they have extensive medical issues that can become quite costly. Since they don’t receive retirement benefits, Mission K9 Rescue provides much needed funding to assist handlers/ and 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

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Go to: https://www.cpcusociety.org/Public/Membership/Join_Renew/Public/Membership/Join_Renew.aspx?hkey=b3555150-eab0-4cdb-93c5-273c2df0013e to join the CPCU Society.

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.

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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

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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."

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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

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U O Y E SE !

R A E Y T X E N 26

Our Young Insurance Professionals enjoyed a night of fun, drinks and food at LOFT18 on Thursday August 17th. We enjoyed networking and simulated games with over 50 insurance professionals.

A huge thank you to our sponsors that help make this event possible. Hope to see you soon at our upcoming YIPs Charity Corn Hole Tournament on October 26, 2023.

Venue Sponsors:

Entrusted Restoration

Weston Risk Management

Drink Sponsor

Locked In Roofing

Food Sponsor:

Specialty Insurance Managers

Happy Hour Sponsor:

USI Southwest

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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.

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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.

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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

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YOUR

VOICE

HEARD

HAVE YO 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.

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OU 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

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IN MEMORIAM

Nelson Andrew Waite Jr. Nelson Andrew Waite, Jr

03/31/1945 - 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!

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THE LAST WHO HAS... 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

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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

ADVERTISE WITH US!

Deb McRae

713-412-0794 debmcrae@aol.com ADVERTISER INDEX 01 TEXAS MUTUAL 07 IMPERIAL PFS 10 NEITCLEM INSURACE 11 UFG INSURACE 12 STROMAN CONSULTING 19 SERVICE LLOYDS 34 NETSERV 37 RSI INTERNATIONAL 42 BUSINESS CARD ADS 40