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Workers’ Compensation Medical Claims Trending Up
Medical costs per claim have begun to rise following a period of relative stability post-pandemic, a new report shows.
A new Workers Compensation Research Institute report shows medical payments per claim recently started increasing, fueled by an increase in medical utilization, medical prices, and updates to state fee schedules.
The WCRI report examined medical payments, prices, and utilization by provider and by type of service across 18 states.
After several years of stable medical payments since 2018, California saw a 5% increase in medical payments per claim, with increases in payments per claim for several non-hospital services, including physical medicine services, contributing to that growth, according to the report.
Medical payments per claim grew 7% per year between 2021 and 2023 in Delaware, driven by price increases in professional and hospital outpatient services. These trends align with Delaware’s fee schedule, which is adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
In Pennsylvania, medical payments per claim for care provided to injured workers rose 14% in 2023 after years of decreases, reflecting, in part, larger recent annual updates to the state’s medical fee schedule, which is tied to the statewide average weekly wage.
Medical payments per claim grew 6% per year in Wisconsin from 2021 to 2023 after years of small changes. The state, which has had some of the highest medical payments per claim among the study states, recently passed legislation introducing a medical fee schedule for hospital services, according to the WCRI report.
Medical payments per claim recently started increasing, fueled by an increase in medical utilization, medical prices, and updates to state fee schedules.
The report reflects the experience of non-COVID-19 claims through March 2024. The 18 states in the study—Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin—represent about 60% of all workers’ compensation benefit payments nationwide.
Chairman of the Board Mark Wells | mwells@wellsmedia.com
Online Training Coordinator George Jack | gjack@ijacademy.com
Andrea Wells V.P. of Content
THE DINNER THAT
Makes a Difference
Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation
19th Annual Benefit Dinner
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Cipriani 42nd Street, New York City
Special Guests
BERNIE WILLIAMS
New York Yankees Great Latin Grammy Nominated Guitarist & Composer
NANCY LIEBERMAN
2X Basketball Hall of Famer, 2X Olympian (Silver medalist), Big3 Head Coach – 2018 Champion and 2X Coach of the Year, Nancy Lieberman Charities Founder and President Nancy Lieberman Charities
Proceeds from the annual IICF Northeast Benefit funds local nonprofits supporting education, people in need and the environment. With the addition of this year’s grantees, IICF’s Northeast Division has awarded over $14.5 million in grants since its founding in 2007 to over 350 nonprofits and charities across the Northeast region.
This year, proceeds will benefit IICF Community Grants to:
In addition, the Division has given 10 additional grants to organizations outside the metropolitan area that were nominated by agents and brokers who live and work in those communities.
Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation
Helping communities and enriching lives, together.
Visit www.IICF.org/northeast to learn more about the remarkable work of the IICF Northeast Division.
News & Markets
AIG to Acquire Renewal Rights of Everest’s Retail Commercial Business Worth $2B
By Chad Hemenway
American International Group announced it has a definite agreement to acquire the renewal rights of Everest Group’s retail commercial insurance business.
Everest will focus on its reinsurance, global wholesale, and specialty insurance businesses.
The renewal rights of Everest’s retail commercial business total about $2 billion of aggregate gross premiums written.
“We expect these renewal rights transactions to drive incremental growth in our general insurance portfolio, and we will be able to write these policies within our existing balance sheet with no incremental capital required,” said Peter Zaffino, chairman and CEO at AIG.
AIG said exposure to all liabilities will remain with Everest, who will also continue to administer claims from its policies. AIG will get the rights to renew commercial retail business in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Asia Pacific.
“Today’s strategic action results in a more focused, higher-performing Everest,” said Jim Williamson, Everest president and CEO. “Going forward, Everest will be optimally positioned to respond to evolving market needs while building on our track record of sustainable financial returns over the long term.”
AIG said it expects to start writing policies for existing Everest clients, except in the EU, on January 1, 2026. During the first quarter of 2026 AIG foresees doing the same in the EU.
Terms of the deal, which is subject to
regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.
Everest also announced a new operating structure for its new insurance division, which includes Everest Global Markets and Everest Evolution, as well as underwriting programs, credit and political risk, surety, and accident & health business lines.
Jason Keen has been appointed CEO of Global Wholesale and Specialty Insurance and will lead efforts to strengthen Everest’s position in the E&S market.
Zaffino said AIG will work closely with the Everest team “to ensure a seamless transition for clients and brokers,” and the company will continue to work with Everest as a reinsurance partner.
John Neal, who was hired in July and starts at AIG on December 1.
Last month, AIG announced the retirement of Don Bailey, head of commercial insurance in North America, at the end of the year. Beginning Jan. 1, Allison Cooper and Barbara Luck will be co-presidents of AIG’s retail commercial business in North America. Lou Levinson will be president of wholesale for North America Commercial.
The additions to the portfolio will fall within AIG’s General Insurance segment, which will be led by former Lloyd’s CEO
For the second quarter General Insurance posted a combined ratio of 89.3 compared with 92.5 a year ago during the same period. Premium growth was driven by 4% growth in North America commercial, where underwriting income jumped 58% to $301 million. Underwriting income for International commercial was up 30% to $300 million in Q2.
Peter Zaffino, chairman and CEO, AIG.
News & Markets
Marsh Sues More Former Employees Over ‘Scheme’ to Open Howden US
By Chad Hemenway
Already suing the current CEO of Howden US and others—all former employees—broker Marsh has filed a new lawsuit against another group of former employees now at Howden US for breach of various employee contracts.
The lawsuit filed Nov. 3 by Marsh USA in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York goes after seven former employees—Alfred Gronovius, Andrea Amodeo, Carlos Serio, Giovanni Perez, Janette Wilcox, Nathan Collins, and Richard Lennerth—and alleges a “concealed scheme” to leave Marsh and steal trade secrets, confidential information, and clients.
Howden US, a new U.S. retail broking business of Howden, began operations several months ago. At the same time, Marsh USA sued senior leaders including current Howden US CEO Michael Parrish as well as Giselle Lugones, Robert Lynn, and Julie Layton. The group “spearheaded an unlawful scheme to lift out all of Marsh’s Florida zone employees,” according to Marsh, who further alleged the plan was started once Howden failed to acquire Risk Strategies. So it poached Marsh employees “rather than investing the time and resources to build a U.S. presence,” Marsh said.
conduct designed to benefit Howden at Marsh’s expense.” The group solicited employees to leave with them, and printed or electronically transferred trade secrets and confidential information, Marsh claims in the suit.
“Several defendants also deleted a significant amount of Marsh’s documents on their way out the door, an attempt to conceal from Marsh their disloyal service, deprive Marsh of its property, and sabotage Marsh’s business by obstructing its ability to compete fairly in the market,” according to Marsh in the lawsuit. The broker additionally alleged the former employees solicited clients and at least one continues to service a client he formerly had at March, which is in violation of an employee contract.
“Acting together, the defendants enabled Howden to enter the U.S. market overnight with a fully staffed workforce and book of business built on decades of Marsh investment and work,” Marsh alleges.
The seven new employees sued by Marsh were also senior personnel at Marsh’s Florida zone. Their involvement was revealed during an ongoing investigation, Marsh said. Each reported directly or indirectly to Parrish. During the weeks prior to what Marsh termed as a “raid,” the seven employees “engaged in turncoat
Howden US and Marsh said they had no comment.
Meanwhile in the Parrish case, the court in September granted Marsh a preliminary injunction. Parrish, Lugones, Lynn, and Layton are prohibited from soliciting employees to leave Marsh, soliciting clients or prospective clients, or using confidential information and trade secrets of Marsh.
Figures
2,OO0
The number of minks released by intruders who broke into an Iowa mink farm. A trade group called the incident a “terrorist act” under federal law. Fencing was cut, and pens and nest boxes were destroyed to release the mink, which are raised for their pelts, Fur Commission USA said. Over half of the animals were recovered within a few days of the incident.
3
The average temperature increase in California (Fahrenheit degrees) since the start of the 20th century, according to state and federal data. Warming has accelerated, and seven of the state’s last eight years through 2024 were the warmest on record. While all areas of the state have warmed, Southern California is heating up about twice as fast as Northern California.
$22 Million
The amount in insurance premiums saved by Oklahoma homeowners in 2024, thanks to the state’s Fire Protection Classification Division, said The Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID). Classification ratings are based upon Verisk’s “Fire Suppression Rating Schedule,” general criteria of the National Fire Protection Association, and the American Water Association codes and standards. With each improvement in class rating, from 1 to 10, residents in those fire protection areas can see 4-8% premium discounts year over year.
15
The number of hours the outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) lasted, raising questions about the potential for systemic loss to the cyber insurance market. The event was classified as a “moderate incident” for the insurance industry, said cyber analytics provider CyberCube. Insurance may be impacted by system failure contingent business interruption (CBI) coverage, and there is potential for incident response and data restoration costs, CyberCube added.
Declarations
TikTok Tort
“I am pleased with the court’s decision denying TikTok’s attempts to dismiss our lawsuit. In the Commonwealth—and across the country—TikTok has put kids in harm’s way and exposed them to mature, explicit, and dangerous content.”
— Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Virginia’s lawsuit against TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance Ltd. The case will move forward in state court, despite TikTok’s efforts to have it dismissed. Richmond City Circuit Court Judge Richard B. Campbell ruled on October 24 that the case brought by Miyares is legally sufficient to state a cause of action against the social media company for multiple violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA).
Toxic Train Trials
“Every court to consider the issue has found BNSF was not simply hauling asbestos out of Libby but was instead working essentially as a business partner with W.R. Grace. Common carrier immunity does not shield BNSF from strict liability when working for its own purposes.”
— Montana District Court Judge Amy Eddy, who oversees the state’s special court for asbestos claims. BNSF is appealing a 2024 jury decision finding them liable for two mesothelioma deaths. The appeal centers around the question of whether BNSF should be protected by “common carrier immunity,” which shields railroad companies from lawsuits about the goods they transport.
Third-Party Mitigation
“The rise in third-party litigation funding is particularly troubling, as it inflates claims costs and contributes to a tort tax, a hidden burden of more than $5,000 per household on average annually. That is why APCIA strongly supports federal legislation like the Litigation Transparency Act of 2025 and the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act of 2025, which aim to bring much-needed transparency and accountability to this shadowy practice.”
— Sam Whitfield, senior vice president of federal government relations and political engagement at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA). He pointed to litigation reforms in Florida, where legal filings have dropped by more than 30%.
Wisconsin Ginseng Crunch
“Shipping is taking longer; selling it is taking longer. It’s just taking longer for us to convert the crop into cash.”
— Will Hsu, president of Hsu’s Ginseng Enterprises, which was launched by his father in 1974. Wisconsin ginseng growers have taken a hit from U.S. trade tensions with Beijing, a sluggish Chinese economy, and strong competition from cheaper Canadian suppliers. A generation ago, Wisconsin had 1,400 growers, while now the number is fewer than 70. The niche industry generated $14.7 million in U.S. exports to China in 2024, according to Chinese customs data. Some growers are now diversifying into other crops, such as hemp.
Greenhouse Gas Reporting
“Rolling back or delaying federal reporting 10 years would not reduce the burden—it would create regulatory whiplash when these rules come back.”
— Lindsay Larrick, chief legal and administrative officer for natural gas producer BKV Corporation, commenting on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to stop greenhouse gas reporting for big polluters. The move would save oil and gas companies up to $256 million a year. However, some argue it could hurt business instead. The proposal would stop requiring most sources to submit this data and suspend collecting it for certain oil and gas sources until 2034. Of the roughly 8,000 affected industrial facilities and suppliers nationwide, nearly 2,300 are oil and gas operators.
Mandatory Reporter Protection
“This opinion sends a clear and vital message to mandatory reporters in Florida and across the country that their duty to report suspicions of child abuse and, critically, their good faith participation in child protection activities remain protected.”
— Ethen Shapiro, of Hill Ward Henderson law firm, speaking after Florida appeals court struck down a $200 million verdict against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in the Maya Kowalski negligence lawsuit. The 2nd District appellate judges said the trial court allowed a too-narrow interpretation of Florida’s immunity statutes for those reporting suspected abuse and should have overridden the jury and provided a directed verdict.
News & Markets
Forrester: Cyber Insurance Will Grow by 15% in 2026
By Allen Laman
Forrester Research predicts written cyber insurance premiums will rise 15% in 2026 as new artificial intelligence threats and data demands emerge.
In a new report, analysts at the global market research company anticipate the widespread adoption of AI to reverse the cyber market’s recent deceleration. When asked why, Rohit Makhijani, a principal analyst at Forrester, said that implementing AI increases threat surface area.
“If you’ve got a bigger house, you’re going to need more insurance,” he explained in a phone interview. “There’s more to lose.”
Makhijani added that AI is enabling malicious actors to become more sophisticated.
The technology has become “a weapon for bad actors” and a target itself, he said. AI’s potential to create and accelerate new threats from cybercriminals is outpacing the defensive capabilities of many organizations, the report’s authors concluded, leading to an increase in successful attacks.
That aligns with broader findings: Moody’s Ratings shared in October that cyberattacks targeting the entities it rates have been more frequent over the past decade than at any time previously, although they have fallen from a 2020 peak.
While modern software systems often rely on a complex network of third-party vendors and suppliers, many organizations fail to rigorously assess third-party cybersecurity practices or manage opensource software risks, which can leave them exposed to supply chain attacks, Moody’s added.
Swiss Re numbers show that global cyber insurance growth has cooled after an explosive expansion between 2017 and 2022. Makhijani attributed this slowdown to the market’s maturation, noting “there’s a lot of capacity that is chasing risk.”
Looking forward, however, “The expec-
tation is that we’ll see a similar pattern where demand will pick up driven by this increased surface area for threat,” he said.
The report’s authors believe cyber insurers should become proactive partners in cybersecurity by providing cyber defense services, risk mitigation tools, and innovative ways to underwrite new risks posed by AI.
AI and Automation to Drop Expense Ratios
Forrester’s analysts also predicted that expense ratios at the top 50 insurers will decline by two percentage points in 2026 due to AI and automation.
Carriers are doubling down on automation to protect margins as global insurance growth slows, Forrester reported, noting that one-third of AI decision-makers in the insurance industry say automation efficiency improvements are among the ways their organization has been most positively impacted by AI in
the past year.
Still, realizing returns on investment from AI remains challenging due to gaps in strategy, data readiness, AI governance, and talent, Forrester reported. Makhijani said the insurance industry is struggling to determine which use cases to implement.
“We see these things when there is new technology and something new that really is truly transformative and changes the way people work and do their jobs,” he said. “Change is hard, but change also takes time.”
Moving forward, Forrester’s analysts expect the top insurers—those with the scale, budget, and strategic clarity to industrialize AI—to find top-line success and pull ahead. The report notes that Chubb, for instance, spends more than $1 billion annually on technology, while The Hartford has committed to leading the industry in AI.
“The rest, with more limited resources, will fall behind,” the report said.
News & Markets
Insurers Begin Restricting Privacy Coverage in Response to Evolving Risk
By Chad Hemenway
After several years of competitive pricing and capacity expansion, cyber insurers appear to be reassessing coverage breadth.
Asked whether carriers are beginning to restrict coverage, panelists at Zywave’s Cyber Risk Insights conference in New York last month said there are some signs, especially when it comes to privacy coverage.
Beth Gidicsin, a regional cyber practice leader at Lockton, said many insurers are evaluating—with some taking action on—the expansion of privacy risk.
“Many cyber insurance carriers have broad privacy or affirmative wrongful-collection coverage,” she explained. “But also many are continuing to start to say, ‘I don’t know about this anymore. We need to start looking at this.’ Many are putting exclusions on the policies.”
She said some new policies have the exclusions, but clients can add the coverage back in “if [the carriers] are actually underwriting to it.”
Gidicsin said the shift is due to a rise in privacy litigation, driven by regulatory changes in the U.S. and abroad. Traditional cyber policies weren’t exactly built for these related losses. Coverage for privacy
had been triggered by a data breach, with response to regulatory fines and penalties. But with evolving laws, there “doesn’t actually need to be a data breach-type event for privacy litigation to come after one of our companies.”
The broker said she continues to push for broad privacy coverage for clients since it is developing as a bigger risk for all industry classes, but she is doing so knowing that carriers will need to underwrite to a new understanding of the risk.
Gidicsin offered additional perspective on acquiring coverage for gaps from other product lines, such as property. A long-standing problem in the industry has been whether cyber-related property damage is covered by a cyber or property policy, but the industry is trying to innovate—possibly with a new product.
Beyond privacy, the market continues to try to innovate. Carriers are experimenting with AI-related endorsements and exploring solutions for cyber-triggered property damage. Business interruption has also come into focus with recent non-information-technology events related to system failure or dependent system failure.
“Is that enough in this environment with the cloud landscape and cloud dependencies?” Gidicsin asked.
David Derigiotis, who is focused on cyber and privacy as president of RT Specialty Detroit and EVP of ProExec Practice Group, said there is “room to negotiate and to have expansions of coverage where you need it.”
“Wrongful collection is a big one,” he said. “These policies are cyber and privacy. The privacy side is a very big deal.”
However, he added, coverage needs to be tailored to individual risk. “You can’t give the broadest form, broadest coverage available to every single client every single time. That’s when you’re going to open yourself up to serious issues. So, we’re very careful in how we are doing that, making sure the right coverages have the right partners,” Derigiotis said.
The product needs to be fit for purpose, agreed Lori Bailey, head of global cyber and technology at Axis, and the industry is adapting from a one-size-fits-all approach to coming up with different variations for different segments of the market.
“The worst thing that can happen is to buy a policy and then have a claim occur that’s not covered,” Derigiotis said. “So, we have to understand what’s coming, what’s taking place in the regulatory landscape, and how it can impact a policyholder or an insurer.”
& Markets
Q3 2025 Earnings Highlights AIG General Insurance Underwriting Income Up 81% in Q3
By Chad Hemenway
Third-quarter 2025 underwriting income in American International Group’s (AIG) General Insurance segment increased 81% compared with last year, to $793 million.
The unit—North America commercial, international commercial, and global personal—recorded $100 million in catastrophe-related charges in Q3 2025, compared with $417 million for Q3 2024. Net written premiums were down 2% to about $6.4 billion.
seen in both the loss ratio and expense ratio. Results for Q3 included $180 million of favorable prior year development, compared with $165 million last year.
“AIG had an exceptional third quarter. We successfully executed on multiple complex strategic transactions to further position AIG for the future while also delivering outstanding financial results,” Peter Zaffino, AIG chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Zaffino said the moves “mark an important next step in AIG’s strategy and were made available exclusively to us because of our strong brand, outstanding performance, and deep industry relationships.”
Looking deeper into Q3 General Insurance results, underwriting income for North America commercial quadrupled compared to Q3 2024 to $384 million while the combined ratio improved nearly 13 points to 82.6.
The combined ratio for General Insurance was 86.8 versus 92.6 a year ago during the same period. Improvement was
In October, AIG acquired the renewal rights of Everest Group’s retail commercial business. Days later, the company announced investments in global specialty insurer Convex Group and asset manager Onex Corp.
The global personal segment recorded underwriting income growth of $79 million versus $21 million for Q3 2024. Net premiums written were down 11% to about $1.7 billion on a change to reinsurance structures to the business’s U.S. high-networth book.
CNA Net Income for Q3 Up 42% on Lower Catastrophe Losses
CNA Financial Corp. recorded third-quarter net income of $403 million, compared with $283 million a year during the same period.
Pretax catastrophe losses were $41 million for Q3, down more than $100 million from the prior year quarter.
CNA’s property/casualty operations turned in a Q3 underwriting gain of $194 million. Underwriting profit was $68 million a year ago. CNA said the underlying underwriting gain reached a record $235 million, which marks the 10th consecutive quarter above $200 million.
The operation’s combined ratio was 92.8—an improvement over 97.2 for Q3 2024.
The Chicago-based insurer’s commercial segment reversed a $3 million underwriting loss last year for Q3 by recording a $106 million gain for Q3 2025. The combined ratio for the unit was 92.7 compared with 100.2 a year ago.
“Net written premiums grew 3% as we maintained disciplined underwriting, prioritizing profitability over growth in challenging market segments,” CNA said.
“The company continues to efficiently manage expenses while increasing its investments in talent and technology, including artificial intelligence, and is expanding its Cardinal E&S offering to capitalize on opportunities in the excess and surplus lines market.”
The specialty segment booked a Q3
underwriting gain of $60 million, about flat from the year prior.
The company also announced Douglas M. Worman, president and CEO, has additionally been appointed chairman, effective January 1. Worman took over for former CEO Dino E. Robusto, who slipped into a role of executive chairman to serve as a strategic advisor to Worman. Robusto was elected to board of directors of Loews Corp, the majority owner of CNA, also effective at the start of 2026.
The Hanover Reports 75% Growth in Q3 Net Income
Third-quarter net income for The Hanover Insurance Group grew to $178.7 million, compared to $102.1 million during the same period a year ago.
The Worcester, Massachusetts-based insurer’s Q3 combined ratio improved to 91.1 from 95.5 a year ago during the same time, as catastrophe losses during Q3 fell to $46.2 million, compared to losses of about $106 million for Q3 2024.
“Market dynamics in our chosen segments remain constructive, with consistent pricing gains in Core Commercial and Specialty thanks to our focus on smaller, less cyclical sectors, while in personal lines, our whole-account strategy provides good insulation from the competitive auto market.”
Net premiums written across all businesses increased 4.5% to about $1.74 billion.
“Our underlying performance was strong, driven by the cumulative impact of prior pricing and underwriting actions, which continue to yield excellent results,” said CEO John C. Roche in a statement.
Insurtech Hippo
The Hanover personal lines business recorded 3.6% growth in NPW to about $739 million, as the combined ratio improved to 89.2 from 100.6 a year ago during the third quarter. The insurer said the NPW growth was due to strong price increases and higher new business. Renewal price increases averaged a 10.5%.
The highest NPW growth was in the group’s specialty business. NPW increased 8.3%. This segment saw an increase in catastrophe losses compared to Q3 2024—$6 million versus $4.4 million. The combined ratio worsened a point to 84.9.
Reverses Q3 Loss During ‘Breakout Quarter’
Insurtech Hippo posted third-quarter 2025 net income of $98 million, compared with a net loss of $9 million a year ago during the same period.
San Jose, California-based Hippo’s Q3 combined ratio improved to 100—a 28-point improvement from Q3 2024.
President and CEO Rick McCathron called Q3 a “breakout quarter,” recording a profit for the first time.
“We’re operating as a unified, technology-native platform that’s driving profitable growth, deepening diversification, and positioning us for long-term success,” McCathron said in a statement.
Net income in Q3 was primarily driven
by a $91 million net gain on the sale of its homebuilder distribution network to The Baldwin Group, closed in Q3. Hippo also sold its majority stake in First Connect in the fourth quarter of 2024. Net written premium grew 30% to about $118 million. Hippo, the carrier for over 30 MGA programs in the U.S., said the renters insurance line was the main driver, with growth of $18 million year over year. Renters now comprises 22.4% of Hippo’s net premiums, up from 9.6% at this time a year ago.
Commercial multiperil also makes up more of Hippo’s book of business, growing in Q3 to account for 11.5% of premiums from 2.5% in Q3 2024.
Lemonade Books Q3 Net Loss of $37.5 Million
Insurtech Lemonade reported a third-quarter 2025 net loss of about $37.5 million compared with a loss of $67.7 million a year ago during the same time.
Revenue and gross profit increased 42% and 113%, respectively, versus Q3 2024. However, operating expense increased $16.7 million, or 13%, to $141.2 million. Now at nearly $1.2 billion, in force premium grew 30% in Q3.
The New York-based insurer of car, home, renters, and pet insurance said the use of artificial intelligence has resulted in a “near tripling of claims handling efficiency.” The loss adjustment expense ratio—the cost of handled claims divided by gross earned premium—was reduced to 7% in Q3. The company said it expects to cut the LAE ratio in half.
“We have demonstrated our ability to transform claims handling expense, long considered a variable expense in insurance, to a near fixed expense,” Lemonade said in a letter to shareholders.
Lemonade said its car product continued to grow ahead of its schedule, with in force premium at $163 million at Q3, or about 40% growth year over year.
After nine months Lemonade has booked a net loss of $143.8 million, compared with a net loss of $172.2 million in 2024.
Business Moves
National
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Tompkins Insurance Agencies Inc.
Tompkins Financial Corp. has closed on the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Tompkins Insurance Agencies Inc. (TIA), to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for approximately $223 million in cash. The transaction generates a pre-tax gain of $183 million.
TIA is a retail insurance agency offering property/casualty products and employee benefits. Based in Ithaca, New York, TIA has more than 20 locations in western and central New York and in Pennsylvania. All current leadership and direct employees of TIA have joined Gallagher.
Gallagher is a global insurance brokerage, risk management, and consulting services firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. It provides services in approximately 130 countries.
Tompkins Financial Corp. is headquartered in Ithaca and is parent to Tompkins Community Bank.
East
Old Republic International Corp., Everett Cash Mutual Insurance Co.
Old Republic International Corp. (ORI), the Chicago-based specialty insurer, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Everett Cash Mutual Insurance Co. and its affiliated companies (ECM) following its conversion to a stock company in a sponsored demutualization transaction.
ECM is an insurer of small farm owners and select commercial agricultural
operations headquartered in Everett, Pennsylvania, and operating in 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Following an expected closing in 2026, ORI expects this transaction to be accretive to book value per share and operating income per share. The acquisition is subject to regulatory and policyholder approval. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
ALKEME Insurance, Gorges & Company Inc.
National broker ALKEME Insurance acquired Gorges & Company Inc., a full-service agency based in Timonium, Maryland.
Founded in 1937, Gorges & Co. offers employee benefits, business and personal property/casualty, nonprofit solutions, and Medicare. The agency also serves high-value personal lines clients, apartment complexes, condominium associations, spas, salons and wellness centers, independent contractors, and nonprofit organizations.
Since its founding in 2020, Californiabased ALKEME has completed more than 70 acquisitions and serves clients in over 60 locations in 29 states.
Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Collector Vehicle Division of Ignyte Insurance
Philadelphia Insurance Companies announced the acquisition of the Collector Vehicle Division from Ignyte Insurance, a Carlyle-backed portfolio company. The transaction, valued at $615 million, is the largest acquisition in the 63-year history
of Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The deal includes all collector vehicle insurance business and employees from American Collectors Insurance, J.C. Taylor Insurance, Condon Skelly, and Heacock Classic.
Ignyte Insurance is a specialty insurance platform focused on building and scaling differentiated brands across high-growth niche markets.
PHLY is a national specialty insurance company with over $4.7 billion in annual premium. The company has 2,000 employees, with 700 based out of its Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, headquarters.
Marsh McLennan Agency, Hayden Wood Insurance Agency Inc.
Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) acquired Hayden Wood Insurance Agency Inc., a Southborough, Massachusettsbased independent agency. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The Hayden Wood Insurance Agency is a family-owned and operated independent insurance agency. All employees will join MMA and remain working out of the Southborough office. Hayden Wood primarily provides personal lines expertise to clients nationally, with a specialty in collector auto and motorsports products.
Marsh McLennan Agency is a business of Marsh, which is one of four divisions of Marsh McLennan. Marsh McLennan has annual revenue of over $24 billion and more than 90,000 colleagues.
Midwest
World Insurance Associates, Green Bay Insurance Center
World Insurance Associates acquired the business of Green Bay Insurance Center of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1968, Green Bay Insurance Center is a full-service agency located in Green Bay, specializing in home insurance, auto insurance, business insurance, builders risk insurance, farm insurance, and group health insurance.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Strategic Services Group Inc.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired
Rochester Hills, Michigan-based Strategic Services Group Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Strategic Services Group provides employee benefits consulting services across a range of industries in Michigan and the Midwest.
EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants is expanding its Chicago and Midwest footprint with the acquisition of Price Insurance, a family-owned agency based in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Founded in 1937, Price Insurance offers comprehensive coverage across home, business, auto, life, health, and more.
West
Renaissance, Insurance Services of the West LLC
Renaissance acquired the agency network business of Insurance Services of the West LLC, doing business as Insurance Agency Network (IAN) in Washington.
IAN is a membership organization with more than 70 members representing a reported $400 million in premium. It is the fifth agency network to come under the Renaissance umbrella since 2023.
Renaissance is an agency network headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. This deal extends Renaissance’s reach into 12 additional states.
Gallagher Bassett, Safe T Professionals LLC
Gallagher Bassett acquired 100% of Chandler, Arizona-based Safe T Professionals LLC. Gallagher Bassett previously held a minority investment in the business.
Safe T Professionals provides environmental, health and safety management, and staffing services in the construction and manufacturing sectors nationwide with a focus on the Southwest and Western U.S.
Gallagher Bassett is a claims and risk management solutions subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an insurance brokerage, risk management, and consult-
ing services firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
LP Insurance Services, Mountain West Insurance Services In.
LP Insurance Services expanded into Oregon with the acquisition of Mountain West Insurance Services Inc., based in Salem.
LP is an independent, employee-owned firm specializing in property, casualty, surety, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, personal insurance, and risk management.
Mountain West provides services in areas including in construction, property development, food processing, manufacturing, and general business insurance.
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People
National CRC Group, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, added three new professionals to its CRC Specialty division.
Ryan Degale
• Ryan Degale rejoins CRC Specialty as a broker based in Orlando with the Boca Raton, Florida office, with experience placing complex risks associated with residential buildings, hospitality, and office properties.
• Jim Phillipp joins CRC Chicago as a senior underwriting team leader. Phillipp has over 10 years of experience in casualty underwriting and brokerage.
• Will Valentine joins CRC Specialty’s Philadelphia office as a broker specializing in healthcare and life sciences.
Howden US, headquartered in Miami, Florida, made several executive appointments.
• Ben Hanback was named executive vice president. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Hanback supports operations in Tennessee and the broader Mid-South region. He has over 34 years of experience, including leadership roles with Aon, Regions, and Unum Life.
• Ron Borys was appointed head of its financial lines group in the U.S. Based in New York, Borys joins Howden from
Alliant, where most recently he led the financial institutions industry practice. He has worked for other brokerages in the U.S., including Marsh and Aon.
• Joe Clark was appointed president and Dale Krupowicz as head of operations for its private risk solutions business in the U.S. Clark and Krupowicz will lead the development of Howden’s U.S. private client operations.
the operations leader for large accounts at Willis Towers Watson.
Clark joins Howden from The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers, where he served as president of Liberty Select, and previously held the role of chief growth officer at Aon Private Risk Management. Based in New York City, Krupowicz has over 30 years of experience, previously serving as COO and partner at a boutique personal insurance agency.
Novatae Risk Group, the wholesale business of leading insurance brokerage World Insurance Associates, headquartered in Dallas, hired Kimberly Jenkins as the firm’s chief operating officer. Jenkins has over 25 years of leadership experience, most recently serving as the head of strategic planning and formerly chief M&A officer at DUAL North America. Before that, she was
Everest Group Ltd., headquartered in Dallas, appointed Anthony Vidovich as executive vice president and general counsel, effective January 2026. Vidovich succeeds Ricardo Anzaldua, who is retiring. Vidovich has nearly 30 years of experience, most recently serving as global head of insurance legal at AIG. He previously held executive leadership roles at XL Group/ XL Catlin and The Hartford.
Nationwide tapped Joe Chamberlain to lead its small commercial operations and service solutions organization.
Chamberlain has over 30 years of experience, most recently serving as chief administrative officer at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group. He’s also held leadership roles with Alliant, CNA, and Lamb Insurance Services.
Duck Creek Technologies, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, named Hardeep Gulati as CEO. Gulati most recently served as CEO of PowerSchool. Mike Jackowski, Duck Creek CEO since 2011, will transition to a new role as vice chair of the board of directors.
East
Acrisure Re, the reinsurance division of global fintech
leader Acrisure, appointed Dan Morrison as senior vice president. Based in New York, Morrison joins Acrisure Re from Millennial Specialty Solutions, where he served as director, capacity solutions, since 2021. Before that, he was a senior program underwriter and financial analyst at Trisura Insurance Co.
AHJ Miller, the reinsurance division of Miller, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, appointed Marlon Williams as a senior broker in its Bermuda office. Williams previously spent five years at Hiscox Re & ILS as a senior underwriter and 15 years in the catastrophe practice at Markel Bermuda.
Plymouth Rock Assurance, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, appointed James Foxx as chief of agency marketing for Massachusetts and New Hampshire within the company’s independent agency group. He previously served as regional senior vice president for New England at Utica National and held leadership roles at The Hanover Insurance Group.
Midwest
The Baldwin Group, headquartered in Tampa, Florida, added Mike Campo as a partner in its construction practice. Based in Kansas City, he previously led construction practices at IMA and Lockton.
Jim Phillipp
Will Valentine
Joe Clark
Dale Krupowicz
Kimberly Jenkins
Anthony Vidovich
Joe Chamberlain
Dan Morrison
Mike Campo
Burns & Wilcox, headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, hired Tim Pasik as senior vice president of commercial products. Based in the New York City office, Pasik previously served a decade at Markel as product line leader for commercial wholesale excess and then regional president. His career also includes leadership roles at Gen Re and AEGIS Insurance Services.
The Mutual Group LLC named Tom Troy as CEO, effective January 5, 2026. Troy has over 30 years of experience, joining The Mutual Group from USAA, where he served as chief transformation officer. He previously served at CSAA Insurance Group, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and Safeco Insurance.
Recoop Disaster Insurance announced the appointment of Greg Bailey as CEO and Charlie Turri as chief technology officer.
Bailey founded and served as CEO of Rivet Co. and Denim. He also co-founded Insure.vc and has held senior leadership roles with Athene, Pacific Life, and TruStage.
Turri most recently served as CTO of Lenders Cooperative. Previously, he was CTO for Denim and ITPeopleNetwork and held senior IT leadership roles at Athene and AIG.
Southeast
Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company, headquartered in Canton,
Massachusetts, appointed Kevin Burchett as regional sales director for North Carolina and South Carolina within its distribution department.
Burchett has over 31 years of experience, having held leadership and sales roles at Harleysville Life Insurance, Colonial Life, Aflac, and Mutual of Omaha. He most recently served as owner and operator of his own agency, Burchett Insurance Services.
The MEMIC Group, headquartered in Portland, Maine, expanded its Southeast underwriting team with the addition of Kevin Eaves, who joins as a production underwriter. Eaves previously served as an associate underwriter at Eastern Alliance.
South Central
Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, expanded its nationwide transportation specialty platform and made key senior-level hires in Texas: Nader Dabboussi in Dallas and Jordan Lewis in McAllen. Both are cross-border specialists.
West
Cowbell, headquartered in Pleasanton, California, appointed Jessica Klipphahn as head of North America mid-market and Stephanie
Hewerdine as director of claims.
Klipphahn most recently served as North America middle-market cyber leader at WTW.
Hewerdine previously served as claims counsel at Coalition and in senior positions at Sedgwick.
Alliant Human Capital, a division of Alliant Insurance Services headquartered in Irvine, California, appointed Drew Steinhoff as first vice president. Steinhoff previously led executive compensation at Lockton Companies LLP.
Alliant Human Capital also appointed Amy Heinze as first vice president. She has over 25 years of experience in strategic HR and total rewards, supporting colleges and universities in aligning talent investments with institutional priorities.
Melissa Koontz joined Alliant Insurance Services as senior vice president within its employee benefits group team in the Pacific Northwest. Based in Spokane, Washington, Koontz most recently served as senior vice president with INSHRM.
Starwind Specialty Insurance Services, a CRC Group company, named Charles Pyfrom executive vice president, sales and distribution, for Starwind
Cannabis, Pyfrom was previously chief marketing officer at CannGen Insurance Services LLC.
Golden Bear Insurance Company hired Jack Witherspoon as lawyers professional liability team lead. Witherspoon has 35 years of experience, he most recently served as program director for the lawyers professional liability program at Mercer Benefits. His career includes leadership roles at CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company, Interstate Insurance/Fireman’s Fund, and Alexander & Alexander (Aon).
Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company appointed David Carlson as president and CEO.
Carlson previously served as chief physician officer at MultiCare Health System in Washington, at Hospital Sisters Health System in Illinois, and at Conemaugh Health System in Pennsylvania. He currently serves as chief medical officer and vice president of medical operations at King County at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Washington.
James Cohill joined LP Insurance Services LLC as part of its employee benefits team. Based in the Las Vegas, Nevada, office, Cohill has more than 25 years of experience, including leadership roles at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nevada, UHC/ UMR, Accolade and Quantum Health. He most recently served as director of large group at Anthem.
Tim Pasik
Kevin Burchett
Jessica Klipphahn
Stephanie Hewerdine
Drew Steinhoff
Charles Pyfrom
David Carlson
News & Markets
6 in 10 Construction Workers Report Anxiety, Depression in Past Year
By Allen Laman
Nearly two-thirds of construction workers reported experiencing anxiety or depression in the past 12 months, according to a new survey by design-build firm Clayco.
Sixty-four percent of the more than 1,000 construction workers surveyed said they felt the impact of these mental health challenges in the past year—up from 54% in 2024.
“For an industry that has made huge strides in improving and promoting the physical safety of our workers, it is time that we focus, collectively, on addressing the mental health and psychological safety issues faced by the entire construction sector,” said Clayco CEO Anthony Johnson.
The firm noted that, encouragingly, its study found that more construction workers (44%) have utilized mental health services or taken prescribed medications to treat a mental health issue in the last year, but many (45%) still say they feel
ashamed to talk about their mental health issues.
Thirty-seven percent report being discriminated against at work when they do discuss their mental health.
“As leaders, we need to use this moment to take responsibility for creating the best possible work and support environments,” Johnson said. “That means not just treating cases when they arise but making sure every worker feels valued, supported, and able to thrive. If we commit to that, we can begin to reduce the number of people in our industry who are carrying this weight alone.”
This marked the second consecutive year that Clayco surveyed construction workers in the U.S. on issues related to mental health. The 2025 edition of the survey—conducted in the summer by Atomik Research—also polled more than 1,000 construction industry executives and decision-makers.
Clayco found that while 80% of construction executives say that workers have access to mental health support services
on the jobsite, just 61% of construction workers report feeling they have access to those resources.
In follow-up correspondence, Dan Lester, vice president of field culture and inclusion at Clayco, said that the biggest takeaway from Clayco’s survey is that mental health challenges in the construction industry continue to deepen and will require an industry-wide effort to address.
He noted that while significant yearover-year increases in both depression and substance misuse are concerning, the jumps could also be a sign that individuals—despite perceived stigma—are becoming more willing and open to admitting and talking about their problems because of increased awareness of both mental health issues and resources.
“For example, our survey found that more construction workers say they have utilized mental health services and support programs or taken a prescribed medication to treat a mental health issue in the last 12 months than they did in the previous year,” Lester said.
News & Markets
Survey: Employer, Employee Views on Workplace Safety Differ
By Jahna Jacobson
Employers and employees see safety issues and solutions differently, and open communication could be the easy solution, according to a recent report.
When comparing findings from Pie Insurance’s 2025 State of Small Business Workplace Safety Report, released in April, and the new 2025 Small Business Employee Voice on Workplace Safety Report, it becomes apparent that while employers are more likely to identify safety concerns in the workplace than employees, the focus often differs.
Over two-thirds (67%) of employees reported having safety concerns, and 83% of employers also identified employee concerns, demonstrating a shared understanding. The differences lie in what they believe are the biggest obstacles and how to overcome them.
Physical vs. Mental Hazards
Numbers suggest that while employers may be keeping up with physical hazards in the workplace, mental health, which is less visible and more stigmatized, is being overlooked.
Top employee concerns include:
• Mental health, stress, and burnout – 43%
• Slips, trips, and falls – 33%
• Heat stress and exhaustion – 23%
• Ergonomics (repetitive strain) – 19%
• Lacking proper training and protocols – 15%
• Equipment-related accidents – 14%
While employees report that many of these issues are addressed, 43% said mental health is low on the list of priorities. To a lesser degree, employees say employers also may be missing risks posed by heat stress (16%); ergonomics (16%); lack of proper training (14%); and slips, trips, and falls (13%).
Mental Health on the Job
Employers tend to highlight concerns related to physical, environmental, and equipment risks, while employees are significantly more likely to raise mental health concerns.
Almost a third of employees (32%) cite mental health as their primary safety concern, and 36% report that workplace stress affects their personal lives, impacting relationships, sleep, and mental health.
While 91% of employers are confident in their ability to address mental health issues, only 62% of employees share that confidence in their employers. Over half (52%) of employers in Pie’s workplace safety report noted they have mental health protocols. But only 30% of surveyed employees observed these protocols.
Employees said flexible and remote work (19%), allowing mental health days
(17%), access to confidential mental health services (9%), and even mental health awareness training (8%) would help create an environment that was more receptive and responsive to mental health concerns.
The AI Gap
AI adoption is on the rise, but employees may not even be aware that it is happening in their own workplace. While 44% of employers said their companies use AI applications, only 20% of employees reported being aware of AI use in their workplace.
Employers also far outpace employees when it comes to optimism regarding AI and safety. A large majority (64%) of employers feel that AI will help improve safety in the future, but only 23% of employees share that belief—and 43% said they don’t believe it will help at all.
What Employees Want
Seventeen percent of employees said they hesitate to report safety concerns to employers, and 45% say they have witnessed workplace accidents that could have been prevented.
Of those who said they have stayed silent about safety concerns, 35% fear retaliation or negative consequences, and 33% said they didn’t want to seem difficult. Perhaps most telling, 31% said they didn’t think anything would be done, even if they spoke up. One out of five (19%) said they didn’t want other people to get in trouble.
Many also reported that safety protocols were bypassed or ignored because of pressure, quotas, and deadlines. Building the time for safety into schedules and expectations would mean more consistent adherence to protocols.
Employees said leadership by example and a safe space to voice safety concerns are key to creating a safer work environment. Communication about safety should be a two-way conversation, they said, not just top-down directives.
They also need confidence that there will be some response if they speak out about safety issues.
Spotlight: Collector Vehicles
Driving Passion, Protecting Value What Every Agent Should Know About Collector Vehicle Insurance
When a client buys a classic or exotic car, they’re purchasing far more than transportation— they’re investing in something personal, emotional, and often irreplaceable. Whether it’s a meticulously restored Mustang, a cherished Corvette, or a modern collector favorite like an ‘80s Camaro IROC-Z, these vehicles represent both passion and value.
Yet many collectors don’t realize their prized vehicle isn’t adequately protected by a standard auto policy. That’s where agents and brokers play a vital role.
a traditional policy that settles claims based on actual cash value (ACV), which factors in depreciation and fluctuations in the market, an agreed value policy locks in the car’s insured value up front.
For example, if a client insures their 1969 Camaro SS for an agreed value of $50,000, that’s exactly what they’ll receive if the car is totaled, minus any deductible—regardless of fluctuating market conditions.
By Rick Drewry
By understanding the nuances of collector vehicle insurance, they can help clients protect their investments and build stronger, more loyal relationships in the process.
Agreed Value
The single most important distinction between collector and standard auto insurance is agreed value coverage. Unlike
By contrast, a standard auto policy might only pay out the depreciated market value at the time of loss, which could be significantly lower. Some clients think a “stated value” or “stated amount” policy provides equivalent protection, but that coverage still allows the insurer to adjust the payout based on ACV.
Helping clients understand this distinction is key.
Agreed value eliminates ambiguity and ensures true financial protection for vehicles that can’t easily be replaced.
Isn’t Just for Antiques
A common misconception is that collector insurance applies only to cars over 25 years old. But many modern classics—such as 2000s Mustangs, 2000s and newer Corvettes, or even recent limited-edition performance models—can qualify for collector coverage.
If a vehicle is not used for daily commuting, is stored securely, and is maintained as a hobby or investment, it likely fits the collector profile. Agents should look for signs that a client treats a car as a “toy” and not a tool: activities such as weekend drives, participation in shows or clubs,
and careful maintenance habits.
Understanding this expanded definition of collector coverage can help agents identify opportunities within their existing books of business. For example, a client with a pristine 2003 BMW M3 or a garage-kept 2010 Chevy Camaro SS may not realize they’re eligible for specialized coverage.
Matching Lifestyle
Collector car ownership has evolved. While traditional collectors might have trailered their vehicles to occasional events, many modern enthusiasts prefer to enjoy them on the open road. Specialty insurers are responding with flexible mileage allowances and occasional-use options that honor the spirit of collector ownership while recognizing real-world use. Agents should ask questions about driving habits, storage conditions, and event participation. Matching clients with the right policy—one that accommodates occasional drives without compromising
Rick Drewry’s 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air that he named RonaBlu.
coverage—shows expertise and care.
Annual Policy Reviews Keep Coverage Current
Collector car values fluctuate with market trends, generational preferences, and economic conditions. As a result, some vehicles appreciate rapidly while others plateau or decline.
Agents should encourage clients to review their policy annually to confirm that the agreed value still reflects the car’s current market worth. A quick valuation update can prevent underinsurance and ensure the policy evolves alongside the vehicle’s value and usage.
Specialized Support for Unique Risks
Collector vehicle owners often engage in activities that go beyond ordinary use, such as road rallies, parades, car shows, cruise-ins, or concours events. These scenarios—along with the unique designs of the collector cars themselves—require a spec ialized skillset for repairs, and working with claims professionals who understand those repairs is critical. Having an adjuster who speaks the collector’s language can make all the difference when resolving a claim or arranging specialized repairs. This depth of understanding is part of what separates a true collector policy from standard auto coverage.
Protecting What Drives Us
Collector vehicle insurance isn’t just about protecting metal and paint; it’s also about safeguarding
memories, milestones, and passions. By mastering the details of agreed value coverage, understanding evolving collec tor demographics, and aligning policies with how enthusiasts actually use
their vehicles, agents can deliver exceptional service and unlock a growing, loyal segment of the market. If an insured trusts an agent to insure their prized possession, there’s a good chance
they will trust that agent to insure everything else.
Drewry is senior claims training specialist, collector vehicle/motorsports at American Modern, a Munich Re Company. 110 results for
The company behind a trucking navigation app has launched its own insurance agency.
In October, Trucker Path announced the launch of its in-house, digitally enabled retail agency focused exclusively on trucking insurance. Trucker Path Insurance (TPI) debuted with a $7 million book of business.
non-trucking liability, and more. According to a press release, unlike traditional distribution channels, TPI connects markets with a community of drivers already engaged in safe driving practices.
TPI offers a full suite of commercial coverages, including auto liability, motor truck cargo, physical damage,
“Trucker Path Insurance gives markets direct access to a highly engaged audience of truckers—spanning operation types, commodities, and geographies,” said Aaron Ealy, general manager of Trucker Path Insurance. “With nearly one-third of all U.S. commercial truck drivers using our platform, Trucker Path
Aaron Ealy
Insurance is able to partner with markets to target risks that best match their unique underwriting appetite, at scale.”
Ealy is eager to integrate more safety functionality and
data between Trucker Path and TPI—and chart how using the Trucker Path app improves loss outcomes for his agency’s insureds.
“The safer, more compliant that you keep your user base, that’s a way to contain insurance costs, which a lot of Trucker Path users would name as a top-three to top-five expense for them,” he said during an October 14 interview at InsureTech Connect in Las Vegas. “And [a] top-three to top-five pain point for them year-to-year.”
Early in his career, Ealy cut his teeth across broad commercial lines on Zurich
North America’s corporate strategy team, and he later took a position at SiriusPoint that enabled him to invest in MGAs and startups. While co-leading an investment round in Lucky Truck—another retail agency focused on trucking—the segment’s industry insurance dynamics piqued his interest, and Ealy joined Lucky Truck as its head of strategy and partnerships.
That company was designed to make the insurance-buying experience as frictionless as possible for a complex segment of the insurance industry, he said.
“They have the expectations,
Released in 2013, Trucker Path takes truck dimensions and fuel levels into account when generating custom routes for drivers. It also aggregates and shares information about weigh stations, truck stops, and fuel prices. Ealy described the app as “Waze merged with Yelp, specifically made for truckers.” Trucker Path has one million monthly active users who use the app to safely and compliantly navigate their routes.
The positive brand equity and recognizability the app carries are hard to find within trucking, Ealy explained. He envisions Trucker Path Insurance as a “service-based company built on top of a company that truly knows technology and would provide us a really good foundation to build on top of.”
TPI has since been integrated into the Trucker Path application. The agency’s foundation came in the form of an acquisition; TPI acquired Truckers Best Insurance of Charlestown, South Carolina, and officially launched earlier this month.
about TPI’s potential to collect data and drive safer behaviors in its book of business, Ealy shared, and the agency has received interest from other markets regarding adding functionality or collecting data so they can offer “even better rates for potential insureds,” he said.
In follow-up correspondence, Ealy added that any collection and sharing of data with insurance markets would not take place without the insured’s consent.
“Every market has their underwriting secret sauce,” Ealy said. “Some of them love New Jersey [or] love Texas [or] love DSG. They all have something that really fits within their appetite, and we have the access to one in three truckers on the road. So, we probably have access to the risks that they like.”
almost, of a personal lines consumer,” Ealy said of truckers. “And at the same time, what they’re buying is like a $20-, $30-, [or] $40 thousand package that is really complex to underwrite.”
The experience primed him to take the reins at TPI about a year ago. Trucker Path’s CEO, Joe Chen, reached out to Ealy about solving the insurance pain point truckers have, and Ealy saw the offer as a perfect opportunity to craft a solution and drive its development.
Even before he was hired, Ealy knew that the right move was to launch an in-house retail agency at Trucker Path.
“We’re like a startup—we’re quick, we invest in things very heavily as compared to an incumbent or a large existing brokerage,” Ealy said. “But we also have access to a finance team, an HR team, [and] a legal team. We have the resources, so it’s very buttoned up. But we move quickly, and we invest quickly, and we build things really quickly.”
Cover Whale and several more markets have already integrated with the agency, and other carriers, wholesalers, and MGAs have also expressed interest in integrating via API, Ealy said.
Some markets are excited
He views Trucker Path Insurance as both traditional and creative in the insurance distribution space. TPI is traditional in that it is a standard retail agency that works with trucking insurance markets of all kinds to get the best coverages and best rates for its customers—whether that’s done over email or via API integration, Ealy said.
Where he sees TPI’s creativity is in how the agency reaches potential customers by being embedded within Trucker Path. Ealy said he sees the trucking space in the same way, sharing that he believes “it will continue to be driven by experienced retail agents” because trucking is a complex, nuanced line of business, “but some, like TPI, will get creative and tap into other segments of the trucking value chain to reach new customers.”
Closer Look: Personal Lines Leaders
Personal Lines Leaders
About the Personal Lines Leaders: The 2025 Personal Lines Leaders in this special feature are taken from Insurance Journal’s Top 100 Property/Casualty Independent Agencies as reported in August. This list utilizes only the 2024 personal lines property/ casualty revenue numbers of the independent agencies and brokerages that submitted data to the Top 100 agencies report. For more information on Insurance Journal’s Top 100 Property/Casualty Independent Agencies list, contact: awells@insurancejournal.com.
1
2
3
5
8
18
28
29
30
33 Vantage Insurance Partners
34 Marshall + Sterling Enterprises Inc.
35
36 Towne Insurance**
37
38
39
40
$28,000,000 $226,930,000
$28,000,000
Beaumont, Texas
$128,765,000 1,060 Cleveland, Ohio
$58,000,000 440 New York, New York
$26,562,684 $142,395,835 $89,277,128 547 Poughkeepsie, New York
$26,030,000 $157,000,000 $2,374,880,000 13,276 Kansas City, Missouri
$24,627,332 $180,411,228
My New Markets
Healthcare Program Opportunities
Sought
Market Detail: Actively seeking program partners with strong distribution in physician practices, outpatient facilities, home health, hospice, allied healthcare, etc. Ideal opportunities include workers’ compensation, GL/PL, or specialized coverage needs in high-growth or under-served healthcare niches. Has pen.
Available Limits: Not disclosed.
Carrier: Non-admitted. Rated A by AM Best.
States: All 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Market Detail: Kinsale’s Commercial Auto Division offers a variety of solutions designed for small-to-midsize automotive businesses and companies that service vehicles left in their custody. Kinsale has an appetite for accounts with challenging underwriting characteristics, like those that have been non-renewed, have poor loss history, or have high-risk operations.
Commercial Auto Division’s products include excess auto liability, non-dealer’s garage liability, and truckers’ general liability.
Available Limits: Not disclosed. Carrier: Not disclosed.
States: All 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Market Detail: Green Tree Risk Partners operates as a wholesale brokerage and program business placement specialist. They are excited to offer solutions for logging, chipping, and hauling exposures — The Green Tree Logging Program.
Eligibility Requirements: All submissions must be submitted through the portal; individual or family-owned operators; operation must consist of only mechanized logging; eligible states include New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island.
Available lines of coverage: Commercial
auto, property – limited capacity, general liability, inland marine, umbrella, and workers’ compensation.
Submission requirements: ACORD
Applications for all lines of business being submitted; completed supplemental applications, five years of premium & loss runs; with an explanation on all claims greater than $25,000; must have a minimum of three years ownership/experience in the business; drivers must have a minimum of one year with CDL; copies of MVR’s; current and target premium and a brief description of operations.
No contracts or production requirements. Green Tree will work with any licensed broker that chooses to pursue a piece of wood business, whether it be one account or 100. In fact, Green Tree works exclusively with insurance producers and brokers to provide leading insurance and risk management solutions for woodbased businesses.
Green Tree Risk Partners operates on an open brokerage basis. They do not require contracts and do not have premium/volume commitments for our retail partners.
Green Tree Risk Partners, a PLM Group company, also doing business as Allied Building Material Agency, Inc. (ABM) and in CA as Allied Building Material Insurance Agency, Inc., License #0H31905. Available Limits: Not disclosed. Carrier: Admitted and non-admitted. States: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Contact: Green Tree, info@greentreerisk. com, 800-752-1895
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Market Detail: The Highview team firmly believes that workers’ compensation
insurance is not one-size-fits-all. They work with every client individually and team up to design coverage and risk management to fit the insured’s specific needs. Their approach focuses on controlling losses and preventing costs from spiraling out of control, which can often happen. They do that by implementing a proactive risk management program from the front end and expertly managing safety and claims from the back end, for a true end-to-end approach.
By forming true partnerships between the insurer, broker, risk manager, and insured, they invest all they can to provide a transformative experience to clients.
Now that’s a HIGH VIEW! Has pen.
Available Limits: Not disclosed.
Carrier: Admitted. Rated A-, Excellent, by Demotech.
States: Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Contact: info@highviewins.com, 845-3630500
Elevator
Market Detail: The largest insurer of elevator-related risks in the country for over 40 years. Offering GL, WC, umbrella, excess, property, auto and inland marine. Carrier is admitted in all 50 states.
Available Limits: $1 million minimum premium.
Carrier: Great American Insurance Company. Admitted. Rated A+ by AM Best. States: All 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Contact: John Tateossian, john.tateossian@elevatorinsurance.com, 201-585-6514
Special Report: Agency Growth
By Andrea Wells
After years of rate inflation in nearly all lines of property and casualty insurance, 2026 offers some reprieve for insurance buyers. Agents and brokers can no longer rely on agency growth through rate increases and exposure changes.
“We’ve been in a fairly high inflationary rate environment for the last five or six years in terms of rate inflation,” said Tony Caldwell, the founder of OAA (One Agents Alliance), which is the top-ranked Strategic Master Agency of SIAA. “And that tends to mask real organic growth.”
Organic agency growth in the new year should get back to the basics of adding new business to the agency’s book and with a clear plan to focus on retention. And those agencies in a position to buy might see a more vibrant merger and acquisition market to spur growth.
This report offers six recommendations from industry thought leaders on how to enhance agency growth in 2026: retention, bottom line, talent, alternative revenue, M&A, and innovation.
A Focus on Retention
Consumer dissatisfaction over sky high insurance premiums over the past several years will continue to drive considerable shopping.
Shopping rates for auto, homeowners, and rental insurance rose throughout 2024. While shopping cooled during the second quarter of 2025, switching rates overall remained up, reported J.D. Power in July. For small commercial lines, retention rates fell significantly this
year, according to another J.D. Power study released in August. Customers cited competitive pricing as a key reason they select and stay with an insurer, but service is just as important for retention, J.D. Power said.
OAA’s Caldwell said retention is an area that agencies should focus on in 2026 as retention numbers for many agencies may have slipped due to hard market conditions, and the rapid run-up in prices.
“I would suggest building a retention plan and making that a top business priority in 2026,” he said. “Measure your retention over the last three years, and whatever it is, set a goal to improve it.” Caldwell said it’s a lot easier to make money by increasing retention than it is to sell new business.
A focus on retention could also keep current customers from shopping around.
“Agents would do well to develop a strategy as to how they are best suited to respond to shoppers and keep their current clients from shopping,” said Chris Burand, founder and president of Pueblo, Coloradobased Burand and Associates, and author of Insurance Journal’s monthly column, The Competitive Advantage.
Also, the agency should have plans to capture other shoppers, he added. Agencies that focus on capturing shoppers will win new business. The challenge might be that some agencies simply cannot respond well to shoppers, Burand added. But those that do often have focused marketing programs specifically geared to attract shoppers.
“Along these lines, many carriers cannot support their agencies adequately in this
environment,” Burand said. “They don’t have the financial wherewithal and/or lack the structure required. Agencies without the right carriers will not be able to take advantage of this growth opportunity even if they do everything else correctly.”
Many agencies that wish to improve retention may not know where to begin.
According to Caldwell, there’s no better way to start than simply going out and thanking current customers.
“I don’t think we’re grateful enough for the business that we already have,” he said. “We write letters to say ‘thank you for your business,’ but when is the last time a producer took a client to lunch and the client said, ‘What’d you want to talk about?’ And the producer says, ‘I have one agenda item today—and that’s just to say thank you?’”
Another opportunity for more sophisticated clients and agencies is to utilize risk management tools to help decrease the need for insurance. This might also help with retention.
“Commercial clients should be primed to listen to this approach because high insurance premiums are a top-three expense that they
must manage in the next year,” Burand said.
Focus on the Bottom Line
Another way agencies can bolster profitability in 2026 is by taking a hard look at their bottom line.
“I think this is a great time to benchmark your agency, to take a look and ask yourself if your expenses are under control. And if they’re not, are there adjustments that you can make?” Caldwell recommended. “Because gross profit is just a function of revenue minus expenses, and revenue is going to be declining on a per policy basis over the next couple of years.”
Caldwell suggests that agencies look at all agency expenses including compensation.
“There’s been such a scramble for talent in the last five or six years that salaries have gone up and commission rates for producers have gone up, far faster than inflation,” he said.
“Most of us that run businesses in this industry are salespeople, and we tend to think about growing the top line. But the real thing to grow is the bottom line.” And if the bottom line is growing, that usually means the top line is continued on page 30
Special Report: Agency Growth
continued from page 29
growing, too, he added.
Another area to consider is the agency’s contingency income.
“Contingency income has been pressured from lots of different directions by unpredictable weather as well as social inflation and other things,” Caldwell said. Contingencies make up a significant portion of a typical agency’s net income. “So, there’s an opportunity for agencies to bolster their net by taking a really hard look at where they’re placing business,” he added.
The past several years agencies have been under pressure to just maintain their business. “To keep business on the books, agencies have had to focus on just remarketing and getting business placed wherever they could find a home for it,” he said. “Well, as the market softens, this creates the opportunity to now ask, ‘Is this business where it belongs, or should we be moving it someplace else?’”
Now is the time to find opportunities for clients in better markets that may also
benefit the agency, through higher commission revenue and better management of loss ratios that maximize contingent income. “That’s an area that has a lot of promise for the bottom line of all agencies,” Caldwell said.
Focus on Talent
Kevin Stipe, CEO and partner of Reagan Consulting, believes that agencies looking to grow organically in 2026 need to take a close look at their sales talent.
Reagan’s quarterly update of the insurance distribution marketplace released in late August showed the fourth consecutive quarterly decline in organic growth. Brokers responding to the report posted median organic growth of 7.8% for Q2 2025 compared to 7.9% in Q1 2025 and 8.5% in Q2 2024.
While the decline from Q1 2025 was miniscule (0.1%), the drop is significant when compared to the peak organic growth in 2023 at over 11%.
Stipe said that nearly all of that decline is driven by softening commercial property rates and cash pricing.
For agencies to grow in
2026, they need to add more talent to sales. “Generally speaking, firms need to hire more salespeople than they’re hiring now,” Stipe said. “Every study we’ve ever done shows that agencies tend to underhire salespeople because they don’t really account for how many they need to reach the goals that they want to reach.”
Burand believes it’s time for agencies to snag talent. “With all the acquisitions resulting in good employees not wanting to stay with their new employer, and now large layoffs by some of those same firms, agencies have a great opportunity to acquire quality, experienced employees,” he said.
‘Measure your retention over the last three years, and whatever it is, set a goal to improve it.’
But hiring new producers is really a long-term answer to ramping up organic growth, Stipe added. “You hire a new salesperson today, you’re not going to see significant results for two or three years. … You have got to be able to move faster than that.”
The immediate focus that can be done now is to improve results from the agency’s current sales team. “For many, that means figuring out how to deploy better accountability, how to crystallize their message to make their sales efforts more effective,” Stipe said.
That also means focusing on how to get more out of existing salespeople now. “Not by driving them into the ground but by helping them become more efficient and effective in the marketplace, and with
retention strategies that can really help you hold down your most important clients,” Stipe advises.
Focus on Alternative Revenue
Another way that agencies can look at more strategic agency growth is in alternative revenue areas such as wealth management.
“There’s been a movement over the last 20 years to offer corporate retirement benefits. So, you’ve got corporate clients, you’re doing their group medical, and say, ‘let’s do their retirement, their 401(k),’” Stipe said. “That’s been an extension of group benefits for a lot of agencies, but now they’re taking that even further and saying, ‘let’s go into individual wealth management investment advisory.’”
Is that a better, more fruitful growth path than just focusing on their bread-and-butter business and getting better at the blocking and tackling of competitive brokers? That question is up for debate. “I’m not sure it would be the best prescription to go into a new line of business,” Stipe said. Maybe for some, but certainly not everyone.
Some larger brokers are doing more to vertically integrate, add specialty capabilities, and potentially bring in underwriters and add MGA capabilities. But Stipe contends that the jury’s still out on that growth opportunity.
“That could be very successful for those that really do it well, but I also think that some underestimate the strength of the competition,” he said. “There’s plenty of MGAs out there, and that’s their bread and butter,” he said. That model may succeed for some,
but it also may be a tougher competitive landscape than expected.
“So, my advice for most brokers is to lean into technology and look at your new business sales and your account retention and figure out how to improve both of those by 10%,” Stipe said. “Be better at new business sales, be better at retention, and then continue to focus on producer hiring that you need to do systematically every year, and you’ll do fine.”
Focus on M&A
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity overall is down 7% this year compared to last year, according to financial consulting firm OPTIS Partners. But that downward trend seems to be changing as the pace of insurance agency M&As picked up during the third quarter of 2025.
John Wepler, chairman and CEO, MarshBerry, sees agency M&As picking up again in 2026 as pressure on organic growth continues.
“As organic growth slows, the desire and the need to grow by acquisition becomes amplified—and that trend is even more exacerbated by the fact that there’s growing confidence,” he said. Lowering interest rates also have created even more headroom on covenants and even additional cash flow to support acquisitions, he explained.
Another reason he foresees additional M&A activity in the new year is a strong hold on valuations for privately-held independent agencies.
“Valuations have been holding for insurance agencies, and they will, in our opinion, continue to hold,” Wepler said. In particular, valuations
for high-quality firms have not declined. “There is a distinction today in valuations between those firms that are growing organically at a higher double-digit organic growth rate, and those that are not,” Wepler said. “And those firms that are more specialized versus generalists are trading at a higher value,” he said. “Quality of a firm’s growth and leadership is being rewarded more today than it was in the past.”
Plus, there’s a limited supply and a tremendous amount of demand in the market. Those trends are leading 2025 to be the second most active year on record for agency M&A deals, according to Wepler. “The year 2021 was the most active year; 2025 we believe will be the second most active year, and that’s with about a six-week break during Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs. The whole market needed a little bit to just digest that.”
Now the market has not only rebounded, but the level of demand has increased substantially, Wepler said. “So, rolling into 2026, we feel that 2026 could be as active as 2025, and if there’s no systemic shock to the system, it could even come close to 2021.”
Reagan’s Stipe said that while M&A deals trended down in 2025, it’s difficult to get the full picture. “Some of it is because folks aren’t announcing deals like they have in the past,” he said. “There’s a movement to keep deals quiet,” he said. That’s in part due to the risk of talent poaching. “People don’t like to announce deals because they’re afraid that it’ll just turn them into a target.”
Stipe also sees M&A trending up again in 2026 as acquisitive
firms look for added growth. “We’re also getting back into a realm where deals now make marginally more sense,” he said.
Burand added that as the market changes, large “buyout” firms will have a more difficult time achieving true organic growth beyond rate/exposure increases. “So, they must keep buying agencies and related firms” to grow.
Focus on Innovation
While technology has been working to help independent agencies innovate for years, new tools empowered with artificial intelligence promise to bring greater efficiencies and profits. But the hype, and volume of AI products on the market today, is overwhelming and actually “absurd,” said Graham Blackwell, president of Applied Systems.
However, he maintains that the right AI tools and products, made for and by the insurance industry, will absolutely help to drive efficiency, solve the need to scale, and free up time so agencies can get closer to their customers. “And they actually work,” Blackwell said.
“Our strategy is to help agencies connect with their partners, whether that’s a premium finance company or a carrier, and actually AI is something we’re trying to infuse into every single workflow that we facilitate,” Blackwell said.
Why? “People are busy, and they don’t want to go hire more folks to drive growth,” he said. AI can take the friction out of the growth process, bring intelligence to agencies that allows for growth, and eliminate manual keying, creating greater efficiencies and more time to sell and service clients. “It
can really drive a lot of growth potential,” he said. Blackwell cautions that agencies not investing in these tools should be wary because someone else already has.
Work done behind the scenes in an agency is a great area to focus on when it comes to implementing AI, said James Thom, chief product officer at Vertafore
“The agency back office is full of potential for artificial intelligence to deliver immediate value by turning the avalanche of information in PDFs, emails, and carrier statements into structured, searchable data,” he said. “In 2026, AI will become more embedded in this flow, so teams can ask natural-language questions like, ‘Which policies include this exclusion?’ and get instant, accurate answers,” Thom said. “That shift won’t just save time; it will help agencies provide better service and find new opportunities for growth.”
“Now, I will say, I think it’s really important for insurance agencies, insurance carriers to find insurance AI-specific partners—and there’s a sea of AI partners out there. Whether it’s Applied or some other provider, a native AI insurance company, AI expertise is going to matter,” Blackwell said.
Agencies need to ask the right questions to make the right decisions on the most helpful AI tools.
“My advice is don’t pick the random player off the street. OpenAI is a great business, but they don’t care about insurance. Applied cares about insurance, and there are many other software vendors that care about insurance,” Blackwell said.
Special Report: Best Agency to Work For
Gunn Mowery Gives Clients and Employees the Upside of Insurance
By Andrea Wells
For nearly 40 years, Gunn Mowery Insurance has delivered what the agency terms as the “Upside of Insurance” to their personal, business, and employee benefits customers. It’s also given its dedicated employees an “upside” to working at the firm by providing a supportive and positive environment where employees feel valued and recognized for their hard work.
CEO, believes his agency is a great place to work because everyone works together on the most important things, including “integrity, transparency, a desire to help others, and a consistent focus on improving the firm.”
“We could always be better, but I think listening and trying to improve where we can is helpful,” he said. That effort has helped build a great agency culture, he added.
With more than 70 employees, Gunn Mowery LLC, based in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, has received numerous best places to work for awards, including winning the 2025 Best Agency to Work For in the East region by Insurance Journal.
Employees of the agency call their firm a “big family” where everyone cares about each other.
“Our team is comprised of ethical, intelligent, and enjoyable people. Every one of us works very hard to do what is best for all our customers and puts in the hard work to get there. And when support is needed, we get it,” one employee said when nominating the firm.
Another employee said: “No employee is ever treated like just a number; we all have our important roles, and everyone feels valued.”
Greg Gunn, president and
“I am very proud of our firm and happy that our employees feel the same,” he said. “We work hard to provide the best working environment and work-life [balance] possible, and it’s good to know some of it is working.”
Employees also cited the agency’s commitment to its clients as a reason why they love working at the firm. One employee said what makes Gunn Mowery stand out is the “top notch customer service” the team provides to its clients, adding that the agency has risk and claim managers as well.
“We have our own captive (commercial) and consortium (health insurance),” a nominating employee said. “We also have a personal lines unit that focuses on select accounts.”
When nominating the agency, one employee said the firm’s support for professional development made it the best agency to work for. “Our agency pays in full for all classes
and encourages everyone to work toward designations and overall education to help us be better agents,” they said.
“We work hard to attract and retain the best employees on the planet so they can attract and retain the best clients on the planet,” Gunn said. “Our commitment to education is never ending.”
Many employees also cited their appreciation of the agency’s positive culture and its leadership. “Greg Gunn, the owner of our company, is such a kindhearted man who works hard and does right by his community,” one employee said. “I think his morals and values trickle down through the company and it makes us want to be the best versions of ourselves and do a great job at work.”
Gunn admits that being an agency leader is not easy. In fact, it’s hard. “Not hard work
so much as hard to quantify,” he explained. To be a great leader he recommends a few things. “I think great leaders are those that lead by showing impeccable integrity, empathy for employees and clients, a never-ending desire to improve and innovate, and energy to take the organization to the next level,” he said.
His advice to other agency owners: “Be up front with your people, your clients, and your carrier partners.” And always view business decisions with four constituencies in mind, he said: “your family, your employees, your clients, and your communities…in that order.”
“I
Gunn Mowery LLC Lemoyne, Pennsylvania
am very proud of our firm and happy that our employees feel the same.”
- Greg Gunn, Gunn Mowery Insurance
Greg Gunn, president and CEO, Gunn Mowery
Special Report: Best Agency to Work For
Midwest
Phelan Insurance Versailles, Ohio
Phelan Insurance: Where a ‘Family First’ Culture Inspires Loyalty
By Ezra Amacher
When a new hire accepts a position at Phelan Insurance Agency, senior management send them a “welcome” personal note. When the employee arrives for their first week of work, they’re met with a welcome basket that targets the employee’s favorite interests and foods. Finally, senior management takes the new hire to lunch on their first day.
The effort that Phelan puts into welcoming new hires is a microcosm of the culture that pervades the third-generation, family-owned agency based in Versailles, Ohio.
“We mean what we say, and we say what we mean,” said Brent Phelan, co-president and CEO. The agency’s commitment to looking after its employees and prioritizing their well-being led Phelan to be named the Midwest 2025 Best Agency to Work For Bronze Award winner.
For Brent Phelan, the award is a recognition of the effort he and his brother Todd have put into making the agency feel like a place where employees can communicate in an honest and constructive way while presenting their best selves at work.
Several years ago, Brent and Todd Phelan asked a committee of employees to provide feedback on whether the brothers were succeeding
Brent Phelan, co-president and CEO, Phelan Insurance Agency
at communicating the agency’s vision and culture. The project evolved over time, and about three years ago the committee came out with a vision known as ‘First at Phalen”—F: Family. I: Integrity. R: Reputation. S: Stability. T: Trust.
Underpinning the vision is the notion that employees are people first, said Brent Phelan.
“They said, ‘We feel like this is a family business, you understand that our kids have games and concerts and everything else. As long as we get our jobs done and serve
our customers, it’s okay we need to prioritize events for our family… you’re always willing to work around that.’”
Employees who nominated the agency reiterated the ways Phelan gives employees the autonomy to do their jobs to the best of their ability while also having time to tend to things that come up outside of one’s job.
“Phelan Insurance is the best of both worlds for me,” wrote one employee. “It is located in the small town I live in and is everything I love about a family-owned and family-oriented business.”
Another employee added, “Whether through flexible scheduling, remote work options, or other forms of support, the agency consistently shows that our people come first. This understanding allows employees to care for their families when it matters most, and it inspires genuine loyalty in return.”
That employees feel so
strongly about the way Phelan encourages a healthy balance between work and family is no accident. Brent Phelan and his brother Todd are intentional about listening to what’s going on in their employees’ lives.
A few years ago, they took every associate out to lunch individually. “We just said, ‘Hey, tell us about your family. Tell us what’s going on. Tell us what we could be doing better,’” said Brent Phelan. “Every year we try to do something a little different like that just to make sure we’re listening to our people. And that’s what it is.”
Another way Brent and Todd Phelan receive feedback is by sending out an annual anonymous survey that asks employees what the agency is doing well and what areas it can improve. The survey is a simple but constructive way to understand how to meet employees’ needs.
“Everybody would like to make more money and have more vacation. I get it,” said Brent Phelan. “But if you let them talk, you’re going to find out the other nuances.”
Employees at third-generation, family-owned Phelan Insurance in Versailles, Ohio.
Ahappy, supported team means happy, supported clients. And happy clients mean success.
“At G&G, we’ve learned that the best way to attract and retain talent is to create an environment where people can see a clear path for growth and feel genuinely supported every step of the way,” said G&G Independent Insurance CEO and Founder Jordan Greer.
“People want to be part of something meaningful, and when they feel challenged, appreciated, and aligned with a company that invests in their future, they stay and thrive.”
The agency’s leadership philosophy is servant leadership paired with radical accountability, Greer said. It’s a mindset that makes G&G in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the South Central 2025 Best Agency to Work For Bronze Award winner. Employee growth and appreciation are a high priority at the agency, which was recently named on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing
business list for the fifth straight year.
“We relentlessly clear obstacles for our talented teams to move fast, take ownership, and consistently deliver transformative results,” Greer said. “When employees know you care about their growth and well-being, everything else—productivity, retention, and client satisfaction—naturally follows.”
“Being a Best Place to Work today goes far beyond perks—it’s about creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and challenged to grow,” he said. “At G&G, we focus on the whole employee experience—from personalized onboarding and ongoing coaching to meaningful community involvement and clear career paths.”
The care and camaraderie for the team naturally and seamlessly extend to the clients and community. The agency doesn’t serve the community; they are part of it, nominating employees said.
“After major storms, our team proactively tracks the
storm’s path and identifies which of our clients may have been impacted,” said one employee. “We call them directly to check in, confirm they are safe, and see if they have experienced any damage. If they have, we step in right away to help.
Several nominators cited the company’s support for employees during challenging times and the Exceptional Experiences program, which rewards outstanding client services with a chance to win vacations and earn extra PTO.
Most of all, they said, the agency allows them to find their own way to their own definition of success. Multiple employees said the company’s faith and support helped them find roles where their skills, talents, and personality best served clients.
“Personally, for me, I wasn’t excelling at sales, but because I wanted to be here and my hard work showed that, they were able to find another spot for me—the client experience team,” said one employee. “It has truly been a joy working
here, and I can’t wait to see where my hard work takes me.”
Another employee set their sights on a managerial role, worked to land the position, then discovered it wasn’t a good fit.
“I let my supervisor know this, and his next question was—what do you want to do, where can we get you into the right seat?” the employee said. “I fully expected them to say that you have to move on from the company, because that had been my experience at other companies. But that was not the case,” they said.
“Leadership saw that I was a culture fit and found me a new role where I have really been able to shine,” they said. “I was given the opportunity to try something new, fail at it, and felt safe enough to fail and verbalize what I needed. That is everything.”
Special Report: Best Agency to Work For
Southeast
In the Eye of the Storm in Florida: Nimble Insurance Named Bronze Winner
By William Rabb
When Matt Sutika, CEO of Nimble Insurance in Sarasota, Florida, heard that the agency had been named one of the best agencies to work for in the Southeast, he said it validated so much that he and the agency’s employees had worked for over the last decade.
“It means more than just about any other award we could win,” Sutika said. “Most recognition in our industry is based on numbers or metrics—but this one came from our own team. That hits differently.”
Employees at Nimble, which also has a branch office in Spring, Texas, seem to agree, according to Insurance Journal’s survey of agency workers and their feedback.
Comments repeatedly emphasized the commercial insurance agency’s deep focus on employee well-being, as well as “nimble” and responsive customer service.
“Our agency is one of the best places to work because we combine a culture of collaboration with a commitment to individual growth,” one employee wrote.
“Every team member’s voice is valued, and leadership encourages open communication and fresh ideas.”
Teamwork is key.
“Our company
does insurance differently,” a manager said. “Instead of one agent taking a client through the insurance process, we work more like an assembly line. Each employee looks at each account that comes through and specializes in their specific area.”
Nimble Insurance calls itself a “modern commercial insurance firm” that focuses on multifamily residential owners’ insurance needs, including condominium owners. In Florida, that has put the agency in the eye of the storm since the collapse of the Surfside condo building in 2021 and new inspection laws and repair costs that have caused some insurance carriers to back out of the market or raise premiums. It’s also meant dealing with storms, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which slammed the Sarasota area in 2024.
“Hurricanes are always the headline, but what’s unique about Nimble is that most of our team actually lives in the storm paths,” Sutika explained. “They’re not just helping clients through it—they’re living through it themselves. When a storm hits, they’re boarding up their homes while still handling renewals and claims. That level of commitment is incredible.”
He noted that technology and individual creativity play big roles in keeping employees at their best and may set Nimble apart from some other agencies.
“We actually recognize that it’s 2025,” Sutika said. “A lot of brokerages still operate like it’s the 1980s—from their technology to how they think about culture. At Nimble, we’ve flipped that model. We use modern tools, creative thinking, and efficient pro-
cesses that make life better for both clients and employees.”
Sutika has deep experience in what makes a brokerage or agency work. His dad was an insurance agent and Sutika said he learned early on what good service and good relationships can do.
“I started my own State Farm agency, doing personal insurance, but I always wanted to build something bigger and more modern,” he explained. “Eventually, I made the move into commercial insurance, where I saw a massive opportunity to rethink how brokers operated.”
Nimble recently partnered with Vantage Insurance Partners, then acquired True Insurance to expand its reach nationwide. But Sutika believes in the importance of employee satisfaction.
“Many of the people here have followed me across states and companies, which tells me the culture isn’t an accident—it’s who we are.”
His advice to other agency owners striving for excellence: “Be authentic. Know who you are as a founder and let that show up in your culture. For a long time, I worked in environments where the company didn’t reflect the people running it. At Nimble, it finally does.”
Nimble Insurance Sarasota, Florida
Nimble Insurance staff say their culture makes everyone feel valued.
Special Report: Best Agency to Work For
West
Being Authentic and Listening to the Team Keeps Rancho Mesa Insurance Services on Top
By Jahna Jacobon
Outstanding leadership can create a winning culture. A winning culture grows a successful team.
Rancho Mesa Insurance Services Inc. employees laud its leadership for fostering a collaborative, dynamic, and positive environment, making it the Best Agency to Work For 2025 Bronze Award winner for the West region.
The award is heart-warming, said Rancho Mesa President David Garcia.
“Knowing that our employees felt strongly enough to nominate us means the world, because culture can’t be faked,” he said. “It tells me we’re on the right track, and it motivates us to keep building a workplace where people feel valued.”
Rancho Mesa, founded more than 25 years ago in San Diego, California, is an independent commercial insurance brokerage providing risk management services to organizations throughout the United States. The agency specializes in construction, landscape and tree care, surety, property/ casualty, and nonprofits and human services.
According to Garcia, being authentic and listening to your team is the first step in creating a great workplace.
“Being a best place to work isn’t about programs or perks—it’s about creating an environment where employees
feel heard, valued, and supported,” he said. “If you focus on that, recognition will follow.”
Garcia worked at a Fortune 50 company when he was recruited into the commercial insurance industry 38 years ago. He saw insurance as an opportunity to make an impact and a tangible difference for many businesses.
“Giving them a peace of mind that their businesses are protected—problem solving, building relationships, person-
al growth, and then as time has gone on, watching our employees grow and achieve their own business and personal goals is extremely rewarding,” he said.
“It’s a great place to work because people feel like they belong here,” Garcia added.
“We’ve built a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration where everyone’s ideas matter and contributions are recognized.”
An employee with the agency for more than 20 years said their “amazing leadership” has spurred company growth and success.
“Strong leadership from the top has attracted great talent throughout the ranks,” the employee said.
The agency invests in development and innovation and encourages team members to take on new challenges.
“We’re given real opportunities to lead, take ownership, and build something meaningful,” said another employee.
“Promotions are earned
through hard work and impact, not politics. I’ve seen colleagues rise quickly because leadership believes in empowering talent.”
Rancho Mesa employees who have worked at other agencies said the agency is one of a kind.
“Client managers come here and are blown away at the level of partnership between themselves and the producers,” an employee said. “There are no big egos, no superiority complexes, and no ungrateful team members. We view every person’s work product and effort as a critical part of the agency’s ‘hum.’”
Garcia and the agency leadership team have set the standard for a culture that offers both autonomy and collaboration, said another employee. The company rewards initiative with competitive compensation, incentives, and ownership opportunities, offering work/ life balance and a family focus.
“Most importantly, Rancho Mesa puts people first, celebrating wins, supporting each other through challenges, and giving back to the community,” they said. “It’s a rare environment where hard work, integrity, and ambition truly pay off.”
Rancho Mesa Insurance Services Inc. San Diego, California
Rancho Mesa employees at the annual UCP Celebrity Luncheon.
David J. Garcia, president, Rancho Mesa Insurance
Idea Exchange: Casualty
When a Self-Insured Retention Is Not Enough
An Argument for a New Approach to Consent to Settle for Casualty Exposures
Self-insured retentions (SIRs) are a common tool used by insureds to control claims, but many times they just aren’t sufficient to prevent a bad settlement.
How often do agents hear insureds complain about an insurer settling a case that could have been won if only the case went to trial?
By Paul B. Junis
Rather than developing a strategy to avoid this occurring in the future, generally the policy terms and structure (deductible or SIR) remain largely the same year to year. The assumption is that nothing can be done.
What about requesting the carrier provide a true consent to settle endorsement in the policy provisions?
Consent to Settle Endorsements
Consent to settle is a common clause or endorsement in professional liability policies. The policy language typically states that the insurer will not settle any claim without written consent of the named insured, and that such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. Insurance carriers evidently recognize the reputational harm to professionals that settling claims can cause, so they include this language to give professionals a say in the resolution of a claim.
Shouldn’t manufacturers and other businesses be given this same say in products and other casualty exposures? While some general liability policies contain consent to settle provisions, they are not nearly as common as they are in professional liability policies.
A consent to settle clause obviously requires the insurer to communicate with the insured prior to settling a claim
and afford the insured the right to either consent or not consent to a proposed settlement. Given that the insured often understands certain aspects of a claim that a carrier’s adjuster may not have considered, just the requirement that the parties are communicating is a positive. This type of communication may also change the valuation of the claim when the insurer has a better understanding of all potential defenses. Obviously, this type of structure is not suited to all insureds, but for those that take an active interest in investigating and understanding their claims, the right to consent to settlements may be very useful.
Hammer Clause
Unfortunately for insureds, many consent to settle provisions are accompanied by what is commonly referred to as a hammer clause, which punishes an insured for not settling a claim if that is what the carrier desires.
Here is an example of a hammer clause excerpted from a GL Casualty policy: If you refuse to agree to a settlement we recommend and the resulting judgment or settlement exceeds our recommended settlement, our liability for that “occurrence”, claim or “suit”, subject to the Limits of Insurance, will not exceed our recommended settlement amount (less any amount of the Retained Limit remaining). In such event the company will have no further obligation with respect to “Allocated Loss Adjustment Expense” subsequent to the date of such refusal.
The hammer clause serves to cap the insurer’s liability exposure to an amount the carrier and claimant would agree can settle the claim. Critically, it also cuts off payment of defense expenses from the date of the refusal to settle. In other words, it hammers the insured for not capitulating to the settlement. Hammer clauses are currently almost universal for consent to settle provisions in general liability policies.
Given the impact of significant
settlements on a product or company’s reputation, along with future premiums, the hammer clause disincentivizes the insured from litigating further, which can be contrary to the insured’s best interest. If an insured insists on proceeding with the claim, not only do they bear the costs going forward, but they also take on the exposure above the proposed settlement. In essence, the carrier wins, the insured loses.
Instead of such an unfair arrangement for the insured, a different approach to the consent to settle provision, absent the hammer clause, is warranted. The insurer can be protected while affording the insured the opportunity to get the satisfaction of a verdict, hopefully in its favor. This is a win-win.
Fair Consent
What could a fairer consent to settle provision look like? The following, excerpted from a GL policy for Products Liability, is one way to draft the language:
1. If we recommend a settlement which is acceptable to the claimant and would result in disposition of the claim or “suit”, but you do not consent to the settlement, then the most we will pay in the event of any later settlement or judgment is the amount of our recommended settlement, less the remaining amount under your “self-insured retention” at the time we recommend such settlement subject to the following:
a. We will pay 20% of any claim expenses, including defense, if the final settlement is equal to or greater than the amount of our recommended settlement; and
b. We will pay 100% of any claim expenses excess of your self-insured retention if the final settlement is less than the amount of our recommended settlement.
2. If we recommend a settlement which is acceptable to the claimant and would result in disposition of the claim or “suit”, but you do not consent to the settlement, and any court or adjudicating entity requires payments that are not a subject of this insurance (also
and Kris Bartos
known as extra-contractual payments) or are in excess of the limits of this insurance, then you will be responsible for said amounts.
3. At all times, we shall retain the right and duty to defend any claim brought against the Insured seeking damages caused by an occurrence to which this insurance applies, including the right to appoint counsel.”
How would this policy language work in practice? Assume the carrier and claimant agree to an amount that would settle the claim, and the settlement amount is then presented to the insured for consent. If the insured consents, the claim is settled. If the insured declines to consent, the insurer’s exposure, including both indemnity and expense, is capped at the amount that would have settled the claim, and the insured takes on any exposure above the settlement amount. To be fair to the insured, however, the insurer continues to pay defense costs. If the insured ultimately prevails, any amount remaining of the proposed settlement after payment of defense expenses is saved by the carrier. If the insured does not prevail, the insured is responsible for any judgment above the
non-consented-to settlement amount, plus the insured must reimburse a negotiated percentage of the defense expenses paid by the carrier after the insured did not consent.
How is this a win-win? One, it provides the insured with a vehicle to avoid a settlement but doesn’t saddle them with the responsibility of paying all defense expenses plus the risk of judgment should they refuse. Two, it caps the carrier’s exposure at an amount it was willing to pay to buy the certainty of closing the claim. And three, the agent benefits by providing a solution to both real and perceived problems.
When to Consider
Obviously, having an insured assume the risk of a verdict is not something that many insureds will be willing to do unless they are very confident in their ability to prevail and the agreed upon settlement amount is large enough compared to their perceived exposure for the insured to take the risk of going to trial. However, it is definitely a tool any insured would benefit having at their disposal.
While certainly not a standard provision
in products’ liability policies, the authors of this article have successfully negotiated to have consent to settle language included in policies from several carriers. In fact, one client of ours has invoked the provision successfully twice in the last 10 years and achieved defense verdicts after refusing to consent to a settlement. By the insured not consenting to settlement, the carrier ended up paying much less than the settlement would have cost—only defense expenses for trial preparation and attendance. As for the insured, it undoubtedly saved money on future premiums given that no indemnity payments were made to the plaintiff.
The excerpted policy language offered in this article is just one example of a consent to settle provision that is more fair to the insured.
Agents and brokers can be creative. One carrier provided our insured client language that rewarded the insured for taking the risk of not settling and prevailing by offering to share a portion of the savings the carrier received by not paying the claimant the agreed upon settlement if the insured achieved a more favorable outcome after refusing to settle. As is evidenced by this example, this approach to empower an insured in the decisions that directly affect not only their bottom line but also their reputation is only limited by the creativity of the parties and the agents/brokers that represent them.
In summary, a consent to settle clause is a great tool for insureds, particularly for those with an SIR and who take an active role in defending themselves in litigation. We believe that agents and brokers need to negotiate this provision with carriers and discuss how it can be used with insureds.
Junis and Bartos are claims attorneys at Risk Retention Services Inc., a claims and litigation management company located in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburb.
Idea Exchange: Is It Covered?
Logic & Language and Forms & Facts Are All Insurance Policies Ambiguous?
In January 2023, my monthly column was titled “Insurance Coverage and Television.” I’ve written and spoken extensively about how the property and casualty insurance industry spends billions of dollars on advertising and the vast majority of it is price focused. The article gave credit to some advertising that focused on coverage, but it used examples that clearly weren’t covered by the policies of the insurers doing the advertising.
By Bill Wilson
I made my usual lament that we spend so much money on this type of advertising but virtually nothing on actually educating
consumers and/or countering destructive bad advice and information such as an Instagram commercial (https://www.instagram.com/p/DC0ZuAJMSez/) that claimed that 80% of your auto premium goes into the pockets of agents as commissions, that most people don’t need flood insurance if they’ve never experienced a flood loss, or that there’s no need to purchase the loss damage waiver when renting a vehicle if you have auto insurance (https://pas10. blogspot.com/2013/01/15-insurance-policies-you-dont-need.html).
But it was the introduction of that January 2023 column that prompted this month’s column:
“Last month, insurance educator Chris Kendall, CPCU, ARM, et al., posted some results of a survey of 2,000 U.S.
homeowners on LinkedIn. Conducted or commissioned by Goosehead Insurance Inc., one of the most revealing statistics was that 65% of policyholders agreed that they “have no idea what my home insurance fully covers.” This tracks with a similar survey conducted by Plymouth Rock Home Assurance in 2020 which found that about 70% of U.S. homeowners aren’t sure what their home insurance covers.”
So, perhaps two-thirds of homeowners really don’t know what their homeowners insurance does or doesn’t cover. The question is, IF they actually read their policies (they don’t and the reality is that many, perhaps most, insurance professionals likely don’t either), would they understand what is and isn’t covered?
At its summer meeting this year, the NAIC’s P&C Insurance Committee heard a presentation titled “Research Related to Transparency in Policy Language.” The researchers of this presentation surveyed 2,500 homeowners about homeowners insurance in seven vignettes involving four claim contexts. The four claim scenarios involved earthquake damage, a deck collapse due to termite damage, liability for a slip and fall, and damage caused by an electrical fire.
Some homeowners were given ISO policy language and others were given no policy language. They were asked to judge whether the losses would be covered and to state how confident they felt in their answers. The presentation slides referred to a “2010” ISO HO3 policy. Presumably, this refers to the 2011 ISO HO 00 03 05 11 policy form.
In three of the seven vignettes, providing the actual relevant policy language allegedly had a large and statistically significant negative effect on their understanding of coverage. Being able to read the policy language allegedly had a positive effect on their confidence that they understood what the language meant, but they were no more likely to answer the coverage questions correctly than the consumers who saw no policy language.
Errors and omissions (E&O) defense attorneys regularly cite the insured’s duty to read the policy when trying to defeat some E&O claims. The findings of this research raise questions as to whether that duty is a meaningful defense. Every state has readability requirements for insurance policies—but “readable” doesn’t necessarily mean “understandable.”
In full disclosure, at least one of the researchers involved in this presentation has been overtly critical of the P&C insurance industry (not without cause on some points), so there is the possibility of some bias in the conclusions of the researchers. For example, one conclusion in the presentation was: “Homeowners insurers routinely include non-standard terms
in policies that limit coverage relative to the ISO policy in a unique and unexpected way.” I’m not sure what “non-standard” refers to or what constitutes a “unique and unexpected way.”
One recommendation included in the presentation was: “State insurance regulators should not allow insurers to limit coverage in ways that depart from broad industry standards.” I believe that suggestion has some merit.
Every state has readability requirements for insurance policies—but ‘readable’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘understandable.’
For example, given that state minimum auto policy liability limits are established by law around the country and some states still have Standard Fire Policy total loss statutes as well as various cancellation and nonrenewal laws, a state could establish broader minimum coverage standards for certain lines of insurance or prohibit certain types of exclusions. Some states such as New York have some minimum standards, and other states such as North Carolina have prescribed forms available.
But even if all insurers used the same forms or policy language, how they interpret such “standardized” terms under varying loss circumstances could vary significantly. The bigger question, based on the conclusions of this research, is whether all or most insurance policy forms
are simply inherently ambiguous. An untold number of court cases would seem to suggest that this is not the case given that courts often agree with insurers that policyholder attorney ambiguity assertions are unfounded.
On the other hand, judicial findings supporting ambiguity often lead to revisions of policy form language that only make coverage, or lack thereof, even less understandable to consumers. And, if the revised language is later successfully challenged by policyholder attorneys, further revisions can lead to greater complexity.
For example, a pollution exclusion in a commercial general liability (CGL) policy that reads “This insurance does not apply... to bodily injury or property damage arising out of the discharge, dispersal, release or escape of smoke, vapors, soot, fumes, acids, alkalis, toxic chemicals, liquids or gases, waste materials or other irritants, contaminants or pollutants into or upon land, the atmosphere or any water course or body of water; but this exclusion does not apply if such discharge, dispersal, release or escape is sudden and accidental…” ultimately expands like mold in a damp forest into a page and a half of a 19-page policy. As a result, what was once a pretty clear exclusion becomes a “Where’s Waldo” search for the truth.
As I’ve blogged about before, insurers from Lemonade to Berkshire Hathaway have attempted to simplify policy language (in my opinion, unsuccessfully). In Kovach v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 587 F.3d 323 (6th Cir. 2009), the court opined that “an insured should not have to consult a long line of case law or law review articles and treatises to determine the coverage he or she is purchasing under an insurance policy.”
Easier said than done.
Wilson, CPCU, ARM, AIM, AAM is the founder and CEO of InsuranceCommentary.com and the author of six books, including the Amazon 4.8 star rated “When Words Collide…Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes.” He can be reached at Bill@ InsuranceCommentary.com or InsuranceCommentary@outlook.com.
Idea Exchange: Emerging Risks
Emerging Risks to Watch: Space Weather, Quantum Sensors, and Digital Addiction
Insurance is a data-driven industry.
And access to reliable data can make the difference between understanding a risk or being caught off guard, between an opportune advantage or a missed opportunity.
With this in mind, we examine three emerging risks: what we know—and don’t know—about a possible large-scale space weather catastrophe, the impressive diagnostic abilities of quantum sensors, and the sobering realities and potential liabilities of digital addiction.
A Space Weather Event for the Ages?
Could America’s power grid withstand a once-in-a-century space storm?
By Lee Shavel
Researchers and federal regulators are somewhat limited by data availability from past precedent, such as the 1859 Carrington Event. That solar storm was said to be so powerful that it set the night sky alight and disrupted telegraphic systems around the world.
Scientists suggest that even more powerful solar phenomena—called extreme solar events—might be possible on a star like the sun. Two types of extreme solar events keep experts up at night: superflares and extreme solar particle events.
A superflare could deliver a radiation punch to our planet 100 times greater than that of the Carrington Event, potentially disrupting (or even destroying) parts of the electrical grid, knocking satellites out of orbit, and causing radio blackouts around the globe. Scientific estimates on the frequency of a potential superflare event vary: some suggest it could be a once-a-millennia event, while others believe one might occur once every 400 to 2,400 years.
Extreme solar particle events prompted by solar flares and coronal mass ejections—an explosive dose of solar plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s outer
atmosphere—can send waves of highly energized protons toward the Earth’s surface, potentially depleting ozone and elevating global radiation levels.
Regarding the electric grid, factors such as the geological composition below grid infrastructure are expected to play a major role in the location of possible damage. Given the size and intensity of solar events, we can reasonably suspect that a superflare might be even more disruptive than a Carrington-sized event.
A Quantum Leap
While debate rages about when quantum computers will overtake their classical counterparts, quantum sensors have already arrived. This novel technology holds a number of promising applications for the insurance industry, from improved natural disaster monitoring to autonomous vehicle navigation to critical infrastructure monitoring.
Quantum sensing is a broad category with technology that several industries could leverage. For example, certain quantum sensors can identify corrosion and leaks, precisely monitor greenhouse gas emissions, and map underground areas.
Quantum sensors are extremely responsive and can detect minuscule changes in pressure, frequency, acceleration, rotation,
magnetic fields, and more. They can even “hear” when cracks start to form in certain materials. Quantum sensors’ high degree of sensitivity means they can perform complex geological surveys that are particularly valuable in the energy, construction, and geoengineering sectors.
For insurers, these capabilities can help reduce risks. For example, quantum sensors may be able to detect oil and gas pipeline leaks and identify steel corrosion in bridges earlier than traditional systems. Additionally, as autonomous trucking advances, these sensors can help properly space commercial truck platoons and identify leaks and corrosion on the vehicles.
Although quantum sensing is the most mature quantum technology, different models remain in various stages of development.
Algorithmic Addiction
Digital addiction isn’t recognized as an official disorder; nevertheless, there has been a wave in recent years of personal injury and product liability lawsuits against numerous companies involved in the social media, video game, chatbot, and online dating app marketplaces, raising potential liability and coverage concerns for insurers.
An emerging medical consensus appears
to be building around digital addiction. The American Psychiatric Association, for instance, has identified a variety of so-called technology addictions that “can lead to negative consequences in various aspects of an individual’s life.”
Mental health experts and organizations have flagged a variety of potential digital addiction health risks, among them being a heightened risk of suicide among individuals already suffering from depression, increased risk of obesity, sleep loss, and potentially harmful alterations to the
structure and function of children’s brains.
Litigation related to digital addiction has included a class action against a company that develops online and app-based dating platforms, alleging they were intentionally built with “addictive, game-like design features.” Another suit, filed late last year, alleges that a generative AI chatbot developer launched a product they knew was dangerous and marketed it toward children. The complaint includes claims of wrongful death and product liability.
It’s worth keeping an eye on the
influx of digital addiction lawsuits and their potential implications for liability insurers. Meanwhile, the possibility of a catastrophic space storm and the potential of quantum sensors illustrate the spectrum of emerging issues in the evolving risk landscape.
Shavel is president and chief executive officer of Verisk, a data analytics and technology partner to the global insurance industry. He brings nearly 30 years of experience advising and leading publicly traded companies to Verisk.
Idea Exchange: Agency Management
2025 Roundup: Three Learnings to Take into 2026
This has been an unusual year in business—and one that offers us a glimpse of what’s to come in terms of artificial intelligence (AI), the market cycle, and recruitment and retainment across the insurance industry.
By Tony Caldwell
We Must Not Underestimate the Push Toward Artificial Intelligence
I was in a meeting of my bank board a few months ago when an economist listed the four main drivers of the U.S. economy. First on his list was investment in AI.
That was not just surprising to me, it was a completely unexpected shock. Of course, I knew companies were investing in AI infrastructure and products. And like most others I’ve been watching the headline developments. But the idea that investment was actually driving the entire economy was news to me.
Also, on the topic of AI, a massive layoff at a local company got my attention. They let go 10% of their workforce and attributed the layoff to AI implementation. Comments in the press left no doubt that this service business had plans for even more reductions in staff going forward.
With these developments, I was reminded of entrepreneur Peter Diamandis’ maxim, written in his book “Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think,” that “change is deceptive until it’s disruptive.” The idea is that when explosive change occurs, we often think that what gave rise to it happened overnight, when the fact is that it has been building for some time. The changes that machine learning and AI will create in our economy, and our workforce, may have been brewing for a while, but they are suddenly becoming very apparent.
How Should Agency Owners Respond Now
If this is your moment of clarity, don’t panic; plan instead. If you haven’t already done so, begin to do your homework on
how AI is likely to change your operations including automation of routine service tasks, financial analysis and reporting, as well as underwriting. Understanding the likely changes and how you may want to respond is quickly becoming urgent.
Recognize tasks that can be easily automated including analysis work, accounting, form completion, and a host of others. Begin to experiment, if you haven’t already, with products to help you automate in these areas. You don’t have to outrun the bear, as the saying goes, but you do need to outrun your competitors. Understand there are certain aspects of our business that AI will likely not replace, and the most important of those are human relationships. People have always craved connection, and in a world increasingly disconnected by technology that will only increase. If you’re a transactional sell-
er of insurance, you aren’t doomed—yet. But you will be if you don’t learn the power of building relationships and selling your products based on connection and trust instead of price. Time is short.
Recognize the Hard Market May Have Long Legs
Several years ago, during the pandemic, we began a hard market cycle that many expected to be over in a year. I did not believe we’d have a longer, and more difficult, hard market than expected. However, I have been surprised at how long the market disruption has lasted, how slowly the industry has reacted, and how seemingly the end still hasn’t arrived. Most agents I know have reacted to this prolonged cycle by hunkering down and hanging on. They’ve shopped their customers’ accounts. They’ve moved
whole books of business. They’ve added as many carriers, even substandard ones, as they can. They’ve survived rate increases and grown used to longer days and higher stress.
What many haven’t done is seen the cycle for what it could be, which is a gold mine of opportunity. Those who recognize this have prospered by automating workflows, educating clients on the market, and re-enforcing their commitment to marketing and selling new business. These agents have grown faster than rate inflation and have harvested profits, while others have cut spending to stay alive.
What This Teaches Me About the Future
Market cycles will continue to be difficult to predict. While there has been some easing of this hard market, further tightening could be on the horizon, or it could finally come to an end. The important lessons are that agency principals should never quit selling to new
customers, and both hard and soft markets present opportunities.
Focusing on relationships with customers is the best defense and best offense. The agents who have relentlessly communicated with clients, educating them and helping them to not just understand what’s happening to them but what to expect in the next 12-18 months, have been able to spend less time playing defense and have instead enjoyed more time prospecting for new business while maintaining strong retention ratios.
You may avoid losing with a great defense, but you can never win without offense.
People Want to Be Part of Something Bigger Than Themselves
This year, one of my businesses, a bank, made the “Inc. 5000” for the first time and I started an aviation museum for World War II planes. Both of these accomplishments took a great deal of teamwork and
sacrifice from dozens of people. It struck me how people will jump at the chance to be part of an organization that they perceive to be exceptional, exciting, and a place where they can make a difference.
In the case of the museum, it was astonishing to see literally dozens of people turn out week after week to do hard physical labor. Their reward? Well, it wasn’t just pizza and a T-shirt. It was the feeling that they were contributing to something bigger than themselves, the idea that they were part of a special group of people who were making a difference.
With the bank, we’ve built a team of people who thrive on being unique, who love working in a place that defies convention, and who can feel their own contributions impact the business’s performance.
What I Have Learned that You Can Put into Action Right Now
A key to attracting the talent you need to grow and succeed is finding ways to help every team member see value in their contribution. Like the story of the janitor working late at night at the Kennedy Space Center who told a visitor he “was doing his part to put a man on the moon,” agency owners should focus on helping their people see their value as a part of something special.
Banking, or insurance, may be boring on the surface to some, but rapid growth, outsized success, or building a unique culture likely is not. People find that exciting, especially when they understand their unique value in achieving positive results. Focus on that and watch what happens.
These three things I’ve learned, or perhaps rediscovered, this year may seem disconnected. They’re not. They each remind me that though technology often seems to dominate our world, it’s the people—and the relationships and interest they have in each other—that make it go around.
Caldwell is an author, speaker, and mentor who has helped independent agents create more than 250 independent insurance agencies. Learn more by visiting www.tonycaldwell.net or contacting him at tonyc@oneagentsalliance.net.
Who is responsible for sales management in most firms? Often the task falls to the owner or the top producer. This is not necessarily a good idea because sales management can take away time from the manager’s own sales efforts. Good producers do not always make good managers.
By Catherine Oak
Sales manag it is, does not have to be a full-time job in most firms. If goals are set properly, communicated, and monitored, if the right people are hired and developed, and if management will remove any unreason-
able obstacles to production, producers essentially should manage themselves. They simply need to know that their performance is being monitored and that poor performance will not be tolerated.
Producer Performance
What is an acceptable level of producer performance for experienced, “seasoned” producers? It depends on a number of factors, such as:
• Available producer support
• Sales skills of the producer
• Size and type of accounts in the geographic area
• The competition
• The local economy
• The markets represented
If performance standards are not set for producers, they will set their own—which most likely will be lower than what management expects.
Management can use the performance of the best producer who has ever worked for the firm as a guideline for evaluating “top” producer performance.
The average property and casualty commissions per producer of firms in our database range from $250,000 to $400,000. The range is based on the size of the firm. These commissions include “house” accounts and direct-bill commissions, which are not necessarily commissions “handled.” Well-run firms have $500,000 to $700,000 in commissions per producer.
In surveys in which owners are asked what size book they would expect expe-
rienced producers to handle after three years in the firm, they report $150,000 to $250,000 in commissions handled, based on the size of the firm. As respects to their expectations for new business produced each year in addition to the books handled, the range is $50,000 to $100,000, based on the size of the firm.
For new producers without experience, approximately $80,000 to $100,000 in commissions handled is expected after three years and new business of $25,000 to $40,000 in commissions per year. For new producers with experience (and without existing books of business), $150,000 to $200,000 in commissions handled is expected in three years, with $35,000 to $50,000 in new commissions produced per year.
Production Goals
Producers should be involved in the goal-setting process. Each year, every producer (including seasoned producers) should be given a new production requirement. For example, 10% to 25% growth, net of attrition, depending on the size of their book.
The producer should let management know how this production will be accomplished (for example, the number of quotes and policies that need to be written to accomplish his or her annual objective).
Based on the producer’s own hit ratio and size of account written, it should be determined whether or not the production goal is achievable. The goals should be broken down into monthly quote-to-write activity to make it easier to manage a producer’s performance.
Management needs two sales goals for each producer. One goal is the required new business increase in the number of accounts or commissions handled by the producer. The second goal should specify the type of account, as well as the source of the new business to be pursued (such as account development, writing new accounts from referrals, target marketing or direct-mail programs, etc.).
Sales Meetings
Effective weekly sales meetings need to be held so sales activity can be properly
monitored. Specific sales activity should include new business produced, lost business, hit ratio for each producer, prospect activity, and what referrals have been obtained from new sales, etc.
These meetings should provide owner and non-owner production staff with information on markets, sales goals, collection problems, and service backlogs. Producers have egos and need recognition. These sales meetings are an excellent time to recognize superior performance, encourage double-teaming, and provide support by coaching and training.
Compensation
Well-designed compensation plans make special provisions for above-average performance. This can be in the form of additional commissions for increasing levels of new production, additional perks, bonuses, or other incentives.
For example, an additional 5% in commissions could be paid per $50,000 in new production after a certain minimum commission goal is met. Today, many firms pay more commission for new vs. renewal business (such as 40% new and 30% renewal commission).
In addition to structuring an effective compensation plan for producers, we rec-
ommend that owners compensate account managers over and above their salaries for their production efforts. Besides account managers handling the phone calls, mail, claims, and/or the renewal process, they often can do a good job of account development of existing accounts. Today, owners realize they cannot afford to pay producers for sales or service work done by account managers.
The key to compensation of staff or producers is to pay based on the job performed. This is why many firms have stopped paying commercial producers for personal lines accounts and often have lowered the amount paid to producers for small commercial lines accounts.
We recommend that incentives for new business be paid to the service staff. We suggest giving a first-year commission percentage and/or a flat dollar amount per new policy. Usually, the firm easily can afford to pay the new commission for account managers on new business, as the amount given is often lower than what the firm would have paid in commission to producers for the same new accounts.
Support Producers
All producers need time to sell new accounts. In the firms we have worked with that provide support for good producers, there is better productivity and more growth for new production. Producer support can come from these three main areas:
1. Development of leads and appointments
2. Assistance in marketing/placement
3. Servicing of accounts written
Management can use the performance of the best producer who has ever worked for the firm as a guideline for evaluating ‘top’ producer performance.
Target Marketing
To achieve a high level of performance, producers need to target larger accounts, target certain classes of business, and write continued on page 49
Idea Exchange: Risk Management
The Owner’s Lens: Seeing Risk the Way No One Else Can
In every successful mid-sized company, key leaders drive performance.
By Michael Tveidt
CFOs, HR and safety managers, and operations experts all play critical roles and should be involved in shaping the business, including the insurance program. Still, no one understands a company’s vulnerabilities, ambitions, growth goals, or direction better than its owner.
Insurance isn’t just a line item on the profit and loss sheet. It mirrors how a business operates, grows, and takes risks—but most importantly, how it protects itself, its assets, and its future. Without the owner’s perspective, an insurance program can easily drift away from the realities and long-term vision of ownership.
When Growth Outpaces Coverage
A successful construction company was experiencing rapid growth, hitting record sales, and landing major projects. Riding that momentum, the owner decided to start manufacturing some of the materials
they used on jobs.
It was supposed to be a small, controlled expansion, but it took off faster than anyone expected. Manufacturing quickly became a major part of the business. Through an insurance lens, whenever there are changes in operations, the risk of something going wrong increases.
The CFO managed the company’s insurance program and, like most financial leaders, focused on controlling costs. Each renewal was about holding premiums steady and negotiating the best terms for the dollar. The owner, busy chasing growth, trusted their team and the process and rarely got involved. Over time, coverage decisions were made through a financial lens, not from a risk management perspective.
To save money, the company elected not to purchase professional liability coverage. After all, they were a contractor, not a design firm. All was well until a building component the company designed and produced failed, causing a partial collapse. The loss was massive. When the owner learned the policy didn’t cover the claim, it became clear the business had outgrown
its insurance program long before the incident.
Different Roles, Different Lens
The CFO hadn’t done anything wrong; they simply viewed risk differently. Every role in a company sees risk through a different lens:
• The CFO sees expenses and cash flow.
• HR focuses on compliance and employ ee issues.
• Operations looks at productivity and workflows.
• Safety managers focus on preventing workplace injuries and OSHA compliance.
Often, only the owner sees how all these risks connect and how a single uncovered exposure can ripple through contracts, employees, customers, and reputation.
Delegation Is Smart But Disengagement Is Dangerous
As companies grow, their operations become more complex, and no one person outside of ownership has the full picture. That’s why owners shouldn’t fully delegate insurance decisions, even to capable teams.
Each department’s input is valuable, but only ownership can ensure the coverage truly matches how their business runs today—not how it looked three years ago. Delegation is absolutely necessary, but disengagement is dangerous. An owner doesn’t need to dive into every policy detail, but they should be part of key discussions about exposures, growth, goals, and changes to the business. At least once a year, they should meet with their broker and leadership team to ask the right questions:
• How has our business changed?
• What new risks have emerged?
• Are we protecting what matters most?
Insurance should be treated as part of a company’s growth strategy, not just a line item on the P&L. It can be a tool that protects opportunity, not just a cost to minimize it. The goal isn’t to buy more insurance but to buy the right insurance— coverage that keeps the business healthy and whole when something goes wrong.
The View From the Top
The construction company survived its claim, but it was an expensive lesson. Today, the owner stays involved in every renewal meeting. Coverage decisions are made through the same lens as business decisions: long-term stability over shortterm savings. That’s because at the end of the day, no one can insure what they don’t know exists, and no one knows the business like the owner.
Keep Owners Engaged
For agents and brokers, the lesson is clear: owners belong in the room. Encourage their involvement early and often. Ask questions that connect coverage to the direction of the business, not just cost and operations. When owners see the insurance program as part of their growth strategy, they engage differently. This type of interaction encourages a strong and trusting relationship—one that is productive for their business and you as their advisor.
Tveidt is a commercial insurance advisor with Acrisure. Email: michaelt@acrisure.com.
Minding Your Business
continued from page 47
more lines of coverage for each account. A sales assistant or even a telemarketer can help develop the leads for larger accounts and can target particular industries where the producer has some interest or expertise (that is, where he or she has written at least three of the same type of accounts).
The best source of new sales is referrals from a producer’s existing accounts, especially in his or her area of expertise. Referrals should be sought from new accounts for which a difficult renewal has been placed and/or that has had excellent claims service.
Hit Ratios
Another sales management key is managing the producer’s hit ratio (the number of risks written to the number quoted).
Producers can greatly improve their hit ratio on writing new accounts when they have good marketing/placement support. Some firms today are using a central marketing person or department to help write new medium-sized or large commercial accounts. A hit ratio of 20% to 25% is average for commercial lines, but obviously the closer to 100%, the better. In personal lines, the hit ratio is usually 40% to 60%.
Hit ratios can be improved greatly when more time is spent initially qualifying the prospect.
Key areas to uncover in the first critical 20- to 30-minute interview are:
• What is most important to the prospect in the insurance program?
• What are the politics, price, and product the producer is competing against?
• Has the producer built a good rapport after this initial meeting?
Survey forms and collection of copies of existing policies should be completed in the second interview after the prospect has been properly qualified. If producer hit ratios are improved, the firm’s expenses will be reduced greatly.
Sales Management Is Critical
To have a successful, growing firm today, proper management of sales and
producer performance is critical. Sales management can be easy if a process is established that monitors specific sales activity and performance. Effective sales management not only will reward the owners, now and in the future, but will assist non-owner producers in achieving their goals.
Oak is the founder of the international consulting firm Oak & Associates based in Sonoma, Calif., and Bend, Ore. The firm specializes in financial and management consulting for independent insurance agencies and wholesalers, including valuations, mergers, acquisitions, clusters, sales and marketing planning as well as perpetuation planning. Website: www.oakandassociates.com. Phone: 707-935-6565. Email: catoak@gmail.com.
Closing Quote
Make the Season of Giving a Year-Round Commitment
By John Gambale
Last November, I gathered 20 members of my team for a surprise field trip. We traveled by bus from our lower Manhattan office to City Harvest’s Food Rescue Center in Long Island City, where we packed more than 1,000 bags of holiday staples that would be distributed to families in time for Thanksgiving. For those two hours, we bonded as a team with a shared purpose: playing a small part in spreading holiday cheer.
As we head into the Season of Giving, I’m reminded of this and other examples that illustrate how our industry is woven into the fabric of the communities we serve. As insurers, we enable resiliency and help people and communities recover when catastrophes strike. Building a culture of giving within our organizations takes our mission a step further, empowering us to enrich our local communities through philanthropy and acts of kindness.
Making a Lasting Impact
Philanthropy strengthens every part of an organization. Insurance organizations that prioritize community involvement and human connection earn the public’s trust and enhance employee loyalty.
A commitment to giving also attracts top talent. Young pro-
fessionals today seek careers with a deep sense of purpose. Creating avenues for employees to give back establishes our industry as a place where the next generation of talent can grow their careers and make a tangible difference in the lives of others.
Make It Real
Employees will only feel motivated and inspired to give back if it feels genuine. That’s why a top-down approach to philanthropy, where leaders set the priorities and expect employees to follow, will not yield the desired results.
A better approach is to listen to employees and seek common ground. Ask them about needs within their local communities and the organizations they want to support and create opportunities for them to support their favorite causes. Leaders should also find ways to make giving simple for their employees. One of my favorite ways to accomplish this is with shared volunteering experiences like our City Harvest “field trip.” It took only two hours out of the day, which respected our employees’ valuable time. Simultaneously, it allowed our team to see and feel where all their hard work was going, making the experience authentic. And it sparked meaningful conversations that aren’t always easy to replicate inside an office setting.
Growing Stronger Together
As leaders engage their employees in discussions about philanthropic efforts, they will soon see that giving is not
one-size-fits-all. Each group of colleagues will have different interests. Meeting those diverse needs will require help from others, which is why tapping into the resources of a group like the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) is immensely valuable.
I have been involved with IICF for nearly 10 years and have found it enriching on multiple fronts. For one, it gives me the opportunity to network with other industry executives, explore their views on charitable giving, and connect with the insurance community throughout the greater New York City area. Secondly, IICF provides numerous volunteering and giving opportunities, allowing employees at all levels to share their generosity and service. Through its regional divisions, IICF awards both large and small grants to nonprofits, supporting women’s shelters, homeless outreach programs, and many other worthwhile causes. The IICF Associate Boards are another avenue for bringing together younger industry leaders, focused on charitable fundraising and volunteerism.
Since 2007, the organization’s Northeast Division has awarded more than $13.9 million in grants and performed countless hours of volunteer service. Later this month, we will gather for our annual Benefit Dinner. The sold-out event is expected to raise a record $1.5 million in support of over 24 local nonprofits. Former New York Yankee great Bernie Williams is the special guest, and IICF will be honoring him with a grant to one of his favorite charities, Nancy Lieberman Charities, which empowers underserved youth.
Don’t let the Season of Giving pass by without getting involved. When we come together as an industry, it reminds us that insurance has—and always will be—about helping to protect people. Philanthropy allows us to extend this commitment into our communities, not only during Thanksgiving but throughout the year.
Gambale is the Chief Distribution Officer for North America at Allianz Commercial and the Chair of the Northeast Division of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation.
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