The alternative energy market has many complicated angles to it, including solar warranties, which are essential to solar manufacturers as well as to the development and funding of solar projects.
According to Mike McMullen, president of PowerGuard Specialty Insurance Services, banks are hesitant to lend against some larger solar projects because of the severe credit [...]
Commercial roofing, already complicated, is getting more so as new types and materials are being introduced. Kenneth R. Gilvary, a senior engineer with Dallas-based Haag Engineering, specializes in assessing roof losses for insurers. Gilvary says claims professionals need to keep up with how green technology, including vegetative rooftops, and new building standards are changing the [...]
Building a social media presence is critical for independent agents to remain competitive. But insurance carriers like Fireman’s Fund are helping agents venture into this new technical world. John Hosbein, vice president of online services, and Alice Cameron, vice president of marketing, share how agents can create engaging Web 2.0 content.
Stroz Friedberg is a consulting firm that does computer forensics, mobile phone forensics, electronic discovery and cyber crime response, operating at the intersection of law, technology and behavioral sciences. David Garrett, managing director of Stroz Friedberg’s San Francisco office, explains why clients may or may not have cyber risk insurance, whether those that have the [...]
Cyber and privacy liability insurance is poised for growth, with more players coming into the market to cover a growing number of businesses. Insurance Journal recently spoke with Graeme Newman, CFC Underwriting’s business development director, about increasing data security and privacy risks, given the surge in social media.
Moving companies face a number of exposures in their daily operations, including workers compensation, cargo, fleet and general liability. Priority Moving in San Diego, Calif. is no exception. A Wheaton Van Lines agent, Priority Moving has created a series of internal procedures, reinforced by a strong employee screening process and training program. Analytics software [...]
The Internet makes it easier to get into business but it also makes it easier to steal others’ ideas. The Web is also expanding the notion of what materials, images and designs need to be protected. Intellectual property attorney David Branfman advises agents on questions to ask clients about intellectual property exposures and warns about [...]
To the 77 percent of independent insurance agencies that don’t have a social media presence, creating a profile and trying to form “friendships” via a computer can be daunting. Once you get online, however, tools such as blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and RSS feeds actually can help an agency build more thoughtful relationships with other agents [...]
Women between ages 55 and 65 make up the largest growing demographic of Facebook users, which makes Claudia McClain, President of McClain Insurance Services in Everett, Washington a comfortable newbie, joining the social networking site just one year ago.
In this interview with Mitch Dunford, McClain discusses social media’s affect on the insurance industry and how [...]
Insurance companies and regulators are exploring usage-based car insurance — also known as “Pay as You Drive” — a voluntary system that promises to modify driving behavior and, perhaps, even the climate.
Jim Whetstone, senior vice president of technology and privacy at Hiscox, is in charge of his firm’s privacy product that covers data breaches and privacy related exposures. In this part of a recent interview with Insurance Journal’s Andrew Simpson, Whetstone discusses the exposure, the coverage, and what types of firms are at risk.
Watch the [...]
Insurance innovation…is it an oxymoron? That was the provocative title of a panel at the Professional Liability Underwriters Society meeting in Chicago. One of the panelists, Leib Dodell, now with the new ThinkRisk Underwriting in Kansas City and formerly president and CEO of Media Professional Insurance, discusses why and how the insurance industry should embrace [...]
Virtually every company has both media and technology exposures today. Traditional liability policies, marketing, and even distribution in the property/casualty insurance industry have to change to keep up with this convergence, advises Leib Dodell, formerly president of Media Professional Liability and now with ThinkRisk Underwriting in Kansas City. In this interview with Insurance Journal’s Andy [...]
The world is changing, with virtually every business now facing both media and technology exposures. Insurance needs to keep up, says Leib Dodell , former president and CEO of Media Professional Insurance, who is now part of the team launching a new specialty E&O facility based in Kansas City called ThinkRisk Underwriting Agency. In this [...]
Imagine a world in which every independent agent is under age 40. How might agencies run differently? How might industry politics change? Young agent Joey O’Connor, vice president with Daniels & Eustis Agency in Louisiana, and the chairman of Big I’s Young Agent Committee, describes this brave young world in this interview with Insurance Journal’s [...]
The alternative energy market has many complicated angles to it, including solar warranties, which are essential to solar manufacturers as well as to the development and funding of solar projects.
According to Mike McMullen, president of PowerGuard Specialty Insurance Services, banks are hesitant to lend against some larger solar projects because of the severe credit [...]
Engle Martin & Associates is an independent adjusting firm providing claims services to the insurance industry. In this interview with Claims Journal, Susan Froman, Engle Martin’s Director of Sales, discusses the growth of the company and providing service to their clients when they need it most.
Too often agency principals find themselves facing a forced sale as a result of not having a proper perpetuation plan. In this podcast, MarshBerry president John Wepler discusses the many difficult and “uncomfortable” decisions required of an owner seeking to properly–and profitably–perpetuate the firm. Listen to this frank conversation as John offers some good news: [...]
The Internet makes it easier to get into business but it also makes it easier to steal others’ ideas. The Web is also expanding the notion of what materials, images and designs need to be protected. Intellectual property attorney David Branfman advises agents on questions to ask clients about intellectual property exposures and warns about [...]
Moving companies face a number of exposures in their daily operations, including workers compensation, cargo, fleet and general liability. Priority Moving in San Diego, Calif. is no exception. A Wheaton Van Lines agent, Priority Moving has created a series of internal procedures, reinforced by a strong employee screening process and training program. Analytics software [...]
Stroz Friedberg is a consulting firm that does computer forensics, mobile phone forensics, electronic discovery and cyber crime response, operating at the intersection of law, technology and behavioral sciences. David Garrett, managing director of Stroz Friedberg’s San Francisco office, explains why clients may or may not have cyber risk insurance, whether those that have the [...]
Corporate Helicopters is a San Diego business focusing on charter, tours, aerial filming and helicopter sales. In this episode of Watching the Risks, Corporate Helicopters president Ivor Shier explains how looking through the lens of risk analysis from the formative years to the present has led to a safer company.
Interview with National Marketing Services Executive VP, Larry Neilson and President Jeffrey
October 21, 2007
A woman asks her husband how she and her daughter would survive if something happened to him.
The IBA West is an advocacy and legislation group for independent agents. In the words of