Insurance Speak

Influencer. It’s a word and an idea that a decade ago seemed like a fad. But thanks to the cross pollination of niche communities on the internet and digital-marketing smarts, today’s social-media celebrities are hotter than ever. Such "influencers" have built an industry that’s worth millions and hold sway over significant segments of humanity. With all of that influence comes murky and often misunderstood risk, liability and insurance concerns. On this episode of Insurance Speak, Katie Pope, vice president of Executive Lines at The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers, illuminates the growing legal and liability concerns surrounding social-media influencers.

Kathleen Bonczyk, founder of the Workplace Violence Prevention Institute, discusses the role insurers can play in reducing workplace violence.

Surplus lines insurers in 2023 reported another year of improved underwriting and operating results, with most performance metrics outpacing the broader P&C industry, according to the annual wholesale insurance market report card compiled by AM Best and the WSIA Education Foundation. The report's authors say this indicates just how essential wholesale insurance options have become. "The wholesale and specialty channel is there to provide solutions when the standard market either cannot or will not take on the risk," WSIA President and CEO Brady Kelly said on this week's episode of Insurance Speak. Kelly sat down for an interview in the run-up to his organization's 2024 Annual Marketplace, an event in which thousands of insurance professionals converge in San Diego to fortify business relationships and forge new ones.

Jen Martinez of VIU by HUB discusses how insurers can integrate digital tools into customer service while still maintaining human relationships.

For this episode, we revisit a conversation with Bryan Davis of VIU by HUB about what’s on the horizon for independent brokers and how they serve their customers.

The risk landscape for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) markedly changed over the last five years as enterprises first adjusted to the shutdowns and distanced interactions dictated by the COVID pandemic, and then as lasting societal shifts (like the rise of remote workers) settled into daily life in the time since the pandemic. The insurtech firm Bold Penguin set out to better understand these business changes and what they mean to insurance professionals and organizations, in order to better direct and advise its industry partners. In this episode, Bold Penguin Vice President of Carrier Operations Nicole Farley talks about the growing commercial-insurance opportunities for agents and brokers along with other insights from the company’s new report, “The Evolving Risks of Small Businesses.”

This week, we revisit a conversation with Todd Shasha of Travelers about how boat owners can protect their vessels from catastrophic weather events.

As the world’s premiere athletic event, the Olympic Games tend to be a joyous and celebratory affair. However, the sheer scope and scale of the games leaves them open to the unexpected, and the history of the Olympics is not without violence. This episode of Insurance Speak features Chloe Gordge, head of Marke's terrorism portfolio in London. Gordge talks about the unique challenges of curbing political violence in Paris during the upcoming Olympic games.