The insurance industry as we know it was created in 1686 by Edward Lloyd in his coffee/tea shop. Our friends across the pond arguably know more about our domestic insurance marketplace than the underwriters here. The article below is a nice analysis of how they view the marketplace today, with a focus on casualty.

We are seeing dramatic increases in both premiums and retentions on specialty casualty lines of insurance (employment practices, directors and officers and professional liability). It is especially volatile in California.

Make sure you budget accordingly. Loss history dependent of course, but minimum 10% +

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2020/11/19/591273.htm

“According to the underwriters, there are the usual suspects responsible for today’s market conditions, including years of poor results, social inflation, litigation funding, the current economic recession and uncertainty over the effects of COVID-19.

“The tort environment has suddenly become very challenged. In addition to that, we’ve got a lot of back year loss deterioration on people’s portfolios,” said Aspen’s Bland.

— Message is to make sure you give proper time to correct client company pricing with the understanding of with increased terminations, furloughs, wage reductions… the lawyers will follow and claims thereafter.

Let us know if we can be of help.

With the looming reality of what 2020 has brought to us, and we have all been impacted in some way or another, it’s difficult to truly feel thanks and appreciation. It has definitely been a tough year! Even if you have been fortunate enough to have had little to no impact from the hurricanes, the fires across different continents, the U.K.s withdrawal from the EU, the craziness of the election, the cancellation of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the murder hornets, the VIRUS and its economic effects and hardship, and the riots, somewhere deep within us 2020 will leave a lasting impression. So as we start the season of friends and family I thought sharing some reminders of the “good, simple things” would be fitting.

Life – It seems pretty basic, but in stating the obvious, not everyone has the chance to wake up and live another day. The daily stresses of existence and the drive to continue in times of uncertainty can weigh us all down, but waking up each morning to strive to be better than the day before is something that should lift us and give us strength to push forward.

Love and kindness of others – If there is one thing that has been constant in 2020 it is change. This year has certainly opened my eyes and while we see so many headlines of the terrible things that have happened this year behind what is being broadcast, there are great things rising. I have seen more people reaching out to help others than I have ever experienced. The schools are organizing more efforts than ever to help teachers (sending home projects for parents to help out with for classroom use, supplies and food drives to help families within the schools, even just in the neighborhood (offerings of people to shop for others that can’t afford it or need to quarantine), social media posts of individuals just willing to help random strangers if they need to feed their families, fund-raising efforts to support school programs that were underfunded due to the PPE needs to keep the schools going, parents working together to support group, at-home learning while they are figuring out how to work remotely themselves. Behind the scenes, if we take a closer look, 2020 has brought out more caring for one another.

Nature and all of her beauty – It may sound a bit quirky, but when I have a rough day you can often find me trying to locate a section grass so I can take my shoes off and “earth.” Earthing or grounding is making contact with the Earth’s surface electrons; transferring energy from the ground into the body. While I can not speak to the scientific data supporting the actual effects of earthing, I do know that taking a minute or two in nature revives my senses and clears my mind to reset on my path, whatever level of greatness or lack there of! You can check out studies on earthing here at the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.

Laughter, “the best medicine” – HelpGuide.org has listed out some of the ways that support why laughter is good for our health. I love to giggle, who doesn’t? I will say that my laughing can become so outrageous at times that its embarrassing. Once it starts it doesn’t stop and at this point in time, my husband has coined me with the nickname of “Chuckles.” “Oh boy, Chuckles is here!” I always feel better after a laugh, especially when its a shared laugh and everyone’s eyes tear up. It’s reported that laughter can release stress and tension for up to 45 minutes after, the decrease in stress hormones boosts the body’s immune system, overall benefits to mental health and a really good laugh session can actually burn calories. I recommend finding a couple of good comedies to watch this Thanksgiving.

Ability to Learn – whether it’s as simple as learning to read for the first time or re-learning how to brush your teeth again, education and the ability to learn gives us confidence and is crucial in our overall growth. Learning also provides us with the ability to acclimate and 2020 has pushed us into uncharted territories. We have had to learn a new way of survival. New jobs, no jobs, new workspace, new schooling applications, A Completely New Norm. Just take a minute and think of all that you learn on a daily basis and the better you are for being able to.

And for those that find simple pleasure in football, you will be able to kick back and find thanks that the season continues! We have 3 Games on Thanksgiving; brunch, dinner and pie: Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions will be contending with Deshaun Watson and the Texans (12:30 pm ET CBS), The Cowboys will be avenging the 22 point loss they suffered to Washington (4:30 pm ET Fox) and The Ravens are set to battle the Steelers in the AFC North matchup (8:20 pm ET NBC).

We at Libertate Insurance, are looking forward to Thanksgiving and we are going to do our best to spend it in the most joyous and positive way possible. We hope that you are able to do the same.

Some big things happening in Bradenton with our partners at SUNZ. Great NEWS to hear that Mr. Leonard was promoted and Mr. Brodsky hired. Excellent moves that provides a great future –

BUSINESS OBSERVERWEDNESDAY, NOV. 11, 2020 5 days ago

Insurance firm builds up leadership team in recent months 

Insurance executive Steve Herrig has learned some big lessons about hiring top leaders over the years. A big one: don’t do it alone. 

by: Grier Ferguson Sarasota-Manatee Editor

Amid the turmoil of the pandemic, one area firm has kept its sights on the sunny side of the street.

That company, Bradenton-based Sunz Insurance, has worked in recent months to build up its leadership team, making several additions through external hires as well as through internal promotions. The growing leadership bench comes during an era of significant growth for the 350-employee firm, with $415.02 million in revenue in 2019. That’s up from $137 million in 2016, a 203% increase over four years. The firm is a national provider of workers’ compensation insurance and insurance services to professional employer organizations, staffing companies and large employers. 

Sunz CEO and chairman Steven Herrig says the first key move was promoting Rick Leonard to president, in May. In early October, Sunz  announced it had hired a new executive vice president and CFO, Jeffrey Marshall. Then, later in the month, it announced a new chief underwriting officer, David Brodsky. That came after Alicia Christiansen was promoted to director of sales operations and Glen Distefano was promoted to chief information security officer in August. 

Leonard started with Sunz as broker relations executive and was then promoted to director of sales. “Rick’s skill set and leadership style is very broad-based and expands beyond an understanding of sales,” says Herrig. “Rick is a gifted individual and an exceptional leader and has a good understanding of business. He was the natural selection to be president of Sunz.”

‘I probably have grown in the process by letting others be more involved in also interviewing the person and getting their perspective of what they thought.’ — Steven Herrig, Sunz Insurance

Leonard, with Sunz since 2011, is also an asset because he understands the Sunz model, Herrig says, and its vision for the future. “Where Rick, I think, is exceptional and will help the most is he’s very hands on, he meets with the various teams and does a really nice job of interacting with the other managers and pretty much everyone in the company,” says Herrig.

The hiring of Marshall as CFO was predicated by need since Sunz’s CFO was retiring. The company used an executive search firm to find a good fit.

Marshall, with over 35 years in finance and accounting, was with Ategrity Specialty Holdings Insurance Co. as a senior vice president, group CFO and chief risk officer prior to joining Sunz. “The vetting process was long and arduous, and we selected Jeff because of his broad-based understanding of business,” says Herrig. “His resume was tailor made for us, and then after having met him and interviewed him, the decision was made clear.”

Brodsky, Sunz’s new chief underwriting officer, filled a spot the company wasn’t actively searching for, and was, instead, an example of the firm’s opportunistic nature. “He was someone who was well known and highly regarded in the industry,” says Herrig. “We heard he became available and we just went after him.”

Herrig, who previously helped grow a PEO, Bradenton-based Professional Employer Services, to a $50 million business, among other ventures, says his approach to hiring has evolved over the years. “I probably have grown in the process by letting others be more involved in also interviewing the person and getting their perspective of what they thought,” he says. “In past years, I pretty much made those decisions without additional input from others.” That change has been gradual, adding one person into the process, then another and so on. “As you grow, you have to do things at a higher level,” says Herrig. “It requires a greater degree of sophistication.”

The leadership team now includes people from outside, like Brodsky, and people from inside the company, like Leonard. That’s an asset, says Herrig, who doesn’t want to limit the company’s prospects by sticking to solely internal or external candidates. Both sets will help lead growth. “The internal people will help drive it from the standpoint that they have a solid understanding of Sunz’s unique model and how we serve our clients,” he says. “The external people will drive it by bringing in new ideas and ways of viewing things.”

In the coming months, Herrig says Sunz will unveil additional plans for growth. Early in the pandemic, Sunz, like many companies, experienced a contraction. But now it’s on better footing. 

The leadership additions and promotions, meanwhile, are just part of its larger big-picture plan. “Our strategy, like most businesses, is always to improve and evolve along with your growth,” says Herrig. “We’re always looking to elevate and become better.” Prev ArticleFirms sue insurers over unpaid pandemic claims Next Article Transition plan: Insurance firm tackles two big moves at once

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Veterans Day to me is not a “hallmark holiday”, it is a celebration of those that have gone the distance and beyond for our country.

“I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.”

– Nathan Hale, 1776, in his alleged last words prior to being executed by the British for being a spy.

…love this.

So my Grandfather got to Boston in 1634. Have had one in French and Indian war… 2 in Revolutionary war, War of 1812, Civil War, WW1, WW2, Korea and Vietnam.

As my Dad would say, thank God you can push pencils. As I will say, thank God for him and the the other patriots over the last 244 years.

Thank you for your service.