USC Risk Management Exchange

Karen Caterino, Senior Vice President, Alliant Specialty; Eric Seaborg, Vice President, Alliant Specialty; Marilyn Quinlan, Executive Vice President, Alliant Specialty; and Emily Quinlan, Vice President, Alliant Specialty

May  2022

Aon

Prepare for Hurricane Season

Karen Caterino, Senior Vice President, Alliant Specialty; Eric Seaborg, Vice President, Alliant Specialty; and Victoria Vasso, Assistant Vice President, Excess Casualty, Ascot Insurance

April  2022

Amwins Property Team

Inflationary Pressures: Should We Be Worried? Design and Construction Professional Liability Q2 2022

From Generalists to Specialists: The Benefits of Specializing, and How Agents Can Begin Their Journey

Climate Adaptation Is a Business Opportunity—But at What Cost?

The Asia Pacific region is at the forefront of climate risks and could benefit tremendously from adopting climate defenses early. However, money issues could get in the way. Read more…

Ron Borys, Senior Vice President, Alliant Specialty; Brian Dunphy, Senior Vice President, Alliant Specialty; and David Finz, First Vice President, Alliant Specialty

April  2022

Harry Tucker, National Property Practice Leader, Amwins; Jessica Zuiker, National Assistant Property Practice Leader, Amwins; Chris Platania, Senior Vice President, Head of Actuarial Services, Amwins; Toby Colls, Managing Director, Amwins Global Risks; Lewis Jones, Senior Property Underwriter, Unicorn Underwriting, Amwins; Darron Johnston, Senior Vice President, Public Entity Property Practice Leader, Amwins; Melissa Mears, Executive Vice President, Amwins Special Risk Underwriters

May 18, 2022

Inflationary Pressures: Should We Be Worried? Design and Construction Professional Liability Q2 2022

Why Innovation Is Riskier Than Ever

Impact of the Russia/Ukraine Conflict on Construction Insurance and Risk Management Programs

The Russia/Ukraine conflict and sanctions against Russia have disrupted global construction operations. Learn the key impacts to the construction industry, why they matter, and what you can do about them. Read more…

Russian Invasion of Ukraine & Contractor Cyber Security Risks

Businesses in the private sector have been warned to harden their cyber defenses, including construction, an industry not typically thought of as a potential target for a cyber-attack. Alliant discusses the increasing threat of ransomware and cyber-attacks on the construction industry. Listen here…

Are You Prepared for Hurricane Season?

When it comes to hurricane losses, your clients don't have to be in the cone of uncertainty. In honor of National Hurricane Preparedness Week, Amwins is here to help ensure you and your clients are in the best position possible for safety and recovery should a hurricane strike. Read more…

Health care delivery continues to concentrate efforts on the many challenges presented by COVID-19 across the organization. Under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2005 (PREP Act), liability immunity is afforded to “covered persons” who provide “covered countermeasures” to protect against or treat COVID-19. There remain many questions surrounding who and what actually qualifies as covered, particularly as respects to the delivery of health care services. Read more…

How the University of Nevada, Reno, Is Investing in the Next Generation of Insurance Professionals

Universities are investing in curriculums to help students develop knowledge for careers in risk management and insurance. Alliant sits down with David Cisneros, Director, Risk Management & Insurance Studies, to hear what the University of Nevada, Reno is doing to stay in step with the industry with its own exciting new program. Listen here…

Q2/Q3 State of the Market

As we enter the second quarter of 2022, we expected to see more of a slowdown of the hard market conditions than what has materialized. Even with many carriers reporting improved loss ratios and record earnings, tightening capacity and rate increases are not quite behind us. We continue to see carriers shift away from volatility as they reduce the amount of limit deployed in high hazard classes, locations and perils, as well as simply exiting classes of business. Read more…

The Intersection of D&O Insurance and Captive Insurers

The amendment to the Delaware Corporation Law (Section 145 (g)) provides a potential alternative for traditional D&O insurance. Alliant discusses whether a captive is truly a D&O game changer. Listen here…

Is 2022 the Year to “Get Real” About Data Privacy Compliance?

Like every year prior to 2020, the past year was another tumultuous year in the world of cyber liability. Considerable movement in the market and the cyber landscape has changed exponentially – and not for the better. Threat actors have become more sophisticated, resulting in an increase in data breaches, phishing attacks and more. Understandably, there was increased pressure put on markets from a claim perspective. Alliant discusses the ever-changing landscape in the regulatory world, both at the state and at the federal level as other states ramp up consumer data privacy protection. Listen here…

Opportunity and Risk – The Changing Nature of Accounting Firms

Firms continue to expand their legal and advisory services, as well as make technological advancements in both their operations and client products and service offerings. For example, the Big 4 are active in advising on the digitization of healthcare, enhancing remote and data-driven care. The quantification of risk in these expanding areas is more uncertain than for more traditional services such as the audit of financial statements. The following sections highlight key trends in legal and advisory services. The impact of disruptive technologies is also discussed. Read more…

The Massive Red Cross Breach: Proof a Cyber Attack Could Happen to Any Organization

The Red Cross cyber-attack resulted in a data breach affecting 515K of some of the most vulnerable people and victims of conflict. Alliant discusses the massive breach and mistakes organizations should avoid as they build out their cybersecurity programs. Listen here…

Combatting California Fires Might Mean “Wild” Insurance Ideas

In 2021 more than 58,000 wildfires burned more than 7.1 million acres in the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) and, in California alone, more than 8,700 fires burned approximately 2.6 million acres, according to CAL Fire and the U.S. Forest Service. Read more…

Marsh Celebrates Its 2022 Power Broker® Winners and Finalists

2022 Power Broker® Awards: recognizing excellence in client service, creativity, and industry knowledge. Read more…

Dissecting Complex Claims with Imperium

Carleen Patterson speaks with Colin Daigle and Hunter Williams about claim preparation services and the steps public entities should take to best cover financial losses from complex claims and catastrophic events. Listen here…

Limited Wildfire Capacity Sparks Broker Creativity

Wildfires are an evolving concern across the U.S. and as the frequency and severity of them rises, so do the costs of insuring property in the geographic regions. Retail agents and brokers need to set appropriate expectations with insureds about the limitations in the current market and work with clients on risk management strategies, including fire prevention efforts. Read more…

How Recent Court Decisions Are Impacting M&A Litigation

Securities class action lawsuits may have declined in 2021 compared to the number filed in 2020, but a growing trend of M&A-related lawsuits involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) is on the rise. Alliant discusses the recent and upcoming court decisions impacting M&A litigation as well as the implications of D&O insurance policy language. Listen here…

Amwins Q1 2022 Pricing Guidance for Key Industries

The market continues to respond to the changing business landscape and as COVID lingers, supply chains struggle, and legislation necessitates adjustments for many industries, insureds will see pockets of the current hard market continue throughout First Quarter 2022. Read more…

Passing the Torch: Addressing the Talent Gap in Risk & Insurance

How does the industry attract, train, and retain the next generation to pursue careers in risk and insurance? Eric Seaborg and Karen Caterino, Alliant, discuss the varied and rewarding job opportunities that are available, and how to get started with your own career growth and development. Listen here…

Retention Series - How Are Captive Insurance Premiums Determined? Helping Professional Service Firms Make Appropriate Funding Decisions for Their Captives

For a captive to achieve lasting success it must ensure that it is adequately funded. Its managers must be able to determine the suitable insurance premiums to charge their policyholders for the coverages provided while satisfying regulatory requirements. A captive’s actuary provides captive management with claims forecasting through actuarial risk analysis – information vital for discussions of funding and for optimizing program structure. These core principles are applicable for both single parent and group captives. Read more…

Banking Regulators Adopt Rule Requiring 36 Hour Notification of Cyber Incidents

Recently, federal bank regulatory agencies issued the final rule requiring a banking organization to notify its primary federal regulator of any significant “computer-security incident” no later than 36 hours after the banking organization determines that a cyber incident has occurred. Alliant’s Financial R&R team discusses what plans, policies and procedures banking organizations and service providers should have in place to comply with the new requirement set to take effect on April 1, 2022. Listen here…

Ransomware Epidemic: Use These 8 Strategies to Mitigate Growing Risk

Mitigating the risk of ransomware is a challenge for all businesses, large and small. Fortunately, there are effective risk mitigation strategies to prepare for the potential of a ransomware attack. Aon shares eight strategies to mitigate the growing risk. Read more…

OSHA Releases Its COVID Vaccination/Testing Standard — What It Means for Employers

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the much-anticipated emergency temporary standard (ETS) addressing COVID-19. Alliant M&A address a few of the most common questions when it comes to what employers must do to comply with the OSHA ETS. Multiple states have filed suit against the newly announced COVID-19 vaccination and testing mandate. In response, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 6 temporarily blocked the Biden administration's new coronavirus vaccine mandate for large businesses. Listen here…

Aon’s Cyber Solutions Client Alert – Malware Profile | Emotet

The Emotet malware variant first emerged in 2014 and has been further commercialized as an advanced malware loader that could be leveraged widely. Learn more about its evolution, the variant characteristics and indicators of compromise. Read more…

As pandemic-related restrictions eased at the start of summer, employers glimpsed a more open economy, and many initiated next steps for welcoming employees back to the workplace. However, with the Delta variant's arrival and a spike in positive cases, plans were foiled for a return to normal. Progress may have stalled for now, but if nothing else, change management skills are only getting stronger. Read more…