The sharing economy reaches far beyond rides and vacation rentals. Entrepreneurs are creating on-demand solutions wherever the sharing approach shows promise, targeting everything from services such as deliveries, home repairs and gardening to sharing personal property including baby strollers, tools and formal wear.

Commercial trucking serves as a barometer for the economy. It represented nearly 71% of the tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation in 2017, including manufactured and retail goods. With more trucks on the road, there were also more accidents, including a rise in fatalities. Trucks were involved in 59% more accidents per mile than in 2010, despite the new technologies and the best efforts of regulators, according to the American Trucking Association (ATA). Further, the number of people who died in large truck crashes was also 30% higher than in 2009, when it was the lowest it has been since the collection of fatal crash data began in 1975.

Foodborne illnesses such as E. coli and salmonella sicken about one in six Americans, or about 48 million, and kill about 3,000 every year, the CDC estimates.

From the Empire State Building to the Freedom Tower and the Hudson Yards project, New York’s construction industry has earned a global reputation for innovation. That vibrant spirit, however, has been dampened by a unique labor law dating back to the 1880s governing falls at construction sites. Commonly referred to as the New York’s Scaffold Law, this section of the Labor Law has driven overall construction costs higher, sent insurance premiums soaring above levels for other states, and led some major carriers to leave the market altogether. Those challenges make it imperative to work with brokers specializing in this complex and constantly changing market.

Increasing frequency and severity in commercial auto claims are causing the marketplace for excess trucking liability to become even more turbulent. Trucking insurers have faced several years of challenging business conditions, and many are now forced to reduce the limits they offer and increase rates significantly for trucking risks.