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.

Active assailants continue to threaten businesses, houses of worship, schools and public events across the United States. Reported instances of workplace violence, ranging from threats to physical assaults and homicides, impact nearly 2 million Americans each year.

There is no one perfect insurance policy for all clients, but retail agents can help their insureds find appropriate coverage forms by focusing on the exposure. This is especially true of cyber liability insurance.

In an increasingly connected world, many cyber insurers are reporting a significant increase in social engineering claims — particularly at organizations involved in real estate and other financial services. That means retail agents and their insureds can expect to see some changes in the marketplace. As social engineering scams increase, some insurers are reducing cybercrime limits, raising premiums for cybercrime coverage, requiring policyholders to take risk mitigation steps or withdrawing from covering cybercrime altogether.

Businesses in many industries are becoming targets in a wave of liability litigation. Since 2017, courts have considered more than 3,000 lawsuits around the country alleging that defendants’ websites violate the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws. Many businesses facing such suits have been unaware that their websites prevent individuals with disabilities from accessing all of their sites’ features, such as job applications or lists of physical locations, as in the case of retail stores or restaurants.