It was around 10:30 pm on a Saturday night when the email came in. One of the few on-duty employees read it and assumed it was a joke or some form of spam. The email said the network had been locked, and the company would need to pay a ransom of $400,000 to regain control of its system. Unfortunately, the email was not a joke. By Sunday morning, the company’s executive team realized the gravity of the situation. They had been hacked, and their network was now under the control of an anonymous bad actor.

Construction projects are often complex undertakings, involving a variety of different stakeholders, including contractors, architects, designers, subcontractors, suppliers, and project employees. With several entities involved, the potential liability exposures of construction projects can be extensive. While project owners typically require subcontracted design professionals and construction managers to carry Architects & Engineers (A&E) insurance, coverage for a project owner under an A&E policy is still far from guaranteed.

Many are finding that the marketplace for Directors and Officers (D&O) liability insurance is easing in the final quarter of 2022. New entrants to the space are competing for accounts, and underwriters are becoming more comfortable with certain risk classes. Trend data compiled and tracked by CRC Group indicates average renewal rate increases are slowing, and more accounts are renewing with flat to small increases compared with earlier in 2022 (source 1).

The pandemic exacerbated healthcare staffing shortages, pushing many organizations to rely on staffing agencies for help. However, this can increase the risk of claims. Because claim severity continues to be an issue, many markets have narrowed their appetite or chosen to exit the sector entirely, creating a harder insurance landscape for healthcare staffing.

Modern cybercrime is constantly evolving to produce more complicated, stealthy attacks with devastating and costly consequences for companies that fall victim. Cybercrime cost U.S. businesses more than $6.9B in 2021. Even so, only 43% of businesses report feeling financially prepared to face a cyberattack in 2022 (source 1).