Historically, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes have been known for generating historic losses and headlines, but the insurance industry is increasingly concerned about the mounting financial impact of so-called secondary perils. Hail storms, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and wildfires are causing more frequent and severe losses that mount into the tens of billions of dollars on an annual basis, often outweighing losses from major perils in recent years. Over the last 40 years, a pattern of more frequent natural catastrophe events has emerged, a trend that has further accelerated over the last decade, according to AM Best (source 1).

Motor carriers have traditionally been paper-based businesses with bills of lading, inspection reports, delivery receipts, and other necessary operational documents kept in tangible files. As more trucking businesses go digital, they are entering a new world of improved efficiency that also comes with larger data volume and increased cyber risk.

The insurance market can be a tough place for Florida’s residential subcontractors working on new construction. While there are still sufficient standard markets on the commercial side for small subcontractors, those working on new residential construction such as condos, tract homes, and townhomes are finding it’s more difficult to obtain coverage. This makes it challenging to meet the insurance requirements often set by general contractors or lenders.

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).

Hyperinflation of material, labor, and equipment costs is having widespread ramifications for the construction industry, including project funding issues, cancellation of contracts, and contractor defaults. Despite the flurry of current construction happening around the country due to infrastructure investments and the demand for new housing, it’s a challenging time, especially for smaller trade contractors. In 2021, the annual construction input inflation rate reached a shocking 19.6%. For the sake of perspective, the non-residential construction inflation rate was 4.4% in 2020 and 1.8% in 2019. The vast majority of contractors in today’s industry haven't had to navigate an inflationary environment that exceeded 5% for more than 30 years, which means many have never experienced hyperinflation and are struggling with how to handle it as well as the negative impact it can have on the bottom line (source 4).