Gov. Phil Murphy signed S-1559 into law on Tuesday, which allows consumers to bring “bad-faith” lawsuits against insurers to recover certain damages and expenses. Specifically, the new “bad faith” law—which goes into effect immediately—allows consumers to bring...
N.Y.: PIANY-priority anti-arson legislation passes state Assembly
This year marks the second year of the New York state Legislature’s two-year legislative cycle. Any bill that failed to pass during the first year of the session has been returned to its chamber of origin and the process starts anew. The New York state Assembly wasted...
Tragedy in The Bronx reveals important insurance implications
On Sunday, a fire in a Bronx, N.Y., apartment building claimed the lives of 17 people[1], including eight children. According to the Associated Press, the fire was caused by a space heater. The flames damaged only the apartment unit in which the space heater was...
N.H.: Auto-deductibles legislation introduced in state Senate
Now that the holidays are behind us, we can focus on the upcoming 2022 legislative session in New Hampshire. A look at who’s in charge On one hand, you may recall that Republicans in the state House of Representatives hold a slim majority (207-186-1) in that chamber....
Canceling personal policies—the rules to follow
When insurers choose to cancel—or not to renew—a personal insurance policy, they need to ensure that they comply with the laws of the state in which they do business. Agents need to know these requirements to ensure they and their clients receive the notice of...
COVID-19: How life insurance sales are trending
Communities around the globe first faced the threat of COVID-19 in late 2019. At the time, no one knew how bad it was going to be, but as cities overseas (e.g., China and Italy) began to experience the effects of the pandemic—and lockdowns were instituted to blunt the...
Life insurance underwriting is getting tougher
COVID-19 and the legalization of adult-use cannabis in New York state has affected underwriting greatly. To complicate matters further, some municipalities are considering opting-out of the cannabis adult-use law. These changes are causing insurance underwriters and...
Got global?
In today’s business environment—especially during the pandemic—businesses needed to find a way to stay afloat. This means that accounts, both big and small, have had to find a way to expand their reach both domestically and internationally. Small- to medium-sized...
The vase is broken, now what?
The best time to prepare yourself and educate your clients about claims and how their policies will respond is before the claim happens. Commercial-lines insurance policies are nuanced, and they can leave even the most experienced insurance professionals scratching...
Risk management, the easy way …
When we hear the term risk management, typically we think of enterprise businesses or large commercial businesses that have teams of risk managers—and which are way more sophisticated than small- to mid-sized businesses. The Oxford Dictionary’s definition of risk...