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October 19, 2026 • Vol. 104 No. 16

Contents News & Markets

Special Report

Idea Exchange

Spotlight: How Federal Ban on Intoxicating Hemp Products Will Reshape Risk, Coverage

Sedgwick: Property Claims Face Delays, Are Growing More Complex

Industry Reacts to Senators’ Letter for Claims Data and Recent Reports

Special Report: Agency Tech: Building Bridges and Empowering People

US P/C Insurers See Fewer Ratings Downgrades in H1 2026 on Improved Performance

Spotlight: As Biomedicine Evolves, Blood Shield Laws Come Under Renewed Focus

Zurich Insurance Completes Acquisition of Beazley, Names New Beazley CEO

SILVER Best Agency to Work For – East: Mackoul Risk Insurance Solutions

AM Best: US Home Insurers in 2025 Book First Underwriting Profit in Seven Years

SILVER Best Agency to Work For – Midwest: Shepherd Insurance

SILVER Best Agency to Work For – South Central: G&G Independent Insurance

Large Commercial Property Rates Drop 14.5% in Q2 to Highlight Latest Willis Report

SILVER Best Agency to Work For – Southeast: Insurance Office of America

Is It Covered?: Beware These Commercial Auto Endorsements!

How MGAs Can Build an AI ROI Model That Holds Up Over Time

AI in Insurance Agencies: What Actually Makes the Business Better

Ask the Insurance Recruiter: A Timeless Producer Recruiting Strategy

Potential Implications for Workplace Violence and Workers’ Comp

Social Engineering: The Analog Threat to Digital Defenses

Closing Quote: 5 Areas to Evaluate in the Agency Before Assessing an AI Vendor

SILVER Best Agency to Work For – West: Bethany Insurance Agency

Departments 6 Opening Note 4 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

10 Figures

11 Declarations

18 People

20 Business Moves

27 My New Markets

INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Opening Note Write the Editor: awells@insurancejournal.com

Chairman of the Board Mark Wells | mwells@wellsmedia.com Chief Executive Officer Joshua Carlson | jcarlson@insurancejournal.com

ADMINISTRATION / CIRCULATION

Trusted Partners Win

I is rapidly becoming a critical conduit to key policy shopping, research, and account management decisions, especially when it comes to auto and home insurance buyers. Nearly one-third (29%) of auto and home insurance customers are using artificial intelligence tools to research products and coverage, service their accounts, understand coverage before submitting a claim, or shop for a quote or new policy. AI-provided guidance is also having an impact on decision-making. More than one-third (37%) of customers who used AI to research products or coverage options changed their policy based on the information they received. Among those who used AI to shop for a new policy, 42% purchased a policy as a result. But, despite increased use of AI in the insurance shopping process and direct-to-consumer marketing efforts by carriers, independent insurance agents still write 62% of all property and casualty policies in the United States. Agents are the critical link in the industry ecosystem, according to recent studies by JD Power (2026 U.S. Independent Agent Satisfaction Study and the AI Insurance Experience Study). The agent study, now in its ninth year, was developed in conjunction with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA). It evaluates the evolving role of independent agents in P&C insurance distribution, general business outlook, management strategy, and overall satisfaction with personal lines and commercial lines insurers in the United States. “Insurance has always been a relationship-driven business, and that convention still holds today in the age of digital engagement and AI-powered analytics, but the value equation for those relationships is now based on a sense of collaboration and innovation, more than competitive pricing or longevity,” said Craig Martin, executive director, global insurance intelligence at JD Power. A few additional findings in the study: • When independent agents view carriers as trusted partners, they are more likely to recommend that carrier within the next six months (+43 percentage points) and more likely to write more policies with that carrier (+37 percentage points). Still, just 48% of agents view their carriers as partners. The remaining 29% are viewed as providers and 18% are viewed as vendors. • The two relationship attributes most associated with carriers that agents view as partners are trustworthiness (76%) and innovation (50%). Carriers that can be trusted to deliver on their promises and continue to offer innovative, creative solutions are those that independent agents are most likely to give more business. By contrast, being the lowest cost carrier (17%) and being seen as established (37%) are less commonly associated with true partner status. Thank you to this issue's sponsor, Liberty Mutual.

Andrea Wells V.P. of Content

6 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

Chief Financial Officer Terry Freeburg | tfreeburg@wellsmedia.com Circulation Manager Elizabeth Duffy | eduffy@wellsmedia.com Staff Accountant Sarah Kersbergen | skersbergen@wellsmedia.com

EDITORIAL

V.P. of Content Andrea Wells | awells@insurancejournal.com Executive Editor Emeritus Andrew Simpson | asimpson@wellsmedia.com National Editor Chad Hemenway | chemenway@insurancejournal.com Southeast Editor William Rabb | wrabb@insurancejournal.com South Central Editor/Midwest Editor Ezra Amacher | eamacher@insurancejournal.com West Editor Don Jergler | djergler@insurancejournal.com International Editor L.S. Howard | lhoward@insurancejournal.com Content Editor Allen Laman | alaman@wellsmedia.com Assistant Editors Jahna Jacobson | jjacobson@insurancejournal.com Kimberly Tallon | ktallon@carriermanagement.com Columnists & Contributors Contributors: Curtis Barton, Frank Campbell, Adam Cooper, Brad John, Mike Lambesis, Valeria Lara, Kathryn Lerch, Emily McGinn, Matt Schutz, Ian Stewart Columnists: Mary Newgard, Bill Wilson

SALES / MARKETING

Chief Marketing Officer Julie Tinney | jtinney@insurancejournal.com West Sales Dena Kaplan | dkaplan@insurancejournal.com Romeo Valdez | rvaldez@insurancejournal.com Kelly DeLaMora | kdelamora@wellsmedia.com South Central Sales Mindy Trammell | mtrammell@insurancejournal.com Southeast and East Sales (except for NY, PA, CT) Howard Simkin | hsimkin@insurancejournal.com Midwest Sales Lisa Whalen | (800) 897-9965 x180 East Sales (NY, PA and CT only) Dave Molchan | (800) 897-9965 x145 Advertising Coordinator Erin Burns | eburns@insurancejournal.com Insurance Markets Manager Kristine Honey | khoney@insurancejournal.com Marketing Director Derence Walk | dwalk@insurancejournal.com

DESIGN / WEB / VIDEO

Graphic Designer Chris Johnson Web Team Lead Josh Whitlow | jwhitlow@insurancejournal.com Ad Ops Specialist Jeff Cardrant | jcardrant@insurancejournal.com Web Developer Terrance Woest | twoest@wellsmedia.com Web Developer Jason Chipp | jchipp@wellsmedia.com Digital Content Manager Ashley Cochrane | acochrane@insurancejournal.com Videographer/Editor Ashley Waldrop | awaldrop@insurancejournal.com

ACADEMY OF INSURANCE

Director Patrick Wraight | pwraight@ijacademy.com Online Training Coordinator George Jack | gjack@ijacademy.com

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News & Markets Sedgwick: Property Claims Face Delays, Are Growing More Complex By Don Jergler

espite the promise of artificial intelligence and other technology to improve and speed the insurance process, property claims face delays and growing complexity, according to a new report that also shows claims costs are under pressure. Several factors are putting pressure on property claim timelines, including labor shortages, equipment delays, and increasingly complex losses, according to Sedgwick’s annual Loss Adjusting Insights report. The report examines eight trends and emerging risks shaping commercial and residential property claims in 2026. The construction industry is expected to need 349,000 additional workers this year, while the report shows lead times for some specialized equipment have more than doubled in five years. Deploying catastrophe-response teams has also become more expensive, according to Andrew McCallum, vice president of specialty operations at Sedgwick. “The cost of deploying has gone up exponentially, you’re talking about fuel costs, hotels.” The Sedgwick report added that a quarter of claim adjusters are expected

8 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

to retire by the end of 2027. The report cited a survey by The Institutes on talent transformation that sought input from the industry about what people think will be the greatest impact of the retirement wave on the insurance industry, and 73% answered “Loss of industry knowledge,” followed by 53% who answered “Recruiting a new generation of talent.” Upskilling junior workers and loss of company leadership were other top concerns. “It’s just what we call the silver tsunami, and that’s really just kind of a moment, where we’re getting a little bit of a brain drain and claims are becoming more and more complex, just because of the intricacies of the policies the way they’re underwritten,” McCallum said. A new report from Verisk on claims volumes shows that U.S. claim assignment volume fell to 1.24 million in the Q2 2026, down 12.2% year-over-year, sitting 13.1% below the five-year average. The figures reflect assignments recorded through Verisk’s XactAnalysis network. Catastrophe claims accounted for 43% of Q2 2026 assignments, up from 34% five years ago. The higher catastrophe share reflects a sharper decline in non-catastrophe assignments, the Verisk report shows. Brant Wilson, CEO of ATI Restoration,

said the company has felt the impact of some of the trends. Higher deductibles are leading some homeowners to handle smaller losses themselves, and some commercial property owners have turned to performing repairs in-house, which has led to restoration providers competing for fewer jobs, with general contractors also entering the market, he said. Managing larger losses has grown in complexity as more parties become involved in reviewing work and approving decisions, he added. Those claims can involve multiple insurers, adjusters, brokers, environmental specialists, and consultants, Wilson said. Getting information to the right decision-maker and waiting for approvals can slow projects, while identifying decision-makers and coordinating their involvement early can help keep work moving, he added. Wilson said new materials are also creating restoration challenges. Batteries, electric vehicles, and solar panels add environmental considerations to fire cleanup and mitigation, so restoration providers must prepare for the materials and hazards they may encounter. “There’s more battery involvement. There’s more EV. There’s more solar panels,” he said. Are AI and technology impacting claims processes? “Everybody is looking at it from a ‘There’s all these great digital tools out there [perspective],’ and I think we’re still in the expansion phase where people are trying to understand which ones are good, which ones have utility, which ones are what I call in the sandbox mode, where we’re able to just look at the ones that are really allowing us to move the needle forward,” McCallum said. Companies are also evaluating how tools such as mapping systems, AI assistance, and dashboards can work together, he said. ATI uses AI to check estimates and organize project communications, and is developing an invoicing tool to identify when completed work may be ready for billing, Wilson said. Employees retain responsibility for decisions. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Industry Reacts to Senators’ Letter for Claims Data and Recent Reports By Chad Hemenway

enators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley are on the wrong track and misunderstand the influences that can affect claims, the industry said. The senators have sent letters to some of the largest personal lines insurers in the U.S., asking for data on homeowners and auto claims, particularly those closed without payment. Warren and Hawley said they have “serious concerns,” and wondered whether consumers can trust insurance companies to “hold up their end of the bargain when disasters or emergencies occur.” Warren and Hawley insinuated that recent reports on claims denials do not look good against recent increases in premiums and hefty profits announced by insurance companies. The letters follow an August report from the Wall Street Journal (cited by the senators) focusing on auto claims. WSJ said its analysis of insurers’ regulatory filings found auto insurance companies did not pay out on 45% of closed auto liability and medical claims last year. A prior WSJ report on homeowners insurance said the five largest homeowners insurers didn’t INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

pay on 44% of resolved claims. The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) and others said WSJ got it wrong, and now Warren and Hawley are misconstruing the issue. Mark Friedlander, senior director of media relations for the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), said it is important to look at insurer profitability through the lens of several years of elevated losses and rising costs. “Property/casualty insurers must maintain sufficient capital (surplus) to pay current and future claims, including losses from catastrophes that may not occur until well after premiums are collected,” he said in an email. “Recent insurance industry financial results also need to be viewed against the significant increases in property repair and rebuilding costs, severe weather losses, higher auto repair costs, legal system abuse, and claim fraud that have negatively affected underwriting performance in recent years.” Claims is not exactly a black-and-white matter, NAMIC said. A closed claim is not the same as a denied claim. Many claims fall below the deductible, and others included losses from flood, which the

policy likely does not cover. Some claims are withdrawn, filed twice, or missing key documents. The analysis from WSJ counted all of these claim conclusions, NAMIC said. Friedlander said the resolution of claims can be affected by shortages of contractors, building materials, and the availability of vehicle parts—especially after a major disaster. Other factors such as state regulatory requirements, inspections, documentation, coordination with third parties and litigation also influence claims. In 2024, insurers closed 7.35 million homeowners claims with payment. That’s about one payment for every 14 policies in force, NAMIC added. Furthermore, from 1990 through 2024, homeowners insurance averaged just a 2.9% return on net worth, compared with 7.7% for property/casualty insurance overall, which “undercuts the claim that insurers profit by denying claims,” NAMIC said. Following WSJ’s Aug. 9 story, Neil Alldredge, CEO of NAMIC wrote a letter to the editor but the trade association said WSJ declined to publish it. In the letter, Alldredge said readers did not get the full picture on auto claims from the publication’s analysis. “Buried well into the piece is this: nonpayment figures reported to regulators include claims paid by the other driver’s insurer, claims withdrawn by customers, claims outside policy terms, and claims below the deductible,” Alldredge said. “These simple facts explain much of the gap between the data and the headline’s implication. They belong at the top of the story, not near the bottom. “The analysis also excluded claims still open at year’s end, which the Journal itself acknowledged will lower recent years’ nonpayment rates as those claims resolve. That caveat also appeared far too late in the piece.” NAMIC’s Alldredge was also critical of WSJ’s use of John Morgan, founder of law firm Morgan & Morgan, as a source. The story “failed to note that the nation’s largest billboard lawyer might have a vested interest in mischaracterizing claims management,” he said. OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 9

Figures

100%

The percentage of the U.S. covered by NOAA’s National Weather Service Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM), a tool for predicting river flooding. The updated FIM has expanded from prior coverage of 60% of the country to 100%. The experimental mapping tool produces estimates of land area covered in water based on model forecast river flows and current conditions that predict where flooding impacts may occur in the following days.

$20 million

The percent of respondents in a recent Risk Index from insurer Travelers who said they worry a great deal or some about cyber risks. The concern outpaced those involving economic or geopolitical risks and ranked as the top overall business concern for the fifth time in eight years.

The amount of money Louisiana is investing in Fortified homes, bringing the total amount invested in state Fortified projects this year to $100 million. The fund provides grants of up to $10,000 to eligible homeowners to upgrade their roofs to storm-resistant Fortified roofs.

37,000 The number of U.S. independent insurance agencies in 2026, down from 39,000 in 2024, according to Big I’s 2026 Agency Universe Study on behalf of Future One. 10 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

58%

$42.6 billion The total net income for U.S. property/ casualty mutual insurers in 2025, doubling the total from 2024. Underwriting income surged to about $14.8 billion from a loss of $7.2 billion in 2024. According to a recent AM Best report on the segment, the rise in net income was also driven by a modest 2% decline in loss and loss adjustment expenses despite underwriting expenses increasing 5.8% in 2025 compared to the year prior. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Declarations

Flood Risk Analysis

“I’m looking at what it costs to fix the house, and the fact that I only flooded once in 50 years. So, it’s a risk analysis.”

— Lake Charles, Louisiana, resident Dan Charlson, who said he dropped his flood policy when the math no longer worked. His insurance shot up over time from roughly $900 to $4,000 — an amount he expected to keep climbing. Nationwide, just 2.4% of properties are covered by 4.5 million federal flood insurance policies, an Associated Press analysis shows — but 8.4% are at severe or extreme risk of flooding. The typical cost of a flood insurance policy is $1,100 per year, up roughly 90% in the last five years.

TRIA Investment

“This action reflects strong bipartisan recognition that TRIA remains essential to maintaining economic stability, supporting investment, and ensuring the availability of terrorism risk insurance for businesses and communities across the country.”

— Sam Whitfield, senior vice president of federal government relations and political engagement for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, commenting on reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA). TRIA allows privately insured risk to be backstopped by the federal government, going into effect when an act of terrorism is certified by the Secretary of the Treasury and reaches a threshold of losses. It also includes insurer deductibles and copays. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Healthier Florida Marketplace

“It’s a sign of the healthy marketplace: The requests for new agents to be appointed with Citizens has continued to decrease. There’s less reliance on Citizens, which is good for the market.”

— Dave Newell, chairman of Florida’s Citizens’ Market Accountability Advisory Committee, at a September Citizens Board of Governors’ meeting. The number of appointed agents rose 10% from late 2022 to 2023, and continued rising to more than 13,800 by December 2025. Since then, however, the number of agents has fallen 3%, to 13,403 in July of this year.

Battling Beach Erosion

“Fighting Mother Nature is very expensive.”

— San Clemente, California, City Councilman Zhen Wu, who opposes costly measures to re-nourish the city’s local beaches in the face of ongoing erosion. City and transit officials agree more sand is needed and note that coastal communities, including surf hub Huntington Beach, have nourished their beaches for years. Opponents of the measure want sand — but not the tax — and argue San Clemente should work with other communities on a regional approach. San Clemente faces a sand deficit of about 3 million cubic yards. Getting that much sand to the beach is no easy task, he said, adding that trucking it would require 300,000 trips.

AI Doomsday Debates

“These arguments just don’t really hold water. I think they’re sci-fi and they’re enticing to a certain childish style of thinking, and it’s very tempting for the frontier labs because it helps them recruit certain types of folks.”

— Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade, a researcher at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne and a member of OpenAI’s Frontier Risk Council, on the “doomsday” scenarios that have taken hold of the public imagination. Debates inside the AI industry and beyond over the plausibility of these doomsday scenarios have heated up since several executives endorsed slowing the technology’s development for safety reasons.

NAIC Defends State Supervision

“The continuing modernization of these tools does not reflect an insurance regulatory vacuum requiring enhanced federal guardrails. Rather, it reflects the statebased system performing its longstanding function of adapting prudential standards as markets evolve.”

— The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, led by Virginia Insurance Commissioner Scott White, in the letter defending its supervision of Wall Street’s influence over insurers and their bets on private credit. The NAIC defended the efficiency of the state-led regulatory framework, detailing at length some of its recent or upcoming actions to improve oversight of life insurers’ investments and solvency. OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 11

News & Markets US P/C Insurers See Fewer Ratings Downgrades in H1 2026 on Improved Performance By L.S. Howard

he U.S. property/casualty insurance segment saw substantially fewer ratings downgrades, with more ratings upgrades in the first half of 2026—mostly related to either poor or improved operating performance, according to AM Best. There were about half as many downgrades in the first half of 2026—or 3.8% of total rating actions, compared to 6.1% in the same period last year, said the ratings agency in a report titled “Substantially Fewer Downgrades for US P/C Insurers in First Half of 2026.” Upgrades increased to 8.2% of total rating actions in the first half of 2026, compared to 5.5% in H1 2025, the report continued.

Operating performance drove a high proportion of both upgrades and downgrades, said AM Best, noting that the majority of 2026 downgrades occurred on commercial casualty and commercial auto carriers, reflecting the ongoing challenges in these lines. “Over half of downgrades were driven by poor operating performance, as some insurers have struggled to keep losses under control. Deteriorated balance sheet metrics drove a further 27.3% of downgrades driven by adverse reserve development,” the report explained. “The remaining downgrades were driven by changes to multiple blocks, both of which included balance sheet strength.” At the same time, AM

12 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

Best said improvements in operating performance drove about one-third of upgrades. These drivers include sizable rate increases (which have been earned through the balance sheet), maintaining underwriting discipline, and improved investment returns (despite equity market volatility). While carriers across the industry continue to experience the impact of inflation and rising reinsurance costs, AM Best noted that U.S. P/C insurers have benefited so far from a “relatively benign” year for claims. “Given the rate increases earning through in the overall P/C segment, personal lines writers are better positioned to navigate these conditions than they have been for the

past few years,” said Helen Andersen, industry analyst, AM Best, in comments accompanying the report. “Commercial lines carriers have reported solid results despite having to contend with social inflation. Results were boosted by higher yields and overall investment performance,” the AM Best report said. Other highlights from the report include: • AM Best maintained a stable outlook for the U.S. personal lines segment in December 2025, citing improved underwriting performance due to an aggressive push for rate adequacy, in conjunction with rising investment yields, moderating trends in reinsurance pricing and availability, and improving catastrophe risk management practices. • The U.S. commercial lines segment is the largest and accounted for the most stable outlooks, said the ratings agency, noting that as of June 30, 2026, 82.3% of commercial writers had a stable outlook. Positive outlooks declined by one rating unit, negative outlooks increased by 0.6%, and “under reviews rose by 0.8%. • AM Best maintains a stable outlook for the commercial lines segment, citing strong underwriting performance, improved investment returns, sustained pricing strength, and disciplined risk management.

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Dear Reader:

very business has a unique narrative, often intertwined with the personal experiences of its founders. Insurance Journal has had the privilege of encountering and appreciating countless captivating stories within the industry. Over time, we have observed the growth and transformation of the companies belonging to our readers and advertisers.

As a leading provider of industry news and information, we acknowledge that we cannot showcase every corporation that we come across. Our role as journalists also adds a layer of complexity to the process. Therefore, we have created this exclusive supplement to allow our clients and their associates to share their stories, in their own words. We hope that you find this supplement both intriguing and educational. The team at Insurance Journal sends our best regards.

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OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 13

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People National

The Hartford’s board of

directors named company President A. Morris “Mo” Tooker to succeed Christopher Swift as CEO. Swift will transition to the role of executive chair of the board. Both appointments are effective March 1, 2027. Tooker will join the board effective Oct. 1, 2026. Tooker joined The Hartford in 2015 as chief underwriting officer and A. Morris “Mo” Tooker has served in successive leadership roles of increasing responsibility throughout the past 11 years. Swift will transition to executive chair after nearly 13 years as CEO, including more than 12 years as chairman. He will lead the board of directors and serve as an advisor to the CEO. He intends Christopher Swift to step down from his role as executive chair in the second half of 2027. The Hartford is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.

Ascot Group Limited

appointed Mark “Sarge” Pepper as president, global underwriting. Pepper has nearly four decades of industry experience and joined Mark “Sarge” Pepper Ascot at its inception in 2001 to lead the company’s treaty reinsurance team. He most recently served as Ascot Group chief

underwriting officer, a role he has held since 2009. Elizabeth Johnson has been appointed president of the newly created specialty insurance and reinsurance division, encompassElizabeth Johnson ing all of Ascot’s global insurance and reinsurance underwriting operations, including Global Specialty, Bermuda Specialty/Leadline Capital Partners and U.S. Specialty. Johnson joined Ascot in 2020 and most recently served as group chief operating officer.

Christopher “Chris” Flatt

will join Ascot in November as president of the new consumer solutions division and will become Chris Flatt a member of the Global Executive Committee. Flatt has over 30 years of experience, most recently serving as global chief underwriting officer at AIG. He previously led AIG North America Alternative Channels.

Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency Inc., a

subsidiary of Aon plc, hired Emily Schaffer as senior vice president Emily Schaffer of fine art insurance. Schaffer has over 15 years of experience designing and managing complex global insurance programs for museums, galleries, auction houses,

18 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

multinational corporations, private collectors and galleries. She most recently served as vice president and team leader for fine arts at Risk Strategies Company.

John Zern joined Howden U.S. as vice chair of health and

benefits. He joins Howden from Ryan Specialty Benefits, where he served as president and CEO. Zern will oversee Howden’s health and benefits practice. He has over 35 years of experience leading and growing significant employee benefits and property-casualty businesses.

Southeast

Gabriel “Gabby” Dieppa,

based in Miami, has been appointed to the Florida

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Board of Governors

for a three-year term. Dieppa has been managing partner at Hotaling, a brokerage and risk management firm, since 2018. Before that, Dieppa was a vice president at the Brown & Brown insurance brokerage for almost four years.

South Central

BevCap Management has added David Gross as a business development executive. He will focus on expanding the company’s Dealer Management Group and Sharefield captive solutions throughout the Midwest and Western U.S. Gross brings more than 18 years of insurance industry experience, with a career spanning both the carrier and brokerage sectors at Sentry Insurance, Huntington Bank and Garnet Captive. Brown & Riding has added Jarrod Williamson to

its national casualty practice. With 14 years of experience, Williamson focuses on large, complex casualty risks, specializing in real estate, construction, and hospitality. He began his career working as a retail broker and before transitioning to wholesale.

Texas Mutual Insurance Company recently promoted John Grube to vice president

of regional operations for Texas Mutual’s Austin region, effective May 2026. Grube will John Grube direct and coordinate all regional office operations, including underwriting, claims, safety services, premium audit and business development. Grube first joined Texas Mutual in 2013 and most recently served as senior manager of agency operations.

Midwest

Jeff Black joined Alliant Insurance Services as senior

vice president within its employee benefits group. The Chicago, Illinois-based consultant brings more than 30 years of experience advising organizations on human capital, total rewards, and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Alliant, Black held leadership positions in both health and M&A advisory areas.

American Agricultural Insurance Company appointed Andrew Ealey as vice president, international brand awareness. Ealey brings more than 30 years of insurance and reinsurance experience to the newly created role. He

INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

most recently served as head of property treaty at Canopius Group.

East

InsurBanc, headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, named Lou Garcia as president and CEO. Garcia has over 25 years of leadership experience, previously Lou Garcia serving as vice president at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and as vice president at JH Whitney & Co. He was also a partner and chief operating officer of Addison Clark Management before becoming managing director of CBAM Partners. David Tralka, former president and CEO, has assumed the role of chairman of the bank. Plymouth Rock Home Assurance Corp., headquar-

tered in Boston, Massachusetts, named Jared Stuckey as vice president of customer service and underwriting. Stuckey previously led underwriting strategy and managed Jared Stuckey personal and commercial products for Plymouth Rock’s Independent Agent auto business. He will now oversee both customer service and underwriting for the home insurance group. Stuckey previously spent 16 years at Liberty Mutual in a variety of senior roles.

Plymouth Rock Assurance Corp. named Chris Taylor

as president and CEO.

INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

He will lead the Boston, Massachusetts-based company’s independent agency group. Taylor most recently served as vice president and head of state management at The Hanover Insurance Group. Before joining The Hanover, Taylor worked at Plymouth Rock.

Lawley hired Ricky Albano

as an insurance advisor in New York, Albano has over 20 years of industry experience as an insurance producer, account executive, and business owner providing firsthand insight into Ricky Albano commercial exposures and risk management. Lawley also hired Nicolas DeLuca as an insurance advisor in New Jersey. He specializes in business insurance, workers’ compensation, and specialty coverage. Before joining Lawley, he worked in client service and solution Nicolas DeLuca delivery within the electrical distribution industry. Lawley hired Marco Rumbin as an insurance advisor in Connecticut. He develops practical strategies aimed at reducing total cost of risk. Prior to joining Lawley, Rumbin served as a sales repMarco Rumbin resentative in the beverage distribution industry.

Paragon Insurance Holdings, headquartered in

Avon, Connecticut, made three senior leadership promotions. Mike Denton has been promoted to executive vice president of Paragon Insurance Holdings. In his expanded role, Denton will continue to work closely with the Paragon Specialty Property team while taking on additional responsibilities and strategic initiatives. Brett Papenhagen has been promoted to senior vice president of Paragon Specialty Property and will lead PSP Custom, the business previously referred to as the OT team. Erik Ostgulen has been promoted to senior vice president of Paragon Specialty Property and will lead PSP Select, previously referred to as the E3 team.

Marsh appointed Andrew Neary as CEO of Marsh

Agency’s newly combined East region. Neary will be based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The new East region brings together the former East and Northeast regions. Prior to his expanded Andrew Neary role, Neary led the former East region for five years.

West

Alchemy Insurance Solutions LLC, headquartered

in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, named Michael Peck as president, personal lines, Western region. Peck will lead Alchemy’s underwriting strategy and growth across the Western U.S. He has experience in wildfire-exposed markets

across California and the West, along with experience managing complex property risk, including hurricane, wind, and earthquake Michael Peck exposure.

Leavitt United Insurance Services hired David Ring

as senior vice president of employee benefits. Ring has over 17 years of experience in the employee benefits industry, including previous roles with Gallagher and USI Insurance Services, focussing on population health management, alternative funding strategies, employee engagement, David Ring and proactive benefits planning.

Barrett Esarey joined Alliant Insurance Services,

headquartered in Irvine, California, as vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in Los Angeles, California, Esarey has over 15 years of experience in employee benefit, most recently serving as a business consultant with a national employee benefits and HR consulting firm.

SAGE Program Underwriters,

headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, hired Ken Kaufmann as a senior vice president. Kaufmann has over 10 years of insurance experience with a focus on workers' compensation in both retail and wholesale insurance platforms. He previously served at Paragon Insurance Holdings.

OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 19

Business Moves New York, and New Jersey areas. The firm offers business and personal insurance as well as employee benefits. Chicago, Illinois-based Relation Insurance Services is an insurance brokerage with approximately 1,350 employees across more than 90 locations nationwide. Relation Insurance Services is a privately held corporation backed by BayPine, a Boston, Massachusetts-based private equity firm. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Midwest National

AXA XL Launches AXA XL E&S

AXA XL launched AXA XL Excess & Surplus Lines Insurance Company (AXA XL E&S), dedicated to exclusively serving wholesale brokers. Operating alongside existing AXA XL entities and participating in the same AXA XL pool as Indian Harbor Insurance Company, AXA XL E&S will issue policies developed by AXA XL in collaboration with wholesale brokers nationwide. The launch will be synchronized with the rollout of AXA XL’s new digital platform, Guidewire, which will serve as the E&S policy administration system starting in 2027. E&S Casualty new business will be underwritten by AXA XL E&S beginning in early 2027, with current policies transitioning to the new entity in mid 2027. E&S Property business will follow suit in late 2027. During this transition, existing products and rates will remain unchanged.

AIG Launches Dedicated Financial Institutions Practice, LexPro

American International Group’s excess and surplus subsidiary Lexington Insurance has set up a dedicated financial institutions practice to support wholesale produced private company banks, asset managers, broker dealers, and others. Kevin Ware has been hired as head of financial institutions at LexPro. Ware most recently served as vice president at CRC Group, where he handled financial lines and specialized in financial institutions. 20 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

East

World Insurance Associates LLC, American Insurance Agency

Global broker World Insurance Associates LLC acquired the business of American Insurance Agency of Hingham, Massachusetts on June 1. American Insurance, founded in 1991, specializes in construction, manufacturing, hospitality, restaurants, real estate, auto services, energy, entertainment and amusement, special events sectors, as well as skating and sports facilities. World Insurance, based in Iselin, New Jersey, serves clients from more than 250 offices across the U.S. and U.K. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

World Insurance Associates LLC, Arctic Risk Specialists

World Insurance Associates LLC acquired the business of Arctic Risk Specialists (ARS) of Toms River, New Jersey on June 1. ARS Group was founded in 2014 by Thomas Nastasi. The group provides commercial insurance, specializing in contractor-related risks with a niche in the snow and ice management sector. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Relation Insurance Services, LaPlaca Insurance Inc.

Relation Insurance Services acquired LaPlaca Insurance Inc. The transaction went into effect June 30. Located in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, LaPlaca serves the greater Philadelphia,

WalkerHughes, Burgett Insurance Agency WalkerHughes Insurance acquired Burgett Insurance Agency, based in Killbuck, Ohio. The acquisition expands WalkerHughes’ footprint in Ohio following its partnership with Sacksteder Worland Insurance Agency in Tiffin earlier this year. Burgett Insurance Agency, owned by Cory Miller, has served Killbuck and Holmes County for generations. Miller will remain with the agency, focused on serving clients and mentoring new team members.

Maridea Wealth Management, River Cities Financial Services, Dietz, Futrell & Walters Insurance

Maridea Wealth Management acquired River Cities Financial Services and Dietz, Futrell & Walters Insurance (DFW Insurance), two affiliated firms based in Marietta, Ohio. The addition marks Maridea’s first presence in Ohio. DFW Insurance was founded in 1948 as an independent insurance agency, launching River Cities Financial Services in 1985 to provide comprehensive wealth management, financial, retirement, investment, and estate planning services. The firms serve clients from offices in Marietta, Beverly, and Chillicothe, Ohio. Michael Anthony, president of River Cities Financial Services and a partner at DFW Insurance, joins Maridea as senior investment advisor and managing partner. Dustin Becker, vice president of River Cities Financial Services and a partner at DFW Insurance, joins Maridea as director of insurance. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

News & Markets

Mario Greco, Zurich’s CEO

Zurich Insurance Completes Acquisition of Beazley, Names New Beazley CEO By L.S. Howard

urich Insurance Group has completed its £8.1 billion ($10.7 billion) acquisition of Lloyd’s insurer Beazley, effective Oct. 1. Beazley shares were suspended from the London Stock Exchange on Oct. 1, while delisting occurred the following day. Under the terms of the deal (known in the UK as a scheme of arrangement), shareholders will receive 1,310 pence for each share held as of Sept. 30, 2026, with payment expected on Oct. 15, 2026. As a result of the acquisition, Beazley announced a new board of directors: Patrick Manley, Earl Randall Clouser, Helen Pickford, Claudia Cordioli, and Kristof Terryn, who has been named CEO of Beazley and Global Specialty, subject to regulatory approval. Zurich further announced on Oct. 2 that Beazley CEO Adrian Cox will be leaving the company. Also stepping down from the board is former Chairman Clive Bannister, along with Rajesh Agrawal, Roy Clark, PierreOlivier Desaulle, Nicola Hodson, Fiona Muldoon, Carolyn Johnson, (Anthony) John Reizenstein, and Cecilia Reyes Leuzinger. In its Oct. 2 announcement that the deal had been completed, Zurich confirmed the following changes to the Beazley management team:

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• Helen Pickford, current chief financial officer at Zurich UK, will be appointed CFO of Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty. Barbara Plucnar Jensen, current Beazley group CFO, will continue to support the integration work as senior advisor until March 2027. • Sally Henderson will be appointed chief people & sustainability officer, Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty. Henderson succeeds Liz Ashford, who has decided to retire. • Ed Bridge will be appointed general counsel, Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty. Previously, Bridge served as general counsel Zurich UK and Ireland. “By integrating Beazley into our Global Specialty business, we will accelerate growth and we will bring new, very relevant solutions to our existing clients. Beazley’s underwriters will have immediate access to our distribution model and will join our customer service teams,” said Mario Greco, Zurich Insurance Group’s group chief executive officer, in a statement on Oct. 2. “By 2029, the integration of Beazley will generate incremental revenue growth of over US$1 billion per annum, at least US$150 million of combined annual cost savings and meaningful capital synergies of at least US$1 billion of one-off capital extraction within the first two years, while benefiting from greater

capital efficiency across a larger and more diversified specialty business,” Greco continued. “London is one of the world’s leading insurance markets and has already been chosen as the natural base for our Global Specialty business,” he said. “Zurich has been operating in the UK for more than a century, and we know the strength of the market, its talent and its role in shaping the industry’s future. Joining Lloyd’s of London for the first time is an important step, giving us access to a unique platform for capital, product and service innovation, specialist underwriting and global reach,” Greco continued.

‘By integrating Beazley into our Global Specialty business, we will accelerate growth and we will bring new, very relevant solutions to our existing clients.’ London Platform

Beazley’s Lloyd’s of London platform (with six syndicates) will expand Zurich’s specialty market access and expertise, creating a combined business of approximately US$15 billion in gross written premiums, the company said in a presentation to investors in March. “Beazley is a market leader for specialty risks in many of its chosen lines, which include cyber, digital, MAP, property and specialty,” the company said in a March 26 scheme document. (Beazley’s MAP risk business includes marine, aviation, political, accident, contingency. and portfolio underwriting.) Beazley operates specialist insurance businesses in Europe, North America, Latin America, Bermuda, and Asia and underwrote gross premiums worldwide of US$6.1 billion in 2025. Zurich made a series of offers to acquire Beazley, including one in January of this year for £7.7 billion, which was rejected by Beazley. Ultimately, a sweetened £8.1 billion deal was accepted by Beazley’s board and shareholders. OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 21

News & Markets AM Best: US Home Insurers in 2025 Book First Underwriting Profit in Seven Years By Chad Hemenway

.S. homeowners multiperil insurers reversed a $1.3 billion underwriting loss in 2024 to post an underwriting profit of $16.5 billion in 2025—the line’s first underwriting gain since 2019, said AM Best. In fact, seven of eight years from 2017 to 2024 saw homeowners insurers book underwriting losses. A recent report on the homeowners segment from the industry rating firm said insurers looked to improve in recent years by increasing premiums to more appropriately match risk. AM Best said insurers are “doing a much better job of matching rate to risk.” That, and a relatively calm 2025 hurricane season, helped financial results. Filings for rate increases slowed in the second half of 2025—a trend that has continued in 2026, AM Best said. The segment also benefitted from price softening in the reinsurance market, as well as its use of advancements in data, analytics, and modeling. “Homeowners insurers have put resources into improving their underwriting, claim handling, loss control, and overall efficiency to produce improved bottom-line results,” said Maurice Thomas, senior financial analyst, AM Best. The group’s combined ratio in 2025 improved to 84.5 from 90.7 in 2024 and 99.5 in 2023. Loss-reserve development, which isn’t typically in the scenario for profit, has aided homeowners insurers the last couple of year, explained AM Best. Five insurance groups—USAA, American Family, Liberty Mutual, Chubb, and RenaissanceRe US—accounted for 47% of the $4.1 billion in favorable development in 2025. AM Best specifically called out Florida reforms in its report. Tort reform in the Sunshine State has reduced fraudulent and frivolous property-related lawsuits. As a result, insurers of the state’s homes 22 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

reassessed and decided to take reserves down. Since Florida is the second largest insurance market in the country, the

release actions have an “outsized impact on national underwriting results,” said AM Best.

INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

News & Markets Large Commercial Property Rates Drop 14.5% in Q2 to Highlight Latest Willis Report

ommercial property rates continue to soften, according to a new report from Willis, a WTW business. Large and complex property rates with WTW’s portfolio dropped 14.5% in the second quarter of 2026, according to the fall 2026 edition of its Insurance Marketplace Realities report. This is compared to a decline in rates of 8.4% during the same time a year ago. Shared and layered programs with five or more carriers involved saw reductions during Q2 2026 of about 23.4%. WTW also reported softening treaty reinsurance renewals, signaling abundant primary capacity. Additionally, catastrophe losses for first-half 2026 were $42 billion— the lowest total since 2020. “The market trajectory has clearly reversed from the challenging period spanning Q1 2018 through Q1 2024,” the

broker said. The report examines dozens of lines of commercial business in North America. Of note, cyber rates are holding between a 5% decrease and a 5% increase. Despite increases in risk, market conditions are favoring buyers. WTW advises clients to reinvest insurance savings into higher limits. Ransomware has maintained its position as a leading driver of losses, and artificial intelligence is increasing cyber risk as it provides businesses with opportunities to improve efficiency and quicken decision-making. “Buyers may still have the opportunity to enhance their insurance programs through 2026, although signs of rate moderation are emerging across certain cyber insurers and classes of business,”

said Willis. Rate increases in casualty are generally moderating, the report highlighted. Willis said “severity loss trends, social inflation and litigation risks continue to drive disciplined underwriting, higher retentions and strategic program design,” but competition and capacity are improving. “Signs of greater market stability are emerging as rate increases slow and predictability improves for buyers,” the broker added. “However, underwriting discipline and selective capacity deployment remain key market characteristics.”

Source: Willis Towers Watson’s Insurance Marketplace Realities 2027 INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 23

Spotlight: Cannabis

How Federal Ban on Intoxicating Hemp Products Will Reshape Risk, Coverage

By Ian Stewart

have been writing about the insurance risks of intoxicating hemp products since 2021, when delta-8 THC gummies first started showing up in convenience stores and gas stations across the country. Back then, our message to the cannabis, hemp, and insurance industries was simple: These products violate the spirit, if not the actual letter, of the 2018 Farm Bill, and the cannabis and hemp industries and their insurers should be wary of a government response. Well, a response from Congress took more than five years, but that response has teeth.

The Federal Ban

Congress rewrote the federal definition of hemp in

legislation passed in late 2025. The changes were originally set to take effect on Nov. 12, and they are sweeping. Congress has since approved a delay of most provisions to Dec. 11, but synthetic and lab-converted cannabinoids like delta-8 and HHC remain excluded regardless of dose and are subject to the Nov. 12 ban as scheduled. The new law imposes a “total THC” standard that counts all forms of THC, not just delta-9, and caps finished hemp products at just 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container. Industry estimates suggest roughly 95% of hemp-derived cannabinoid products currently sold will become federally unlawful under the new definition. Products that exceed these limits will be classified as marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.

The Hemp Industry Fights Back The hemp industry is not going quietly. Both litigation and legislative efforts are underway to prevent the ban

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from taking effect, and Texas has become ground zero for the courtroom fight. In early August, hemp industry groups sued the Texas Department of State Health Services in federal court after the agency reclassified delta-8 and other hemp-derived THC compounds as Schedule I controlled substances. The plaintiffs argue that the state’s ban is preempted by the 2018 Farm Bill, violates due process, and imposes an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce. They sought a temporary restraining order to halt enforcement. A federal judge, however, declined to block the ban, finding the industry challengers unlikely to prevail on their constitutional claims. A separate state-court challenge is pending before a judge in Travis County, Texas, over related smokable hemp rules, and additional lawsuits have been filed alleging the ban has created a monopoly for the state’s medical marijuana program. Similar battles are playing out in Missouri, where

the hemp industry is challenging that state’s intoxicating hemp ban as unconstitutional. On the legislative front, several bills are moving through Congress aimed at softening or delaying the ban. The most notable is the Hemp Planting Predictability Act, a bipartisan effort to push the effective date back by two years to November 2028, giving the industry and regulators time to develop a workable framework. Other proposals seek to carve out non-intoxicating CBD products or raise the 0.4 mg cap to a more commercially viable threshold. There is real momentum behind some of these efforts, and even the White House has signaled support for protecting non-intoxicating hemp products from the ban’s overreach. The most concrete development happened on Aug. 8, when the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 6500 by a 90-6 vote, with a provision that would delay the ban on naturally derived hemp THC products from Nov. 12 to Dec. 11. On Sept. 1, the U.S. House of Representatives gave the bill final congressional approval by a bipartisan 37048 vote, sending it to President Trump’s desk. The delay provision was based on the bipartisan Hemp Planting Predictability Act, introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Synthetic cannabinoids continue to face an immediate Nov. 12 ban, while naturally derived hemp THC products get a one-month reprieve to Dec. 11. That delay is modest and does not change the underlying law. The president’s signature is expected but

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.com

Spotlight: Cannabis continued from page 24

remains pending. We expect more lawsuits and more bills. We also expect most of the litigation to fail. The constitutional arguments are creative, but Congress has broad authority under the Commerce Clause to define what qualifies as a controlled substance, and the new definition is clear about its intent. The 2018 Farm Bill’s derivatives loophole, which facilitates products containing delta-8, delta-10, THC-O, THCA flower, and even delta-9 THC extracted from hemp, was never intended by Congress. It took Congress more than five years to close the loophole, but it has now acted. Courts are generally reluctant to second-guess that kind of legislative correction. The industry’s longer-term legislative goals remain uncertain, including the standalone Hemp Planting Predictability Act (H.R. 7024), which would push the date back by three years. Whether Congress can enact a more comprehensive regulatory framework before Dec. 11 is far from assured.

Companies and Insurers Must Act Now Our advice is: Don’t wait. Congress has provided a brief reprieve, but hemp companies and the insurers that cover

them should be preparing now for Dec. 11, not hoping that a federal judge or another last-minute act of Congress will ride to the rescue. A onemonth delay is not a solution. Waiting is the worst possible risk management strategy. The practical fallout from this ban will be felt across nearly every coverage line. Start with product liability and property. When the ban takes effect, inventory that was perfectly legal yesterday becomes a controlled substance today. Product liability policies that were written to cover hemp-derived products may suddenly be covering the sale or distribution of federally illegal marijuana. That raises immediate coverage questions. Does the policy contain an illegal acts exclusion? Is there a controlled substance exclusion? If the insured continues to sell these products after Dec. 11, what happens to the coverage? Underwriters need to be reviewing policy language now and deciding how to address this issue. Cargo and stock-throughput programs are directly implicated, as well. Wholesalers, distributors, and brands that straddle the marijuana and hemp product categories should expect complications

26 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

in coverage terms, exclusions, and transit insurance for inventory that may be reclassified mid-shipment. If a product leaves a warehouse as legal hemp and arrives at its destination as federally illegal marijuana, who bears the risk? These are not hypothetical questions. They must be answered by Dec. 11. Beyond the insurance policy itself, the collateral risks are diverse. Companies with existing leases may face landlord disputes if the premises are being used to store or sell newly illegal products. Contracts with suppliers and customers must be revisited to understand how risk and loss are apportioned. E-commerce platforms may delist products, cutting off revenue streams overnight. Existing product liability claims related to hemp products may take on a different complexion when the underlying product becomes illegal. Loans secured by hemp inventory could go into default. Investors who backed hemp companies expecting continued legality may pursue claims against management. All this increased uncertainty will likely result in more claims and litigation, which may trigger a policy response. One important nuance to understand is that some states have laws that expressly permit the sale of hemp-derived THC products, and those laws don’t automatically disappear because the federal definition has changed. Where a state continues to allow legal hemp product sales, we recommend that insurers and operators treat those situations

similarly to the regulated intrastate marijuana model that has been operating successfully for years. The risk management playbook is similar: know your customer, know your state’s regulations, and maintain compliance. There is also a tax dimension that companies cannot afford to ignore. If a hemp company continues selling products that are now federally classified as marijuana, it should expect Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code to apply. That means most ordinary business deductions vanish, effective tax rates skyrocket, and the economics of the business fundamentally change. The regulated cannabis industry has been living with 280E for years, and it is brutal. Hemp companies that are new to this reality should get tax counsel involved immediately. The intoxicating hemp market was always on borrowed time. We said as much when delta-9 THC gummies started being sold as “legal hemp” out of convenience stores while regulated cannabis operators next door were paying through the nose for compliance. That imbalance was unsustainable. Now the correction is here. The smart move for hemp operators is to diversify, pivot to compliant products, or where state law permits, participate in the regulated cannabis market. For insurers, it’s time to audit your book, update your forms, and make sure you know exactly what you’re covering when Dec. 11 arrives. Stewart is cochair of Wilson Elser’s Cannabis Law Practice and the regional managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles and Orange County offices. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

News & Markets Pennsylvania Court Upholds 48-Year Old Damages Cap for State Agencies By Andrew G. Simpson

he Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the state’s $250,000 damages cap on claims against state agencies, turning aside arguments that the cap that was set in 1978 violates both the right to a jury trial and right to a remedy guaranteed by the state Constitution, even where the injured party may end up with little or nothing. The high court majority affirmed that the legislature has the authority to set a cap on the state’s liability while also acknowledging three consenting opinions that appeal to the legislature to update the damages cap. The high court declined to substitute its judgment of what the cap should be for that of lawmakers. The ruling came in a case of Hayley

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Freilich who sustained catastrophic, life-altering injuries when she was hit by a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) bus. Freilich required a partial amputation of her left foot, skin grafts, and tendon lengthening surgeries and suffers from permanent nerve damage and will require lifelong medical care. SEPTA admitted negligence and, due to COVID-19 conditions at the time, the parties entered into a stipulated jury verdict totaling $7 million ($1 million for economic losses and $6 million for non-economic damages). Thereafter, in accordance with the Sovereign Immunity Act, the trial court reduced the $7 million verdict to the statutory cap of $250,000. The sovereign immunity doctrine holds that the Commonwealth cannot be sued in its own courts except with its consent

and insulates the Commonwealth and its agencies from liability except in specified circumstances when that consent is granted.

Shrinking Value

Freilich opposed reducing the damages to the $250,000 amount in the immunity act, pointing out that would leave her with zero financial recovery because legal fees, medical costs and insurer reimbursements would take all of it and more. Freilich argued that the damages cap is unconstitutional as applied to her because it “renders cost-prohibitive the exercise of her right to a jury trial” in light of the realities of litigating a catastrophic injury case against the Commonwealth. Freilich also pointed out that the real value of the cap

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News & Markets continued from page E1

has been shrinking each year, increasingly shifting the burden of paying for accidents caused by the Commonwealth onto tort victims. SEPTA defended the cap as a constitutional act of the legislature. SEPTA argued that the legislature eliminated jury trials in contract claims against the Commonwealth and channeled such actions through the Board of Claims. But assuming such a right exists, SEPTA maintained, a statutory cap on damages does not impose the kind of “onerous burden” that impedes the jury trial right, rather it merely imposes a limit on the right to recovery post-verdict. Both the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas and the Commonwealth Court sided with SEPTA and the damages cap. They cited a 2014 Supreme Court case (Zauflik v. Pennsbury School District), which rejected a similar claim that a statutory damages cap violated the right to a jury trial. That decision found that the right to a jury trial involves a process and the damages cap does not curtail that right. The lower courts found that if the Zauflik precedent is to be overturned, the high court would have to do it. The Supreme Court declined to overturn Zauflik, ruling instead that its logic applied to Freilich’s case.

No Onerous Burden

Section 6 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that “Trial by jury shall be as heretofore, and the right thereof remain inviolate.” The Supreme Court noted that in construing the right to a jury trial, it has considered the term “inviolate” to mean “freedom from substantial impairment.” The court said that what is most important is that the right to a jury trial “must not be burdened by the imposition of onerous conditions, restrictions or regulations which would make the right practically unavailable.” The high court found that Freilich could have had a jury trial but instead agreed during the pandemic to a stipulated jury verdict. The court found that the cap did not impose “onerous conditions” on her E2 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

right to a jury trial. “While Appellant may receive only a de minimis or no recovery in her case, she could have had a full trial by jury. Her claim of inadequate damages goes to her ultimate recovery, post-verdict, as a result of the application of the statutory cap; her minimal recovery was not the result of the denial of, or of a defective, jury trial. The damages cap did not alter the availability, or contours of, a jury trial,” the opinion written by Chief Justice Debra Todd stated. Indeed, Todd continued, “rather than limiting or burdening the process of a jury trial, the statute limits the amount that may be recovered from the Commonwealth and its agencies. It curtails the remedy but not the process.”

Remedies Clause

The high court next addressed whether the statutory limitation on damages violates the Pennsylvania Constitution’s remedies clause, concluding that it does not. This clause, which guarantees a remedy for injured persons, states in full: According to Freilich, the court should assess whether the challenged statute is substantially related to an important governmental interest. She submitted that the then 44-year-old damages cap was no longer substantially related to the governmental interest of compensating injured persons and protecting the public

fisc (government resources). In her view, “the damages cap now protects only the Commonwealth’s purse.” SEPTA suggested that the General Assembly’s control over the Commonwealth’s exposure to suit is not even subject to judicial review. In the alternative, SEPTA offered that the Commonwealth has a “substantial interest in protecting its policymaking prerogatives and the public fisc, emphasizing its need for financial stability and to provide critical services, and its limited budget for paying personal damages claims.” According to SEPTA, this overriding interest outweighs an individual’s interest in a full tort recovery. The Supreme Court noted that the remedies clause not only expressly provides that every injured person shall have a “remedy by due course of law,” but also that suits against the Commonwealth may be brought only “in such manner, in such courts and in such cases as the Legislature may by law direct.” The court thus reasoned that if the General Assembly may limit a cause of action by abolishing a claim entirely with an immunity statute, essentially setting the limit on damages at $0, then it follows that the legislature may waive sovereign immunity in some instances and limit damages to $250,000, “even if this amount renders her recovery nugatory.” INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

My New Markets Assigned Risk & State Fund (SCIF) Exit - Workers’ Compensation Market Details: CPR Business Solutions

moves California and nationwide employers off the assigned-risk plan or State Fund (SCIF) back into the voluntary market. Process includes experience-mod diagnosis, open-claim and reserve work, seasoning the account out of the three-year window, and timed re-marketing with a properly built submission. Available Limits: Not disclosed. Carrier: Not disclosed. States: All 50 states and the District of Columbia. Contact: Evan Swan, proposals@cprbrokers.com, 714-928-3858

Contractors GL Program with Online Rater Access

Market Details: Paragon’s exclusive

contractor’s general liability program is a market for small to mid-sized artisan and general contractors engaged in the construction of commercial and residential structures as well as maintenance, service repair and/or remodeling. With appetite in over 35 states, with easy online quoting available. No premium commitment. Blanket additional insured ongoing and completed, P&NC and waiver of subrogation included in the program. Eligible trades include general contractors, HVAC, plumbing, carpentry, handyperson, masonry, electrical, roofing, painting, landscaping, janitorial and many other construction and other trades. Has pen. Available Limits: $750 minimum premium Carrier: Hadron Specialty, Non-Admitted, rated A- by AM Best States: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming and the District of Columbia. Contact: Juan Mora, jmora@paragoninsgroup.com, 423-671-5751 INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

General Liability - Admitted & E&S

States: All 50 states and the District of

wholesale brokerage placing general liability across 30+ admitted and E&S carriers - Main Street to hard-to-place. One submission, one team, multiple markets. Appetite includes contractors (artisan, general, residential, and specialty trades); habitational and real estate (apartments, condos, lessor’s risk, vacant); hospitality (hotels, restaurants, bars, taverns); manufacturing and distribution; retail and main street commercial; health and human services; and cannabis and specialty classes. Available Limits: Not disclosed. Carrier: Admitted and non-admitted. States: All 50 states and the District of Columbia except Alaska, Hawaii, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Contact: Jayson Buechler, jbuechler@ normandyins.com, 866-688-6448

Contact: Ricky Boyd, rboyd@safelease.

Market Details: Normandy is a full-service

Self-Storage Property & Casualty Insurance Program

Market Details: SafeLease is a specialty

program built specifically for self-storage property and casualty insurance. Working directly with agents and brokers to get a market that understands this class. Submissions start with just a property address. The SafeLease platform uses AI-powered data extraction to pull unit counts, square footage, construction type, and current values, cutting down on paperwork and back-and-forth. Standard quote turnaround is 24 hours, delivered directly through an Agent Portal. Coverage includes building and business personal property (replacement cost); business income and loss of rents; customer goods legal liability; commercial general liability; sale and disposal liability; and care, custody, and control. Appetite includes traditional self-storage (climate- and non-climate controlled); single and multi-story facilities; conversion properties (retail, warehouse, industrial); coastal and CAT zone locations and surplus lines coverage available. Has pen. Available Limits: Vary with coverage type. Carrier: Non-Admitted. Rated A- by AM Best

Columbia except Alaska and Hawaii.

com, 512-658-4087

Rideshare/Delivery/GIG Economy/ Fleet/Carshare Market Details: INSHUR is a global MGA

specializing in commercial auto insurance for the on-demand economy. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, with offices in the U.S., U.K. and the Netherlands, they give brokers access to capacity for risks that traditional markets struggle to place: rideshare, delivery, gig, fleet and carshare. INSHUR partners directly with the platforms that define this economy, including Uber, Amazon and DoorDash, alongside carshare platforms such as Turo and Rentid, giving us underwriting insight that general commercial auto markets don’t have. An API-first platform lets brokers quote and bind digitally, cutting the friction out of placing hard-to-fit business. If your client drives for, delivers for, or operates within the on-demand economy, Lines written include commercial auto, rideshare, delivery, gig economy, fleet and carshare. Territories include the U.S., U.K. and the Netherlands. Distribution through broker and digital partner channels; API integration available. Available Limits: Not disclosed. Carrier: Not disclosed. States: All 50 states and the District of Columbia. Contact: Caroline Mulvihill, caroline. mulvihill@inshur.com, 626-278-3213

This section brought to you by Insurance Journal's sister website:

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Special Report: Agency Technology

Agency Tech: Building Bridges and Empowering People How AI is impacting workflows and agencies By Andrea Wells

here never seems to be enough time in a day to get the things done that need to be done. That runs true for most people, in any industry, but for the insurance agency world it’s a daily reality. Agencies are struggling, said Dave Rose, head of agency and embedded performance at bolt. The phone keeps ringing, customers get trapped in automated menus, and agency staff spend too much time routing calls instead of 28 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

helping clients. Rose said bolt Agency, the insurance agency powered by the bolt online insurance distribution platform, was in the same boat. The digital agency supported more than 20,000 insurance policies across the U.S. with a 30-person team, until they tried something new, an AI receptionist. In just six months, the AI receptionist was receiving about 90% of inbound calls, call-to-bind conversions doubled, IVR drop-offs were reduced by 32%, and agent talk time was cut by 36%.

“I’ve talked to many agents that say they struggle just even running new business because their team is so focused on servicing, and their staff is not getting to everything that they should be getting to,” Rose said. This is exactly where new AI-driven technology is helping. It’s not replacing humans because humans still need to be in the loop, he said. “It’s augmenting some of the important tasks that maybe require repetitive data entry, and it’s letting the most important things get INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

done by the experts that you have in your agency,” he said. The “real” people. “They’re best at being consultative, building relationships, coverage counseling, being experts—especially if you have more complex policyholders or policies.” James Thom, chief product officer at Vertafore, oversees product management design for all the solutions that agency partners use, whether that’s an agency management system, rating products, workflow management tools, or CRM solutions. “I get to see the full gamut— everybody from a small mom-and-pop agency all the way up to the top 10 agencies that we work with,” he said. The past two years have been an exciting time for product development. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

“Everybody’s chasing the opportunity that we see in the industry to really drive automation and efficiency with AI,” he said. “Over the past 12 months in particular, we’re starting to see the impact and benefits of AI.” The most significant innovations for agencies have been in the back office and service workflows, he said. “So, a lot of the traditional manual tasks that get done inside of the agency—whether that’s reconciling cash receipts that are coming in, policy checking, doing quote reviews, doing quote comparisons, building proposals—all these things are becoming much, much easier and faster for folks, leading to higher quality and better service for the customer through the use of AI.” Thom said that Vertafore has spent the last year focused on two primary tech development areas: building out its AI platform and partnering with different AI vendors so the tech stacks work more inter-operably within the agency management system, ultimately delivering to joint clients a more streamlined workflow. AI is helping agencies reinvent processes that used to take 10, 15, or 20 steps, down to just a few, he said. From adding a new vehicle to a customer’s policy to helping accounting reconcile insurance carrier statements in the back-office processes. “That’s where we’re seeing a lot of value.” Thom cautions that it’s critical to always keep a human in the loop even as the process for certain tasks becomes vastly more efficient. “We understand that in a service transaction, in particular, the human touch as part of that process is super important to our clients,” he said. “So, this isn’t fully automating straight-through processing of these service requests. It’s trying to take the manual work off the user’s desk so that they can focus more on the client relationship, focus more on the advisory service part of the task and work through it,” Thom said.

Biggest Impacts

Artificial intelligence is accelerating changes in insurance agency technology, making it easier to automate workflows, build new products, and connect systems

that historically have struggled to communicate, according to Javier Hernandez, chief information officer, ISU Steadfast, the U.S.-based insurance agency network. Hernandez pointed out companies such as Outmarket, which have developed specialized workflows for insurance agencies. “We’ve seen others, there’s new management systems coming out,” Hernandez said. “And I would say out of everything I’ve seen so far, that is probably the biggest shift.” He said three developments have helped drive the transformation: the introduction of application programming interfaces (APIs), the ability of AI to understand and interact with different software systems, and the growing ease with which technology companies can create and test new products. “Creation of product has become easier than before,” Hernandez said. “It doesn’t mean that all the products are good or they’ll make it, but you get to iterate quickly through your ideas.” AI is also making automation more accessible. While automation technology itself is not new, Hernandez said the amount of technical work required to create automated workflows has declined considerably. “AI is helping us build the tools to do the automation,” he said. Agentic AI takes that a step further by allowing systems to perform tasks based on broader instructions rather than requiring every individual action to be programmed in advance, he said. “Agentic AI is knowledgeable enough that if you give the instructions, you don’t have to write every single step on how to do the work,” Hernandez said. “Just like a person will do it. You don’t need to babysit it as much. It can understand the context of what it’s seeing.” As AI systems gain access to more information, Hernandez expects the role of insurance professionals to shift, as well. “The more information is fed into them, the more that knowledge expands immensely to where it may know a lot more than many people,” he said. “I think as we develop more into the future, most

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Special Report: Agency Technology continued from page 29

people will be project managers. It doesn’t matter where you sit.” Despite those advances, one of the insurance industry’s most persistent technology problems remains connecting agency management systems, agency employees, and insurance carriers. Hernandez described creating that connection as “the golden egg.” “It’s the bridge between the management system, the person at the desk, and the carrier,” he said. Building that bridge remains difficult because information within traditional agency management systems can be difficult or expensive to access, and some insurers still lack API capabilities. “Traditional AMS systems, they lock the information in their databases,” Hernandez said. While access is some-

times available, it often comes “for a very large price,” he said. “So agencies are frustrated about that.” The carrier side of the equation has improved over the past five years as more insurers have invested in APIs, but carriers face their own challenges because developing the connections can be expensive, particularly when there is no certainty agencies will use them.

‘I think it’s going to make independent agencies, the small agencies, much more powerful.’ “They have the dilemma of, ‘Do I build the APIs? Do I build this bridge to make quoting easy or pulling documents easier? If I do it, are agents actually going to use

AI and E&O Do you have concerns about E&O risk as technology evolves with AI? “No. It’s super important for us to be paying attention to that as an industry, given the fiduciary responsibility that we have to our customers,” said James Thom, Vertafore’s chief product officer, adding that there’s two things that come to mind when it comes to this responsibility. “One is in many cases when we’re releasing these new AI technologies, we’re very focused on accuracy and what’s happening in a way that it surpasses human accuracy that existed in the process previously. Two, we’re very focused on having a human in the loop in these processes so we get that human review. And three, we’re making sure that we’re tracking and recording the audit trail … what was done, why it was done, and where it got done … so that you can understand the order of operations that led maybe to a decision. Who was involved, what did the machine do, what did the person do along the way to reduce any risk associated.” Thom said it’s important for agencies to ask these questions of their technology vendors and make sure to work with companies that are thinking about the E&O risk that they face and what does that 30 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

actually mean for them and the exposure that they have. Ross Sinclair, CEO at EIP, has a different point of view about the future risk of some AI. “Autonomous AI presents an enormous challenge for insurers, particularly how they identify, model, and price this new risk,” Sinclair said in a statement. “Potential claims against executives add another layer of complexity, but identifying who might be held responsible does answer the question of which losses to the affected business are covered,” he said. “The biggest concern for insurers is that some of this exposure may already be covered within conventional cyber policies that were neither designed nor priced with autonomous AI in mind,” he said. As a result, some insurers are making AI exclusions within cyber policies, or creating new AI-specific policies as a completely separate risk class outside of cyber. Going forward, clarity on what is covered and what is excluded needs to be addressed, he added. “Insurers face a difficult enough task pricing an unpredictable risk without added uncertainty over what they have already agreed to insure.”

it?’” Hernandez said. Solving that connectivity problem, he said, could determine how effective agencies and carriers are in the next generation of AI-powered automation.

Network AI

Anurag Shah, chief data officer for agency network SIAA, has been working on AI-powered automation and business intelligence platforms within SIAA’s ecosystem since his firm, formerly Donna AI, was acquired by the agency network in 2025. “We are building the trifecta—Agency IQ, for the members; Network IQ, for SIAA master agencies; and we just launched Partner IQ, which is for our carrier partners,” Shah said. “This is really important because the carriers are equally critical. The members have to benefit, but the carriers have to benefit. So, our goal is to help them match in the best way, with the best product and the best member for that match, who can benefit the most while keeping the end policyholder in mind all the time.” Like others in the agency tech space, Shah and his team are focused on ways in which AI can improve efficiency and ramp up business intelligence. “A simple example is all our members are required to submit their monthly remittance to SIAA, which shows them how much commission business for the month,” he said. “That takes several hours every month, but now we are fully automating it. Now they can do it in 10 minutes. This doesn’t need any complex AI explanation, but it’s something that takes six hours to do every month,” he said. “So, if we can save six hours for every member multiplied by 5,000 members, that’s the number of hours we create that they can spend with their members and with their customers and with their policyholders.” It’s giving back time to do other things. There are also more complex things like sentiment scores, retention, and cross-selling. “These have been the top three focus areas from the data perspective,” he said. “For the retention model, we were already predicting customers who are likely to

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Spotlight: Life Sciences As Biomedicine Evolves, Blood Shield Laws Come Under Renewed Focus Growth in blood- and tissue-based therapies is creating new opportunities and risk

he biotechnology industry is advancing rapidly, bringing a new generation of blood-, tissue-, and cell-based therapies to market. These innovations are helping treat serious diseases and improve patient By Brad John outcomes, but they also raise complex questions about liability if biological products cause harm. At the center of those questions are and Frank Campbell blood-shield laws, a legal framework that has protected hospitals, blood banks, and related organizations for decades. As the market for human blood products and regenerative medicine grows, risk managers, brokers, and insurers are taking a closer look at how those laws apply in today’s life sciences landscape. Most blood shield laws classify the provision of blood and certain human tissues as a medical service rather than the sale of a product. That distinction can provide protection from some product liability claims, helping limit exposure for organizations involved in collecting, processing, and distributing biological materials.

laws generally reduce exposure to strict product liability claims involving blood and certain human tissues. Many statutes also extend protections to hospitals, blood banks, and other entities involved in the supply chain. The challenge is that life sciences innovation has moved far beyond traditional blood transfusions. Today, biological materials are used in everything from plasma-derived therapies to advanced regenerative treatments. As new technologies emerge, courts and regulators continue to evaluate how existing laws apply to products and processes that lawmakers could not have envisioned decades ago. For insurers, the result is a complex and evolving risk environment.

Protections Don’t Eliminate Risk

Blood-shield laws can provide valuable defense, but they do not eliminate litigation risk. Organizations may still face allegations involving contamination, improper screening, disease transmission, negligence, or operational failure. Even when companies ultimately prevail in court, the cost of defending claims can be substantial. As a result, insurers increasingly focus on operational controls rather than relying

solely on the legal protections afforded by blood shield statutes. The quality of an organization’s risk management program often plays a significant role in underwriting decisions. Carriers want to understand how biological materials are collected, tested, stored, and transported, as well as how organizations respond when adverse events occur.

Quality and Compliance Remain Critical

Organizations with mature quality-management programs generally conduct regular audits, evaluate operational gaps, and maintain documented procedures throughout the collection and distribution process. These practices can help identify weaknesses before they become costly claims. Donor screening is another critical area of focus. Effective programs typically include detailed medical-history reviews, disease testing, and assessments of potential risk factors before materials enter the supply chain. Testing and quarantine procedures help reduce the likelihood that contaminated materials reach patients. At the same time, robust documentation can help demonstrate that proper protocols are followed if litigation occurs. For insurers, those controls often serve

A Legal Framework With Deep Roots

Blood-shield laws emerged after courts wrestled with liability claims tied to blood transfusions in the mid-20th century. At the time, medical providers argued they were delivering a healthcare service, not selling a commercial product. Legislatures in most states ultimately adopted that position, creating statutory protections that remain in force today. While the specifics vary by state, the 32 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

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as indicators of an organization’s overall risk profile.

Managing Contamination Risks

Contamination remains one of the most significant exposures associated with blood and tissue products. The risks extend beyond donor screening. Storage conditions, transportation practices, and inventory management all play important roles in preserving product integrity. Many biological materials require strict environmental controls, and failures at any stage of the process can create safety concerns. Collection procedures themselves can also introduce risk. Organizations must maintain sterile recovery techniques, follow established protocols, and ensure personnel are properly trained. As biologic therapies become more sophisticated, operational discipline throughout the supply chain becomes increasingly important.

and life-sciences exposures has created opportunities for brokers with industry expertise. Many growing biotechnology and medical-product companies are navigating these liability issues for the first time. Some may overestimate the protections available under blood shield statutes, while others may not fully understand how biological-material exposures affect their insurance needs. Specialized brokers and underwriters can help clients assess potential coverage gaps, understand jurisdiction-specific risks, and align insurance programs with their operational realities. That expertise may become increasingly valuable as new therapies enter the market and legal interpretations continue to evolve.

therapies is likely to keep blood shield laws in the spotlight. While these statutes continue to provide an important layer of protection, they were largely written for a different era of medicine. Courts, regulators, and insurers will increasingly be called upon to determine how those protections apply to modern biomedical innovations. For life sciences companies, the lesson is clear: legal protections alone are not a substitute for strong risk management. Organizations that combine rigorous quality controls, effective compliance programs, and well-designed insurance strategies will be best positioned to navigate an increasingly complex liability landscape. In a sector defined by innovation, preventing losses before they occur remains the strongest safeguard of all.

Looking Ahead

John is head of life sciences for The Hartford. Campbell is managing director of life sciences underwriting for The Hartford.

The rapid growth of biologics, regenerative medicine, and other advanced

The Importance of Contracts and Recall Planning

Legal and contractual safeguards remain another important component of risk management. Properly structured consent forms and service agreements can help reinforce the position that organizations are providing a medical service rather than selling a commercial product. Because blood shield laws vary among jurisdictions, contract language often requires careful review to ensure alignment with applicable state requirements. Companies are also expected to maintain strong adverse-event response capabilities. That includes product-tracing procedures, recall plans, regulatory reporting processes, and root-cause analysis protocols. The ability to quickly identify potentially affected materials and respond effectively to an incident can help reduce both patient harm and liability exposure. From an underwriting perspective, these capabilities often signal organizational preparedness and risk maturity.

An Opportunity for Specialized Brokers The complexity of blood-shield laws

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Special Report: Best Agency to Work For

East

Mackoul Risk Solutions Long Beach, New York and Morristown, New Jersey

Why Taking Care of Business Means Taking Care of Employees First By Jahna Jacobson

utting employees first is the undeniable key to success, said Edward J. Mackoul, president and CEO of Mackoul Risk Solutions, this year’s Silver Award winner of the Best Agency to Work For in the East region. “Our employees are our greatest asset, and we take care of them,” Mackoul said. “There is a saying that the customer always comes first, but in our agency, our employees come first, so everything we do, every decision we make, we are thinking of our employees.” Founded in 1987, Mackoul specializes in real estate insurance, business insurance, commercial insurance, personal insurance, and employee benefits, and has offices in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois. Nominating employees cited a great work-life balance, employee recognition, professional development opportunities, and open communication at all levels of the organization. In addition to allowing unlimited remote work, the office closes at 1 p.m. every Friday, year-round, to give employees long weekends. Employees are also rewarded for reaching monthly retention and new business goals with gift cards, time off, and even trips. “I am not sure I have ever worked with a team that is as genuinely satisfied, engaged, and fulfilled in their roles as the people here,” said a nominating employee, noting their 25-year

industry career. “It is truly a breath of fresh air to work alongside individuals who are not only highly knowledgeable and talented but who also take pride in what they do and support one another’s success.” Many of the team members said the employee-first culture has created a supportive, collaborative, and engaged workplace.

‘If we were not independent, we could not do a lot of what we do now for our staff.’ The company emphasizes that its employees are its most valuable resource and fosters an environment that is both challenging and rewarding, said another employee. “The culture is built on teamwork, integrity, innovation, and exceptional client service, creating opportunities for employees to grow professionally while making a

meaningful impact on clients and colleagues alike.” Putting employees first also translates to better customer service, said one nominating team member. “We want to go the extra mile to help out because we get recognized for our efforts and everyone shares in the success of the company.” While many in the insurance field are concerned about the impact of AI on the workforce, Mackoul said management and staff are working together to incorporate technology to make jobs easier, not to replace people. “It may prevent us from having to hire new employees in the future, but it will not take away a single job from a current employee,” Mackoul said. “That is a guarantee.” Being an independent agency gives the agency the freedom to make decisions based on the team’s needs, and to allocate time and funds as needed to back up the employee-first philosophy. “If we were not indepen-

dent, we could not do a lot of what we do now for our staff,” Mackoul said. “We spend a lot of money, and that would not be acceptable if we were no longer independent, because the goal would then be to have the largest profit possible and some of the things we do would not be budgeted for.” Mackoul advises other agency owners to choose employees over profit. “If you do that, the profit will follow.”

Mackoul Risk Solutions’ employees at a team-building event – a 1920s themed murder mystery lunch

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Special Report: Best Agency to Work For

Midwest

Shepherd Insurance Carmel, Indiana

Great Culture Is the Catalyst for Success at Shepherd Insurance By Ezra Amacher

here’s no shortcut to creating a great workplace culture. It requires deep investment from leadership, whose daily actions remind employees that their presence matters. For Shepherd Insurance, establishing such a culture has been the priority from day one. The Carmel, Indiana, agency has built a strong working environment by offering excellent benefits, providing continuing education, and giving team members flexible working hours. That’s according to the many employees who nominated Shepherd as this year’s Silver Award winner for the Midwest region’s Best Agency to Work For. CEO Quinn Shepherd called the recognition “super humbling.” “It’s meaningful because it reflects the culture we’ve worked hard to build together,” said Shepherd. “From the beginning, we’ve believed that a great company starts with great people.” Employees consistently highlighted the family atmosphere that makes Shepherd stand out for an agency of its size. (Shepherd has around 700 employees and offices in six states.) “The culture of Shepherd is about more than insurance; it is about trust and family,” one employee wrote. “That is not by accident and is not replicated among many of the INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

other large agencies.” Quinn Shepherd said the goal was never to “simply build an insurance agency.” “It’s been to create a place where people can grow professionally, build meaningful careers, develop leadership skills, and enjoy coming to work each day,” he said. “I’m honored that our employees feel we’ve created that kind of environment.” Among the ways Shepherd employees form trust is by having lunch together, going on pickleball outings, and participating in fantasy football leagues. Shepherd also gives employees time off to attend to family matters. As an example, the agency offers grandparents leave. “All of our team knows they contribute to the greater good of the agency and, as such, everyone is pulling in the same direction,” an employee wrote. Another employee added, “I will retire here. This is the best organization to work for in my experience.” Employees say they feel ample opportunities to advance within the agency. They cite how leadership listens to feedback, offers constructive suggestions, and works with employees to find practical solutions when needed. “What I like most is the accessibility of leadership and the willingness to have open conversations about performance expectations and professional development,” one employee wrote. “Employees are encouraged to ask

questions and discuss career goals, creating a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.” Shepherd’s environment allows its team members to prioritize their energy on taking care of the clients who depend on them. “We carry this same care and respect to our clients,” one industry can be demanding, leadership makes every effort employee wrote. “We want to help employees navigate the best for them; we want to protect them and thus we treat challenges. They listen to feedback, offer constructive them like family, just like we suggestions, and work with treat each other.” employees to find practical The focus on people and relationships is what separates solutions whenever needed.” Quinn Shepherd encourages the agency, said Quinn other agency owners to put Shepherd. people first and “genuinely “We are committed to listen to them.” helping our clients, agency “Culture isn’t created partners, and employees succeed for the long term,” he through mission statements and slogans,” he said. “It’s built said. “As we’ve grown, we’ve through everyday actions, worked hard to maintain transparency, trust, and a comour family-oriented culture while never losing sight of the mitment to helping employees grow. When you invest in your personal relationships that team and care about their drive our business.” success, the business results Added another employee, “Although the customer service tend to follow.”

Members of Shepherd Insurance pictured at their Indiana office OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 35

Special Report: Best Agency to Work For

South Central

G&G Insurance Fayetteville, Arkansas

High Growth and Positive Culture Go Hand in Hand at G&G By Ezra Amacher

ne of the best ways for an insurance agency to gain the trust of its employees is to give them autonomy and opportunities to grow within the business. G&G Insurance excels at both, employees say, giving the fast-growing agency a strong culture that leads to high performance. The Fayetteville, Arkansas, agency has consistently been voted by its employees as a great place to work for. This year G&G is the recipient of the South Central region’s Best Agency to Work For, Silver Award winner. “What makes this a great place to work is our fundamental belief that our team members are our greatest asset,” said Maggie Hill, marketing and technology director at G&G. “We’ve cultivated an environment built on trust, transparency, and empowerment.” Employees who nominated

the agency credited G&G’s leadership team for creating an environment where workers feel supported, challenged, and rewarded with competitive compensation. Employees also praised the company’s everyday office culture as one built on mutual respect, inclusion, and a healthy work-life balance. “From day one, leadership fosters an environment where every voice is heard, and diverse perspectives are celebrated,” one employee wrote. “We are given the autonomy to own our roles, yet we never feel isolated. There is always a colleague or mentor ready to step in and help.” G&G provides team members with frequent coaching and feedback, strong training and clear expectations, as well as access to leaders who are engaged in developing workers’ skills, another employee said. “Our growth has created opportunities that simply would not exist in a more stagnant organization,”

G&G employees at their Fayettevile, Arkansas office 36 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

the employee wrote. Employees say the support from leadership extends to worker flexibility. “I never have to beg for anything. If I need it, they make it happen,” an employee wrote. Among the ways that G&G distinguishes itself is by investing in a proprietary technology platform that has improved the quoting process. “It automates much of the repetitive data entry involved in moving information from our CRM and other data sources into carrier websites, allowing our team to spend less time copying and pasting information and more time advising clients and selling insurance,” one employee wrote. The efficiency frees up employees to shop the entire market to “secure the best options for our clients,” said another employee. G&G further sets itself apart is by acting as a true team, according to Hill. That means none of the rigid hierarchies or micromanagement that can sometimes slow down agencies. “We encourage entrepreneurial thinking and want our staff to bring fresh ideas to the table without fear of failure,” Hill said. “Additionally, our commitment to professional development— funding designations and continuing education, rewarding employees who live out our purpose, and providing opportunities for promotion/

cross-development—means our team is always growing.” One employee pointed to a recent example when leadership responded to team members’ questions through a feedback survey. The leadership team “all sat down together” to talk about what needed to be fixed and implemented improvements. “They have continued to listen to us and make changes where needed to make sure we’re all thriving as much as we can be,” the employee wrote. The culture G&G has laid down over the past several years had amounted to tremendous growth for the agency. G&G recently opened a second office in Little Rock, and the agency entered a brand partnership with the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. Through all the growth, G&G employees commend the agency for remaining loyal to their clients first and foremost. “We are the ones clients call during what are often the most stressful and chaotic moments of their lives,” Hill said. “Being able to navigate those challenges, deliver on our promises, and provide real comfort and solutions when people need it most is incredibly rewarding.” INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Special Report: Best Agency to Work For

Southeast

Insurance Office of America Longwood, Florida

Room to Grow in a People-First Environment

By William Rabb

nsurance Office of America (IOA), headquartered outside of Orlando, Florida, has followed the credo that a thriving workforce translates directly to a growing, profitable insurance business. “Our people come first. That is not just a tagline or a poster in the breakroom,” said Bevrlee Lips, vice president of enterprise marketing and communications for the firm, which now boasts 1,500 team members in 60 offices around the U.S. and U.K. “When you build a company around growing the people in it, they stick around, they get better, and they bring others with them. It has been that way for almost 40 years and will not change going forward.” IOA was named the Silver Award winner in Insurance Journal’s 2026 survey of Best Agencies to Work For in the Southeast. The agency’s workers provided more responses to survey questions than any other agency in the Southeast. Almost all of them were positive. “The agency is fair, and they will pay you what you are worth. If you are very good at your job, then you will make more,” one employee wrote. “IOA recognizes talent and encourages their employees to advance their career and education. As a result, they attract and retain some of the top talent in the industry,” said another. “The annual reviews are fair and they strive to maintain measurable INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

benchmarks. They also give additional increases when promotions are given.” IOA was founded by John and Vallie Ritenour in 1988 as Insurance Office of Florida. Since then, it has grown steadily and today remains one of the fastest-growing agency groups in the country. Heath Ritenour, son of the founders, is chairman of the company. Jeff Lagos is CEO, and Rob Motley is president. Lagos joined IOA as a commercial lines producer in 2000, after a decade with AutoOwners Insurance. He has seen the Florida property insurance market at its lowest point and now at a much-improved level thanks in part to legislative changes that stemmed from what had been called excessive claims litigation. “Declining rates are good news for our clients. The legislative reforms are helping with that, plus they are attracting new carriers coming

into Florida,” Lips said. “This is giving us more to work with than we’ve had in a while on certain lines. That said, we don’t lean on the market to do our job. Our brokers keep strong relationships with the top carriers in every cycle, so whether rates are climbing or easing, we’re still fighting for the best terms we can get.” Employees at IOA also are not concerned they may someday be replaced by AI, even as use by brokers, agencies, and carriers grows rapidly worldwide. “At IOA, we’ve been very clear: AI is a tool for growth, not reduction,” IOA leadership noted. “It’s meant to give back time and capacity to our team members so they can focus on high-value work and deepen the client partnerships that define the IOA experience.” IOA said it is using AI in areas of the insurance lifecycle in which time has always been the constraint, such as com-

paring quotes across carriers so producers can evaluate options side-by-side, in a fraction of the time it once took. The firm is also utilizing AI to find coverage insights and benchmarks drawn from the breadth of IOA’s book of business and to shorten turnaround times. IOA’s leadership offered this advice for other agency owners: “Give people real room to grow and be honest with them about where they stand. Most folks don’t leave over pay. They leave when they stop learning, feel stifled, or stop feeling like the work matters. If you can keep those alive, you’ve won most of the battle.”

Employees at an annual employee appreciation event in Florida. OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 37

Special Report: Best Agency to Work For

West

Bethany Insurance San Dimas, California

Employees Appreciate Bethany Insurance Because Leaders Appreciate them By Don Jergler

t’s well understood that appreciation and being appreciated go hand-inhand, but that synergy has evolved from a mere concept to becoming a big driver of employee satisfaction and business growth at Bethany Insurance Agency. The small but growing agency in San Dimas, California, was voted by its employees as the West region’s Best Agency to Work For, Silver Award winner. The full-service independent brokerage specializes in commercial insurance, personal insurance, employee benefits, and workers’ compensation. Agents have experience working with complex commercial risks and businesses in industries such as real estate, construction, hospitality, healthcare, and professional services. Many employees who wrote in to nominate the firm liked its growth mindset and the small, family firm feel, with some saying the workplace fosters “a supportive, team-oriented culture where everyone is encouraged to learn, grow, and succeed,” and where leaders are “approachable” and open to different values, as well as new ideas and new technologies. “I started here at Bethany only two-and-a-half months ago. Since day one, I felt very welcomed and comfortable,” one employee wrote on a nominating form. “As the days

went by, I realized that the culture here is exactly what I wanted after leaving a large corporation. It’s more like a family vibe than a workplace.” Daniel Shehata, the firm’s owner, has insurance in his veins. His father has an insurance background, and his mother was in the industry for 40 years before starting Bethany Insurance. He got his producer license at the same time as the business launched in 2006, focused on personal lines. They nearly closed shop in 2009, and his father leveraged their home and his 401(k) to keep the business afloat. Shehata decided to go beyond personal lines, and began learning to also sell business insurance and benefits. Then he went knocking on doors. “I would go to little mom-and-pop restaurants, laundromats, dry cleaners, ‘Hey, can I quote your general liability business?’” he said. They survived. The firm has a projected annual revenue of $14 million for the year and has grown to 24 employees. The agency serves clients throughout California and across the country and is licensed in 40 states. Shehata attributes that growth to his employees, as well as investing in them and appreciating them. “What makes Bethany a great place to work is our people,” Shehata said. “We invest in them, recognize their contributionsm and create opportunities for them to take

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on new responsibilities and grow their careers alongside the agency.” As he was speaking about the firm’s award, his father had just brought a homemade Egyptian-style meal into the office he had made to share with employees. Several times a week Shehata plays barista and makes affogatos, a shot of espresso with a vanilla ice cream and a chocolate drizzle. “I lead by service-ship to my staff, and I think it resonates with them, he said. Another employee who nominated the firm appreciates that service, as well as the workplace flexibility. “They consistently show appreciation for the staff, whether it’s providing catered lunches throughout the month or simply checking in to make sure everyone has the support they need,” the employee wrote. “The worklife balance is excellent. I have a great schedule and the flexibility to work from home twice a week, which is a huge benefit.”

Beside appreciating his employees, Shehata believes that it’s important to be mindful that it’s a business, and while success is key, it looks different to everyone. “Some employees want to advance into leadership; some want to increase their earning potential; and others value flexibility, stability, or the opportunity to become an expert in their field,” Shehata said. “A great workplace creates room for those different goals while still maintaining clear expectations and accountability. Most importantly, never take your best people for granted. Invest in them, recognize their contributions, and show them that the future you are building includes them.”

Bethany Insurance celebrates 20 years in business at its anniversary party, held in August 2026 in Pasadena, California. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Special Report: Agency Technology continued from page 30

leave, who are not happy, which can help agents identify that risk of losing their customers early on.” So far, the accuracy of predicting retention risk has been really good, he said. Not every member agency is sold on the latest technologies, he said. “I think there’s some hesitancy in sharing data.” There’s also hesitancy when employees see exactly what some AI can do. “Their first thought might be, ‘Am I going to be fired because of that?’” he said. “But in reality, what we are seeing is that agencies can scale their operations and people can do more things than they were doing.” That doesn’t mean job roles will not change. “People’s roles might change,” he said. But it’s no different than other monumental technology changes, he added. “It’s the same when people moved from paper policies to computers and all digital.”

‘AI gives us an opportunity to accelerate our pace and it’s driving change.’ Next Step: Doing the Work

Vishal Sankhla, co-founder and CEO of Outmarket AI, an insurance-specific artificial intelligence platform built primarily for insurance agencies and brokerages, said that AI is changing the paradigm of how agencies and their employees do work. The future will be about the work it can do, not how it will replace humans. “AI is definitely getting into this mode where we can now actually get the work done,” Sankhla said. “AI is now going from answering the questions to actually doing the work.” “We are at a place where we’ve built a lot of these Lego blocks (AI tools) that are very reliable and very trustworthy. Now we can put them together to get tasks done,” he said. “So, doing something that would take an experienced account manager 30 or 40 minutes can now be done in two minutes, and it can be done in a very thorough manner because it’s happening end to end,” he explained. Sankhla has held senior product development roles at Cision, Uber, and INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Facebook, but it was his entry into the life insurance world, at Ethos, where he and his co-founder realized the “huge opportunity” within commercial insurance to help brokers “work better, centralize all this data that gets fragmented all over the place, so you can now actually start to make more meaning out of the data.” Historically, growth in the agency world meant hiring more people or growing by acquisition. But the future of agency technology and AI innovation is leveling the playing field. “I think it’s going to make independent agencies, the small agencies, much more powerful,” he said. “I think honestly that it’s a great time to be an independent agency, if you think about it,” he said. It’s not human versus AI; it’s both, he noted. “What consumers are telling us is they want both. They want the judgment, the relationship of an insurance professional, but they also want an amazing customer experience, which is what technology and AI can provide.” “As an industry, we’re pretty focused on trying to maintain what keeps insurance special, which is the relationship portion of insurance,” Vertafore’s Thom said. “There

aren’t too many agencies that we work with that are trying to fully replace human staff with AI. They’re largely focused on how do I grow faster? How do I help my people take manual work off their desks so that they can focus on higher quality service, higher quality relationships, and offer more advisory support?” As a result, he finds technology and AI innovators more focused on eliminating manual work, not replacing the relationship. “There will always be horror stories about some carrier or some agency that fully replaced a whole bunch of staff with AI bots and service quality drops as a result,” he said. People aren’t getting the support that they need. “But I think as long as we keep the human in the loop, and focus on that, then we’re going to see real value from this technology in the industry,” he added. “You’ll find that firms grow faster. People have more satisfying jobs focusing on high-value tasks and high-value work, and people will probably feel less stressed with the stack of tasks and paper that’s on their desk on a day-to-day basis,” Thom said. “AI gives us an opportunity to accelerate our pace and it’s driving change.” OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 39

Idea Exchange: Is It Covered?

Logic & Language and Forms & Facts Beware These Commercial Auto Endorsements!

ollowing up on my recent articles on exclusionary or limiting CGL endorsements (August) and commercial property endorsements (September) to be wary of, this month we’ll examine several commercial auto endorsements. But, in this column, I’ll also talk about an endorsement you might want to consider adding to By Bill Wilson every business auto policy because its absence might result in a claim denial or at least a dispute.

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First is the broad category of “driver exclusion” endorsements, most of which are not ISO forms. Some of these endorsements exclude coverage only to a specifically named driver. Others exclude coverage for specific classes of drivers or for certain types of use, usually nonbusiness related. However, even more dangerous are endorsements that apply to ALL insureds, not just the one(s) that prompted the underwriter to use the endorsement. As for exclusions applicable to specific individuals, the wording of the exclusion, as always, must be read carefully to determine the extent of the exclusion.

For example, consider the following two exclusions:

Named Driver Exclusion

In consideration of the premium charged, it is hereby understood and agreed the coverages as afforded by the policy do not apply when the insured vehicle is being driven by [name of individual]. All other terms and conditions of this policy remain unchanged.

Driver Exclusions

We agree with “you” that such insurance as is afforded by the policy shall not apply with respect to any automobile or INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

its use while such automobile is in the care, custody, or control of, or is being operated by, any individual designated below. Note that the first exclusion only applies to the named individual while that person is driving the auto. The second exclusion is far broader in that it applies to use and operation and not solely to the designated individual if it’s in that person’s care, custody, or control. Both exclusions arguably apply not only to listed drivers unless, perhaps, a Separation of Insureds type of condition is applicable. The potential extent of these exclusions beyond the listed driver(s) should be clarified by the insurer.

Classes of Drivers & Unscheduled Drivers

Another type of exclusion is triggered by use of a vehicle by one or more classes of drivers. For example: We do not provide liability coverage for any person: For bodily injury or property damage caused by your covered auto when it is driven, operated, or used with your permission by a person whom you know: • a. is under the minimum age to obtain a driver’s license; • b. does not have a valid driver’s license; • c. has a suspended driver’s license; • d. has a revoked driver’s license; or • e. has a restricted driver’s license and is operating a vehicle beyond the scope of such restriction. Finally, some driver exclusions apply to certain kinds of uses by unscheduled drivers or perhaps all drivers. Space doesn’t allow for addressing actual language, but a common type of exclusion in this category applies to “personal use” of an auto. This opens up the potential for ambiguous circumstances ranging from someone including a personal errand within a delivery route or operating a vehicle on a vacation day within a business trip. Needless to say, such endorsements should be avoided whenever possible because of the potential INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

uncertainty of coverage. Another category of commercial auto endorsements to be wary of involves temporary suspensions of coverage. The ISO form is the CA 02 40 – Suspension of Insurance and its companion, the CA 02 38 – Reinstatement of Insurance. The CA 02 40 suspends the coverage(s) identified in the schedule on the form. This endorsement is often used, for example, as a premium-saving measure by schools whose buses are not used in the summer, by contractors who have vehicles that are unused in the winter, by various types of businesses during economic slow-downs, and so on.

If an employee rents an auto on a business trip in his or her own name, is that person the one who hires the auto? There are also non-ISO proprietary forms available in the marketplace, especially for personal auto policy forms. ISO has no such countrywide form in its PAP program. The obvious main issue with all of these endorsements is that sometimes these excluded vehicles may actually be driven for various, often unexpected or unanticipated, reasons during the suspension period or coverage may fail to be reinstated at the designated time. I’ve personally been involved in two denied claims assisting agents—one involving a five-figure property damage claim and another that involved a death claim.

Employee Hired Autos

The final type of endorsement we have space to review involves the very common situation of an employee renting an auto on a business trip. The ISO endorsement that applies here is the CA 20 54 – Employee Hired Autos. This is not an exclusionary endorsement but rather a “coverage clarification” endorsement that addresses whether an employee renting an auto in his or her own name has liability coverage and/or creates a Symbol 8 or 9 physical damage exposure.

In the ISO CA 00 01 – Business Auto Coverage Form, “Who Is An Insured” for liability coverage usually includes employees for the use of a “covered ‘auto’ you own, hire or borrow.” The word “you” is defined to be the named insured and usually does not include employees. In addition, what about a physical damage claim? The CA 00 01 says that Symbol 8 applies if “you” rent an auto but Symbol 9 applies if “you” don’t rent an auto. The problem here is that Symbol 8, not Symbol 9, is normally used to extend physical damage coverage to rental cars. If the employee and not the named insured is deemed to be hiring the auto, does that make the exposure a Symbol 9 one for which there is no physical damage coverage? That is, if an employee rents an auto on a business trip in his or her own name, is that person the one who hires the auto or, since they are likely being reimbursed on their expense report or a company credit card is being used, is the employer effectively hiring the auto? In other words, who is hiring the auto—the person entering into the rental agreement or the entity paying for it? I’ve always asserted that it’s the latter, but I’ve come across too many claim disputes for coverage to hinge on an opinion rather than an insurance contract. Therefore, when I worked for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, our technical affairs committee asked ISO to provide a solution to this dilemma. Their response was the creation of the CA 20 54 endorsement which I suggest should be attached to auto policies as a matter of course. It is not a perfect solution. For example, what if the employee combines vacation time or other personal use within a business trip? Perhaps we can address that issue in a future article? Wilson, CPCU, ARM, AIM, AAM, is the founder and CEO of InsuranceCommentary.com and the author of six books, including “When Words Collide…Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes,” which BookAuthority ranked as the #1 insurance book of all time. He can be reached at InsuranceCommentary. com@outlook.com. OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 41

Idea Exchange: Technology How MGAs Can Build an AI ROI Model That Holds Up Over Time

rtificial intelligence is creating significant opportunities for managing general agencies (MGAs) to expand their capacity, tackle friction in workflows, and accelerate their time to market. But as MGAs move from AI experimentation to AI operationalization, the cost of the By Emily McGinn technology is likely to become a discrete budget item. Gartner expects spending on AI agent software to reach nearly $207 billion this year, more than double 2025 levels. And that growth is expected to reshape how companies buy and pay for software in the years ahead. As MGA leaders consider their return on investment (ROI) models for AI, there’s one factor they need to address: using AI isn’t free. The actual cost of AI itself is continually shifting, and MGAs don’t control what those underlying economics may look like tomorrow. In response, MGAs need an AI business case designed to hold up over time, not one that depends solely on AI being cheaper than labor today.

‘That ability to move faster changes the AI value equation. The return is not simply the cost of the work AI can automate.’ Start with the economics, but don’t stop there.

An AI business case built primarily around labor savings assumes that today’s AI economics will hold. If an MGA is comparing an AI agent with offshore labor at $10 or $15 an hour, the pure cost-savings case may already be relatively narrow. If AI costs change, that equation changes with it. I spent years in telecom working with the fiber, connectivity, and data center infrastructure that supports technologies 42 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

like AI, so I have a real appreciation for how much that infrastructure costs to build and operate. We have all grown accustomed to inexpensive or even free access to AI tools like ChatGPT, but those prices do not necessarily tell us what the economics will look like over the long term. Making major workforce decisions based on the assumption that today’s AI costs are permanent can create unnecessary risk. That is why a more durable ROI model needs to measure the business value AI creates beyond labor savings, particularly through increased capacity, higher bind rates, and faster speed to market.

Build capacity with the team you have.

The first AI outcome MGAs should measure is capacity. How can technology help the people they already have accomplish more? Today, an MGA processing 5,000 submissions a month may rely on people to read emails, review documents, and enter information. That means the volume of business an MGA can handle is tied directly to—and limited by—human capacity. In today’s model, if submissions suddenly double, that doesn’t necessarily lead to more business if an MGA isn’t equipped to process the higher volume. Hiring and onboarding more people takes time. Current employees can only process so many submissions in a day. AI can create a more flexible model by decoupling submission volume from headcount and taking on the manual burden, like reviewing documents, gathering and structuring information, identifying what is missing, comparing changes, checking details, and completing repetitive system work. In short, it returns time so underwriters can focus on evaluating risk and making decisions. That’s extra capacity. Conversely, AI can help determine where an underwriter’s limited time is most valuable. If 1,000 submissions come in, agentic AI can surface the submissions

from agents with strong existing relationships or opportunities with other indicators that make them more likely to bind. The ROI calculation should capture this added capacity, not simply the number of labor hours AI can replace.

Use bind rates to measure AI value.

Most MGAs know how much premium they write and how much business they bind. But understanding the business they did not win can be just as valuable. Where are bind rates lower? Why are opportunities being lost? And where is the business leaving potential revenue on the table? AI can help determine where an underwriter’s time is most valuable. If an MGA reviews 100 submissions and binds 10 today, moving that bind rate from 10% to 12% means additional policies generating commission. AI can then surface the submissions from agents with strong existing relationships, or the ones carrying other indicators that make them INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

more likely to bind. This distinction becomes even more important as AI costs change. The question is not simply whether AI costs less than the process it replaces. It is whether the technology is helping the MGA identify and win enough additional business to justify the investment. That is the kind of value that can keep the ROI case compelling even as the underlying economics of AI evolve.

Use speed as a competitive advantage.

Capacity and bind rates show how AI can help an MGA get more value from the business already coming through the door. Speed adds another dimension to the ROI equation by helping MGAs move more quickly when new opportunities emerge. This is an incredibly entrepreneurial market, and MGAs are constantly looking for where they can go next. Think about two independent MGAs going after the same opportunity. Maybe they both want to launch a new fire insurance program in a particular market. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

They can’t start writing that business until they have the systems and processes ready to support it. If one MGA can use AI to get there significantly faster, that becomes a real competitive advantage. That ability to move faster changes the AI value equation. The return is not simply the cost of the work AI can automate. It also includes the value of getting a program to market faster, placing risk sooner, and capturing business that might otherwise go to a competitor. For MGAs, the opportunity to move faster and grow can create a much stronger business case for AI than cost savings alone.

Build an ROI model that can last.

As AI economics continue to evolve, MGAs need an ROI model that evolves with them. Cost efficiency remains part of the equation, but it should not be the only yardstick for AI investment. A stronger business case looks at what AI enables the organization to accomplish, from increasing the capacity of existing teams to improving bind rates and getting new

opportunities to market faster. Ultimately, the question is not simply whether AI costs less than the work it replaces today. It is whether AI creates enough business value to remain a worthwhile investment as the underlying economics change. That requires a shift in how we think about ROI. Instead of asking only what AI can replace, MGAs should also ask what AI makes possible that was not possible before. That is where the bigger opportunity lies: giving existing teams the capacity to pursue more business, respond faster when opportunities emerge, and grow without expenses increasing at the same rate. McGinn is the general manager of the MGA business unit at Vertafore. She is a seasoned business and technology leader and has driven growth and transformation across finance, operations, and digital initiatives. Previously, McGinn held senior roles at Windstream, Lumen Technologies, and Zayo Group, where she led large teams, improved efficiency and fostered innovation. OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 43

Idea Exchange: Technology AI in Insurance Agencies: What Actually Makes the Business Better

rtificial intelligence (AI) has officially reached the point where you can’t have a conversation about insurance technology without talking about it. Every software company has AI, every conference has an AI panel, every executive is being asked what their By Curtis Barton AI strategy is. That doesn’t mean every agency knows what to do with it, or that every use case is worth chasing. There’s a big difference between having access to artificial intelligence and actually using it to improve the business. For insurance agencies, AI is not a strategy on its own. It’s a capability. And like any other capability, its value depends on the problem you point it at and whether it helps the people doing the work every day.

Start With the Work, Not the Technology

One of the easiest mistakes to make is starting with the tool. Someone sees an impressive demo, hears what another company is doing, and suddenly the organization is looking for somewhere to put AI. But that’s backward. Start with the work! For example, where are employees spending too much time? Where are producers missing opportunities because the information they need is difficult to find? Where is data being collected but not used, and where are people doing repetitive work that a system could handle faster and more consistently? Those are much better places to begin. Some of the strongest AI use cases in an agency aren’t particularly flashy. They save someone 20 minutes, help surface information that was already sitting in the system, maybe make it easier to prioritize a book of business or prepare for a client conversation. Nobody is going to make a movie about that. But if you can save 20 minutes across hundreds of employees or help a producer identify an opportunity 44 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

they otherwise would have missed, you’re getting somewhere. That’s where AI starts to become useful: not as a headline, but as a way to give people more room to do the work that actually drives the business.

Make the Data You Already Have More Useful

Insurance agencies have no shortage of data, but having data and being able to use it are two very different things. Information may live across agency management systems, CRM platforms, spreadsheets, carrier portals, emails, documents, and other applications. Even when the data exists, employees may have to hunt for it, interpret it, or manually bring several sources together before it becomes useful. AI can help make that information more accessible. For example, an agency can use AI-assisted analysis to identify patterns within a book of business, better segment clients, surface potential cross-sell opportunities, or provide producers with relevant information before they reach out to an account. That doesn’t mean the AI gets to decide what happens next. It does mean employees get a better starting point.

‘The agencies that get value from AI treat implementation, education, governance, and feedback as part of the technology itself.’ Give Producers More Time to Produce

If you ask producers what they want from AI, most probably aren’t looking for a robot to become a producer. They want less admin work, fewer unnecessary steps, and more time in front of clients and prospects. Plenty of production activities take time without necessarily requiring the producer’s unique expertise. Preparing for meetings, organizing account information,

summarizing notes, identifying relevant information, drafting routine communications, and prioritizing follow-up all take up parts of the day. AI can help compress some of that work. The objective should be to give people more time for the parts of the job where relationships, judgment, experience, and trust actually matter. If technology saves a producer an hour only for the producer to spend that hour fighting with another piece of technology, the business hasn’t gained much—it’s just moved the frustration somewhere else.

Use AI to Prioritize

Generative AI gets most of the attention because it’s visible. You type something in, and something comes back. But some of the more interesting opportunities in insurance may come from using AI to help organizations decide where to focus. An agency with thousands of accounts has thousands of possible actions it could take. Which client should a producer call? Which accounts warrant a coverage review? Where might there be an unmet need? Which clients are showing signs that deserve attention? Data and AI can help narrow the field. Instead of handing someone a giant report and expecting them to find the opportunity, technology can point them toward the accounts most likely to deserve a closer look. The producer still has to know the client, understand the relationship, ask the right questions, and decide what to do next.

Not All Tech Carries the Same Risk

There’s a meaningful difference between a system helping someone summarize notes and a system making a recommendation that could influence a business decision. The more autonomy and decision-making authority you give the technology, the higher the stakes become. A relatively low-risk use case might help organize information, draft internal content, or reduce repetitive administrative INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

work. More sophisticated applications may analyze data, generate recommendations, or influence actions involving clients. Those systems need different levels of training, testing, validation, and oversight. Agencies should be asking basic questions: What information is the model using? How current is it? How do we know the output is accurate? What happens when it’s wrong? Who is ultimately accountable for the decision? If nobody can answer those questions, the answer probably isn’t “deploy it faster.” AI can produce something that sounds extremely confident and is completely wrong. That’s not exactly a feature you want to discover after the fact.

Better AI Starts With Better Processes

AI also has a way of exposing problems that already exist. If your data is inconsistent, AI doesn’t magically make it clean. If nobody agrees on the process, automating it may just create confusion faster. If employees don’t trust the underlying system, adding another layer of technology isn’t necessarily going to fix that. Sometimes the best AI project starts with work that has nothing to do with AI. Clean up the data. Clarify the workflow. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Decide who owns the information. Understand what employees actually need. Then determine whether artificial intelligence can improve it. There’s a temptation to leap straight to the most advanced tech available. In practice, boring foundational work tends to determine whether any of it succeeds.

Adoption Is Part of the Strategy

There’s another piece that often gets overlooked: People have to use this stuff. You can build an incredible AI capability, but if employees don’t understand why it exists, don’t trust it, or don’t know how it fits into their day-to-day work, adoption will stall. People need to understand what the technology is supposed to help them accomplish. They need clear boundaries around how it should and shouldn’t be used, and they need training that reflects their actual jobs. Leadership also needs to be realistic about behavior change. The agencies that get value from AI treat implementation, education, governance, and feedback as part of the technology itself.

Practical Beats Impressive

The insurance industry needs useful

applications. A good AI initiative should eventually be explainable in fairly ordinary business terms: We reduced the amount of time this takes. We made this information easier to access. We helped employees make better-informed decisions. We found opportunities we weren’t seeing before. We improved the experience for the client or the employee. If you can’t explain the value without spending five minutes describing the technology, there may not be much value there yet. AI is going to become a larger part of how insurance agencies operate. There’s very little question about that. The agencies that benefit most will be the ones disciplined enough to identify the right problems, understand the risks, build the right foundation, and use AI where it actually makes the business better. Barton is founder and CEO of ALKEME Insurance, a full-service insurance agency providing commercial and personal insurance, employee and executive benefits, retirement, and wealth management services. Since its founding in 2020, ALKEME has completed over 95 acquisitions and serves its customers from more than 100 locations across 35-plus states. Email: info@alkemeins.com to learn more. OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 45

Idea Exchange: Ask the Insurance Recruiter

A Timeless Producer Recruiting Strategy

his year marks a few milestones for me. I celebrated my 20th anniversary with Capstone Search Group, where I have spent my entire recruiting career, and this also happens to be my 100th article for Ask the Insurance Recruiter. The saying, “The days are long, but the years are short,” truly resonates with me. By Mary Newgard Not only is this my 100th article, but it also serves as my final contribution. Initially, I intended to celebrate this last edition by reflecting on my first article that sparked this journey, hoping to uncover some irony in what I wrote back then and how much has changed over the past eight years. What I discovered was quite surprising. The irony lies not in how much recruiting has evolved, but rather in how much has remained consistent. Certainly, there are new tools, technologies, and methods that we didn’t have in 2018. However, the fundamental issues surrounding insurance agency recruiting—such as finding and retaining good people and offering competitive compensation and benefits— remain as crucial as ever. Therefore, my final article circles back to a core principle that I’ve written about for years and has

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always helped agencies find great talent.

The Cup of Coffee Convo

Producer recruiting is both the most universal and diverse recruitment endeavor for insurance agencies. For each agency, there are countless ways to attract sales candidates, whether through B2B conversions, internships, campus outreach, or seasoned veterans. What truly matters is how your agency engages these candidates. If your 2027 recruiting strategy includes hiring new producers, my advice is to avoid getting bogged down with details at the outset. It amazes me how many agencies will readily engage account managers but find reasons not to do the same with sales candidates. Producer recruiting is about volume; you want as many at-bats as possible. Agencies that overly scrutinize details early on rarely reach the slugging percentage or RBI numbers they want. While you don’t want to spend time with poorly qualified sales candidates, a person’s background and previous sales experience can be significantly affected by various factors, including the agency’s prior leadership, the quality of their service staff, and even the overall business development model. My recommendation for producer

recruiting is to return to the fundamentals. Have a “cup of coffee” conversation with every salesperson you can. This is what producers desire, as well. They receive countless LinkedIn messages, phone calls, and emails asking, “Are you looking for a new job?” The truth is, successful producers are rarely on the hunt, but they are always open to listening. With the ‘Cup of Coffee’ approach, simply introduce yourself. Share your vision and what your agency aims to achieve. Ask if you can take them out for coffee to learn more about them. It’s straightforward, effective, and stands out as refreshing compared to their usual interactions. This alone, combined with your willingness to engage, will lead to more fruitful and higher-quality producer hires. Special Note: I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Insurance Journal and you, my readers, for eight wonderful years. Your feedback and comments were invaluable. Please keep in touch and reach out if you need advice or assistance with recruiting in the future.

Newgard is partner and senior search consultant for Capstone Search Group, a national recruiting firm dedicated to the insurance industry. Email: asktherecruiter@ csgrecruiting.com. INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

Idea Exchange: Workers’ Compensation Potential Implications for Workplace Violence and Workers’ Comp

orkplace violence spans a wide range of behaviors, from threats and verbal abuse to physical assault By Matt Schutz, and homicide. But the two ends of that spectrum are moving in opposite directions: nonfatal assaults continue to climb steadily, while homicides have Valeria Lara stayed essentially flat over the last two decades. NCCI’s recent three-part Workplace Violence series examined trends in both and Mike Lambesis fatal and nonfatal instances of workplace violence, as well as potential implications for the workers’ compensation system. According to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics assault case data, workplace assaults have shown a clear upward trend: They increased at an annualized rate of 5.3% per year from 2011 through 2021-2022. In the same period, the rate of workplace assaults per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers increased by 62%, far outpacing the comparatively modest 13% increase in the nationwide aggravated assault rate over the same period. Assault cases are most heavily concentrated in the health care and social assistance North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sector, where frequent, direct interaction with patients and clients elevates exposure relative to other sectors. The number of annual assaults in this sector is 10 times the number of assaults in the next largest NAICS sector, retail trade. Within the sector, hospitals and nursing/ residential care facilities together account INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

for 75.1% of all violence-by-others cases. General medical and surgical hospitals alone account for 30.5% of the sector total, making them the single largest contributor by count. At the same time, the highest rates are concentrated in behavioral-health and residential-care settings rather than in general acute care: psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals post a rate of 138.8 cases per 10,000 FTE workers, while residential intellectual and developmental disability, mental health, and substance abuse facilities post a rate of 60.9. While health care has the highest share of assault cases, risk has risen across most major sectors. In education, violence is concentrated in elementary and secondary schools, which account for 91.2% of the sector’s cases and post a rate of 22.5 cases per 10,000 FTE workers. Although women and men participate in the labor force in roughly equal numbers, women account for a disproportionate share of assault cases, and they experience assault rates nearly three times higher than men. Much of this disparity reflects sector composition because women are heavily represented in health care and social assistance, as well as in education. In contrast, nearly 83% of workplace homicide victims are men. The disparity also largely reflects occupational composition: men are heavily concentrated

in fields such as protective services and transportation/material moving, where fatal violence is most common. Workers in these occupations may face greater violence exposure because their jobs combine frequent public interactions, cash handling, and, in some cases, enforcement duties. Shooting by another person accounts for more than four-fifths of all workplace homicides in 2023–2024, far surpassing every other method. This dominance reflects the higher lethality of firearms relative to other forms of interpersonal violence. Taken together, the means and relationship data underscore that workplace homicides are predominantly criminal events involving firearms, rather than escalations of routine workplace interactions. For workers’ compensation, workplace violence can be an occupational hazard, particularly in sectors such as health care, retail, protective services, and education. Federal agencies recommend a layered approach: a comprehensive written prevention program, work-site risk assessments, environmental and engineering controls, administrative controls, and employee training, all monitored and updated over time. Schutz is an actuary, Lara is an actuarial consultant, and Lambesis is senior actuarial analyst for the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).

OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 47

Idea Exchange: Cyber Social Engineering: The Analog Threat to Digital Defenses

.S. businesses have never been more alert to cyber risk. Firewalls, endpoint protection, and multifactor authentication are embedded across corporate America. Every time digital threats By Adam Cooper escalate, businesses respond with new digital innovations. Despite this arms race, one of the most effective ways into a business’s systems remains via social engineering. This is where a convincing email, telephone call, or video meeting is used to recruit an unwitting employee into a hacking attempt.

Social engineering is nothing new, but the way it is being executed has changed significantly in recent years. Rather than probing for weaknesses in a company’s digital defenses, criminals are exploiting how people work and the trust they have in a senior executive or regular supplier. Such is the sophistication of these attempts that employees are often authorizing fraudulent transactions because everything about the request appears credible.

A Growing Problem

The FBI received 24,768 complaints in 2025 relating to business email compromise, in which criminals pose as executives or suppliers to trick

employees into sending money or sensitive information to unintended recipients. Reported losses exceeded $3 billion. Verizon, meanwhile, found some form of human involvement was present in 62% of the breaches examined for its latest Data Breach Investigations Report. The techniques involved include: • Business email compromise • CEO fraud and executive impersonation • Fake supplier payment requests • Invoice manipulation • Payroll diversion fraud • Phishing and spear-phishing campaigns • Deepfake voice and video scams The criminal’s task is made easier by the fact that much of the information needed to make an attempt convincing is often freely available on corporate websites and professional social networks. This can include organizational structures, key personnel, supplier relationships, and so on. Modern hybrid working practices compound the problem. Informal conversations that might once have happened face-to-face are now frequently conducted through email, messaging applications, and video calls. This has the unintended effect of opening new doors to criminal exploitation as it’s more likely that sensitive requests or dialogues might be made on a digital platform rather than in person. AI is also heightening the threat. While businesses are adopting AI to track patterns and identify threats, criminals are using the same tools to add another layer of credibility to their attacks. A finance employee asked to make an urgent transfer by the chief executive may hear what appears to be the executive’s voice, or see them issue the instruction on a video call, when it is in fact a sophisticated AI-facilitated phishing attempt.

Multifaceted Response to Social Engineering Threats

What makes social engineering so difficult to manage is that businesses must protect themselves against commu48 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 19, 2026

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October 19, 2026 Park Avenue Life Insurance Company 10 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001 The above company has made application to the Division of Insurance to amend their Foreign Company License to transact Variable Life or Variable Annuities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Any person having any information regarding the company which relates to its suitability for the license or authority the applicant has requested is asked to notify the Division by personal letter to the Commissioner of Insurance, 1 Federal Street, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02110, Attn: Financial Surveillance and Company Licensing within 14 days of the date of this notice.

October 19, 2026

nications designed to resemble ordinary business activity. Relying on digital tools alone is highly likely to leave gaps in their defenses. Many businesses have turned to cyber insurance as a financial backstop when their controls fail. But the presence of a cyber policy does not automatically mean the business is fully covered for the range of attacks it will face. Many cyber policies exclude social-engineering losses altogether, and even where cover is included, it is frequently restricted by a sublimit.

‘Social engineering is nothing new, but the way it is being executed has changed significantly in recent years.’ Relying on limits can leave a considerable coverage gap. NetDiligence’s 2025 Cyber Claims Study found that business email compromise cost large companies an average of $334,000, while the average loss from wire-transfer fraud reached $644,000.

Insurance Alone Is Not the Answer

While insurance can absorb the financial consequences of an attack, it cannot prevent the payment from being made or INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM

remove the disruption and distress it causes. Even with airtight cover, businesses still need to invest in preventative measures, such as: • Multifactor authentication • Segregation of payment approval duties • Call-back verification procedures • Supplier account change-verification protocols • Regular phishing simulations • Employee awareness training • Executive-specific fraud prevention processes • Incident response planning As criminals continue to refine their techniques, businesses are responding with technology, strong procedures, welltrained employees, and tailored insurance to provide financial protection when their defenses fail. But none of these measures are enough on their own. Businesses have the best chance of protecting themselves against social engineering—and recovering when it succeeds—by bringing their digital defenses, risk management, and insurance together as a single response to a threat that is growing by the day. Cooper is director, management liability, at Burns & Wilcox Global Solutions.

Federal Life Insurance Company 1 Overlook Point, Suite 265, Lincolnshire, IL 60069 The above company has made application to the Division of Insurance to obtain a Certificate of Authority to transact Life, Accident, and Health Insurance in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Any person having any information regarding the company which relates to its suitability for the license or authority the applicant has requested is asked to notify the Division by personal letter to the Commissioner of Insurance, 1 Federal Street, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02110, Attn: Financial Surveillance and Company Licensing within 14 days of the date of this notice.

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OCTOBER 19, 2026 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | 49

Closing Quote 5 Areas to Evaluate in the Agency Before Assessing an AI Vendor

By Kathryn Lerch

onference season is only half over. The larger technology conferences offered some version of what brokers need from AI and automation going forward. Most agency leaders will come home with a list, and a misunderstanding, of which platform will deliver value. However, the trouble with these events is that the sessions are not about any particular agency, so a product that sounds genuinely useful from a conference stage may end up being a poor fit for a specific operation. I will say something

here about my own side of the industry. Technology companies serving distribution tend to be better at describing what a product does than at explaining what it changes for an agency, and those are different claims. The value a tool delivers is often different from the value it is marketed on, and the agency is usually the party that discovers it. After years of leading technology implementations inside agencies, I would argue that the most useful diligence happens internally, before anyone signs anything. The only cost is time—roughly a week if it is done properly. It tells a leadership team more about the likely return than another round of demos, or than a bet on a solution with no real value in their ecosystem. Here are five areas worth examining—and none of them involve the software.

1. Start with a single task performed in two locations.

Pull a recent renewal handled by one office and the same type handled by another, then compare the client files side by side. Whatever gap appears is the gap that any new system will meet on day one.

written process, a checklist, and a definition of a complete client file suggest an operation that can absorb change. A week of shadowing a colleague suggests the agency runs on individual knowledge, which is harder to automate and harder to scale.

This work can be handled internally by a committee of stakeholders rather than a consultant, and it asks for only a few hours and a willingness to accept the answers. Leaders occasionally discover that a process they described confidently in a vendor meeting works three different ways across their offices—a truth better learned before a contract than during a rollout. What a leadership team does with the answers matters more than the answers themselves. Ownership should be settled before a contract is signed, because a tool cannot resolve an accountability question. The rest can be addressed alongside an implementation, as long as they are named in the project plan rather than discovered halfway through. None of this is an argument for moving slowly. The agencies furthest along are pulling ahead, and the gap is widening, which makes the instinct to buy quickly entirely rational. The ones capturing the most value are moving quickly in the right order, and they spent a week on themselves before spending a year on a platform.

5. Review the last significant system change the agency made, looking at how long adoption took, what was quietly abandoned, and which people went back to doing things their own way. That

Lerch is insurance solutions engineer at Fulcrum. She spent 18 years in agency operations, most recently as VP of Agency Operations at The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers, where she oversaw operations through more than 25 acquisitions.

2. Ask who gets called when a process breaks, meaning the person who owns the sequence end to end and can change it. If that name takes more

than a moment to produce, the agency has found the condition most likely to stall an implementation.

3. Trace where client information lands between the first conversation and the bound policy, and count the stops.

Most agencies are surprised by the number, because each one solved a real problem at the time. The stops outside the system of record are the ones a tool will be unable to reach.

4. Look at what a new hire receives on their first day. A

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history is the best predictor of how the next change will go, and most agencies already have it.

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