In general, unlicensed Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) are not able to sell, solicit, bind, or negotiate insurance, nor should they recommend, interpret, or discuss coverages with clients.
They can act as a go-between for the licensed producer and the client for certain activities –however, matters such as coverage advice or coverage changes must always be reviewed and handled by the licensed producer
Examples of acceptable unlicensed CSR activities may include*:
● Providing general information about the agency or producer, such as contact information.
● Providing clients with requested forms such as applications, declination forms, etc. These forms can also be received by the CSR, but must be provided to the producer for review and further action. They can also provide things like brochures and buyers guides, if requested.
● Requesting information from clients at the instruction of the producer.
● Providing details to clients about their active policies. For example, supplying a policy number, effective dates, or stated limits, without interpreting coverage or answering, “What if?” questions.
● Scheduling appointments for clients to meet with the producer
● Filing documents that have already been reviewed by the producer, plus general file maintenance.
● Receiving requests for changes to coverage – however, CSRs should be clear to the clients that the request must be reviewed by a producer before any changes are made.
● Accepting notice of claims and forwarding claim information to the carrier or producer, without offering opinions or advice regarding coverage or claim outcome.
Commercial Property Owners: Not Sure about Their Insurance Protection | 7
Nationwide recently released a survey on the owners of commercial property. It revealed their take on bad weather and natural disasters. Nationwide recently released a survey on the owners of commercial property.
AM Best: P&C Insurers & 2025 | 9
In the last couple of weeks AM Best has released reports on the business of insurance in 2025. Overall, it was a pretty good year. P&C insurers recorded an underwriting gain in 2025 of $61 billion.
Yes: Those Headlights are Brighter! | 11
These days we’re all being blinded by brighterthan-they-used-to-be headlights. A survey released last week by AAA finds six out of 10 drivers say headlight glare is a major problem after dark.
Moody’s:
2025 P&C Earnings Up over 2024 | 12
Moody’s looked at 20 property and casualty insurers and found improved underwriting, a rise in investment income and a slight drop in catastrophe losses led to a big increase in earnings in 2025.
Flashback to the Great Recession? Subprime Borrowing Now a Huge Concern | 14
Along with other financial issues, subprime loans and the mismanagement of those loans by banks and insurance companies like AIG, helped lead to the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009.
Disappearing
Jobs | 15
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says several jobs we find very, very familiar will be seriously reduced by 2034.
Insurance Hiring:
Staying Pretty Much the Same | 17
Aon and The Jacobson Group just completed their Q1 2026 Insurance Labor Market Study.
MarshBerry: Mergers & Acquisitions: Up Slightly in 2025 | 24
MarshBerry’s tracking of insurance brokerage mergers and acquisitions found in 2025 there were 854. That’s up slightly from the 847 in 2024.
Taxes: Do the Rich Pay Their Fair Share? | 26
Every year Americans spend over 7 billion hours filing taxes. Laughingly, we also spend just about that much time arguing about them, and who is paying them and who isn’t.
Data Breach Update:
The Average Breach Cost $10.2 million | 27
Chubb just released a new report on the cost of a data breach in the United States. The average hit $10.2 million in 2025. That’s over double the world-wide average of $4.4 million per incident.
All users of ACORD Forms must be properly licensed through ACORD.
Agents accessing ACORD Forms through their agency management system or other third-party software are required to claim a license annually .
Most PIA members are eligible for a complimentary annual ACORD Forms license.
Ensure your access to ACORD Forms today! Claim your member benefits www.acord.org/forms pianational.org/acord
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PIA Association for Nebraska and Iowa is committed to focusing its resources in ways that cast the most favorable light on its constituents. We are dedicated to providing the type of programs, the level of advocacy, and the dissemination of information that best supports the perpetuation and prosperity of our members. We pledge to always conduct ourselves in a manner that enhances the public image of PIA and adds real value to our members.
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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS
Not Sure about Their Insurance Protection
Nationwide recently released a survey on the owners of commercial property. It revealed their take on bad weather and natural disasters.
The survey defines commercial property owners as people owning property, business owners and people building new construction. It found 66% of those surveyed are either very, or extremely, worried about the severe weather and natural disasters that might happen in their area.
• 69% are concerned about high heat waves
• 69% worry about serious flooding
• 65% say major wind damage is a troublesome worry
And with those risks come these concerns:
• 56% worry about business interruption
• 41% are concerned about water seeping into their building and flood damage
• 33% see structural damages as the biggest worry
Worry is one thing. Being prepared is quite another. Less than half of those deemed as commercial property owners say they are fully prepared for any of these weather issues:
• 49% feel prepared for damaging winds
• 48% say they are prepared for flood
• 42% believe they are prepared for ice storms and a wave of severe cold weather
• 41% say they are prepared for hail damage
• 27% believe they are prepared for tropical storms and hurricanes
• 17% think they are ready for a tornado
The good news is businesses are trying to be more prepared:
• 61% have installed backup power systems
• 60% put weather-resistant windows or doors in the building or buildings
• 57% have put an emergency plan in place or updated their current plan
• 54% have put extra bracing on their buildings in case of severe wind
A big concern for most responding to the survey is their insurance policy and if it is sufficient.
• 80% think their insurance will protect them from severe weather losses
• However, just 39% believe they are fully protected
Cost of being properly insured is also an issue with those surveyed
• 41% say the affordability of commercial property insurance has improved the last year
• However, 60% are still looking at ways to better manage insurance costs
• 55% say to lower premiums they are willing to reduce coverage or insure less property
Nationwide’s head of Risk Management and Technical Specialization, Jason Ragsdale said the good news is most of the property owners say they are consulting an independent insurance agent — like those of the PIA — to review their coverages and discuss risk management options.
“Businesses have made meaningful investments to strengthen their properties, and that’s encouraging,” he said. “But resilience goes beyond the building itself. It requires a comprehensive approach that includes risk mitigation, continuity planning and insurance coverage that reflects today’s evolving risks.”
Source: Nationwide
AM BEST
P&C Insurers & 2025
In the last couple of weeks AM Best has released reports on the business of insurance in 2025. Overall, it was a pretty good year. P&C insurers recorded an underwriting gain in 2025 of $61 billion.
It’s almost three-times as much when compared to the $22 billion in 2024.
The statistics from 2025 have even surpassed what AM Best predicted at 2024’s end. The big winner in 2025 was homeowners and private passenger auto. That’s about half of the P&C market and both improved dramatically. The final numbers aren’t in yet, but it’s looking very good but both lines contributed heavily to the $61 billion underwriting gain.
AM Best said the use of predictive analytics and telematics are more and more a part of how the industry sets prices. This is especially true in the small commercial and personal auto lines. Insurers are also investing more in data, analytics and artificial intelligence to be more
precise with underwriting and to improve the selection of risk.
The ratings firm’s report also notes technology as being more important in pricing, claims and the detection of fraud.
Investment income is also up significantly. It rose 10% in 2025.
Here is more from the report.
Net premiums written 2025: $940.7 billion
Net premiums written 2024: $898.5 billion
Year over year change: 4.7%
Net premiums earned 2025: $923.3 billion
Net premiums earned 2024: $870 billion
Year over year change: 6.1%
Losses & LAE 2025: $615.7 billion
Losses & LAE 2024: $618.9 billion
Year over year change: -0.5%
Underwriting expenses 2025: $241.2 billion
Underwriting expenses 2024: $225.2 billion
Year over year change: 7.1%
Policyholder dividends 2025: 5.4%
Policyholder dividends 2026: 3.9%
Year over year change: 40.8%
Underwriting income loss 2025: $60.9 billion
Underwriting income loss 2024: $22.1 billion
Year over year change: 176.1%
Net investment income 2025: $91.4 billion
Net investment income 2024: $83.8 billion
Year over year changes: 9.1%
Pretax operating income 2025: $153.1 billion
Pretax operating income 2024: $107 billion
Year over year change: 43.2%
Net income 2025: $150.9 billion
Net income 2024: $166.7 billion Year over year change: -9.5%
Source: Carrier Management
Prepare For Crisis
one place
YES
Those Headlights are Brighter!
These days, drivers are increasingly being blinded by brighter-than-ever headlights. A survey released last week by AAA found that six out of 10 drivers say headlight glare is a major problem after dark, and 75% believe it has worsened over the last 10 years.
AAA Director of Automotive Engineering and Research Greg Brannon said the findings from the survey indicate a need for a deeper look at headlight regulations and the modern standards for headlights.
“Headlight glare has become a major source of frustration and concern for millions of drivers,” Brannon said. “As vehicle lighting technology evolves, so must our understanding of glare, its impact, and the steps drivers can take to maintain safety. Driven by several factors, including new headlight technologies and taller vehicle designs, drivers are becoming frustrated with the issue of headlight glare.”
These are the challenges brighter-than-bright headlights bring to drivers:
• Seeing what’s happening with oncoming traffic — 92%
• Side mirror glare — 36%
• Rearview mirror glare: 36%
Here’s more:
• 70% of drivers with prescription glasses experience more glare than those not wearing glasses
• 41% of people driving pickup trucks don’t have trouble with headlight glare
• 70% of women drivers complain about the glare
• 57% of men have the same complaint
Lastly, those experiencing glare have the most difficulty with:
• Two lane roads — 75%
• Highways — 50%
• Multilane roads (non-highway) — 41%
• Neighborhood roads: 39%
Source: AAA Newsroom
2025 P&C Earnings Up over 2024 MOODY’S
Moody’s looked at 20 property and casualty insurers and found improved underwriting, a rise in investment income and a slight drop in catastrophe losses led to a big increase in earnings in 2025. Net income was up to $69 billion from the $53.4 billion in 2024.
Looking at catastrophe losses, the 20 companies had $19 billion in losses in 2025 compared to $20.8 billion in 2024. Investment income was around $40 billion. That’s up 13% from 2024.
Net premiums written was up 5% to $411.6 billion in 2025. Premium increases and higher policy counts for some personal lines insurers led the way.
The average combined ratio for the 20 insurance companies was 88.4%. That’s a big improvement from 2024’s combined ratio of 91.7%
Source: PropertyCasualty360.com
FLASHBACK TO THE GREAT RECESSION?
Subprime Borrowing Now a Huge Concern
Along with other financial issues, subprime loans and the mismanagement of those loans by banks and insurance companies like AIG, helped lead to the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009.
Data mined from Equifax and Moody’s Analytics by Kobeissi Letter finds an increasing number of Americans are falling behind on their debt. Worse, the delinquency rate on subprime loans in the U.S. has risen to an alarming 10% of the nation’s total outstanding debt.
Subprime loans issues are the data’s most frightening statistics. Those loans are given to people with credit scores of 660 or below. The delinquency rate of these already high-risk borrowers has tripled since 2021.
Subprime debt at the present time is $2.7 trillion. It is 15% of the aggregate household debt in the U.S.
Source: Benzinga
Disappearing Jobs
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says several jobs we find very, very familiar will be seriously reduced by 2034. What you’ll see — or should we say, not see — by that date is cashiers. The number of jobs lost will be around 313,000 — or 10% of the cashier workforce.
Cashier jobs have declined significantly over the past decade, falling from 1.3 million in 2014 to about 1 million in 2025. Consumers have likely noticed the shift most in grocery stores, where self-checkout has become increasingly common. By 2025, roughly 38% of grocery checkout lanes were self-service.
You’ll also see a lot fewer — or maybe no more — office assistants, bookkeepers and data entry clerks. The BLS says there will be 36% fewer clerical typists and 27% fewer phone operators. Automation, software, and selfservice technology will replace them.
Or, put another way, more of those frustrating phone trees that send callers in circles—press this number or that one—without ever offering
an option that matches the reason for the call. But that’s an editorial opinion and not really part of this conversation.
Disappearing jobs:
1. Cashier
Jobs lost: 313,000
Average annual salary: $31,190
2. Office assistant
Jobs lost: 177,800
Average annual salary: $43,630
3. Customer service representative
Jobs lost: 153,700
Average annual salary: $42,830
4. Bookkeeper
Jobs lost: 94,300
Average annual salary: $49,210
5. Fast food cook
Jobs lost: 90,300
Average annual salary: $30,160
6. Retail supervisor
Jobs lost: 72,300
Average annual salary: $47,320
7. Inventory clerk
Jobs lost: 66,300
Average annual salary: $43,190
8. Bank teller
Jobs lost: 44,900
Average annual salary: $39,340
9. Data entry
Jobs lost: 36,700
Average annual salary: $39,850
10. Packer
Jobs lost: 32,200
Average annual salary: $35,580
11. Food preparation
Jobs lost: 30,900
Average annual salary: $35,580
12. Administrative assistant
Jobs lost: 30,800
Average annual salary: $46,290
13. Corrections officer
Jobs lost: 30,100
Average annual salary: $57,970
14. Childcare provider
Jobs lost: 29,200
Average annual salary: $32,050
15. Elementary school teacher
Jobs lost: 27,900
Average annual salary: $62,340
16. Payroll clerk
Jobs lost: 27,000
Average annual salary: $55,290
17. IT support
Jobs lost: 27,000
Average annual salary: $60,340
18. Machine operator
Jobs lost: 21,100
Average annual salary: $45,590
19. Teacher’s aide
Jobs lost: 21,100
Average annual salary: $35,240
20. Sales associate
Jobs lost: 19,600
Average annual salary: $34,580
Those are the categories. The source link below will show you the numbers for specific job titles. For the insurance industry some of these apply.
1. Clerical typist — 36.1% of all jobs gone by 2034
3. Phone operator — 27.5% of all jobs gone by 2034
4. Receptionist/switchboard operator — 26.3% of all jobs gone by 2034
5. Data entry specialist — 25.9% of all jobs gone by 2034
9. Telemarketers — 22.1% of all jobs gone by 2034
19. Payroll clerk — 16.7% of all jobs gone by 2034
Source: Visual Capitalist
Insurance Hiring Staying Pretty Much the Same
The latest Q1 2026 Insurance Labor Market Study from Aon and The Jacobson Group found that 43% of insurance companies plan to maintain their current staffing levels in 2026— the highest percentage in 15 years. Only 7% expect to reduce staff.
Aon’s Jeff Rieder said near historic profits in 2025, investments that are performing well and improvements in productivity from investments in technology are driving them to keep staff at current levels.
“And the last thing that may be also driving this is with the advancements in artificial intelligence, what this could indicate is that companies are, we’ll say somewhat pausing on hiring plans to see just how artificial intelligence will be adopted within the organization,” Rieder said, “and how this is going to improve certain functions.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says jobs in insurance and finance peaked in 2022. The number of openings in 2025 was 281,000. In December of last year job openings dropped to 138,000. It’s the lowest level in a decade.
“I really do think that this might be kind of the indication of how AI is starting to influence a lot of these activities in terms of how companies are thinking about hiring,” Rieder said.
Here’s more, 49% of P&C insurers plan to add staff in the next year. That’s good news. Those dropping employees site automation improvements as the reason.
• Just 2% of insurers expect revenue to drop in the next 12 months
• 72% see it increasing
• 26% believe things will stay flat
• From January 2025 to January 2026 P&C employment grew 0.81%
• That’s less than the anticipated 1.42%
• Personal lines insurers are the most optimistic about revenue
• 90% expect revenue increases
• 68% of commercial carriers are expecting revenue increases
• Most new jobs will be in technology, claims and underwriting
• Compliance, analytics and underwriting are where insurers will add experienced staff
• Operations and claims will see the most entry-level positions
Source: Insurance Journal
Events Calendar 2026
May 5, 2026 CISR: Elements of Risk Management
May 5, 2026
May 5, 2026
May 6, 2026
Eroding: The Personal Lines Implosion and What Happens Next
An Hour with Nicole: Making Sense of Homeowners Deductibles (Once and For All!)
“Where the H*ll Is My Stuff?” Addressing Supply Chain Exposures with Small Biz Insureds
May 7, 2026 Ethics in Insurance - Protecting the Client and the Agency
May 7, 2026 Insuring Manufacturers: Concerns, Claims, Coverages
May 12, 2026
Healthcare Solutions –
and Others
May 13, 2026 Fun (and Dangerous) as H*ll: Insuring Small Vehicles and Watercraft
May 14, 2026
May 14, 2026
Dawn of New Age or End of the World? Emerging Risks That Make You Wonder
May 19, 2026 CISR: Insuring Personal Residential Property
May 19, 2026
Audits: How to Create Efficient, Profitable and Defensible Workflows
May 19, 2026 Reasons Personal Lines are Broken (and What to Do About It)
May 20, 2026
May 20, 2026 An Hour with Dave: Understanding Ordinance or Law (Because Insureds Still Don’t)
May 21, 2026 Why Are You Here?! Insurance Issues with the People and Stuff in Your House
60-Second Appetite Check!
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CISR
May 5, 2026
Elements of Risk Management
May 19, 2026
Insuring Personal Residential Property
June 9, 2026
Insuring Commercial Property
June 23, 2026
Insuring Personal Auto Exposures
July 14, 2026
Commercial Casualty I
July 28, 2026
Agency Operations
August 4, 2026
Other Personal Lines Solutions
September 1, 2026
Elements of Risk Management
October 6, 2026
Commercial Casualty II
October 20, 2026
Insuring Commercial Property
November 17, 2026
William T. Hold Seminar – Personal
December 8, 2026
Agency Operations
CIC
May 27-28, 2026
Ins. Company Operations Institute
West Des Moines, IA & Online
June 3-4, 2026
Commercial Multiline Institute
Online
July 22-23, 2026
Agency Management Institute
Online
August 27-28, 2026
Ruble Graduate Seminar
West Des Moines, IA & Online
September 23-24, 2026
Commercial Casualty Institute
Omaha, NE & Online
October 14-15, 2026
Personal Lines Institute
Online
November 4-5, 2026
Life & Health Institute
Online
December 2-3, 2026
Commercial Property Institute
Online
CPIA
May 20, 2026
Special Topic: An Agent’s Guide to Understanding & Mitigating Cyber Exposures
August 18, 2026
CPIA 1: Position for Success
September 17, 2026
CPIA 2: Implement for Success
October 21, 2026
CPIA 3: Sustain Success
November 19, 2026
Special Topic: Disaster & Continuity Planning for Businesses & Families
MARSHBERRY: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Up Slightly in 2025
MarshBerry’s tracking of insurance brokerage mergers and acquisitions found in 2025 there were 854. That’s up slightly from the 847 in 2024. The company also looked at what’s happened so far this year and found as of
March 31st, the 123 announced mergers and acquisitions is down 4.9% from the 129 deals at this time last year.
Over half — 52% — are from the top10 buyers. All except one are private capita-backed insurance brokers. The one that isn’t is the public, Aon.
The target brokerage valuations are elevated for the first quarter of this year and average 11.52 time earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). “There is continued speculation that we will see a lowering of multiples, but the market is still flush with buyers who are well capitalized,” the report said.
These are the top buyers so far in 2025. As noted earlier, all but Aon are private capitalbacked. Aon is public.
1. Broadstreet Partners
Transactions so far in 2026: 15
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 12.2%
2. Inszone Insurance services
Transactions so far in 2026: 10
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 8.1%
3. ALKEME Holding Corporation
Transactions so far in 2026: 7
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 5.7%
4. World Insurance Associates
Transactions so far in 2026: 6
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 4.9%
5. King Risk Partners
Transactions so far in 2026: 5
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 4.1%
6. Relation Insurance Services
Transactions so far in 2026: 5
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 4.1%
7. WalkerHughes Insurance
Transactions so far in 2026: 4
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 3.3%
8. Aon
Transactions so far in 2026: 4
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 3.3%
9. Oakbridge Insurance Agency
Transactions so far in 2026: 4
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 3.3%
10. Allianz Insurance Services
Transactions so far in 2026: 4
Percentage of all transactions so far in 2026: 3.3%
Top 10
64 deals, or 52% of all deals so far in 2026. The total number of deals this year is 123.
Source: Business Insurance
TAXES
Do the Rich Pay Their Fair Share?
Every year Americans spend over 7 billion hours filing taxes. Laughingly, we also spend just about that much time arguing about them, and who is paying them and who isn’t. That leads us to the rich, and to who pays the most, the rich or the poor.
Using 2021 IRS data on income, adjusted gross income, and federal taxes paid, the middle class—those earning $96,000 to $173,000 annually—paid the highest share of their income in federal income taxes:
• The bottom 50%, those with income up to $48,700 pays 10% of their income to federal taxes
• The top 25% to 50% earners, people with income from $48,700 to 96,600 pay 18% of their income to federal taxes
• The top 10% to 25% of income earners, those with incomes $96,600 to $173,000 pay 19% of that income to federal taxes
• The top 5% to 10% of income earners, those with incomes of $175,000 to $258,000 pay 11% of that income to the federal government
• The top 2% to 5%, those with incomes of $258,000 to $699,000, pay 16% of all their income to federal income taxes
• The top 1%, those with incomes of $699,000 and up, pay 26% of their total income to federal taxes
Here’s the share of total federal income taxes paid by each group:
• The bottom 50%, those with income up to $48,700 pay 2% of all taxes paid to the U.S. treasury
• The top 25% to 50%, again, those with income $48,700 to 96,600, pay 8% of all taxes paid to the federal government
• The top 10% to 25%, people with incomes $96,600 to $173,000, pay 13% of all federal income taxes
• The top 5% to 10%, those with incomes of $175,000 to $258,000, pay 10% of all taxes paid to the U.S. government
• The top 2% to 5%, individuals with incomes of $258,000 to $699,000, pay 20% of all the taxes paid to the federal government
• The top 1%, people with incomes of $699,000 and up, pay 46% of all taxes paid to the U.S. treasury
The Libertarian publication Reason argues that higher taxes on the wealthy won’t solve deficit problems. It notes that the top 10% of earners make about half the nation’s income and pay roughly 72% of all federal taxes, while the bottom half pay about 3%.
The IRS statistics has the most wealthy paying 66% and the lowest earners paying out 2% of their income.
The publication finds the total worth of all American billionaires at around $8 trillion. With a federal deficit projected to rise to $25 trillion in the next decade, taxing the rich isn’t going to dent that deficit — even if you cashed in all of their assets.
Source: REASON
DATA BREACH UPDATE
The Average Breach Cost
$10.2 million
Chubb just released a new report on the cost of a data breach in the United States. The average hit $10.2 million in 2025. That’s over double the world-wide average of $4.4 million per incident.
The Chubb report also notes cyber insurance claims rising significantly. Businesses with income of $1 billion or more saw claims averaging $4.4 million. That’s up from $2.2 million in 2024. The $4.4 million average cost is a staggering 586% higher than 2021’s claims cost average.
Ironically, the AI tools used to allow an organization to very quickly find out it’s been invaded also allow cyber criminals to attack faster. Using sophisticated malware, these criminals can attack several systems at one time and in just a few minutes.
In many cases, the malware has the ability to rewrite itself to avoid being detected. Optimized AI can imitate executive voices that often leads to a fake fund transfer.
Phishing is still listed as the top con used by the bad guys. It accounts for 41.4% of all cases.
Another side of the coin has companies, organizations and executives facing lawsuits and other litigation. Sometimes millions get paid in fees to arbitrate a case before it gets reviewed.
This is a major reason the country is seeing higher breach costs than other nations.
