Entries by Scott Graves

Lessons from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Embedding a Culture of Risk Management

Published June 20th, 2023 by Kyle Langan Running a business involves speculative risk. A successful strategy brings an expectation of positive returns, while carrying a small but significant risk of catastrophic losses. On April 20, 2010, “the inherent risks of decades of inadequate regulation, insufficient investment, and incomplete planning were realized in tragic fashion.” [1] […]

Insurance Strategy – AccuWeather forecasts (edited continuously)

Published on: Apr 21, 2023 at 20:48 PST Kyle Langan Seasonal expectations Example: AccuWeather’s 2023 US Wildfire Forecast. Forecasts break up years into seasons naturally and use their experience to account for things like “increased exposure in a few hot spots” and make predictions with a practical touch, not just following models. [1] In a forecast, […]

Wildfire Awareness

Tri Phan, CPCU, ARM Drought conditions As weather becomes warmer, and wildland plants begin to dry out, it results in higher fuel loads. Therefore, wildfires risk West Coast. Property owners should take precautions to minimize property exposure. How Wildfires Spread and Destroy Property There are three ways that wildfires and spread and cause damage to […]

Snowpack Levels Up Over 250%: Severe Flood Risk?

Edited March 15th, 2023 by Kyle Langan In December 2021, Conrey published an article about Sierra storm systems and the benefit to California’s then struggling mountain snowpack. Without these storms, a resulting decrease in the extent of alpine tundra ecosystems could have threatened wildlife. At the start of February 2022, we revisited this prediction when […]

Philadelphia Eagle’s Overlooked Symptom Leads to $43.5M Loss for Medical Provider

Published on February 14th, 2022, by Kyle Langan Jury’s award: A jury in Philadelphia awarded former NFL player Chris Maragos $43.5 million after he sued the medical team in charge of treating a knee injury from his time playing as a Philadelphia Eagle. [1] “Maragos accused orthopedic surgeon James Bradley and Rothman Orthopaedics of neglecting […]

Snowpack Prediction Revisited: Flood Risk Remains

Storms Return A year ago, our team highlighted the powerful December 2021 storm system along the West Coast as it dropped heavy snow in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascade Range (Leonard, 2021). The storm systems were excellent news for the drought-plagued region and its struggling mountain snowpack; without it, a resulting […]

3 Risk Management Actions to Prepare for 2023

Conduct diligent inspections of your commercial property and the surrounding area for specific exposures to loss. [1] Analyze exposures to natural disaster. If property is located in a disaster-prone area, implement mitigation and response measures that will protect it. [2] Conduct accurate Insurance-To-Value calculations to remain fully protected when loss events occur. [3] Why? Natural […]

Amplified auto losses: are your limits adequate?

It is a sign of tough times when even the insurance companies are struggling. Inflation is driving up auto insurance losses and combined ratios. The amplified insurance claims have inflated at an even faster pace than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the premiums charged by carriers. [1] According to the American Property Casualty Insurance […]

Prices for this Crucial Protection are Cooling Off

Around this time last year, our team predicted Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (D&O) price increases trending downwards towards flat renewals. Read it here As 2022 winds to a close, the decreases are coming to fruition. According to Aon’s latest D&O Pricing Index, the average price per million in limits for D&O insurance fell for […]