A major theme throughout the conference was the growing complexity and scrutiny of regulatory data requests. As data calls become more detailed and frequent, insurers are being pushed to strengthen internal processes for tracking, validating, and submitting accurate information across jurisdictions. Best practices emphasized by panelists included submitting data promptly and accurately, proactively clarifying parameters with the issuing authority, and being transparent about any errors. When issues arise in state-issued data calls, requesting a resubmission can help minimize follow-up scrutiny or potential consequences. Panelists also recommended maintaining a calendar of annual and quarterly data calls to get a head start on data collection and planning, and using visual boards, such as whiteboards or bulletin boards, to organize upcoming requirements and communicate workload to leadership. Strong communication, transparency, and documentation practices were consistently highlighted as essential to building and maintaining regulatory trust.

Another key takeaway was the industry’s increasing attention to climate resilience and the regulatory response to catastrophe risk. Resilience is no longer solely a policyholder concern—it is a regulatory and operational imperative that directly influences how insurers price, underwrite, and manage portfolios. In 2024 alone, the U.S. experienced 27 individual climate-related disasters, resulting in more than $200 billion in economic losses—a 36% increase over the last five years.

States are approaching the issue in varied but coordinated ways to reduce exposure and promote long-term market stability. Louisiana highlighted its Fortified Roof Program, which provides funds to help homeowners strengthen roofs against hurricane-force winds, reducing storm-related losses. Nevada discussed increasing wildfire risks near Lake Tahoe, where limited mitigation actions by homeowners have contributed to insurer nonrenewals. The Nevada Commissioner plans to address these gaps to help control potential wildfire losses and stabilize the market.

Technology’s expanding role in compliance and underwriting also sparked significant discussion, particularly the use of aerial imagery. With guidance now issued by 12 states in response to rising consumer complaints, insurers are being urged to ensure transparency and fairness in how aerial images inform decisions. The bulletins emphasize that imagery should be recent, consumers must be able to access and dispute it, and cosmetic issues should not influence underwriting outcomes. Since implementation, states have reported a decrease in related consumer complaints, reflecting a broader trend toward balancing innovation with responsible data practices and consumer protections.

Finally, conversations around adjuster consistency and the oversight of Managing General Agents (MGAs) and Delegated Underwriting Authority Enterprises (DUAEs) underscored the need for standardized performance metrics and strong accountability frameworks. As delegated authority arrangements grow, regulators are placing greater focus on visibility and control to ensure compliance remains strong across all functions.

The insights shared at the 2025 AICP Annual Conference reinforced what many in the industry already recognize—compliance is no longer a reactive requirement but a strategic driver of operational integrity and resilience. At AAIS, we continue to monitor these regulatory developments closely, helping Members as they anticipate change and strengthen their compliance frameworks through data-driven insights and collaborative engagement.

If you have questions about regulatory developments, data calls, or emerging compliance trends, AAIS is here to help. Our team is committed to supporting Members with timely insights, guidance, and resources to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. To continue the conversation or learn how AAIS can support your compliance initiatives, reach out to us at membership@AAISonline.com.

The post Evolving Insurance Compliance: Data, Regulation, and Climate Risk first appeared on AAIS.

Overall, there was a consensus around the challenges we face, and the use of new and emerging technologies being deployed. According to respondents, the Florida Homeowners Insurance Market, Reinsurance/Capital, and Climate Risk/Natural Catastrophe Exposure were top concerns. Data Integrity/Accuracy and Accuracy of Risk Models were the top two data & technology priorities for respondents.

Leading Concerns About the Florida Insurance Market

It appears not much has changed over the past year with regard to the issues facing the Florida market. In our 2023 survey, respondents’ top concerns were the Florida Homeowners Insurance Market, followed by Reinsurance/ Capital, Assignment of Benefits Litigation, Insurance Regulation, Climate Risk/Natural Catastrophes, and then the Economy/Inflation.

More than 80% of respondents were at least Moderately Concerned about the Florida Homeowners Market. Slightly fewer view Reinsurance/Capital as a major concern.

Assignment of Benefits Litigation dropped from third in 2023 to seventh place among the top concerns in 2024. Moving higher among concerns are Climate Risk/Natural Catastrophe Exposures, with more than 70% now saying they are Extremely or Moderately Concerned.

Insurance Regulation and Federal/State Legislation garnered similar levels of concern with more than 30% of respondents Extremely Concerned. The Economy/Inflation remained a concern to respondents in 2023, with just 20% being Extremely Concerned.

Priority Placed on Data and Technology Issues

The top Data and Technology issues remained the same year-over-year compared to 2023. Interestingly, nearly all respondents said Data Integrity/Accuracy was at least Somewhat a Priority, while 85% said the same about Accuracy of Risk Models.

More than a third of respondents put Ownership/Control of Proprietary Data as their Top Priority, while only one in five said the same for Security/Privacy.

Regulatory Reporting became a larger priority in 2024, with 69% saying it was at least Somewhat a Priority and one in five reporting it as a Top Priority.

Half of respondents now say Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning is at least Somewhat a Priority, making it a higher priority than in previous years.

Storage/Legacy Issues is becoming a lesser issue, with more than 68% rating it a Low Priority, or Not a Priority at all. Similarly, Info-Sharing and Blockchain Initiatives are getting little attention, with neither being a Top Priority for any respondents, and the majority making them a Low Priority, or Not a Priority.

For more information on the results of AAIS Market Surveys or any of the advisory products and services offered by AAIS, please contact an AAIS Engagement Manager.

The post AAIS Market Research Looks at Trends, Concerns, and Data/Technology Issues Affecting the Florida Market first appeared on AAIS.

How to Create Loyalty in Your Organization

Creating a positive company culture and having empathy for employees are two of the most effective ways to create loyalty within an organization, according to Emek. She also believes a company’s onboarding process is important. “A lot of companies don’t have a clear onboarding process,” Emek stated. “I suggest that when anyone joins the company, they get introduced to all the different departments, so they understand the whole company.”

Another crucial factor for creating loyalty at one’s company is to make sure employees feel like they have a purpose there. “The insurance industry, in my opinion, has a purpose for everything because we’re protecting risks,” Emek shared. “Even the smallest thing you do is what’s protecting somebody’s life, somebody’s home, somebody’s business. So, communicating the purpose is so crucial to every job if you want to keep people.”

Effects of COVID & Remote Work Expectations

While COVID definitely changed the expectations of workers when it comes to remote work, Emek thinks it is changing back. “Now [companies] are understanding that people were highly productive [working from home] during COVID because they were home all day and night,” Emek explained. “Once COVID passed and people now could go out, productivity dropped. Companies recognize that young people are not getting mentored enough by working from home 100% of the time.” According to Emek, companies are now offering more flexible work arrangements where employees are in the office three to four days a week.

Another effect of COVID is that salaries have increased within the insurance industry and beyond. “This is a good thing,” in Emek’s opinion. “The insurance industry is competing with young people going into industries that pay much better salaries than we do, so raising that salary bar is definitely going to help attract young people in this industry.” Overall, she believes the outcome of COVID has been positive on work expectations.

Managing Today’s Workforce

Emek believes insurance companies need to think differently about how to manage their workers. “I think we have some very old management constructs that we still work by,” she admitted. “One of them is the performance review, which I call a report card. Report cards are for elementary, junior high school, and high school. They are at the end of the year for the most for most companies and by the end of the year, nobody remembers everything they’ve done.” Emek recommends implementing a newer version of this in the form of monthly one-on-one meetings, where employees and managers discuss goals for that month.

Another element that needs to be changed is how companies manage personal time off (PTO). “I think when you have the right people, it’s about the outcomes [and] results,” said Emek. “People sometimes don’t recognize that it’s about the quality of the work that’s being done, not how much time you might have put in.” All in all, as long as employees get their job done, they should be able to take any PTO they need.

WAHVE: Helping Insurers Cope

WAHVE offers two talent solutions to insurers. “Our main solution, which we built the company on, is helping our retiring insurance industry professionals continue to work in their retirement,” Emek explained. “Because the truth is, people aren’t really retiring from work, they’re just retired from the office. They’re no longer on a career path; they want to have flexibility.” WAHVE has been capturing the retiring insurance industry population, qualifying them, and contracting them back out to insurance companies, retail brokers, and wholesale brokers all across the country. WAHVE has placed over 4,000 assignments over the last 13 years, from CSRs to underwriters to actuaries and even attorneys. By keeping the aging population working, WAHVE is helping the insurance industry maintain its institutional knowledge and fill that talent gap.

Another solution WAHVE released this last year is called Talent Acquisition Outsourcing. “We created bias-free, qualifying software exclusive within the insurance industry,” Emek explained. The software’s algorithm will match applicants with job ads that have similar hard and soft skill requirements by giving the applicant a score. “Then we give the client the five best-scored diverse candidate pools to hire from. So, you don’t have to look at 100 resumes and worry about your bias, because you’ll get the five most qualified scored against you.”

WAHVE also supports not-for-profits in the insurance industry that recruit talent, like the CPCU society. “We support them because we know it’s so important to bring in the young talent,” said Emek. “That’s why I built WAHVE in the first place…to help solve that problem.”

To view the full interview with Sharon Emek, please click the video above.

To view part one of this series where Emek discusses how to apply AI to solve the talent crunch and avoid its pitfalls, click here.

The post WAHVE CEO Explains How to Solve the Talent Gap and Retain Quality Talent in a Competitive Market first appeared on AAIS.

State of the Talent Gap in the Insurance Industry & Efforts to Fill It

Emek admitted the state of the talent gap in the insurance industry is complex. “It started probably in the late 1990s when carriers began to close down their insurance schools,” she said. “Also, the money was with the technology space and Wall Street, which were exploding at the time, so we didn’t attract a lot of young people.” As a result, the population in the insurance industry began to age.

According to Emek, industry professionals are beginning to realize that finding talent from four-year colleges is no longer ideal. “We have to start looking at non-traditional ways of [filling the talent gap]; maybe start looking at two-year colleges or even high school graduates,” she advised. “We should be creating more kinds of mentorship programs and internships so that people can learn and understand how powerful our industry is.” Even though the industry is beginning to look at these different methodologies for attracting young talent, the issue then becomes how to keep them. “Young people move [jobs] very quickly and the industry is used to having people with longevity.,” said Emek. “We have to rethink that because longevity might not be there going forward.”

Trends Affecting the Search for Talent

As Emek mentioned, one of the main issues affecting the industry is that young talent tends to job-hop. “This is really affecting the industry because we’re not understanding what that means,” she said. “We need to come up with a methodology to keep that job hopping within the industry, so we at least keep the talent.” Another trend is that the industry is moving to look at the underserved population for talent, like within the military. “We need to look at how to create the skills and the talent that we need,” Emek urged. “There are some companies that are setting up their own insurance schools to teach kids because the future is going to not necessarily be about a college degree, but more about the skills.”

Searching for Candidates with AI

AI’s role in finding the right candidates is a bit complicated and problematic for Emek. But AI does help when it comes to job boards like Indeed. “It looks at words in a resume and words in your job ad and it does a screening based on them,” she explained. But, according to Emek, the problem is that AI does not fully qualify the applicant, so hiring managers may end up getting applicants who are overqualified for the position. “It’s still too new [of a technology],” she claimed. “But it will evolve and there will be more sophisticated methodologies used to make sure that you’re getting better-qualified resumes.” Another issue is that AI tools exclude a lot of candidates if you leave out certain details in the job ad. “If you don’t put a salary range, you’re going to exclude people because more experienced candidates might look at the job and assume that since there’s no salary listed, it’s going to be a low salary,” Emek warned.

Advice for Hiring Managers

“Advice I would give hiring managers is to make sure job descriptions are accurate, which means that they have to communicate more with HR,” Emek suggested. “Sometimes, HR writes job ads and they don’t fully understand the hiring managers’ needs, so there is a disconnect. They really need to work together to make sure the right message is getting out there.” Emek also reminds hiring managers to not exclude candidates just because they do not possess a certain hard skill. “When you’re looking at those resumes, you have to look at what their soft skills are, because people don’t always tell the truth [about hard skills],” Emek shared. “You have to make sure you consider the soft skills of that person because many times they’re more important.” She believes too many candidates tend to get excluded because of that.

To view the full interview with Sharon Emek, please click the video above.

In part two of this series, Emek discusses how to retain quality talent in a competitive environment. Click here to watch the interview.

The post Applying AI to Solve the Talent Crunch and How to Avoid Its Pitfalls with WAHVE CEO first appeared on AAIS.

While much of the talk about batteries and fires in the popular press circles around electric vehicles (EVs), the focus of this workshop and the crux of the battery fire problem in New York City (NYC) is focused on micro-mobility devices: eBikes, eScooters, eMotorcycles, and to a lesser extent, hoverboards and novelty mobility devices. Micro-mobility devices are a particularly urban phenomenon that is especially well suited for dense urban, post-pandemic communities. These battery-powered devices need regular battery swaps or charges wherever they can get access to electricity– be it the back of delivery hubs, e-bike stores, restaurants, retail shops, apartments, and most worryingly, egress hallways. When these devices fail—and fail catastrophically— the rapid heat release rate has been shown over and over to lead to extreme fire behavior often blocking egress pathways, and with occasionally fatal results.

A recent fire in NYC highlighted key themes that emerged throughout the workshop. In June 2023, an e-bike retail store in the Lower East Side of Manhattan had a significant fire from a battery that likely was being charged killed four residents in the apartments above the shop. In the 10 or so days after the original incident, there were numerous reignitions including a second major incident that nearly took the life of a police officer. This incident only got worse when the ill-equipped hazardous materials remediation contractor ended up having several additional fires first in a containment barrel in front of the fire building, then in a semi-truck in the middle of the Long Island Expressway, and later in a storage yard. While you’d be forgiven for assuming this was the plot of a Hollywood dramatic comedy, this sequence of events highlights the potential for compounding problems when these batteries are poorly understood and poorly handled. It brought to light three themes:

1. The first fire may lead to more. Firefighters pride themselves on making sure a fire is truly extinguished before they leave. The “overhaul”’ practice, where they seem to destructively remove drywall and pull-down ceilings, is intended to ensure that there are no hidden pockets of fire that might rekindle hours later. However, battery fires, for all intents and purposes, may be extinguished, and then due to stranded energy or a compromised container, the battery may reignite hours, days, or even weeks later. Even batteries that were not directly involved in the fire may have sustained thermal, water, or physical damage during the fire incident and may ignite later.

2. Developing strategies and ordinances for safe charging is the most important mitigation. While FDNY personnel shared information about various devices that caught fire or exploded during normal use, the majority of incidents involved batteries being recharged. Fires during recharging have occurred in single-family dwellings, multi-family apartment complexes, and a multitude of different types of commercial occupancies—often where dozens of batteries are being recharged simultaneously in storefronts or food delivery hubs. The FDNY mentioned the recent legislation in NYC that significantly regulates battery charging in commercial occupancies.

3. Black market and grey market replacement and refurbished batteries present the gravest danger. Many of the presentations at the symposium revolved around replacement batteries and battery-powered devices sourced from overseas. Even more worrisome are DIY refurbishments where less-than-scrupulous vendors procure dead batteries, take the individual cells out of batteries, and reuse, repackage, and resell them to unsuspecting consumers. FDNY and UL personnel also shared that a growing number of battery chargers and other devices they confiscated bore counterfeit UL Listing trademarks, which are being sold in local and online retailers.

The speakers also shared a number of success stories and emerging best practices that communities across the country can and should begin to adopt now to mitigate the potential for future losses and future crises.

• Improving laws and ordinances. Some communities are beginning to adopt legislation and regulations to address the various risks associated with these types of incidents. Those same communities—NYC being an archetype—are also doing the associated compliance inspections and code enforcement activities to ensure these new regulations are being complied with. However, given the patchwork legal fabric of our country, regulatory advancements in NYC, for example, do not necessarily improve the situation in other major cities, much less small towns. That said, other cities can and do borrow and adapt model legislation from other communities to expedite their own development.
• Improving products to mitigate, suppress, and/or contain fires. Part of the problem is how quickly new battery-powered devices and threats are emerging in the marketplace. Thankfully, we’re now also starting to see rapid growth in the products and technology to address and prevent these types of fires. There were two types of products discussed at the workshop that stood out. CellBlock is a novel type of hazardous materials inert media that can be used to safely pack damaged batteries for storage. CellBlock also makes a range of pouches infused with the CellBlock chemicals that are used on airplanes and other enclosed environments to contain mobile devices that are failing. The other product was non-combustible battery charging cabinets that are designed to contain and limit the chain reaction of failures if a battery begins to fail while charging. It is worth noting that these differ significantly from “flammable cabinets” that are required for storing flammable liquids. The FDNY noted that several of these cabinets have been given a “Letter of Non-Objection” by the City of New York, which is their de facto stamp of approval.
• Emerging best practices in how to mitigate, extinguish, and remediate battery fires. The threat posed by battery fires has so far outpaced our ability to address them. In the absence of mature, science-based, universally adopted practices, first responders and remediation practitioners are relying upon their legacy practices and procedures, word-of-mouth conjecture, and a fair bit of ad-hoc experimentation to figure out how to address these atypical incidents. As a result, sometimes these practices end up prolonging or making the incident worse. This should be a concern for insurers. Current practices call for spraying high volumes of water for potentially hours to “drown” a fire—most often seen with electric vehicle fires—yet doing so often exacerbates the environmental contamination that may need to be remediated. Firefighting gear that is exposed to these types of fires may be permanently contaminated and require replacement, which may expand the cost of claims. However, progress is being made with workshops such as this one and groups like the non-governmental private company, Energy Security Agency, which provides training to first responders and towing professionals, destructive testing of battery-powered devices to learn from how different batteries fail, and a free 24/7 emergency advice line that first responders can call for guidance.

While there may not be a whole lot of mature science about how to mitigate these risks, the industry is rapidly trying to fill in the knowledge gaps and increase awareness to reduce the impact of these incidents. Hopefully, we will see this increased knowledge also reduce the financial loss associated with these types of claims. This is very much a topic that insurers should keep on their radar—even if they have not yet had a loss—because the prevalence of these types of devices is growing every day. AAIS is keeping our thumb on this emerging peril. Reach out to Dr. Matt Hinds-Aldrich to learn more.

The post Redefining Mobility & Risks of Battery Fires: Findings from an FDNY Symposium first appeared on AAIS.

Issues Insurance Carriers are Facing

While Kadous believes the biggest issue insurance carriers are facing is related to reinsurance, there are a lot of other challenges affecting their businesses. “There’s a lot of challenges with keeping up with the latest technology,” he said. However, Kadous doesn’t view advancements in insuretech necessarily as a problem, but more of an opportunity for the insurance industry as a whole.

Opportunities in the MGA Segment

Kadous has noticed that a lot of new startups are rolling out as MGAs, which he finds interesting. “What we see there is an opportunity for front-end carriers in particular,” he shared. “But in addition to that, there is an opportunity for AAIS to engage directly with those MGAs, learn more about what they’re doing, and pull them into some of the discussions on our councils.” Kadous further explained how AAIS is creating a new membership class that will allow MGAs to come on board as AAIS non-voting Members, but still be able to utilize its programs directly without needing to pull their front-end carrier in as an AAIS Member. “We think it’s a change for the better,” he emphasized. “This membership option is going to really open up the MGA space and enable us to invite them into our community.”

AAIS: Supporting its Members in a Tough Market

One way AAIS is currently supporting its Members is through its Product Deployment Platform (PDP). “When companies go to adopt a program or update a program, there are always expenses involved from the company perspective,” Kadous explained. “We’re working on our [PDP] and building out some really terrific assets that are going to help in terms of getting a product up and running or updated and delivering things such as data tables digitally.” In addition, AAIS also has Mind Maps, which essentially explains how to program a form’s logic and how to program the entire manual. “Mind Maps tries to simplify things as much as possible to make either a transition or an update much less painful,” Kadous assured.

To view the full interview with John Kadous, please click the video above.

The post AAIS Vice President of Products Reveals Organizational Opportunities in the MGA Segment & Member Support Initiatives first appeared on AAIS.

Biggest Challenges in the Market & Addressing Them with Data 

According to Kruck, the biggest current challenges are inflation, the uncertainty of climate change, and the reinsurance market. He advocated that better data and data management are essential to address all three. “Before you can solve a problem, you’ve got to know its dimensions and quantify how big it is,” said Kruck. “You have to do that so that when you take action, you understand how you intend to impact the drivers as exhibited by the data. Then you need the data to see if you’re getting the results you want.” To tackle these issues, Kruck emphasized that ultimately, more customized data is needed. 

A Better Approach to the “Data Problem” 

Kruck does not believe the industry has a unified approach to aggregating data in order to understand and address some of the problems on a macro basis. “Typically, we as companies are using data to our specific ends, but not with a broader perspective of what our data can mean to assess things like climate change, or how we can save by mitigating or hardening our homes,” he explained. “So, I think the missing link in the question is, if you could effectively aggregate insurance data, would you get an insight into some of the ways that these trends are impacting us? And how as a society should we be looking to address them?” Kruck concludes that there needs to be a meaningful way to aggregate data, so it is safe for companies to use it responsibly for these wider issues. 

AAIS… Stepping Up to Support Members 

Foremost, AAIS has to be fundamentally current on policy forms, rates, and rules. “Inflation and changing loss characteristics are going to be reflected in the underlying rates, and companies have to be proactive,” Kruck advised. “Our rates, rules, and loss costs need to reflect that to support our companies.” On the forms side, Kruck feels pressure from an emerging issue. “We certainly are seeing a lot of evidence of the sophistication of attorneys in Florida,” he said. “Focusing on weaknesses and forms is something they’ve systematized and figured out how to do, and I think we’re going to see a lot more of that outside of Florida.” To keep up with this, AAIS has to be on top of compliance issues and encourage its Members to move up to the latest forms. 

Outlook on AAIS & the Insurance Industry 

Overall, the outlook on AAIS is very positive. “We’re owned by our Members and we’re not-for-profit,” Kruck stated. “We exist because collectively, our Members believe that we can work together in some areas like policy, forms, rates, or rules, and make companies’ performances and the industry better.” Kruck doesn’t think AAIS’s work has to stop there. “My vision for AAIS is not only to deliver very strongly our historic mission, products and services, forms, rates and rules, but to look for areas where we can provide even more value to our Members.” 

To view the full interview with Werner Kruck, please click the video above. 

The post AAIS President & CEO’s View on Addressing Market Challenges with Data & His Vision for AAIS and Its Members first appeared on AAIS.

“I’ve been getting out of the house more than ever with this new e-bike, have you considered getting one?”  

“Now that my solar array is complete, and I’ve connected the new 3000-watt home battery backup, I’m ready to go off-grid.”

The adage “home is where the heart is” speaks to our homes’ role in our lives. They are not simply our biggest investment, they are not simply an assembly of materials arranged in a shelter; a home is where our lives happen, where the people we care for coalesce. Increasingly, our homes are also where we store, charge, and use the multitude of battery-powered devices that we rely on for our work, our chores, and our leisure. A decade ago, the battery industry estimated that a typical household of two would have 20-40 (traditional removable) battery-powered devices. With the vast expansion and enhancements in battery technology, this number has grown exponentially. Nearly every household device now has a mass-market battery-powered version, and the remaining devices can typically be powered through large solar arrays and residential-scale energy storage systems.

With the rapid proliferation of battery-powered devices in homes (and businesses), we are hearing more frequently about the fire risks associated with these devices. Fires in modern battery-powered devices tend to be quite spectacular and cause considerable damage. The primary reason for this extreme fire behavior is Thermal Runaway – “a phenomenon in which the lithium-ion cell enters an uncontrollable, self-heating state. Thermal runaway can result in extremely high temperatures, violent cell venting, smoke, and fire.” (Source: UL Electrochemical Safety Research Institute). When confined inside a house, the thermal runaway from a small device can quickly transition to a fully involved structure fire. For NBC’s Today Show, UL conducted a full-scale demonstration of an e-scooter fire due to overcharging in a living room, dramatically demonstrating how quickly it can destroy a house.

Insurers have been working to understand this growing exposure. What the industry is learning is this exposure is not a narrow issue confined to one type of device or failure mechanism. The problem is multifaceted and complex, and this type of exposure is present in most homes (and businesses). But there are some common considerations and factors that increase the risk:

• Physical Damage or Destruction of the Battery – Many battery-powered devices are intended for hard work and rough play and consequently may crash, be stepped on, dropped from a height, pierced, submerged in water, or otherwise abused. Doing so can damage the battery components and disable safety features leading to overheating, short-circuits, and worse yet, thermal runaway.
• Resold or Refurbished Battery Components – The concern here is about used battery packs being resold from consumer to consumer when the provenance of the battery (and any potential damage, misuse, submersions, etc.) is unknown. This is even more problematic when advanced DIYers or unlicensed persons may have attempted to refurbish or modify battery components themselves. While there is a mature industry that tests, refurbishes, and resells used consumer electronic devices, the battery components themselves are best purchased new from a reputable source.
• Long-term and Unmonitored Recharging – Perhaps the most significant feature of any battery system is the ability to stop charging when it reaches its capacity. This technology has become so successful that we often put our devices on the charger and leave them there, figuring the device(s) are smart enough to shut themselves off when it is complete. This habit can result in fires when devices or battery packs are left on the charger for hours or days after they have fully recharged.
• Recharging Devices in Means of Egress – Very often the question about battery safety is more of a question of location—where is the battery being recharged? Many of the fatal fires associated with batteries have occurred when occupants—particularly in multi-story apartment buildings—have left micro-mobility devices (e-bikes, hoverboards, etc.) charging in hallways, stairwells, and doorways. If the device catches on fire it can block the primary means of escape for the residents, trapping them in the building or in their apartment.
• Batteries Inappropriately Disposed of in the Waste Stream – While typically less of a concern for traditional P&C carriers, another major fire source are batteries carelessly disposed of in residential trash waste streams. When compacted in refuse trucks or dumped into waste transfer stations, the residual “stranded energy” still contained within the batteries can start fires.

Communities across the country are working to reduce the prevalence of fires from battery-powered devices. New York City, which has seen a significant number of battery fires, instituted a series of regulations to reduce fires by prohibiting the sale of batteries that are not UL-approved and severely restricting locations where batteries can be refurbished or stored in large quantities (such as bike courier hubs), among other things. Other communities are following suit in passing regulations, increasing public awareness of battery fire safety, and developing effective strategies for suppressing and containing battery-caused fires.

But the challenge remains that many unapproved and unregulated devices are readily available for sale through online marketplaces, making it easy to sidestep local enforcement efforts. More places are providing safe battery disposal sites including big box stores and waste and recycling vendors (for the purpose of reducing the fire risk to their vehicles and facilities as much as for environmental stewardship), though many of these disposal sites explicitly prohibit disposing of batteries that have expanded, deformed, or are otherwise at risk of imminent catastrophic failure.

As the battery technology industry becomes more mature and more heavily regulated, we can expect to see more intrinsic safety measures built in and better ways to prevent the catastrophic failure of batteries. However, as the industry matures, it is also expanding exponentially with countless new technologies being introduced and novel energy storage devices being prototyped every month. So, the exposure is only anticipated to grow accordingly. Insurers need to have a seat at the table when the dinner conversation turns to fire risks from batteries. Because a modern home really is where the battery is.

The post Home Is Where the Battery Is first appeared on AAIS.

Matching the Needs of An Organization to the Wants of the Next Generation of Insurance Professionals

According to Morgan, culture is one of the key decision metrics that people use when they’re either looking for work or starting at a new company. “I think what employees are really looking for has shifted,” he surmised. “Work-life balance is really high up on the list now. COVID really motivated that to become something important. People sat back and started reevaluating what was important to them during the pandemic.” Another common need for the next generation of insurance professionals is career advancement. “It can be a real challenge for employers to ensure their employees can advance in their careers if they work remotely or even hybrid,” said Morgan. “So, I think it’s incumbent on managers to make sure that when they’re getting a new employee, they vocalize what their career path will look like.” Meaningful work is also key. “I don’t think employees want to just show up [to work],” Morgan explained. “They want to be giving back and contributing.”

Elements of a People-First Company Culture

Newman believes a people-first company culture starts with establishing strong values, shared values, and a compelling vision and mission. “A lot of companies that I’ve worked with do this as an annual exercise or they have motivational posters on the walls,” he said. “But it’s really got to be something that’s lived and talked about and brought into your [organization’s] daily, weekly, or monthly meetings.” In addition, Newman recommends investing in technology to enable teams within a company. “You’ve got to enable that team to have an effective experience, especially if you’re in a hybrid environment,” he urged. “But even if you’re not [hybrid], you need the technology that gives you the ability to have a quality experience in your meetings.” Establishing a regular cadence of in-person meetings is also critical for remote or hybrid organizations. “WSRB started doing this in 2020 alongside even more frequent Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings,” Newman shared. “We established a strong culture by scheduling quarterly in-person meetings and monthly virtual meetings. Our business units meet monthly in person and our executives and leadership team meet weekly virtually. These frequent meetings revealed a ton of opportunities for us to improve the virtual and hybrid environment for us.”

There are great opportunities to build company culture by improving the processes and procedures that were in place pre-COVID. For example, Morgan described how WAHVE now makes performance reviews more personal, asking questions like what the employee did over the weekend, what their hobbies are, etc. He also suggests management teams create videos for new hires talking about the company and its culture. “Doing so will help new employees understand what to expect, what they’re going to be faced with in their role, and what the company is like before they even start the job,” Morgan explained.

How to Keep Remote Workers Happy, Motivated, and Productive

The key to having a happy, motivated, and productive team is to simply hire motivated positive people. “You can’t motivate the unmotivated,” Newman stated. “Give new employees a clear vision, mission, and goals to rally around. Remove any obstacles and make sure they have the tools, training, and resources they need to be successful, and then reward them when they are.” Companies that neglect to build up their people are companies that are not as effective as they can be. “At WSRB, we’re working on building the whole person to be a better person at work and outside of work,” Newman revealed. Through an anonymous all-employee survey that measured organizational effectiveness, WSRB found that it is, indeed, possible for companies to value people and get results at the same time.

For Morgan, constant communication is critical in keeping remote employees content. “In this new work environment, there’s a new layer of complexity and responsibility for management teams to make sure that there’s clear and consistent communication with focus and intent for the people that are in the office,” he said. Simultaneously, it’s important for employees who work remotely to be part of these in-office communications. “There are different ways managers can do that, whether it’s having weekly meetings, monthly meetings, or scheduling consistent check-ins.”

If you would like to view the presentation again in its entirety, please click the video above.

Questions? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the featured speakers through the contact information below.

Karl Newman

President/CEO (WSRB/BuildingMetrix, Inc.)

Karl.Newman@wsrb.com

Rick Morgan

Chief Marketing Officer (WAHVE)

Rick.Morgan@wahve.com

The post Webinar: Explore Acquiring Talent & Leading a Team in a Virtual World first appeared on AAIS.

Needs of Today’s Employers & Those Seeking Employment 

While COVID has emphasized the issues surrounding hybrid work, Morgan believes it didn’t necessarily reinvent the needs of today’s employers and employees. “I think we’ve added a new layer of complexity to the whole effort of finding and qualifying talent and the expectations that employees have,” he said. “One of the main things that employees are shifting to now more than what they did before is looking for specific skills to help fill that job gap.” Morgan explained that instead of just looking strictly at someone’s resume, employers are now looking for specific skills to help their company. 

Perhaps the biggest shift with those seeking employment is the whole idea of work/life balance, which Morgan indicated is a result of the pandemic. “People reevaluated what they were doing, how they were spending time, and what their life looked like, and they found out that they really liked spending more time with their family,” he stated. 

Types of Working Environments Desired by Job Seekers 

Morgan reiterated that when it comes to the types of working environment employees seek, having the flexibility and freedom to work hybrid is top of mind. Being able to come into the office part-time and work remotely part-time is important for people that might be caregivers or those that have issues with commuting, especially in certain areas that experience heavy traffic. 

Morgan also suggested today’s workers are looking for environments that offer professional development. “One of the things I think managers have to be very careful about especially in the hybrid work environment or if they have employees that are fully remote is [creating] career paths,” he advised. 

Successful Onboarding Best Practices 

Onboarding whether it’s remote or in person isn’t all that different according to Morgan. That being said, there are definitely onboarding best practices. One of them is communication. “Communicate before the new employee comes in and is hired,” he recommended. “Talk to them about what the company culture is and what the expectations are and be very clear about what success looks like.” 

Mentoring is another best practice when it comes to onboarding. Morgan explained that when placing WAHVE contractors in different fields around the country, they don’t necessarily have a career path. “They just want to give back and are thrilled to be engaged and contribute. They became great mentors for new employees in an agency or a carrier.”   

Tips for Recruiting Talent Today 

There is a challenge with recruiting talent because there’s a huge talent gap. In order for companies to be successful in this “talent war,” Morgan suggested they have to be creative and look outside of traditional avenues for finding talent. Using social media and job boards are good options. “We’ve got companies like WAHVE that are out there for finding people that are wanting to pre-retire and can still be good team members [while filling] a talent need that a company may have.” 

What is WAHVE? 

WAHVE is a contract staffing talent solution serving the entire insurance industry that brings companies and pre-retiring professionals together. Companies get the right talent and vintage experts get to extend their careers working from home. WAHVES, or the people that are placed with a carrier or insurance agency, have at least 25 years of work experience and 10-15 years of insurance experience. Carriers will reach out to WAHVE looking for talent to hire and WAHVE uses its database of WAHVES to find people that are a good match for the company. “We’re sort of a Match.com for the insurance industry,” joked Morgan. 

To view the interview with Rick Morgan, please click the video above.

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