Commercial Lines

Facing mandated dine-in closures, reduced foot traffic and increasing expenses, restaurant owners have been forced to develop a new business model to survive.

An insured owns a winery. Due to lingering smoke from nearby wildfires, the grapes, which were in various stages of the harvesting process, sustained damage.

Before buying or selling an agency, thinking about errors & omissions issues beforehand will help avoid difficulties down the road.

Defending the cost of a media liability suit can be financially devastating for a company. Its never been more important for agents to work with clients to identify potential areas of risk.

“We will see new trends as businesses continue to be creative to generate revenues,” says independent agent David Hanley, “which in itself will create new exposures resulting in new insurance products.”

Excess liability insurance has always had low rates and excess capacity, but 2020 has brought a hardened market that is expected to continue through at least the next 18 months.

More and more content is being created by social media influencers, many of whom are unaware of the extent of their liability exposure.

The product focuses on defamation, libel and slander, infringement of copyright and trademark, as well as other content-related exposures for small to medium-sized enterprises.

The hardening of the commercial umbrella market has occurred rapidly over the past year, and the impact may be felt for the next 18 months or more.

“If you write commercial insurance, you have to be involved in all aspects of it if you’re going to do right by your client,” says independent agent Fred Wittenbaum. “It’s all part of tailoring the program to the best interest of the client.”