Zurich Insurance Academy Course Descriptions

CAPTIVES: AN IMPORTANT ALTERNATIVE RISK TRANSFER STRATEGY 

Overview

A captive is a privately held business that manages its own insurance operations with the financial and consultative assistance of an insurer. Due to the regulatory and capitalization requirements associated with running an insurance operation, a licensed, admitted insurer serves as a fronting company. A captive is a form of alternative risk transfer (ART), and enables a company to secure insurance and risk management expertise that is customized for its own operations. As an ART, a captive also allows a company to bypass traditional forms of risk transfer, including conventional forms of commercial insurance.

Captive ownership of an insurance operation allows a company to have control over claims and reserving practices, investments, enjoy certain tax advantages, and potentially recapture investment income and underwriting profit. At the same time, there are also disadvantages, including potentially large commitments of management time, administration, capital as well as the potential for inadequate loss reserves and potential losses.

This program provides a solid foundation for the broker to understand captives, and the tools used to evaluate whether such an arrangement is feasible for a given company. The program concludes by identifying critical criteria that might be considered in evaluating insurance companies to partner with in creating, implementing and managing a captive operation.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Learn how captives have evolved as an alternative risk transfer mechanism.
• Understand the definition and purpose of captives.
• Identify different classification and types of captives.
• Learn the advantages and disadvantages of captives.
• Analyze different applications for captives in the areas of domestic and international casualty exposures, property, construction and employee benefits.

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All

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CREATIVE ALTERNATIVE RISK TRANSFER SOLUTIONS

Overview

New and unprecedented loss exposures and risk management challenges are increasingly facing sophisticated insurance buyers. Examples include cyber liability, natural catastrophe losses and globally compliant employee benefit programs.
Traditional insurance solutions may not respond effectively to many of these new challenges. Sophisticated customers and distributors are increasingly looking for alternative solutions. This program reviews two specific types of alternative risk transfer programs: structured programs and integrated programs.

Structured programs fall into three main categories:

• Loss-sensitive programs, which involve a blend of risk financing and risk transfer for excess casualty, property and specialty lines, often in combination
• Dual-trigger programs
• Customized risk management programs for unique and highly specialized risk transfer needs

Integrated programs provide a single aggregate coverage limit (among policy design features) that applies to a company’s portfolio of risks. It can be designed to include any variety of traditional coverages, blended under a single policy.
This course illustrates how these concepts work through four case-study examples that demonstrate the value and suitability of alternative risk management programs under certain circumstances. It is designed to help producers understand alternatives to traditional programs so they can be in the best position to advise customers on their insurance and risk management needs.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand why there is increasing interest on the part of commercial accounts for alternative risk management options.
• Learn how integrated and structured programs are designed, including how they can be customized to meet individual account needs.
• Understand the types of organizations that might be suitable candidates for alternative risk management programs.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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PROGRAM INSURANCE BUSINESS

Overview

Program insurance business involves a collaboration between an insurance carrier and a program administrator to write a portfolio of business. The program administrator (PA) is selected by the carrier as a recognized expert in a particular industry or market which may be underserved, misunderstood, or otherwise ignored by traditional carriers. Examples of programs include hurricane buy-back programs; coverage for historical properties, vacant properties, boutique hotels, resorts and restaurants.

Program admistrators typically act on behalf of the insurance company, and may be authorized and responsible for underwriting decisions, claims management and the design and implementation of of innovative technologies and distribution methodologies intended to serve customers better.

For difficult, unusual, or hard-to-place risks, program insurance business is a viable alternative that should be considered by brokers.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Identify the depth and breadth of the program insurance business
• Analyze what makes the program insurance model different than the traditional insurance model
• Identify the responsibilities granted to Program Administrators
• Learn the lines of business and risks that typify insurance program busines

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

ISO GENERAL LIABILITY UPDATE

Overview

In March, 2023, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) filed new circulars (LI-GL-2023-054 and LI-GL-2023-55) that introduce new and revised rules that relate to data privacy and cyber-related liability. ISO was formed in 1971 as an advisory and rating organization for the property and casualty industry to provide statistical and actuarial services, develop model insurance policies and assist insurers in meeting state regulatory requirements. Hence, their circulars are highly influential in the development of insurance coverages ultimately marketed by P&C insurers.

This course reviews the new ISO GL update, with a focus on the exclusion related to the violation of law addressing data privacy. CG 00 69 is a new broad exclusion designed to address data privacy, with a primary focus on precluding coverage for liability that arises out of a violation of law in connection with confidential or personal material or information, including financial, health, biometric, or other non-public information. The endorsement includes specific references to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These laws have been fully implemented in Illinois, California, and the European Union respectively and have served as models by states in the U.S. as well as legislatures throughout the world.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Identify the CGL forms that are modified under the new ISO circular
• Understand the influence of major data privacy legislation in the new CGL form, including the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA, and the European General Data Protection Regulation;
• Analyze BIPA to identify what companies can and cannot do in terms of collecting, analyzing and/or distributing biometric data on employees, customers, and others
• Learn how the ISO GL revisions impact biometric privacy protections

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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CASUALTY INSURANCE TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS

Overview

Casualty insurance is designed to respond to claims caused by injuries to persons and property where legal liability is imposed on the insured for such injury or damage to the property of others.

Casualty insurance provides critical protection for businesses but can be difficult for businesses to procure at reasonable rates and without exclusions that narrow coverage. There are significant trends and developments that are causing this, not least of which is the phenomenon of social inflation and the growing tendency of juries to return significant monetary verdicts.

This course reviews trends and developments impacting major casualty lines of coverage, including Workers Compensation, Commercial Auto, General Liability, and Excess/Umbrella Liability. Included in this analysis will be expectations as to rate and capacity, and ideas for improving submissions on casualty lines to carriers.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Identify trends and developments impacting casualty lines of insurance;
• Analyze casualty line-specific developments impacting anticipated rate trends, capacity, and other factors related to that line;
• Learn how to improve submissions to carriers that may help improve underwriting outcomes vis rates and coverage terms.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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LOSS SENSITIVE VS. GUARANTEED COST INSURANCE PROGRAMS 

Overview

A loss sensitive policy is one in which the final premium is based on actual losses incurred during the policy period. It places a cap on the insured’s losses if losses are high but also requires payment of a minimum premium. In effect, the plan gives the insured the opportunity to have their insurance costs more directly connected to their own losses during the policy period.

In theory, businesses with a better than average loss history and a commitment to risk management, or loss control, are considered ideal candidates. On the other hand, insureds who might not be considered “logical” candidates for a loss sensitive program may indeed want to seriously evaluate this option. For example, a company with a poor recent loss history may be a good candidate if recent losses were of a highly unusual, not-likely-to-recur nature.
 
Loss sensitive programs stand in stark contrast to guaranteed cost programs. In a guaranteed cost plan, the rate is applied prospectively, calculated at the inception of the policy and not subject to adjustment based on actual loss experience. This is the simplest and easiest plan structure to understand.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the definition of retroactive, loss-sensitive insurance programs and how they differ from proactive, guaranteed cost insurance programs.
• Learn the advantages and disadvantages of loss sensitive plans.
• Identify different collateralization options used in loss sensitive plans. 
• Understand the tax implications concerning the deductibility of premiums with loss sensitive plans.
• Identify “ideal” candidates for loss sensitive programs, and how candidates who do not meet the ideal profile may still be a viable candidate for this program.

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All

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SOCIAL INFLATION: IMPACT, CONSEQUENCES AND COPING STRATEGIES

Overview

Social inflation refers to the rising costs of insurance claims due to various social, cultural, economic and other factors that result in the increasing frequency and severity of liability lawsuits.

Today, “nuclear verdicts” are becoming more common. These are verdicts of $10 million or more, and have been occurring with more frequency in cases involving auto and trucking accidents, product liability, medical malpractice, management liability and the umbrella and excess liability area.

The growing prevalence of nuclear verdicts has also led to another complicating phenomena, which is litigation funding. This is a process whereby financing sources, like investors or private equity funds, provide financial backing on lawsuits they believe will result in significant money damages, in return for a pre-determined percentage of the settlement.

Social inflation, and increasingly expensive jury verdicts are a significant issue for all insurance stakeholders. First and foremost, this results in increased premiums, reduced availability, limitations and/or exclusions in needed insurance coverages, and potential reputational damage when lawsuits are filed and litigated. Carriers are increasingly having to raise rates in an already stressed economic environment. Brokers face challenges accessing coverages clients need and explaining this altered environment.

This program reviews the phenomenon of social inflation, and the consequences of it for insureds, carriers, and brokers. It concludes by offering strategies that brokers can use to help clients deal with this challenge as well as actions that the insurance industry as a whole can take to combat this problem.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Learn the scope, extent and costs of social inflation in terms of rising jury verdicts and claims payouts
• Identify key factors driving social inflation
• Understand the consequences and impact of social inflation-fueled jury awards on insureds, insurers, and brokers;
• Learn how third party litigation funding is helping fuel growing liability claims as investors are incentivized to find and finance potential high-payout liability verdicts
• Identify social inflation insurance and risk management coping strategies

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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PFAS: AN EMERGING RISK 

Overview

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is a term used to describe a broad range of human-made chemicals used in a range of consumer and industrial products. The widespread use of PFAS and their ability to remain intact in the environment from past and current uses present significant environmental contamination risks and exposures. While scientific research on the impact of PFAS is ongoing, there is developing evidence that exposure can potentially cause serious health problems in humans and animals. The fact that PFAS are chemically stable and impervious to breakdown in the environment has led them to be referred to as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are used in a wide spectrum of items, including but not limited to cosmetics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, car seats, clothing, cleaning products, carpets, furniture, flooring adhesives, outdoor gear, firefighting foam and solar panels. They are also found in a broad range of construction materials, including paint, grout, concrete sealers, caulk, adhesives and electrical wiring.

This program explains what PFAS are, how they are currently being used, associated health risks and how litigation and regulation are evolving. Using that as a foundation, we review to what extent insurance coverages will or will not respond to PFAS-related liability and exposures. Finally, we review the kinds of risk management strategies companies can take to manage this exposure.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Understand what PFAS and associated chemicals are, and why they are useful in commercial and consumer applications.
• Identify specific liability exposures associated with PFAS.
• Learn how different insurance policies may or may not respond to claims associated with PFAS-related damage.
• Learn risk management strategies companies can use to manage PFAS-related liability exposure, including claims brought by workers, customers, and environmental stakeholders.

Course duration

1 hour 

Continuing education credit 

1 credit 

Relevant industries 

Construction, energy and marine, food, grocery, manufacturing, real estate, retail, restaurants, technology

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TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION 

Overview

Economic, social, political and legislative forces all have an impact on workers’ compensation. Since virtually every business must provide this coverage, producers need to have a solid understanding of trends and developments influencing workers’ compensation coverages and rates. 

In this course, we’ll review significant trends impacting workers’ compensation in four areas. First, we’ll look at recent workers’ compensation data as it relates to growth in premiums, loss ratios and profitability. Second, we’ll examine recent state and federal court cases and legislation that are impacting workers’ compensation coverage and benefits, including COVID-19, presumptive disability decisions, updates on state reporting requirements and changes in benefit levels. Third, we’ll look at hot topics and trends in the workers’ compensation field, including the continuing legalization of marijuana, opioid usage, the impact of the gig economy, the continuing consolidation of healthcare providers, and the growing need for post-acute care. Finally, we’ll examine trends that will impact workers’ compensation in the future, including the way work is done (increasingly at home or other remote locations) and the impact of new technologies, such as robotics. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand the latest performance figures for the workers’ compensation line and the underlying forces that are influencing that performance.
• Review significant litigation impacting workers’ compensation at both the state and federal level.
• Analyze current and emerging hot topics that are and will continue to impact workers’ compensation costs and benefits.

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

 

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WORKERS’ COMPENSATION MEDICAL CASE MANAGEMENT

Overview

Workers’ compensation medical case management is designed to facilitate the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care to an injured or sick employee who qualifies for workers’ compensation medical benefits. The effective delivery of these services helps to facilitate the employee’s return to work and effective management of costs.

In essence, high-quality case management emphasizes five primary goals: 1) identifying and retaining the appropriate healthcare provider for the injured worker; 2) ensuring appropriate and accurate treatment and billing; 3) attaining targeted intervention and mitigation strategies; 4) optimizing the ability to get the injured worker back to work as quickly as is medically possible, in a position they are capable of successfully performing; and 5) attaining outcomes that meet the needs of all stakeholders: patient/family and employer.

This course is designed to help the distributor understand the case management process so that they can evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of these programs as they are provided by insurers.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the life cycle of a workers’ compensation claim, including the various steps involved from inception to resolution. 
• Identify the component parts involved in a comprehensive, integrated medical management program.
• Learn why effective medical management integration and coordination is critical to optimizing outcomes, including the delivery of high-quality, targeted care, expedited return-to-work for the injured employee, and cost-effectiveness. 
• Learn how artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are being developed and deployed to improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and outcomes of workers’ compensation claims 

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

RESOLVING POLICYHOLDER CLAIMS

Overview

Claims handling and management is an often overlooked and unappreciated part of the insurance business. Many policyholders have negative predispositions about claims handling, believing that insurers are forever looking for ways to deny coverage or reduce their liability. This attitude works to the detriment of insureds and insurers alike. Independent experts generally agree that most businesses are uninsured or underinsured for a broad range of coverages, especially those of a “discretionary” nature (like financial lines coverage). Prospective insureds may believe that the low likelihood of receiving a claim payment or the hassle involved in the process is not worth the expense.

Yet effective and comprehensive claims management can help businesses manage and expand their organizations. The claims management and reporting process can help businesses proactively manage risks that can help save money and lead to long-term organizational growth. This program is designed for agency and brokerage personnel at all levels to gain a better understanding of and appreciation for the claims management process and the role that all parties (customer, distributor and carrier) need to play in order for insurance to work most effectively.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Identify common claims myths that serve to discourage the purchase of insurance and/or the procurement of the proper amounts of coverage.
• Learn about effective insurer claims services and resources that help insureds mitigate losses and run their businesses better over the long term.
• Have a clear understanding of the claims management process — from initial intake to resolution — and strategies for managing the process to maximize results and customer satisfaction.
• Understand the unique claims challenges faced by insurers, ranging from catastrophic events to more common situations, like uncooperative witnesses and unreliable medical reports

Course duration

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION 

Overview

Economic, social, political and legislative forces all have an impact on workers’ compensation. Since virtually every business must provide this coverage, producers need to have a solid understanding of trends and developments influencing workers’ compensation coverages and rates. 

In this course, we’ll review significant trends impacting workers’ compensation in four areas. First, we’ll look at recent workers’ compensation data as it relates to growth in premiums, loss ratios and profitability. Second, we’ll examine recent state and federal court cases and legislation that are impacting workers’ compensation coverage and benefits, including COVID-19, presumptive disability decisions, updates on state reporting requirements and changes in benefit levels. Third, we’ll look at hot topics and trends in the workers’ compensation field, including the continuing legalization of marijuana, opioid usage, the impact of the gig economy, the continuing consolidation of healthcare providers, and the growing need for post-acute care. Finally, we’ll examine trends that will impact workers’ compensation in the future, including the way work is done (increasingly at home or other remote locations) and the impact of new technologies, such as robotics. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand the latest performance figures for the workers’ compensation line and the underlying forces that are influencing that performance.
• Review significant litigation impacting workers’ compensation at both the state and federal level.
• Analyze current and emerging hot topics that are and will continue to impact workers’ compensation costs and benefits.

Course duration 

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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WORKERS’ COMPENSATION MEDICAL CASE MANAGEMENT

Overview

Workers’ compensation medical case management is designed to facilitate the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care to an injured or sick employee who qualifies for workers’ compensation medical benefits. The effective delivery of these services helps to facilitate the employee’s return to work and effective management of costs.

In essence, high-quality case management emphasizes five primary goals: 1) identifying and retaining the appropriate healthcare provider for the injured worker; 2) ensuring appropriate and accurate treatment and billing; 3) attaining targeted intervention and mitigation strategies; 4) optimizing the ability to get the injured worker back to work as quickly as is medically possible, in a position they are capable of successfully performing; and 5) attaining outcomes that meet the needs of all stakeholders: patient/family and employer.

This course is designed to help the distributor understand the case management process so that they can evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of these programs as they are provided by insurers.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the life cycle of a workers’ compensation claim, including the various steps involved from inception to resolution. 
• Identify the component parts involved in a comprehensive, integrated medical management program.
• Learn why effective medical management integration and coordination is critical to optimizing outcomes, including the delivery of high-quality, targeted care, expedited return-to-work for the injured employee, and cost-effectiveness. 
• Learn how artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are being developed and deployed to improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and outcomes of workers’ compensation claims 

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE 

Overview

Commercial property insurance is a standard coverage for most businesses. It pays for losses sustained to property as a result of a covered peril. But property insurance alone does not address the loss of business income that results from property damage unless it has been expanded to provide such coverage. Over 50 percent of property losses result in business income losses. That’s why most businesses have a critical need for business interruption (BI) and contingent business interruption (CBI) coverage.

A critical part of designing an effective business income protection program is the calculation of business interruption values. The analysis of a company’s financial information is needed to calculate adequate BI and CBI values in the event of losses. Additionally, an understanding of how BI and CBI values are calculated, and how they align with the terms of the policy coverage, can help facilitate payment in the event of a claim, and the restoration of the business in as complete and rapid a manner as possible.  

This program provides the producer with a comprehensive understanding of the need for these coverages, how they are structured, how to calculate the amount of coverage needed, and the best practices involved in documenting the claim.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the importance of business income and contingent business income coverage.
• Analyze the difference between how financial statements are prepared, based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and insurance accounting used to calculate BI and CBI losses.
• Understand how the BI worksheet is calculated for different types of business (manufacturing, retail and service).
• Learn best practices for documenting a BI or CBI claim.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries 

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BUILDERS RISK INSURANCE ESSENTIALS 

Overview

Builders risk insurance indemnifies a building owner for damage to buildings while they are under construction; for loss of materials used in the course of construction; and/or delays in completion for real property during the course of construction. Builders risk is stand-alone, first-party coverage.

During this phase, multiple exposures exist, including those related to fire damage, windstorm, theft and vandalism. Coverage typically covers the construction phase only, and terminates when the work is completed and the property is ready for use and/or occupancy. 

Many producers are confused about when to use an inland marine builders risk policy versus a commercial property builders risk coverage form, especially for large or complex construction projects. Here we will compare and analyze the differences when, where and under what circumstances each coverage might best apply. This course also covers when and how to integrate installation floaters and rigging insurance into a comprehensive builders risk insurance and management program. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand coverage grants and exclusions in the Builders Risk form; 
• Analyze “soft cost”/optional coverages available, when and how they might apply.
• Identify best practices in designing and implementing a builders risk insurance program to ensure coverage adequacy, suitable limits and to prevent coverage gaps.
• Identify the leading causes of builders risk losses.
• Understand how and when installation floaters may be appropriate in a construction project.
• Understand the similarities and differences between inland marine and commercial property builders risk coverage forms.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

Construction, real estate

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COMBINING BUILDERS RISK AND PARAMETRIC INSURANCE ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Overview

Construction projects are increasingly complex, and frequently require work in volatile weather conditions. Traditional Builders Risk insurance protects property against damage from wind, fire, theft and vandalism that may occur during the course of construction. Yet many Builders Risk policies are not properly structured, leaving significant coverage gaps.

At the same time, Builders Risk insurance requires that actual damage, theft or vandalism must have occurred to the property and/or construction equipment in order for coverage to apply. Yet construction projects can be severely impacted by weather events that don’t necessarily cause damage but yet result in significant work slowdowns or stoppages. For example, in 2020, there were 22 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each in the United States, shattering the previous annual record of 16 events that occurred in 2011 and 2017. These events included seven tropical cyclone events, 13 severe storm events, one drought and one wildfire event. The total cost of U.S. disasters from 2016 to 2020 was over $600 billion (source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2021).

This course addresses both issues, examining common coverage gaps in the design of a Builders Risk insurance policy as well as how extreme weather can be cost-effectively addressed with parametric insurance. A well-designed Builders Risk and parametric insurance program can help owners, developers, contractors and other builders complete projects on time and on budget. All distributors with construction accounts will benefit from this training.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, the producer will:

• Identify typical Builders Risk coverage gaps.
• Learn why Builders Risk policies often fail to transition smoothly to fixed property insurance coverage at project completion.
• Understand why LEG 3 endorsements can broaden coverage in the event of faulty design, materials and/or workmanship during the course of construction.
• Identify additional Builders Risk coverages or endorsements that are frequently overlooked.
• Understand why parametric insurance is a critical complementary coverage to Builders Risk insurance.

Course duration
3 hours

Continuing education credit
3 credits

Relevant industries
Construction, real estate

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CURRENT AND EMERGING CONSTRUCTION-RELATED INSURANCE ISSUES 

Overview

Construction has always been a challenging industry for risk management and insurance professionals. This reality is not expected to change. In this program, we will focus on three issues currently confronting the construction industry and the role of insurance within a comprehensive risk management program to address these challenges. They include:

New building materials: The construction industry is constantly developing and introducing new materials and products that can help speed up the construction process while lowering costs. Cross-laminated timber (CLT), a wood-based product, is one of these. These materials may present new and unanticipated risks.

Water damage mitigation: Damage caused by water has always been and is expected to continue to be one of the biggest sources of loss for insurers. And those losses do not result exclusively from flooding. Significant water damage can also be caused by burst pipes and leaks, rain, overflows and backups.

Construction professional liability: Those involved in the design and implementation of construction projects face professional liability exposures associated with alleged or actual negligent acts, errors and omissions in the rendering or failure to render professional services, including architects, engineers, land surveyors, construction managers, LEED-certified professionals, interior designer/space planners and other related professionals.

In this program, we will review risk management and insurance strategies that can address exposures related to the new and evolving use of materials used in construction, to managing water losses and to addressing construction-related professional liability exposures.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the exposures and underwriting challenges posed by new building materials, including aluminum composite panels and cross-laminated timber.
• Understand the scope and extent of water damage claims, based on a review of loss experience in the property and builders risk insurance lines.
• Understand how water-mitigation risk management strategies can favorably influence the insurance underwriting process.
• Identify construction-related professional liability exposures.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

Construction, real estate, property owners and developers

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MANAGING NATURAL CATASTROPHE RISK WITH PARAMETRIC INSURANCE

Overview

Extreme weather events causing severe windstorms and flooding are increasing. These events can slow down or disrupt major construction projects. But a severe weather event may not trigger traditional insurance coverage (like builders risk insurance), which requires physical damage for benefits to be triggered. Even in the absence of physical damage, severe weather events can prevent work from being done, supplies from being delivered, and/or access to power sources.

Parametric insurance can be a solution. This insurance is triggered by a weather event that can be objectively measured by an official or recognized third party. For example, 80% of the total limit might be triggered by a Category 3 hurricane within a 30-mile radius of an insured location, or water rising past a certain level above “mean sea level.” Whether the metric (wind speed or water rise) has been met is then based on records maintained by a recognized, trusted third-party specified in the contract, for example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Any natural catastrophe might be incorporated into a parametric insurance policy. So while wind speed and water rise are typical triggering events, other natural events can also be included, including extreme heat, extreme cold, and earthquakes. Events may occur individually or in combination. Parametric insurance does not require physical damage to provide a claim payment for financial loss.

A major benefit of parametric insurance is faster payouts than traditional insurance policies. Once an event has occurred that satisfies the metric, the payout process can proceed quickly. Quick payouts can be critical in providing needed liquidity and cash for construction projects that are usually on tight schedules and thin profit margins.

Outcome

This program provides a solid foundation in the mechanics of parametric insurance.

Course duration

1 hour

Continuing education credit

1 credit

Relevant industries

Construction, real estate

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CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT ANALYSIS IN THE SURETY BOND UNDERWRITING PROCESS

Overview

Construction contracts are complex and address high-stakes projects where significant sums of money and resources are at stake. Many things can happen that can impair, slow down, disrupt or stop the completion of a construction project, including, but not limited to natural catastrophes, competition, supply and demand for essential labor and materials, and other factors that may or may not be in the control of the contractor.

Project owners may be highly motivated to write contracts that shift most of the burden away from them and on to the contractor. Sometimes these contractual provisions are onerous. By definition, an “onerous” contract is unnecessarily arduous, difficult, oppressive, challenging, or has or involves obligations or responsibilities, especially legal ones, which outweigh the advantages. Since most construction projects require the posting of surety bonds, the inclusion of onerous contract provisions may present challenges to an insurance company who may be asked to issue surety bonds to guaranty the completion of the project.

This course reviews the basic principles that should govern a fair, even-handed construction contract and offers contractors ideas for managing construction project risk. These principles are critical to understanding the surety bond underwriting process. In this course, we review critical provisions in the construction contract and how it might impact an insurer’s willingness to issue a bond and the terms under which such a bond might be issued. This analysis is carried out in the context of the most often-used bonds in construction projects: performance and payment bonds, bid bonds, and warranty bonds.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Analyze the major provisions incorporated into typical construction contracts
• Define “onerous” terms project owners often attempt to incorporate into construction contracts to shift as much risk and liability exposure off themselves and onto contractors and subcontractors
• Understand the surety underwriting process and why construction contract analysis is important for surety companies underwriting construction-related bonds
• Review and analyze performance, payment and bid bonds from the perspective of the surety and the types of terms and conditions that they typically find acceptable or unacceptabl

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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PFAS: AN EMERGING RISK

Overview

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is a term used to describe a broad range of human-made chemicals used in a range of consumer and industrial products. The widespread use of PFAS and their ability to remain intact in the environment from past and current uses present significant environmental contamination risks and exposures. While scientific research on the impact of PFAS is ongoing, there is developing evidence that exposure can potentially cause serious health problems in humans and animals. The fact that PFAS are chemically stable and impervious to breakdown in the environment has led them to be referred to as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are used in a wide spectrum of items, including but not limited to cosmetics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, car seats, clothing, cleaning products, carpets, furniture, flooring adhesives, outdoor gear, firefighting foam and solar panels. They are also found in a broad range of construction materials, including paint, grout, concrete sealers, caulk, adhesives and electrical wiring.

This program explains what PFAS are, how they are currently being used, associated health risks and how litigation and regulation are evolving. Using that as a foundation, we review to what extent insurance coverages will or will not respond to PFAS-related liability and exposures. Finally, we review the kinds of risk management strategies companies can take to manage this exposure.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand what PFAS and associated chemicals are, and why they are useful in commercial and consumer applications.
• Identify specific liability exposures associated with PFAS.
• Learn how different insurance policies may or may not respond to claims associated with PFAS-related damage.
• Learn risk management strategies companies can use to manage PFAS-related liability exposure, including claims brought by workers, customers, and environmental stakeholders.

Course duration 

1 hour

Continuing education credit 

1 credit 

Relevant industries 

Construction, energy and marine, food, grocery, manufacturing, real estate, retail, restaurants, technology

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THE ROLE OF INSURERS IN RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PRACTICES 

Overview

Major hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural catastrophes are increasing in frequency and severity, posing increasing risks to health, safety and property. This has sparked growing interest in the design, development and construction of resilient buildings and communities. This program analyzes the elements of resilient and sustainable building strategies, implications for communities and the role of risk management and insurance in the process.

According to the Resilient Design Institute, resilient design is the “intentional design of buildings, landscapes, communities and regions in order to respond to natural and manmade disasters and disturbances.” Local conditions play a vast and critical role in this. For example, building resilience in New York City needs to accommodate hurricanes, flooding and blizzards, as well as dramatic temperature changes from winter to summer. Los Angeles, on the other hand, must contemplate seismic considerations as well as potential hazards from resulting gas line breaks and fires. In the East and Southeast, 30 million households are in the path of windstorms that can exceed 100 mph.

The insurance industry needs to be a key stakeholder in the development of resilient construction, building and community-resilience strategies. This program explains the various ways in which insurers and insurance professionals can participate in this process.

Outcomes

As a result of this program you will:

• Understand the principles of resilient and sustainable construction and building practices.
• Identify the characteristics that resilient communities exhibit that enable them to effectively plan for, endure and recover quickly from a disaster.
• Review major construction-related insurance claims that occurred over the past three years, and how “root cause analysis” findings can prevent or mitigate these losses going forward.
• Identify how construction-related insurance coverages have evolved to respond to resiliency and sustainability objectives and the implications for the underwriting and cost of these coverages.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

Construction, real estate, property owners and developers

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

ANALYZING THE CYBER SECURITY INSURANCE POLICY

Overview

This course dissects the cyber security insurance policy, providing an in-depth analysis of both first- and third-party coverages, exclusions and conditions that can impact coverage.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand and analyze first- and third-party cyber exposures and how they are covered in a cyber security insurance policy.
• Identify exclusions and conditions that can impact how a cyber insurance policy may respond under different scenarios.
• Understand why cyber policies from different carriers are difficult to compare.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries
All: Any company that collects and processes customer data, maintains databases that contain sensitive information critical to competitive survival, and/or conducts internet and/or cloud-based operations needs cyber security insurance. This means nearly every organization is a candidate for this coverage, yet most organizations do not have cyber security insurance or a robust cyber security risk-management plan.

 

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IMPACT OF LEGLISLATION AND REGULATION ON CYBERSECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE

Overview

In the midst of the growing frequency and severity of data and privacy breaches around the world, more legislators and regulators are implementing and enforcing data security and privacy laws. The approaches have been different, depending on the region of the world. For example, the European Union has implemented data breach and privacy laws and regulations that cover the entire European Union. The United States, by contrast, has a wide variety of federal and state cyber security laws and regulations that are not necessarily consistent and often conflict. Some states are taking the lead in this area, including California, whose Consumer Privacy Act, signed in 2018, builds on the foundation established by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, and New York, which implemented SHIELD, its privacy protection law, in 2020.
Businesses must comply with data breach and privacy laws and regulations in all of the jurisdictions in which they operate – domestic and international  – and this may require different approaches and standards for each region. This program reviews the laws and regulations in effect, as well as under consideration, and strategies for complying with them.

Outcomes

As a result of this course, you will:

• Identify trends in privacy legislation and regulation and why such developments are increasing.
• Understand how businesses may be inadvertently exposed to privacy laws in the U.S. or abroad to which they may not be aware.
• Learn strategies businesses can use to help comply with existing or prospective privacy laws.

Course duration
2 hours
Continuing education credit
2 credits
Relevant industries

All

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ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT OF 2018

Overview

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018 provides significant and expanded privacy protections to consumers and imposes new requirements on businesses to ensure those protections are properly implemented.

This course reviews the California statute in depth, analyzing the consumer protections incorporated into the law, who must comply, penalties and remedies for non-compliance. The program compares the CCPA with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) implemented by the European Union and explains why compliance with the GDPR will not necessarily be adequate to comply with the CCPA.

Finally, the program explains the linkage between privacy and ethical behavior and why insurance practitioners have an added duty of responsibility to maintain and protect consumer information.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the purpose and objectives of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018.
• Learn why the CCPA has global implications, given the size and importance of California’s economy and consumer population, and the implications for business.
• Learn how the law broadens privacy protections beyond other privacy laws in the U.S. and around the world.
• Recognize the connection between privacy and ethics and the additional demands and responsibilities imposed on the insurance industry and its practitioners to protect consumer privacy.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits (Note: this course is eligible for California ethics credit)

Relevant industries

All

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THE ETHICS OF PRIVACY

Overview

Privacy is an ethical matter: We as a society are required to make judgments as to what degree of privacy people are entitled without compromising the collective needs of society at large. A stark example of this involves the pandemic. Some countries, like South Korea, have extensive contact tracing programs that track the health status of individuals and then broadcast that information broadly in order to more effectively identify and isolate individuals who may be infected. Such a program may be acceptable in other countries. It would be difficult to accomplish acceptance and buy-in in the United States, where privacy protections are more fiercely guarded.

The insurance industry collects more confidential personal and business data than any other industry, so industry practitioners need to be more sensitive to and protective of reasonable privacy concerns. At the same time, we must be able to effectively communicate the importance of, validity and justification for the information we collect.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Learn the definition of privacy and the differences between privacy and confidentiality.
• Analyze and reconcile the differences between individual privacy needs and the need for societies at large to access information needed for the good of the group.
• Develop strategies for explaining how information shared by insureds can be used to improve insurance coverages and how such information is protected.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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OVERVIEW OF CYBER SECURITY INSURANCE

Overview

This course reviews the scope and extent of the cyber security threat, and the types of exposures an organization can face. Businesses that sell products or services online, process transactions, advertise through digital media, ship/distribute their goods using a tracking system are all susceptible to cyber threats. In addition to identifying typical cyber threats faced by most companies using an online platform, the course also explains how cyber insurance addresses most of these cyber loss exposures. The course also emphasizes the importance of a company using a broad range of non-insurance risk management strategies to also address these exposures. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Recognize and understand how cyber security threats have evolved and become more sophisticated over time.
• Analyze the major coverage provisions in cyber security insurance, including coverage for first- and third-party risks.
• Understand the importance of a comprehensive, coordinated cyber security risk management program, and the capabilities and limitations of cyber insurance in such a program.

Course duration

1 hour

Continuing education credit

1 credit

Relevant industries

All

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TRENDS IN CYBER SECURITY INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT

Overview

In this program, we review and analyze trends and developments that are increasing and/or changing the nature of cyber security threats, as well as the importance of developing and updating a comprehensive cyber security risk management program.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand and be able to explain recent trends in cyber security threats and data breaches.
• Identify meaningful criteria for comparing cyber security coverages across carriers.
• Learn why effective cyber security requires a coordinated, integrated risk management program, combining both insurance and non-insurance strategies.
• Realize why stand-alone cyber insurance coverage may be the most effective insurance solution for this loss exposure, minimizing the potential for gaps and/or deficiencies in coverage.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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UNDERWRITING CYBER INSURANCE

Overview

Cyber security continues to be considered a Top 10 risk to organizations of all sizes, according to a recent World Economic Forum survey of North American business leaders. Preventing such threats from doing catastrophic harm to a business requires a comprehensive risk management program, which includes cyber insurance.

The cyber insurance underwriting process is often challenging for distributor and customer alike, as most property and casualty coverages address tangible loss exposures. Cyber security involves protection of intangible assets, like customer data and other confidential personal and corporate information. In addition, cyber underwriters closely analyze an applicant’s existing cyber security management and infrastructure. This training helps demystify the cyber insurance underwriting process and can help the distributor provide supporting information and documentation that can favorably impact the quality and cost of coverage.  

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand the cyber insurance underwriting process, including information about the applicant’s cyber security policies and protocols.
• Manage the underwriting process to help secure the most favorable coverage at the best possible rate.
• Recognize impediments to effective cyber insurance underwriting that a business may deliberately or inadvertently engage in.
• Learn how to use the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Framework to facilitate the cyber security underwriting process and achieve optimal outcomes for clients: maximum policy limits and broadest possible coverage terms for the lowest possible price.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

BUSINESS TRAVEL INSURANCE

Overview

Companies of all sizes are doing business globally, whether that involves running a manufacturing plant overseas or dispatching company representatives to sell and/or service global accounts. Overseas travel can often present these companies – and their employees – with unpredictable and unexpected loss exposures, including the possibility of pandemics, natural disasters and/or political unrest.

The source of critical insurance protection for U.S.-based employees is typically a group, employer-provided plan. But these programs often do not provide necessary coverages and may not respond at all when a loss occurs outside the United States.

This program reviews the need for specialized coverages in light of the risks involved, and why traditional policies are not adequate. The program then reviews and analyzes travel-related coverages that are better suited to addressing global travel insurance needs.

All distributors serving companies whose employees engage in international travel need to be aware of the risks and alternatives for addressing those risks.  

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Understand circumstances that can give rise to insurance coverage needs during international business trips.
• Identify the three major categories of travel risk.
• Learn why traditional forms of insurance coverage create significant gaps in coverage.
• Understand typical business travel insurance coverages and exclusions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

High school and colleges, nonprofit groups, charitable organizations, other travel-related groups.

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EMERGING CHALLENGES IN GROUP INSURANCE PROTECTIONS AND BENEFITS

Overview

Group insurance protection and benefit programs for workers of all types are undergoing significant change as a result of changing demographics and needs, the economy, shifting healthcare risks and costs, and the impact of the pandemic. Many companies have undergone severe financial stress as a result of recent developments and continue to look for ways to control costs and risks. At the same time, both full- and part-time workers and independent contractors are trying to find ways to secure important insurance protections at affordable prices.

The most popular benefit and of highest priority are healthcare coverages that can help employees better manage the costs of healthcare. Companies with 50 or more employees, with limited exceptions, must provide coverage that complies with essential medical benefits that comply with the Affordable Care Act. Many of these programs are high-deductible plans that can help manage expenses for both employers and employees. This course reviews gap medical plans that can address deficiencies in coverage and which can be purchased by employees and independent contractors on a voluntary basis.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Identify social, economic, demographic and other trends that are impacting group protection and benefit coverages.
• Understand how gap coverages work and can be coordinated with an employer high-deductible or co-insurance plan to provide comprehensive and affordable medical coverage for the employee.
• Identify the various stakeholders involved in the procurement, administration and servicing of these coverages in order to best coordinate efforts and ensure optimal results for the employer, as well as various types of employees and workers.

Course duration
1 hour

Continuing education credit
1 credit

Relevant industries
Trucking, gig platform companies

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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT CAPTIVE INSURANCE PROGRAMS

Overview

A captive is essentially an insurance company owned and controlled by the insured. Historically, captives were used to manage property-casualty risks. Since the 1990s however, captives have become increasingly popular tools for managing employee benefit programs.

The advantages of using captives to manage an employee benefit program include a) savings on premiums that would normally go to conventional insurance solutions; b) more effective risk management and health-related cost savings due to greater access to management information; and c) more control over the claims administration process.

Of course, the many advantages must be considered in light of the possible risks of an employee benefit captive, including compliance and regulatory risk, unanticipated losses, ineffective management, or claims administration problems, including potential employee complaints and dissatisfaction with the program.

This program analyzes employee benefit programs, reviews the advantages and disadvantages, explains how they’re structured, and under what circumstances they might be a suitable choice for a multinational corporation. The program will be of use to producers who are looking to help their clients manage the growing cost of employee benefit programs.

Outcomes

As a result of this program you will:

• Identify trends that are motivating a growing interest in employee benefit captives.
• Review the advantages and disadvantages of an employee benefit captive.
• Identify criteria that would make an organization a viable candidate for an employee benefit captive.
• Understand how to select an insurer for the program and optimize the captive fronting structure.

Course duration
2 hours

Continuing education credit
2 credits

Relevant industries
All industries

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STUDENT TRAVEL INSURANCE

Overview

More schools are developing programs and sending students abroad to engage in a wide range of activities, including work-study programs, sports teams, field trips and home-stays.

Travel is inherently risky. Today’s world injects new uncertainties, including risks associated with pandemics, other illnesses, terrorism, as well as common run-of-the-mill accidents and injuries (which are still the primary causes of travel-related losses).

Clearly, travel abroad can enhance a student’s experience and education. But a comprehensive risk management plan that prioritizes student health, safety and asset protection is critical. This program reviews the elements of such a program and is an essential source of information for brokers who work with educational institutions.  

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Understand the size and scope of the student travel market.
• Analyze student travel-loss histories based on types of losses and loss trends.
• Understand that protection of life, health and property in student travel activities requires a comprehensive, integrated program involving faculty, students, risk managers, carriers and brokers and involves both non-insurance and insurance strategies.
• Learn about the structure and design of student travel insurance policies and how they are both similar to and different from typical property and casualty insurance policies.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

High school and colleges, nonprofit groups, charitable organizations, other travel-related groups.

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

 

MARINE INSURANCE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Overview

Marine insurance is the oldest form of insurance, dating back to the Middle Ages. The long and historic tradition of marine insurance has resulted in policy forms that are based on historical traditions and well-established maritime case laws.

But in spite of a long history and extensive experience, marine policies can still be extremely complex and challenging to structure. For example, where ownership and responsibility for cargo are transferred is crucial in determining coverages needed; goods, in fact, may be handled and transferred many times during shipment, and insurance arrangements must be flexible and comprehensive enough to avoid coverage gaps.

This course reviews the inherent complexities of structuring marine coverages and makes the argument that having control over the insurance coverage decision-making process, as well as the use of a single insurer, can simplify coverage arrangements, prevent gaps and result in time and cost savings. This is especially important given the changing regulatory environment.

Outcomes

As a result of this course, you will:

• Understand how the regulatory and compliance environment for marine insurance has evolved over the past 20-plus years.
• Identify current and emerging risks associated with marine exposures.
• Learn about critical marine-related underwriting issues that need to be effectively addressed prior to submitting business to carriers for consideration.
• Understand how to structure an integrated comprehensive marine insurance program in different countries, each of which can pose challenging insurance requirements.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

Shipping, freight forwarders, transportation

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PFAS: AN EMERGING RISK

Overview

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is a term used to describe a broad range of human-made chemicals used in a range of consumer and industrial products. The widespread use of PFAS and their ability to remain intact in the environment from past and current uses present significant environmental contamination risks and exposures. While scientific research on the impact of PFAS is ongoing, there is developing evidence that exposure can potentially cause serious health problems in humans and animals. The fact that PFAS are chemically stable and impervious to breakdown in the environment has led them to be referred to as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are used in a wide spectrum of items, including but not limited to cosmetics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, car seats, clothing, cleaning products, carpets, furniture, flooring adhesives, outdoor gear, firefighting foam and solar panels. They are also found in a broad range of construction materials, including paint, grout, concrete sealers, caulk, adhesives and electrical wiring.

This program explains what PFAS are, how they are currently being used, associated health risks and how litigation and regulation are evolving. Using that as a foundation, we review to what extent insurance coverages will or will not respond to PFAS-related liability and exposures. Finally, we review the kinds of risk management strategies companies can take to manage this exposure.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand what PFAS and associated chemicals are, and why they are useful in commercial and consumer applications.
• Identify specific liability exposures associated with PFAS.
• Learn how different insurance policies may or may not respond to claims associated with PFAS-related damage.
• Learn risk management strategies companies can use to manage PFAS-related liability exposure, including claims brought by workers, customers, and environmental stakeholders.

Course duration 

1 hour

Continuing education credit 

1 credit 

Relevant industries 

Construction, energy and marine, food, grocery, manufacturing, real estate, retail, restaurants, technology

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RISK MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVES FOR THE RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY

Overview

Renewable energy sources are growing in importance as both a reliable source of power and as a means to relieve our dependence on fossil fuels to stave off the dangers of a warming planet. Yet as investment in renewable energy increases, the risks related to the construction, management, ownership and operation of renewables is becoming increasingly complex. The same risk management strategies that have been applied to conventional energy sources may not always neatly apply to renewable energy sources. This extends to renewable energy risk management expertise, actuarial data and insurance coverages.

In this program, we will focus on several renewable energy-related “hot topics” with a view toward identifying risk management and insurance coverage best practices.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Identify current and emerging loss exposures associated with major renewable energy sources, including wind, solar and geothermal.
• Analyze large energy loss claims scenarios, including root cause analyses and implications for risk management strategies.
• Examine the state of cyber security as it pertains to renewable energy management and how the implementation of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Risk Management Framework can proactively help mitigate and manage cyber security loss exposures.
• Review current and emerging underwriting challenges associated with the renewable energy industry and strategies to address them.

Course duration

4 hours

Continuing education credit

4 credits

Relevant industries

Renewable energy suppliers, contractors and customers

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

 

STRATEGIC ERM AND INSURANCE PROGRAMMING

Overview

Enterprise risk management (ERM) has been around a while, but its focus has shifted. In the 20th century, ERM was mainly focused on traditional risks like fire, windstorm and theft. These risks were primarily managed through insurance, with residual risk management coming in the form of loss control and claims management. Ultimately, protecting the organization’s balance sheet was the primary objective.

In the 21st century, the range of loss exposures is broader and often unprecedented, with potentially larger and more catastrophic consequences, including pandemics, terrorist attacks, global economic crises and massive natural disasters. Further, the risk landscape is changing rapidly, abetted by technology, global outsourcing and cloud computing.

Many consumers and distributors view risk management and insurance through a narrow prism — as an expense item on the income statement. The reality, however, is different. Recent studies suggest that companies with strong enterprise risk management programs experience better financial results.* The focus on ERM has changed from a defensive, balance-sheet preservation approach to a more holistic, proactive, creative approach. Insurance professionals need to understand this new approach to ERM and the role that insurance plays in a comprehensive, well-rounded risk management program.

* Journal of Applied Business and Economics, Vol. 16 (2). 2014.
* Aon Risk Solutions. Aon Risk Maturity Index, Insight Report. November 2013.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Analyze the phases of the risk-evaluation process, including the identification of possible loss exposures, prioritization of those exposures and analysis of alternative risk management strategies that, separately or in combination, can most optimally manage risk.
• Understand why organizations benefit from greater risk accountability at all levels of the organization.
• Evaluate the broad range of risks faced by organizations, including people-related risks, market risks, financial risks, strategic risks, reputational risks and operational risks.
• Demonstrate how to incorporate enterprise risk management decision criteria into major business decisions, such as mergers and acquisition, global expansion and human resources management decisions.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

All industries

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THE CHAIN IS ONLY AS STRONG AS ITS WEAKEST LINK: SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE STRATEGIES

Overview

Supply chain risk management is rapidly becoming a major concern for companies of all sizes, domestically and internationally. Disruptions due to natural or manmade catastrophes that impair or damage supply lines can threaten a company’s very existence. Accordingly, investors, regulators and other key stakeholders in the U.S. and around the world are requiring companies to provide an assessment of their supply chain risks and management capabilities in appropriate financial disclosure documents.

This program highlights the importance of supply chain risk management and the role supply chain insurance can play in such a program. All producers need to have a sound working knowledge of this issue in order to adequately and proactively advise their clients in a matter of significant and increasing concern.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Identify the potential economic and reputational consequences of a major supply chain disruption.
• Understand how to apply a supply chain “fire drill” to get a preliminary assessment of a company’s ability to deal effectively with a supply chain disruption.
• Analyze what supply chain insurance does and does not cover, and the role of this coverage in a coordinated, comprehensive risk management program.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

Manufacturing, distribution, transportation, wholesale, retail

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SOCIAL INFLATION: IMPACT, CONSEQUENCES AND COPING STRATEGIES

Overview

Social inflation refers to the rising costs of insurance claims due to various social, cultural, economic and other factors that result in the increasing frequency and severity of liability lawsuits.

Today, “nuclear verdicts” are becoming more common. These are verdicts of $10 million or more, and have been occurring with more frequency in cases involving auto and trucking accidents, product liability, medical malpractice, management liability and the umbrella and excess liability area.

The growing prevalence of nuclear verdicts has also led to another complicating phenomena, which is litigation funding. This is a process whereby financing sources, like investors or private equity funds, provide financial backing on lawsuits they believe will result in significant money damages, in return for a pre-determined percentage of the settlement.

Social inflation, and increasingly expensive jury verdicts are a significant issue for all insurance stakeholders. First and foremost, this results in increased premiums, reduced availability, limitations and/or exclusions in needed insurance coverages, and potential reputational damage when lawsuits are filed and litigated. Carriers are increasingly having to raise rates in an already stressed economic environment. Brokers face challenges accessing coverages clients need and explaining this altered environment.

This program reviews the phenomenon of social inflation, and the consequences of it for insureds, carriers, and brokers. It concludes by offering strategies that brokers can use to help clients deal with this challenge as well as actions that the insurance industry as a whole can take to combat this problem.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Learn the scope, extent and costs of social inflation in terms of rising jury verdicts and claims payouts
• Identify key factors driving social inflation
• Understand the consequences and impact of social inflation-fueled jury awards on insureds, insurers, and brokers;
• Learn how third party litigation funding is helping fuel growing liability claims as investors are incentivized to find and finance potential high-payout liability verdicts
• Identify social inflation insurance and risk management coping strategies

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

CLIMATE CHANGE RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE

Overview

The impact of climate change has been stark and is getting worse. The number of events that have caused more than $1 billion in losses has increased dramatically: in the last three years alone, there were 60 billion dollar events, which was more than the 31 events in all of the 1980s or the 55 events in all of the 1990s (inflation-adjusted). It should be noted that the reasons for this increase in economic impact is not all related to climate change alone: increases in population and continued development in high-risk areas is also a factor. But this is also a factor that insurers need to respond to.

Dealing with climate risk necessitates a comprehensive holistic strategy that will require business continuity and resilience planning, better-informed decision-making based on data and predictive analytics, enhanced emergency and incident response plans, and better communication strategies targeted to managers, employees, customers, regulators, and others.

Insurance will of course be a critical component of a climate change response plan, and many coverages need to be evaluated and analyzed for how and if they will respond. These include property insurance and builders risk, environmental coverages, and management liability insurance, as the ability and quality of responses to climate-change losses may trigger liability exposures. The underwriting process will also change, as carriers will more closely scrutinize resilience and continuity planning strategies. The viability of these strategies will significantly impact the depth, breadth and pricing of coverages that will be made available.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Analyze the data related to climate change and potential implications for risks management strategies
• Analyze the cost of climate related losses in the U.S.
• Identify the protection gaps in the context of total economic losses vs. insured losses;
• Analyze how climate risk is impacting various lines of insurance coverage, including general liability, errors & omissions, pollution liability, Workers Compensation and directors & officers

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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CONTRACTOR’S POLLUTION LIABILITY INSURANCE

Overview

Contractor’s pollution liability (CPL) insurance provides third-party coverage for bodily injury, property damage, defense, and cleanup resulting from the discharge, dispersal, escape or release of pollutants due to contracting operations performed by or on behalf of a contractor. The coverage is offered on a claims-made or occurrence basis and can be provided on a project or blanket program basis. Typically, the purchase of CPL is motivated by contractual requirements imposed by an owner/general contractor, and by the need for asset protection and coverage in the event of a catastrophic environmental loss exposure, which can cause both financial and reputational ruin.

This program helps the distributor understand the types of loss exposures faced by the broad range of contractors and subcontractors involved in construction projects, including the regulatory landscape within which they need to operate. The program then reviews CPL coverage and its role in managing construction-related environmental exposures.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Define strict, joint and several, as well as retroactive, forms of liability, as they pertain to federal and state environmental protection laws.
• Identify existing and potential environmental hazards at a construction job site.
• Identify the broad range of environmental contractors, including abatement, hazardous materials, handling and cleanup, waste management and environmental consultants whose work can generate a liability claim.
• Learn why the commercial general liability (CGL) policy may not provide adequate coverage in the event of a pollution event, and that pollution coverage in the CGL form has eroded over time.
• Understand major coverage grants in the contractor’s pollution liability policy.

Course duration

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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THE ROLE OF INSURERS IN RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE BUILDING PRACTICES 

Overview

Major hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural catastrophes are increasing in frequency and severity, posing increasing risks to health, safety and property. This has sparked growing interest in the design, development and construction of resilient buildings and communities. This program analyzes the elements of resilient and sustainable building strategies, implications for communities and the role of risk management and insurance in the process.

According to the Resilient Design Institute, resilient design is the “intentional design of buildings, landscapes, communities and regions in order to respond to natural and manmade disasters and disturbances”1 Local conditions play a vast and critical role in this. For example, building resilience in New York City needs to accommodate hurricanes, flooding and blizzards, as well as dramatic temperature changes from winter to summer. Los Angeles, on the other hand, must contemplate seismic considerations as well as potential hazards from resulting gas line breaks and fires. In the East and Southeast, 30 million households are in the path of windstorms that can exceed 100 mph.

The insurance industry needs to be a key stakeholder in the development of resilient construction, building and community-resilience strategies. This program explains the various ways in which insurers and insurance professionals can participate in this process.

Outcomes

As a result of this program you will:

• Understand the principles of resilient and sustainable construction and building practices.
• Identify the characteristics that resilient communities exhibit that enable them to effectively plan for, endure and recover quickly from a disaster.
• Review major construction-related insurance claims that occurred over the past three years, and how “root cause analysis” findings can prevent or mitigate these losses going forward.
• Identify how construction-related insurance coverages have evolved to respond to resiliency and sustainability objectives and the implications for the underwriting and cost of these coverages.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

Construction, real estate, property owners and developers

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

 

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND THE CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT OF 2018

Overview

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018 provides significant and expanded privacy protections to consumers and imposes new requirements on businesses to ensure those protections are properly implemented.

This course reviews the California statute in depth, analyzing the consumer protections incorporated into the law, who must comply, penalties and remedies for non-compliance. The program compares the CCPA with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) implemented by the European Union and explains why compliance with the GDPR will not necessarily be adequate to comply with the CCPA.

Finally, the program explains the linkage between privacy and ethical behavior and why insurance practitioners have an added duty of responsibility to maintain and protect consumer information.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the purpose and objectives of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018.
• Learn why the CCPA has global implications, given the size and importance of California’s economy and consumer population, and the implications for business.
• Learn how the law broadens privacy protections beyond other privacy laws in the U.S. and around the world.
• Recognize the connection between privacy and ethics and the additional demands and responsibilities imposed on the insurance industry and its practitioners to protect consumer privacy.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits (Note: this course is eligible for California ethics credit)

Relevant industries

All

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THE ETHICAL POWER OF FULL DISCLOSURE

Overview

These courses are designed to satisfy state-mandated ethics, insurance rules and regulations and/or anti-fraud training requirements. Check with us regarding individual state rules.

This course is designed to satisfy state-mandated ethics and regulatory training requirements.

Adverse medical outcomes can create serious malpractice liability problems for doctors and healthcare organizations. Many health organizations are adopting a radically new communications strategy designed to forestall, eliminate or minimize lawsuits when an adverse medical event occurs. This strategy is based on a commitment to a full and fair objective evaluation of the negative event and, based on it, quickly and collaboratively working out a settlement when the fault is with the provider. There is also a corresponding investigation and communication to address why fault may not lie with the provider. These strategies have resulted in a significant decline in medical malpractice liability and have tremendous potential application in other lines of insurance as well.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand how to apply the lessons of the healthcare accountability-based approach to other lines of insurance.
• Explain the futility of a “deny and defend” approach to liability claims.
• Demonstrate how some healthcare providers have solved their medical malpractice problems by adopting a customer service mentality.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

All

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THE ETHICS OF PRIVACY

Overview

Privacy is an ethical matter: We as a society are required to make judgments as to what degree of privacy people are entitled without compromising the collective needs of society at large. A stark example of this involves the pandemic. Some countries, like South Korea, have extensive contact tracing programs that track the health status of individuals and then broadcast that information broadly in order to more effectively identify and isolate individuals who may be infected. Such a program may be acceptable in other countries. It would be difficult to accomplish acceptance and buy-in in the United States, where privacy protections are more fiercely guarded.

The insurance industry collects more confidential personal and business data than any other industry, so industry practitioners need to be more sensitive to and protective of reasonable privacy concerns. At the same time, we must be able to effectively communicate the importance of, validity and justification for the information we collect.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Learn the definition of privacy and the differences between privacy and confidentiality.
• Analyze and reconcile the differences between individual privacy needs and the need for societies at large to access information needed for the good of the group.
• Develop strategies for explaining how information shared by insureds can be used to improve insurance coverages and how such information is protected.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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INSURANCE FRAUD: WHAT PRODUCERS NEED TO KNOW

Overview

Insurance fraud costs U.S. consumers billions every year and the losses attributable to it continue to grow. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud offers a very conservative estimate of $80 billion a year in losses due to insurance fraud.* It is often difficult to accurately calculate insurance fraud loss, because experts agree that a large percentage of insurance fraud incidents are both successful and undetected.

Insurance fraud is widespread and has a wide range of perpetrators, from organized crime gangs “staging” accidents to an individual applying for life insurance who misrepresents his smoking habits. Many consumers believe that insurance fraud is acceptable, taking the position that “I’ve paid my premiums every year for the past 25 years but haven’t gotten anything back.”

The bottom line is that insurance fraud has a highly damaging, corrosive effect, which is manifested in several ways: unnecessarily higher premiums, more intrusive time-consuming claims investigation activities and a loss of faith and trust in insurance by the very consumers who vitally need the protection it provides. This course defines insurance fraud, reviews the scope and extent of fraud, ways to detect it, and carrier and distributor responsibilities in identifying, reporting and stopping insurance fraud.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Identify how fraud is perpetrated for different lines of insurance, including life, health, property and auto insurance.
• Identify major red flags that can indicate insurance fraud is being planned or has been perpetrated.
• Learn insurer responsibilities for identifying, reporting and stopping insurance fraud.
• Learn the distributor’s role and responsibilities in identifying, reporting and stopping insurance fraud.
• Learn the sources of different types of losses in the insurance industry, including fraud, waste, errors and abuse and the interrelationship of these sources of loss.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

All

* As of December 2020. Coalition Against Insurance Fraud website.

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PROBLEM-SOLVING ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN INSURANCE

Overview

Engaging in ethical behavior in the insurance business is a top priority for all practitioners, regardless of the roles they play (underwriter, broker, adjuster, etc.). Insurance is complex, and practitioners generally act in a fiduciary capacity for their clients, at least from a practical if not purely legal sense. In other words, the insurance professional generally provides expertise and experience that is not available to the average consumer; as such, the consumer must rely on the insurance professional to always act in the client’s best interest.

This program is designed to help insurance professionals understand why ethical behavior is critical to the effective functioning of insurance activities, and to helping them understand their ethical obligations across a broad range of activities regularly engaged in by insurance companies, distributors and their representatives. This course is supplemented by case studies that present participants with various ethical challenges they may encounter in their insurance career.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, the insurance professional will:

• Learn the challenges of complying with both the “letter and the spirit” of laws and regulations governing the insurance industry.
• Analyze core principles associated with an insurance-industry relevant code of conduct.
• Learn how major insurance regulations, like unfair trade practice and unfair claims settlement practice laws, require compliance with both legal and ethical standards.
• Evaluate and discuss different case study scenarios that present ethical challenges and problem-solving skills.
• Learn why ethical behavior helps to develop mutually beneficial, profitable and long-term business relationships.

Course duration
3 hours

Continuing education credits
3 (ethics)

Relevant industries
All

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THE CASE FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION RISK MANAGEMENT 

Overview

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in a workplace setting refer to those policies and practices that actively promote and support the participation of, and opportunities for, different groups of individuals. Diversity includes differences based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability/disability, age, religion, veteran status and many other characteristics. While DEI is considered a moral and ethical corporate responsibility, empirical evidence also suggests that a commitment to DEI principles results in better corporate economic performance, while failure to implement them can result in a broad range of negative outcomes.

Regarding negative outcomes, in 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recovered $439 million as a result of discrimination charges and lawsuits filed against employers.1 This figure represents an all-time high. Private litigation jury verdicts are skyrocketing as well. The greatest number of EEOC charges being filed concern retaliation, disability, race and sex. In fact, the type of EEOC claim that surpasses all other claims is retaliation, which indicates that many workplace environments may not be perceived as safe places for employees to express concerns about fair treatment or seek changes to the culture. This is a clear indicator that inclusion and belonging (as well as psychological safety) are lacking in many organizations.

The regulatory landscape has also changed. An increasing number of U.S. states now require diversity in the composition of boardrooms for companies doing business in that state. Failure to do so can result in significant fines and penalties, in addition to reputational damage. In fact, major investors like pension funds and private equity firms are insisting that companies whose shares they hold implement DEI programs, and accountability is being extended to vendors and suppliers.

This course defines DEI, and explains why companies that ignore DEI are exposed to significant risks while those that strongly embrace it enhance their economic prospects. The course also makes the case that DEI principles are consistent with ethical behavior in that they promote individual fundamental rights, organizational justice and the advancement of positive social change. We then explain the essential components of a robust and comprehensive DEI program. Finally, we review the underwriting implications of DEI commitment to the most relevant insurance coverages, Directors and Officers and Employment Practices Liability insurance.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Understand the disadvantages and negative outcomes associated with inability or unwillingness to implement an adequate DEI program.
• Understand the advantages and competitive necessity of implementing a comprehensive, durable DEI program.
• Understand the intent of the new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 30415 standard for diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Understand how and why insurers will be evaluating an organization’s DEI program, and the impact of that underwriting process on the terms, conditions and pricing of management liability (Directors and Officers, and Employment Practices Liability) insurance coverages. 

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credits 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All

¹. “EEOC Releases Fiscal Year 2020 Enforcement and Litigation Data.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 26 February 2021.

TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION 

Overview

Economic, social, political and legislative forces all have an impact on workers’ compensation. Since virtually every business must provide this coverage, producers need to have a solid understanding of trends and developments influencing workers’ compensation coverages and rates. 

In this course, we’ll review significant trends impacting workers’ compensation in four areas. First, we’ll look at recent workers’ compensation data as it relates to growth in premiums, loss ratios and profitability. Second, we’ll examine recent state and federal court cases and legislation that are impacting workers’ compensation coverage and benefits, including COVID-19, presumptive disability decisions, updates on state reporting requirements and changes in benefit levels. Third, we’ll look at hot topics and trends in the workers’ compensation field, including the continuing legalization of marijuana, opioid usage, the impact of the gig economy, the continuing consolidation of healthcare providers, and the growing need for post-acute care. Finally, we’ll examine trends that will impact workers’ compensation in the future, including the way work is done (increasingly at home or other remote locations) and the impact of new technologies, such as robotics. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand the latest performance figures for the workers’ compensation line and the underlying forces that are influencing that performance.
• Review significant litigation impacting workers’ compensation at both the state and federal level.
• Analyze current and emerging hot topics that are and will continue to impact workers’ compensation costs and benefits.

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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WORKERS’ COMPENSATION MEDICAL CASE MANAGEMENT

Overview 

Workers’ compensation medical case management is designed to facilitate the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care to an injured or sick employee who qualifies for workers’ compensation medical benefits. The effective delivery of these services helps to facilitate the employee’s return to work and effective management of costs.

In essence, high-quality case management emphasizes five primary goals: 1) identifying and retaining the appropriate healthcare provider for the injured worker; 2) ensuring appropriate and accurate treatment and billing; 3) attaining targeted intervention and mitigation strategies; 4) optimizing the ability to get the injured worker back to work as quickly as is medically possible, in a position they are capable of successfully performing; and 5) attaining outcomes that meet the needs of all stakeholders: patient/family and employer.

This course is designed to help the distributor understand the case management process so that they can evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of these programs as they are provided by insurers.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the life cycle of a workers’ compensation claim, including the various steps involved from inception to resolution. 
• Identify the component parts involved in a comprehensive, integrated medical management program.
• Learn why effective medical management integration and coordination is critical to optimizing outcomes, including the delivery of high-quality, targeted care, expedited return-to-work for the injured employee, and cost-effectiveness. 
• Learn how artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are being developed and deployed to improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and outcomes of workers’ compensation claims 

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

CAPTIVES: AN IMPORTANT ALTERNATIVE RISK TRANSFER STRATEGY 

Overview

A captive is a privately held business that manages its own insurance operations with the financial and consultative assistance of an insurer. Due to the regulatory and capitalization requirements associated with running an insurance operation, a licensed, admitted insurer serves as a fronting company. A captive is a form of alternative risk transfer (ART), and enables a company to secure insurance and risk management expertise that is customized for its own operations. As an ART, a captive also allows a company to bypass traditional forms of risk transfer, including conventional forms of commercial insurance.

Captive ownership of an insurance operation allows a company to have control over claims and reserving practices, investments, enjoy certain tax advantages, and potentially recapture investment income and underwriting profit. At the same time, there are also disadvantages, including potentially large commitments of management time, administration, capital as well as the potential for inadequate loss reserves and potential losses.

This program provides a solid foundation for the broker to understand captives, and the tools used to evaluate whether such an arrangement is feasible for a given company. The program concludes by identifying critical criteria that might be considered in evaluating insurance companies to partner with in creating, implementing and managing a captive operation.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Learn how captives have evolved as an alternative risk transfer mechanism.
• Understand the definition and purpose of captives.
• Identify different classification and types of captives.
• Learn the advantages and disadvantages of captives.
• Analyze different applications for captives in the areas of domestic and international casualty exposures, property, construction and employee benefits.

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All

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DESIGNING THE INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE PROGRAM 

Overview

Conducting international business is challenging, from an insurance and risk management standpoint. Challenges include: 

• Insurance coordination challenges: Multinational insurance programs need to be properly coordinated. Some companies want to ensure that coverages are consistent and standardized in all jurisdictions in which they operate. But the uncoordinated purchase of local policies subjects the organization to higher expense, gaps in coverage, inconsistencies in coverage and other problems. Another related issue includes the possible formation of global captives and pooling arrangements as vehicles to manage costs and enhance global risk management coordination. 
• Compliance challenges: A related issue involves ensuring that coverages purchased are compliant with local regulations and that premium taxes are properly calculated and paid. 
• Evolving regulations: Rules and regulations are changing rapidly and present major loss exposures. Failure to comply can result in fines, penalties and possibly even imprisonment for company officers. 
• Regional instability: Certain regions may be subject to significant instability due to political and economic conditions (e.g., the Middle East) or natural catastrophes (e.g., earthquakes in Chile, floods in Pakistan). 
• Current and emerging loss exposures: Companies doing business overseas need to be especially vigilant about current and emerging loss exposures associated with privacy breaches, trade credit worthiness of customers, supply chain vulnerabilities, and health-related concerns, as we’ve seen with the coronavirus global pandemic.  

This program reviews critical global insurance structuring programs, including Controlled Master, Freedom of Service and Financial Interest coverage. It also reviews the growing range of loss exposures and insurance coverage and risk management strategies designed to address these needs. To enhance the learning experience, participants will see how strategies are applied through the use of case study examples.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will: 

• Identify the current and emerging risks faced by organizations operating globally. 
• Learn how a Controlled Master program issued in the United States, with local policies issued in countries in which the company operates, is designed and administered. 
• Learn how Financial Interest coverage is structured to protect the financial interest of a parent company when countries do not allow foreign carriers without a local license to provide coverage on a non-admitted basis. 
• Learn how Freedom of Service program structures can facilitate insurance coverage arrangements within the European Union.

Course duration
3 hours 

Continuing education credit 
3 credits 

Relevant industries 
All industries 

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WRITING BUSINESS INTO THE UNITED STATES VIA INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE TRANSACTIONS

Overview

International business opportunities are abundant and the ability to pursue them is no longer limited to Fortune 500 or multinational corporations. Small and mid-sized businesses can also pursue these opportunities.

Yet while opportunities abound, the risk landscape is evolving faster than ever. Risks range from natural catastrophes, like floods, windstorms and excessive heat to man-made exposures, including cybersecurity and management liability exposures. Another important consideration relates to compliance risk.

Rules and regulations governing insurance cross-border transactions can be complicated, confusing and contradictory. And the consequences of failing to comply with those regulations include fines, penalties, and even possible imprisonment. In this course, we review cross-border insurance transaction, and suggest “best practices” for managing such transactions from inception to ongoing servicing and management.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Analyze the U.S. regulatory environment as it pertains to the conduct of cross-border international insurance transactions;
• Analyze strategies for crafting policy language that reconciles coverage goals with local laws and regulations;
• Identify issues involved when underwriting business from a foreign jurisdiction into the United States, and analyze those issues through a case study involving a Canada to U.S. transaction;
• Analyze the servicing requirements related to managing an international risk management and insurance program;
• Identify the issues and challenges associated with settling claims in foreign jurisdictions

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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ADVANCED CONCEPTS FOR GLOBAL PROPERTY INSURANCE PROGRAMS

Overview

This course provides an extensive analysis of the challenges associated with the design, development, implementation, and monitoring of property insurance and risk management programs involving locations and properties around the world. Global property programs often involve multiple locations in parts of the world which are subject to a diverse range of risks, ranging from natural catastrophes to regulatory and legislative uncertainly.

This program reviews and analyzes both conventional and alternative risk transfer solutions, including admitted and non-admitted insurance as well as solutions involving captives fronted by insurers that have the global capabilities necessary to address the associated challenges.

This course addresses the unique challenges associated with insuring global properties that may be designed for commercial office use, retail, manufacturing, residential, and other applications. The failure to properly structure a property insurance program can result in inadequate limits in the event of a loss, an uncompensated interruption in business operations, and/or fines and penalties for an improperly structured program.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand current and emerging challenges associated with structuring a global property insurance program;
• Learn why the use of captives to insure property may be a cost-effective solution for these exposures
• Understand the money movement process involved in the use of captive insurance programs
• Identify information and technology needs that are “mission critical” in managing a global program;
• Identify risk management strategies for mitigating and avoiding loss exposures to which global properties are subject.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT CAPTIVE INSURANCE PROGRAMS

Overview

A captive is essentially an insurance company owned and controlled by the insured. Historically, captives were used to manage property-casualty risks. Since the 1990s however, captives have become increasingly popular tools for managing employee benefit programs.
The advantages of using captives to manage an employee benefit program include a) savings on premiums that would normally go to conventional insurance solutions; b) more effective risk management and health-related cost savings due to greater access to management information; and c) more control over the claims administration process.

Of course, the many advantages must be considered in light of the possible risks of an employee benefit captive, including compliance and regulatory risk, unanticipated losses, ineffective management, or claims administration problems, including potential employee complaints and dissatisfaction with the program.

This program analyzes employee benefit programs, reviews the advantages and disadvantages, explains how they’re structured, and under what circumstances they might be a suitable choice for a multinational corporation. The program will be of use to producers who are looking to help their clients manage the growing cost of employee benefit programs.

Outcomes

As a result of this program you will:

• Identify trends that are motivating a growing interest in employee benefit captives.
• Review the advantages and disadvantages of an employee benefit captive.
• Identify criteria that would make an organization a viable candidate for an employee benefit captive.
• Understand how to select an insurer for the program and optimize the captive fronting structure.

Course duration
2 hours

Continuing education credit
2 credits

Relevant industries
All industries

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GLOBAL INSURANCE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES 

Overview

Companies of all sizes are doing business globally. Business success depends on agility and being able to pursue new markets wherever they are. But the potential rewards of global trade are also associated with risks. Different regions and nations have their own insurance rules and regulations that must be complied with. Failure to be in compliance can subject companies, distributors and carriers to fines, penalties and potentially even imprisonment. Further, complex insurance programs can get “lost in translation” with misinterpretations resulting in incorrect, inadequate or no coverage. All of these challenges can also confront the distributor with professional liability exposure. 

This course takes a case-study based approach to address these types of challenges, with cases focused on three types of challenges: compliance challenges; account management challenges, and issue resolution challenges associated with centralizing the administration of an international insurance program. Participants are assigned to teams to address each challenge and present their proposed solutions to the group for review and discussion.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the importance of developing insurance programs that are compliant with local rules and regulations.
• Understand how to structure a master policy that coordinates coverage for an entire transnational area, like the European Union. 
• Learn how financial interest insurance coverage can protect a parent company from losses suffered from subsidiaries and corporate entities operating in foreign jurisdictions. 
• Gain knowledge, deeper insights and “best practice” perspectives associated with the end-to-end international account management process.

Course duration
2 hours 

Continuing education credit 
2 credits 

Relevant industries 
Companies currently engaged in or planning to do business internationally

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IMPACT OF LEGLISLATION AND REGULATION ON CYBERSECURITY RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE

Overview

In the midst of the growing frequency and severity of data and privacy breaches around the world, more legislators and regulators are implementing and enforcing data security and privacy laws. The approaches have been different, depending on the region of the world. For example, the European Union has implemented data breach and privacy laws and regulations that cover the entire European Union. The United States, by contrast, has a wide variety of federal and state cyber security laws and regulations that are not necessarily consistent and often conflict. Some states are taking the lead in this area, including California, whose Consumer Privacy Act, signed in 2018, builds on the foundation established by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, and New York, which implemented SHIELD, its privacy protection law, in 2020.
Businesses must comply with data breach and privacy laws and regulations in all of the jurisdictions in which they operate – domestic and international  – and this may require different approaches and standards for each region. This program reviews the laws and regulations in effect, as well as under consideration, and strategies for complying with them.

Outcomes

As a result of this course, you will:

• Identify trends in privacy legislation and regulation and why such developments are increasing.
• Understand how businesses may be inadvertently exposed to privacy laws in the U.S. or abroad to which they may not be aware.
• Learn strategies businesses can use to help comply with existing or prospective privacy laws.

Course duration
2 hours

Continuing education credit
2 credits

Relevant industries
All

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INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES FOR DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS INSURANCE

Overview

Directors and officers of multinational corporations are facing growing challenges, as various stakeholders (shareholders, customers, suppliers, regulators, etc.) aggressively seek to broaden the definition of “wrongful acts” that may make those directors and officers accountable. Litigation is being targeted at companies for a broad range of issues, including declines in value of share prices, cyber breaches, supply chain disruptions, environmental damage and, lately, alleged failure to adequately prepare their company for the economic devastation caused by the pandemic. It used to be that management liability exposures were most pronounced in the United States. That is no longer true, as overseas courts and jurisdictions are increasingly holding directors and officers accountable.

Litigation against directors and officers can be expensive, time- consuming, involve months of uncertainty while litigation plays out, and result in damaged reputations, potentially massive personal financial liability and, in worst case scenarios, imprisonment for failure to comply with local regulatory or legislative mandates.

The design and implementation of an effective and comprehensive Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance program is extremely complex. Issues related to adequacy of coverage, cost, the coordination of admitted and non-admitted policies, which policies will pay under what circumstances, and related tax consequences are all significant.

In this course, we will review how D&O programs can be designed to address a broad range of circumstances and challenges. Effective design is not only critical for protecting the corporation and the individual directors and officers, it is also crucial for attracting the best executive talent. Quality executives are increasingly insisting that these programs be adequate to protect their personal and career needs as a condition precedent to them agreeing to take employment or serve on a board of a multinational corporation.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, the participant will:

• Learn how an international program with a U.S. master D&O policy can be coordinated with locally admitted D&O policies, where insurance laws prohibit non-admitted coverage.
• Analyze the impact and effectiveness of multi-insurer D&O towers to address large exposures.
• Review scenarios where coverage may be inadequate, due to non-compliance with international regulations in local jurisdictions or because a claim in a local, foreign jurisdiction erodes the U.S. tower limit, potential leaving U.S. directors and officers without protection.
• Identify best practices for designing, implementing and servicing globally compliant and effective international D&O programs.

Course duration
2 hours

Continuing education credit
2 credits

Relevant industries
All industries

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MANAGING THE INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNT

Overview

A distributor has bound an international account. Mission accomplished, right? Actually no. International insurance programs are extremely complex and require ongoing monitoring and vigilance to ensure that coverage objectives are accomplished and international insurance rules and regulations are complied with. 

Conflicting regulatory regimes, tax issues and corporate governance activities all present complex account management problems. For example, with regard to claims, if a loss occurs locally, can the local subsidiary retain local counsel to defend itself in a lawsuit as well as local loss control experts (including engineers and medical experts) to help adjudicate a claim? The answer cannot necessarily be answered yes. With regard to taxation, does a local claim need to be paid in-country? If the global policy cannot pay a local claim, would payment to the parent expose the parent to taxation in its home country? Concerning Certificates of Insurance, would failure to provide evidence of locally obtained insurance trigger breach of contract exposures for a parent company?

This program reviews the major issues involved in managing the international account on an ongoing basis and provides optimal strategies for monitoring and managing these accounts so that risk management and insurance objectives are accomplished. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Identify critical insurance and risk management program set-up and structure that need to be communicated to affected business units involved in the global program.
• Identify issues that require regular monitoring and updating in order to optimize account management objectives. 
• Identify what information needs to be reported, to whom and when, in order to optimize decision-making. 
• Learn best practices for organizing and managing an international risk management and insurance team. 

Course duration
2 hours 

Continuing education credit 
2 credits 

Relevant industries 
Companies currently engaged in or planning to do business internationally 

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TITAN INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE CHALLENGE (BUSINESS SIMULATION)

Overview

International insurance programs can be extremely complex and demanding in terms of compliance issues, coverages, coordination and integration with local insurance laws and regulations, costs, and ongoing servicing and administration. 

In this program, participants have an opportunity to engage and interact in a business simulation that requires them to analyze the needs of a hypothetical manufacturing company named Titan Industries. 

During the course of the simulation, participants are grouped in teams and confronted with multiple events that will impact the design, implementation, execution and administration of Titan’s international insurance and risk management programs. As events unfold, teams must select the “best” or most optimal alternative from multiple options and then justify the selection as they balance a number of often conflicting demands. 

One of the main objectives of the simulation is to demystify what the insurer is doing when presenting, underwriting, structuring and servicing an international insurance and risk management program and to understand how that process works from beginning to end.  All producers working with customers who have global operations will benefit from this intensive, comprehensive, hands-on learning experience. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Compete against other teams to formulate a globally compliant insurance and risk management program 
• Develop awareness about the factors that may help ensure or might impede successful program implementation 
• Identify important insurance program structuring strategies, including use of master policies in coordination with local policies, and Difference in Conditions/Difference in Limits strategies designed to provide comprehensive coverage and prevent coverage gaps 
• Learn how the entire process of presenting, underwriting, structuring and servicing an international insurance and risk management program works from beginning to end 

 
Course duration
3 hours 

Continuing education credit
3 credits 

Relevant industries
All industries that currently have, or are contemplating, international operations.

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration
2 hours

Continuing education credit
2 credits

Relevant industries
All

BUILDING THE MANAGEMENT LIABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM

Overview

Closely held businesses and not-for-profit organizations have something in common: They both face significant professional liability exposures, yet are frequently remiss in confronting these exposures effectively. Although professional liability claims are generally low in frequency, they tend to be high in severity, with dollar verdicts capable of wiping out or severely disabling these types of organizations. In addition, reputational damage can also take a severe toll. This program explains why these organizations need these coverages and what obstacles and objections are voiced in response to these needs. It also reviews cost-effective management liability risk management and insurance strategies. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will: 

• Understand why private companies and not-for-profits typically lack sound management liability insurance and risk management programs 
• Identify current and emerging management liability litigation trends and developments involving private companies and not-for-profits 
• Learn about different types of claims and discuss risk management strategies designed to avoid, minimize or mitigate losses 
• Learn how to package management liability submissions in order to facilitate the underwriting process and most effectively advocate on behalf of the applicant to help secure terms and pricing that meet the needs of both insurer and customer 
• Understand the different insurance policy types available to address management liability risks and their associated costs and benefits

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

Privately held businesses and not-for-profit organizations  

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THE CASE FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION RISK MANAGEMENT 

Overview

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in a workplace setting refer to those policies and practices that actively promote and support the participation of, and opportunities for, different groups of individuals. Diversity includes differences based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability/disability, age, religion, veteran status and many other characteristics. While DEI is considered a moral and ethical corporate responsibility, empirical evidence also suggests that a commitment to DEI principles results in better corporate economic performance, while failure to implement them can result in a broad range of negative outcomes.

Regarding negative outcomes, in 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recovered $439 million as a result of discrimination charges and lawsuits filed against employers.1 This figure represents an all-time high. Private litigation jury verdicts are skyrocketing as well. The greatest number of EEOC charges being filed concern retaliation, disability, race and sex. In fact, the type of EEOC claim that surpasses all other claims is retaliation, which indicates that many workplace environments may not be perceived as safe places for employees to express concerns about fair treatment or seek changes to the culture. This is a clear indicator that inclusion and belonging (as well as psychological safety) are lacking in many organizations.

The regulatory landscape has also changed. An increasing number of U.S. states now require diversity in the composition of boardrooms for companies doing business in that state. Failure to do so can result in significant fines and penalties, in addition to reputational damage. In fact, major investors like pension funds and private equity firms are insisting that companies whose shares they hold implement DEI programs, and accountability is being extended to vendors and suppliers.

This course defines DEI, and explains why companies that ignore DEI are exposed to significant risks while those that strongly embrace it enhance their economic prospects. The course also makes the case that DEI principles are consistent with ethical behavior in that they promote individual fundamental rights, organizational justice and the advancement of positive social change. We then explain the essential components of a robust and comprehensive DEI program. Finally, we review the underwriting implications of DEI commitment to the most relevant insurance coverages, Directors and Officers and Employment Practices Liability insurance.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Understand the disadvantages and negative outcomes associated with inability or unwillingness to implement an adequate DEI program.
• Understand the advantages and competitive necessity of implementing a comprehensive, durable DEI program.
• Understand the intent of the new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 30415 standard for diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Understand how and why insurers will be evaluating an organization’s DEI program, and the impact of that underwriting process on the terms, conditions and pricing of management liability (Directors and Officers, and Employment Practices Liability) insurance coverages. 

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credits 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All

¹. “EEOC Releases Fiscal Year 2020 Enforcement and Litigation Data.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 26 February 2021.

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INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES FOR DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS INSURANCE

Overview

Directors and officers of multinational corporations are facing growing challenges, as various stakeholders (shareholders, customers, suppliers, regulators, etc.) aggressively seek to broaden the definition of “wrongful acts” that may make those directors and officers accountable. Litigation is being targeted at companies for a broad range of issues, including declines in value of share prices, cyber breaches, supply chain disruptions, environmental damage and, lately, alleged failure to adequately prepare their company for the economic devastation caused by the pandemic. It used to be that management liability exposures were most pronounced in the United States. That is no longer true, as overseas courts and jurisdictions are increasingly holding directors and officers accountable.

Litigation against directors and officers can be expensive, time- consuming, involve months of uncertainty while litigation plays out, and result in damaged reputations, potentially massive personal financial liability and, in worst case scenarios, imprisonment for failure to comply with local regulatory or legislative mandates.

The design and implementation of an effective and comprehensive Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance program is extremely complex. Issues related to adequacy of coverage, cost, the coordination of admitted and non-admitted policies, which policies will pay under what circumstances, and related tax consequences are all significant.

In this course, we will review how D&O programs can be designed to address a broad range of circumstances and challenges. Effective design is not only critical for protecting the corporation and the individual directors and officers, it is also crucial for attracting the best executive talent. Quality executives are increasingly insisting that these programs be adequate to protect their personal and career needs as a condition precedent to them agreeing to take employment or serve on a board of a multinational corporation.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, the participant will:

• Learn how an international program with a U.S. master D&O policy can be coordinated with locally admitted D&O policies, where insurance laws prohibit non-admitted coverage.
• Analyze the impact and effectiveness of multi-insurer D&O towers to address large exposures.
• Review scenarios where coverage may be inadequate, due to non-compliance with international regulations in local jurisdictions or because a claim in a local, foreign jurisdiction erodes the U.S. tower limit, potential leaving U.S. directors and officers without protection.
• Identify best practices for designing, implementing and servicing globally compliant and effective international D&O programs.

Course duration
2 hours

Continuing education credit
2 credits

Relevant industries
All industries

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

 

THREE CRITICAL INSURANCE NEEDS FOR MANUFACTURERS

Overview

The manufacturing industry is extremely competitive and is characterized by tight profit margins and an emphasis on cost control. Manufacturers tend to focus on maintaining or lowering input costs — whether they are labor, materials or fuel and energy. This cost focus extends to insurance buying decisions, because this consumes a relatively high percentage of both cost of goods sold as well as general overhead and administrative expenses.

While manufacturers need a broad range of property and liability coverage (including professional lines), this course takes the position that three key products should form the core of the average manufacturer’s insurance program: workers’ compensation (because it represents 40 to 50% of the manufacturer’s total insurance spend), property (because of exposures related to production equipment breakdowns, shipping and transportation risks, theft and vandalism) and global insurance programs (because more manufacturers are producing, selling and/or purchasing products from abroad).

Outcomes

As a result of this program you will:

• Learn the critical components necessary to design, implement and execute a global risk management and insurance program for manufacturers of all sizes.

• Understand strategies that can impact workers’ compensation experience modification rates, especially for different demographic segments of the employee population.

• Understand why manufacturers tend to neglect or overlook critical policy gaps in traditional property insurance coverages and how these gaps can be filled with specialized property forms tailored to the needs of the manufacturing industry.

Course duration

3 hours

Continuing education credit

3 credits

Relevant industries

All

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PFAS: AN EMERGING RISK

Overview

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is a term used to describe a broad range of human-made chemicals used in a range of consumer and industrial products. The widespread use of PFAS and their ability to remain intact in the environment from past and current uses present significant environmental contamination risks and exposures. While scientific research on the impact of PFAS is ongoing, there is developing evidence that exposure can potentially cause serious health problems in humans and animals. The fact that PFAS are chemically stable and impervious to breakdown in the environment has led them to be referred to as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are used in a wide spectrum of items, including but not limited to cosmetics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, car seats, clothing, cleaning products, carpets, furniture, flooring adhesives, outdoor gear, firefighting foam and solar panels. They are also found in a broad range of construction materials, including paint, grout, concrete sealers, caulk, adhesives and electrical wiring.

This program explains what PFAS are, how they are currently being used, associated health risks and how litigation and regulation are evolving. Using that as a foundation, we review to what extent insurance coverages will or will not respond to PFAS-related liability and exposures. Finally, we review the kinds of risk management strategies companies can take to manage this exposure.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand what PFAS and associated chemicals are, and why they are useful in commercial and consumer applications.
• Identify specific liability exposures associated with PFAS.
• Learn how different insurance policies may or may not respond to claims associated with PFAS-related damage.
• Learn risk management strategies companies can use to manage PFAS-related liability exposure, including claims brought by workers, customers, and environmental stakeholders.

Course duration 

1 hour

Continuing education credit 

1 credit 

Relevant industries 

Construction, energy and marine, food, grocery, manufacturing, real estate, retail, restaurants, technology

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF INSURANCE POLICY ANALYSIS 

Overview

Insurance policies are often difficult to understand, and a high percentage of customers and distributors do not spend much time reading or analyzing them. Thus, they can be in for a rude awakening when a claim they assumed would be covered is denied. 

Policy analysis is both an art and a science. It’s an art in that the reader must have some baseline skills related to what to look for and how to look for it. It’s a science in that the contract is a written document and that, absent contradictory information or circumstances, courts will interpret a contract as written. 

During the program, we will review the major components of a property and casualty (P&C) contract, how they interrelate and how to evaluate a policy to determine if coverage will apply to a particular circumstance or client. Most importantly, we evaluate a policy on a pre-loss as well as a post-loss basis, with the intent of helping the distributor and client determine if coverage is adequate (pre-loss) and what steps need to be taken to quickly and efficiently resolve a claim (post-loss). 

Insurance policies can be challenging to understand and interpret, even for seasoned professionals. This program provides a structured, organized and disciplined system for analyzing insurance policies, which can help you explain the coverages your clients need and how their policies can be best structured to respond to their unique circumstances. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand basic principles of policy interpretation
• Analyze the different ways in which policies can grant or exclude coverage
• Learn how to conduct a pre- and post-loss policy analysis
• Learn how policy interpretation can be impacted by legislative, regulatory and judicial/litigation-related developments

Course duration 

2 hours 

Continuing education credit

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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THE CASE FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION RISK MANAGEMENT 

Overview

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in a workplace setting refer to those policies and practices that actively promote and support the participation of, and opportunities for, different groups of individuals. Diversity includes differences based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability/disability, age, religion, veteran status and many other characteristics. While DEI is considered a moral and ethical corporate responsibility, empirical evidence also suggests that a commitment to DEI principles results in better corporate economic performance, while failure to implement them can result in a broad range of negative outcomes.

Regarding negative outcomes, in 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recovered $439 million as a result of discrimination charges and lawsuits filed against employers.1 This figure represents an all-time high. Private litigation jury verdicts are skyrocketing as well. The greatest number of EEOC charges being filed concern retaliation, disability, race and sex. In fact, the type of EEOC claim that surpasses all other claims is retaliation, which indicates that many workplace environments may not be perceived as safe places for employees to express concerns about fair treatment or seek changes to the culture. This is a clear indicator that inclusion and belonging (as well as psychological safety) are lacking in many organizations.

The regulatory landscape has also changed. An increasing number of U.S. states now require diversity in the composition of boardrooms for companies doing business in that state. Failure to do so can result in significant fines and penalties, in addition to reputational damage. In fact, major investors like pension funds and private equity firms are insisting that companies whose shares they hold implement DEI programs, and accountability is being extended to vendors and suppliers.

This course defines DEI, and explains why companies that ignore DEI are exposed to significant risks while those that strongly embrace it enhance their economic prospects. The course also makes the case that DEI principles are consistent with ethical behavior in that they promote individual fundamental rights, organizational justice and the advancement of positive social change. We then explain the essential components of a robust and comprehensive DEI program. Finally, we review the underwriting implications of DEI commitment to the most relevant insurance coverages, Directors and Officers and Employment Practices Liability insurance.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, you will:

• Understand the disadvantages and negative outcomes associated with inability or unwillingness to implement an adequate DEI program.
• Understand the advantages and competitive necessity of implementing a comprehensive, durable DEI program.
• Understand the intent of the new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 30415 standard for diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Understand how and why insurers will be evaluating an organization’s DEI program, and the impact of that underwriting process on the terms, conditions and pricing of management liability (Directors and Officers, and Employment Practices Liability) insurance coverages. 

Course duration

2 hours 

Continuing education credits 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All

¹. “EEOC Releases Fiscal Year 2020 Enforcement and Litigation Data.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 26 February 2021.

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CONTRACTUAL RISK TRANSFER STRATEGIES 

Overview

Risk transfer strategies are important in a broad range of industries, but especially significant in construction. Property owners, developers and contractors (described as “upper tier” participants) often attempt to avoid liability related to bodily injury or property damage that can be caused by various “lower tier” participants in a construction project, including various subcontractors. Damage caused by subcontractors and others involved in construction projects can subject owners, developers and general contractors to legal risk under case law or statutes that impose vicarious liability.

Upper tier participants pursue various strategies for managing their liability exposure, both through contractual risk transfer methods, as well as insurance. 

Contractual risk transfer involves an agreement between two parties whereby one party agrees to indemnify and assume any and all responsibility for damages that might ordinarily expose the other party to liability for specific actions, non-actions, damages or injuries. Ultimately, such an arrangement seeks to place the financial burden of a loss on the party best able to control or prevent actions or non-actions that might lead to a loss or injury. This program reviews major contractual risk transfer strategies, including indemnification and hold harmless agreements. It also analyzes common law and statutory challenges that might impair the use of these strategies. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the benefits and limits of securing indemnification for losses through contractual means.
• Understand that different federal, state and/or local jurisdictions may have different rules regarding contractual methods for transferring risk.
• Understand how insurance policies need to be coordinated with indemnification, hold harmless, waiver of subrogation and/or other contractual transfer methods in order to meet client risk management objectives. 

Course duration 

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries, but especially those involving property owners, developers and construction contractors.

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PROGRAM INSURANCE BUSINESS

Overview

Program insurance business involves a collaboration between an insurance carrier and a program administrator to write a portfolio of business. The program administrator (PA) is selected by the carrier as a recognized expert in a particular industry or market which may be underserved, misunderstood, or otherwise ignored by traditional carriers. Examples of programs include hurricane buy-back programs; coverage for historical properties, vacant properties, boutique hotels, resorts and restaurants.

Program admistrators typically act on behalf of the insurance company, and may be authorized and responsible for underwriting decisions, claims management and the design and implementation of of innovative technologies and distribution methodologies intended to serve customers better.

For difficult, unusual, or hard-to-place risks, program insurance business is a viable alternative that should be considered by brokers.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Identify the depth and breadth of the program insurance business
• Analyze what makes the program insurance model different than the traditional insurance model
• Identify the responsibilities granted to Program Administrators
• Learn the lines of business and risks that typify insurance program busines

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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DEVELOPING A MULTILINE P&C INSURANCE PROGRAM 

Overview

Bert’s Bakeries, Inc. is a commercial bakery headquartered in the Midwest. The company creates and sells breaded and baked products to restaurants, grocery stores, cafeterias, hospitals, schools and other institutions and merchants primarily in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Indiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma. But its products also appear in groceries and supermarkets in every region of the United States and some parts of Canada and Mexico.

Bert’s has grown significantly over the past five years, and now has revenue of over $500 million. The pandemic has impacted Bert’s in a variety of ways and has motivated it to review its risk management and insurance operations.

This program is designed to help the insurance producer understand the various lines of coverage that may be needed for a middle market company, using a case study approach featuring the hypothetical Bert’s Bakeries. Participants will be tasked with developing a comprehensive insurance program that addresses the company’s needs in the most cost-efficient manner. Non-insurance risk management strategies, to address perils that cannot effectively be insured, are also considered.  

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Evaluate a midsized company, Bert’s Bakeries, to identify its current and prospective loss exposures. 
• Identify insurance coverages that may be appropriate and suitable for Bert’s Bakeries, given its risk profile and tolerance, and budgetary constraints. 
• Identify any possible coverage gaps and deficiencies.
• Develop a comprehensive risk management program that incorporates both insurance and non-insurance strategies. 

Course duration 

4 hours 

Continuing education credit 

4 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries 

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IDENTIFYING INSURANCE NEEDS THROUGH FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS

Overview

Financial statements include critical information that can provide insights about a company’s past, present and future prospects. They also reflect an organization’s mindset and attitude about risk management and insurance. This course helps participants see and use financial statements in a different way: to identify loss exposures or planning opportunities that are amenable to risk management and/or insurance solutions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Analyze the purpose, function and interrelationships between the balance sheet, income statement, cash-flow statement and notes in a financial report. 
• Learn how to calculate and use key financial indicators to assess a company’s relative financial health.
• Use financial statements to identify key insurance and risk management needs and the company’s ability to pay for those needs.
• Understand how underwriters evaluate a company’s financial condition in the underwriting process.
• Learn to use knowledge of financial statements as a means to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Course duration 

3 hours

Continuing education credit 

3 credits

Relevant industries 

All industries

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THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS ON INSURANCE

Overview

Predictive analytics uses a variety of statistical techniques to analyze historical and current data in order to improve forecasting, or predictions of future events. Advances in artificial intelligence and computing power has significantly improved predictive analytic models, which are used in a broad range of industries, including marketing, financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, social networking and, increasingly, insurance. 

Predictive analytics has broad implications in the insurance industry. For example, this tool is being used to: 

• Streamline and facilitate the underwriting process for a wide range of lines of insurance. 
• Identify activities and behaviors that may indicate insurance fraud.
• Prevent policy lapses by customers by identifying those that may be at risk of a lapse so that the distributor can take proactive steps to maintain coverages.
• Improve and speed up the claims settlement process by analyzing historical data on similar situations. 

Some of these applications involve privacy implications in which consumers will have to trade off surrendering some personal or corporate information in return for better value on their insurance purchases (including expanded coverage at a lower price).

The applications for predictive analytics involve a broad range of coverages and impact property, casualty, life and health insurance and employee benefit products.

All distributors need to be aware of how predictive analytics is impacting a broad range of insurance coverages because this information will impact how insurance policies are designed, packaged and priced in the future. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Learn the different ways insurers are using predictive analytics to improve performance, customer responsiveness, and efficiency.
• Learn how predictive analytics is impacting every line of insurance, including property, casualty, life, health and employee benefits. 
• Understand the ways that predictive analytics is impacting the underwriting and claims management process. 
• Identify the privacy implications that the expanding use of data may have for insureds. 
• Understand the role of the distributor in explaining the possible advantages and disadvantages of predictive analytics to the insurance consumer.

Course duration 

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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SURVIVING A HARD P&C MARKET 

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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WHAT DISTRIBUTORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COMMERCIAL UNDERWRITING

Overview

Effective and profitable underwriting is a core mission of every insurance provider. Carriers use the underwriting process to:

• Evaluate and classify risks.
• Avoid adverse selection.
• Identify and prevent insurance fraud.
• Determine the proper premium to be charged and the terms and conditions of the contract based on risk classification.
• Negotiate terms and conditions.
• Monitor underwriting decisions over the life of the contract in order to make needed contractual changes, appropriate renewal decisions (if applicable) and continually improve underwriting results.

In addition, the underwriter must provide proactive, responsive service to ensure a mutually beneficial, long-term business relationship.

Clearly, the underwriting position is complex and requires extensive analytical and interpersonal skills. This program is designed to help producers and other agency personnel understand the underwriting process and provide advice on how the distributor-underwriter relationship can be best managed in order to accomplish optimal results for all parties concerned: the customer, agency and carrier. The concepts and principles are presented broadly enough to apply to all lines of commercial coverage, including property, financial lines and general liability.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Learn how and why underwriters examine different parts of a company’s business, management, operations, competitive and regulatory environment, and other factors that impact insurability.
• Understand the documentation used by underwriters and the importance of its availability, timely transmission and accuracy.
• Understand common problems that lead to breakdowns in the underwriting process.
• Learn optimal industry behaviors that can facilitate and enhance the underwriting process to the benefit of customer, agency and carrier.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All industries  

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WHY DO PEOPLE MISCALCULATE RISK? 

Overview

Behavioral economics is the field of research that evaluates cognitive, psychological, cultural, social and other influences and how those influences affect economic decisions made by individuals and groups. More specifically, it seeks to reconcile and understand why some people are motivated to make decisions that are seemingly irrational and contrary to what rational behavior would suggest is in their best interests.

For example, when confronted with extensive information and warnings about an imminent hurricane, why do some people stay put -- at the risk of loss of life, property and/or serious injury -- hoping they’ll get lucky and the windstorm will miss them? The answers identified by behavioral economic research can help provide insights and strategies that distributors can use to motivate clients to take action. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Learn why a large percentage of individuals, families and organizations choose to underinsure or go without insurance in spite of rational economic evidence that it is not in their best interests to do so.
• Understand the rationale people use to defeat the “best interests” argument.
• Learn how to incorporate behavioral economics theory into your sales strategy in a manner that will help you more effectively target “persuadable” buyers and avoid the “unpersuadables.”

Course duration 

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

 

PROPERTY INSURANCE: AVOIDING COVERAGE GAPS

Overview 

Property insurance is generally described as insurance on commercial buildings and their contents. But coverage also extends to certain structures that are not considered buildings as well as personal property not strictly considered contents of buildings, including property in open areas (but within 100 feet of the commercial buildings). 

The focus of this course is not only what traditional property forms cover, but also what they fail to cover as well. Indeed, there are serious coverage gaps in most standard (ISO) and carrier forms, including those pertaining to equipment breakdown, renovation, reconstruction and new construction, vacancy, shipping and transportation, coverage for contractor’s equipment, coverage for lost accounts receivable information, and other electronic data. Many of these loss exposures are either not covered or inadequately covered in these traditional forms. 

In addition to coverage gaps, traditional forms typically also have disadvantageous exclusionary provisions, coverage limits and sublimits that may not be suitable (or which may go unnoticed) by some distributors or customers.

This course reviews the traditional property form and highlights gaps that could cause specific problems for all customers, as well as in some specific industry segments.

Outcomes 

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Identify parties to a property insurance policy who may or may not have insurable interest.
• Learn the differences between real and personal property and why this distinction may be driven by the individual circumstances associated with an insured’s assets.
• Identify the different types of construction used in buildings and other structures and the impact on underwriting.
• Learn the basic coverage grants in property insurance. 
• Identify gaps in coverage for real and personal property assets. 
• Analyze the broad range of coverage gaps that can be inadvertently created in designing a property insurance program.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All 

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ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE 

Overview

Commercial property insurance is a standard coverage for most businesses. It pays for losses sustained to property as a result of a covered peril. But property insurance alone does not address the loss of business income that results from property damage unless it has been expanded to provide such coverage. Over 50 percent of property losses result in business income losses. That’s why most businesses have a critical need for business interruption (BI) and contingent business interruption (CBI) coverage.

A critical part of designing an effective business income protection program is the calculation of business interruption values. The analysis of a company’s financial information is needed to calculate adequate BI and CBI values in the event of losses. Additionally, an understanding of how BI and CBI values are calculated, and how they align with the terms of the policy coverage, can help facilitate payment in the event of a claim, and the restoration of the business in as complete and rapid a manner as possible.  

This program provides the producer with a comprehensive understanding of the need for these coverages, how they are structured, how to calculate the amount of coverage needed, and the best practices involved in documenting the claim.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the importance of business income and contingent business income coverage.
• Analyze the difference between how financial statements are prepared, based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and insurance accounting used to calculate BI and CBI losses.
• Understand how the BI worksheet is calculated for different types of business (manufacturing, retail and service).
• Learn best practices for documenting a BI or CBI claim.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries

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BUILDERS RISK INSURANCE ESSENTIALS 

Overview

Builders risk insurance indemnifies a building owner for damage to buildings while they are under construction; for loss of materials used in the course of construction; and/or delays in completion for real property during the course of construction. Builders risk is stand-alone, first-party coverage.

During this phase, multiple exposures exist, including those related to fire damage, windstorm, theft and vandalism. Coverage typically covers the construction phase only, and terminates when the work is completed and the property is ready for use and/or occupancy. 

Many producers are confused about when to use an inland marine builders risk policy versus a commercial property builders risk coverage form, especially for large or complex construction projects. Here we will compare and analyze the differences when, where and under what circumstances each coverage might best apply. This course also covers when and how to integrate installation floaters and rigging insurance into a comprehensive builders risk insurance and management program. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand coverage grants and exclusions in the Builders Risk form; 
• Analyze “soft cost”/optional coverages available, when and how they might apply.
• Identify best practices in designing and implementing a builders risk insurance program to ensure coverage adequacy, suitable limits and to prevent coverage gaps.
• Identify the leading causes of builders risk losses.
• Understand how and when installation floaters may be appropriate in a construction project.
• Understand the similarities and differences between inland marine and commercial property builders risk coverage forms.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

Construction, real estate

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CONTRACTUAL RISK TRANSFER STRATEGIES 

Overview

Risk transfer strategies are important in a broad range of industries, but especially significant in construction. Property owners, developers and contractors (described as “upper tier” participants) often attempt to avoid liability related to bodily injury or property damage that can be caused by various “lower tier” participants in a construction project, including various subcontractors. Damage caused by subcontractors and others involved in construction projects can subject owners, developers and general contractors to legal risk under case law or statutes that impose vicarious liability.

Upper tier participants pursue various strategies for managing their liability exposure, both through contractual risk transfer methods, as well as insurance. 

Contractual risk transfer involves an agreement between two parties whereby one party agrees to indemnify and assume any and all responsibility for damages that might ordinarily expose the other party to liability for specific actions, non-actions, damages or injuries. Ultimately, such an arrangement seeks to place the financial burden of a loss on the party best able to control or prevent actions or non-actions that might lead to a loss or injury. This program reviews major contractual risk transfer strategies, including indemnification and hold harmless agreements. It also analyzes common law and statutory challenges that might impair the use of these strategies. 

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the benefits and limits of securing indemnification for losses through contractual means.
• Understand that different federal, state and/or local jurisdictions may have different rules regarding contractual methods for transferring risk.
• Understand how insurance policies need to be coordinated with indemnification, hold harmless, waiver of subrogation and/or other contractual transfer methods in order to meet client risk management objectives. 

Course duration 

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries, but especially those involving property owners, developers and construction contractors.

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FIRE CODES, STANDARDS AND INSURANCE UNDERWRITING 

Overview

Fire is among the most frequent cause of property loss and damage for businesses and also ranks high in terms of most costly insurance claims. Therefore, it is imperative for businesses to have a fire prevention and mitigation program and to be able to communicate that program effectively to carriers during the underwriting process. Compliance with local fire codes may not be enough. Adopting higher standards for fire prevention and mitigation can be a better strategy to prevent losses, and minimize fire damage if it occurs. It can also result in better, more liberalized insurance coverages at a better rate for the business insurance buyer.

Fire codes and fire safety plans represent the minimum standards required to secure most building occupancy and use permits. Insurance companies typically look for plans to adopt standards that are higher than these minimums. Although investment in fire safety programs can entail a higher upfront cost, the payoff can be lower insurance premiums and fewer and less costly losses should a fire occur.

This course is designed to inform the distributor of fire safety codes and standards, and how meeting or exceeding them can favorably impact quality of coverage offered by carriers and the cost of such coverage.

Outcomes

As a result of this program, the producer will: 

• Learn the history of fire codes and the difference between fire codes and fire standards. 
• Review a range of different fire events and the scope and extent of property damage and bodily injury losses associated with those events.
• Identify common causes of fire management failure. 
• Review the underwriting implications of a typical insurer’s analysis of a company’s fire management and mitigation program.

Course duration 

2 hours 

Continuing education credit 

2 credits 

Relevant industries 

All industries 

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MINIMIZING AND INSURING AGAINST LOSSES FROM WATER DAMAGE 

Overview 

Damage caused by water is one of the biggest sources of loss for insurers. And those losses do not result exclusively from flooding. Water damage can be caused by burst pipes and leaks, rain, overflows and back-ups.

Although flood insurance with sufficient limits is difficult to procure from insurers, there is coverage for water-based losses found in many commercial policies, including property insurance, business interruption, and builders risk insurance.

Still, businesses can best protect themselves from water damage through a combination of risk management strategies and properly structured insurance. But the point remains: Distributors need to have a thorough understanding of what insurance will and will not cover as to water-related damage.

Further, water damage risk mitigation strategies can have either a positive or negative impact on the underwriting of various coverages that would respond to water damage events. Specifically, the more robust and comprehensive the strategy, the better the underwriting outcome will be (in terms of pricing, depth and breadth of coverage).

Outcomes 

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the scope and extent of water damage claims, based on a review of loss experience in the property and builders risk insurance lines.
• Understand which water-related losses are and are not covered by standard policy forms. 
• Identify key components involved in water damage-mitigation risk management. 
• Learn how water damage actually can occur using case studies focused on actual claims.
• Understand how water mitigation risk management strategies can favorably influence the insurance underwriting process.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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THE PERC PROGRAM AND INSURANCE

Overview 

Zurich’s Post-Event Review Capability, aka PERC, is a systematic, disciplined framework for analyzing disasters, specifically, what was done prior to, during and after the disaster and the impact of those actions (or inactions) on the community that suffered the disaster.

The PERC model was developed in 2013 and has been used in various regions throughout the world. The PERC model has application to both natural (e.g., floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, etc.) and manmade (e.g., terrorism) disasters.

The PERC process evaluates the successes and failures in the management of a disaster. It provides a bird’s-eye view of critical gaps and opportunities to reduce risk, around which key stakeholders in a community can use to plan for, promote and design interventions that are relevant to the particular community and its unique needs. Ultimately, the end goal is to make communities, regardless of size, location and/or resources, more resilient when disasters occur. This resilience results in better preparation for a disaster, less property damage, loss of life and injury during a disaster, and more rapid recovery when the disaster is over.

Critical to the PERC process is the role of insurance. PERC studies have pointed out the critical importance of identifying the right types and amounts of insurance for various stakeholders in a community, including residents and businesses, as well as public entities. This requires adequate insurance planning to ensure that coverages are adequate and will respond to the types of losses community stakeholders will experience. In addition, recovery from disasters can be effectively facilitated if insureds know what insurers need to process claims quickly and efficiently.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand the objectives of PERC and how it helps communities develop a systematic, disciplined approach to preparing for the “before,” “during” and “after” of a disaster. 
• Identify the characteristics that resilient communities exhibit that enable them to effectively plan for, endure and recover quickly from a disaster. 
• Understand how insurance relates to effective PERC planning, what obstacles typically stand in the way of securing adequate coverage, the role the industry needs to play throughout the pre- and post-disaster cycle and the range of coverages needed.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All 

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PFAS: AN EMERGING RISK

Overview

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is a term used to describe a broad range of human-made chemicals used in a range of consumer and industrial products. The widespread use of PFAS and their ability to remain intact in the environment from past and current uses present significant environmental contamination risks and exposures. While scientific research on the impact of PFAS is ongoing, there is developing evidence that exposure can potentially cause serious health problems in humans and animals. The fact that PFAS are chemically stable and impervious to breakdown in the environment has led them to be referred to as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are used in a wide spectrum of items, including but not limited to cosmetics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, car seats, clothing, cleaning products, carpets, furniture, flooring adhesives, outdoor gear, firefighting foam and solar panels. They are also found in a broad range of construction materials, including paint, grout, concrete sealers, caulk, adhesives and electrical wiring.

This program explains what PFAS are, how they are currently being used, associated health risks and how litigation and regulation are evolving. Using that as a foundation, we review to what extent insurance coverages will or will not respond to PFAS-related liability and exposures. Finally, we review the kinds of risk management strategies companies can take to manage this exposure.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand what PFAS and associated chemicals are, and why they are useful in commercial and consumer applications.
• Identify specific liability exposures associated with PFAS.
• Learn how different insurance policies may or may not respond to claims associated with PFAS-related damage.
• Learn risk management strategies companies can use to manage PFAS-related liability exposure, including claims brought by workers, customers, and environmental stakeholders.

Course duration 

1 hour

Continuing education credit 

1 credit 

Relevant industries 

Construction, energy and marine, food, grocery, manufacturing, real estate, retail, restaurants, technology

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ADVANCED CONCEPTS FOR GLOBAL PROPERTY INSURANCE PROGRAMS

Overview

This course provides an extensive analysis of the challenges associated with the design, development, implementation, and monitoring of property insurance and risk management programs involving locations and properties around the world. Global property programs often involve multiple locations in parts of the world which are subject to a diverse range of risks, ranging from natural catastrophes to regulatory and legislative uncertainly.

This program reviews and analyzes both conventional and alternative risk transfer solutions, including admitted and non-admitted insurance as well as solutions involving captives fronted by insurers that have the global capabilities necessary to address the associated challenges.

This course addresses the unique challenges associated with insuring global properties that may be designed for commercial office use, retail, manufacturing, residential, and other applications. The failure to properly structure a property insurance program can result in inadequate limits in the event of a loss, an uncompensated interruption in business operations, and/or fines and penalties for an improperly structured program.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Understand current and emerging challenges associated with structuring a global property insurance program;
• Learn why the use of captives to insure property may be a cost-effective solution for these exposures
• Understand the money movement process involved in the use of captive insurance programs
• Identify information and technology needs that are “mission critical” in managing a global program;
• Identify risk management strategies for mitigating and avoiding loss exposures to which global properties are subject.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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SOLVING FOR VACANT PROPERTY EXPOSURES

Overview

The pandemic has had and will continue to have an enormous impact on the economy. Commercial real estate has been particularly hard hit, both because retail and office facilities were shut down, and also because businesses found ways to adjust as a result of it. Telecommuting was becoming more commonplace even before the pandemic. Obviously, the pandemic has accelerated that trend. Projected vacancy rates for retail properties could climb to 12% as businesses reconsider their space needs and potentially go as high as 25% by 2025.*

Of course vacant properties present multiple risks to owners and communities, including the risks of fire, water damage, crime, vandalism and/or poor maintenance practices.

While producers will need to address clients who own buildings that are or will become vacant, they may also encounter situations where a client may want to buy a vacant property for investment purposes.

Vacant properties are difficult to insure because of the inherent risks associated with such properties. As a result, most coverage is only available in the non-admitted markets. But these risks are usually insurable. This program will give producers needed skills, ideas and strategies that can help their clients secure coverage on the best possible terms and pricing.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Analyze market trends demonstrating current and projected commercial vacancy rates.
• Identify common types of vacant property loss exposures.
• Understand how ISO defines a vacant property and how that definition might differ from those used by different property insurers.
• Gain insights on designing insurance and risk management programs for vacant properties.
• Review the types of information that insurers will be looking for in evaluating a vacant property risk.

Course duration
2 hours

Continuing education credit
2

Relevant industries
Real estate

*Veiga, Alex. “Pandemic Impact May Weigh on Commercial Real Estate Recovery.” Associated Press. 8 April 2021.

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT ANALYSIS IN THE SURETY BOND UNDERWRITING PROCESS

Overview

Construction contracts are complex and address high-stakes projects where significant sums of money and resources are at stake. Many things can happen that can impair, slow down, disrupt or stop the completion of a construction project, including, but not limited to natural catastrophes, competition, supply and demand for essential labor and materials, and other factors that may or may not be in the control of the contractor.

Project owners may be highly motivated to write contracts that shift most of the burden away from them and on to the contractor. Sometimes these contractual provisions are onerous. By definition, an “onerous” contract is unnecessarily arduous, difficult, oppressive, challenging, or has or involves obligations or responsibilities, especially legal ones, which outweigh the advantages. Since most construction projects require the posting of surety bonds, the inclusion of onerous contract provisions may present challenges to an insurance company who may be asked to issue surety bonds to guaranty the completion of the project.

This course reviews the basic principles that should govern a fair, even-handed construction contract and offers contractors ideas for managing construction project risk. These principles are critical to understanding the surety bond underwriting process. In this course, we review critical provisions in the construction contract and how it might impact an insurer’s willingness to issue a bond and the terms under which such a bond might be issued. This analysis is carried out in the context of the most often-used bonds in construction projects: performance and payment bonds, bid bonds, and warranty bonds.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Analyze the major provisions incorporated into typical construction contracts
• Define “onerous” terms project owners often attempt to incorporate into construction contracts to shift as much risk and liability exposure off themselves and onto contractors and subcontractors
• Understand the surety underwriting process and why construction contract analysis is important for surety companies underwriting construction-related bonds
• Review and analyze performance, payment and bid bonds from the perspective of the surety and the types of terms and conditions that they typically find acceptable or unacceptabl

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (P3)

Overview

Public-private partnerships (P3s) involve a collaboration or partnership between a public entity (like a municipal, state and/or federal government) and one or more private-sector companies, often to help develop large-scale infrastructure projects, such as bridges, tunnels, roadways or sports stadiums. In these situations, the private sector typically provides and delivers the management and construction expertise, with the government entity supporting the project through outright grants, revenue subsidies and/or tax breaks.

Public-private partnerships can present significant challenges, including political risks (depending on the region), supply chain gaps, ability to secure financing, meeting contractual obligations and delivering on construction-related guarantees on time and on budget. This program reviews and analyzes P3s and the insurance and risk management strategies designed to help support them.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will:

• Identify the opportunities and conditions that create the need for P3s.
• Identify the top five project risks associated with a P3.
• Learn how P3s are generally structured, including the definition and use of special purpose vehicles (SPVs).
• Learn the criteria (including risk profiles) established by rating agencies that result in investment-grade financing arrangements.
• Understand the critical risk management and insurance components of a P3 program.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All 

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SURVIVING A P&C HARD MARKET

Overview

Many industries are subject to cyclical conditions, which can favor the industry in “up” markets and penalize it in “down” markets.

The property-casualty industry is similar, and its ups and downs are referred to as soft and hard market conditions, respectively. This course explains how insurance market cycles work, and the characteristics of each. We explain how distributors can help businesses best manage the hard market and employ tools that may enable the insured to secure coverage on more favorable terms and conditions.

Outcomes

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand the impact and influence of general economic trends and developments on conditions in the insurance market.
• Identify characteristics of, and factors that cause, a soft or hard market.
• Learn strategies distributors can use to help their customers and their own agencies survive and prosper even in the most difficult hard market conditions.

Course duration

2 hours

Continuing education credit

2 credits

Relevant industries

All

NEW RISKS OF ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY

Overview

Technology is rapidly changing the way both people and machines connect and communicate. One area where this is playing out is the Internet of Everything, which Cisco defines as the “networked connection of people, process, data and things.”*

The resulting connectivity can help make us more productive and enhance our living conditions and standards in multiple ways. It is making possible things like driverless vehicles, cashless transactions and blockchain technologies, telemedicine, remote work, and even surgery that can be performed remotely by a doctor who might be hundreds of miles away from the patient.

But these capabilities can be a mixed blessing. Hackers might infiltrate the driverless car and send it into oncoming traffic (a concern that counterterrorism experts are currently addressing), or could send contradictory messages from the robotic surgical device to sabotage an operation, or disrupt vital corporate or public infrastructure like green buildings, dams or power grids.

Other risks are rapidly emerging as well:

• Privacy risks are intensifying with the proliferation of new social media applications and new cellphone devices with increasingly sophisticated capabilities that can photograph, video and record conversations (will confidential corporate documents and conversations be compromised?).
• Manufacturing risks are emanating from new technologies like 3D printers, which can or will soon be able to print things like food, clothing and human organs! But they can also print counterfeit goods and illegal weapons.
• Supply chain risks may involve potential disruptions to the manufacturing and distribution of products due to natural or manmade catastrophes.
• As more data collected by individuals and organizations of all sizes are being collected via cloud computing, many of these servers are located in regions that may be subject to extreme weather conditions or political turmoil and disturbance that could jeopardize the safety and security of such data.

These challenges will continue to require innovative and creative risk management and insurance solutions

Outcomes

As a result of this course, you will:

• Identify the broad range of current and emerging technologies and how they will impact risk management and insurance needs.
• Learn that privacy laws vary, sometimes radically, around the world, which can subject individuals and organizations to unexpected liability exposures.
• Learn why the Internet of Things, while creating new conveniences, cost and time saving capabilities, also creates new dangers.
• Understand how cloud computing, while enhancing storage capabilities, can also jeopardize the safety and security of data.
• Understand how different traditional insurance products may or may not respond to current and emerging loss exposures and what insurance professionals need to do to plug any gaps in coverage.

Course duration 

3 hours 

Continuing education credit 

3 credits 

Relevant industries 

All 

*“The Internet of Everything: Global Public Sector Economic Analysis.” Cisco. 2013.

 

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PFAS: AN EMERGING RISK

Overview

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is a term used to describe a broad range of human-made chemicals used in a range of consumer and industrial products. The widespread use of PFAS and their ability to remain intact in the environment from past and current uses present significant environmental contamination risks and exposures. While scientific research on the impact of PFAS is ongoing, there is developing evidence that exposure can potentially cause serious health problems in humans and animals. The fact that PFAS are chemically stable and impervious to breakdown in the environment has led them to be referred to as “forever chemicals.”

PFAS are used in a wide spectrum of items, including but not limited to cosmetics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, car seats, clothing, cleaning products, carpets, furniture, flooring adhesives, outdoor gear, firefighting foam and solar panels. They are also found in a broad range of construction materials, including paint, grout, concrete sealers, caulk, adhesives and electrical wiring.

This program explains what PFAS are, how they are currently being used, associated health risks and how litigation and regulation are evolving. Using that as a foundation, we review to what extent insurance coverages will or will not respond to PFAS-related liability and exposures. Finally, we review the kinds of risk management strategies companies can take to manage this exposure.

Outcomes

As a result of this training, you will: 

• Understand what PFAS and associated chemicals are, and why they are useful in commercial and consumer applications.
• Identify specific liability exposures associated with PFAS.
• Learn how different insurance policies may or may not respond to claims associated with PFAS-related damage.
• Learn risk management strategies companies can use to manage PFAS-related liability exposure, including claims brought by workers, customers, and environmental stakeholders.

Course duration 

1 hour

Continuing education credit 

1 credit 

Relevant industries 

Construction, energy and marine, food, grocery, manufacturing, real estate, retail, restaurants, technology