On March 21, the federal government warned businesses in the private sector to harden their cyber defenses, reiterating earlier warnings related to potential cyberattacks against U.S. organizations by Russia. “I have previously warned about the potential that Russia could conduct malicious cyber activity against the United States, including as a response to the unprecedented economic costs we’ve imposed on Russia alongside our allies and partners,” Biden said. “It’s part of Russia’s playbook. Most of America’s…

The cyber insurance market is at a critical juncture for both insurance carriers and policyholders. While the last few years have seen increased competition among cyber insurance carriers, higher capacity and expanded coverage terms, both 2020 and 2021 saw a rapidly hardening cyber insurance market. Moreover, across industry lines, cyberattacks have surged in both cost and frequency. This increase in attacks has, in turn, resulted in a rise in cyber liability claims and subsequent underwriting…

Like many other lines of insurance, the employment practices liability (EPL) insurance market has hardened. This is due, in part, to a higher frequency and severity of claims in recent years, as well as increased legislative activity at both the state and federal levels. In 2022, the EPL rate environment is anticipated to improve slightly over 2021. Yet, it’s predicted that most policyholders will still experience rate increases in 2022. Larger organizations and insureds operating…

The general liability market has consistently underperformed for insurance carriers in recent years. As claims have increased in frequency and severity, insurance carriers have responded by tightening underwriting standards, deploying less capacity and seeking rate increases. Despite recent trends, carriers have begun to see some improvement in general liability results. In 2022, it’s predicted that most policyholders will encounter another year of modest rate increases for general liability coverage. Policyholders who operate in sectors with…

Over the past few years, there has been a shift in the directors and officers (D&O) market, with double-digit rate increases and lowered capacity becoming the norm for most businesses. Looking forward, the D&O market is anticipated to continue to be challenging for many insureds. In these market conditions, it’s predicted that many businesses will experience rate increases, fewer markets, lower available limits, more robust underwriting and higher retentions during 2022. Yet, the pace of…

The commercial property insurance market has hardened in recent years, resulting in quarterly rate increases since Q3 2017. Unfortunately, these rate increases—as well as additional policy restrictions—are expected to continue in 2022. Yet, this market may showcase some signs of moderation compared to 2021’s trends. It’s predicted that many insureds will experience single- or double-digit rate increases, lowered available capacity, higher sublimits, and various policy restrictions or exclusions—especially regarding losses tied to weather events or…