VU Resources

ISO introduced five new cannabis exclusions for use with the BOP policy. Two of the five are essentially “absolute” exclusions and three have a hemp exception. This article introduces and explains these new endorsements.

Although marijuana and THC-containing substances are still illegal federally, individual states are making their own laws concerning these substances. The fact is, most states are in direct conflict with the federal government on this issue. With the feds and states on opposite sides, the insurance industry is stuck in the middle. This article tells you…

Mid-year premium growth reported by the 15 excess and surplus lines (E&S) stamping/service offices across the United States has reached almost $18 billion. Given the fact that the data reported is halfway through 2019, the growth represents a 12.68% increase over what was recorded at mid-year 2018.

Practice the insurance profession long and you begin to hear and learn various legal liability terms ranging from the basic ideas of “negligence” and “torts” to more specific concepts like “compensatory damages” and “superseding events.” Occasionally, though, we are still surprised by what the lawyers have created – weird legal theories that can’t possibly exist.

Berkshire Hathaway announced the release of its new small business policy, THREE, on February 11, 2019. In response to this announcement, the VU published its critique of the policy on March 1. Insurance Journal republished the VU’s analysis in late March, but with a twist. IJ’s article contained a survey to ask the industry’s opinion…

Fatal work injuries in the United States dipped slightly in 2017 to 5,147 from the 5,190 fatal injuries reported in 2016 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Likewise, the fatal injury rate decreased to 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2017 down from 3.6 per 100,000 in 2016.

Warren Buffett introduced the newest insurance disrupter – the THREE. As the name suggests, this is a three-page insurance policy intended for small businesses. If that isn’t amazing enough, this policy combines seven different coverages into its three pages. So, what is the problem? Well, there are many problems that will victimize an unsuspecting insured.

When agents have coverage questions, they sometimes ask the underwriter for a coverage interpretation. Interested and concerned members of the VU faculty want to know why in the world you would ask the underwriter anything about coverage. Underwriters don’t make coverage determinations, adjusters do.

Although it seems reasonable that the carrier’s duty to defend ends when no insurable allegations remain in the suit – this is not necessarily always true. Some courts have a different opinion as to when an insurance carrier’s duty to defend ends. In some cases, the insurer has been required to defend insureds when NO…

Attorney Randy Maniloff introduces us to the difference between “the” insured and “an” or “any” insured in the insurance policy. Many ignore these little words (“the,” “an” or “any”) in the policy, but, as Randy states, policy language is king, and these seemingly innocuous words have an amazing affect on coverage.