News

March 15th, 2024

Jeremy, Ryan and I traveled to Phoenix, AZ last week for the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association’s mid-year meeting. WSIA was created in 2017 after members of the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) and the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) voted to merge the two associations. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for any length of time, then you’re probably aware that my grandfather and Uncle Rob liked to do a bit of motorcycle touring; the NAPSLO meeting was usually a good opportunity for them to do a cross-country road trip. I haven’t been able to convince Ryan and Jeremy that we should follow suit, but I’ll keep working on them. It would have to be more enjoyable than flying these days!

The WSIA meeting is a chance for us to connect with most of our significant carrier relationships as well as our London trading partners. I’m happy to report that we continue to enjoy a great reputation in our industry. Our partners appreciate our local knowledge and expertise and trust us to return a consistent underwriting profit.

There’s a lot of insurance market forecasting that goes on at these meetings. Most people that we spoke with predict at least another year of a firming property market, with rates continuing to rise, but the consensus seems to be that we won’t continue to see the double-digit rate increases that we had been experiencing in certain areas. There also seems to be some more property capacity entering the marketplace, which should help to get more deals done. Several folks are predicting a hardening of the casualty market in the next 12-18 months, and it will be interesting to see if that comes to fruition. One thing is for certain, whatever happens with the insurance market the experts here at the Tuscano Agency will be here to help you navigate through it!

We made it through another dark winter, the clocks have been “sprung forward,” and we’re excited to welcome the first day of spring next week! For a lot of people, that means resuming those home improvement projects. And if you’re like me (not handy at all) that means hiring a contractor! 

Contractors is a class of business that we’re promoting all month. Our casualty team loves to write contractors, from small artisans to general contractors managing large construction projects, and everything in between! Our brokerage team has been having a lot of success lately with energy and environmental contractors. Whatever your clients’ needs, give one of our friendly & professional underwriters a call to discuss how we can help secure you the best combination of coverage and price. 

One last thing to note is that our office will be closed on March 29 for Good Friday. We will resume normal business hours on Monday, April 1.

As always, I’d love to hear how we’re treating you. Please call or drop me a line to let me know!

Robin

robin@tuscano.com

(C) 724-454-3516