News

April 15th, 2025

It’s my wife’s birthday this week, so I decided to pop into a local flower shop to pick up a bouquet to express my appreciation for her. Apparently, no one does that anymore, as they seemed very confused by my presence. I guess they mainly fulfill online orders these days:

Me: “I’d like to order a birthday bouquet.”

Them: “Like, for delivery?”

Me: “No, I’ll just take them with me if that’s OK.”

Them (looking somewhat like a deer in the headlights): “Um, OK, give us a minute, you’re welcome to have a seat while you wait.”

Once they got over their initial shock at my arriving unannounced on their doorstep, they were very personable. I had a nice conversation with the woman who was preparing my order. I noticed a framed letter on the wall from FTD (that’s one of the many sites where you can order flowers online) congratulating them on 100 years of being an FTD florist, so I commented on how impressive that was. She told me that they’d been in business for 130 years, and that they were founded in 1895. That’s pretty cool!

FTD now stands for “Florists Transworld Delivery,” but that’s not always been the case. Founded in 1910 by fifteen florists, FTD was initially a network for exchanging orders for out-of-town deliveries using the telegraph, hence the name “"Florist's Telegraph Delivery.”

This whole experience got me thinking about how the way we transact business has evolved over the years. Now, I’m no Luddite; I embrace most forms of technology. I also recognize that the technological tools that we use in our jobs make us more efficient and enable a better experience for all involved. That being said, I still believe that this is a relationship business.

The basis of any relationship is trust, especially in our business, where there could be millions of dollars on the line. It’s hard to build that trust without being able to look someone in the eye. Also, humans are social animals; we crave connection. We want to do business with people that we like. Plus, sometimes the most efficient way to work a complex account is to pick up the phone and talk through it. To that end, the Tuscano Agency is committed to making more customer connections than ever before in 2025. We’re excited to get out there and visit you in your office and/or host you at a local event, so please pay attention to those announcements from our marketing team!

Our ever-increasing reliance on technology comes with added risk. We in the financial services sector are some of the biggest targets of cybercriminals. The Tuscano Agency has invested a lot in tools and technology to help keep us safe from cyber-attacks. However, my IT lead likes to tell me that the weakest link in any cyber security plan is us – the people doing the work. Cybercriminals have gotten pretty sophisticated, and they’re out there every day trying to trick us through ever more devious social engineering scams. We all need to educate ourselves on cyber-security best practices, and we’re here to help! Check out our Cyber Academy webinar series to learn more about how to protect yourself and your clients.

One of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to protect yourself is by using a complex password. Passwords that are easy to remember are also easy to crack, so we should all be using unique passwords for every website we access, and those passwords should be of a certain length, and include letters, numbers, and special characters. We’re going to be rolling out some new password requirements for the Tuscano website, so please keep an eye out for a forthcoming email containing information about the requirements for this necessary change.

The Tuscano Agency also offers a full suite of cyber insurance products to help protect your clients from the devastating impacts of a cybersecurity breach. Interested in learning more? Reach out to one of our fast, friendly Professional Liability underwriters to discuss. They love phone calls!

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

Cheers,

Robin

robin@tuscano.com

(C) 724-454-3516