Captive Insurance Tips & Articles

Learning from Deepwater Horizon It still invokes a kind of sick feeling when you hear the words ‘Deepwater Horizon.’ For months, BP grappled with the fact that its Korean-built deep sea oil rig exploded, consequently killing 11 people who were working on board. The nightmare didn’t stop there because for 87 days, the world watched…

Who is Really at Fault? No one was ready for the calamitous events that would begin to unfold in 2008. Not Erin Andrews, not her stalker Michael David Barrett, and certainly not the owners of the Marriott hotel who would eventually be sued for more than $26 million. The issue of risk mitigation seemed all…

Paris. Syria. Nigeria. Istanbul… New York. Over the past years, global terrorism has become ‘legitimate.’ Terror attacks and other shows of violence proved at one time to be almost detached, abstract, and rare, giving credence to the fact that businesses could carry on as usual. Terrorism insurance seemed absurd as history, trial and error, data,…

Over the past five years, several independent reports have been published detailing the biggest, most egregious risks facing businesses. Whether we’re talking about a “top 10” list or a “top 5,” the real constant across the board was business interruption and its devastating impact. Businesses that’ve had the unfortunate experience of having their businesses stall…

The public collectively cringed when several big-name businesses were hacked between 2014 and 2015: Sony Pictures, Staples, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, Primera Blue Cross, and others. The media pulled no punches in providing the stark reality of what a breakdown in cyber security could do.  Corporate reputations and trust were on the line. Sensitive information…

Damage Control Jetta enthusiasts, hippies, Audi lovers—people who swore by the ethical standards of the Volkswagen Corporation are reeling. The world was stunned after news broke that the German automaker used software (dubbed “defeat devices”) in 11 million of its vehicles in an effort to cheat on U.S. emissions testing. The software controls vehicles’ diesel…

“What was he thinking?!” It was the question on everyone’s mind when news broke that Subway Corporation’s pitchman Jared Fogle may have had dealings with an unscrupulous associate. Moreover, the national dialogue eventually shifted to include questions about Subway’s future and its reputation. The truth is, as a private, closely-held business, the sandwich franchise we’ve…

Could self-insurance be the ticket to avoiding reputational risk? We can answer the question by taking a critical look at the story that captured the attention of everyone with a pulse and sparked debate all over the world—the story of Dr. Walter Palmer. The collective uproar on social media was deafening, with scathing commentary. Dr. Walter…

Underinsurance and Its Rippling Effect Insurance agents have an understated, but important burden to bear. As quintessential salesmen, it is imperative for them to obtain a foothold in the insurance marketplace with a value proposition that rings louder than the talking geckos and the “Flos” of the marketing world. Even more poignantly, it is their…

By now, you’ve probably heard about the IRS’s list of so-called “abusive tax structures” or alternatively, the “dirty dozen.” Each year, the Internal Revenue Service puts America on notice, warning corporate moguls and freelance part-timers alike to steer clear of unlawful schemes that might allow them to skate by on their taxes. It is a…