Articles by Don Jergler

UCLA and NOAA: Climate Change Baked Western US Despite the Rainfall

Even with all the storms the Western U.S. received in the last two years, climate change is baking the region. That’s because higher temperatures are increasing evaporation enough to cause drought, according to a study by UCLA scientists and National …

It’s a Family Affair at Heritage Insurance Agency

It’s a family affair at Heritage Insurance Agency and not just because a husband-and-wife team run the firm. Steve Mora, the principal and CEO, who runs the Chico, California-based agency along with his wife Kelly, principal and chief marketing officer, …

Report: Climate Risks Increasing Insurance Rates and Hurting CRE Returns

Costly reinsurance, inflation, tough regulations, and increasing weather-related claims are driving up property insurance prices—and in turn, that is impacting commercial real estate returns, valuations, and transactions, a new report shows. The Urban Land Institute and real estate investment management …

CMR Leaders Show and Get Employee Appreciation

It’s often easy to put a finger on exactly why someone likes their job, and if there’s more than one thing to like, that says something good about the workplace. But what does it say if there are almost too …

Group of Scientists Say Climate Change Drove Helene Impacts

Climate change was a key driver of the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, a group of scientists said this week. Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 major hurricane west-southwest of Perry, Taylor County, Florida on Sept. 27, with …

Treating Employees Like Clients Is the Golden Rule at Morris & Garritano

Want a simple, yet effective agency management tip for making your employees happy? Treat them like customers. That mindset stood out among comments from employees who nominated Morris & Garritano in Insurance Journal’s 2024 Best Agency to Work For survey. …

Climate Change and Rising US Insurance Rates

A new article directly blames climate change for rising U.S. insurance rates. While the article mulls the various and numerous reasons for rising rates, it calls out what the author sees as a “common thread” that ties in rising rates …

‘Impossible’ Weather Increasingly Blamed on Climate Change

Today may be the day when the impossible becomes possible—based on the number of headlines in recent days saying pretty much that. A slew of recent articles this week focus on studies and research reporting on how unlikely the weather, …

How California’s Homeowners Insurance Crisis Is Affecting Brokers

A growing homeowners insurance crisis for Californians is straining brokers who must work harder to get increasingly expensive and more frequently unavailable coverage for their clients, a crisis many of them blame on regulations and wildfires. Wildfires have made the …

CBO Says Mortgage Subsidy Cost from Flood Damage to Hit $395M by 2053

Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and severity of floods in the U.S., posing greater risks to homeowners and mortgage lenders—and since flood damage tends to lower the market value of affected homes, it’s more likely that homeowners …