Declarations

Cannabis Risks

“We’ve had entire crops where, maybe the insured harvests 600 plants, [and] the next day, there’s a box truck that rams through their roll-up door and steals all of the product. They come in, and they’ll take whatever they can get their hands on.”

— When asked about the most significant exposures in the cannabis industry, Beth Ossino, claims manager at Golden Bear Insurance Company, pointed to theft and robbery. During Insurance Journal’s annual Insuring Cannabis Summit, Ossino recalled a couple of instances of devastating losses for insureds, including thieves carrying a safe out of a business and robbers making off with huge amounts of product.

Sinkhole Protection

“I want you all to imagine being a newlywed starting a life with somebody, putting your life savings into a house because you have been told that this is the way that you build generational wealth; this is how you take care of your family moving forward. And then, because of a major rainstorm, your house, and everything in it is gone in an instant.”

— Pennsylvania Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Bellevue, endorsing House Bill 589, which established an insurance fund for landslides, slope movement, and sinkholes through the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development.

Electric Tractors

“If we were to mechanize all the smallholder farmers in the world, there isn’t enough diesel out there to power them. So, we have to find some other source.”

— Ajit Srivastava, an agricultural engineer and Michigan State professor, who is working to improve the viability of large-scale electric tractor adoption. Srivastava wants to help smallholder farmers, who grow about a third of the world’s food. Agriculture is among the largest sources of climate-warming emissions worldwide. Though tractors are a small culprit, experts believe an environmentally friendly machine would still attract buyers interested in sustainability.

Flat-out Fraud

“It’s just flat-out theft of taxpayer money…At the end of the day, he stole money from the citizens and masked it as legitimate fees.”

— Chris Yates, Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) fraud unit investigator, discussing the case of former insurance agent Carlyle Poindexter, who overcharged almost $300,000 in insurance premiums. Poindexter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in August and was sentenced to five years in federal prison and a $50,000 fine. Over six years, Poindexter charged Maverick County Solid Waste Authority $712,350 in premiums but gave Lexon Insurance Company just $329,313. He kept almost $300,000 plus a portion of commissions.

Helene Recovery Continues

“I hope I never see another one in my lifetime, and I’m hoping that if I do, it does hold up. I mean, that’s all we can (do). Mother Nature does whatever she wants to do, and you just have to roll with it.”

— Vickie Revis, whose North Carolina home was swept away by the Swannanoa River in the wake of Hurricane Helene. After a year in a donated camper, she and her husband, Paul, will soon move into a double-wide modular home, also donated by a local Christian charity. It sits atop a 6-foot mound that Paul Revis piled up near the front of the property, farther from the river. At the time of the storm, their home was uninsured. They have since purchased insurance.

Trial by Fire

“What we’ve learned in California and Oregon is it’s the non-economic damages that can really, really get you.”

— Andy DeVries at CreditSights, commenting prior to the announcement that Utility Xcel Energy Inc. has agreed to pay about $640 million to resolve claims that its power lines contributed to the 2021 ignition of the costliest wildfire in Colorado history. The company reached settlements with individual property owners, public entities and insurers ahead of a trial with billions of dollars stake. The company could have faced damages of more than $7 billion, including awards to victims for emotional distress. The company isn’t admitting fault or wrongdoing in connection with the settlements.