Imagine this: You’re working from home, like many others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your children are also home, remote learning. One of your kids falls prey to malware, infecting your entire network with a virus. Your at-home business’s website is shut down for eight hours. You sigh a breath of relief, thankful that your insurance will cover the costs… or does it?

AAIS has been a longtime supporter of the Inland Marine Underwriters Association (IMUA). The national association provides exemplary curriculum, training, and resources to strengthen underwriting in inland marine insurance. Every year, the IMUA holds an annual meeting to provide educational opportunities for professionals of all inland marine backgrounds.

COVID-19 has caused an abundance of challenges for businesses everywhere. With protective restrictions, nonessential businesses were forced to send employees home and, in many cases, shut down due to the threat of the rapidly spreading virus. These businesses deemed "nonessential," however, are essential to the livelihoods of many, leaving businesses in a state of panic. How were they to continue when they couldn't remain open? Many businesses that could feasibly function as a remote workforce have attempted the transition, and as COVID-19's threats persist, many schools have made the decision as well.

In August of 2020, the NAIC adopted five guiding principles for artificial intelligence (AI), based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s AI Principles which have been adopted by 42 countries across the globe. These five principles include: Fair and Ethical Accountability, Compliance, transparency, security, safety, and robustness of outputs.

In August 2020, AAIS introduced its new Risk Awareness Service (RAS), a digital resource center tracking catastrophic risk and providing risk information in real time. At the inaugural AAIS Pulse Newsmagazine, AAIS VP Data and Actuarial Services Phil LeGrone described the Risk Awareness Service, its goals, and the value it can provide insurance carriers and the customers they serve. He also welcomed Jeff Waters, a Senior Product Manager at Risk Management Solutions (RMS), the leading modeling firms, to add his perspective on emerging modeling approaches and tools.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had lasting impacts on industries far and wide…including the growing cannabis industry. In the inaugural edition of the AAIS Pulse, AAIS’s Joe Jonas and Phil Skaggs were joined by Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP’s Randi Ellias and Aon’s Richard Golz to discuss cannabis insurance trends, including the impact the pandemic has had on its expansion.

If you ask anyone working in insurance how they got into the field, they'll tell you two things: that they didn't grow up wanting to be in insurance and that they "fell into it."          

Insurance is not a new industry. Insurers have been offering coverage to United States businesses since the Declaration of Independence. But the role of advisory organizations within the U.S. insurance industry has evolved over time…and at AAIS, we’re evolving with it.

From neighborhoods and schools to clubs and teams, communities are important. Communities come in many forms, and nearly everyone is a part of at least one. When our Members join AAIS, they are welcomed into a mutually beneficial community of practice, all focused on transparency, collaboration, and cooperation.

A global pandemic might not be the first business interruption business owners think of when preparing for the worst. But COVID-19 has left many businesses in peril, wounded by the surmounting effects of an unexpected pandemic. Companies install fire alarms, security cameras, generators, and other preventative measures to prepare for a standard disruption. The economic disaster caused by COVID-19, however, has showcased the growing need for strong business continuity plans to protect businesses from disruption at every level.