Declarations

ACV Impacts “We’re really starting to see increased usage across the board of those ACV (actual cash value)-only loss provisions and loss settlements and endorsements than we have in the past. That wind and hail deductible is consistently, almost always utilized, or a lot more frequently than we saw in the past, and as insureds have to take a portion of that loss and are responsible for it, we start to see fewer and fewer claims being filed,” — Susan Fleming, vice president of business intelligence and insights at Verisk, discussing changes in policy language and policy provisions, which are suppressing the volume, according to Verisk’s Q1 property report. Effective Adaptation Incentives “Our findings underscore that rising insurance premiums can increase adaptation, but only if paired with policies that target financial constraints for low-income and low-wealth households.” — Quote from a new study that examined more than 20 years of data from Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The study found premium discounts are not enough to prompt widespread adoption of mitigation measures, finding “lower-income households and those facing higher adaptation costs reduce their investments when premiums rise—premium increases tighten an already binding budget constraint, crowding out the upfront expenditures required for adaptation.” From Friction to Partnership “These are not marginal shifts. They are the strongest signal we have seen that the relationship between agents and carriers is moving away from transitional friction toward operational partnership,” — First Connect Chief Executive Officer Aviad Pinkovezky in an introduction to First Connect’s “2026 State of the Industry Report.” The report found “significant” challenges dropped by 50% or more. In First Connect’s prior “2025 State of the Industry Report,” 86% of agents said they had faced product availability challenges—with 44% reporting “significant” availability challenges—and 17% reporting “significant” problems with carrier appetite clarity. One Way Out “Most communities were not designed to accommodate every resident evacuating simultaneously. In a lot of areas, there’s only one way in and out.” — Dan Mahoney, chief of the Ross Valley Fire Department, which serves the town of 7,500 in Marin County, California. A UC Santa Barbara study published last month underscored the magnitude of the evacuation challenge, finding that 2.5 million people in the U.S. live in small towns at high risk for wildfire but with limited escape routes. Researchers determined that fire fatalities are concentrated in such communities. With climate-exacerbated heat waves triggering blazes across the U.S. and globally, evacuation is becoming an existential challenge. Suing Socials “Social media companies have evidence of the harm they are causing to our kids by designing platforms that keep them hooked in endless scrolling and monetizing engagement at the expense of their mental health. Boston is taking legal action to protect children and youth and hold these companies accountable.” — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on the lawsuit filed by the city against Meta and other social media companies on behalf of Boston Public Schools. The suit alleges the platforms deliberately target minors with addictive design features that harm mental health. The case will be consolidated with complaints filed by more than 1,500 school districts across the country. Regulating AI “Congress and the president ought to be passing similar legislation, but they’ve so far been unwilling, because many are captive to special interests that profit from the industry having no regulation. We can work together to establish thoughtful guardrails in ways that benefit both industry and the public, or we can allow a handful of actors to evade accountability and push the costs and detriment onto ordinary people. Illinois has chosen our path.” — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, signing artificial intelligence legislation modeled after similar bills in California and New York, furthering a push for a state-driven national framework in lieu of federal regulations.