Industry News

​Many private employers in New York State must permit their employees to form workplace safety committees starting next Monday. The requirement is part of the New York State HERO Act​, which became law last May and was amended in June. If you have 10 or more employees, you must permit them to form a committee if they so choose. Section 2​ of the HERO Act, which takes effect on Nov. 1, states, "Employers shall permit employees to establish and administer a joint labor-management workplace safety committee, but not more than one committee per worksite, provided however that an employer that already has a workplace safety committee…

​Bigger Ships are Causing Greater Supply Chain RisksSeverely disruptive events often expose previously unseen or underappreciated vulnerabilities. Add to the list how the trend toward increasingly mammoth vessels is making global supply chains even more fragile.Insurance Agency M&As Up 13% Thus Far in 2021There were 553 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first three quarters of 2021, up from 490 in 2020, According to an OPTIS Partners' M&A report, that was the highest recorded total for this period.Lessons from the Pandemic for Event Cancellation CoveragesEvent cancellation insurance has been one of the most impacted by the pandemic — and the event insurance market…

Administration's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers Moves Closer to ApprovalThe Labor Department signaled that it is close to acting on President Biden's plan to require private-sector workers get Covid-19 vaccinations or be regularly tested, a move that has drawn a mixed reaction from larger and smaller companies.Hidden Cyber Risk in US Property Insurance Has $12.5 Billion Loss Potential A new study jointly conducted by CyberCube, AM Best and Aon has warned that cyber risk accumulating in the US property insurance market could lead to staggering losses of about $12.5 billion.Exploitable Application Flaws Increase Cyber RisksIn March 2021, Microsoft announced it had detected four vulnerabilities…