Wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are erupting more frequently and with little predictability. Most studies suggest the severity and frequency of these weather events will continue to intensify. In recent years, the devastation caused by natural disasters, together with the rising cost to rebuild, has driven up the price of insurance premiums and limited the available coverage.
EIG: What brought you to Eastern Insurance Group?
EIG: What brought you to Eastern Insurance Group?
KN: It’s a funny story. While I was working at another brokerage firm, one of my team members left to start his own business, which was eventually purchased by Eastern. He then recruited me and several other members of that original team, slowly recreating his first work family at Eastern.
According to The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), flooding is the most common and most expensive natural disaster in the United States. During our era of extreme climate transformation, flood risks are more common than ever. Heavy rain and flash floods can hit almost any community and can be financially devastating to homeowners.
Economic uncertainty continues to dog the global economy. The war in Ukraine has worsened an already fragmented supply chain while in the U.S., inflation is at a 40-year high with no clear sign of abating. Recession may be on the horizon—or, depending on who you ask, has already arrived. The simple fact is, most people are tightening their belts.
A life insurance payout can help your loved ones cope with final expenses, outstanding debt, and cover any lost income that you may have been providing. Recent retirees may be newly aware that your employer-provided life insurance policy expired when your employment ended—along with the benefits you had earmarked for loved ones. If you do wish to continue providing a death benefit for your beneficiaries, understanding your options for a separate life insurance policy will enable you to choose a plan that makes sense for you.
In the United States, every state except New Hampshire and Virginia requires drivers to carry an automobile insurance policy. Mandated coverage varies from state to state and can always be customized with options, but most basic auto policies include collision, bodily injury liability, personal injury protection, property damage liability, and comprehensive. Premiums—typically paid monthly, semiannually, or annually—are based on various risk factors, including age, marital status, credit history, vehicle type and driving history.
The summer of 2022 may see the first boom in destination travel since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many individuals and families have been stockpiling vacation funds for two years and now as restrictions lift and anxieties ease, find themselves eager to embark on luxury vacations. At the same time inflation is on the rise, meaning that the cost of travel today has eclipsed similar costs in 2019—the last summer during which travelers could move about the world unencumbered.
Homeowners who shepherded construction projects during the last couple of years faced skyrocketing material and labor costs—a persistent challenge that appears to be lingering into 2022. In fact, in March, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported that construction materials prices have risen 8% since the start of January.