Latest Small Business Headlines
All the headlines from our Small Business Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California ‘Gig’ Worker Law Affects Employers Inside and Outside the State
Dec 30 2019 // A California law that makes it harder for companies to treat workers as independent contractors takes effect next week, forcing small businesses in and outside the state to rethink their staffing. The law puts tough...
AXA XL, Slice Labs, Microsoft to Offer Cyber Risk Management Tools
Dec 23 2019 // AXA XL, the p&c and Specialty Risk Division of global insurer AXA, Slice Labs Inc. (Slice), an on-demand insurer of cloud technology, and Microsoft will work together to help improve cyber health and mitigate risks for...
Pie Insurance Expands Workers’ Comp Insurance Offering to New Jersey
Dec 19 2019 // Pie Insurance today has expanded its workers’ comp insurance offering into New Jersey. This latest addition increases Pie’s coverage area to 32 states and the District of Columbia. Pie Insurance, co-founded by...
Beazley Life Sciences Product Aimed at Small Businesses, Start-Ups
Dec 10 2019 // Beazley has launched its BioSecure policy, a life sciences proposition designed for small businesses. The coverage provides flexible insurance protection against a range of exposures in the pharma, biotech and medical...
Cybersecurity Provider Coronet, Coalition Partner on Small Business Cyber Product
Dec 5 2019 // Small business cybersecurity provider Coronet has partnered with Coalition, a cyber insurance provider for small and midsized businesses, to offer cyber insurance to Coronet customers. The partnership combines...
The Lowdown: Innovation, Social Inflation, Hot Markets and More…
Dec 4 2019 // I recently had the benefit of attending the Society for Insurance Research 49th annual conference, where I was immersed in discussions about data, research, artificial intelligence, machine learning and more. This intimate...
Insurtech Pie Launches TV Campaign in California for Workers’ Comp
Nov 12 2019 // Workers’ compensation insurtech Pie Insurance has launched its first national television advertisement campaign with an initial focus in California. The two 30-second spots depict Pie coming to the rescue,...
5 Ways to Protect Small Businesses Against Seasonal Risks
Nov 4 2019 // In a recent Insurance Journal poll, only 12% of independent agents reported that their small business customers have contacted them about increased risks and exposures that arise during the holiday season. While alarming,...
Ransomware Attacks Rise 37% in Q3, Targeting IT Vendors, Their Clients: Beazley
Oct 29 2019 // Ransomware attacks increased by 37% during the third quarter of 2019, compared to Q2, as cyber criminals target both IT vendors and their clients, according to data compiled by insurer Beazley. One-quarter (24%) of all...
Insurtechs Discovering the Value of Agents
Oct 21 2019 // Insurtechs have been making headlines for several years with how they are changing the insurance business and the threat they pose to traditional insurance distribution. But as these fledgling insurance technology firms...
A Modern Economy Demands Modern Protection: Advancing Liability Coverage into the Digital Age is Imperative — and Long Overdue
Oct 21 2019 // Liability insurance as we know it no longer suits a large fraction of today’s and tomorrow’s small-business owners. Brokers and insurers are at a crossroads on how to serve small businesses’ changing...
Venture Insurance Programs Creates Small Business Online Platform
Oct 18 2019 // Venture Insurance Programs, a national insurance program administrator, has unveiled Venture Small Business – a new business unit designed to simplify how agents and brokers quote and bind business for more than 150...
Munich Re Backs Small Business Insurtech Next Insurance with $250 Million
Oct 7 2019 // Insurtech Next Insurance has pulled in a $250 million financing round from a single investor: Munich Re. Palo Alto-based Next said it plans to use the Series C cash infusion to scale up its small business insurance...
A Growing Agency With a Small Business Feel
Oct 7 2019 // Florida-based Acentria Insurance has been busy since its founding by industry veteran Kendall McEachern in 2010. The personal and commercial lines agency has acquired several agencies and now has 50 locations and more than...
HSB to Offer Leak, Freeze Damage Sensor for Small Businesses
Oct 3 2019 // HSB, part of Munich Re, has introduced a cellular IoT sensor product designed to help smaller businesses and organizations prevent property damage. The device leverages IoT-specific cellular networks and connects to the...
Marsh’s Torrent Technologies Expands Private Flood Coverage for Small Businesses
Sep 20 2019 // Torrent Technologies, a Marsh company, has launched FloodPlus Commercial – a comprehensive private market primary flood insurance offering for agents of its Write Your Own (WYO) carrier clients. Underwritten by...
Nationwide’s Digital Storefront Targets Small Business Market
Sep 19 2019 // Nationwide said it has formally launched a commercial insurance digital storefront targeted to small businesses. Small business owners will be able to use the site online directly to generate a quote and bind a policy, or...
On Second Thought, Insurtech Next Insurance Thinks Agents Have a Role After All
Sep 12 2019 // Next Insurance has begun formally marketing a portal designed to help independent agents quickly quote and sell its policies. Next said the system, dubbed “Next for Agents,” had been in beta testing since April...
How Small Businesses Are Training for Active Shooters
Aug 27 2019 // At a four-hour meeting last month, Michelle Abdow’s staffers got to experience some of the sights, sounds and even smells they could encounter if someone invaded their office and began shooting. Security experts and...
California Leads Nation in SMB Cyber Insurance Adoption, Report Shows
Aug 19 2019 // California leads the nation in small to mid-size business cyber insurance adoption, according to a report released in early August by CyberPolicy. The report shows the highest annual premium in the state totaled more than...
