Articles by Patrick Wraight

Patrick Wraight, CIC, CRM, AU, is director of Insurance Journal's Academy of Insurance. He can be reached at pwraight@ijacademy.com.

Who Needs Earthquake Coverage and Why

Natural disasters are events that create fear. When you add the flavor of how these events are reported, the fear is ratcheted up significantly, especially when you’re not accustomed to a particular event. For someone who grew up in an …

Lessons Learned From Something I Didn’t See Coming

I don’t know if this has been your experience, but I have found that most jobs that I have taken include things that I didn’t see coming. That includes the ubiquitous statement “other duties as assigned” and the changes in …

The Balancing Act of Insurance Regulation

Insurance regulation in the United States is overly complicated, unreasonably difficult, and at times it’s totally politically motivated because everyone wants to keep their job or get a better one. The system of state regulatory agencies is redundant, and it …

2 Hurricane Season Tips

June 1 marks the beginning of the most insurance-y time of the year. It’s the beginning of the annual Atlantic Hurricane Season. Oh yes. It’s that time of year. Since hurricane season only comes around once every year (and stays …

The Risks of Amusement Parks Insuring the Happiest Places on Earth

The website Statista estimates that amusement parks in the United States grossed about $19.75 billion in 2021. That’s a lot of roller coaster, water slide, bumper cars (if that’s still a thing) and over-priced food. It would be fair to …

180 Days: Not a Reporting Deadline

Departments of Insurance exist, in part, to protect consumers from improper actions by insurance carriers. One of these actions is improper claims handling. A recent case in point involves a homeowners’ claim and the supposed late reporting of hail damage. …

I Don’t Blame Vyrd. I Blame the System.

I had planned to write and try and answer the question, how can Demotech give a brand-new company (Florida newcomer, Vyrd Insurance) an A rating before they even write a single policy. As I looked into the rating process (which …

A Personal Claim Story – Part 2

In what feels like a Neverending Story (cue the music), we are still dealing with that open property claim that you might have read about in this classic, A Personal Claim Story – Part 1. You’ve probably already guessed it, …

6 Answers to the Problem of Old Buildings

So far since the Champlain Tower collapse in July 2021, two other condominium buildings have been inspected, failed, and evacuated (Crestview Towers and Bayview 60) in Miami, Florida. In the meantime, the Florida legislature failed to take definitive action to …

That’s A Hard No

That’s a hard no. I like that phrase. Simple. Direct. Expresses exactly what I mean. Sometimes it’s just no. No negotiation. No compromise. Just no. Am I interested in someone buying my business? Especially since I don’t own it. Especially …