Page 10 - Arkansas 811 Magazine 2020 Issue 4

We’re All In This
By Virginia Reames The Policy Center Jackson, MS
factor to the unthinkable fires all across our western states, with
hundreds and hundreds of homes and business burned to the ground.
Insurance will help put most of these folks back on their feet.
What happens is something called “reinsurance”. These companies operate in the “background” so to speak
and they are insurance companies’ insurance companies. Yes, they “insure” the insurance companies. In other words, reinsurance companies pick up
As if you haven’t already noticed, 2020 has been a
crazy year for everything, and insurance has been affected worldwide. All those employees out
of work mean much lower premiums (income) for such coverages as General Liability and Workers Compensation- even though the carriers’ costs of operation have not come down accordingly. In an unprecedented move, auto carriers even issued credits to policyholders due to fewer miles driven.
Unfortunately, claims have gone through the roof - devastating fires
in the western half of the country, storm after storm in the south and
east, COVID claims for Business Income as well as COVID Workers Comp claims. The list keeps growing...
Even though flood is always excluded (unless there is a specific flood policy in place), the record setting Atlantic hurricane season has handed insurance companies record property losses from winds. And wind is also a contributing
8 • Arkansas 811 Magazine 2020, Issue 4