James Richardson - IUL Insurance and Bonds

08/11/2026

For years, the internet operated on a fairly simple exchange: people searched, clicked, and explored.

AI is beginning to reshape that model.

Google recently reported that its AI-powered search experiences are still driving billions of clicks to websites each week, even as the way users discover information continues to evolve.

The broader story isn't about search traffic. It's about how consumer behavior changes when technology makes information easier and faster to access.

We're seeing organizations rethink content strategies, digital experiences, and visibility as AI becomes a larger part of how people find answers.

The rules of discovery aren't disappearing. They're evolving.

Organizations that understand how behavior changes will be better positioned than those focused solely on the technology itself.

Read more: https://ow.ly/V08y50Zyil5

01/06/2026

New article: Risk Management for Wine Collections: Protecting Liquid Assets - https://ryskco.com/blog/wine-collection-risks

Wine collections are an appreciating asset, but most clients trust that their cellar and contents coverage on a standard homeowners policy is sufficient to mitigate loss. However, loss risk reduction is accomplished using new tech, avoiding possible damage, and protecting stock. Risk transfer for a sizeable collection needs to be done correctly to truly make a collector whole.

03/12/2025

Barron's: This Insurance Covers You When No One Else Does. The IRS May See It as a Tax Dodge.

Micro-captives enable business owners to save through lower premiums than they would find in the commercial insurance market, along with tax deductions for premiums paid to the Micro-captive. Different from self-insurance, which is simply setting aside assets to cover your own risks, a Micro-captive is a private insurance entity set up to cover a company’s specific risks that can range from supply-chain disruptions to bird flu.

It's critical for businesses to tread carefully before getting coverage from a micro-captive. The IRS goes after those it regards as tax dodges rather than legitimate insurance providers.

-captives

https://ow.ly/IzwQ50Vgqvy

Many business owners are using private insurance arrangements called micro-captives for fire, flood, and health insurance.

02/21/2025

From KPMG: "Property and casualty: Rising complexity."

The biggest drivers of this rising complexity, according to the business-management consulting firm: "fierce litigation and changing weather patterns." KPMG also sees "opportunities for innovation and moderation, and "evolving ways of working, talent and staffing models.'

From litigation and climate change to innovation and new ways of working

02/19/2025

Understanding what’s causing market conditions such as soaring Property Insurance rates — or the lack of available coverage altogether — is a vital step in designing your risk management program. Alera Group’s “2025 Property and Casualty Market Outlook” is your guide to getting the best of what the insurance market has to offer. Download your copy here: https://ow.ly/TEMC50V2Sf8.
Casualty

01/10/2025

Good X thread on California insurance regulations.

: Guys. We — as in Californian voters who voted in 1988 — voted for a system where every time an insurance company wants to raise rates for automobiles or homes, they have to have a...

01/09/2025

The takeaway from this video is the hard truth. California does not allow carriers to properly charge for risk and thus their market is not competitive. Carriers have been pulling out of the state/fire prone areas b/c they cannot charge the appropriate rate.
It is counter-intuitive to a point - insurance is a regulated industry, but the regulators believe they are re-elected by grandstanding and artificially suppressing rates. However, in the real world aka the free market, the public is better off with a competitive environment with as many options as possible. Some consumers will pay more for a better product/outcome, some will look for a bargain. But when government artificially suppresses premiums and carriers operate at a loss their only option is to leave the market.
The solution for tax-payers/citizens is an open market with many carriers setting pricing according to profitability, but with strong consumer protections so that claims are paid timely and in full.

Wayne Peacock, outgoing USAA president and CEO, and Juan Andrade, incoming USAA president and CEO, join CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss reactions to the California wildfires, how insurance companies are assessing the fires, and more.

11/22/2024

In an InsuranceNewsNet follow-up to Alera Group's "2024 Property and Casualty Market Outlook," Executive VP Mark Englert writes about the stabilization of the P&C market. Keep an eye out for our 2025 report, due for release in December.

Insurers are seeing meaningful improvements in net income.