Put your hand up. Sometimes, that simple act of self-nomination is all it takes to kickstart a positive career trajectory. And yet sometimes, it feels like that arm is weighed down by a lead balloon.

Firefighters in the western United States face a shared struggle with others around the world who battle wildfires as the “seasons” for these events seem to grow longer and more destructive every year. Climate change and human encroachment on wildlands—driven by property development and agriculture—have fostered conditions that increase fire risk in disparate regions, from California, to Australia, to the Amazon rainforest, to Siberia.

Which is worse: A poker player who almost always folds, or a poker player who almost never folds? Players who always fold—unless they have a royal flush or something close—will virtually never suffer a costly defeat.

The biggest question I ask all my clients this time of year is, what did you learn from the previous year? What went right, what went wrong, and what are you learning from both?

We focus a lot on the importance of retaining top employees. It reduces cost, increases productivity, builds trust and camaraderie—and the list goes on. However, we rarely discuss the elephant in the room: everyone eventually quits, even your best employee.

When it comes to mediation, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Regardless of the case, though, the key to a successful mediation is preparation and communication.

Technologies in the artificial intelligence family have great potential in insurance, according to a recent SMA survey of P&C insurance executives. This should come as no surprise to anyone following the developments in machine learning, natural language processing, computer visioning, chatbots, virtual assistants and related technologies.

Each episode of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” opens with warnings of graphic adult material, violence, sexual content and nudity. If these items are not sufficient encouragement to view the full eight seasons, the 73 episodes also offer lessons about risk.

The six-month 2019 North American hurricane season is officially in the books, and it was an active one in terms of named storm counts, with the majority of activity coming in the typical mid-August and mid-October periods.

As you begin the new year, my wish is that you will be ready to fail in pursuit of your innovation vision. That’s right: Be ready to fail. And then accept and learn from your failures.

Why is it when we talk about alternative dispute resolution, we often forget the human connections at play? A successful claims resolution involves building rapport and trust with the claimant to get the case resolved, yet we seem to focus more on the end result.

Social inflation is one of the latest buzzwords in insurance. It is used by insurers to describe the rising costs of insurance claims resulting from things like increasing litigation, broader definitions of liability, more plaintiff-friendly legal decisions, and larger compensatory jury awards.

“Well? We’re waiting!” goes the infamous line groaned by Judge Smails to Ty Webb in “Caddyshack” while he waits to find out how much money his golf bet is going to cost him. Many insurance clients utter this same frustrated groan to claims professionals handling their stalled loss payouts.

The modern workers’ compensation system was devised to provide a guarantee of care and medical treatment to injured workers from their employers.

For many, the holiday season is the greatest time of the year. But it can quickly become the worst time if policyholders aren’t conscious of the potential dangers that may be lurking in some of their holiday gifts and traditions.