Ask Tim

Lumber Price Spike Means Your Homeowners Clients May Be Underinsured

Lumber prices are, if you'll pardon the pun, going through the roof.

Last Thursday, February 18, the price per 1,000 board feet of lumber on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hit a record $1,004.90. By the close of trading Friday, it had retreated​ to $997.90, but this was up from $478.30 on October 29. One market watcher speaking to CNBC last week predicted another 30 to 35% increase from current prices. 

A boom in home renovation activity in the wake of state stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic has boosted demand for lumber and steel, experts report. At the same time, lumber mills expected mass job losses last spring to hurt demand, so they cut production. That coupled with other supply chain disruptions​ has combined to reduce available supplies, resulting in soaring prices.

Iron and steel costs are also rising, up more than 15% in the past year​, according to the Associated Home Builders and Contractors.

American History Tellers Podcast Does Series On The Great Chicago Fire

The excellent American History Tellers podcast has just done a three-part series on the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. If you haven't listened to the show before, this is not a dry recitation of history. The host places the listener in the scene being described and relays the story of what happened from the viewpoints of people who were there.

The Chicago fire series barely mentions insurance, but it's a good reminder of why we have building and fire safety codes. In the fall of 1871, Chicago had all the key ingredients for a fire disaster:

• Thousands of wood frame buildings
• A drought
• High winds

On the 1st Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me ... COVID

Over the last few work days, we've gotten a number of calls from members reporting that at least one staff member has contracted COVID-19. I spoke on Friday with the principal of a five-person agency who (test results pending) suspected as many as four people had the virus. ​Our office coordinator has reported a lot of calls coming in. Jim Lombardo, our education czar, has been on the phone with a member about this already this morning.

Two Minutes With Tim - COVID-19 Q&A #1

​I answer some of the questions I'm frequently receiving from Big I New York members about the insurace and regulatory implications of the coronavirus, in the company of an exceptionally itchy dog.

Two Minutes With Tim: NY Reg 187 - February 1, 2020 Compliance Date

​The new "best interest" standard for l​ife insurance in New York Insurance Regulation 187 takes effect tomorrow. While Big I New York proceeds with its legal action​ against this change, insurance agents must comply. 

 

Big I NY ​​​Regulation 187 page​

There's Something Fishy About This Loss

​Sure, Farmers Insurance says they've seen a thing or two​, but have they seen this item​ from the Insurance Information Institute's The Triple I Blog? I don't think so.

Sometimes the blog posts just write themselves.

 

ABC News in North Carolina reports that a driver in the state looked up and saw a bird carrying a huge fish.

 

“It was one of those slow-motion moments in life. I saw the fish and I saw him drop it,” said Rhesa Walston of Beaufort, North Carolina.

 

The catfish smashed straight into her windshield.

 

It happened so quickly she didn’t have time to react.

 

“There was glass all over my front seat…glass on my lap,” Walston told ABC News.

Two Minutes With Tim - NY SHIELD Act - What Do Insurance Agencies Have To Do?

​New York enacted a cybersecurity law last year. What does that mean for insurance agents and brokers? If they're complying with the New York regulation on Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies, not much. Just be prepared to notify the state attorney general if something goes seriously wrong. Watch:

 

Big I NY report, June 21, 2019

New York General Business Law Section 899-bb

Two Minutes With Tim: Best Interest Standard (NYS Reg 187) - Do You Have To Take a Course?

​Starting on February 1, 2020, New York licensed life insurance producers must meet a "best interest" standard when making recommendations to clients. The good news: They aren't required to take a course for it. However, we believe they should anyway. Watch:

 

NYS Department of Financial Services post

Free Big I NY webinar registration

Two Minutes With Tim - NY Cyber Regulation - Do You Have To File the Notice of Exemption Each Year?

​Probably not. ​

 

​Do you need to submit a new "notice of exemption?"

Two Minutes With Tim - NY Cyber Regulation - Certification of Compliance Deadline Changed

​The New York State Department of Financial Services is giving you more time to make your annual filing.

 

DFS announcement​​

Big I NY report​