An industry game changer, 32.7 million homes and how to avoid becoming a statistic

There's a lot of buzz surrounding how bad the upcoming hurricane season is shaping up to be, and CoreLogic just delivered some rather startling "what if" numbers. Apparently, there are more than 32.7 million homes from Texas to Maine at moderate to severe risk, with a total reconstruction cost price tag of $10.8 trillion. “With the potential for an active hurricane season on the horizon, insurers and homeowners should do everything they can to prepare and mitigate as much risk as possible," CoreLogic's Maiclaire Bolton-Smith explained.

On a positive note, spiking interest rates have lit a fire under the life insurance biz, per Swiss Re . The reinsurance giant sees an additional $1.5 trillion in global life savings premiums over the next decade, more than double the growth of the past 10 years. "Higher interest rates are a game changer, providing life insurance and pension products a tailwind to much better tackle the retirement savings challenges of aging demographics," Swiss Re's Jér?me Jean Haegeli said.

That spike also gave a boost to the U.S. property/casualty insurance segment, with net investment income hitting a record $73.9 billion in 2023, AM Best reported. This growth helped make up for poor underwriting results in the face of catastrophic events and helped offset unfavorable performance in auto.

Also spiking: Pet bills. In fact, they are getting so expensive that Nationwide Pet , the leading pet insurer in the United States, is dropping about 100,000 policies starting this spring. “Inflation in the cost of veterinary care and other factors have led to recent underwriting changes and plan availability in some states — difficult actions that are necessary to ensure a financially sustainable future for our pet insurance line of business,” the company said in a statement.

While our business is feeling pretty healthy these days, layoffs are still a fact of life in Corporate America. We've seen them recently at GEICO and Liberty Mutual Insurance , to name just a couple. An article on The Rough Notes Company, Inc. , laid out five essential skills to thrive and avoid becoming a layoff statistic: computer literacy, effective communication, customer service, organizational and problem-solving abilities and analytical prowess. Flexibility is also key — embrace change to stay relevant and valuable in this evolving landscape.

Meanwhile, cybercriminals are using emotional and psychological tactics to manipulate victims into taking a desired action. This type of cyberattack, called social engineering, uses powerful motivators such as money, love, fear, and status to get sensitive information. The resulting loss last year came to $2.95 billion, and there's actually a bigger threat. Read this piece for the top 10.