Insights
Navigating P&C Insurance Trends: A Q&A with Jencap’s Mike Schofield
Mike Schofield The property and casualty (P&C) insurance market was one of the most talked-about topics of 2024. With 2025 in full swing, what’s the outlook for 2025? To help make sense of the issues, particularly for the self-storage industry, we sat down with Mike Schofield, Chief Revenue Officer at Jencap Program Administrators, to discuss the state of the market and what self-storage operators can expect in the year ahead. The property and casualty insurance...
The Growing Challenge of Insuring Agribusiness Risks
From geographic challenges to the ever-present threat of catastrophic weather, agribusinesses today face an increasingly tough landscape when securing property coverage. If you’re seeking solutions for clients in the agribusiness sector, you don’t have to go it alone. Partnering with an experienced program administrator with specialized...
Extreme Weather: When Farmers Need More Than a Raincoat
If you’re working with clients in the farming industry who are struggling with extreme weather challenges, empathy and information go a long way. Farming has always been a delicate dance with the outdoors, but Mother Nature has recently added unpredictable twists. These weather disruptions not only throw planting schedules into disarray but also...
MiniCo Insurance Named Best of Business in Self-Storage Commercial Insurance for 13th Year
For the thirteenth consecutive year, MiniCo has claimed the top spot in self-storage commercial insurance. MiniCo Insurance (MiniCo), a Jencap company, has been selected by readers of Inside Self-Storage magazine as a Best of Business winner in the category of best commercial insurance for the thirteenth consecutive year. “It is an honor to be...
Navigating the 2024 Wildfire Season
As we approach the heart of the 2024 wildfire season, property owners and insurance agents face unprecedented challenges. The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires and other extreme weather events are putting significant pressure on the property insurance market. Let’s look at the current wildfire outlook, its impact on the insurance...
Managing Professional Liability in a Changing Market
Navigating the world of professional liability insurance can feel daunting, especially in today’s turbulent market. With rising premiums, increased scrutiny, and ever-evolving risks, staying ahead of the curve is more challenging than ever. However, understanding these dynamics and leveraging the right insurance solutions can help make all the...
The Impact of Nuclear Verdicts on Small Legal Practices: A Guide for Insurance Agents
In 2023, Bayer AG faced a staggering $2.2 billion verdict over its Roundup weedkiller, contributing to record-setting numbers. These monumental awards, known as nuclear verdicts, pose a significant threat to businesses of all sizes. But how do these types of verdicts affect the law firms involved? In this blog, we’ll explore what nuclear verdicts...
The Ultimate Guide to Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance
As an insurance agent, you know that legal professionals face unique risks every day. Your clients depend on you to help them navigate these complexities and secure the best coverage. Professional liability insurance isn’t just a safety net; it’s a critical part of practicing law. Let’s explore the options for Lawyers Professional Liability (LPL)...
Bridging the Gap: Customized Policy Solutions for Emerging Nonprofit Needs
Nonprofit organizations are the unsung heroes of our communities, tackling society’s biggest challenges and providing essential services. However, running a nonprofit comes with unique operational, financial, and legal hurdles that for-profit businesses don’t face. One significant challenge is finding the right insurance coverage. The Unique Risk...
Leveraging Risk Management Resources for Nonprofit Organizations
Nonprofit organizations play a pivotal role in our society, addressing crucial issues ranging from social welfare to environmental conservation. However, managing a nonprofit involves navigating a maze of risks that can threaten its mission, resources, and public trust. Effective risk management for nonprofits is not just about protection. It...
Navigating New Horizons: Future Challenges for Nonprofits
The nonprofit sector is constantly evolving, and with this evolution comes many new challenges. From embracing digital transformation to navigating increased regulatory pressures and adopting innovative insurance solutions, nonprofit organizations must stay agile and proactive. As their agent, you can help them prepare for the future. Be the...
Aggressive Predictions: Weathering the 2024 Hurricane Season
The Tropical Weather and Climate Research department at Colorado State University (CSU) is one of the world’s most respected climate research teams. Beginning each April, the team issues periodic tropical meteorology forecasts that have become must-reads for anyone interested in Atlantic hurricane activity. While the April 2024 forecast was...
What HNOA Insurance Covers That Traditional Auto Does Not
Finding out you’re on the hook for huge financial damages — and that your insurance policy won’t cover it — is every business’s worst nightmare. Just ask Metallica (yes, the band!) about the dangers of not knowing exactly what your policy covers – and what it excludes. Thanks to a pandemic-related debacle, the band sought to recoup millions of...
Safe and Sustainable Growth Strategies for Food and Cannabis Delivery Operations
The burgeoning cannabis delivery industry, like the food industry, has seen exponential growth, driven by increasing legalization and consumer demand. Yet, as many delivery business owners know all too well, with growth comes the challenge of effectively scaling operations. Delivery issues—like delays, regulatory compliance missteps, or customer...
Safe Delivery, Safer Business: Mitigating Risks in Food and Cannabis Delivery
Mitigating risks in food and cannabis delivery is not just about adhering to legal standards; it’s about safeguarding the business, its customers, and the broader community from unforeseen disasters. By understanding and addressing the unique challenges food and cannabis delivery drivers face, businesses can proactively ensure the safety of their...
Hidden Hazards: Identifying and Insuring Common Self-Storage Property Exposures
Self-storage facilities may look like typical brick-and-mortar business operations from the outside — but, when it comes to insurance coverage, they’re not. The truth is, with their distinct property exposures, self-storage facilities require a different approach to insurance coverage, one that accounts for their specific vulnerabilities. ...
How to Navigate Slip, Fall, and Injury Risks for Self-Storage Facilities
Self-storage facilities, sometimes perceived as low-risk environments, can unexpectedly become targets for liability issues, particularly in the category of slip, fall, and bodily injury claims. Picture this: An excited college student, arms full of boxes, takes a serious fall while walking down an interior hallway to their rented unit due to a...
Meeting the Growing Need for Expert Self-Storage Insurance
The self-storage industry has grown rapidly in the past several years, reaching an estimated market value of $44.37 billion, outpacing many other notable companies like Aflac, General Mills, Humana, and even 7-Eleven. The reason? People love their stuff — and they don’t want to part ways with it. According to Josh Leykam, MiniCo Vice...
Decoding Specialty BOPs: Tailored Insurance to Mitigate Self-Storage Risks
Most business owners understand the importance of having the right general liability (GL) insurance. What they may not know is that their GL policy isn’t all-inclusive and doesn’t provide protection for losses associated with business personal property as well as other critical coverages. A business owner’s policy (BOP) is an effective option for...
Collection Preservation: The Collector’s Path to Peace of Mind
From rare artwork to Wine to unique memorabilia, the world of collecting is both varied and ever-evolving, demanding a strategic approach to collection preservation. A collector’s worst fear is damage to or loss of a priceless, irreplaceable item or collection. For the savvy collector, implementing effective risk mitigation and preservation...
The Art of Restoration with Specialty Insurance
When most collectors think of fine arts insurance, they may imagine disasters brought on by major events like fires, floods, and theft. However, the most common perils that threaten unique art collections are far more subtle: a poorly hung painting that falls to the ground or a simple scratch due to improper handling. Unlike the expectations with...
Floods and Electrical Safety
Over the past five years, all 50 states have experienced floods or flash floods, and, on average, more deaths occur due to flooding each year than any other weather-related hazard. Safety precautions during floods should include considerations for electrical safety. Guidance from the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) includes the...
Electrical Safety in Older Buildings
Workplace injuries and fatalities related to electricity totaled over 2,060 in 2019 according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI). Last week, we discussed the organization's tips including overtaxed wiring prevention, extension cord safety, and ground-fault circuit interrupter usage. The EFSI has two additional tips regarding...
Electrical Safety Checklist
According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), there were 166 workplace fatalities and 1,900 non-fatal workplace injuries related to electricity in 2019. To increase electrical safety awareness and prevent electrical fires and electrocutions, the ESFI offers the following tips. Don't Overtax Wiring: Avoid overloading power...
Safety After a Tornado
Once a tornado has passed, it is important that you take steps to stay safe while navigating the debris and damage left behind. Here are some tips to keep in mind. Get Help Cover your mouth with a cloth to avoid breathing dust. If you are trapped, try to send a text, bang on a pipe or wall, or use a whistle to summon help. If you are not...
Surviving a Tornado
Do you and your self-storage employees know what to do if a tornado strikes? Here are tips to help survive during a tornado. Find Safe Shelter Evacuate employees and customers to the closest safe shelter. Take Additional Cover Shield your head and neck with your arms and surround yourself with items such as furniture, blankets, or mattresses....
Tornado Warnings
Forecasters are predicting an active tornado season, so it is important for self-storage businesses to be prepared. Tornadoes can destroy buildings, flip cars, and create hazardous flying debris, and they can happen anywhere at any time. If you are under a tornado warning, follow these important steps. Inside: Go to a safe room, basement, storm...
Hail Season and Your Roof
Hail storms can cause catastrophic damage to self-storage facilities and often result in repairs or replacement of the entire roof or the damaged portions of the roof. For property owners in areas prone to hail storms, this is an expected, if decidedly unwelcome, potential peril. Here are some recommendations to help protect your facility from...
Hail Season Preparation
The impact that catastrophic hail and wind events have had on property owners and the insurance industry would be difficult to overstate. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded 4,611 major hailstorms in 2020. Those storms affected more than 6.2 million properties in the U.S. resulting in losses of nearly $14.2 billion...
Vehicle Breakdowns in Winter Weather
It's cold, there's snow and ice on the roads, and your vehicle has left you stranded. What should you do next? Here are some tips to stay safe until help arrives: · Before departing, consider your route. If you're going to be traveling through an area with limited cell phone coverage, be sure to let someone know when and where you'll be driving....
Driving in Winter Weather
Before heading out on the roads during winter months, it's important to be prepared to drive safely for specific road and weather conditions. Here are some tips: · Prior to departing, clear snow and ice from your car including the windshield, windows, mirrors, lights, reflectors, hood, roof, and trunk. · Keep your headlights on while driving to...
Check the Forecast Before Driving in Winter
The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates nearly one in four weather-related vehicle crashes involve winter weather conditions. Checking the weather forecast before heading out on wintry roads is an important way to reduce risk. Here are some tips: · If the forecast calls for nasty winter weather, staying put may be the safest decision. ·...
Securing a Snow-Removal Company
Winter weather brings colder temperatures, which often mean snow and ice. At a self-storage facility, snow and ice can mean slippery walkways, wet floors, and roofs that need to be cleared of snow accumulation. Consider contracting with a reputable, insured, and licensed snow-removal company. These companies contract with businesses to remove...
Preparing Your Vehicle for Winter Driving
Winter weather can make driving hazardous. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly one in four weather-related vehicle crashes involve snow, slush, or icy roads. One important way to reduce risk when driving during winter weather is to prepare your vehicle in advance. Here are some tips: Assemble a winter survival kit and keep...
Minimize Holiday Stress with Customer Service
The holiday season is a joyful time, but it can also be stressful. The combination of holiday expenses and obligations, foul weather, cold and flu season, financial pressures, and end-of-the-year work deadlines can get the best of anyone at one time or another. Factor in the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and this holiday season may be even more...
Reporting Claims
If your self-storage property has suffered damage due to a storm, fire, or other event, it is important to file an insurance claim quickly. It is equally important to provide complete information in your claim report. This will enable your insurance agent and insurance company to process your claim as quickly as possible. Claim reporting...
What is a Man-In-The-Middle Attack?
In order to protect your self-storage operation from cybercrime, it helps to understand the most common threats and tactics used by cybercriminals. This week's topic is man-in-the-middle attacks. What is a Man-In-The-Middle Attack? Also known as an eavesdropping or hijacking attack, a man-in-the-middle, or MITM, attack lets hackers secretly put...
What is Ransomware?
In order to protect your self-storage operation from cybercrime, it helps to understand the most common threats and tactics used by cybercriminals. This week's topic is ransomware. What is Ransomware? Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system or computer files until a sum of money is paid. It freezes...
What is Phishing?
In order to protect your self-storage operation from cybercrime, it helps to understand the most common threats and tactics used by cybercriminals. This week's topic is phishing. What is Phishing? Phishing is the preferred tool of cybercriminals, accounting for 93 percent of all breaches, which are...
What is Malware?
In order to protect your self-storage operation from cybercrime, it helps to understand the most common threats and tactics used by cybercriminals. This week's topic is malware. What is Malware? The word "malware" is a shortened version of the term “malicious software.” Malware works by infecting a computer to...
What is a Password Attack?
In order to protect your self-storage operation from cybercrime, it helps to understand the most common threats and tactics used by cybercriminals. This week's topic is password attacks. What is a Password Attack? A password attack often uses an automated system in which different password combinations are used to try to gain...
Stay Informed
Want to receive information from MiniCo on timely marketplace trends, hot new program launches, and valuable industry expertise that will set you up to win? Sign up to receive email communications.