Welcome to this week's recap. The news, trends, and top producer insights you need, without the snoozefest. Today: 5 briefs, 2 podcasts, 1 poll… let’s roll!

North Carolina just made history: it's now the first state in the nation to ban third-party litigation funding outright, with Gov. Josh Stein signing House Bill 315 into law. And this wasn't some partisan squeaker as it passed the House unanimously and the Senate 45-1. Hedge funds bankrolling lawsuits for a cut of the payout? Illegal in NC now, with penalties up to $50,000 a violation and treble damages for victims. Insurers are popping champagne… Triple-I called it a message that "the civil justice system is not an investment vehicle." The real story is what happens next: California, Colorado, and Illinois are all circling similar bills, and if NC's ban survives the inevitable legal challenge, this might be the shot heard 'round the nuclear-verdict world. Fingers crossed!

M3 Insurance's June market update shows commercial premiums fell 1.2% in Q1 2026... the first overall decline since 2017. Commercial property led the drop at -5.5%, with large accounts off 2.7%. Good news for your renewals... except commercial auto missed the memo, still climbing at 5.8% and extending a multi-year streak. Don't pop the champagne just yet: Marathon Strategies counted 135 nuclear verdicts over $10 million in 2024, totaling $31.3 billion... up 116% in value from 2023, with five awards topping $1 billion. Translation: rates are softening, but severity is still going thermonuclear. Casualty lines are still where the real exposure lives, no matter what the property market is doing.

NOAA confirmed it last week: El Niño is officially underway, and it's redrawing the U.S. risk map for summer. For the uninformed: El Niño typically suppresses Atlantic hurricane activity... some forecasters are calling for the fewest storms since 2015... but it cranks up wildfire risk across the western US like a thermostat nobody can find. California's market is already bracing for it: the FAIR Plan just issued its first-ever wildfire catastrophe bond, securing $750M in reinsurance, while regulators push carriers back into high-risk zones with new rate reforms. And it's not just wildfires... AccuWeather now puts 70% odds on this El Niño leveling up into a rare "Super El Niño," with Plains states already seeing extreme drought conditions emerge in a matter of weeks. Nebraska went from 0% to 50% drought-stricken in a year. Buckle up... it's shaping up to be a spicy summer.

The affordability crunch is hitting the road. A new Coverage Professor survey finds one in three US drivers drove uninsured at some point last year, with 32% canceling a policy outright to cut costs. Friendly reminder: every uninsured driver out there is a UM/UIM claim with your commercial clients' name on it... and with affordability pressure pushing more companies toward HNOA arrangements to cut costs, the exposure compounds even faster. Time to audit UM/UIM limits and confirm HNOA is buttoned up before someone's "personal vehicle" becomes your client's problem.

There's a new threat hitting your retail and property clients, and it's not weather-related. "Teen takeovers"… flash-mob-style crowds organized over TikTok and Snapchat … have swarmed malls and parks from Atlanta to Milwaukee to Orlando this year. If shoppers get hurt in the chaos, the property owner could be on the hook for failing to provide adequate security. These assault-and-battery claims are some of the most severity-driven losses insurers see, and coverage without A&B or firearms exclusions is one of the toughest placements in the market right now. If your clients own retail centers or any large public-facing property, review security protocols, additional-insured language, and exclusions before the next viral meet-up drops. No cap.

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In this episode, Micah and Trey share their top 10 takeaways from interviewing Top Producers ($1M-$10M+ book) over the last 6 months, revealing the habits, mindsets, and routines that consistently set them apart.

In this OG video from way back in 2023, Micah breaks down the 5 steps a new insurance agent, with no sales experience, can take to produce six-figures in revenue in their first year (and every year after). *Please excuse Micah’s awful attempt at a thumbnail. He has been permanantly relieved of those duties.*

Today's email was written by Trey Shields

Edited by Don Flamenco | Illustrated by Piston Honda

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