Welcome to this week's recap. The news and top producer insights you need, without the snoozefest. Today: 5 briefs. 2 podcasts. 1 poll. 0 boring. Let’s roll!

A cruise ship departed Argentina April 1, and by mid-April passengers were dying. As of May 6, there are 5 confirmed cases, 3 suspected cases, and 3 deaths caused by the hantavirus. The Canary Islands president refused to let it dock at their port, citing public safety concerns. Cases have now spread to Switzerland, South Africa, and there's a contact case being monitored in France.

Is it the next COVID? Probably not. Dr. Celine Grounder told NewsNation "this is not the next pandemic… you really need a virus that is far more infectious, that's more easily transmissible through the respiratory route." Fingers crossed.

A new Earnix report surveying 400 global insurance executives lands a gut-punch stat: 60% of insureds would switch carriers just for more personalized service. Not over price. N after a bad otclaim. Just because they felt like a number. The kicker? Only about one in four insurers say they can actually deliver personalization at scale today. Meaning 75% of the industry is offering a generic experience to a market that's actively begging for something better.

Our hot take: This just goes to show the most powerful personalization engine in insurance is still you, the Producer. Build relationships, remember the details, give a damn about your clients. Pretty simple.

Travelers just dropped its 2026 Injury Impact Report analyzing 1.2 million workers' comp claims from 2021 to 2025. The headline: injuries are less frequent but more expensive and slower to heal. Injured workers miss an average of 80 workdays. Two groups are driving the cost: workers 60+ (averaging 97 missed days, with slips and falls making up 39% of their claims) and first-year employees, who despite being a smaller slice of the workforce account for 37% of all injuries and 34% of total claim costs.

The real workers' comp crisis: isn't more dangerous jobs, it's poor onboarding and a workforce that isn't getting any younger.

Lawsuit abuse has officially left the courtroom and entered the checkout line. Research projects that commercial vehicle litigation will contribute 15% to food price inflation over the next decade. Because when trucking companies get hit with nuclear verdicts, those costs roll straight through the supply chain to consumers. Swiss Re reported excess trucking insurance rates have surged more than 75%, with some carriers exiting the market entirely. And the jury pool isn't getting friendlier: 76% of Americans now believe damage awards are too low, up from 58% in 2016.

Producers with transportation books: the question isn't whether your clients have enough coverage. It's whether enough coverage even exists anymore.

Trump declared he "ended DEI in America" in February. Then kept going. IBM got hit with a $17M settlement. Nike is facing a lawsuit. Disney's TV licenses are under review after a late-night joke from Jimmy Kimmel. The EEOC is actively hunting for bias against White men, Christians, and US citizens, and just dropped a fresh executive order targeting federal contractors still concealing DEI programs. Corporate America is scrambling, lawyers are on speed dial, and minority supplier programs are quietly becoming "small-business supplier programs."

The DEI environment has flipped completely: your clients' EPLI policies were written for a different world. Might be time for a refresh at renewal time.

We’ve partnered with Element 22 to be Max Revenue’s preferred wholesale broker. If you've got accounts that need a creative P&C solution give them a shot. We’ve vetted them. They’re legit.

You can send your submissions straight to [email protected] Or call Brian at (843) 296-3376 and tell him Max Revenue sent you.

In this episode, Trey and Micah talk with Will Allen of Captive Insurance Strategies. Will shares his journey of starting a captive, the nuances of selling captives today versus 10 years ago, and how brokers can leverage captives for long-term success.

In this episode, Trey and Micah sit down with commercial insurance legend David Carothers to break down exactly how he prospects with data and sells with total cost of risk. David pulls back the curtain on his full sales process.

Today's email was written by Trey Shields

Edited by Ima Coffin | Illustrated by Mike Robe

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