👋 Good Morning. Welcome to this week’s recap. The news, trends, and training Insurance Pros need, without the boring.

😕 Vibe Check: Trump versus everybody, PBM’s gonna PBM, and the work comp and weed disconnect continues.

☕ Grab your coffee, ignore that “Production YTD” email, and let’s get started.

STORY OF THE WEEK

A Short Time Ago in a Trade War Not Far Away

Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to strike down Trump's tariffs.

Chief Justice Roberts wrote that using IEEPA to impose tariffs was a bridge too far. Saying, the Constitution gives that power to Congress, not the President.

Two of Trump's own appointees sided with the majority. Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh weren't having it and dissented.

Trump Goes Rogue One: A quick refresher for you. In early 2025, Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 emergency law, to slap tariffs on basically every country we trade with, citing trade deficits and fentanyl trafficking as national emergencies.

No president had ever tried this before. That's what made it so polarizing, and made it a legal target.

Trade courts said no in May. Appeals court said no in August. The administration kept fighting, oral arguments hit the Supreme Court in November, and the government quietly collected $160 billion in the meantime.

Return of the Trump: Within hours of the ruling, new tariffs were announced under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a congressionally authorized authority nobody can argue with. The rate went straight to 15%, the legal maximum.

The clock starts now: 150 days before they expire unless the administration finds a longer-term legal vehicle. They're already working on it.

The Empire Strikes Back: Corporate America smelled blood. More than 1,000 companies have now filed suit seeking refunds on IEEPA duties already paid. FedEx jumped in Monday. Costco and Revlon were already in line.

The Court of International Trade has exclusive jurisdiction over all of it, and trade lawyers are openly saying this refund fight could drag on for years. Grab some popcorn.

This Is The Way, For Producers: material costs, supply chain headaches, and import pricing uncertainty aren't going away any time soon. Stay tuned in, especially if you have clients in construction, manufacturing, and distribution.

NEWS OF THE WEEK

💊 PBM’s Keep Stepping On Rakes

CVS Caremark recently received a consent order from Tennessee regulators citing compliance deficiencies, reporting failures, and corrective action requirements. And this isn't an isolated event.

State and federal scrutiny of PBM practices is accelerating across the board, with the spotlight landing squarely on rebate transparency, pharmacy reimbursement, and vertical integration.

Benefits Bros, the questions worth asking prospects right now: Do you have real audit rights in your PBM contract? Are you actually seeing your rebates? When did you last have someone independently review your pharmacy program?

😮‍💨 Work Comp and Weed Still Complicated

Weed is legal in 38 states. Workers Comp, however, did not get the memo.

A new 50-state report highlights how fragmented the picture is. Eight states explicitly exclude medical marijuana from workers comp coverage altogether. Most states say nothing definitive either way, leaving carriers, employers, and injured workers in legal limbo.

And then there's New Mexico, which has gone full send and put medical marijuana directly in the workers comp fee schedule.

As more states legalize, and workers increasingly use it as an alternative to opioids, the pressure on carriers and legislators to take a clear position will remain high.

🏖️ Cartels Make Insurance Sitch ‘No Bueno’ In Mexico

Mexico's cartels had a busy weekend.

After the killing of powerful cartel boss El Mencho last week, the cartels responded by shutting down Puerto Vallarta. Cruise ships were diverted, dozens of flights grounded, and hundreds of businesses attacked. U.S. and Canadian citizens in two states received shelter-in-place orders.

AM Best says ‘no bueno’: having had a negative outlook on Mexico's insurance segment before any of this happened, AM Best came out this week with a pretty straightforward message: no bueno in Mexico.

For producers with clients in travel, hospitality, marine, or multinational coverage, Mexico just got more complicated. The beaches will reopen. But the underlying risk conversation is going to take longer. Poco a poco.

😕 Survey Suggests C-Suite Worried About The Wrong Things

Sentry Insurance surveyed 1,250 C-Suite execs and the results are wild.

93% have been hit by litigation in the past five years. 69% say one nuclear verdict ends their company. Yet, only 17% listed lawsuits as a top 5 threat for 2026.

92% have experienced weather disruptions. Half say the next catastrophe could shut them down permanently. Yet, only 32% listed natural catastrophes as a top 5 concern.

Meanwhile. execs report top concerns being the economy, supply chains and tariffs.

To us, that seems like worrying about your diet while still smoking two packs a day. Just saying.

98% said they plan to reevaluate their coverage this year. That's your opening.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

850,000,000

The number of defective units recalled in the U.S. in 2025. Up 3,295 events, a 26% spike from the year before.

That's 2.5 recalled products for every American.

Producers, a heads up: the CPSC pursued their first-ever criminal prosecution under consumer safety law in 2025, and hit one manufacturer with a $16.03 million civil penalty, the maximum allowed by law.

The days of a recall being a PR headache are over. Now it's a criminal exposure.

P&C PODCAST OF THE WEEK

In this episode, Micah talks with top producer Guffy Wright. After being stuck for multiple years at $600K he shares the radical mindset shift that propelled him to a multi-million dollar book, and unstoppable momentum.

EB PODCAST OF THE WEEK

In this episode, Luke sits down with Dr. Eric Bricker and Joe Wilson of Frontier Direct Care to break down everything Benefits Brokers need to know about adding Direct Primary Care to their stack.

POLL OF THE WEEK

OPINION

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That’s this week in insurance.

See you next week.