It’s June, and time again for our annual green insurance issue. We first started covering the nascent green insurance industry in 2008, when many insurers and agents/brokers were still feeling their ways around the risks inherent in green building technology. Since then, the green market has exploded—more insurers are offering more coverage, and the original construction focus has expanded to include professional liability, manufacturing, green building leases and more.
This
month’s feature article on growing green business takes a look at everything green, and includes a wide array of sources talking about their experiences with this specialized market. Insurance expert Dave Lenckus writes the article, and I had the pleasure of working him with years ago on another insurance publication. It’s a solid snapshot of what’s going on right now with green insurance, and why smart agents and brokers are learning everything they can about it. (To get a former agent’s perspective on how to go green, read "
Why agents need to know green," an exclusive article by green insurance consultant Skip Rawstron.)
The word "green" has both positive and negative connotations. Although it’s been used to mean inexperienced, it’s also associated with youth, freshness and new ideas. With that in mind, I’d also like to introduce a new feature starting in the July magazine: the AA&B nexGens Initiative (nGI), a forum for young insurance professionals to network, share their stories, and help each other succeed.
And nGI won’t end there—our focus on young insurance professionals will eventually include exclusive website stories, guest bloggers, webinars and much more.
In this month’s "Sounding Board," AA&B editorial advisory board member Jim Hackbarth of Assurex suggests that we as an industry "hug a millennial" and embrace the newer generations as our present and future. He’s right on the money: Millennials are more than the future (clichéd but true), they also are our coworkers, friends and children. In fact, I have one graduating from high school this month (congratulations, Emily!).
Kermit the Frog once sang a song about how tough it is to be green—"people tend to pass you over ‘cause you’re not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water or stars in the sky"—and he was right. That’s why those of us in a position to help should go out of our way to make it a little easier to be green in our industry, especially during these scary times. It’s an effort that will pay big dividends not so far down the road