Wolf of Property Casualty

Episoder

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  Actual Loss Sustained Business Income: What It Covers and What It Costs 11.10.2026 9min

  Actual loss sustained business income means no worksheet, no coinsurance and no dollar limit. Derek walks through four considerations for brokers (time period, extra expense, coinsurance, and burden of proof), plus three carrier realities, including why ALS often costs more than a stated limit. A practical listen for brokers, buyers and carriers who quote or buy business income coverage.
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  Payback Period: The CFO Language Every Broker Should Use on Deductible Changes 09.10.2026 4min

  Buyers are CFOs, so talk like one. Derek walks through payback period as a simple, consistent way to evaluate deductible and SIR changes. Under five years is generally worth it; over five, the premium savings don’t justify the extra risk. He runs two property examples ($10K to $25K deductible, $5,000 vs. $2,500 in savings) and explains why you should quote multiple deductibles on every account, even in a soft market. Short, practical, and easy to use on your next renewal.
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  The Apology Tour: What My Former Clients Told Me They Miss 07.10.2026 11min

  I spent the summer on an apology tour, meeting former customers to apologize for my disruption. What they told me had nothing to do with price or coverage. They missed my opinion.In this episode, I break down why brokers practice insurance and why that means taking a position, putting it in writing, and defending it. I walk through the premium summary format I used at every renewal: expiring, renewal, and a third column with my recommended program. You’ll hear how I use payback-period analysis for deductibles, how I approached wind/hail and umbrella conversations, and why raising new coverages mid-year is expected, not pushy.If you’re a broker who wants to be an advisor instead of a quoter, or a buyer who wants to know what to expect from yours, this one’s for you.
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  Commissions to Convictions: The Invisible Hand Nobody Puts on the Comp Plan 01.10.2026 8min

  Every sales organization has an invisible hand: a motivator that isn't on the comp plan, but shapes how people behave. For me, it was the chance to earn equity as a partner in an insurance brokerage. It made me better, and it made me ruthless, overworked, and a little maddened. In this Commissions to Convictions episode, I use Adam Smith's invisible hand theory to unpack the hidden incentives in sales and P&C, and why you need to know what you're willing to do for them.
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  OSHA Doesn't Work for Free 30.09.2026 10min

  OSHA is a four-letter word, and Derek loves it. Drawing on years working with manufacturers and food producers, he covers the truths about OSHA that brokers and buyers need to know: why most mock audits fall short, what triggers an inspection, how to handle an unannounced visit, and why citations aren't insurable. He also explains why the smartest move isn't always paying the fine. Sometimes it's negotiating the citation down from willful to serious so you're not on OSHA's radar next time. A practitioner-led, no-BS episode for brokers, buyers and carriers.
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  Stock Sale or Asset Sale? 29.09.2026 11min

  Buying a company? The first question any insurance professional should ask is: stock sale or asset sale?In this episode of The Wolf of Property & Casualty, Derek Laczniak breaks down how deal structure changes the insurance conversation for buyers, sellers, and the brokers who serve them. He walks through why buyers push for asset sales and sellers push for stock sales, and what each means for the insurance program.In this episode:Why "just add it by endorsement" can get you non-renewedWhy an asset purchase should be treated like new businessHow the ERM-14 and experience mods can follow you into a dealOccurrence vs. claims-made policies in a stock saleHow seller tail policies protect buyers from liabilities they can't uncover in diligenceHow to turn deal chaos into an opportunity to expand an account
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  Inside Insurance Producer Pay: Bands, Draws & What Nobody Explains 21.09.2026 14min

  Derek's been fielding compensation questions from brokers nationwide lately — especially with the USI/Aon deal shaking up the industry — so this episode breaks down exactly how insurance producers get paid. No advocacy for one structure over another, just the real mechanics.Inside this episode:• The three types of commission "bands" — new business, renewal, and inherited/transferred accounts• Why new business typically pays 25–50% vs. 15–30% at renewal• How "draws" work for new producers (the stair-step salary guarantee) and mature producers (the confidence-interval smoothing method)• A real walkthrough of what a $1M commission book actually pays a producer — and where the other 80% goes• The tradeoffs of "own your book" models vs. traditional agency structures• How team selling affects your splitNo bullshit, practitioner-led talk for brokers, buyers, and carriers. If you've ever wondered what's actually behind a broker's paycheck, this one's for you.
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  Commissions to Convictions: The Mess Hall 18.09.2026 8min

  Derek shares the "mess hall" lesson from a former mentor: the peer group you talk with — good or bad — shapes what you end up believing. He traces it from his three and a half months in county jail, where ten minutes at the wrong table can turn you against people who turn out to be nothing like the reputation, to the negativity bandwagon he sees among producers and managers in insurance sales orgs. A reflection on association, gratitude, and controlling what you let echo in your own mess hall.
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  The Four Indexes That Beat Any Carrier's "6% Trend" 11.09.2026 10min

  Carriers can't get rate in today's soft property market — so they're going after values instead. Derek walks through how to use four independent construction cost indexes to challenge inflated trend assumptions from underwriters, plus his take on why 90% (not 100%) insurance-to-value is often the right call for accounts with a spread of risk.
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  Don't Ignore a CRIT or pick a fight with the bureau 07.09.2026 11min

  A workers' comp "crit" might seem like a minor administrative issue. It isn't.In this episode of Wolf of Property & Casualty, Derek breaks down what a criticism letter actually is, why workers' compensation bureaus issue them, and why brokers should take them far more seriously than the dollar amount of the potential fine might suggest.Derek walks through how workers' comp class codes are monitored, how payroll can be moved into a higher-rated classification, and what happens when a state bureau disagrees with the way a policy has been classified.But the bigger lesson is about relationships.What happens when a carrier receives a crit and the broker has to go back to the client and admit that something may have been done incorrectly? Why might a broker want to think twice before requesting a bureau inspection? And why can a relatively small compliance issue become a much bigger problem for the carrier relationship?Derek shares lessons from his experience in the middle-market and national-account workers' compensation space, including why he believes brokers should respond quickly, respect their underwriters, and be extremely careful when challenging a bureau's classification determination.No textbook answer. No sales pitch. Just practical workers' comp knowledge from someone who's been in the trenches.Welcome to Wolf of P&C.
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  PIP in 5 Minutes: The 5 Things Every Broker Needs to Know 31.08.2026 7min

  PIP shows up on commercial auto proposals in no-fault states — and if a client asks "what's this?", you need an answer. Derek covers the 5 things to know: how PIP differs from MedPay, why it pays fast, priority of payments, and why it doesn't waive future lawsuits.
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  Commissions to Convictions: What Happens When They Take Your Title Away? 30.08.2026 9min

  For years, I thought professional titles meant something.Partner. Director. Senior Account Executive. Those titles represented years of work, success, and climbing the ladder. Then I lost them—and I realized something I wish I'd understood much earlier: my clients never cared about my title nearly as much as I did.In this episode of Commissions to Convictions, I talk about professional titles, industry designations, status, and the danger of allowing your career to become your identity.Because your business card might say one thing, but the people who know you best know you by something else: husband, father, friend, mentor, coach.I've had a lot of titles. I've lost a lot of titles. And I've learned that what you do matters a hell of a lot more than what your title says you do.Focus on what's behind the title.
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  HR Screw-Up Insurance": Employee Benefits Liability Explained 27.08.2026 11min

  Employee Benefits Liability — the coverage Derek calls "HR screw-up insurance." One missed COBRA notice during a layoff. One forgotten dependent enrollment. One overlooked disability election. These are the mistakes that get HR teams sued — and this episode breaks down the coverage built to catch them, including a real claim from Derek's own career that settled for over $600K.
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  Break Down the Wall Between Your Carrier and Your Client 26.08.2026 10min

  Loss control visits and claim reviews are necessary — but they're not where the real leverage lives. In this episode, Derek breaks down the two types of carrier engagement every broker needs to master, and shares his exact playbook for building the relationship that gets you through bumpy renewals and messy claims. No fluff, no selling — just what actually works.
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  Commissions To Convictions: What Jail Taught Me About Money 21.08.2026 15min

  Derek made millions as a top insurance broker — then lost it all chasing the wrong thing. In this Commissions to Convictions episode, he breaks down the warning signs he ignored, what jail taught him about money, and why your worth was never tied to your paycheck.
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  Claiming The News: Meta's $1.4T Problem & Why Insurers Are Refusing to Defend Them 20.08.2026 10min

  20 state AGs are suing Meta for $1.4 trillion — and its own insurance carriers say they don't have to defend the company. Derek unpacks the duty-to-defend fight playing out in Delaware court, why "intentional acts" exclusions are doing the heavy lifting here, and the coverage lesson every buyer should take away: it's not what happened that triggers your policy — it's what's alleged.
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  A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Insurance Policies 19.08.2026 9min

  Most insurance programs are buried inside proposals, policy binders, and 20-page renewal summaries.But what if you could understand an entire commercial insurance program in less than 30 seconds?In this episode we break down one of the most valuable tools I used throughout my commercial insurance career: the Balanced Risk Management Approach (BRMA).This simple one-page visual document summarizes:Insurance carriersPolicy limitsPremiumsDeductiblesLayered programsProgram evolution over timeWhether you're a broker, CFO, controller, risk manager, or business owner, this episode will show you how a simple visual dashboard can improve communication, simplify decision-making, and make your insurance program significantly easier to understand.No BS. Just insurance.
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  Commissions To Convictions: Confidential But Not Anonymous 14.08.2026 8min

  When a box of bananas goes missing and my off-the-record guess gets someone fired, I remembered a phrase from my time in sales: confidential but not anonymous. In my sales career, where "confidential" employee surveys/votes turned out to carry a lot more traceability than anyone let on. A candid, unflinching episode about information, trust, and the systems we assume are safer than they are.
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  The AOR Checklist That Would've Saved Me a Headache 13.08.2026 16min

  Everyone's talking about how to win an Agent of Record letter — Lets talk about what happens after you win it. We break down six operational mistakes I've made (and one bonus trick) around carrier AOR rules, wholesaler transfers, commission timing, orphaned audits, fresh submissions, and getting documents signed without the awkward back-and-forth.
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  Commissions to Convictions: The Best Ability is Availability 07.08.2026 8min

  Sometimes in a quest to chase accolades and achievements we lose sight of the basics of what make you successful and great on and off the field.