Axe of Pod: Recent Episodes
Axe of Pod
Axe of Pod explores trends in litigation, insurance and newsworthy lawsuits and verdicts. We are going to take a deep dive into these matters on how they might impact you with our host: Brandon Schuh. From third party funded plaintiff’s litigation to the sharing economy to outrageous & memorable lawsuits - we want to talk about it all. We'll have frequent contributors, guests and full analysis.
His week on Axe Of Pod, Brandon spoke to Lara Frankovic. Lara is the head of US Liability at Hiscox and a great steward of the insurance market and ambassador to our next generation of insurance professionals. Lara looks into her crystal ball and discusses how the market might change, what's happened to disrupt the market and how technology may play a future role in underwriting and broking.
Brandon Schuh sits down with attorneys: Michael Steinlage of Larson King and Elizabeth Burgess of Carr Allison to discuss the legal and insurance dynamics of an Active Shooter Event. The Problem: We are seeing more mass shootings and active shooter situations.
This episode of Axe of Pod examines the types of liabilities that arise, how the law has dealt with these incidents in the past, insurers traditional approach, public policy consideration and insurance products that look at productive ways to transfer risk. We hope you enjoy the episode.
Richard Everall, the US Programs Focus Group Leader, joined Axe of Pod this week. Richard - like most of us in insurance - started out on a completely different path that includes Biology, Stem Cell Development and some good old fashioned Judo. Richard's group at Beazley works with quite a few areas of emerging risks and it was exciting to have him on to hear his takes on the future of the casualty market.
A lot has changed in insurance along with the world; and now with the Great Reopening happening, Insurance is undergoing some monumental shifts as it contemplates the best way to reemerge from the pandemic. No entity has had to adapt more than Lloyds of London. Today we talk to Chris Moore, Head of ibott Syndicate and Deputy Head of Casualty at Apollo. Chris talks to Brandon about how Covid has changed how ibott/Apollo does business. Chris also discusses the state of the current insurance marketplace and how data is playing a bigger and bigger role in how underwriting is done. The lack of companies ability to adapt in a data world is also playing a role in bigger verdicts (nuclear) and social inflation. We hope you enjoy the show.
In this week's episode, Brandon interviews Bryan Ovalle and Arun Gunasekaran from Jump Watts. Specifically focusing on what their technology can accomplish from a safety perspective. They have looked at some really interesting ways at rebalancing/repositioning and even standing upright e-scooters fleets. The rebalancing process, from an insurance perspective, is certainly one of the most challenging aspects of the micro-mobility space. We look forward to seeing how Jump Watts can make their mark!
Brandon Schuh interviewed Justin Whitehead for the Minnesota chapter of RIMS (Risk & Insurance Management Society) last week and we wanted to rebroadcast it here on the pod. Justin is the Head of Casualty for Howden Specialty (formerly RKH) in London. Howden is a Lloyds of London brokerage and Justin is a casualty insurance guru. Justin gave us a peak under the hood with some historical context and stories from Lloyds’ past, a market update and analysis on the hardening marketplace, the impact of Covid-19, and some thoughts on the future of Lloyds.
John Wackman joins Brandon Schuh for an analysis on the current makeup of the supreme court along with our latest justice appointee - Amy Coney Barrett. We also discuss election litigation results, ACA litigation results and what the current makeup of the Federal, Appellate and Supreme Court means for business.
This week on the pod we talked to Derrick Mains, the President of Phat Scooters in Arizona. Phat is bridging the gap between the micromobility space the luxury personal transportation. With a sustainability awareness, Phat is attracting all kinds of people from movie stars to professional athletes to wealthy business icons. The company has such a great entrepreneurial story and interesting day-to-day encounters, that they are launching a docuseries on Crackle called “Riding Phat”. We’re extremely excited to introduce our listeners to Derrick and Phat.
This week we spoke to Barry Sutton, attorney at Clark Hill. Barry and his team are The People To Hire in the hunting product defense world. They represent about 95% of the Treestand manufacturers. They also represent a large percentage of crossbow, bow, firearm and other products as well. Brandon and Barry talk about the world of litigation around hunting products, ways to mitigate claims, ways to prepare clients for better results, social inflation and jury verdicts. We hope you enjoy.
This week’s episode of Axe of Pod is a panel discussion with three of the Micromobility’s hottest companies. Peter Treadway Co-Founder and CTO at Acton, Vince Cinfani CEO of Joyride and Peter Deppe CEO of Kuhmute stop by the pod to talk about ways technology, innovation and experience can improve safety on our streets. It was a great discussion with some terrific industry minds that want to see this industry continue to BOOM!
A two-fer episode this week. We spoke to John Wackman, mobility product expert and litigator and Nilan Johnson Law Firm, about the two class action lawsuits in the micromobility space and how they are impacting the industry on multiple levels including insurance. We also sat down with AJ Chin, Former Risk Manager for Bird. AJ told us about being involved with an early stage scooter sharing company and what it was like to help pioneer some of the early insurances in the industry. Along with good techniques and the stigma attached to scooters.
Brandon was featured on Micromobility Industry's lastest websinar. He breaks down the long-term risk vectors for shared micromobility, such as bodily injury and property damage, and shed light on how Covid-19 is rearranging the legal and insurance landscape.
Their conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A in which Brandon answers questions about how to protect your business and mobilize insurance dollars.
Brandon Schuh sits down with Zach Finn, Clinical Professor at the Davey School of Risk Management at Butler University. Zach along with his students have put forth the concept of amending TRIA (Terrorism Risk Insurance Act) to include Pandemics. The proposed PRIA bill (Pandemic Risk Insurance Act) could be a mechanism to thoughtfully and accurately move money to those businesses with actual losses. Professor Finn is an experienced Risk Manager, having years of corporate experience before moving into academia. He has lots of interesting takes on how to make this work for United States policyholders.
In this episode, Brandon talks with Nick Luebesmier, the Director of Insurance and Claims for The Dart Network of Companies. Dart, among other things, is a long haul trucking company. Nick walks us through how the trucking industry is being impacted by COVID-19, the response and safety measures being taken; along with some challenges and concerns. Trucking is usually not the first industry to adapt to changes, but Nick breaks down how the transportation industry has put the hammer down and quickly acclimated to a new normal.
John Wackman joins Brandon Schuh to discuss the insurance and legal landscape as Covid-19 systemically alters business across the globe. What’s covered, what’s not and who is going to get sued. These are all questions on the mind of businesses from large to small and we cover it here on Axe of Pod.
Everyone is doing what they can during this pandemic. Vince Cifani of Joyride wrote a blogpost recently about how Micromobility would be impacted because of this outbreak. So we thought it would be a good topic to discuss on Axe of Pod. Micromobility solves quite a few problems and may see some new uses as a result. Public transportation during a pandemic may just be the catalyst for new users. We hope you enjoy!
Brandon Schuh sat down with a very special guest this week – Rick Smith, the CEO and Cofounder of Axon (formerly Taser). Axon is the FTC’s latest antitrust target. Axon made an acquisition of rival (and distressed) company Vievu in 2018. Now the FTC is asking Axon to divest Vievu and fund their operations with a blank check. There are some challenges ahead for Axon as they proactively sued the FTC in Federal court. But it makes for a very interesting discussion on Axe of Pod!
An uncomfortable question. The tragic loss of one of the best basketball players of all time will yield some big questions and, most likely, some litigation. From an insurance and legal perspective, who is responsible? Join Brandon Schuh as he speaks to contributors, John Wackman and Christy Mennen of Nilan Johnson as they explore some possible scenarios.
Acts Of Pod is a brand new podcast for risk managers, policyholders, practitioners and armchair experts. Here we introduce our team and some of the content we will be exploring. From lawsuits making headlines to controversial insurance coverage opinions. We will be taking an analytical look into the decisions that form our policies, contracts, and behavior. We look forward to having you along for the pod!