As the cost of providing health benefits continues to rise, more employers intend to change or reduce their 2026 offerings to control spending, according to a new survey. In a survey of more than 700 U.S. employers by Mercer — including over 500 large organizations (those with 500 or more employees) — 51% of large…
Congratulations to our 2025 Thomas G. Williams Award Recipient! Jason March Vice President, Commercial Insurance Department Sacramento, CA Each year, this prestigious award honors outstanding broker performance and is named after the visionary who founded InterWest in 1992. We’re proud to recognize Jason for making a lasting impact. Here’s to continued success and the…
As wildfire seasons grow longer and more intense due to rising temperatures, utilities in high-risk areas are increasingly using public safety power shutoffs to prevent fires sparked by electrical equipment, one of the leading causes of wildfires. These proactive outages can leave communities without power for hours — or even days — especially during dry,…
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, a sweeping tax and spending measure that includes implications for health savings accounts and employer-sponsored benefits. While an early version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives promised broad reforms to group health insurance, most of those provisions were…
If your insurance agency is not taking full advantage of LinkedIn to make connections and market your insurance brokerage, you are missing out on a great opportunity to grow your book of business. LinkedIn, as you likely already know, is the social media equivalent of Facebook for the business world and is a great tool…
Congratulations to our 2025 Thomas G. Williams Award Recipient! Hunter Rappleye Commercial Insurance Broker Sacramento, CA Each year, this prestigious award honors outstanding broker performance and is named after the visionary who founded InterWest in 1992. Huge thanks to Hunter Rappleye for always going the extra mile. Your dedication and leadership make a…
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has ordered an 8.7% average advisory pure premium rate hike for policies incepting on or after Sept. 1, 2025. The rate follows a substantial uptick in claims and claims adjustment costs over the past four years, resulting in a $1.3 billion underwriting loss for the industry in 2024, the first…
The typical family’s income slips by more than $12,000 in the year after a breadwinner suffers a critical illness such as a heart attack, stroke or cancer, according to a study by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. This reduction of income isn’t primarily due to lack of medical coverage. It is actually attributed to the inability…
Congratulations to our 2025 Thomas G. Williams Award Recipient! Brett Faulknor Vice President, Commercial Insurance Department Redding, CA Each year, this prestigious award honors outstanding broker performance and is named after the visionary who founded InterWest in 1992. Big thanks to Brett for consistently going above and beyond. Your leadership, dedication, and impact make…
For companies that rely on fleets of vehicles to deliver goods, transport equipment or provide services, distracted driving is a risk that can pose an existential threat to the company. Collisions resulting from inattentive driving can lead to serious injuries, costly vehicle damage and insurance rate hikes or cancellations. Most fleets are comprised of vehicles…