Blog - Month: October 2025
Workplace Incivility, Violence Costing Businesses Billions
American workplaces are facing a growing civility crisis that is costing companies dearly.
According to new research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), rudeness and discourteous behavior are costing U.S. businesses an estimated $2.1 billion every day in lost productivity, absenteeism and disengagement. The problem doesn’t stop at rudeness: a separate study shows a sharp rise in workplace violence, suggesting that incivility and more serious misconduct are increasingly intertwined.
For employers, both studies should be a wake-up call to address incivility, bullying and other actions that can destabilize the workplace and possibly lead to lawsuits if severe enough.
SHRM’s Civility Index found that U.S. workers collectively experience 208 million acts of incivility each day, from curt emails and dismissive tones to eye-rolling or gossip. While these behaviors might seem minor in isolation, they add up to staggering losses.
Where incivility goes unchecked, managers in SHRM’s study reported:
- Lower psychological safety,
- Weaker team cohesion, and
- Diminished trust.
SHRM pointed to the following as major drivers of the trend:
- Political polarization,
- Residual pandemic stress, and
- “Digital bravery,” the tendency to say things behind a screen that one would never say face-to-face.
The effect, according to SHRM Chief Human Resources Officer Jim Link, is a workplace culture where even routine communication is more easily perceived as hostile.
From incivility to violence
While rudeness doesn’t always lead to violence, patterns suggest the two are related.
Traliant’s 2025 Employee Survey on Workplace Violence and Safety found that 30% of workers witnessed workplace violence in the past year, up from 25% in 2024. Fifteen percent said they had personally been targeted, up from 12% in 2023. Industries like hospitality and health care were particularly affected.
The overlap matters for employers. A culture that tolerates disrespectful behavior can erode trust and embolden more extreme actions. Even if uncivil acts are not illegal, they create a climate where violence, harassment or retaliation is more likely to emerge.
Preventing incivility at work
Drawing from SHRM’s recommendations and best practices, here are practical strategies employers can use to address problems before they escalate:
- Set clear expectations: Define what respectful behavior looks like in your organization and communicate consequences for violations.
- Provide communication training: Help employees navigate disagreements without crossing the line into hostility.
- Model civility at the top: Leaders who practice respect and professionalism set the standard for everyone else.
- Promote open dialogue: Encourage feedback and ensure employees feel safe raising concerns.
- Recognize positive behavior: Reward and acknowledge employees who contribute to a healthy workplace culture.
- Offer anonymous reporting: Give employees safe channels to flag issues without fear of retaliation.
- Invest in inclusivity and mental health: Unconscious biases and cultural misunderstandings can fuel incivility at work. Inclusivity training can help educate employees about biases and cultural competency to reduce misunderstandings.
- Use de-escalation techniques: Train managers to calmly defuse conflicts before they spiral.
Takeaway
For executives, the message is clear: incivility is not just an HR problem, it’s a bottom-line issue.
A disengaged workforce translates into lost output, higher turnover, reputational risk and in severe cases costly litigation. Unlike external market conditions, workplace culture is something leaders can directly influence.
Liability, Large Court Verdicts Drive Commercial Auto Insurance Price Surge
Commercial auto insurance companies continue to post steep losses for liabilities like third-party injuries and property damage, which is driving continued rate hikes for businesses, particularly fleet operators, according to a new report from A.M. Best.
The line posted its 14th consecutive year of underwriting losses in 2024, with liability coverage alone accounting for $4.5 billion in red ink. Those losses were slightly offset by physical damage coverage (part of a comprehensive package), which logged a $1.5 billion underwriting profit for the industry last year.
As losses mount, some commercial auto insurers have left the market and those that remain have tightened underwriting standards, making renewals and securing new policies more difficult.
Commercial auto renewal rates jumped 8% in the second quarter of 2025 from the same period the year prior, according to Ivans Insurance Services. During the last few years, rate increases have averaged 10% or more, but sometimes policyholders are hit with a much larger increase as their insurer must catch up to rising costs.
Even businesses with few claims are seeing significant rate hikes and tighter underwriting, meaning no organization can escape the growing exposure in case one of their drivers is in an accident.
What’s driving the trend
Social inflation and nuclear verdicts: Courts are awarding increasingly larger jury verdicts, and plaintiffs’ attorneys are more aggressively pursuing cases and pushing for trials over settlements, emboldened by favorable outcomes. This has led to more frequent and severe claims that outpace rate increases.
As well, third-party litigation funding is becoming more common, with external investors bankrolling lawsuits in exchange for a share of the settlement.
Vehicle repair costs: Modern vehicles are packed with sensors, cameras and advanced safety systems. Repairs require specialized parts and skilled technicians, many of whom are in short supply. The imbalance between demand and available workers has pushed labor costs higher.
Longer repair times: Parts shortages and limited repair shop capacity have stretched out repair timelines. The longer a claim stays open, the greater the legal exposure and ultimate settlement cost, according to A.M. Best, which estimates the commercial auto insurance industry to be under-reserved by $4 billion to $5 billion.
Driver shortage: As more experienced drivers retire, the labor crunch has meant fewer available drivers and more newbies, which can strain operations and increase risk, including:
- Higher accident rates
- Greater pressure to cut corners
- Inadequate training and mentorship
- Risk of driver fatigue
Shrinking insurer appetite and the rise of E&S coverage
As losses mount, many traditional “admitted” carriers are pulling back from commercial auto risks. This reduced capacity has forced some businesses to turn to the excess and surplus market for coverage.
E&S carriers historically focused on unusual or higher-risk accounts that standard insurers avoided. But today even businesses with relatively typical auto exposures are finding themselves placed with E&S carriers. While these insurers fill a critical gap, their premiums are usually higher, and terms can be stricter.
What you can do
Focus on safety: Instill a strong safety culture from the top down and invest in driver training. Require all drivers to check their vehicles before each shift and leverage telematics to track driver behavior.
Stay proactive with repairs: Build relationships with qualified repair shops to reduce downtime.
Work closely with us: We can explore options across both admitted and E&S carriers to ensure you have the right protection at a competitive rate.
Ballot Initiative Seeks Repeal of Proposition 103, Overhaul of Insurance Regulations
An insurance agent has filed papers with the state of California to qualify an initiative for the 2026 election that would repeal Proposition 103, a landmark insurance measure that has tightly regulated property and auto insurance rates since 1989.
Since 1989, Prop. 103 has required insurance companies to submit requests for rate changes to the California Department of Insurance (DOI). Under the law, the insurance commissioner is required to review those filings, decide whether they are justified, and can deny or limit increases. Consumers and advocacy groups are also allowed to intervene in the process, giving the public a voice in rate decisions.
The measure also made the post of insurance commissioner an elected position instead of one appointed by the governor.
Critics of Prop. 103 say the law slows down the rate approval process, which can drag out for months or even years due to bureaucratic obstacles. Proponents say it keeps insurance companies in check and that having an elected insurance commissioner allows them to act without political interference.
What the new initiative would do
The proposed ballot measure, dubbed the California Insurance Market Reform Act of 2026, would:
- Replace the elected insurance commissioner with an appointee chosen by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
- Establish stricter timelines for the DOI to act on rate filings, generally requiring decisions within 120 days.
- End the intervenor system that allows consumer advocates to challenge rate filings at insurers’ expense.
- Require wildfire risk maps to be updated every three years and allow insurers to factor in reinsurance costs and wildfire mitigation activities when setting rates.
The measure was submitted by Elizabeth Hammack, an independent insurance agent, who argued that Prop. 103 has caused dysfunction and delays that have worsened California’s insurance crisis.
Supporters and critics weigh in
Some in the insurance industry say the lengthy approval process under Prop. 103 has made it difficult to adjust rates in line with rising risks, especially from wildfires. Insurers also argue that delays and a provision requiring any rate hike request of 7% or more to trigger a DOI hearing have discouraged larger filings. As a result, most insurers have limited their requests to 6.9%, which they say has been inadequate in recent years due to rapidly rising claims costs for both property and auto insurance.
Combined with increasingly destructive wildfires, the difficult approval process and insurers’ inability to use certain forecasting models have prompted many companies to restrict writing homes and commercial properties in the state.
Consumer groups oppose the new proposal. They say Prop. 103 has saved Californians billions of dollars on auto insurance and kept home insurance rates more affordable than in many other states. Critics warn that repealing it would open the door to steep premium hikes with less accountability.
Long odds ahead
For now, the initiative remains a long shot. To make the November 2026 ballot, supporters must gather more than 546,000 valid signatures by next spring, a tall order without major funding. Consumer Watchdog, the advocacy group founded by Prop. 103’s author, has dismissed the campaign as unserious and underfunded.
If it does qualify, the proposal could set up a high-stakes battle between consumer advocates and insurers at a time when California residents are already frustrated with rising premiums and shrinking coverage options.
What it means for you
For California consumers and businesses, the debate is ultimately about the balance between cost and availability of insurance. Supporters of repeal say loosening regulations could bring insurers back to the state, giving homeowners and drivers more options. Opponents say it would leave consumers at the mercy of insurance companies with little protection against sudden price spikes.
With signature gathering still in its early stages, the proposal may never reach voters. We’ll keep you posted on developments.
New Rules May Coax More Insurers Back into California Market
In an effort to bring more insurers back into California’s homeowner’s and commercial property insurance market, the state Department of Insurance (DOI) has approved a system that will allow insurers to use forward-looking wildfire risk models to price policies in areas susceptible to wildfires.
The DOI hopes this and other measures it’s been taking, will provide some relief to businesses and homeowners in high-risk areas. Up until this point, insurers have been barred from using risk models that predict future wildfire claims costs and instead have been forced to use historical data.
Insurers have been pushing for this change for years, saying restrictive regulations have kept them from adequately factoring in wildfire risk.
What these models do
The DOI in August established the Pre-Applications Required Information Determination (PRID), a process that insurers can use to get their predictive models approved.
“The PRID process has introduced the potential for bringing relief to the many insurers who have struggled to provide coverage across California,” the DOI said in a press release. “With the ability to use more innovative risk forecasting model technologies, many carriers may return to provide coverage in the wildfire prone regions of California.”
Through PRID, the DOI has already approved prospective wildfire models, created by three companies, that insurers can use to price policies in the Golden State.
One such wildfire model was created by the risk-modeling company Verisk, which uses decades of wildfire science, engineering expertise and climate data to provide a forward-looking view of risk.
Another model approved through PRID is by Kimberly Clark & Co. That model, which has already been accepted in 24 other states, incorporates the impacts of climate change and accounts for mitigation efforts at property and community levels to encourage the reduction of wildfire risk.
What it means for the market
This could give homeowners and business owners more options in areas where it has been difficult or impossible to find coverage in the private market. The DOI is requiring insurers that use the new models to also commit to writing more policies in wildfire-prone regions.
With the new models in place, Mercury, Allstate and CSAA have announced plans to write more property insurance policies in California.
Rates are likely to shift as insurers adopt the models. Properties in areas shown to be at higher wildfire risk may see premium increases, while those in lower-risk areas or where fire-safety measures are in place may benefit from discounts.
Other changes in the works
The wildfire models are part of a larger effort to improve California’s strained property insurance market. Other steps include:
Expanded discounts for mitigation: Homeowners and businesses can qualify for premium reductions by taking specific wildfire safety steps.
Temporary FAIR Plan expansion: The FAIR Plan has raised its commercial property coverage limits from $10 million to $20 million for single facility and up to $100 million for a multi-unit property.
Reinsurance reforms: Insurers will be able to better manage their exposure to catastrophic losses, which regulators say should help keep the market stable.
Takeaway
For homeowners and businesses, these changes mean more choices may soon return to the market.
Prices will likely vary more widely depending on location and wildfire readiness, but insurers may start competing again to write policies in parts of the state where coverage has been scarce.