RiskThoughts
Perspective for a changing risk environment.
Markets change. Businesses change. Risk changes.
RiskThoughts brings together The Duncan Group's perspectives on insurance markets, claims, risk management, underwriting strategy and the industries we serve.
The goal is not to publish for the sake of publishing. It is to provide useful intelligence that helps clients and prospects make better decisions.
Insurance content should be useful.
RiskThoughts exists to answer the questions clients actually ask — clearly, practically and without sensationalism.
- Why is my premium changing?
- What are underwriters focused on?
- What does this market shift mean for my industry?
- What claims trends should I be watching?
- What can I do before renewal?
- How should I think about retention versus transfer?
- What risk-management issues matter most right now?
- What changes in my business should my broker know about?
- What does a serious underwriting submission need to show?
Featured RiskThought
Insurance Markets · Insight
Why premium is an outcome
Pricing follows how well a risk is managed, understood and presented — not simply how many markets saw the submission.
In preparation
Underwriting begins with data: revenue, payroll, class codes, property values and loss history. Data without context creates uncertainty, and uncertainty is priced conservatively.
Premium is an outcome.
Explore our approachLatest
Publishing schedule beginning soon
15 planned pieces
Market Intelligence
Conditions, capacity and underwriting behavior
Market Intelligence
Market Update
What underwriters are really pricing
Exposure data sets the starting point. What an underwriter cannot see is what gets assumed.
In preparationUnderwritingSubmissionsMarket conditionsInsurance Markets
Market Update
Capacity, appetite and the shape of the current market
How carrier appetite and capacity influence where an account should be placed, and when.
In preparationCapacityAppetiteMarketplace execution
Industry Intelligence
Risk observations by practice group
Construction
Industry Intelligence
Why subcontractor controls matter to underwriters
Qualification, agreements and certificate discipline change how a contractor is evaluated.
In preparationSubcontractor riskContractual riskWorkers' compensationReal Estate
Industry Intelligence
Why property valuation is more than a renewal exercise
Statements of values, roof condition and capital improvements tell the underwriter what the schedule cannot.
In preparationReal Estate & HospitalityValuationPropertyCatastropheEnergy & Industrial
Industry Intelligence
Fleet and driver management as an underwriting story
Commercial auto results are read through driver qualification, MVR discipline and post-accident review.
In preparationCommercial autoFleetSafetyAgriculture
Industry Intelligence
Rural risk rarely fits inside a standard box
Where farm, ranch and equine operations overlap business, property and personal exposure.
In preparationFarm & ranchEquine liabilityRural propertyPrivate Client
Insight
Coordinating complex personal risk
Homes, vehicles, ranches, collections and excess liability read better as one strategy than as separate policies.
In preparationExcess liabilityValuationCatastrophe
Claims Intelligence
Loss lessons and claim preparation
Claims
Claims Intelligence
What happens after a large property loss
Documentation, mitigation and communication in the period when the claim file is being formed.
In preparationProperty claimsBusiness incomeClaim preparationClaims
Claims Intelligence
Reserves, loss runs and the next renewal
Open reserves travel with the account. Understanding them is part of renewal preparation.
In preparationReservesLoss runsRenewal
Risk Management
Controls, contracts and documentation
Risk Management
Insight
Uncertainty gets priced
Missing context invites conservative assumptions. Documenting controls is part of the strategy.
In preparationLoss controlDocumentationUnderwritingRisk Management
Risk Brief
Contractual risk starts earlier than the certificate
Indemnification, additional insured status and waivers shape exposure long before a loss.
In preparationContractual riskCertificatesSubcontractors
Guides & Reports
Practical, action-oriented material
Alternative Risk
Q&A
When should a business consider a captive?
The questions that should come before a feasibility study, and the conditions that make them worth asking.
In preparationCaptivesRetentionTotal cost of riskRisk Management
Checklist
Preparing for a carrier loss-control visit
A practical checklist for the documentation and follow-through that inspections tend to look for.
In preparationLoss controlSafetyDocumentationGuides & Reports
Guide
The renewal preparation guide
What to assemble, and when, so the marketplace sees the account the way the business actually operates.
In preparationRenewal strategySubmissionsData quality
Coverage Areas
- Insurance Markets
- Risk Management
- Claims
- Real Estate
- Construction
- Agriculture
- Energy & Industrial
- Private Client
- Alternative Risk
- Executive Risk
- Cyber
- Employee Benefits
- Market Intelligence
- Industry Intelligence
- Guides & Reports
Pieces may belong to more than one coverage area. Secondary tags carry the specific subject.
Not everything should be an article.
Some subjects deserve a page. Others deserve a paragraph, a checklist or a direct answer to a question a client already asked.
- Insight
- Market Update
- Industry Intelligence
- Claims Intelligence
- Risk Brief
- Guide
- Report
- Checklist
- Q&A
Editorial Standards
The intelligence has to be useful even if the reader never becomes a client.
- 01What changed?
- 02Why does it matter?
- 03Who is affected?
- 04What should the reader be thinking about?
- 05What can they do next?
Market commentary, regulatory information and statistics are published only with an identified source. Where a figure cannot be sourced, it is not used.
- Carrier reports
- Insurance industry research
- Government agencies
- Regulatory bodies
- Recognized industry associations
- Reputable market publications
- Duncan's own verified data when available
Intelligence Clusters
Depth in a subject is more useful than breadth across many.
Roofing risk intelligence
Related practice- Roofing insurance market outlook
- Subcontractor risk
- Fall protection
- Commercial auto
- Workers' compensation
- Completed operations
- Claims trends
- Underwriting submission strategy
- Certificates and contractual risk
Real estate risk intelligence
Related practice- Property market outlook
- Valuation
- Water damage
- Habitational liability
- Catastrophe
- Business income
- Claims
- Property management risk
- Insurance renewal strategy
Community association risk intelligence
Related practice- HOA and COA insurance
- Property valuation
- Board liability
- Claims
- Catastrophe
- Deductibles
- Reserve and capital considerations
- Risk management
Alternative risk intelligence
Related practice- Captives
- Group captives
- Large deductibles
- Retention strategy
- Total cost of risk
- Collateral
- Claims discipline
Pillar reports
Longer-form market and industry intelligence, published periodically. None of these has been released yet; the titles below describe the program we are building, not existing documents.
- The Duncan Risk ReportIn preparation
- Roofing Risk ReportIn preparation
- Real Estate Risk ReportIn preparation
- Community Association Risk ReportIn preparation
- Insurance Market OutlookIn preparation
- Claims Intelligence ReportIn preparation
By Solution
By Specialty Practice
- Agribusiness, Farm & Ranch
- Animal Health & Veterinary Clinics
- Automotive Services, Garages & Mechanic Shops
- Aviation, Airports & Hangars
- Churches & Religious Organizations
- Construction & Surety
- Dealers, Distributors & Manufacturers
- Emergency Services & Public Safety
- Energy (Renewable & Non-Renewable)
- Equine & Equibusiness
- Financial & Professional Services
- Food, Beverage & Retail
- Guides & Outfitters
- Healthcare, Senior Care & Human Services
- Non-Profits & Affinity Groups
- Propane, Fuels, Chemicals & Lubricants
- Public Sector, Municipal & Education
- Real Estate & Hospitality
- Stock Show, Fair & Rodeo
- Technology, Media, Entertainment & Telecom
- Transportation
- Waste, Water, Recycling & Environmental
- Wineries, Vineyards, Breweries & Distilleries
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