Dave Lenckus

About the Author

Dave Lenckus

Dave Lenckus has reported on insurance for 25 years for several publications as a staff editor and as a freelance writer on issues for agents and brokers, risk managers and insurers. He holds a journalism degree, with additional coursework in accounting, from Lewis University in Chicago.

• High-End Trend: Insurers OK with Molecular Gastronomy

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 20, 2013

  Chefs at an increasing number of high-end restaurants are experimenting with chemical reactions in dishes—sometimes called molecular gastronomy—to present diners a unique taste experience, producers and underwriters say.

• 

  Truckin’ Along

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 20, 2013

  Food trucks make up a small but rapidly expanding segment of the restaurant market, producers say.

• Crunch Time

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 20, 2013

  Restaurateurs are feeling the bite of a hardening Property & Casualty insurance market.

• Restaurant Losses: A Slippery Business

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 20, 2013

  When it comes to the causes of insured losses, one peril clearly tops the list of risks for restaurants: “Slips, trips and falls are the most common cause of loss,” says Debra J. Denker, an industry manager at Travelers.

• ‘Made in America’: Energi Embraces Onshore-Captive Opportunity

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 4, 2013

  At its outset, Energi assumed risk through a group-captive mechanism, purchasing two segregated cells in a Bermuda-based rent-a-captive, Hurst Home Insurance Co.

• Partners in Expansion: Policyholders Take a Stake

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 4, 2013

  A group of 70 policyholders—about 10 percent of the accounts whose coverages are reinsured by Energi Re—are so committed to Energi’s business plan that they collectively have taken a 36-percent investment stake in the parent company, according to Brian K. McCarthy, the company’s founder, president and CEO.

• Power Moves

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 4, 2013

  Fuelcell energy inc. designs, manufactures, installs and services onsite power generators for schools, hotels, prisons, manufacturers, waste-water treatment plants and utilities around the world.

• Kinetic Energi

  By Dave Lenckus  |  March 4, 2013

  In response to the Liability crisis of the mid-1980s, during which capacity halved and premiums doubled, a pair of insurance companies formed to create new coverage solutions—and they ultimately grew into two of the largest insurance players in the world: Ace and XL.

• Case Studies in Environmental Risk Management

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  Managing environmental risk can take many different forms as organizations wrestle with challenges that vary widely depending on the industry they are in, the rules under which they operate and the loss-prevention strategies that work best for the specific perils they face.

• When Severe Weather Leads to Contamination

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  Spikes in Environmental claims can often be attributed to adverse-weather patterns.

• The Environmental Claims Picture

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  When it comes to environmental losses, one clear trend is “we are seeing a lot more claims,” says Chris Smy, a managing director and the global Environmental practice leader at Marsh. “Historically, Environmental insurance is perceived to be a high-severity, low-frequency [risk]. But as the business has moved toward more...

• Despite Recent Adverse Reserve Developments, AIG Staying in Environmental for the Long Haul

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  One recent development that would not seem to paint a rosy loss picture for the Pollution insurance market: The $700 million addition to Environmental reserves that AIG made over seven quarters between 2011 and 2012.

• Selling Industrial Property? Environmental Insurance Is a Must

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  When concerns are raised about potential undetected pollution during the sale of an industrial-property site, the buyer’s lender typically requires its client to purchase Pollution insurance before the lender will finance the deal.

• Best Practices in Environmental Risk Management

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  While companies face many environmental regulations and challenges that are specific to their industries, there are some best practices when it comes to managing Pollution risk that cut across all business sectors, experts say.

• Little Appetite for Fracking

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  Big energy companies typically self-insure and do not purchase Pollution insurance, experts note. Some second-tier energy companies, however, do tap the Environmental insurance market, says New York-based broker Catherine O’Leary, vice president of the Environmental division at Frenkel & Co. Inc.

• Key Coverage Trends

  By Dave Lenckus  |  February 4, 2013

  Insurers typically write Pollution on nonadmitted paper, so underwriters can manuscript coverage to a policyholder’s particular needs.