28 Mar, 2024
2 mins read

Crucial Advice and Support for Employers in Birmingham

In the intricate landscape of employment law, employers in Birmingham face a myriad of challenges in ensuring compliance and fostering a harmonious work environment. This blog post delves into the crucial role of specialist solicitors in employment law, the significance of tailored employment law advice for employers, and the services available in Birmingham, particularly in addressing issues such as unfair dismissal.

Your Legal Allies:

Employment law is a multifaceted field that demands a nuanced understanding of regulations, compliance, and the intricacies of employer-employee relationships. Specialist solicitors in employment law are your legal allies, possessing the expertise to guide employers through the complexities of this dynamic field.

These legal professionals specialize in providing strategic advice to employers, ensuring that their practices align with legal standards. From crafting airtight employment contracts to navigating complex disciplinary matters, specialist solicitors play a pivotal role in minimizing legal risks and fostering a compliant work environment.

Employment Law Advice for Employers: 

Employers in Birmingham benefit immensely from tailored “employment law advice for employers.” This specialized advice is designed to address the unique challenges faced by businesses operating in a dynamic and diverse city. Whether you’re a small startup or an established enterprise, employment law advice ensures that your practices align with the latest legal standards.

Employment law advice for employers covers a spectrum of areas, including but not limited to:

  • Contractual Matters: Drafting, reviewing, and updating employment contracts to ensure legal compliance and protection for both parties.
  • Disciplinary Procedures: Guiding employers through fair and legally sound disciplinary processes to address workplace issues effectively.
  • Policy Development: Assisting in the creation and implementation of workplace policies that align with statutory regulations and foster a positive work culture.
  • Dispute Resolution: Providing strategies for resolving workplace disputes amicably and within the bounds of the law.
  • Compliance Checks: Conducting thorough
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1 min read

Global insurance broker’s outlook stable for 2024 on strong organic growth: Moody’s

Moody’s predicts a 2024 stable outlook for the insurance brokerage sector, underpinned by constructive global economic growth, a favorable commercial property & casualty (P&C) rate environment, and stable EBITDA margins.

Moody'sAccording to Moody’s report, organic growth is to remain in the mid-single digits or higher as economic growth stabilizes and P&C rate increases moderately.

Analysts expect GDP growth for the G-20 economies to stabilize at a modestly lower level in 2024 compared to 2022 and 2023 as the global economy transitions to a post-pandemic equilibrium.

The forecast incorporates a gradual decline in US GDP growth from 2.5% in 2023 to 2.1% in 2024 and 1.8% in 2025, as consumer spending and wage growth slow.

Experts also expect US unemployment will rise to an average of 3.9% in 2024 from 3.6% in 2023, and that the US Federal Reserve will lower the federal funds rate by a cumulative 100 basis points during 2024 to 4.25%-4.50%.

Advertise here

EU GDP is forecast to increase gradually, from 0.5% in 2023 to 0.8% in 2024 and 1.6% in 2025, reflecting real wage growth, diminishing inflation, falling interest rates and improving credit conditions.

According to Moody’s, the European Central Bank will likely also start lowering rates in 2024, and highlighted geopolitical risks and inflation linger as potential threats to this year’s outlook.

Favorable P&C pricing in most lines of business, further growth in insurable exposures, strong client retention and new business generation will also support organic revenue growth in the mid-single digits or higher in 2024, according to the report.

2024 will also see brokers’ EBITDA margins hold steady through strong organic revenue growth and good expense controls.

“Brokers will maintain solid EBITDA margins through 2024 and beyond through strong organic revenue growth and good expense controls. “Interest coverage for investment-grade and speculative-grade brokers decreased slightly over

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1 min read

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Promotes Daniela Peeters to Lead Customer & Broker Engagement in Germany

BOSTON & COLOGNE, Germany, March 26, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) today announced that it has named Daniela Peeters as Head of Customer & Broker Engagement in Germany. She was previously Customer & Broker Engagement Manager for Northern Germany.

“Daniela lives our BHSI values, bringing them to her every interaction with our customers and brokers,” said Andreas Krause, Head of DACH, BHSI. “I am excited to welcome her to our German leadership team, and to work with her to continue to expand and strengthen our customer and broker relationships and build our forever business.”

Daniela joined BHSI in 2023. Her more than 25 years of insurance industry experience includes senior level roles at both insurers and brokerage firms. She continues to be based in Cologne and can be reached at [email protected].

In Europe, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) trades under Berkshire Hathaway European Insurance DAC (BHEI) and Berkshire Hathaway International Insurance Limited (BHIIL). BHEI is an Irish domiciled Designated Activity Company, Registration Number 636883 and Registered Office at 2nd Floor, 7 Grand Canal Street Lower, Dublin D02 KW81. Berkshire Hathaway International Insurance Limited (BHIIL) is an incorporated England and Wales limited liability company, Registration Number 3230337 and Registered Office at 8 Fenchurch Place, 4th Floor, London EC3M 4AJ, United Kingdom. BHEI and BHIIL are affiliates of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSIC), a Nebraska USA domiciled corporation, which provides commercial property, casualty, healthcare professional liability, executive and professional lines, transactional liability, surety, marine, travel, programs, accident and health, medical stop loss, homeowners, and multinational insurance. BHSIC, BHIIL and BHEI are subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway’s National Indemnity group of insurance companies, which hold financial strength ratings of A++ from AM Best and AA+ from Standard & Poor’s Based in Boston, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has offices in

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2 mins read

Patriot Defender legal help touts free speech, gets labeled ‘alarmist’

A Florida-based legal service created last year to help people claiming they were being “canceled” may need its own assistance as it says it was shunned by a social-media giant and a nationally recognized distributor of corporate press releases.

The for-profit business, Patriot Defender, was launched in the fall by conservative political commentator James “Buck” Sexton, Florida security expert and businessman Ross Thompson and two other partners.

Their idea, Thompson said, was to create a “free speech insurance fund” where people pay a membership fee to then access lawyers and money if their livelihood or reputation is ever “threatened” because of a statement they have uttered, posted or written.

“The first line of defense should always be our First Amendment. But who comes to the rescue when you stand up and say, ‘Hey, I believe this’ or ‘I want to do this’?” Thompson said. “We will step in and pay for your legal defense. We step in and pay legal fees, arrange the lawyers.”

The monthly fee is $10 a month, and Thompson said the network already counts more than 2,500 attorneys across the United States. The company’s financial exposure per case is capped at a maximum of $250,000. Since launching last fall, Thompson said the service is logging an average of 1,500 new clients a month.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Patriot Defender says it was called ‘alarmist’ and ‘fear-mongering’

But Thompson said the Patriot Defender has itself been stiff-armed.

When the company submitted a bid to have its own page on Facebook, Thompson said the social-media platform rejected it. Thompson also said PR Newswire, based in Chicago, “canceled” their request to circulate the company’s news release.

Thompson shared an email he

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2 mins read

$1M for new services given to Virginia Poverty Law Center

The Virginia Poverty Law Center is expanding online tools, self-help materials and legal resources with a $1 million grant from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

The effort will launch in May with the center’s new Eviction Defense Center, an online resource for tenants going to court to fight an eviction.

Doing that without a lawyer often means losing, says the new program’s director, Phil Storey.

“But many people can get better results if they come ready to present information in a way that makes it easy for the judge to understand,” he said.

The new online eviction resource will provide simple, usable information and innovative tools tenants can take to court to fight eviction, he said.

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For the past four decades, the poverty law center has focused on giving Virginians legal help with housing issues, consumer rights, health care and public benefits.

Its staff members are regularly advocates for low- and moderate-income Virginians before the General Assembly on issues ranging from utility regulation to consumer finance law, and its lawyers have helped win settlements that have returned millions of dollars to Virginians victimized by payday and other predatory lenders charging triple-digit percentage interest rates.

“I’ve been a legal aid lawyer for 37 years. “We started with the promise of a lawyer for everyone that needs one, but lack of resources has never made that possible,” said Jay Speer, the poverty law center’s executive director.







20170422_MET_RATES_JM02

Jay Speer, from left, and Dana Wiggins of the Virginia Poverty Law Center are shown in 2017 with former Virginia Attorneys General Ken Cuccinelli and Andrew P. Miller.


JOE MAHONEY, TIMES-DISPATCH


“We added legal helplines to reach more people, and now we’re taking our mission to the next level to reach more people who need our help,” he said.

“The promise of equal protection

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2 mins read

Vermont Legal Aid claims state ‘harmed’ vulnerable people by kicking them out of hotels | Local News

BURLINGTON — A Chittenden County judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the state from kicking three homeless people out of hotels.

On March 15, Vermont Legal Aid filed a suit on behalf of Groundworks Collaborative in Brattleboro and other service providers after the Agency of Human Services announced it was ending vouchers for some people housed in hotels under the state’s emergency housing initiative that fell out of the COVID -19 pandemic.

The service agencies claim they have had to divert resources away from their core activities to try to help as many people as possible through this process.

In the filing, the VLA sought a temporary restraining order to keep people in their rooms, but Judge Helen Toor denied the motion, stating courts have held that “a forced significant change in an organization’s programs could constitute irreparable harm.”

“However, the harm alleged here is not so severe,” wrote Toor in his decision. “A temporary diversion of resources, as opposed to a forced change in an organization’s core mission, is not sufficient to establish irreparable harm.”

The issue arose last Friday after the state announced it was opening four temporary night shelters to house anyone displaced by loss of a voucher. In Brattleboro, a last minute location was found at the old Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee administrative offices on Old Ferry Road after a location in Bennington was deemed too hazardous because it was contaminated with lead and PCBs.

After Toor denied the request for an injunction, VLA filed for another on Tuesday, adding three individuals as plaintiffs in the suit.

“Two of these individual plaintiffs are a couple who are eligible because one is 66 years old and the other has several disabilities, but they were not told about the expanded eligibility and were incorrectly told on

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1 min read

As insurance costs rise, real estate agents have more buyer concerns to assuage

And Florida, which has frequently been in the news for rising premium costs, isn’t the only place where this is happening. In Texas, Danny Thompson, the vice president and co-owner of Goosehead Insurance Sexton-Thompson Agencysaid he has seen buyers in the Lone Star State back out of deals once they found out how much it would cost to insure the property they wanted.

“The rate increases are dramatic,” said Thompson, who previously worked as a Keller Williams agent for 17 years. “I’ve had clients who just don’t want to deal with the premium costs on certain properties and say they will just find something else.”

An analysis by S&P Global found that homeowners insurance rates increased by an average of 11.3% nationwide in 2023, with Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. and Liberty Mutual Holding Co. Inc. recording the highest calculated weighted average rate increase at 19.4% and 17.2%, respectively.

On a state-by-state basis, Thompson’s home state of Texas recorded the highest rate increase in 2023 at 23.3%, followed by Arizona at 21.8% and Utah at 20.3%.

Over the past five years, insurance premiums have risen by an average of nearly 34%, according to the S&P Global data, with Progressive recording the highest cumulative rate change since 2018 at 55.3%. Texas again took the dubious top honors with the highest cumulative rate change at 59.9%, followed by Colorado (57.9%) and Arizona (52.9%).

These rate hikes come as the Insurance Information Institute estimates that 2023 was the worst year for underwriting losses by home insurers since 2011. These losses are due to multiple factors, including inflation-fueled rebuilding costs, which the institute says rose 55% between 2019 and 2022.

There has also been an uptick in the strength and scale of natural disasters. According to data from the National Oceanic

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1 min read

Best Insurance Brokers in Australia | Elite Brokers

Cream of the crop

The 2024 Elite Brokers recognized by Insurance Business represent the best insurance brokers in Australia. These members of the brokering elite have demonstrated an exceptional ability to navigate persistent market challenges while prioritizing client service.

This year’s best insurance brokers are reaping the results of well-honed strategies emphasizing their client-first approach. They are delivering exceptional value and excelling in areas deemed crucial to top performance by insurance experts IB consulted for this report, such as:

  • cultivation of strong, enduring relationships

  • communication focused on simplifying complex information

  • in-depth understanding of market dynamics and the impact of social issues

  • a proactive risk improvement mindset

  • establishment as a trusted adviser and first port of call for clients

“Elite Brokers need to understand the market from every angle, the risk requirements of their customers and the markets that can best support these requirements, while also understanding the mechanics of pricing risk and the challenges insurers can face,” says Lorelle Hillman, general manager of partnerships at QBE Australia Pacific.

“Not only that, but they also need to be someone who inspires all and represents our industry in a positive and purpose-led manner,” he added.

Fellow expert Colin Fagen, a 2023 IB Global 100 winner and Blue Zebra Insurance co-founder and managing director, says, “The best insurance brokers need to understand traditional and emerging risks, including cyber and catastrophe exposures, and advise clients on how to mitigate them.”

Spencer Hon – Eternity Insurance and Financial Services

Elite Broker ranking: 3

Client-centric approach drives growth

Founding the thriving business in 2012, and as its principal, Hon has built a team respected for their expertise

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2 mins read

Law Society’s fury at legal aid means test reform delayed

The Law Society is fuming after the Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that certain legal aid means test reforms will be delayed until 2026.

The MoJ opened its announcement by stating that innocent people who have suffered miscarriages of justice, personal harm or injury are among those who will benefit from means test changes coming into effect this year.

However, the MoJ went on to say that while new non-means tested areas of legal aid were implemented last year under the first phase of a means test review, and detailed work had been done to deliver further reforms, ‘the timeline for implementation will take longer than initially envisaged due to wider competing priorities. The new schemes are now not expected to be fully operational until 2026’. No more details were forthcoming by press time.

The Law Society responded by pointing out that the means test has not been updated for inflation since 2009. President Nick Emmerson said: ‘The government is displaying a pattern of behavior of refusing to commit resources to the justice system resulting in unmet legal need. They have already acknowledged there are issues with the current means test, leaving ordinary people without access to justice.

Nick Emmerson

‘Frequently blamed for the continued delays is the Legal Aid Agency’s antiquated IT systems – which are causing implementation problems. This is itself evidence of the long-term neglect of our justice system.’

The latest delay came after it emerged that the government had pushed back its civil legal aid review timetable.

Emmerson said: ‘Civil legal aid providers are questioning their ability to stay in the profession. The system is in a precarious state and ultimately the ones who will suffer are those trying to seek justice.

‘This means that poverty-hit families are being denied vital help to fight eviction, tackle severe housing

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1 min read

Chicago Homeowners Choosing Higher Insurance Deductibles

An increasing number of Chicago homeowners are dealing with soaring insurance costs by opting for policies with higher deductibles, according to Guaranteed Rate Insurance.

Homeowners are opting for lower monthly payments but increase the risk of high out-of-pocket costs when making insurance claims, Crain’s reported.

Chicago-based Guaranteed Rate Insurance analyzed 50,000 homeowners insurance policies. From 2019 to 2023, the average annual cost spiked by $615 to $1,723, with a 49 percent increase in policyholders opting for deductibles ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. That move allows for discounted premiums, potentially saving homeowners about $50 monthly.

Holding onto savings may be prudent for future catastrophic losses, but few policyholders are likely to follow that approach, said Jeff Wingate, executive vice president of Guaranteed Rate Insurance. Despite the majority maintaining deductibles between $1,000 and $2,500, their numbers dwindled by 17 percent over the four-year study period.

Escalating premiums poses a pressing concern for homeowners, especially amid high interest rates and inflated home prices. In 2019, the average homeowners insurance premium stood at $1,108, surging by 55 percent to $1,723 in 2023, with a 19 percent increase occurring in that single year alone, the outlet reported.

Illinois experienced a 25.8 percent premium hike last year, which was among the highest in the nation. Factors contributing to these steep increases extend beyond natural disasters to regulatory leniency and aging infrastructure.

While Illinois doesn’t get hurricanes and isn’t known for earthquakes, insurance rates have skyrocketed in part because Illinois is one of the most lenient states on insurance regulations, the outlet said. It doesn’t require insurance companies to get permission from the state to raise rates.

Besides that, the state does get its share of natural disasters, such as Feb. 27 when 11 tornadoes touched down near Chicago.

“Seventy percent of homeowners’ losses this year

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Local notes: Free archaeological programs; theme song contest coming; free legal aid | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Free Legal Aid

There will be a walk-in clinic for veterans who need help with a civil legal need from 1 to 3 pm Tuesdays at the Veterans Health Care Systems of the Ozarks Homeless Program Office, 228 E. Sunbridge Drive in Fayetteville or 8:30 am to 12:30 pm Thursdays at the Veterans Health Care Systems of the Ozarks Mental Health Clinic, Building 44, 1100 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville.

Civil legal services include:

Domestic services including divorce, custody and visitation, child support, modifications, paternity, adoption, name change, minor/adult guardianship, orders of protection, domestic violence and more

Housing services including landlord/tenant, evictions, housing discrimination, foreclosure, disaster relief and simple deeds

Benefits include medicaid, unemployment, social security, employment discrimination, disability rights/benefits, workers compensation and school loans

Other services include wills and estates, power of attorney, chapter 7 bankruptcy, record sealing/expungement, income tax and more.

Information: (800) 952-9243 or arlegalaid.org.

Hobbs State Park

Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area will host two free archaeological programs for March Archaeological Month.

The first program will be held at 2 pm March 10 at the park’s visitor center. Michelle Rathberger, educational outreach coordinator, Arkansas Archeological Survey in Fayetteville, will present “Archaeology of Native Foods.” The program will discuss what foods are native to Arkansas, how people in the past prepared those foods, how did they find them and how archaeologists found and learned about these foods and how they were made.

Program participants will play a foraging simulation to try out finding food in nature. (Fun for adults too)

The second program will be at 2 pm March 24 at the park’s visitor center. Dr. Carl Drexler, station archaeologist and research associate professor at the Arkansas Archaeological Survey in Magnolia, will present “History in the Ozarks’ Dirt: Archeology at Van Winkle’s Mill.” Drexler’s presentation will summarize the

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