Distinguished Blog - Market Insights

Market insights and industry news.

From the Runway to the Closet: Insurance for Luxury Handbags, Couture Clothing

The luxury handbag and couture clothing markets have become a booming industry for collectors and investors. The global market for designer handbags was valued at $72 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $100 billion in 2027, according to Business of Fashion. The global couture clothing market was estimated at more than $11 billion…

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Distinguished In The News

It’s been a busy month for Distinguished in the media. Earlier this month, our own Kellam Radford spoke with Rough Notes about the state of the construction market and what it means for insurance brokers and agents. He also offered some advice for the latter:  

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The Not-So-Hidden Value of Excellent Customer Service

Pretty striking numbers, aren’t they? The reality of customer service is this: There’s a danger of falling into a trap where customer service representatives view each interaction as only a task that needs to be completed. At Distinguished, we believe in treating each customer interaction as a chance to strengthen our relationship. 

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Hotel Franchise Requirements 101

Hotel franchisees spend countless hours considering the perfect location for their new business, but often neglect to take that same consideration when insurance enters the picture. But franchise agreements can be complicated, often requiring certain coverage enhancements beyond simple limit requirements. That’s where a limited-service hotel umbrella policy comes in handy.

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Are Your Clients Covered for a Hotel Security Breach?

Hyatt reported earlier this year that the hotel chain suffered a massive data breach that affected about 250 of their hotels in 50 countries over the course of almost four months. Ouch. This Reuters article shows that this type of incident is becoming all too common in the hospitality industry, with Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.,…

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Top 4 Market Insights from A Sales Guru

Our sales team serves as a valuable resource to the rest of our company, providing strategic insights from the field and news on industry trends. This is certainly the case with Brian McAlpine, an Associate Vice President, Regional Sales Manager, now in his 11th year with Distinguished. To stay on top of—and ahead of—changing market…

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Introducing Distinguished Cellars

We’re excited to launch a new event series this year called Distinguished Cellars. What might a national insurance program manager have to do with a wine cellar? Well, nothing. Other than the fact that we appreciate and enjoy great food, wine, and reverie. It all started when Distinguished Group CEO Jeremy Hitzig, a wine enthusiast,…

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How to Reduce Your Environmental Footprint 2016

News in the sustainability world: New York City’s most famed hotels are pledging to get greener. By doing so, these hotel owners have agreed to cut greenhouse gases from their buildings by 30 percent or more in the next decade. As New York mayor Bill de Blasio said, if Manhattan’s most iconic hotels can significantly…

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2016: The Year of Cybersecurity?

As we think about trends for 2016—particularly those that technology will bring—there’s lots to be excited about: artificial intelligence and robotics replacing repetitive tasks, drones making deliveries, augmented-reality headsets enhancing our ability to visualize, along with several other trends mentioned in this recent BBC article. But, as technology guides us deeper into our mobile phones and…

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A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Our New Legal Hotline for Community Associations

We recently began a pilot to offer Florida-based Community Associations the legal services of one of the US News’ “Best Law Firms in 2015,” Cole, Scott, Kissane (CSK). Created in partnership with our friends at Great American, these services are available via a new hotline. We recently chatted with Nelson Kefauver, SVP at Great American,…

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What We’re Reading

A collection of some of the interesting articles, interviews, and stories we’ve been reading lately. Hotel sustainability: What is and isn’t working November 9, 2015 “Research into whether or not guests are willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly hospitality remains inconclusive. What is clear, according to Ricaurte, is that hotels are getting the messaging of…

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