PUBLISHER’ S NOTE
WEATHER & PL TRENDS TO KNOW written by Dave Hulcher
The early Spring storms season has been relentless in Kansas. Our members have been steadfast in their support of customers throughout the claims process. Let’ s hope we get a break from these severe storms.
KAIA recently released our annual Kansas Storm Events Report which showed total storms in 2025 were about 20 % below the 25-year average. However, like we have experienced over the past several months, severe storm activity is the storyline with last year’ s activity about 30 % above historical averages driven largely by severe high wind events.
These severe weather events have put continued pressure on the homeowner’ s insurance marketplace. Based on data from the 2026 Kansas Annual P & C Marketplace Summary homeowners premiums increased 6.9 % last year, less than the 9.3 % five-year average. Premiums increased even faster on average across the US at 9 % and 12 % for the same timeframes. Combined ratios in Kansas were at five-year highs coming in at 98 %.
This edition of the KIA & B focuses on the topic of personal lines where resilience and risk mitigation are becoming increasingly important. Please reach out if you could benefit from some personal or commercial lines risk assessment checklists which are mentioned in one of the articles. I also encourage you to check out the article on winning local media coverage and the PR Toolkit developed by Trusted Choice. It is great resource for members.
Lastly, we are working with KDOI as they get closer to rolling out the real time insurance verification system in Kansas. As we learn more about the implementation, we will keep you updated.
Stay humble, kind, and thankful,
KIA & B
MAY / JUNE 2026 • VOLUME 31 No. 3
OFFICERS OF KAIA President: David Vogel | dvogel @ provalueins. com President-Elect: Brock Elliott | brock @ elliottinsurancegroup. com VP / Treasurer: Bryce Hundley | bryce @ hundleyinsurance. com Secretary / Assistant Treasurer: Scott Strickland | scotts @ cacu. com National Director: Jo Erin Stuteville | joerin @ elliottinsurancegroup. com Immediate Past President: Bryan Schmitz | bryanschmitz @ sbsins. com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Zone I Director: Cristi Werth | cwerth @ ruraltel. net Zone II Director: Chris Bohrer | cbohrer @ wic. insurance Director-at-Large: Rob Fisher | rfisher @ fumainsurance. com Director-at-Large: William Rowlen | bill @ fhins. com Director-at-Large: Russell Winn | russell @ winninsurance. com Director-at-Large Christine Teagarden | christine @ trulyins. com Young Agents Chair: Jordan Crow | jordan. crow @ ipfs. com
KAIA STAFF & CONSULTANTS Chief Executive Officer: Dave Hulcher COO / General Counsel: Beth Smoller Vice President of Finance: Shannon Bower E & O Program Administrator: Barb Wise AVP of Prof. Dev. & Marketing: Karlyn Raleigh Director of Marketing: Valerie Gardner Director of Business Development: Patrick McCoy Office Coordinator: Barb Cobuluis Acct. Managers: Valerie Dunnam & Carolyn Rouse KAIA Lobbyist: Dan Murray
2 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER