April Marks Distracted Driving Awareness Month
The National Safety Council designates April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. This annual campaign is intended to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and encourage drivers to minimize potential distractions behind the wheel.
Distracted driving contributes to nearly 400,000 injuries and 3,000 fatalities each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Distracted Driving Overview
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines distracted driving as any activity that may divert a motorist’s attention from the road. There are three main types of distractions that can interfere with drivers’ attentiveness:
- Visual distractions involve motorists taking their eyes off the road. Some examples include reading emails or text messages, looking at maps or navigation systems, and observing nearby accidents or roadside attractions while driving.
- Manual distractions entail motorists removing their hands from the steering wheel. Key examples include texting, adjusting the radio, programming navigation systems, eating, drinking and performing personal grooming tasks while driving.
- Cognitive distractions stem from motorists taking their minds off driving. Primary examples include talking on the phone, conversing with vehicle passengers and daydreaming while driving.
Regardless of distraction type, distracted driving is a serious safety hazard that causes a significant number of accidents on the road. As such, it’s crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving.
Prevention Measures
During this annual event and beyond, it’s imperative for businesses to educate their employees about distracted driving hazards and related prevention measures. Specifically, businesses should share the following guidance with their drivers:
- Put phones away. Drivers should silence their phones and store them out of reach to avoid checking them behind the wheel.
- Plan every trip. Before hitting the road, drivers should program their navigation systems and familiarize themselves with their journeys.
- Utilize in-vehicle technology. Drivers should leverage any technology within company vehicles that promotes safe driving, including hands-free communication devices, voice-activated controls and telematics solutions.
- Avoid multitasking. While driving, it’s best for drivers to refrain from completing additional tasks, such as eating or adjusting the radio.
- Stay focused. By keeping distracting conversations to a minimum and looking straight ahead, drivers can fully concentrate on the road.
- Maintain compliance. Drivers should comply with all company policies and applicable laws regarding distracted driving.
Contact us today for additional risk management resources.
The content of this News Brief is of general interest and is not intended to apply to specific circumstances. It should not be regarded as legal advice and not be relied upon as such. In relation to any particular problem which they may have, readers are advised to seek specific advice. © 2025 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.
(AI) Artificial Intelligence in Cyber
Over the past year, all eyes have been on the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on cyber insurance. First, the rise of generative AI will likely increase the frequency of cyber attacks. For example, there is a major concern that phishing attacks will become far easier and more effective for determined hackers.
Generative AI has the capability to craft cunning messages without the grammatical flaws that characterize many current phishing attempts. Moreover, generative AI’s data mining capabilities will further amplify these attacks, as the gathering of company-related information will become even easier to mine. Thus, expect more phishing attempts in the future, as generative AI’s ability to produce convincing deepfakes could lead to a rise in social engineering attacks.
For instance, a realistic deepfake of a company’s CEO could be used to deceive an employee into initiating a fraudulent wire transfer. It’s important to note that many of the safeguards that have been effective in the past may no longer be sufficient to counter AI-driven cyber attacks. This underscores the need for updated and robust security measures.
Hackers didn’t want to be left out of all the AI-related hysteria. So, they created a generative AI called WormGPT.
It was a first attempt, and most reports tend to believe that it has been a failure. However, there have been advertisements in hacker forums for machine learning experts to develop better large language models for nefarious purposes, but there could be a constraint on hackers creating AI models, as high-power computing and specialized Nvidia chips are required. Even companies like Google and Facebook are struggling to obtain these chips. So, it may be a while before these malicious models take off.
Ultimately, the most significant impact of generative AI may be a surge in cyber attacks. In light of this uncertain future, it’s imperative for companies to reevaluate their current insurance limits, and this reassessment will help determine whether the existing coverage will be sufficient in the face of a potential increase in claims.
AI Coverages?
Does AI pose any unique coverage-related risks under a cyber policy beyond an increase in claims? At present, most insurers do not appear to believe that there are any specific coverage issues caused by AI. In The Betterley Report’s “Cyber/Privacy Market Survey 2024,” the top cyber insurers were asked the following questions.
- Any specific coverages related to AI?
- Any definitions that relate to AI?
- Any exclusions related to AI?
- Any risk management services provided to insureds that are related to AI exposures?
Except for one insurer, all either answered these questions “No” or provided no response. Thus, the majority of insurers are simply keeping an eye on AI rather than directly modifying coverage under their policies.
An insurer in the survey, Coalition, took a significant step: It added affirmative AI language to its cyber policy. Specifically, Coalition included an AI security event in its definition of “Security Failure.” It also incorporated fraudulent instructions using deepfakes into its definition of funds transfer fraud.
Not to be outdone, another insurer, Districts Mutual Insurance, filed an endorsement titled Amend Definition of Fraudulent Instruction (Artificial Intelligence). That endorsement states:
The definition of Fraudulent Instruction is deleted in the entirety and replaced with the following:
Fraudulent Instruction means the transfer, payment or delivery of Money or Securities by an Insured as a result of fraudulent written, electronic, telegraphic, cable, teletype or telephone instructions provided by a third party, including any fraudulent instructions resulting from the use of deep fake technology, synthetic media, or any other technology enabled by the use of artificial intelligence, that are intended to mislead an Insured through the misrepresentation of a material fact which is relied upon in good faith by such Insured.
Fraudulent Instruction will not include loss arising out of:
- any actual or alleged use of credit, debit, charge, access, convenience, customer identification or other cards;
- any transfer involving a third party who is not a natural person Insured, but had authorized access to the Insured’s authentication mechanism;
- the processing of, or the failure to process, credit, check, debit, personal identification number debit, electronic benefit transfers or mobile payments for merchant accounts;
- accounting or arithmetical errors or omissions, or the failure, malfunction, inadequacy or illegitimacy of any product or service;
- any liability to any third party, or any indirect or consequential loss of any kind;
- any legal costs or legal expenses; or
- proving or establishing the existence of Fraudulent Instruction.
Source: Districts Mutual Insurance, Amend Definition of Fraudulent Instruction (Artificial Intelligence) (DMI—BR E16416 5-24).
It will be interesting to see whether other insurers add similar language to their cyber forms.
Start Financial Planning With 3 Baby Steps
Does the idea of financial planning — putting together a system for keeping your money matters and goals on track — seem daunting?
Then divide the task into smaller pieces.
Here are some small steps you can take immediately, in the coming week, and for the month that can help set a direction for your finances. These baby steps can be your start.
Financial planning steps for today
Make a budget. The first step in any personal finance effort is getting a handle on the amount of money you have coming in and going out. Making a budget lets you do that. And, in the process of putting one together, a budget helps you think about the priorities you have for your finances.
Here’s some guidance to help you put a budget together. For most people, the process isn’t that time-consuming.
If you already have a budget, you may want to revisit it and make adjustments, especially if your income has changed or you have incurred a major expense recently.)
Establish an emergency fund. If you don’t have an emergency fund, you need to start one. And you need to make consistent contributions to it as part of the budgeting process.
Generally, financial professionals suggest that the fund be held in a liquid interest-bearing account, like a money market account, savings account, or even a short-term certificate of deposit. Such accounts are generally straightforward and relatively quick to open. The money in your emergency fund typically should cover three to six months’ worth of living expenses, although recent bouts of severe unemployment have led many money mavens to suggest putting aside even more.
Get a Social Security account and report. Whether your retirement is looming or still a long way off, it’s a good idea to keep track of what your financial resources are likely to be. Social Security will likely be one of those resources. To find out how your personal Social Security account is shaping up, you need to go to myAccount on the Social Security web site and create your account. Then you can access your so-called “blue bar” report, which is a useful tool for those who want to know more about their benefits.
Many people don’t keep track. But it’s important information since it can flag retirement income issues you may face while you still have the time and the means to address them. So, take a few minutes to go to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount and follow the prompts
Financial planning steps for this week
Check your retirement contributions. A lot of times, people take a set-it-and-forget-it approach to their retirement accounts, especially those that are part of their workplace benefits, like 401(k)s. But it is important to periodically review such accounts and make sure you are getting the maximum benefit.
First of all, make sure that you are signed up for the plan. Some companies have a waiting period, and employees, having fallen into a routine after a few months, forget to take action.
Once in the plan, keep vigilant.
For instance, if you got a promotion or raise, you may want to consider increasing your contributions accordingly. Or, if you are old enough, you may have an opportunity to take advantage of some of the catch-up provisions available for those looking to bolster savings as they approach retirement.
And, perhaps, your company has changed matching levels for its 401(k) or has added investment options since you last checked. You’ll need to reach out to your benefits department to get the latest information and updates on your company-sponsored retirement plan sent to you.
Prioritize your debt. As part of the budgeting process, you no doubt got an idea of your debt load. The next, deeper step is to sort out those obligations. Generally, you want to pay off higher interest debt — like a credit card — first, while keeping current on less impactful debt.
Find a financial professional. For many people, expert financial advice can end up saving them lots of time and money in the long run. But it’s a relationship that has to connect on a number of levels.
You may want to look at professionals or services near you and ask friends, colleagues, or family for recommendations. If there is a financial services firm you particularly like, you can reach out to that firm directly.
Financial planning steps for this month
Portfolio review. It’s important to go over your investments periodically, especially in the face of changing circumstances and environments. You should dedicate a little time to it.
First of all, you need to collect information and examine all your investments, be they retirement accounts, like 401(k)s or IRAs, or brokerage accounts holding stocks, mutual funds, bonds, or exchange-traded funds. Then, you should look at the performance and nature of those investments and assess whether or not they still fit your goals and risk profile.
Remember, your risk profile is likely to change over time. Younger investors can tend to take on more risk, since they have time to recover from downturns, while older investors likely want to have less risk in their holdings, since retirement is nearer.
With that in mind, you can look at the entirety of your portfolio and determine if you have the proper asset allocation in place. That is, whether you have the right mix of higher risk and lower risk investments.
Taxes. Most people only think about taxes at year-end or around the tax-filing deadline. But it can pay to assess where you stand more frequently.
Specifically, taxpayers should check their withholding and make sure they’re on track to pay what they owe and nothing more. If you withhold too much, you’ll get a refund, but you will have missed a chance invest that money for compounded growth or to pay off debt. On the other hand, if you withhold too little, you could be surprised by a tax bill (or worse, an underpayment penalty) when you file your income taxes.
Meet your financial professional. Assuming you took the step above, your meeting with your financial professional should come within the month. You need to prepare for it, especially if it is your first meeting.
You need to approach it with an idea of the goals you want to accomplish and the topics you wish to discuss. Some questions to consider include:
- Is your retirement plan on track?
- Do you need to adjust your asset allocation?
- Do you need help setting up an estate plan?
- Is the appropriate amount of insurance protection in place for your family should something happen to you?
Conclusion
Obviously, there are more personal finance planning steps you can take, throughout the year or even a lifetime, to help keep your financial situation grounded. But the steps here — for a day, a week, or a month — can give you a start.
Provided by Matthew Clayson, courtesy of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual). CA Insurance License # 0I01304
©2024 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA 01111-0001 MM202708-310101