Torch Briefings

Strategic insurance advisory for federal contractors, DoD primes, and FAR/DFARS-regulated firms.

PEO Co-Employment, Certificates, and Coverage Gaps for Government Contractors in 2026

By Ryan MeffordJuly 13, 2026

A PEO is built for a general small business, not a federal contractor. Why DBA, FAR certificates, SCA fringe obligations, cost transparency, and co-employment risk expose govcons, and how an independent broker closes the gaps.

Defense Base Act Insurance Requirements for Overseas Contract Performance in 2026

By Ryan MeffordJuly 20, 2026

The Defense Base Act reaches every prime, every subcontractor, and every employee on an overseas U.S. government contract. FAR 52.228-3 flow-down, War Hazards Compensation Act interplay, waiver limits, and the FY2025-26 benefit rates.

CMMC Flow-Down Is Now a Prime Contractor Liability Problem

By Ryan MeffordMay 1, 2026

The CMMC enforcement conversation has spent the last three years inside the subcontractor community. Small and mid-sized defense suppliers, trying to...

The Software Bill of Materials Mandate Is Here — Just Not the One Everyone Expected

By Ryan MeffordApril 20, 2026

The Software Bill of Materials story that most federal contractors prepared for in 2025 is not the story that landed in 2026. The Office of Management and...

The DCAA Timekeeping Audit That Started Last Quarter

By Ryan MeffordApril 6, 2026

The DCAA labor floor check is the most discreet audit in federal contracting. The auditor walks the office at an undisclosed time, asks four or five...

The 45% Rejection Rate No One Talks About

By Ryan MeffordMarch 1, 2026

Here is a number the insurance industry doesn't advertise: 45-55% of all certificate of insurance submissions to federal contracting officers are rejected...

What Price-Anderson Doesn't Cover

By Ryan MeffordMarch 1, 2026

If you're a contractor at a DOE facility, you've probably heard the phrase "Price-Anderson covers that" more times than you can count. It's become a kind...

CMMC Compliance Is Not Cyber Insurance

By Ryan MeffordMarch 1, 2026

There is a dangerous conflation happening in the government contracting world right now: the belief that achieving CMMC certification eliminates the need...

The Pollution Exclusion That Killed a Contractor

By Ryan MeffordMarch 1, 2026

Every standard Commercial General Liability policy in the United States contains an absolute pollution exclusion. Every single one. It's been standard...

When Insurance Becomes a Discipline

By Ryan MeffordMarch 1, 2026

A captive insurance company puts the insured in the driver's seat. That's the standard elevator pitch, and it's true as far as it goes. But it doesn't go...

The Three Layers of Nuclear Liability No One Explains

By Ryan MeffordMarch 1, 2026

Every DOE contractor has heard the number: $16.6 billion. That's the current per-incident liability cap under the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries...

FAR 52.228: The Insurance Clauses Your Broker Should Know by Heart

By Ryan MeffordMarch 1, 2026

The Federal Acquisition Regulation is not light reading. It's 53 parts, thousands of clauses, and an endless maze of cross-references. But buried in Part...

Good Enough

By Ryan MeffordFebruary 1, 2026

The insurance industry has become a race to the bottom. Cheaper quotes. Faster binding. Less thinking. The brokers who win are the ones who process the...