Mica Cooper, CEO & President of Aisus/InsureCrypt opens up about so-called ‘disruption’ in the insurance industry. According to Mr. Cooper, we’re not seeing it… Mr. Cooper notes how much people are talking about innovation, disruption, evolution and revolution in the insurance industry. He sees innovation artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. He points out that some innovation is “not legal”, …

New York Insurance Association (NYIA) Vice President Cassandra Anderson provides insights into the challenges and opportunities facing New York insurers, including consumer needs, technology, and emerging regulatory and legislative issues. Ms. Anderson believes among the biggest issues facing companies are ever-changing and diverse consumer needs, particularly in a highly regulated environment where change can be slow. Insurtech, including innovations in …

National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) President and CEO Chuck Chamness shared his thoughts on recent legislative successes and challenges during the recent NAMIC’s Annual Convention in National Harbor, MD. Mr. Chamness highlighted the Disaster Recovery and Reform Act (DRRA), signed into law in 2018, as a significant legislative success benefitting insurance companies and the members they serve. DRRA, …

Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais discusses the challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry. While products like Long Term Care pose issues for the market, it is technology having the biggest impact on the industry.  He admits the “industry needs to change” fast enough to keep up. Both regulators and regulated need to adopt the new technologies available to benefits consumers …

BriteCore CEO Phil Reynolds discusses the insurance industry’s movement towards microservices and shares insights on how companies that embrace change and ‘engage the complication’ gain an enormous competitive advantage. Mr. Reynolds sees many insurers “stuck in legacy systems.” He believes microservices can  provide a path forward and alternative to the “Big Bang Conversion.” He also sees a lot of movement …

In a world moving quickly, property casualty insurers need to keep their products up-to-date in a timely way, while taking advantage of new technologies used to deliver them. According to Mark Brannon, a Principal at Merlinos & Associates, keeping up with the competition and other changes in the marketplace is a challenge. Many carriers are partnering with companies with advanced …

The property-casualty insurance industry gives about $1 billion each year to charitable causes. That according to a McKinsey Study conducted for the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF). IICF CEO Bill Ross says the industry supports a variety of charities across the US, with a focus on education as well as health and human services. He says it important for companies …

David Sampson, president and CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), discusses the challenges he faces in dealing with a dysfunctional government, the priorities for the year ahead, and the strength gained by the recent merger of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) with the American Insurance Association (AIA). During the 2019 Federal Government shutdown, Mr. …

The year was 2000, and the annual reinsurance industry’s St. Patrick’s Day party, held at Jim Brady’s pub in Manhattan, becomes the first St. Baldrick’s event. The goal of shaving 17 heads and raising $17,000 turns into 19 bald heads and $104,000 donated to fund the research of the Children’s Oncology Group. NAMIC CEO Chuck Chamness explains the history of the …

During the IBM Blockchain Summit for Insurance in New York, AAIS CEO Ed Kelly, and Craig Bedell, IBM Global Insurance Industry Executive, as well as Bertrand Portier, a Distinguished Engineer in IBM’s Financial Services Sector all commented on the promise that blockchain holds for the insurance industry. Mr. Kelly believes it’s the inherent features of blockchain itself that make it …

The uptick in GDP has had a positive impact on the insurance industry, according to Laura Favinger, Chief Administrative Officer for the Insurance Information Institute (III). In the first half of 2018, insurance carriers nearly doubled their net income over the same period in 2017. The III sees exposures broadening a bit due to business development, consumer consumption and construction, …

Andrea Keenen, Senior Managing Director and Head of Industry Relations at A.M. Best Company, shares her thoughts on the “protection gap”, technology, and the impact of economic growth on insurance. The “protection gap” exists around the world, including the United States. Many people are simply not buying the insurance they need. She notes that governments around the work and the …

BriteCore CEO and Founder Phil Reynolds provides insights into the risks, challenges and opportunities affecting the changing insurance market due in large part to data. He says many insurers simply so not understand what their data means. The data collected on policies, claims, losses and consumer behaviors is a gold mine, and most don’t even know it. He notes that …

Craig Bedell, Global Insurance Industry Executive at IBM, sees many challenges facing the insurance industry, including the buying habits of personal lines or commercial lines customers. New data and technologies are mitigating, but sometimes increasing risks faced by consumers. Security and privacy surrounding risk information is also important for insurers. Even more basic, according to Mr. Bedell, is the changing …

Insurers are doing a balancing act between operational excellence and the changing insurtech landscape. Karen Furtado, a partner at Strategy Meets Action sees insurers struggling with how to adapt, how to adopt, and how to change their culture to deal with the ‘new reality’ while maintaining a high degree of service. Ms. Furtado sees endless opportunity in today’s economy. Insurers …

Autonomous vehicles will have a huge impact on the personal insurance industry. Automation, robotics and the potential for on-shoring of manufacturing could have a major impact in the commercial insurance space. That, according to Kevin Surace, renowned American technology innovator, speaker, creator of a AI Based Software QA platform, and Inc. Magazine’s 2009 entrepreneur of the Year. He adds that …

Regulation and technology are the biggest challenges facing insurers today. That, according to Fred Karlinsky, Co-Chair of the Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group at Greenberg Traurig. On the regulatory front, Mr. Karlinsky notes a large amount of regulation affecting carriers at the federal and State level, as well as internationally at the IIAS (International Association of Insurance Supervisors). He …

Attracting talent remains biggest challenge for insurers. According to Matt Masher, EVP and COO at A.M. Best, the need for talent is greatest in the information technology (IT) area. The industry has done a lot to attract underwriting and claims professionals. But attracting the industry struggles in attracting IT talent needed to deal with insurtech issues, efficiencies in distribution and …

Fragmentation is a major issue within the insurance industry today, according to Phil Reynolds, CEO & Co-Founder of BriteCore. Traditionally carriers sold products through agents, and were backed by reinsurers. Now, insurtechs are challenging traditional distribution and underwriting models, while reinsurers are going directly to the market through MGAs (Managing General Agents). There is a lot of flux. As a …

According to James Dodge, the “umbrella disruptors” to the insurance industry are the Internet of Things (IoT) along with the data it provides and the cyber risk that is inherent. Mr. Dodge is Practice Leader, Advanced Analytics & Data Solutions at Milliman. He sees profound changes in computing technologies and the “as a service cloud business model” mitigating the advantages …