The “Protection Gap”, Technology…and the risk of “Complacency” 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 … Read More
Insurers sitting on “Gold Mine” of data…and don’t know it. 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 … Read More
Mutuals thrive despite $17B in CAT losses – A.M. Best. Kimberly Muccia, a Financial Analyst at A.M. Best Company, comments on the impact of catastrophic losses on the financial strength of insurers. Among the catastrophes affecting the auto and homeowner lines of business in 2018 were hurricanes and wildfires, resulting in about $17 billion for the Mutual Insurance segment alone. Despite the losses, Mutuals posted approximately a 6 percent increase … Read More
To succeed, insurers need to be ‘comfortable with uncomfortable’ – IBM exec 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 … Read More
“The day has come”…Innovation is critical mandate for insurers. 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 … Read More
Looking ahead…Automation, Robotics and AI could help fill “Talent Gap” 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 … Read More
“Get involved” to understand regulators, technology and millennials. 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 … Read More
Grow by Solving Society’s Problems…A.M. Best exec. 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 … Read More
Fragmentation of business model forcing insurers to be flexible…pivot quickly. 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 … Read More
Customer centricity, together with technologies and re-engineering creates “Magic.” 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 … Read More
“Talent and Data” present biggest challenges & opportunities to insurers – Crawford COO Rohit Verma, Global COO of Crawford & Company, believes data will continue to be a big asset to insurers, and the companies that can mine data effectively will see the biggest benefit. While advanced technology is necessary to leverage data, companies need to develop the mindset to incorporate insights in day-to-day work. Mr. Verma also sees “lack of talent” as … Read More
Disruption in insurance industry is “all about data”…and blockchain – The Institutes CEO. According to The Institutes President & CEO Pete Miller, disruption in the insurance industry “is all about data” and related technologies. Insurance is the “original big data industry”, and Mr. Miller sees a confluence of new technologies coming that will enable better decision making around data. Mr. Miller sees adoption as a challenge to the insurance industry. Those that do … Read More
Insurers need nimble infrastructure to keep up with pace of change. Roosevelt Mosley is a Principal and Consulting Actuary at Pinnacle Actuarial Resources. Data and technology represent challenges to the insurance industry, with issues like Big Data, autonomous vehicles, and usage based insurance (UBI) being likely disruptors. Still, Mr. Mosley sees “the speed and pace of change… and the ability of insurers to be able to keep up” as possibly the … Read More
NAMIC seeks to mitigate populist political risk to insurers – NAMIC CEO. NAMIC President & CEO Chuck Chamness comments on the major disruptors affecting the insurance industry, during the 2018 Joint Industry Forum. While he notes technology is a considerable disruptor, he suggests public policy and the political environment within Washington and the State capitals may be the biggest factor affecting insurers. He sees the populist movement creating difficulty for an industry … Read More
III CEO sees “Disruption Continuum” as New Norm for insurers. Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) CEO Sean Kevelighan sees the “disruption continuum” as the “new normal” for the insurance industry, and outlines the ways insurers can embrace resiliency when contending with catastrophes, geopolitical unrest, technological change. He says the I.I.I. will “be doing our best to fulfill our mission, and hopefully it will promote a positive sense of the disruption that’s … Read More
What is Microsoft doing in the insurance industry? Think data, analytics, security & the cloud. In this edition of Tech Trends in Insurance, WRIN.tv speaks with Jonathan Silverman, Director of Insurance Industry Solutions at Microsoft. He says Microsoft is looking for ways to enable technologies in the insurance industry, such as risk and analytics, dev and test, productivity, and cloud migration. Mr. Silverman says insurance customers are starting to look at data differently, including structured … Read More
Industry learning as it copes with $100B in losses from 2017 hurricanes – RMS. The 2017 Hurricane Season brought over $100 billion in insured losses. According to John Kapitan, an SVP at RMS, “the (insurance) industry has coped well.” There are numerous improvements in the industry since the storms of 2004/2005. The industry is better capitalized, (over $600 billion). From a risk management perspective, Mr. Kapitan says few insurers or reinsurers were surprised by … Read More
Ignore data and analytics…be left behind – Pinnacle Principal. Some companies don’t have the staff or the money to spend on consultants to leverage the data they have. Roosevelt Mosley, a Principal and Consulting Actuary at Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, says companies need to be doing something with their data or they will be left behind. Mr. Mosley points out two challenges: having enough of the right data to do … Read More
Will 2017 be a record CAT year? – I.I.I. CEO comments. 2017 has been a very active year for catastrophes…and traditional seasons are shifting. That according to Sean Kevelighan, President and CEO of the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.). Mr. Kevelighan points to 367 tornadoes in the first quarter of 2017, which surpasses the average of 93 by a large margin. The I.I.I. had estimated an active hurricane season, and forecasts were … Read More
ACORD standards looking to keep pace with demand for instant data – Aisus exec. In this AAIS Advisory, Carol King, SVP Canada at Aisus and Chairperson for XML Best Practices and Data in Motion for ACORD, says “companies need to start thinking ahead from an information standpoint.” In a fast-paced world, people want information in the format they want and when they want it. Ms. King explain that a consumer may want to know … Read More
