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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

In this edition of WRIN.tv’s Tech Trends in Insurance, The Institutes President and CEO Peter Miller describes the way Blockchain will change the business of insurance in the future. “It is the plumbing.” Blockchain has the potential to reduce costs, decrease transaction time, improve customer service, enable new product development and affect better financial results – the impact is significant …

In this edition of WRIN.tv’s Wide World of Risk, Mike Morrissey, President and CEO of the International Insurance Society, provides insight from his discussions with insurance company CEOs the world over. He sites four recurring themes dominating the minds of CEOs, including cyber risk, environmental risks, humanitarian disasters and insurtech. Mr. Morrissey says the “disaster aid mechanism that the world …

With the Hurricane Season underway, WRIN.tv speaks with Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) President and CEO Sean Kevelighan about the forecast for 2017, and a change in focus from ‘recovery’ to ‘resilience.’ Mr. Kevelighan drew from a recent announcement jointly published by the I.I.I., the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU) and the Tropical Meteorology Project (TMP), which forecasts “near-average …

Emy Donavan, Global Head of Cyber at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, provides an update on the world of cyber risk, including an increase in attacks on consumer devices, malware as a business, and tips for risk managers looking to prepare for inevitable attacks. More recent developments in cyber risk include an increase in attacks on consumer devices such as …

According to Paul Carroll, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Insurance Thought Leadership (ITL), this is a “hugely important time in the (insurance) industry.” He describes “five stages of disruption“, which he has seen in other industries for some time. Mr. Carroll says the industry is out of the “denial phase” and now in the “Cambrian stage”, with billions of dollars being …

Michael Consedine, the new CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), speaks at the AAIS Main Event about his priorities; technology, innovation and disruption; the IAIS and international capital standards; and Trump Administration goals to create a more competitive healthcare market through cross-border insurance sales. Mr. Consedine says some of his propitiates encompass innovation and technology, as well …

In part two of a two-part Tech Trends in Insurance report, Bill Pieroni, President & CEO of ACORD, discusses the latest developments in InsurTech – “a real phenomenon.” Mr. Pieroni sees two types of InsurTech firms: companies that have a fundamental understanding of the challenges faced by the insurance industry, and those with solutions looking for a problem. The insurance …