Amidst accusations that Russia was involved in hacking that affected the U.S. Presidential election, President-elect Donald Trump met with executives from some of the largest technology companies to discuss support for their businesses …once he takes office. Yahoo announced that it had suffered the largest cyber breach in history back in 2013, exposing more than one billion accounts, double the …

With recent earthquake activity in the Pacific and new reports on major risks of loss in North America, insurers are taking note of an exposure that could have devastating consequences. According to Dr. Robert Muir-Wood, RMS Chief Research Officer, the November 22 earthquake off the coast of Sendai, Japan is probably another aftershock triggered by the Tohoku quake in March …

Current stability and underwriting profits are giving way to growing loss trends, investment headwinds and deteriorating profits. Still, that will not be enough to harden insurance markets in 2017, according to Jim Auden, Managing Director & Head of U.S. Property & Casualty at Fitch Ratings The overall industry is “pretty stable” right now, as is Fitch’s ratings outlook. That stability …

“For anyone that doesn’t think politics plays into the business of insurance, they’re wrong.” With the hotly contested U.S. Presidential election looming, WRIN.tv asked several attendees at the recent PCI Annual Meeting about how the outcome could affect the property casualty industry. Here with several points of view are Robert Gordon, SVP of PCI Policy Development and Research, Fred Karlinsky, …

Monica Ningen, Head Property Underwriting US & Canada at Swiss Re, discusses how Hurricane Matthew served as a reminder for insurers. She also addresses the Protection Gap and product development and distribution strategies evolving in the insurance and reinsurance market. Hurricane Matthew, while not as big a loss as was predicted, was a reminder that a big event is possible. As a …

NAMIC’s Chuck Chamness gives an update on St. Baldrick’s, a charity with deep ties to the insurance industry that raises money for childhood cancer research. NAMIC President and CEO Chuck Chamness also serves as Chairman Emeritus of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which supports childhood cancer research through unique fund-raising events where volunteers shave their heads to support the cause. Here, Mr. …

The Obama administration reports that the individual health insurance market has been steadily adding healthier and lower-risk consumers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says per-member health costs rose between 3 and 6 percent across the U.S. market, with 154 million people getting coverage through their employer, and 55 million people through Medicare. Still, the number of Americans losing Obamacare coverage is adding …

In another edition of ACORD Tech Talk, Chris Ritter of Compare.com discusses how the ability for customers to comparison-shop online will continue to disrupt the insurance industry, first in the auto insurance sector and then in other peronal lines. For more on the technologies shaping the risk and insurance industry, visit the ACORD website.    

The Global Risks Report 2016, published by the World Economic Forum and its Global Competitiveness and Risks Team, draws attention to ways that global risks may evolve and interact in the next decade. The 11th edition of the report includes perspectives from nearly 750 experts regarding the impact and likelihood of prevalent global risks, including economic risk, environmental, geopolitical, societal …

A.M. Best Assistant Vice President Greg Reisner discusses the rating agency’s ‘negative’ outlook for the global reinsurance sector and the new realities facing the market due to convergence capital and mergers and acquisitions. According to Best’s Assistant Vice President William Pargeans, the life reinsurance segment outlook remains ‘stable’ despite consolidation that has left the market top heavy with lower cession …

A.M. Best Vice President Andrew Colannino explains the rating agency’s ‘negative’ outlook on the commercial lines segment of the U.S. property/casualty (P&C) industry, despite relatively solid aggregate results over the past several years. He says A.M. Best’s expects more downgrades than upgrades in the coming year. The negative outlook largely reflects the concerns that have been prevalent in recent years: …

Low interest rates, pressure on pricing, M&A activity, and disruptive technology are all shaping the outlook for the risk and(re)insurance industry for 2016. Here, WRIN.tv summarizes several of the recent forecasts published by industry analysts and thought leaders. Swiss Re sees economic momentum supporting growth in the insurance sector, even with headwinds like slower growth in China, lower commodity prices …

In this edition of Issues in Risk Retention, host Joe Deems, Executive Director of the National Risk Retention Association (NRRA), welcomes Janice Abraham, President & CEO of United Educators, to discuss issues in assessing and insuring risks at educational institutions. Ms. Abraham recalls a time when the traditional property/casualty insurance market had “abandoned colleges, schools and universities.” At a time …

In this edition of WRIN.tv Headline News: President Obama / UN show support for sustainable insurance At the U.N. climate conference in Paris, President Obama said the U.S.  would support parametric-risk insurance programs in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Africa. The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also launched a new climate resilience and insurance initiative that will provide weather-related coverage …

In this edition of ACORD Tech Talk, host Johnell Johnson speaks with Bolt Solutions CEO Eric Gewirtzman discusses the launch of Google Compare and how comparison shopping will affect the insurance industry. “Bolt Google Connect” enables insurers to quickly and easily participate in Google Compare, a comparison-shopping site that lets consumers compare rates from different insurance providers. Mr. Gewirtzman describes one …

In highlights from a recent “First Monday” episode, A.M. Best Managing Director, Analytics Greg Carter discusses the top issues affecting the European insurance markets, including technology, product design and regulation. According to Mr. Carter, there are several overarching issues impacting the UK and Europe markets, including the fragile economies in the Eurozone amid shifting regulations. He sees long-term opportunities for insurers …

In highlights from a recent “First Monday” program, A.M. Best Assistant Vice President Rosemarie Mirabella and Financial Analyst Frank Walko discuss evolving fixed- indexed annuity (FIA) product designs and the blurring of lines between FIAs and variable annuities. Recently, A.M. Best conducted a survey of the top 10 FIA writers, which represents roughly 70% of the overall market. Ms. Mirabella says, “The …

In this edition of WRIN.tv’s Cyber Report, a Gartner study forecasts that 6.4 billion things will be inter-connected worldwide in 2016, with spending on support for the Internet of Things (IoT) to hit $235 billion. A cyber-security guru described the Internet of Things as “The Internet of Threats”, as the U.S. Federal Government says the global Internet of Things will …

A.M. Best analysts review several of the major business disruptors affecting the insurance industry, including political, political, regulatory or societal. While A.M. Best Chief Rating Officer Stefan Holzberger sees technology playing a large role in decisions regarding the types of products insureds are looking, he notes several other major disruptors challenging the insurance industry in years to come…challenges that present …

Steve Crim is a founding partner of C&S Specialty Underwriters, specializing in commercial casualty risks. He speaks with WRIN.tv about the causes and impact of prolonged soft market conditions on the insurance industry. Mr. Crim says the soft market, caused by excess capital in the insurance system is putting pressure on insurance rates, negatively impacting underwriting margins. He believes “most …