Industry braces for “bumpy ride” after Presidential Election…with much at stake for insurers. “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, … Read More
Lessons from Matthew, Protection Gap & (Re)Insurance Growth Strategies with Swiss Re’s Ningen 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 … Read More
St. Baldrick’s & insurance industry behind $200M in research grants & new childhood cancer drug. 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. … Read More
Exodus of major health insurers hurting consumer choice…and Obamacare 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 … Read More
Comparison Shopping to move beyond auto insurance 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. Read More
WEF: Global Risks more interconnected…more imminent 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 … Read More
Global Reinsurance Outlook “Negative” – Life Reinsurance “Stable” 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 … Read More
P&C Outlook: Commercial Lines “Negative” / Personal Lines “Stable” 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: … Read More
Interest Rates, Pricing Pressure, M&As & Technology Shape ’16 Outlook 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 … Read More
Education risks and risk management approaches changing fast 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 … Read More
UN Climate Insurance, Zurich, EY and R Street Regulatory Ratings 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 … Read More
“Comparison shopping is happening…and insurers need to play in it” 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 … Read More
Aging Europeans / Fragile Eurozone – opportunities for insurers 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 … Read More
Lines between Fixed-Indexed Annuities / Variable Annuities blurring – A.M. Best. 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 … Read More
IoT Expanding; Cyber threats growing – insurers rResponding 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 … Read More
Business disruptors & new BCAR capital model 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 … Read More
“Scary” that today’s underwriting results are “not what they appear on paper.” 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 … Read More
Emerging/Cyber risk, soft market, regs and governance add complexity in insurance Nancy Gray, a Regional Managing Director at Aon Insurance Managers, speaks with WRIN.tv about the growing complexity in the insurance industry due to emerging risks and regulation. According to Ms. Gray, the risks have grown more complicated. She notes that ten years ago we were not speaking about cyber risk and the many other emerging risks we see today. She … Read More
Flexibility, low prices and ample capacity help Commercial and Captive Markets – hurt RRGs WRIN.tv speaks with Siri Gadbois, President and CEO Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators, about current market conditions and the future of the industry. She says conditions in the commercial and captive sectors are “flexible and low priced with a lot of capacity.” Ms. Gadbois believes the industry has moved away from the cyclical nature of pricing common years ago. While … Read More
Wisconsin changes course – allows RRGs to underwrite healthcare liability Tim Padovese, President & CEO at Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance (OMIC), speaks with WRIN.tv about Wisconsin legislation that will now allow RRGs to write healthcare liability cover. He notes that this landmark decision will allow the State’s ophthalmologists to gain access to important medical professional liability coverage and the risk management and claims services that will provide for better patient safety. … Read More