Data/Tech/Modeling FEATURED Recent Stories REINSURANCE/ILS WRIN.tv Newswire Customer Experience…a Modern Differentiator for Insurers – BMS Re CEO Companies are challenged to find opportunities for growth in a competitive landscape. According to BMS Re U.S. CEO Steve Korducki, the differentiator lies in technology and customer service. Mr. Korducki sees growth for insurers in cyber coverage and insurtech, particularly when organizations utilize tech-focused risk mitigation technology. Changing consumer demographics and market shifts, combined with technology advancements, mean a change … Read More
Agents/Brokers/Consultants COMMERCIAL RISK FEATURED Legislation/Regulation Recent Stories Working in Risk & Insurance WRIN.tv Newswire Independent Agents See Growth Across All Lines, Despite Challenges – Big I CEO In this edition of “Focus”, WRIN.tv speaks with Bob Rusbuldt, President & CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) about the health of “Independent Agents”, which Mr. Rusbuldt describes as “robust and well.” Mr. Rusbuldt notes an Agency Universe Study of the independent agency system, conducted by the “Big I”, which found that revenues are up, … Read More
AMBest-Channel FEATURED ILS & Capital Markets Markets P&C Reinsurance Markets REINSURANCE/ILS WRIN.tv Newswire Reinsurance upgraded to “Stable” as A.M. Best cites possible “inflection point” According to Stefan Holzberger, Chief Rating Officer at A.M. Best, the property-casualty sector of the insurance industry saw improvements in performance. And with levels of capitalization “robust”, A.M. Best is maintaining a “Stable Outlook” on the Personal Lines, Commercial Lines and Reinsurance sector from a credit perspective. The reinsurance sector was only recently upgraded to “Stable” from “Negative”, despite heavy … Read More
COMMERCIAL RISK Data/Tech/Modeling EMERGING TRENDS FEATURED Homeowner/Renter/Auto Life Insurance P&C Recent Stories Cyber cover evolves as insurtech explodes – Business Insurance editor Cyber risk and insurance continue to evolve, but the insurtech explosion is the real news at the moment, according to Gavin Souter, Editor of Business Insurance. Like all things related to technology, cyber insurance is evolving rapidly. Insurers and brokers are keen to sell cyber policies, but commercial buyers do not believe the insurance offered is enough to cover their … Read More
Data/Tech/Modeling EMERGING TRENDS FEATURED INDUSTRY NEWS Recent Stories 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
Claims Management Data/Tech/Modeling INDUSTRY NEWS Reinsurance Markets WRIN.tv Newswire 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
CONSUMER RISK EMERGING TRENDS Homeowner/Renter/Auto Ride Sharing / Vehicle Sharing require new insurance forms to cover emerging auto risks. In part two of this special AAIS Advisory Report on the auto insurance market, John Kadous, VP of Personal Lines at AAIS, talks about how emerging exposure, technology and Big Data are impacting carriers’ approach to auto policies. With increasing uptake of telematics, we see more data is being generated and more underwriting tools for auto insurance carriers. Mr. Kadous … Read More
Auto/Marine/Aviation FEATURED INDUSTRY NEWS Markets Recent Stories Even with deteriorating pricing/potential UW losses, Fitch does not see markets hardening in 2017. 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 … Read More
COMMERCIAL RISK Homeowner/Renter/Auto P&C Recent Stories 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
Data/Tech/Modeling FEATURED INDUSTRY NEWS Life Insurance P&C Recent Stories Insurers should put Social Media into their DNA…Connect and Engage with customers At the 2015 European Insurance Forum, WRIN.tv asked Arjen de Boer, the Founder of ITDS Business Consultants for his take on technology trends affecting insurers and for his advice on the industry’s use of social media. According to Mr. de Boer, the decline in insurance penetration these days is due, in part, to the economic recession. In England, he says … Read More
Accident/Disability CONSUMER RISK Recent Stories Healthcare rates to rise as insurers factor in the end of ACA risk stabilization programs In highlights from a recent edition of A.M. Best’s First Monday series, Senior Financial Analyst Doniella Pliss discusses the risk-sharing provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to Ms. Pliss, there are three risk stabilization programs for the ACA: Risk Corridor, Reinsurance and Risk Adjustment. “The goal of the Risk Corridors program was to protect the insurer from … Read More
CONSUMER RISK Homeowner/Renter/Auto Recent Stories New safety technologies and usage-based pricing are transforming the U.S. Auto Insurance industry In a recent edition of A.M. Best’s First Monday series, Vice President Rich Attanasio discusses how usage-based data and advances in automobile technologies are driving changes in the U.S. personal automobile sector. The advancement of safety features in vehicles is having a positive impact in regards to frequency trends in the personal automobile sector said Mr. Attanasio. New technologies including crash avoidance … Read More
Accident/Disability CONSUMER RISK Markets Recent Stories Government programs and medical cost trends support “stable” outlook for Health insurers – A.M. Best In highlights from the First Monday series, A.M. Best Assistant Vice President Joseph Zazzera and Senior Financial Analyst Bridget Maehr discuss how health insurance carriers are navigating health reform provisions that began in 2014, and the sector’s “stable” outlook. More than 11 million people have selected health plans through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2015, 3.1million more than in … Read More
COMMERCIAL RISK Homeowner/Renter/Auto Markets P&C Recent Stories Mixed Outlook for U.S. Property/Casualty Industry – A.M. Best There is a mixed outlook for the U.S. Property and Casualty industry according to A.M. Best. While the industry as a whole is on its second straight year to a strong performance competitive pressure and emerging risks could impact insurers bottom lines. Here, Group Vice President Anthony Diodato discusses the reasons for concern for the U.S. Property and Casualty Industry … Read More
Homeowner/Renter/Auto People Progressive personal lines announces management changes Progressive’s personal lines business is seeing some management changes. Pat Callahan is taking over as president of the group after serving as personal lines acquisition leader. Tricia Griffith will be COO of personal lines. CEO Glenn Renwick quote: “These moves confirm what I’ve said in the past, which is that we have benefited from the long-term stability of our senior … Read More
Homeowner/Renter/Auto P&C Aon Benfield says winter weather losses could top $1 billion Spring is in the air, but insurers and residents of the eastern U.S. are still dealing with the aftermath of a severe winter. According to an Aon Benfield report, insured losses from winter weather events are expected to top $1 billion. As of March 9, Boston was less than 2 inches away from the all-time seasonal high for snowfall, and … Read More
INDUSTRY NEWS Markets Recent Stories III’s Hartwig on his 2015 Outlook on Commercial P&C, Personal Lines, Agents/Brokers, Reinsurance Dr. Robert Hartwig, President of the Insurance Information Institute (III), shares his outlook on key segments of the insurance industry, including the commercial P&C market, personal lines, agents and brokers, and reinsurance. Among the highlights: Economy, jobs, infrastructure investment hitting Commercial P&C market Millennials postponing household formation affecting Personal Lines Insurance agents/brokers still consolidating and attracting next gen Will return … Read More
Homeowner/Renter/Auto FEMA steps in on allegations vs. insurers over Sandy claims FEMA is in talks with lawyers representing Superstorm Sandy victims to settle customer allegations that insurers denied or underpaid Sandy-related claims based on falsified reports. Read More
INDUSTRY NEWS Markets Recent Stories CEO Panel discusses auto insurance outlook, tech investments & disciplined underwriting for better ROEs Through a special arrangement with ACORD, WRIN.tv offers a glimpse of what went on during the CEO Panel that took place during the Joint Industry Forum in New York. On the panel were Paula Downey from California State Auto, Jaime Tamayo from MAPFRE U.S.A., Christopher Swift from The Hartford, Steven Linkous from The Harford Mutual Insurance Companies, Thomas Lawson from … Read More
Accident/Disability No Fault States like NY, FL and MI give blank checks to write medical fraud One of the biggest concerns for insurance companies today is medical fraud, tied to the medical component of an auto policy. Roger Morris from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, says common approached to fraud include staged accidents, victim recruitment, and billing fraudulent claims through health clinics, particularly in No Fault States like New York, Florida and Michigan. He says “there … Read More