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CY ECUTI BE VE R M INS AR IGH KE TS T U SER PD IES AT E
IBAMAG.COM ISSUE 9.11 | $12.95
WINNING WITH CULTURE Arch’s Matthew Shulman on how the insurer is setting itself apart by engaging employees and listening to customers’ needs THE NEW HALL OF FAME CLASS IBA salutes 24 of the industry’s most dedicated leaders
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EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY
The state of the sector amid vaccine mandates, the end of unemployment benefits and more
PARAMETRIC INSURANCE
Does it hold the key to a faster rebound from natural disasters?
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ISSUE 9.11
CONNECT WITH US Got a story or suggestion, or just want to find out some more information?
CONTENTS
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UPFRONT 02 Editorial
When Doctor Who meets Lloyd’s of London
04 Statistics
Key data that should be on your radar this month FEATURES
EMPLOYMENT ISSUES
SPECIAL REPORT
HALL OF FAME
19
Meet the 24 insurance industry titans who landed a spot in IBA’s annual Hall of Fame
PEOPLE
INDUSTRY ICON
Arch’s Matthew Shulman discusses how the insurer is differentiating itself by doubling down on company culture
14
IBA explores how the EPL market is holding up under the strain of the pandemic, the #MeToo movement and more
34
06 News analysis
How parametric insurance can help communities recover more quickly from natural disasters
08 Intelligence
This month’s big movers, shakers and new products
10 Workers’ comp update
The clue to addressing a frequent pain point in workers’ comp
12 Technology update
How artificial intelligence can improve the catastrophe claims process
18 Opinion
Why insurers’ innovation efforts often miss the mark FEATURES
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Gina Jones outlines how Burns & Wilcox’s Environmental Center of Excellence is helping clients tackle emerging issues
FEATURES 38 Investing in self-leadership To be an effective leader, you first need to learn to lead yourself
PEOPLE 40 Other life
Gone fishing with insurance executive and surf fisherman Julian Lago
SPECIAL SECTION
36 FEATURES
THE KEY TO GETTING IT DONE This four-step process will allow you to do more in less time
EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS SERIES
CYBER MARKET UPDATE IBAMAG.COM CHECK IT OUT ONLINE www.ibamag.com
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UPFRONT
EDITORIAL
“EXTERMINATE” the underperformers
P
icture this: Daleks – the violent and merciless cyborg aliens from Doctor Who – are gliding around the world-famous underwriting room at Lloyd’s of London’s Lime Street headquarters, but rather than barking their usual “EXTERMINATE,” they’re saying “REMEDIATE” while pointing their evil eyestalks at underperforming syndicates and lines of business. That’s essentially what has happened at Lloyd’s over the past three years – minus the Daleks, of course. At approximately 335 years old, Lloyd’s of London is by far the oldest insurance marketplace in the world. It also plays a critical role in the global insurance and reinsurance industry. Every day, more than 50 insurance companies, over 300 registered Lloyd’s brokers and a global network of more than 3,900 local coverholders operate in and bring business to Lloyd’s, taking advantage of the specialist underwriting expertise, thought leadership and innovative solutions the market has to offer.
Lloyd’s has managed to return to profitability and reassert its historic dominance as a world-leading specialty insurance marketplace Historically, brokers have also been attracted by the financial certainty of the Lloyd’s market – but this came into question in 2017 and 2018, when Lloyd’s suffered a dramatic decline in profitability, thanks to an uptick in natural disasters and the low interest rate environment, which was depressing investment yields. Enter the Daleks. In 2018, Lloyd’s took action to improve its underlying performance and restore profitability with the launch of the Decile 10 initiative. Lloyd’s managing agents were told to focus on the worst-performing 10% of premium for each syndicate and enact remediation plans. Failure to reduce expenses and bring the underperforming syndicates and classes of business back to profitability would result in plans being rejected and classes of business and syndicates being ... well, exterminated. Lloyd’s CFO Burkhard Keese recently revealed the impact of the Decile 10 initiative: Since 2018, managing agents and syndicates have remediated nearly £7 billion, or 20% of premiums. In doing so, Lloyd’s has managed to return to profitability and reassert its historic dominance as a world-leading specialty insurance marketplace. The effort proves that if insurers exterminate their weakest links and grow stronger at their specialties, we could eventually reach a global marketplace that is even more focused on expertise, value-added services, innovation and providing customers the best possible experience they could ask for. The team at Insurance Business America
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CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley President Tim Duce Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil
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8/18/2020 1:57:43 4:54:24 am PM 22/10/2021
UPFRONT
STATISTICS GLOBAL M&A MOMENTUM CONTINUES
GROSS WRITTEN PREMIUM GROWTH BY REGION, 2020 P&C
Total
Life
US
Global 2%
2%
0%
0%
-2%
278
Global M&A deals in second quarter of 2021, the highest of any Q2 on record
137
Global M&A deals during the same period last year
$414 million Median deal value in the second quarter of 2021
-4%
-2%
-6%
-4% -6%
GWP DECLINE NOT AS BAD AS EXPECTED Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the worst economic recession since World War II, but the impact on the insurance industry was less severe than initially feared. According to Allianz, global GWP fell by 2.1% in 2020 – almost double the decline witnessed during the global financial crisis in 2009, but less than the insurer’s preliminary estimate of just under 4%. The industry was buoyed by the P&C segment, which recorded positive growth globally. Allianz credited the segment’s resilience to a rapid and smooth transition to digital operations, which allowed acquisition of new business to continue amid mobility restrictions. The life segment, on the other hand, saw significant declines in every region but Asia, which Allianz attributed to its more complex and advice-intensive products.
North America 2% 0% -2% -4% -6%
GLOBAL P&C RISK POOL TO MORE THAN DOUBLE BY 2040 Global P&C premiums are projected to grow by $2.5 trillion over the next 20 years, according to the latest forecast from Swiss Re, which expects property and liability cover to take a greater share of premiums at the expense of motor. Emerging markets are also projected to contribute more to global premiums over the next two decades.
GLOBAL P&C PREMIUMS BY SEGMENT
Motor
Property
GLOBAL P&C PREMIUMS BY REGION
Other
Liability
Advanced markets
Emerging markets ex-China China
$21 billion
Largest M&A deal during the period (7-Eleven’s acquisition of Speedway) Source: M&A Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor, Q2 2021, Willis Towers Watson
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21% 2020 42% 12% (ESTIMATE) 25%
10%
25% 13%
2040 (FORECAST) 29%
32%
16%
10% 2020 (ESTIMATE) 80%
17%
2040 (FORECAST) 67% Source: Sigma 4/2021, Swiss Re
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ORGANIZATIONS AREN’T PREPARED FOR HEIGHTENED CYBER RISK
Rest of world 6%
Western Europe
4%
2%
Many businesses are now extremely reliant on digital technology – but according to Aon’s latest study on cyber risk, fewer than half of the companies surveyed had satisfactory levels of preparedness across four critical areas: digital evolution, third-party risk, ransomware and regulation.
2%
0%
0%
-2%
-2%
Japan
-4%
0%
-6%
-2%
-8%
-4%
40%
-6% -8%
of organizations said they have adequate strategies to address remote work risks
-10%
21%
Asia (excluding Japan)
of firms said they have baseline measures for overseeing critical suppliers and vendors
6% 4%
China
31%
2%
6%
of companies reported having sufficient resilience measures against ransomware
0%
4% 2% 0%
36% of organizations said they have ample levels of data security preparedness Source: Insurance Report 2021, Allianz
Source: 2021 Cyber Security Risk Report, Aon
REINSURANCE CAPITAL CONTINUES TO GROW
EMERGING MARKETS TO FUEL CONSTRUCTION GROWTH
Global dedicated capital for reinsurance has kept up its growth trend – Willis Re reported $688 billion of total reinsurance capital at the halfway point of 2021, a 4.3% increase from the end of 2020. Since 2015, reinsurance capital has grown by 61%, at an average annual pace of 6%.
Construction is one of the main drivers of the global post-COVID-19 economic recovery – especially in emerging markets. In its latest report on the sector, Marsh projected that emerging markets in Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa will experience the most growth in construction over the next decade due to growing populations and rapid urbanization.
DEDICATED REINSURANCE CAPITAL Index
Major regional and local reinsurers
Alternative capital
PROJECTED COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE FOR CONSTRUCTION, 2021-2030
2018 $526 billion 2019 $615 billion
6%
2020 $660 billion
2%
5% 4% 3%
1% 0%
H1 2021 $688 billion Source: Reinsurance Market Report, September 2021, Willis Re
3.6%
2.8%
3.5%
2.1%
Global
North Latin Western America America Europe
2.8%
3.9%
5.7%
1.8%
5.1%
Eastern Middle East/ Sub- Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific Europe North Africa Saharan (developed) (emerging) Africa Source: The Future of Construction Report, Marsh
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UPFRONT
NEWS ANALYSIS
A new era for parametric insurance After a summer of extreme weather events, the pressure is mounting on the insurance industry to explore new innovations to help communities recover from catastrophic events – and that’s put parametric insurance products in the spotlight IN AUGUST, a parametric insurance policy written by the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) was triggered by the 7.2-magnitude quake in Haiti, delivering a record payment of $40 million. Within a week of the disaster, CCRIF had paid $15 million of the claim to the Haiti government, shining a spotlight on how quickly and
The growing frequency of natural catastrophes around the world has resulted in substantial economic losses and adverse social impacts, and Mäder says this frequency is likely to continue to increase in many parts of the world. Weather-related catastrophes remain massively uninsured in many countries, particularly in emerging and developing
“Putting clear pricing on a specific CAT event helps the insured understand the cost of the risk, and they can decide how to mitigate future risk” Jonathan Charak, Zurich North America efficiently parametric insurance can support devastated communities. “Parametric insurance ensures that a payout is triggered automatically once a pre-defined threshold of an index is reached or exceeded, meaning policyholders get paid without having to go through a relatively lengthy insurance claim and loss adjustment process,” explains David Mäder, head of sales and delivery for P&S solutions at Swiss Re.
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markets, presenting a strong need to offer broader insurance coverage that can increase the financial resilience of vulnerable communities. Parametric insurance offers one suitable option for bridging this protection gap. Parametric solutions started as weather derivatives in the energy markets during the 1980s, but have since evolved across the insurance space. Unlike traditional insurance solutions, parametric insurance allows for the use
of insurance and risk transfer tools to address very short-term needs, says Simon Young, senior director of Willis Towers Watson’s Climate and Resilience Hub. “Both public and private entities have trouble financing emergency response within annual or multi-annual budgeting cycles,” he says. “You can put aside a rainy day fund, which is the current, traditional way that we think about dealing with disasters, but there’s usually a limit to how much money you can set aside which isn’t being put to work.” “By insuring against a catastrophic weather event, parametric insurance can round out a customer’s insurance coverage by purchasing additional cover against a specific peril,” adds Jonathan Charak, emerging solutions director for Zurich North America. “Further, the purely objective nature of parametric insurance provides clear pricing and discussion of the chance an event occurs.” Young and Charak both emphasize that a key point of difference between traditional insurance and parametric insurance is the speed at which a claim can be paid. These faster payouts support vulnerable communities affected by climate change and natural catastrophes with immediate cash relief, Mäder says. Therefore, promoting alternative
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NOTABLE PARAMETRIC INSURANCE PAYOUTS
$4.5 million
Paid by the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company (PCRIC) to the government of Tonga in the aftermath of Cyclone Harold in April 2020
$1.4 million
Paid by the African Risk Capacity Insurance Company to the government of Zimbabwe in response to drought conditions in July 2020
$800,000
Paid to the government of Quintana Roo, Mexico, for damage to coral reefs in the wake of Hurricane Delta in October 2020 channels of insurance in regions of the world with large protection gaps could have a major impact in reducing the overall losses from natural catastrophes. Parametric insurance allows insureds faster, unrestricted access to payouts, Charak says, which in turn enables them to use the money in the most efficient way possible to
against precisely the conditions that affect or threaten your businesses,” he says. “Once this is designed, an insurance company can offer a quick and clear claims process, as the claims process is streamlined. Further, putting clear pricing on a specific CAT event helps the insured understand the cost of the risk, and they can decide how to mitigate future risk.”
“If you know you’re going to get some money [from an insurance payout], then that really incentivizes making a plan for how you’re going spend that” Simon Young, Willis Towers Watson recover from a catastrophe. From a claims perspective, he says, the quick payout potential of parametric insurance offers value to customers beyond just being able to insure something that wasn’t covered in the past. The trigger in the insurance contract provides certainty that when conditions are met, a payment will be made. “Parametric insurance is a viable proposition providing a way to secure protection
Parametric insurance lets government agencies, for example, take advantage of much more streamlined pre-, during- and post-event management, Mäder says, enabling a faster recovery and rebuilding of critical infrastructure and services. Young adds that the research points to compelling recovery and economic benefits of having money quickly available in the wake of natural disasters.
$2.5 million
Paid by CCRIF to the government of Barbados following Hurricane Elsa in July 2021 Sources: Prevention Web, African Risk Capacity, The Nature Conservancy, Relief Web
“One of the things we have seen is that if you know you’re going to get some money, then that really incentivizes making a plan for how you’re going spend that … and we see that across the full spectrum of the clients that we’re working with,” Young says. “The value of insurance for incentivizing better risk behavior is very real. And we think that parametric insurance is a way to bring that to countries and to settings where traditional insurance either has low penetration or hasn’t been thought about in the context of being useful.” Mäder notes that the increasing global interest in parametric insurance solutions also brings opportunities for insurers to access new distribution channels. “There is still a lot of room to fully leverage the benefits of parametric covers,” he says. “Insurers and regulators, as well as reinsurers such as Swiss Re, have important roles to play to grow the adoption of parametric products.”
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UPFRONT
INTELLIGENCE CORPORATE ACQUIRER
TARGET
PRODUCTS COMMENTS
Alera Group
The Brokerage Commercial Insurance Services
The Brokerage offers motor truck and ocean cargo, contingent liability, warehouse legal liability, pollution liability, and cyber liability products in California
ClaimsPro
CJ Hester
CJ Hester provides claims services and special investigations throughout the Southeast
Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Archbold and Father Insurance Associates
Post-acquisition, Archbold and Father president Jim Archbold will retire from the firm after more than 45 years
H.W. Kaufman Group
Prospect Brokers Chile
The deal, Kaufman’s 11th international acquisition in nine years, marks the company’s expansion into the South American market
Lockton
Edge Group
Based in Norway, Edge Group will boost Lockton’s marine presence in Scandinavia
OLI Insurance Services
The Henkes Welsh Agency
Henkes Welsh will continue operating autonomously as a subsidiary of OLI, and Larry Henkes will remain in place as president
Sun Life
DentaQuest
Sun Life’s $2.5 billion deal for the second largest US dental benefits provider will more than double its US employee benefits revenue
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
Southern Palm Insurance
Miami-based Southern Palm Insurance specializes in risk management for high-net-worth individuals
USI Insurance Services
Insurance and Capital Management
Located just outside of Seattle, ICM focuses on insurance and risk management for offshore maritime fishing operations
Great American covers home-based businesses
Great American Insurance Group has launched HomeHQ, a new policy for home-based businesses. Designed for businesses with four or fewer employees, HomeHQ provides coverage for business liabilities that typically aren’t covered by homeowner’s or renter’s policies. Coverage includes business liability to address third-party bodily injury, associated medical costs and legal claims; business property insurance that can cover loss due to fire, wind and more; and business stock insurance to cover the cost of replacing business inventory or merchandise that is lost, stolen or damaged.
Heffernan snaps up California brokerage
Heffernan Insurance Brokers, one of the country’s largest full-service independent insurance brokerages, has acquired California-based Archbold and Father Insurance Associates. Specializing in personal insurance and commercial entertainment, Archbold and Father has served customers in Petaluma and the northern Bay Area for more than 65 years. Once the acquisition is finalized, president Jim Archbold will retire from the firm after more than 45 years. “The Archbold family name has stood for quality personalized service over the generations, and we feel honored and excited that Jim Archbold entrusted his clients to our team’s care,” said Heffernan EVP Elizabeth Bishop.
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QBE, Flyreel join forces to prevent water damage
QBE North America has expanded on its partnership with artificial intelligence company Flyreel to help homeowners avoid common losses from water damage, which QBE claims data indicates is the second most common type of non-weather loss. The two companies have released a new app that offers water-focused in-home inspections. QBE policyholders can use the app to document their appliances, plumbing updates, possible recalls and more, while receiving instant notifications about the best ways to mitigate potential water damage.
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PEOPLE Tesla expands its auto insurance to Texas
Tesla has made its auto insurance offering available to drivers in Texas. The automaker’s plan to broaden insurance availability to Texas was first reported in March, when it was revealed that the Texas state insurance regulator had approved Tesla’s rates and policies and that coverage would be provided through Redpoint County Mutual Insurance. Unlike its insurance product in California, which was launched in 2019, Tesla’s Texas offering uses realtime driving data to set premiums. In a tweet following the Texas launch, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted that the company has a long-term goal to extend its auto insurance worldwide.
Charles Taylor digitalizes authority management
Charles Taylor InsureTech has launched Authority Hub, a new digital product aimed at improving insurers’ governance, visibility and control of authority agreements. Authority Hub allows insurers to create, submit, review and agree to authorities consistently and accurately while maintaining real-time visibility across their business through a web-based management platform. It also allows authority letters to be automatically generated en masse from a central source of clauses and updates, ensuring that authorities are always consistent and up to date.
Nationwide launches pilot with Amazon Business Prime
Nationwide is offering its Coverage Assistant tool to eligible Amazon Business Prime members. Coverage Assistant uses predictive modeling to generate individualized coverage options and risk information. Members can take an online assessment, complete an online quote and connect with an agent to receive an exclusive discount. The pilot program for Amazon Business Prime members, which will run through December, is part of Nationwide’s efforts to help small businesses ensure they have the proper level of insurance coverage.
NAME
LEAVING
JOINING
NEW POSITION
Andrew Pinkes
CNA
Randall & Quilter
Global chief executive, legacy insurance
Beth Freeman
Companion Life Insurance Company
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
SVP, accident & health underwriting
Bob Fee
N/A
Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America
Chairman
Bob Quane
AXIS Capital
Beazley
Chief underwriting officer
Chris Dunlavy
Beazley
Greenhill Insurance Services
President
Fran Soistman
Aetna/CVS Health
eHealth
CEO
Jeff Winter
Rocket Software
Duck Creek Technologies
Chief marketing officer
Jerry Farrell
Toa Reinsurance Company
BMS Re
Executive vice president
Justin Brenden
N/A
SiriusPoint
Chief actuary
Ken Gumbiner
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
SVP, accident & health sales
Kevin Humphrey
Gallagher
Beecher Carlson
Managing director, trade credit and political risk
Mark Bernacki
N/A
Amwins
Chief underwriting officer
Michele Pignotti
Euler Hermes
Marsh
Global growth leader, credit specialties
Remi Kent
3M
Progressive Insurance
Chief marketing officer
Tim Ronda
Aon
TigerRisk Partners
Senior executive
Amwins names first chief underwriting officer
Amwins has appointed Mark Bernacki to the newly created role of chief underwriting officer. Bernacki most recently served as executive vice president of Amwins Group’s underwriting division and president of Amwins Special Risk Underwriters. In his new role, he will be responsible for the underwriting performance of the company’s $3 billion-plus delegated authority business. He will also continue to oversee operations for Amwins Special Risk Underwriters. “Focusing on underwriting integrity while driving value for our carrier partners and clients, Mark’s skills and experience will prove invaluable as the company grows and executes our 150-year vision,” said Amwins CEO Scott Purviance.
Beazley appoints new chief underwriting officer
Beazley has named Bob Quane as its new chief underwriting officer. With more than 30 years of underwriting experience, Quane joins Beazley from AXIS Capital, where he served as CUO of the insurance segment. Prior to that, he spent 22 years at AIG, where he held various senior roles, including head of global personal lines, global accident & health and global commercial property. “[Bob’s] extensive global experience will be invaluable as we continue to develop our business in both our established and growth markets,” said Beazley CEO Adrian Cox.
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UPFRONT
WORKERS’ COMP UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Most US workers favor vaccine requirements from employers
Employers’ vaccine requirements have been well-received by a majority of the US workforce, according to a new report on COVID-19 from the National Safety Council (NSC). The study found that employer vaccine requirements increased worker vaccination rates by 35%. The NSC also noted that employers’ vaccine policies, incentives and accommodations can help ensure vaccine equity, as its research found that employment-related factors may contribute to higher rates of COVID-19 infection and lower rates of vaccination among people of color.
Origami Risk packages claims administration solution
Insurance software provider Origami Risk has combined its online workers’ compensation claims administration solutions into a standard offering for insurance carriers, third-party administrators, risk pools and MGAs. The packaged solution includes a full suite of workers’ comp claims administration solutions with builtin compliance tools. It also features streamlined claims process workflows for key functions and users, ondemand analytics and claims reporting capabilities, and an extensive library of standard integrations, including data conversions, medical bill review vendors, carrier extracts and financial/ accounting tools.
CopperPoint Insurance Companies names new CFO
Workers’ comp and commercial P&C insurer CopperPoint Insurance Companies has appointed Dawn Jaffray as its new chief financial officer. Jaffray
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has more than 28 years of financial management experience within the commercial P&C insurance industry. Prior to joining CopperPoint, she served as CFO for United Fire Group Insurance and was named CFO of the Year by Corridor Business Journal in 2019.
ManageWare rolls out provider management application
ManageWare, a provider of customized apps for the workers’ comp market, has launched NetworkManager, a new provider management application that enhances network management capabilities by streamlining and organizing administrative tasks related to provider recruiting, credentialing, contracting and ongoing maintenance. NetworkManager can be integrated with MW Exchange, ManageWare’s provider portal, to further streamline the contract administration process. It can also be fully integrated with ManageWare’s other managed care modules or interface with independent third-party bill review platforms.
MyAbilities and WorkSTEPS team up on injury prevention
Injury prevention platform MyAbilities has partnered with WorkSTEPS, a provider of testing, safety, environmental and occupational health services, to offer a virtual platform for workplace injury prevention in Texas. Under the partnership, WorkSTEPS will be a distributor of MyAbilities’ suite of software tools for its workplace health, safety and data analytics platform. The tools allow employers, insurance companies, third-party administrators, healthcare providers and workers to see real-time information about specific jobs, where the risks are, and how to mitigate those risks and promote faster return to work if injuries do occur.
Fixing a common pain point Injured workers’ unfamiliarity with the workers’ comp system is a frequent problem – and better communication is the key to solving it Injured workers typically have little to no prior experience with workers’ compensation claims. When their employer files a claim on their behalf, many have concerns around how their medical care will be managed, who will pay for that care and how any medical leave might impact their wages or employment status. “One of the most common pain points in workers’ compensation claims is communication,” says Brent Bland, SVP and head of workers’ compensation claims at AmTrust Financial Services. “There’s a general lack of understanding among injured workers of how the workers’ compensation claims process works. I think one of the biggest challenges for our industry is in the area of communication and helping people understand from the very beginning what workers’ compensation is intended to cover and what help they should expect to receive if they suffer an on-the-job injury.” While it’s important for insurers to help injured workers understand what benefits they’re entitled to at the onset of a claim, it’s equally (if not more) important for insurers to keep the lines of communication open and be engaged throughout the claim life cycle. “We put a lot of time and effort into educating our insureds so that they have a
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good, clear understanding of the process and they can relay that information to their employees,” Bland says. “It’s critical that the employer-employee relationship is maintained through the life cycle of a claim. One of the worst things that can occur is for there to be a breakdown in communication between the employer and employee. That can generate a lack of trust, lack of understanding, and it can create some real challenges.”
“One of the worst things that can occur is for there to be a breakdown in communication between the employer and employee” In recent years, customers have grown to expect far more personalized communication from their insurance brokers and carriers. Injured workers want bespoke service, and they want multiple options for interacting with insurers, whether it’s through phone calls, text messaging, email, in-person meetings or video consultations. But most importantly, they want an immediate response to any queries they have. “There’s a general expectation on the part of injured workers and our insureds that when they do have questions or concerns, there’s a timely response that is comprehensive and allows them to move on their way,” Bland says. “I think that technology has changed expectations of timeliness, and I don’t think those expectations are unreasonable. We all have tools available to use that enable us to meet those expectations.”
Q&A
John Swigart Co-founder and CEO PIE INSURANCE
Years in the industry 20+ Fast fact In 2020, Swigart was named an Entrepreneur of the Year for the MidAtlantic region by EY
Data-driven workers’ comp What gives Pie Insurance an advantage over legacy workers’ comp carriers? Historically, commercial insurance companies have relied on underwriters to price each policy – a slow and tedious process that is subjective and error-prone. Pie flipped that paradigm on its head by building the company on a foundation of analytics and proprietary pricing algorithms that enable our underwriters to focus on evaluating and approving policies. As a result of this data-driven approach, small business owners can get a workers’ comp insurance quote in three minutes and save up to 30% on their workers’ comp premiums.
What sort of technologies are US businesses expecting their workers’ comp insurers to have? Small businesses across the US have had an extremely challenging two years and, now more than ever before, are looking to work with companies and insurers that will enable them to thrive, not hinder their growth. When it comes to technology, they’re looking for their workers’ comp insurance providers to deliver an online and automated experience, which is powered by technologies like machine learning, AI and predictive analytics. Small business owners are also consumers and expect to be able to access business insurance as easily as they would for their car or home.
The pandemic forced many businesses to undergo digitalization. Has this helped increase your client base? While the pandemic has had devastating impacts on many small businesses, the rapid acceleration of digital technologies and automation that has come with it has absolutely supported our growth. We believe Pie’s rapid growth in 2021 is a reflection of our customers’ resilience and their preference for a commercial insurance provider that offers an affordable and seamless online experience.
In March, Pie Insurance raised $118 million in Series C funding. What’s next for the company? Our last round of funding allowed us, and continues to allow us, to invest further in the technology, data and automation processes that power our business. As for what’s next, we’ll continue to grow our core workers’ comp insurance business, including expanding into new states. We’re also laying the groundwork for new business offerings in 2022 and beyond. Since Pie was founded in 2017, our goal has been to offer the entire small business insurance experience to our customers as a full-stack insurance carrier. In September, we announced the purchase of our first licensed insurance company to support this vision. We expect to begin writing our own insurance policies in the near future. We’re also focused on growing the Pie team. We’ve grown to more than 300 team members – we call them Pie-oneers – and are actively hiring to help support our continued success.
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UPFRONT
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Controlling catastrophe claims via computer Processing claims after a natural disaster can be difficult, but automation is making the process easier
is that customers typically have difficulty reaching out to insurers’ support teams post-catastrophe, as contact centers are often overwhelmed from the sheer number of customers trying to contact them. To help process disaster claims and customer inquiries, insurers can deploy chatbots, but Tumuluri warns that some chatbots have rigid interfaces and are not proactive, which can turn away customers. Instead, he says, insurers need to employ “embodied virtual assistants” that are capable of goals-based, empathetic engagement with
“AI assistance needs to be proactive in understanding the goals of the caller” Catastrophic events are on the rise – and the insurance industry can only keep up for so long. Many insurers continue to rely on historical data to predict their policyholders’ exposure to disasters and, as a result, are not as prepared as they could be to handle mitigation efforts, let alone the claims process. The automation of catastrophe claims could hold the solution to this problem. According to Raj Tumuluri, president of Openstream.ai, insurers typically have trouble with two parts of the claims cycle after a disaster: promptly communicating with customers and assessing
NEWS BRIEFS
damage in time to earn customer loyalty. “The state-of-the-art technology can help claim processors a great deal in capturing and/or collecting data and even assessing the extent of damage and potential cost of repairs, as well as identifying approved vendors for carrying out the repair,” Tumuluri says. While he adds that the process isn’t usually fully automated except in the case of small claims, it can cut down processing time and effort by as much as 30% to 50% while assisting human experts. Another notable pain point in the process
Munich Re Ventures raises $500 million in funding
Munich Re Ventures (MRV), the venture capital division of Munich Re Group, has closed its $500 million Munich Re Fund II. MRV said the additional funds will enable it to invest in early-stage and growth-stage companies across five different sectors: insurtech; climatetech; cybersecurity; privacy, commercial and industrial equipment technologies; and the future of transportation. MRV now has more than $1 billion in assets under management across four funds and has invested more than $280 million in 36 companies to date.
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customers. Openstream.ai’s Eva is a “conversational AI” that’s powered by natural language processing, allowing users to interact with insurers’ systems through a self-service experience that feels personalized. “It is important to make the experience smooth for the customers by limiting the amount of input needed from the customer … for claim processing and [having] an adaptive process that requests only what’s absolutely required and gleans the rest from other sources,” Tumuluri says. “AI assistance needs to be proactive in understanding the goals of the caller and be collaborative and empathetic based on the situation.”
Zurich North America partners with Chisel AI
Zurich North America has teamed up with Chisel AI to improve its construction underwriting processes. The implementation of Chisel AI’s Submission Intake and Policy Check products allows Zurich to automate core underwriting and placement processes, ensure policy quality, and reduce the cost of policy rework and reissuance. Chisel AI’s products use machine learning to read, extract and ingest unstructured data from lengthy and complex digital insurance documents to automate manual tasks.
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Q&A
Sitting on cloud nine Liam Jones Head of business development MOSAIC INSURANCE
Years in the industry 15 Fast fact In 2019, Jones became a mentor for Lloyd’s Lab, the insurtech startup incubator at Lloyd’s of London
How has Mosaic Insurance’s partnership with DXC Technology enhanced your services? We have focused on building out our core underwriting platform, data models and analytics infrastructure. Brokers experience high levels of service from our underwriting teams, driven by superior data quality, speed and insights, which will continue to improve turnaround times, accuracy and delivery while also providing better risk and pricing differentiation in time. Separately, our ability to provide open-access, real-time data to our capital partners is second to none, offering material value for partners in terms of both insight into the portfolio and seamless data transfer and payment.
Mosaic’s platform is fully cloud-native. How has COVID-19 affected the adoption of cloud tech in the insurance space? What are the challenges in migrating business to the cloud? COVID-19 has forced innovations, underscoring the need by markets and individual companies for operational resilience and efficiency and making us rethink strategies. While traditional carriers with legacy systems have historically focused on system integration, reliance on Excel-based models, email and local network file storage, the pandemic proved the stark need for seamless connectivity, coupled with stronger security and scalability – all of which comes through being fully cloud-native.
Your platform also uses a blockchain infrastructure. How long do you think it will take for blockchain to see more widespread use in the insurance industry?
OIP Robotics enhances its automation portfolio
Specialty lines insurtech OIP Robotics has partnered with automation startup Hyperscience to boost data extraction capabilities in its automation portfolio. The partnership gives OIP Robotics access to Hyperscience’s intelligent document processing software, which, according to OIP Robotics’ Nemanja Jokic, will allow clients “to automate the entire data extraction process, from the intake point to preparing the data for processing, with over 99% accuracy and up to 95% automation.”
If we look at the risk placement chain, the specialty market struggles to find the actual utility case for blockchain, especially when we consider the operational apparatus at Lloyd’s and the way risks move around the world via a wide range of people and processes. We do see greater opportunity for blockchain usage, however, in the downstream processes, such as claims and third-party capital interactions, where efficiency of process and accuracy of information are paramount and largely repeatable. I think for blockchain to find widespread usage, it’s important for it to be the solution, not the problem to be finding a use for.
What are some other technologies that insurance companies should consider to make their businesses more resilient in preparation for the next pandemic or global crisis? To future-proof technology architecture, there are three key focus areas: connectivity, availability and automation. In the pandemic, most carriers have already done the basics of moving to cloud-based and serverless architectures. As the next step, and to prep for the next CAT event, carriers should focus on automation capabilities, especially for low-complexity and repetitive tasks. Machine learning and artificial intelligence have evolved significantly and are more accessible and commercially viable now. Using automated models to do all the heavy lifting of data cleansing, data entry, document prep, running rating models, etc., allows underwriters and actuaries to focus on knowledge tasks that can be performed by a distributed workforce.
Brit’s new algorithm accelerates damage assessment
Brit has created and launched a proof of concept for a proprietary machine learning algorithm designed to accelerate the identification of post-catastrophe property damage. The algorithm uses ultrahigh-resolution aerial images and data to pinpoint, color-code and display property by damage classification within days of a catastrophe, which enables the claims team to proactively identify, triage and assign response activity. Brit’s claims team is using the proof of concept to improve service and expedite payments following Hurricane Ida.
Coalition snaps up Attune to create mega-insurtech
Cyber insurance and security provider Coalition has acquired Attune, a commercial insurance MGA and broker platform. The acquisition creates the world’s largest commercial insurtech, which is already delivering more than $500 million in run-rate GWP. The deal allows Coalition to expand its cyber offering to more policyholders through the Attune marketplace. Coalition also plans to apply its advances in machine learning and analytics to an expanded set of Attune’s insurance offerings over time.
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22/10/2021 1:59:39 am
PEOPLE
INDUSTRY ICON
CREATING A COHESIVE CULTURE Since becoming CEO of North America at Arch Insurance in 2019, Matthew Shulman has fostered a company culture that promotes agile growth and meaningful communication A BORN AND BRED New Yorker, Matthew Shulman’s first exposure to the world of insurance was through his uncle, a Manhattanbased insurance broker. He held two internships at his uncle’s brokerage while studying art history at Cornell University. After graduating, Shulman was drawn to the world of D&O liability underwriting, taking a job at Reliance National in 1995. “I was always drawn to the idea that underwriting is a balance of being analytical and building relationships,” he says. After Shulman found his footing as an underwriter, a mentor recommended that he go to law school; he attended the Fordham University School of Law in tandem with building his insurance career. “It was a defining moment because even though I didn’t practice law, the education and thought process of analyzing perspectives from all angles was valuable in many ways,” he says. In 2009, Shulman joined Arch Insurance as a senior vice president, working as the head of the large commercial group within the Executive Assurance (D&O) division. In 2016, he relocated to London, where he worked as CEO of international operations at Arch until 2019. A global hub of insurance, London introduced Shulman to a dynamic environment that focuses on the personal trading relationships between brokers and underwriters,
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which he was cognizant of when he returned to New York in 2019 as CEO of Arch’s North American division. “In the past, insurance was viewed as a vertical career, where you start in one role and look to move up within that specialty,” he says. “The advice I would give is to keep an open mind and move around an organization – try different things early on, even if it’s lateral moves to broaden your knowledge base.”
entiate from each other – that everyone has similar products and if someone came up with something innovative, other insurance companies could match or copy it easily,” Shulman explains. “Now I think the exact opposite. The differentiating factor for us is our people, culture and the experience we provide.” During his tenure at Arch, Shulman says the company has placed an emphasis on understanding employee behaviors and
“We needed to empower our employees to be bold, not be afraid of changing market conditions and be willing to use their expertise. We’ve grown meaningfully in this hard market, and I think that focus on being a bold solution provider has been the key” Standing out Arch writes insurance, reinsurance and mortgage insurance globally, using innovative digital solutions to build out its small commercial and middle-market capabilities. The company has taken the initiative to grow in specialty middle-market areas such as energy, private equity and construction. “Years ago, I had the perspective that it was difficult for insurance companies to differ-
customer experience. This was not fostered overnight or by accident. Arch’s leadership took a deliberate approach when working on the culture of the company, setting themselves apart from competitors with enhanced communication strategies. The development of Arch’s culture and business lines continued to progress moving into 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Shulman says the company stayed agile in
PROFILE Name: Matthew Shulman Title: CEO, Arch Insurance North America Company: Arch Insurance Group Based in: New York City Years in the industry: 26 Education: Bachelor’s degree in art history from Cornell University and a JD from Fordham University School of Law
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PEOPLE
INDUSTRY ICON
facing the challenges of the new environment. There was a heightened focus on employees’ well-being, and senior leadership came together to tackle any issues that emerged. “It’s odd to say, but there were many positive takeaways from the pandemic because we all learned we can be flexible, adaptable and work in unprecedented conditions,” he says. “As a company, everyone got closer, as our biggest strategy was to overcommunicate.”
Pursuing better together Arch’s new brand promise, ‘pursuing better together,’ is a culmination of employee engagement and understanding clients’ needs. Shulman says it originated during the soft market cycle and was meant to challenge the company on how to differentiate itself in the marketplace.
“Our brand promise has experienced an interesting progression. We strive to provide an exceptional customer experience, which is where ‘voice of the customer’ grew from. Then we asked: How do we know what success looks like? That’s where ‘being the first call’ was born, and it has become the mantra we use to know we’re building broker-client trust.” ‘Better together’ now has an external focus, to build out the initiatives that Arch has thoughtfully formed. Originally it began as a new slogan concept, but it became so much more than that, Shulman says. Now it reflects the progression and growth Arch has seen over the last few years. “We talk about a couple keys to our success going forward,” he says. “One broad area is engagement. The focus we’ve put on culture has fostered a sense of accountability and
“The focus we’ve put on culture has fostered a sense of accountability and urgency to making Arch a successful company” At first, Arch focused inwardly on its culture and aligning the organization around certain behaviors. That led to initiatives such as ‘voice of the customer’ and ‘being bold,’ which are now embedded in the language at Arch. “Being bold goes hand-in-hand with the marketplace changing,” Shulman says. “We’ve gone into a hard market, which causes some insurance companies to pull back and focus less on the customer and more on results and how to adjust their book of business.” Instead, Arch wanted to take a different approach during a difficult market and focus on being a holistic solution provider. “We needed to empower our employees to be bold, not be afraid of changing market conditions and be willing to use their expertise,” Shulman says. “We’ve grown meaningfully in this hard market, and I think that focus on being a bold solution provider has been the key.
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urgency to making Arch a successful company. Externalizing our brand promise also reassures our clients and employees of Arch’s goals moving forward. We’re going to continue focusing on being an employer of choice and on attracting, developing, and retaining the best talent.” Arch heavily prioritizes the recruitment process, sponsoring several scholarships for candidates with diverse backgrounds who are pursuing a career in insurance. “Many of our interns become underwriters and then become managers,” Shulman says. “We’ve seen that progression for years, and bringing in diverse talent at the internship stage will help them continue to develop and grow into our senior team.” The insurance industry has jumped into diversity and inclusion with two feet, and Shulman notes that diversity brings an “exciting” future to Arch, as it will strengthen the organization and industry over time.
FAST FACTS: ARCH INSURANCE
YEAR FOUNDED 2001
HEADQUARTERS Pembroke, Bermuda
EMPLOYEES 4,500+
GLOBAL LOCATIONS US, Canada, Bermuda, UK, EU, Australia
OFFERINGS Specialty insurance – P&C, professional lines, energy, marine, aviation and construction
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22/10/2021 2:00:16 am
UPFRONT
OPINION
GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email iba@keymedia.com
Insurance must innovate or die Insurers that don’t have a clear and consistent mission in their innovation operations risk huge failure, writes Robert Lowe FOR MANY of those outside – and even inside – the industry, insurance and innovation may not seem to go together. Yet, rather quietly, most large insurers have been ramping up their innovation spending over the past decade. This is largely in response to the rise of more agile insurtech startups and to deliver complementary services like healthy lifestyle apps, data-driven pricing operations, transparency in policy specifics and other value-added consumer technologies. While this is a good start, it isn’t enough to keep the industry on the stable footing it has enjoyed for generations. Recent difficulties in settling claims from the COVID-19 pandemic are only the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to climate change, large swaths of the global P&C insurance industry are coming into the crosshairs of generational change. The effects of our warming planet have begun making whole categories of property assets borderline uninsurable. As the effects get worse, the strategic options will only get tougher. If insurance companies innovate in ways they already understand – tweaking their underwriting policies, pushing harder on claims or other ‘surface’ improvements – they’ll find themselves fighting over smaller pieces of a shrinking pie. So what can be done on the innovation front to help the industry maintain long-term viability? These days, the typical industry response to looming threats is to create a fancy new innovation center or to go buy a bunch of startups. But by pouring knee-jerk resources and publicity into innovation, corporations are doing themselves a disservice. It’s impossible to predict the future with
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perfect clarity. But it’s also easy to imagine how a warmer planet will affect various asset classes around the world. Insurers need to double down on innovations that can help them change the game – for example, using AI and weather data to predict where disasters will strike, leveraging Big Data and climate change models to anticipate changing patterns of risk, and building risk mitigation solutions to serve a growing ‘prevention’ side of the market. One of the greatest myths in business is that innovation is incredibly organized and meticulously game-planned. The truth is, too
ress. Yet most insurers have not formalized the central core of their innovation operations. They don’t have a centralized ability to track projects, coordinate global programs or evaluate the likelihood of success on anything but a finger-to-the-wind level. This has undermined innovation success and bred skepticism among senior decision-makers when it comes to funding priorities. Establishing a formal innovation operations infrastructure can go a long way in fixing the issues that exist on both of these fronts. Pursuing broad-spectrum innovation means taking some strategic leaps. This is often where innovation efforts begin to fall apart, because it can be uncomfortable for leaders to commit when the outcomes are speculative. Unlike most executive decisions, investing in strategic innovation cannot be forced into a neat box. I’ve seen time and again that simply adding an innovation team or opening an innovation center without ongoing cross-functional coordination commits the effort to failure. Future scenarios should be modeled, and innovation risk can (and should) be managed over time – but innovation endeavors won’t be crisply predictable, nor can they be de-risked
“If insurance companies innovate in ways they already understand, they’ll find themselves fighting over smaller pieces of a shrinking pie” many firms make tentative forays into innovation, often on a number of fronts, creating a tangled web of initiatives and priorities that are often incoherent. It’s impossible for any mission-critical business function to succeed without a clear and consistent vision that enables a strong operational foundation. Companies across the business spectrum don’t have the modern infrastructure in place that’s needed to drive widespread innovation success. Other core departments, such as finance and marketing, benefit from experienced leaders, a clear set of modern measurement tools to track performance, and established protocols for reporting and reviewing prog-
to ‘normal’ levels of corporate comfort. But the do-nothing alternatives are far worse. The executive team must learn to adopt a specific, calibrated type of ambiguity tolerance. The climate-induced challenges facing insurance companies are very real. But with the proper strategies, tools and leadership discipline, traditional insurers can retool their businesses to better meet the needs of the market, both today and in the future. Robert Lowe is CEO of Wellspring Worldwide, a provider of knowledge supply chain software systems. He is a former director of enterprise creation and professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
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22/10/2021 2:00:42 am
SPECIAL REPORT
IBA celebrates 24 visionary leaders who have helped shape the insurance industry into what it is today
CONTENTS
PAGE
Feature article ................................................................... 20 Methodology ..................................................................... 21 Hall of Fame 2021 ............................................................ 23 Profiles .............................................................................. 24
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SPECIAL REPORT
HALL OF FAME 2021
THE PINNACLE OF ACHIEVEMENT THE OLDER you get, the more wisdom you acquire – so one could argue that it’s good news that the United States is getting older as a country. While the insurance industry doesn’t always see it that way (according to MarshBerry, insurance companies will have to hire five new producers for every veteran producer who will be leaving in the next decade), the value of these industry veterans can’t be denied. IBA’s fifth annual Hall of Fame includes 24 executives, innovators and entrepreneurs who have risen from a variety of backgrounds to establish themselves as leaders in the insurance industry. And in the face of a mass wave of retirements from the industry, they’re determined to help pass on their knowledge to
“Spend as much time as it takes to make sure the client understands what he/she is buying and how their wealth is being protected” Matthew Cooper, Inner-City Underwriting Agency young professionals who are just getting started in insurance. “There is no comparison in terms of experience, expertise and skills, as those are all phenomenal assets which have been developed
THE 2021 HALL OF FAME BY GENDER
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Male
Female
67%
33%
over time by the Hall of Famers,” says Margaret Redd, executive director of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), a 2020 Hall of Famer and a member of this year’s Hall of Fame judging panel. “However, so many in this younger generation have the passion, the intellectual capacity and the desire to have real and significant impact upon our today and our future. “These young people have come of age in the tech era, and that gives them an edge. They have also faced major crises like the ‘twindemics’ of 2020 – COVID and the raised awareness for systemic injustices around the country and the world. As a result, they have an appreciation for their ability to have an impact upon their lives and others’. They have seen companies make tremendous operational and strategic shifts in their business models, seemingly overnight, and so they have built muscle in the face of change and our ability to navigate change.” Fellow Hall of Fame panelist Kevin Davis, president of Kevin Davis Insurance Services,
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an Amwins company, echoes those sentiments. “The younger generation appears to use technology and data to solve problems, and sometimes quite effectively, while we – the individuals who have been around for a while – tend to use our contacts, our knowledge, and experience and intuition as a way of solving a problem,” he says. “That can also be quite effective.” As panelists, Redd and Davis had the opportunity not only to evaluate this year’s Hall of Fame nominees, but also to nominate people themselves. Redd sought out a wide range of candidates, from results-oriented progressive thinkers to those with a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion or community service. Meanwhile, Davis looked for leadership skills, experience and the ability to stay relevant.
Clients come first Among the two dozen inductees into this year’s Hall of Fame, the importance of doing right by clients was a common thread. “As an insurance broker, my goal is to bring the best the worldwide insurance marketplace
has also launched Inner-City Wrap, a construction wrap-up insurance administration and placement service company that is, among other things, providing the wrap-up insurance for the construction of the Obama Presidential Center. He’s also proud to have expanded the distribution of insurance to all Chicago neighborhoods and to have provided a business model that agencies and insurance companies have copied to expand distribution in other cities. Fellow Hall of Famer Ed Levy, who retired from the industry in 2018 after a 40-year career and currently serves on the board of insurtech Openforce, likewise says he has “always been focused on doing the right thing. To do this, you need to know the marketplace, including your competition’s abilities. You need to know coverages, and you need to make sure the insured is actually getting something that fits their needs.” For Hall of Famer Ben Francavilla, president of Amwins Program Underwriters, commitment to clients means taking the time to truly understand what they do so he can provide the right coverage.
“Whatever you do, do it for the right reason. Never sell a policy for the revenue. Sell it because it is the right policy for the insured” Ed Levy, Openforce
METHODOLOGY Starting in July, Insurance Business America invited insurance professionals from across the country to nominate standout industry veterans for the annual Hall of Fame. This year’s Hall of Fame class was selected by an independent advisory panel of industry leaders and previous Hall of Fame honorees, including: • Kevin Davis, Kevin Davis Insurance Services, an Amwins company • Sabrina Hart, Zurich North America • Margaret N. Redd, National African American Insurance Association • Dave North, Sedgwick Nominees had to have been in the industry for at least 35 years. The panel considered each nominee’s history of distinguished service to the insurance profession, the leadership and inspiration they provided to others in the sector, their role in guiding future generations of entrepreneurs and business leaders, their contributions to the leadership and direction of industry associations, and any visionary strategies and innovations that have made an outstanding contribution to the industry as a whole. 5th
5th Year of the Insurance Business America Hall of Fame
133 has to offer to my clients, regardless of commission percentage or profit-sharing arrangement,” says Matthew Cooper, president of Inner-City Underwriting Agency. “Spend as much time as it takes to make sure the client understands what he/she is buying and how their wealth is being protected.” In addition to founding Inner-City Underwriting Agency more than 25 years ago, Cooper
“Ben believes in specialization, not generalization,” says Sara Morton, director of corporate communications at Amwins Group. “He understands his clients’ business, their complex needs and the challenges they face. His unparalleled expertise in programs means his clients have a distinct advantage of a team of underwriting specialists that understands the nuances of the markets they support.”
Total number of inductees since 2017
29% Percentage of 2021 Hall of Famers who are CEOs
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SPECIAL REPORT
HALL OF FAME 2021
THE 2021 HALL OF FAME BY YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY
8% 35 to 40
41 to 49
29%
50 or more
63%
“There is no comparison in terms of experience, expertise and skills, as those are all phenomenal assets which have been developed over time by the Hall of Famers” Margaret N. Redd, National African American Insurance Association
Enhancing diversity Fostering greater diversity, equity and inclusion is a key priority for the insurance industry at the moment – and to be successful, DEI initiatives must have buy-in from the top. So it’s heartening to see how many of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees have made DEI a personal priority. At Chubb, John Lupica, vice chairman and president of North America insurance, serves
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as an executive sponsor of Mosaic, the company’s multicultural business roundtable. In addition, he has “played a key role in the expansion of the company’s diversity initiatives, from groups focused on furthering the careers of women and those in the LGBTQ+ community to the rollout of distinct employee networks for Black, Asian and Latinx Chubb colleagues,” says Chubb SVP Matthew Merna. Cooper, meanwhile, founded the Chicago
chapter of the NAAIA, and he’s optimistic about the work the organization is doing to boost the number of minorities in the industry. “I believe the NAAIA will expand and work towards increasing the number of African Americans in the business,” he says. “It will also be important for more African American-owned insurance agencies to be formed to provide employment and training to the community.” Higginbotham chairman and CEO Rusty Reid is another Hall of Famer who recognizes the importance of organizations like the NAAIA in increasing the diversity of the insurance industry workforce. Last year, he forged a partnership with the NAAIA to build a pipeline for diverse talent at Higginbotham. According to Reid, “the partnership gives Higginbotham many opportunities to engage with industry and market leaders and create new avenues to attract qualified, diverse talent to the firm.”
Nurturing the next generation So what can young insurance professionals learn from this year’s Hall of Famers? Levy credits three values with helping him build a successful career in insurance. “The first value is, whatever you do, do it for the right reason,” he says. “Never sell a policy for the revenue. Sell it because it is the right policy for the insured. The second value I follow is to pay it forward. Someone was there to help me learn – make sure you are willing to help someone else learn. Be a mentor, as it goes a long way to success. Lastly, I think it is important to recognize that everyone makes mistakes. I believe it is OK to make a mistake – just make sure you learn from the experience and don’t make the mistake again.” His advice to young people eyeing their own spot in the Hall of Fame one day is to put in the effort to establish yourself as an expert at something. And, paraphrasing Warren Buffett, he cautions, “It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and a second to kill it.”
Anthony J. (Tony) Kuczinski CEO Munich Re US Holding
John Lupica Vice Chairman, Chubb Group President, North America Insurance Chubb
Phone: 609-243-4200 Email: akuczinski@munichre.com Website: munichreamerica.com
Website: chubb.com
Ben Francavilla President Amwins Program Underwriters
Kathleen Felderman Managing Principal, National Real Estate Practice Leader EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
Phone: 717-214-7601 Email: ben.francavilla@amwins.com Website: amwins.com
Phone: 303-809-8995 Email: kathleen.felderman@epicbrokers.com Website: epicbrokers.com
George Rusu Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder Captive Resources
Lori Ann Long President Community Association Underwriters/ Alliant Insurance Services
Phone: 847-860-7069 Website: captiveresources.com Greg Williams Co-Founder, CEO and President Acrisure
Phone: 267-757-7125 Email: llong@cauinsure.com Website: cauinsure.com
Phone: 616-265-1633 Email: communications@acrisure.com Website: acrisure.com
Marc Schmittlein President and CEO CopperPoint Insurance Companies
John Keegan Executive Vice President Amwins Brokerage of New Jersey
Phone: 602-631-2139 Email: mschmittlein@copperpoint.com Website: copperpoint.com
Phone: 732-346-3911 Email: john.keegan@amwins.com Website: amwins.com
David Dybdahl CEO American Risk Management Resources Network
Matthew Cooper President Inner-City Underwriting Agency
Denise Lloyd President and CEO D.H. Lloyd & Associates
Maureen Gallagher Agency President; National Real Estate and Workers’ Comp Vertical Leader AssuredPartners
Brad Havemeier President Gulfshore Insurance
Ed Levy Director Openforce
Richard Denning President Shelter Island Risk Services
Christine LaSala Senior Independent Director Beazley Group
Jerry Sullivan Chairman The Sullivan Group
Rusty Reid Chairman, President and CEO Higginbotham
Dale Sharpe Jenkins Founder, Agency Principal The Jenkins Agency
Karen O'Connor Corrigan President O’Connor Insurance
William R. Berkley Founder W. R. Berkley Corporation
Barbara Strauss Executive Vice President York International Agency Bob Preston Former Owner/Operator (Deceased) Alternative Risk Underwriting
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SPECIAL REPORT
HALL OF FAME 2021
ANTHONY J. (TONY) KUCZINSKI CEO Munich Re US Holding
W
ith more than 37 years of experience in the insurance industry, Tony Kuczinski is responsible for Munich Re’s property & casualty insurance, reinsurance and specialty insurance businesses in the United States. “When I began my current role as CEO, I had to execute a strategic plan requiring massive changes in thinking,” he says. “The goal was taking a well-respected, relatively large, singular channel reinsurer and transforming it into a powerhouse – a multichannel, broader industry player.” Kuczinski’s success would be measured by premium, profits, return on capital, innovation and thought leadership. “This goal required a change in corporate culture and mindset, as well as a radical shift in our support of clients and distribution partners, and better leveraging of the broader platform
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and the Munich Re Group while having a keen focus on both organic and inorganic drivers of growth,” he says. “Successfully leading this extremely challenging transformation over 13 years, which continues today, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.” Kuczinski holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Pace University and has completed the advanced executive education program in conjunction with the AICPCU and the Wharton School. During his 32 years at Munich Re, he has held various roles. Prior to assuming his current position in January 2008, he was president of the specialty markets division of Munich Reinsurance America and president of American Alternative Insurance Corporation and the Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Company.
Kuczinski has also been active in several insurance industry associations throughout his career, including serving as chair of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, Reinsurance Association of America and The Institutes. A strategic and forward-thinking leader and a perpetual learner, Kuczinski isn’t afraid to ask tough questions. “I’m consistently willing to challenge myself and my views, which is especially vital in our current fastpaced, whitewater world,” he says. “I consider myself to be a humble and authentic leader who connects well with people at all levels and gains energy from others. Few things take me by surprise. While I consider history to be important in how it teaches and shapes us, I believe good leaders need to focus as much, if not more so, on what lies ahead and in navigating a path forward.”
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22/10/2021 2:01:47 am
JOHN KEEGAN Executive Vice President Amwins Brokerage of New Jersey
BEN FRANCAVILLA President Amwins Program Underwriters
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pecialization is the key to our success,” says Ben Francavilla, president of Amwins Program Underwriters (APU). “We are focused on being the best in class in all the industries we serve. We are also laser-focused on providing positive returns to our carrier partners, and that has enabled us to have program longevity with our carriers.” With 25 years of expertise in developing and managing insurance programs, Francavilla is currently responsible for the oversight of more than 35 insurance programs that cover a variety of niche industries. APU has 10 locations across the US with over 150 dedicated professionals and more than $390 million in annual placements. The company’s growth is a direct result of Francavilla’s ability to read the market, understand what’s needed and develop new programs to meet those needs. “At Amwins Program Underwriters, we’re proud of the fact that we were the vanguard of the program business movement, having launched programs as far back as the 1990s,” says Francavilla, who joined APU as senior managing director in 1999. “We’ve been able to hone our craft, and by doing so, I think we have been able to teach a whole new generation how to make programs the fastgrowing segment of the insurance industry it has become.”
D
uring his 42-year career, John Keegan has left an indelible mark on the insurance industry, including mentoring industry leaders in the underwriting community, as well as retail and wholesale brokers. Keegan joined Amwins in 2004 as part of the Property Risk Services (PRS) acquisition and was integral early in Amwins’ genesis, forming a small team that built PRS into a premier wholesale broker servicing second- and third-tier brokers with superior marketing relationships and consultation. As PRS president, Keegan was instrumental in growing the company into a model of the current wholesale brokerage landscape with strong marketing ability, unparalleled carrier relationships and a full range of services, including due diligence, claims advocacy and tailored manuscript forms. During his career, Keegan has served as senior vice president of major accounts for Home Insurance Company in Philadelphia and New York City and as senior vice president and property manager for New York City and most of the East Coast for Aon, where he was eventually promoted to property practice leader. He also worked for Napco, a spinoff of TriCity brokerage, where he serviced some of the nation’s largest clients before being promoted to president of the company. Keegan remains active in the East Coast brokerage and underwriting community through organizations such as the Insurance Brokers’ Association of the State of New York and the Inland Marine Underwriters Association. Outside of the industry, he is involved with Wounded Warriors.
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SPECIAL REPORT
HALL OF FAME 2021
JOHN LUPICA Vice Chairman, Chubb Group and President, North America Insurance Chubb
J
ohn Lupica serves as vice chairman, Chubb Group and president, North America Insurance, with executive responsibility for all of Chubb’s general insurance business in the US, Canada and Bermuda, including commercial property & casualty, personal lines, agriculture and accident & health insurance. His scope of responsibility includes all products, underwriting, marketing and sales, claims, actuarial, and support functions related to these business lines. Lupica has close to four decades of property & casualty insurance experience, and he’s learned a lot during that time. “The most
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successful individuals I know make it a point to never stop learning, regardless of where they are in their careers,” he says. “In the insurance industry, new risks, new technology and new ways of doing business require all of us to be constantly learning. For these reasons, it’s imperative to become a student of the industry. We should all challenge ourselves regularly to learn something new every day and seek out formal learning opportunities to grow our expertise.” Prior to his current role, Lupica served as president of North America major accounts and specialty insurance at Chubb. Before ACE’s acquisition of Chubb in January 2016,
he was vice chairman of ACE Limited and ACE Group and chairman of insurance for North America. Lupica joined ACE in 2000 as executive vice president of the US professional risk business and advanced to division president of the unit. He also served as division president of US regional operations before being named president of ACE USA in 2005. He was appointed to the additional role of chief operating officer for North America insurance in 2010. Prior to joining ACE, he served as senior vice president for Munich-American Risk Partners and held various management positions at AIG.
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KATHLEEN FELDERMAN Managing Principal, National Real Estate Practice Leader EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants
t EPIC Insurance Brokers, Kathleen Felderman has built and leads an innovative team with specific industry expertise that is recognized by underwriters and clients as best in class. “I was given the opportunity to design a practice platform in the way I always believed a team should function and be rewarded,” Felderman says. “It’s a heady thing to go all in and build a team from scratch, taking prior positive and negative career experiences and putting it all on the line. I’m proud to say it’s been a tremendous success.” As managing principal and national real estate practice leader at EPIC, Felderman is responsible for the overall direction, goals and thought leadership of EPIC’s national real estate practice. She has been named a Power Broker for the real estate industry by Risk & Insurance three times, has been a member of IBA’s Elite Women list, and is a regular speaker for numerous national and international organizations, such as the National Multi Housing Council. While at EPIC, she has also helped raise more than $250,000 for Mercy Housing, the real estate practice’s chosen charity, to support additional services and a scholarship fund. “Relationships are key to a successful career,” Felderman says. “Success can be individual, but I have found that being a part of a team of like-minded individuals enhances each day – and is a lot more fun!”
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22/10/2021 2:02:00 am
SPECIAL REPORT
HALL OF FAME 2021
GREG WILLIAMS Co-Founder, CEO and President Acrisure
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reg Williams is the co-founder, CEO and president of Acrisure, which he started in 2005. Under his leadership, Acrisure is the fastest growing broker in the history of the industry and also the most profitable top 10 broker. Acrisure today is diversifying into a fintech services platform with complementary capabilities in asset management, real estate, cyber services and more. Acrisure’s historic success starts with a relentless focus on healthy partnerships and value creation. In doing so, Acrisure created a business model that minimizes disruption, aligns interests and prioritizes growth. “Historically, insurance M&A has been a very disruptive process, with the negative impact on the acquired company often ignored,” Williams says. “The ensuing chaos can deeply damage the employer and employee relationship and, just as important, can disenfranchise clients – an unwanted outcome for all constituents. We saw a huge opportunity to offer a better alternative and
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have been very successful as a result.” Acrisure was formed to provide intermediaries with access to differentiated resources and an attractive business model. The emphasis was on alignment of interests and maintaining an entrepreneurial dynamic by keeping client decisions at the local level. With these strategies, Acrisure has grown revenues from $38 million to over $3 billion in just over eight years (a compound annual growth rate of 67%) and increased EBITDA from $10 million to $1.2 billion in the same timeframe (a 72% CAGR). Acrisure’s stellar value proposition stems from its vast network of partners and clients, differentiated data analytics, geographic diversity, and impressive artificial intelligence capabilities. “The best of humans and AI is a powerful combination and appeals to entrepreneurs globally,” Williams says. “Our partners are bold, resilient and understand the power of the customer,” he continues. “Unlike many companies, Acrisure recognizes the power of human relationships and the
many ways technology can make us more efficient and effective. The opportunity to expand our audience and accelerate the pace in which we win new business is real. But it takes both technology and humans to make this happen. Our results demonstrate the winning strategy is through this combination.” Williams has extended Acrisure’s success and capabilities into distinct social impact. The company proudly supports the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Acrisure’s home of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and formed Evolution Advisors alongside Russell Wilson, Russell Westbrook and Ciara to tackle DEI issues in financial services. Prior to co-founding Acrisure, Williams was an investor and board advisor to a variety of companies and was a vice president at Michigan National Corporation (MNC), a $19 billion bank holding company. As a senior executive at MNC, Williams managed the commercial sales and services group, was a member of the corporate marketing committee and chaired the corporate operations committee.
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MARC SCHMITTLEIN President and CEO CopperPoint Insurance Companies
ince becoming president and CEO of CopperPoint Insurance Companies in 2016, Marc Schmittlein has helped lead what had been a former state fund with a single product operating in a single state into a multiline super-regional commercial carrier. CopperPoint now operates in 10 states with a strategic focus on continued growth. “The CopperPoint experience is really a crowning achievement on what has been a blessed, long and rewarding career,” Schmittlein says. Prior to joining CopperPoint, Schmittlein spent 34 years at Travelers, culminating in a stint as president and CEO of the small commercial division known as Select Accounts – a $2.7 billion business unit of Travelers’ business insurance. Schmittlein also served on Travelers’ management and operating committees and held leadership roles in the commercial divisions of St. Paul Companies and Aetna. At CopperPoint, Schmittlein has been at the helm of a team offering industry-leading workers’ comp and commercial property & casualty insurance solutions. “Being in the P&C industry for nearly 40 years, I reflect back on all of the mentors who helped open doors for my career,” he says. “The CopperPoint family of companies is focused on building a culture that delivers positive impact in the communities where we live and work by doing what’s right. It is my hope that our core mission will allow me to provide those same purpose-driven career opportunities for the next generation of talent.”
Saving the Chemical Industry Money on their Insurance Premiums Consumer Specialties Insurance, RRG (CSI) is the chemical industry’s leading and most reliable source of liability insurance coverage. CSI also is the exclusive partner of the Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA), the premier trade association representing the broad interests of companies engaged in the manufacturing, formulation, and distribution of specialty chemical products. PRoGRam HIGHlIGHtS Ø Commercial General Liability & Umbrella (including Products Coverage); Ø Limits Available up to 5,000,000; Ø Minimum Premiums Starting at $3,500 (NEW!); Ø Limited Pollution Coverage up to $1,000,000 available;
Ø $250,000 of Product Withdrawal Expense Coverage; Ø Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability; Ø 10% Premium Credit Upon Completion of “Product Care” Stewardship; Ø 12% Commission to Retail Broker on All New Business.
Our recently expanded BRoaDENING ENDoRSEmENt includes blanket waivers of subrogation, blanket additional insureds, product withdrawal expense, and many other exclusive offerings. *NEW loWER mINImUm PREmIUm oF $3,500 aVaIlaBlE FoR mEmBERS WItH aNNUal REVENUES oF $500,000 oR lESS View our website (www.csiplus.com) for our PRoGRam aPPlICatIoN, FaQ PaGE, PRoGRam BENEFItS aND E-BRoCHURE. CSI is the chemical industry’s leading risk retention group, providing chemical manufacturers and distributors with a financially stable source of liability insurance for over 25 years. We are the exclusive partner of The Household & Commercial Products Association (HCPA - www.thehcpa.org), the industry’s leader for education and legislative advocacy. With membership in the HCPA your clients can participate in HCPA’s Product Care stewardship and best practices program. CSI Policyholders that participate can be eligible to receive additional premium discounts. CSI is endorsed by HCPA and administered by Ames & Gough.
Contact Ames & Gough at 703-827-2277 or email us at csiplus@amesgough.com for more information. 8300 Greensboro Drive l Suite 980 l McLean, VA 22102 l www.amesgough.com
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22/10/2021 2:02:10 am
SPECIAL REPORT
HALL OF FAME 2021
GEORGE RUSU Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder Captive Resources
LORI ANN LONG
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President Community Association Underwriters/ Alliant Insurance Services
s the chairman, CEO and co-founder of Captive Resources (CRI), George Rusu is responsible for the overall representation of the company to its captives, as well as the strategic oversight and direction of all CRI operations. He has also served as a director of numerous companies, including an investment fund for CRI client captives and industry associations. Rusu has led the growth of CRI for more than 35 years, always maintaining a competitive edge. “Rather than compete with others in the area of conventional insurance that already had great solutions, I looked for an area in our industry that could be improved,” he says. “That led me to the area of group captives, which seemed underserved by our industry. I then was fortunate enough to surround myself with a great team of people, far smarter than me, who helped me develop the area of group captives to solve our members’ needs. If you can solve the problems of others, you will always be needed." Rusu says insurance is special in that professionals get to learn about hundreds of industries during their careers, not just one or two. As a result, it offers untold opportunities for young people. “I’d recommend anyone joining our industry find something within it that they can make their own and improve,” he says. “If you find something that you uniquely enjoy doing, then you will never work another day in your life. You will simply wake up every day doing something you enjoy. I believe the insurance industry has some of the nicest and most interesting people within it. It’s been my pleasure to be a part of this unique community.”
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L
ori Ann Long’s 38-year career is a portrait of market-based innovation and empathetic leadership. “The most important thing is to realize that you can’t be an expert in all things,” Long says. “You need to surround yourself with a team of people you can trust to fill in your gaps, then give them the freedom to play to their strengths and thrive in the job they were hired to do.” Long has achieved remarkable milestones during her years managing and directing Community Association Underwriters (CAU), an Alliant company and MGA that provides insurance for community associations throughout the US. When Long joined CAU in 1993, it was a $2 million company. Today, thanks to her leadership as president, CAU is a nearly $220 million enterprise. In 2020, she presided over a record year of 12% growth and has overseen further growth and expansion throughout 2021. Long is one of the original recipients of the Community Insurance Risk Management Specialist (CIRMS) designation from the Community Association Institute (CAI) and is a sought-after speaker for numerous CAI events. “The most important thing to remember is that insurance is still a people industry,” she says. “I meet with people, talk to them and let them know I value them as an individual, not just what they can do for the bottom line.”
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FEATURES
SECTOR FOCUS: EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY
Employment issues Between COVID-19, vaccine mandates and an ongoing rise in sexual harassment claims, employers are under pressure on multiple fronts. IBA checks in with experts in employment practices liability insurance to find out how the market is responding
WHAT EPL COVERS Sexual harassment Discrimination Wrongful termination Breach of employment contract Negligent evaluation Failure to employ or promote Wrongful discipline
IT’S NOT easy running a business these days. Ongoing issues, ranging from concerns about COVID-19 and vaccines to the hyper awareness of sexual harassment brought about by the #MeToo movement, have been challenging employers. Fortunately for them, employment practices liability (EPL) insurance is there to protect them against claims of wrongdoing. Over the past year and a half, there’s been an influx of first-time buyers to the segment, says Jason Binette, EPL product manager for AmTrust Exec. “We are seeing new business submissions from applicants that have been in business for 40 years and have never purchased EPL coverage before now. It is roughly a 20% influx in new first-time buyer submissions over prior years.” According to Anne Gouin, product director of employment practices liability at The Hartford, the EPL market has been firming over the past year. There have been limits in capacity, increases in self-insured retentions and more use of sublimits to manage severity in a carrier’s book. In addition, the sector continues to experience an evolving risk environment, Gouin says, leading to greater discipline around pricing, retentions, and terms and conditions.
“Among the emerging exposures facing employers nationwide and the EPL sector is the impact of vaccines and proposed federal and state vaccine policy, as well as new and proposed federal, state, and local laws, such as statutes around workplace harassment, pay transparency, and employee privacy,” she says. “The EPL sector will continue to offer capacity, but with increased underwriting
Deprivation of career opportunity Wrongful infliction of emotional distress Mismanagement of employee benefit plans Source: Insurance Information Institute
“We are seeing new business submissions from applicants that have been in business for 40 years and have never purchased EPL coverage before now” Jason Binette, AmTrust Exec rigor around specific industry segments, namely healthcare, financial and professional services, and education. In addition, EPL buyers will be tasked with demonstrating greater clarity and implementation of employer practices around vaccine requirements; diversity, equity, and inclusion, including pay equity; leave policies; workplace environment and safety and time;
and wage tracking.” Binette adds that “the anticipation is that markets will continue to adjust to the ever-changing exposures that we are facing. Whether that occurs through limit management, retention increase or restrictive endorsements/exclusions remains to be seen. Each market will most likely adopt one, if not all, of these measures.”
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FEATURES
SECTOR FOCUS: EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY
Coping with COVID One big factor putting pressure on the EPL market right now is COVID-19 and related claims. Although Gouin says the fallout from the pandemic hasn’t had as much of an impact on the segment as originally feared, she notes that underwriters have been scrutinizing employers’ policies and procedures for pandemic response, such as flexible work, leave policies and workplace safety. “In the February, March, April timeframe of last year, there was a lot of trepidation, a lot of uncertainty as to what the litigation environment was going to look like, what the claims were going to look like,” she says. “We’ve certainly seen a significant number of COVID-related EPL claims and many of them paid. But I have not seen the disastrous consequences of that accountability. Last spring,
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“I think the next version of COVID EPL claims is going to revolve around vaccine mandates because there’s been a lot of them that have been implemented or employers are getting on board” Kelly Thoerig, Marsh around COVID exclusions, there were suggestions that – not just in the EPL space, but all lines and particularly financial lines – some of the carriers were considering putting COVID exclusions on their polices. By and large, we have not seen that come to pass.” Binette agrees that while COVID-19 claims haven’t been as bad as anticipated, the
pandemic has altered the market for EPL. “Over the past year, we’ve seen an influx of carriers amending, restricting or flat-out eliminating EPL coverage,” he says. “Markets have increased pricing from 5% to 50% on renewal business. Others have increased retentions, lowered limits and/or added exclusionary wording for COVID-related
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claims. There are also markets which have non-renewed EPL risks. “Now that we are over a year into the pandemic, we’ve started to see the EPL market stabilize a bit,” he adds. “It really started stabilizing over the course of the summer, but with the emergence of vaccine mandates, the ending of unemployment benefits for millions of people and new laws popping up, we could see another rise in restrictions in the near future. There has been market inconsistency throughout the pandemic, and it is my belief that this will continue due to the new exposures the market faces.” Vaccination, in particular, will continue to be a hot-button issue for employers in the near term. “There are two main areas of concern with mandating vaccines: disability/medical discrimination and religious discrimination,” Binette says. “There has been a rise in these claims as more and more companies mandate employees to be vaccinated. In addition, the Biden administration has announced the federal vaccine mandate for all government employees, as well as private-sector employers with over 100 employees. We have seen backlash throughout the country on vaccination mandates, and we are watching this carefully from an EPL perspective.” Kelly Thoerig, managing director of EPL and W&H at Marsh, adds, “I think the next version of COVID EPL claims is going to revolve around vaccine mandates because there’s been a lot of them that have been implemented or employers are getting on board. You have the federal mandate coming through. So that’s a key issue.”
Other pressing concerns In addition to evolving concerns around COVID-19, both Binette and Thoerig say sexual harassment claims remain a major issue for the EPL sector in the wake of the #MeToo movement. “The cost to resolve one of these claims is significantly more, by virtue of the societal and kind of headline news attention that the
EEOC COMPLAINTS HAVE FALLEN – BUT WILL THAT TREND CONTINUE? ANNUAL NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS TO THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION 100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 Source: US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
“The EPL sector will continue to offer capacity, but with increased underwriting rigor around specific industry segments, namely healthcare, financial and professional services, and education” Anne Gouin, The Hartford #MeToo movement received,” Thoerig says. Other claims trends include violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), third-party claims challenging the accessibility of public-facing websites and claims under the Equal Pay Act. Binette also foresees an increase in complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) connected with the recent end of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. “In the past, when the number of unemployed individuals is high, we normally see a
higher number of EEOC complaints,” he says. “To date, the EEOC complaints are actually lower than what we’ve seen in prior years – 67,448 in 2020 versus 72,675 in 2019. Even though 2020 was a strange year, and a much higher number of employees were terminated compared to prior years, the biggest difference is that unemployment benefits didn’t run out. With no loss of income, the likelihood of an EPL claim or EEOC complaint lessens. Now that the steady income no longer exists, we could expect an uptick in complaints.”
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FEATURES
BROKERAGE INSIGHT
Environmental education At Burns & Wilcox’s Environmental Center of Excellence, Gina Jones oversees a team that handles submissions from offices across the US, leveraging their expertise in the sector to spread awareness about emerging exposures and exclusions OVER THE past decade, pollution has become a growing global concern. Recognizing this, Gina Jones, vice president and director of environmental programs at Burns & Wilcox, created an Environmental Center of Excellence, where she trains her team to structure policies so that if a client suffers an environmental loss, the team is able to respond to any pollution condition and provide coverage for a breadth of issues. Each policy is individually tailored, depending on what local governments or entities deem an environmental condition, and exposures vary depending on where a client is located. “Every single client has an environmental exposure,” Jones says. “Clients think that if they don’t deal with something toxic or hazardous, they don’t have an exposure. What they’re not taking into consideration is if you have something disastrous happen, such as a hurricane, and water washes through your building, causing asbestos or lead to be released, that is a pollutant.” Natural disasters tend to inadvertently impact environmental claims, from chemicals released by the destruction of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and the Gulf Coast area in 2017 to the forest fires that burned throughout the West in 2020 and preceding years. Because anything irregular coming into a natural environment as the result of a
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catastrophe can pollute it, Jones says, “our policies don’t exclude anything that’s considered a catastrophe, such as flood, hail or wind.” Climate change has caused an increase in severe weather events, so Jones says clients should be proactive in seeking agents who can educate them on how to mitigate environmental risks, as many clients aren’t able to predict losses or liability exposures themselves. “The biggest problem we have in the environmental area is that clients don’t think they have exposure, so they don’t buy the insurance and they’re left to pick up the pieces after the fact,” she says. Carriers have also been carefully underwriting and pricing for emerging issues such as catastrophes and climate change. “If water levels are rising, and it causes flooding in a paint manufacturer or gas station,
all of those chemicals are now being released and creating an excess of pollutants,” Jones points out. “Climate change is a growing issue and something that should be thought about with respect to environmental insurance.” What’s unique to Burns & Wilcox is that the brokerage has a team of 15 people in the Environmental Center of Excellence who are dedicated to environmental coverage and education. They know the carriers, the landscape and what individual clients need to make sure they’re properly insured. “Our policies can be adapted and changed to fit clients’ needs,” Jones says. “We’re able to cover and manage clients’ risks and have environmental engineers who work with us to understand the gravity of specific exposures. We try to provide education on potential exposures, but the problem is, people are
WHAT’S CONSIDERED A POLLUTION CONDITION? To illustrate the often unanticipated nature of pollution, Gina Jones offers the example of a trucker who was hauling milk; the truck capsized and overturned into a local stream. Milk isn’t typically thought of as a pollutant, but it killed all the fish in the stream. Therefore, the milk became a pollution condition outside its natural environment. College students were brought in to assess the loss of fish and reintroduce them into the stream. Burns & Wilcox’s environmental policies cover national resource damages, so if there’s any pollution condition that damages a natural resource, the brokerage comes up with solutions to restore the ecosystem that was destroyed.
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FAST FACTS: BURNS & WILCOX
YEAR FOUNDED 1969
HEADQUARTERS Farmington Hills, Michigan
NUMBER OF OFFICES 60+
“The biggest problem we have in the environmental area is that clients don’t think they have exposure, so they don’t buy the insurance and they’re left to pick up the pieces after the fact”
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 2,000+
SPECIALTIES Commercial, professional and personal lines afraid to talk about environmental insurance because they don’t understand it. We try to let agents and clients know we’re here to help and have the expertise to answer questions about what exposures there may be.” Burns & Wilcox’s Environmental Center of Excellence aims to educate agents about the environmental coverage available so that agents can educate their clients to relieve the stress of potential losses. “We’re here to talk about it and make agents comfortable when engaging in those conversations,” Jones says. She stresses the importance of having continuous conversations with clients. Stan-
dard environmental policies can always be enhanced and changed. They’re written in such a way that there is a baseline, but that can shift based on emerging environmental risks. Bringing in the right experts to assess exposures, provide claims examples and develop strategies for mitigating risks will help agents determine where environmental insurance fits in their client base. “The absence of loss doesn’t mean the absence of risk,” Jones says. “It’s important to stress to our clients that just because you’ve never had an environmental loss doesn’t mean you don’t or won’t have a risk.”
PRESIDENT AND CEO Alan Jay Kaufman
ANNUAL REVENUE $2 billion+
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FEATURES
PRODUCTIVITY
The key to getting it done Being a business owner comes with a lot of work and responsibility, so it’s easy to feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. Nicola Moras outlines a four-point plan for getting more done in less time
BUSINESS OWNERS all have one thing in common: so much to do and finite time to do it in. The famous quote “We all have the same number of hours in a day as Beyoncé” may be true, but we don’t all have the luxury of the support that Beyoncé has. It’s what you do with the hours you have available that actually matters. Some of the cracks begin to show when your to-do list starts spanning two, three, four, five or more pages. But you’re not alone. That’s going to be overwhelming for anyone. Feeling overwhelmed leads to inaction and distractedness. Add to the mix the constant juggle of family time with trying to finish work on time or even early. Then add school
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runs (or homeschooling during COVID) and the constant pressure to do more, be more and get more done.
when it comes to productivity, they often have the opposite effect. It can feel never-ending. Over the past decade, I have used a rock-
Our smartphones have done wonders for us in many ways, but when it comes to productivity, they often have the opposite effect What’s worse is that we are more connected than ever, and there is a more common expectation that you’ll be available beyond 5 p.m., often stretching out to 8, 9 and even 10 p.m. for some. Our smartphones have done wonders for us in many ways, but
solid process that never ceases to fail – for myself and for clients. In fact, the only time it fails is if it doesn’t get used. Read on to find out how to make it work for you, every single time, so you can get more done in less time while being efficient and effective.
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Dreaming
It might seem strange that one of the keys to getting more done is to do less. Dreaming doesn’t have you sitting at the keyboard, tapping away incessantly, does it? Many business owners and entrepreneurs get caught up in the hustle – in the day-to-day push to tick more boxes, add more things to
projects you need to work on to get there? From there, it’s time to break that 90-day plan down into a 30-day action plan. What are you going to do specifically over the next 30 days? What key projects can you tackle or undertake over that period? This becomes your 30-day focus plan. All you need to do now is break this down into
Smaller, bite-sized focal points make it easier for you to implement an action plan because you only need to focus on getting those specific things done the list and be seen by their peers as heroes because they got less sleep. “Hustle harder!” they cry. No. No. No. This is unhelpful! I’m all for the hustle, but only during a set number of hours and when it’s conducive to producing a sustainable result. Take some time to dream about where you want to be in the next 12 months. What does that look like for you and your business? What are the goals you want to hit? Is the path you’re on right now leading you toward achieving that?
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four sections of focus for each seven-day block within the month. You now have a weekly action list that you can implement each day for the next five workdays. Easy-peasy! Smaller, bite-sized focal points make it easier (and faster) for you to implement an action plan because you only need to focus on getting those specific things done. You’ll repeat this every month in each quarter.
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Accountability
This is the cornerstone of getting things done. Find someone who will be your accountability partner or part of your accountability group. This could be a peer or a mentor. It’s crucial that you have someone you can report to who will kick your butt if you haven’t done what you said you were going to do.
4
Taking action
When you put this strategy in place and focus on bringing each task to completion every day, you will triple your productivity and likely your results. The only way to create a result is to take steady and consistent action. Follow these steps, and I know you will achieve your goals sooner than you could have ever dreamed of – and feel a lot less overwhelmed. Nicola Moras is an online visibility expert and the author of Into the Spotlight, a guide to help you step up your online visibility, become a rock star in your industry and make your business thrive.
Planning
Once you’ve had some time to dream, the tendency to launch straight into action is huge. But it’s time to practice “patience, young grasshopper.” First, you must plan. When you look at what you want to achieve over the next 12 months, it’s easy to become overwhelmed when you think about all the tasks that need to be done. Start by breaking down your 12-month dream into a 90-day plan. What can you do over the next 90 days to get a quarter of the way toward your goal? What are the specific
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FEATURES
LEADERSHIP
Investing in self-leadership Workplace resilience expert Michelle Bihary explains why it’s important to lead ourselves well in order to be effective in leading others
SELF-LEADERSHIP is a game-changer when we want to be the best version of ourselves. It helps us think, learn and relate to others effectively, optimizing our skills, talents and potential. Self-leadership is leading ourselves from the inside out. It’s the influence we use to shape our behaviors and thoughts to live and work in alignment with our values, aspirations, strengths and talents. Emotional intelligence expert Daniel Goleman highlights the value of this concept: “Exceptional leaders distinguish themselves because of superior self-leadership,” he says. Every time we speak to ourselves, we are building an internal relationship that can support or undermine us. Why is self-leadership important? There is a critical link between how we lead ourselves, how we perform at work and our capacity to contribute to a thriving, healthy workplace. Poor self-leadership has a detrimental impact on our brain functioning, cognitive and psychological agility, relationships, career, and well-being. Underperformance; being hard to work with; and energy-draining, rigid, negative, closed-minded, impatient, competitive or even toxic behaviors are often the
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results of poor self-leadership. Common ways people lead themselves poorly include perfectionism; overly focusing on weaknesses and limitations; ignoring strengths and skills; being harsh or toxic toward themselves; and neglecting their own needs, goals and values. There are seven key reasons why it’s wise to invest in self-leadership.
1
The ability to lead others
If you’re not leading yourself well, you won’t be effective in leading others. Our relationship with ourselves is the foundation for how we relate to others. If we don’t appreciate our strengths, skills and talents, we’re unlikely to be able to appreciate them in others. If we can’t trust ourselves, we’re less likely to trust others and more likely to micromanage.
energy to engage fully in both their professional and personal lives.
3
Positive impact on others, relationships and teamwork
When we lead ourselves well, we’re empowered and take greater responsibility and ownership of our energy, our presence, and our behaviors, resulting in more proactivity and positivity. We’re also more consistent and reliable, we have better boundaries, and we are more empowered in meeting our own needs so are less demanding of others.
4
Energy and mojo
Positive self-leaders invest in building and optimizing their mojo. They have the physical, mental and emotional energy necessary to meet their professional and personal demands. They don’t waste time
Poor self-leadership has a detrimental impact on our brain functioning, cognitive and psychological agility, relationships, career, and well-being
2
Sustainable peak performance
Leading ourselves well helps us maintain our mental and emotional bandwidth – our capacity to be present, adaptable and agile. Self-leadership guides us to use self-awareness and self-care to optimize our energy, well-being and vitality. If we’re not leading ourselves well, our potential may be squandered through neglecting to optimize our strengths and skills. Self-leaders understand the critical value of good self-care practices, ensuring they perform well under pressure and have the
on energy-draining behaviors like unnecessarily harsh self-criticism, shaming, selfblaming, self-sabotaging or destructive habits that rob them of fulfillment.
5
Capacity to adapt and learn
Strong self-leadership provides the foundation for openness to learning. Active self-leaders invest in lifelong learning. Self-awareness is a core component of self-leadership, ensuring an appreciation of strengths, values, preferences and talents. Self-leaders welcome opportunities to learn and grow, and see mistakes and failures
as opportunities for learning. Self-leaders are not hijacked by their egos; instead, they bring a growth mindset, continually looking for ways to be enriched by the wisdom and skills of others.
6
Agency and autonomy
Feeling that everything is outside of their control is a common experience of poor self-leaders; they tend to focus their time and attention on what they can’t control rather than what they can. Being pushed around more by what is outside of our circle of influence makes us feel powerless and overwhelmed. Self-leaders prioritize a mental focus on what they can influence and, at the same time, acknowledge what they can’t control.
7
Harmony with your values
Your values are non-negotiable; they are an important part of who you are and how you navigate the world. Strong self-leadership is when you are clear about what you value, so your values, intentions, behaviors and actions are in harmony. Living up to everyone’s expectations can create internal conflict, as others’ values and expectations are not always going to align with our own. Self-leadership is a skill set that needs to be continually developed. Building selfleadership helps us fulfill our potential and make a positive impact on others around us. It leads to greater organizational success through empowering people to regain control of their direction and goals, and it ensures that their best selves show up on the job. Michelle Bihary is a people leadership and workplace resilience expert.
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PEOPLE
OTHER LIFE
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email iba@keymedia.com
Lago says the pompa no is his favorite fish to catch
HOOKED ON A FEELING Relaxation is insurance exec Julian Lago’s catch of the day when he goes surf fishing WHEN JULIAN LAGO moved to Florida 20 years ago, his interest was piqued by the sight of anglers at the beach casting their rods into the surf. It wasn’t long before he was one of them. “I’ve enjoyed fishing since my youth, but it was just fascinating seeing the fishermen casting surfside and watching the excitement when the rod starts moving oh so gently, then bending when that big one hits,” says Lago, the president of employee benefits and insurance provider Benezon. “The quiet sounds of the surf just take me to a place of total relaxation.” While fishing often requires a great deal of patience, sometimes luck is on Lago’s side – and nothing beats that feeling, he says. “One morning in early April, it felt like everything just aligned. Pompanos swim in large schools, but I had to stop because I had hit my daily catch limit in just a few minutes. This doesn’t happen often, but if the water temperature and surf are right, you can just keep casting and they keep biting. That morning, I didn’t even have time to set all the rods before my first two went off almost as they hit the water. Boom – fish after fish! What a great morning!”
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Years Lago has been surf fishing
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10+
Number of fishing rods he owns
300
Yards of line he brings when fishing
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