Published: March 2021

The COVID Transformation

AM Best TV & Audio: Swiss Re Economist: Most Natural Catastrophe Losses in 2020 Were From Secondary Perils: Also, professionals discuss COVID’s trio of risks and lowering limits on child abuse and molestation coverage.

AM Best Webinars: Benefits from Optimal Processes,Accurate Analysis and How Insurance Claims Are Changing: Professionals discuss how carriers are investing resources into analytics, how remote access and lifestyle changes are affecting insurance claims and how the insurance industry is tackling long-term care.

Asset Management: Collateralized Loan Obligations on Rise in Life Insurance Asset Management as Quest for Yield Continues: Life insurers are increasingly turning to bundled corporate-loan investment vehicles, which due to their structures offer a higher return than similarly rated debt.

At Large: COVID-19 Forced Workers to Adapt to New Modes of Working: The unavoidable changes wrought by the pandemic meant many employees were pushed out of their comfort zone.

Books: Professor: Insurers Should Address Those Affected by Historical Inequalities: A historian details the inequities of insurers practicing risk assessment using racial data.

Captives: Gulf Cooperation Council Region Recognizing Benefits of Captives: Reinsurance market conditions and regulatory changes in the region are creating a better environment for captives.

Corporate Changes: Acquisitions, Name Changes and State Actions: Security Life of Denver is among the life/health and property/casualty insurers in the United States that have had a recent corporate change.

European Insurers: Activist Investor Urges Finland’s Sampo to Dump Nordea Bank: Sampo said it sold 162 million shares of Nordea Bank to institutional investors last November for gross proceeds of €1.17 billion as part of the Finnish insurer’s strategy to focus on property/casualty insurance.

Executive Changes: Munich Re America Names Successor for Retiring President, Chief Executive Officer: M. Steven Levy to retire and Marcus Winter moves into new role. Also, K. Douglas Briggs selected insurance professional of the year, Chubb names climate sustainability manager and the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers elects officers.

From the Editor's Desk: The Insurance Industry Begins Year Two of a Brave New World: This issue also includes a look at insurer investments in collateralized loan obligations and a listing of the largest European non-life insurers.

Innovation: COVID-19 a Year Later: Life Insurers Forced Into Digital, Operations Growth in Survival Bid: An endless series of run-on days and anxiety for the life insurance industry has stretched into the first year of living in a COVID-19 world. An industry known for gaming out crisis responses now finds itself pondering which parts of the pandemic response will become permanent and where it can find growth.

Innovation: Insurers Cozy Up to Remote Work and Reduced Office Space: COVID-19 forced many insurers almost overnight to shift employees into work-from-home arrangements and necessitated some to consider closing unused office space in what is the dawn of the new virtual workplace reality.

Innovation: The Pandemic Has Accelerated the Pace of Digital Transformation and Product Innovation in Insurance: Insurers were venturing on a digital journey and innovating products prior to COVID-19. But the pandemic forced many insurers to fast-track some of those transformations that are now likely to have a permanent home in the industry.

Insurance Marketing: Racing Ahead with Sponsorships and Creating Social Connections: Root Insurance is partnering with NASCAR’s Bubba Wallace, and insurers are accelerating their use of social media marketing to create long-term brand awareness and build trust and credibility with consumers.

Next Wave: One Year Later: COVID-19 Is Still Teaching Us Lessons: The pandemic has enlightened us over the course of the past 12 months. We should take care not to lose the wisdom imparted by these trying times.

Property/Casualty: Catastrophe Modeling, Improved Risk Assessment Among Panel Recommendations to Increase Takeup of Earthquake Insurance: AM Best TV spoke with four industry experts about closing the protection gap that exists even in areas with frequent earthquake activity.

Regulatory/Law: Protests, Riots Raise Questions of Civil Authority Coverage: For any given loss, coverage depends on the language of the particular policy provisions governing the claim at issue.

Risk Adviser: Drones, Telematics and Sensors Help Insurers Manage Risks: Now more than ever, innovative risk management practices demonstrate the unique value that carriers and independent agents deliver to their customers.

Technology: Parsyl CEO: The Last Mile of Vaccine Delivery Is Where Insurance Matters Most: A public-private partnership comprised of capital from a U.S. government agency, reinsurers, insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates uses data and analytics to insure vaccine supply chains.

The Last Word: As the World Turns: Global Perceptions of Life Insurance: The reasons for owning life insurance, along with consumer buying behavior, vary around the world. However, nearly everyone agrees it’s an important part of personal risk management.

Trending: Best's Research: Telehealth Claim Surge from Pandemic Transforms Healthcare Delivery: AM Best also comments on the stock market frenzy impacting social inflation for insurers that provide Robinhood coverage and UK business interruption.

What AM Best Says: AM Best: COVID-19 Dampened 2020 Commercial Health Sales: Most insurers reported the individual market and employer group segment were sticking with their existing carriers during the pandemic, which caused a decline in sales.

Workers' Comp: Early NCCI Data: 8.1% Decrease in Workers’ Comp 2020 NPW: Workers’ compensation premiums fell from $42 billion in 2019 to $38.6 billion in 2020 in a change that’s attributed to COVID-19, according to NCCI.