Published: March 2022
AM Best TV & Audio: LIMRA: Amid COVID, Economy Concerns, Insurers Riding High on Wave of Consumer Confidence: Also, professionals discuss the industry outlook for 2022 and examine the state of gender diversity in insurance.
AM Best Webinars: Panelists Examine How Investments, Use Cases Are Utilized to Drive Innovation: Professionals also explore ESG and its relationship to the ratings process and discuss key factors driving rating trends in the U.S. market.
App Store: App Helps Insurers, Homeowners Address Water Damage to Property: The app collects data that helps underwriters and homeowners identify changes in eligibility, pricing and coverage.
Asset Management: NAIC Revisions to Capital Requirements Widen Opportunities for Real Estate Investments by Life Insurers: The small shift could make the sector more attractive as a long-term place to realize gains, although the COVID-19 pandemic has injected some uncertainty into the picture.
At Large: Lawsuits Elevate Social Inflation to New Levels: The insurance industry must raise awareness of social inflation to ensure a healthy and robust economy going forward.
Best's Rankings: Top 10 U.S. Multiperil Crop Insurers — 2022 Edition: Insurers were ranked by 2020 market share.
Best's Rankings: Top 10 U.S. Private Crop Insurers — 2022 Edition: Insurers were ranked by 2020 market share.
Book Store: Author: Culture Is Key to Driving Results, Employee Engagement: In their book, Mark Miller and Ted Vaughn talk about the importance of creating the right culture to grow a brand.
Corporate Changes: Name, Ownership and Domiciliary Changes, Acquisitions and State Action: Madison National Life, Associated Indemnity and Americas Insurance are among the North American life/health and property/casualty insurers that have experienced a corporate change.
Crop Insurance: California Farms and Wineries Now Qualify for FAIR Plan Fire Coverage: The Department of Insurance is changing how the FAIR Plan operates as part of a broader solution to help protect rural businesses, especially those vulnerable to climate-intensified wildfires.
Executive Changes: After 60-Year Insurance Career, Geico’s Executive Chairman Retires: Also, CoverWallet CEO, co-founder steps down, Chubb hires new treasurer and CIO and Acrisure Re appoints global head of catastrophe modeling.
Flood Insurance: NFIP Senior Executive: Work With Private Sector To Reduce Disaster Suffering: David Maurstad, deputy associate administrator for federal insurance and mitigation and senior executive of the NFIP: “We need to reduce needless disaster suffering by working with the private sector in the ways that we can to collectively close the insurance gap.”
From the Editor’s Desk: Shock Verdicts Focus Insurers’ Attention: Third-party litigation funding and escalating jury awards are driving up claims costs for insurers. The March issue also includes coverage of asset management and an interview with the top executive of the National Flood Insurance Program.
Industry Updates: Florida Lawmakers Again Tackle No-Fault Auto: Trade groups still oppose repeal.
Industry Updates: US and UK Pension Risk Transfer Markets Saw Strong Second Half in 2021: The increase in the U.S. was spurred by a jump in the number of large-to-jumbo transactions.
Industry Updates: Vacancysoft: 2021 Insurance Recruitment in United Kingdom Was Up 74%: The highest number of vacancies came in the broking industry.
Insurance Marketing: Here's How Jingles Can Create Emotional Ties Between Consumers, Companies: A successful advertising jingle also helps companies build their brand and distinguish themselves from the competition, Gary Kimball said.
Life Insurance: Mortality Trends Raise Underwriting Questions for Life Insurers: For the United States as a whole, and life insurers in particular, 2021 was a year marked by higher mortality as the COVID-19 pandemic entered a third year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported deaths up across many categories, higher even than 2020.
Preferred Publisher Program: In Other News ...: A roundup of news from publishers around the globe. Access to some sites may require registration or subscription.
Regulatory/Law: Courts Favor Insurers in COVID-Related BI Lawsuits: Clear wording in business interruption policies is key to courts’ rulings supporting insurers.
Risk Adviser: A Reawakened Economy: What It Means for Workers’ Comp: The U.S. labor shortage is causing lower hiring standards, creating an unseasoned and undertrained labor force that poses many risks.
Shock Verdicts: Insurers Call for Reform, Public Awareness in Fight to Curb Shock Verdicts: Insurers have called for greater transparency, and making sure everybody involved in the case is aware when third-party litigation funding is involved. They’ve also revived the idea of tort reform and setting limits on damages in lawsuits.
Shock Verdicts: Insurers: Third-Party Litigation Is Fueling Rise in Shock Verdicts: Third-party litigation is becoming its own industry, insurers say, with hedge fund managers adding in-house legal funding investment units to beef up their growing operations.
Shock Verdicts: Shock Verdicts: Insurers Sound the Alarm as Billion-Dollar Jury Awards Drive Up Claims Costs: Insurers say they’re struggling to restrain social inflation—a rash of so-called “shock verdicts”—that has harmed the industry and threatens the overall economy.
Shock Verdicts: What Attorneys, Insurers Should Know Amid Rise of Shock Verdicts: A lawyer who has represented insured companies talked with Best’s Review about what’s led to the exponential rise of social inflation over the past decade and what litigators and insurers should know as they deal with juries that may be sympathetic to a plaintiff’s cause.
The Last Word: NFTs Present New Challenges for Insurers: AM Best Audio’s podcast addresses how nonfungible tokens, a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, is insured and how NFTs can be protected in the future.
Trending: Best’s Research: Trending Research Includes a Commentary on Secondary Perils: Other trending research includes reports on insurance innovation after COP26, derivatives and market segment outlooks.
Web Traffic: Web Traffic: Visits to Private Flood Insurers Sites: Progressive Insurance Group leads web analytics provider Semrush's ranking of the Top Private Flood Insurers based on 2020 direct premiums written.
What AM Best Says: AM Best: New Performance Assessment Provides Tool for Differentiating Between DUAEs: AM Best is turning its attention to the Delegated Underwriting Authority Enterprises market because it is becoming an increasingly important part of the insurance ecosystem.