Published: March 2023
AM Best TV & Audio: Despite Recent State Reforms, Bail Bond Premiums Have Grown, AM Best Analysts Say: Also, professionals explore the evaluation of risk exposures for university art collections and discuss what can be done to narrow the life insurance gap.
AM Best Webinars: Panel Members Discuss Experiences in Casualty and Excess & Surplus Market: Insurance professionals also explore the importance of data variables and the implications of video surveillance on liability and damage evaluation.
App Store: Digital Experiences Embedded in an App: Technology company EIS aims to provide a platform for insurance needs in one unified system.
Asset Management: Post-Pandemic Commercial Real Estate Investments Shift: Changes in the way people work and shop have prompted insurers to choose multifamily housing and industrial properties over the traditional asset classes of retail and office space.
At Large: Predictability and Potential: Knowledge Framework for the Future: Classifying predictions into tiers, based on degree of certainty, can help insurance companies plan more efficiently.
Best’s Rankings: Crop-Hail Filings by Overall Effect With Increases Greater Than 15%: Based on an effective date beginning Jan. 1, 2022, through Jan. 26, 2023.
Best’s Rankings: Top 10 Holders of Structured Securities, by Industry Segment – 2023 Edition:
Best’s Rankings: Largest Multiperil Crop Insurers – 2023 Edition: Ranked by 2021 market share (DPW%).
Best’s Rankings: Largest Private Crop Insurers – 2023 Edition: Ranked by 2021 market share (DPW%).
Best’s Rankings: Crop-Hail Filings by Overall Effect With Decreases Greater Than 10%: Based on an effective date beginning Jan. 1, 2022, through Jan. 26, 2023.
Book Store: Authors: Videos, Customer Reviews Help Insurance Agents Boost Online Presence: Charles and Linda Musselwhite share ways to strengthen digital marketing strategies.
Executive Changes: AIG Names Interim Chief Financial Officer, Global Chief Actuary After Leadership Shake-Up: Massachusetts Mutual and Swiss Re appoint successors to retiring chief investment officers, and Everest Re taps global chief information officer.
Executive Interview: Kuczinski: Insurers Can’t Handle Climate Change, Catastrophic Risk by Themselves: Retired Munich Re executive Tony Kuczinski spoke to Best’s Review about how insurance companies have to do a better job of speaking as an industry to deal with rapidly evolving risks. But they can’t do it alone.
From the Editor’s Desk: The Makeup of the Global Reinsurance Broker Sector Continues to Evolve: The March issue includes coverage of global reinsurance brokers and a feature on trends in death benefits paid in the United States. Other content includes a feature about insurers’ investments in commercial real estate and Best’s Rankings of the largest crop insurers.
Imaging Robots: Near Space Labs CEO: Stratospheric Imaging Robots Help Assess Property, Respond to Disasters: Customers of Near Space Labs use the imagery in a multitude of ways, including pricing, underwriting and risk engineering, renewals, inspections and claims.
Industry Updates: Bank of England Governor Warns of Repeat Insurer Collapse as Regulations Ease: Gov. Andrew Bailey recalled Equitable Life Assurance Co.’s undoing 20 years ago under similar circumstances.
Insurance Marketing: Aligning With Business Goals Paves the Way for Marketing Success: Hub’s Ellina Shinnick discusses effective marketing strategies and campaigns that can make a company stand out.
Insurance Professional Resources: Crown Laws Aim to Protect Student-Athletes From Discrimination Based on Natural Hair: Additional coverage includes the appointment of a Marshall Dennehey attorney to the Philadelphia Bar Association’s board of governors.
Issues & Answers: Issues & Answers: Excess and Surplus Lines: Insurers discuss how they are supporting and developing specialized coverages that match the unique needs of their risk.
Life Insurance: Death Benefits Reach Record Levels in Pandemic Times: Death benefits paid out by life insurers in the United States reached more than $100 billion in 2021 as higher mortality in the broader population crept into books of business.
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: Cybercrime Coverage Has Its Limits: A recent Ohio Supreme Court case addressed whether software qualifies as media that is covered by a particular insurance policy.
Reinsurance Brokers: Landmark Deals Change Landscape for Global Reinsurance Brokers: Gallagher’s 2021 acquisition of Willis Re solidified the top three brokers in the reinsurance market, while the recent creation of Howden Tiger has produced a competitive fourth option.
Reinsurance Brokers: Reinsurance Broker Executives Recognize Trends in Insurance-Linked Securities:
Reinsurance Brokers: Briefing: AM Best Briefing Participants Say Reinsurance Market Remains Unsettled Following Jan. 1 Renewals: Risks are increasing in the reinsurance sector and AM Best is finding a more uncertain world with insurable risks more difficult to price.
Reinsurance Brokers: Interview: Gallagher CEO: Brokers Are Needed the Most in Difficult Reinsurance Markets: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Chairman, President and CEO J. Patrick Gallagher Jr. also spoke about reforms designed to stabilize the Florida market.
Risk Adviser: Asset Allocation Expected To Be More Important Than Ever: For those who would like to shore up some of the risks, reinsurance may be particularly valuable now.
Risk Adviser: Inflation’s Impact on Property Insurance-to-Value: Many homeowners and businessowners are underinsured, but independent agents are stepping up efforts to increase protection for their clients.
The Last Word: Traditional Insurance for a Nontraditional Industry: Cyber coverage is no longer enough to protect social media businesses and the influencers who run them, insurers say.
Trending: Best’s Research: Trending Research Includes a Report on Delegated Underwriting Authority Enterprises: Other trending research includes a report on how insurers are adjusting to FASB’s new GAAP rules and a report on insurance underwriting expenses.
Underwriting & Loss Control: Germany’s AquaDom Rupture Exposes Aquarium Risks: Best’s Underwriting Reports and Best’s Loss Control Reports provide insight into the lines of coverage, exposures and loss control for aquariums.
Web Traffic: Web Traffic: Visits to Top Global Reinsurers’ Sites: R+V Versicherung AG leads web analytics provider Semrush's ranking of top global reinsurers based on unaffiliated gross premiums written in 2021.
What AM Best Says: AM Best: Uncertain Markets a Challenge for Structured Securities: Insurers are considering rising interest rates and inflationary pressures when setting investment strategies.