Published: February 2024
AM Best TV & Audio: American Specialty Executive: For Specialty Insurers, the Name of the Game Is Innovation—and Pickleball: Also, professionals discuss this winter’s weather perils and explore how carriers can use their resources to support MGAs.
AM Best Webinars: Panelists Discuss How the Insurance Industry Can Navigate the Current Courtroom Environment: Professionals also examine outlooks for the new year and explore rebranding strategies, corporate citizenship and market expansion.
Artificial Intelligence: NAIC Executive Committee Adopts AI Bulletin Leaving ‘Bias’ in Text: Kathleen Birrane of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners said at an executive committee meeting that the bulletin was created through a “highly collaborative” process, with amended drafts exposed in July and October and discussed in November 2023.
At Large: M&A Goldilocks Principle: Why Deal Size Matters in Leadership: M&A strategists should eschew deals that are too big or too small to build long-term value. Midsize deals are large enough to demand care and attention from executive leadership without being overly disruptive to operations.
Best's Rankings: Largest MENA Insurers - 2024 Edition: Ranked by 2022 direct premiums written.
Best's Rankings: Largest Surety Insurers – 2024 Edition: Ranked by 2022 direct premiums written.
Book Store: Author: Changing Risk Appetites, Economy Transform Insurers’ Retirement Business: iDigital Partners CEO Aymeric Kalife provides an overview of traditional and nontraditional savings and retirement products.
Corporate Changes: Mergers, Acquisitions, State Actions and Name, Ownership and Domiciliary Changes: Encova Life, Horace Mann Lloyds and United Mutual are among the U.S. and Canadian life/health and property/casualty insurers that have experienced a corporate change.
Executive Changes: American International Group Appoints Permanent General Counsel, Hires New EVP-Chief Information Officer: Lloyd’s Europe names CEO, Hartford welcomes chief claims officer and Assurant fills CFO and COO posts.
From the Editor’s Desk: Insurance Educators Share Insights From the Classroom: In this month’s issue, Best’s Review speaks with six of the country’s leading insurance educators. This issue also includes rankings of the largest Middle East/North Africa insurers and largest surety insurers.
Insurance Education: Academic Pursuit Led to ‘Insurance Nirvana’ for Columbia Educator: Columbia University’s Teresa Chan carved a diverse path from dealing with industry giants to giving back to students.
Insurance Education: Campus Conversations: Insurance educators such as college professors can have an outsize impact on the professional development of generations of professionals in the industry. Their guidance can shape learning in the classroom and help students understand the need for continued education once they have embarked on their careers. To highlight February as Insurance Education Awareness Month, Best’s Review interviewed professors from several notable insurance and risk management academic programs nationwide.
Insurance Education: Crafting an Insurance Education To Provide a Broad Range of Skills: Like other industries, the insurance sector is looking for employees who can adapt to the rapidly changing environment in the 21st century, University of South Carolina Professor Robert Hartwig says.
Insurance Education: Helping Insurance Students Get ‘Back on Track’ After the Pandemic: David Marlett, managing director of the Brantley Risk & Insurance Center at Appalachian State University, has had to reeducate students on the “soft skills” they need to be successful insurance businesspeople.
Insurance Education: Insurance Veteran, Consumer Advocate Schmit Brings ‘Creative Destruction’ to Wisconsin: Joan Schmit earned her MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where, as the American Family Insurance Distinguished Chair in Risk Management and Insurance, she was able to introduce the Creative Destruction Lab program in 2020.
Insurance Education: Student Engagement Is Paramount for FSU Insurance Program: Charles Nyce, chair of the Department of Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate and Legal Studies at Florida State University, works to get students interested in insurance—and to see things from their perspective.
Insurance Education: Temple Professor Wants Future Insurance Professionals ‘To Hit the Ground Running’: R.B. Drennan says the university’s risk management and insurance program aims to transform students into young professionals as companies look to recruit new talent.
Insurance Leaders: A Closing Chapter for Some as Industry Leaders Mark the Passage of Another Year: Top executives at Humana, Mercer/Marsh McLennan, Aflac and MetLife, among others, announced retirement plans in 2023.
Insurance Leaders: In Memoriam: Insurance Industry Leaders of 2023: Charlie Munger, Denis Kessler and two former state insurance commissioners were among the industry executives who died last year.
Insurance Marketing: Specialization Drives Growth, Marketing Executive Says: Joe Cohen, Axis Capital’s chief marketing and communications officer, discusses the company’s rebranding, how it supports the company’s specialty underwriting focus and its approach to “employer branding” by showcasing its culture.
Insurance Media: Podcast Helps Listeners Navigate Insurance Industry’s Twists and Turns: Mark Geoghegan, a longtime insurance journalist and editor of The Voice of Insurance, uses his production to provide a roadmap for succeeding in the industry and understanding its nuances.
Insurance Professional Resources: Managing Catastrophic Claims: Balancing a Client’s Reputation With Business, Strategic and Legal Needs: John “Jack” Delany and Kristen Worley, co-chairs of Marshall Dennehey’s catastrophic claims litigation group, talked with Best’s Insurance Law Podcast about protecting clients dealing with catastrophic claims.
Life and Annuity: Life and Annuity Insurers Eyeing Bermuda in Quest for Efficiency: In a strong market for annuity sales, life and annuity insurers are looking to form new divisions or acquire existing ones in Bermuda.
MENA Insurers: Saudi Arabia, Türkiye Reacting to Inflationary, Economic Pressures: The following includes a list of the largest MENA insurers as well as excerpts from three Best’s Country Risk Reports.
Media Program – Publisher: In Other News ...: A roundup of news from publishers around the globe. Access to some sites may require registration or subscription.
Risk Adviser: Homeowners Current Market State: Managing Profitability and Volatility: Carriers need to modernize homeowners insurance contracts to address market pressures and properly identify risks.
State Rate Filings: Allstate Implementing Double-Digit Auto Rate Hikes in California, New Jersey and New York: The company earlier said it would shed Allstate brand auto coverage in the three states in 2024 unless regulators approved rate increases.
The Last Word: B.S.? B.A.? MBA? Technical Skills Can Enhance College Degree’s ROI and Career Prospects, Industry Leaders Say: Hiring in the insurance sector largely tracks the broader economy, but dynamics favor hiring among agents and actuaries over claims and underwriting, according to U.S. Labor Department data.
Trending: Best’s News: Top Stories Include Features About New Insurers Entering the Florida Market and the Impact of Artificial Intelligence: Other popular items include a ranking of the top audit and actuarial firms and a webinar on how insurers are combating legal system abuse.
Trending: Best’s Research: Trending Research Includes Special Reports on US P/C Nine-Month 2023 Results, Life/Annuity Investors: Other trending research includes Market Segment Outlooks on U.S. excess and surplus lines, U.S. personal lines and global reinsurance.
Underwriting & Loss Control: When It Comes to Risk, Insurance Can Help Keep HVAC Contractors From Feeling the Burn: Best’s Underwriting & Loss Control Resources provides insight into the lines of coverage HVAC contractors need to consider.
What AM Best Says: Losses Drive Negative US Personal Lines Outlook; DUAE Market Shows Continued Growth: AM Best analysts spoke during a recent market outlook briefing that highlighted ongoing challenges in property/casualty insurance and a positive outlook for delegated underwriting authority enterprises.
What Readers Say: Readers Recall Influence of Insurance Instructors: Best’s Review readers weigh in on who influenced them and why, when it came to their insurance education and professional development.