< Previous8BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 Executive Changes The board of Convex Group Ltd. named Paul Brand as group chief executive officer. Brand founded the business in 2019 with Stephen Catlin, executive chairman. Brand has 40 years of insurance industry experience, including 31 years at Catlin and XL Catlin. He was chief underwriting officer at Catlin between 2003 and 2015 and CUO (Insurance) at XL Group following the Catlin takeover from 2015 until 2017. He was also chairman of Accelerate, XL Catlin’s in-house innovation team, from 2016 until 2018. In 2018, he and Stephen Catlin began to work on the formation of Convex, which was launched in 2019. He became deputy CEO from its foundation, according to a company statement. “I am truly delighted that Paul has been appointed CEO by the board,” said Catlin in a statement. “When we launched Convex in 2019, the plan was that Paul would become CEO in due course and his appointment has been fully endorsed by our shareholders. “He has led the team which has built Convex into a superb business with a strong competitive advantage and hard- to-replicate intellectual property. This promotion is very well deserved.” According to the company, Convex Group is an international specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on complex specialty risks across a diverse range of business lines. The company operates out of London, Bermuda, Luxembourg and New Jersey. —Staff Report Convex Group Promotes Deputy Chief Executive Officer to Group CEO Allianz Holdings and Hiscox each welcomes a new COO and former Prudential plc CEO comes out of retirement to join Athora. Argo Group International Holdings Names Successor to CEO Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. appointed Thomas Bradley to succeed Kevin J. Rehnberg as chief executive officer. Bradley served as Argo’s chairman since 2020 and as interim chief executive officer since March 2022. This appointment is effective immediately. Bradley also will continue in his role as executive chairman of the board of directors. In his new role, Bradley replaces Rehnberg, who has been out on leave for health reasons since March 2022, according to BestWire. Rehnberg also will resign from the company’s board of directors, effective immediately, the company said. Bradley is an industry veteran with extensive experience in the insurance industry. He previously served as the chief financial officer and executive vice president of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings AG, a global provider of insurance and reinsurance solutions, from 2012 until 2017. Prior to that, Bradley served as executive vice president and CFO for two other public companies, Fair Isaac Corp. and the St. Paul Cos. He also held senior financial and operational positions at Zurich Insurance Group, including CFO for North America and CEO of the Universal Underwriters Group (now Zurich Direct Markets). He currently serves on the board of directors of Horace Mann Educators Corp. and previously served on the board of directors of Nuveen Investments Inc., according to a company statement. Allianz Holdings Appoints Chief Operating Officer Allianz Holdings promoted Ashish Patel to the position of chief operating officer. He also will join the Allianz Holdings executive committee. In his new role, Patel will have responsibility for Thomas Bradley Paul Brand9BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 overseeing operations and technology, including Allianz’s transformation program, the company said in a statement. Patel has worked for the Allianz Group for nine years. He previously held the position of head of Allianz Technology India. Most recently, he led the global delivery network for Allianz Technology, where he was responsible for overseeing branches in India, Spain and Thailand. Prior to joining Allianz, Patel had a lengthy career in the banking sector, including six years as director at Barclays Bank India, according to a company statement. Hiscox Names Group Chief Operating Officer, CUO in US Hiscox appointed Stéphane Flaquet as the group’s chief operating officer, effective Sept. 1 and subject to regulatory approvals. In his new role, Flaquet will oversee a number of critical central functions, including group claims, group information technology, property services, procurement and group marketing to ensure the continued effective and efficient delivery of core services. He will be a member of the group executive committee and report to Aki Hussain, chief executive officer, Hiscox Group, according to a company statement. Flaquet has been with Hiscox since 2010 and has held a number of senior roles across the group. He initially joined Hiscox as COO for Hiscox Europe before moving on to become group IT Director in 2012 and then CEO for Hiscox Europe between 2016 and 2021. He is currently group chief transformation officer and interim CEO for Hiscox U.K. In other company news, Hiscox named Steve Prymas as chief underwriting officer in the United States. He will be based in White Plains, New York. Prymas has more than 25 years of specialty insurance experience. He joins Hiscox from Embroker, where he helped to grow the insurtech’s business as chief insurance officer. Prymas also has held senior leadership roles at Gen Re and The Hartford, according to a company statement. Hiscox USA provides a variety of specialty risk solutions, including a broad spectrum of errors & omissions, general liability, cyber and data security, media liability, management liability, crime, and terrorism insurance products. Athora Taps Former Prudential Plc Chief Executive as Group CEO European retirement services group Athora Holding Ltd. has named Mike Wells as group chief executive officer, subject to regulatory approvals, and Michele Bareggi to the newly created role of president and deputy CEO. Wells joins the company out of retirement from Prudential plc, where he worked for 26 years, including seven years as CEO. He retired from the company at the end of March 2022. As CEO, Wells delivered two strategic demergers, accelerating the development of an Asian shareholder base through a successful equity issuance on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and transitioning the company into an Asian- and African-focused life and health insurer, according to a company statement. Bareggi has been at Athora since its formation in 2018 and has successfully led the group and its significant growth over the last four years, the company said. According to his company bio, Bareggi joined Athora in September 2017 as CEO and was responsible for the coordination and direction of the management executive committee and the Athora group subsidiaries. He was formerly managing director and head of Morgan Stanley’s European insurance and pensions business as well as being responsible for Morgan Stanley’s reinsurance operations globally. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2010 and also led the fixed income capital markets division in Italy. “Athora has made significant progress since its creation in January 2018. The growth achieved in just over four years reflects the business’ strong foundations and ambition to become a leading provider of retirement products and solutions in Europe. With Mike and Michele and their combined skills and experience, we have the ideal leadership team for this next stage of Athora’s development,” said Nikolaus von Bomhard, chairman of Athora’s board of directors. Mike Wells Ashish Patel Stéphane Flaquet10BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 Executive Changes Canopius USA Names General Counsel-Chief Risk Officer Canopius Group, a global specialty insurer/ reinsurer, hired Serena Lee in the newly created role as general counsel and chief risk officer, Canopius USA. This role is in response to the company’s significant U.S. expansion. Lee has 15 years of corporate governance, transactional, compliance and litigation experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Canopius, Lee held various senior legal positions, most recently as vice president, senior counsel - corporate and litigation with Ambridge Partners LLC, formerly Brit Global Specialty USA, and senior counsel for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, according to a company statement. Axa XL Exec Joins Everest Reinsurance as Head of Claims and COO Everest Reinsurance, the reinsurance division of Everest Re Group Ltd., named Brent Hoffman as senior vice president, head of claims and chief operations officer. Hoffman will have dual responsibility for overseeing key aspects of business operations and leading the global reinsurance claims function. He will help to drive operational efficiencies and best practices consistently across the organization, according to a company statement. Hoffman joins the company with more than 25 years of industry and legal experience and a proven track record for managing high-performing teams. Most recently, he was Axa XL’s chief claims officer, responsible for leading its global claims strategy and operations to support claims excellence across multiple business lines and geographies. Prior to joining Axa XL, Hoffman held several leadership positions at Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., where he led teams responsible for claims, litigation, and settlement strategies, according to the company. Former World Bank Exec Appointed to Newly Created Role at Gallagher Re Global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re named Antoine Bavandi to the newly created role of global head of public sector, parametric and climate resilience solutions. Bavandi will lead Gallagher Re’s newly established public sector and climate resilience solutions global practice, with responsibility for developing Gallagher Re’s core offering globally and driving profitability as well as developmental impact. The new practice will work closely with the global climate and environmental, social and governance analytics and advisory function led by Ed Messer. Bavandi will be based in London and he will report to Printhan Sothinathan, chief executive officer, global analytics and advisory, Gallagher Re, according to a company statement. Bavandi has more than 17 years of experience and joins Gallagher Re from his most recent position as senior climate and disaster risk finance specialist at The World Bank. In his previous role, he was responsible for advising governments and insurance and banking sector clients on the financial risk management of climate and catastrophe events through an analytics-driven approach to risk transfer strategies and derivative products, according to the company. Prior to this, Bavandi worked at ArgoGlobal and Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty as a catastrophe risk portfolio manager and class underwriter. He has extensive experience with working across both public and private sectors with a focus on transactions, strategic and analytical advisory, the company said. At-Bay Names Insurance Industry Veterans to Board Cyber insurance provider At-Bay has appointed Scott Carmilani and David Lockton to its board of directors. With nearly 60 years of experience between them, Carmilani and Lockton bring a strong track record of innovation and insurance expertise to At-Bay’s board, the company said. Carmilani currently serves as executive chairman of Vault Insurance Services. The former chairman and chief executive officer of Allied World Assurance Serena Lee Brent Hoffman Antoine Bavandi11BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 Company Holdings, he spent 20 years building the company from a small Bermuda operation into a worldwide reinsurance operation which was acquired by Fairfax in 2017. Prior to this, Carmilani held numerous executive positions at American International Group, including as the president and vice president of two major insurance divisions, according to a company statement. Lockton recently stepped down as executive chairman at Lockton Cos. after serving for almost 30 years as president, CEO and then chairman. He remains with Lockton as its lead director. For nearly 40 years, he led the firm’s strategic vision and grew the company into the world’s largest privately owned brokerage. A highly sought-after thought leader within the industry, Lockton is known for his transformational leadership and fostering a strong culture of entrepreneurship and commitment to service excellence, according to the company. Mosaic Insurance Names Head of Americas, Global Chief Legal Officer Mosaic Insurance promoted Stavan Desai to head of Americas, and Katherine Spenner to global chief legal officer. Desai joined the company from American International Group, where he was a senior underwriter, with a focus on transitional risk insurance for complex mergers and acquisitions and secondary transactions. Prior to AIG, he served as a senior attorney at Schulte Roth & Zabel, where he concentrated his domestic and cross-border practice on private equity, M&A, leveraged buyouts, and alternative asset management transactions, according to his company bio. Spenner has played an integral role in leading innovative and consistent underwriting execution across the M&A insurance portfolio at Mosaic. She previously served as a senior transactional risk insurance underwriter at Everest Insurance. Spenner also brings nearly a decade of experience representing public and private-equity clients in a wide range of complex domestic and cross-border M&A transactions at White & Case and Torys, according to her company bio. Lloyd’s Europe Appoints CUO Lloyd’s Europe hired Bertrand Heugues as chief underwriting officer. He is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction for underwriting, delegated authority management, claims and reinsurance business. Heugues has more than 18 years of experience in the insurance industry as a nonlife actuary with a wide range and depth of experience in underwriting, pricing, and risk and portfolio management, the company said in a statement.He joins Lloyd’s Europe from Ageas in Brussels, where he was global head of pricing and underwriting. BR Katherine Spenner 010,000,00020,000,00030,000,000 Ameritas Life Group NGL Ins Group Natl Life Group Guardian Life Group Massachusetts Mutual Life Group Northwestern Mutual Group Mutual of Omaha Group New York Life Group Nationwide Life Group State Farm Life Group Web Traffic: Visits to Top Life/Health US Mutual Insurance Writers’ Sites Visits Source: www.semrush.com Reported traffic for July 2022. Visit news.ambest.com for a full listing of Best’s Rankings. State Farm Life Group leads web analytics provider Semrush’s ranking of life/health mutual insurers. David Lockton Photo: Business Wire Bertrand Heugues12BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 Monthly Insurance Magazine Published by AM Best A.M. BEST COMPANY, INC. Oldwick, NJ CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO Arthur Snyder III SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS Alessandra L. Czarnecki, Thomas J. Plummer GROUP VICE PRESIDENT Lee McDonald A.M. BEST RATING SERVICES, INC. Oldwick, NJ PRESIDENT & CEO Matthew C. Mosher EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & COO James Gillard EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CSO Andrea Keenan SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTORS Edward H. Easop, Stefan W. Holzberger, James F. Snee AMERICAS (NCSA) WORLD HEADQUARTERS 1 Ambest Road, Oldwick, NJ 08858 Phone: +1 908 439 2200 MEXICO CITY Av. Paseo de la Reforma 412 Piso 23, Col. Juárez, Alcadía Cuauhtémoc, C.P. 06600, México, D.F. 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FORESTAY13BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 In the News Regulatory Update South Carolina court issues business interruption ruling and New Jersey governor signs new auto insurance legislation. Business Interruption Insurance: South Carolina’s highest court has ruled the COVID-19 virus has not caused direct physical damage to properties and upheld an insurer’s denial of business interruption coverage caused by government- ordered restrictions on business operations. The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that claims for coverage by Sullivan Management LLC, which operates Carolina Ale House properties, were properly denied by Fireman’s Fund and Allianz Global Risks. Sullivan sought coverage for losses after Gov. Henry McMaster temporarily prohibited restaurants from providing on- site dining to limit the spread of the virus, it said. Auto Insurance: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation raising minimum auto insurance coverage levels. Murphy signed S. 481, which will raise the minimum amount of liability insurance for drivers from its current $15,000 coverage level to $25,000 beginning in 2023, and a minimum of $35,000 starting in 2026. It would raise the limits again to $35,000/$70,000/$25,000 in January 2026, it said. Under the legislation, about 1.1 million drivers would see premium increases of $120 to $130 annually, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association said. Timothy Darragh is an associate editor. He can be reached at timothy.darragh@ambest.com. Life Insurers Ramp Up Plans to Address ‘Social Infrastructure’ Companies involved in the program will start by focusing on affordable and workforce housing. by Timothy Darragh L ife insurers are working on plans to do what they do best—invest for the long term—and find a way to do it in underserved and low-income communities. The plans, discussed at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Summer Meeting, aim to address what company representatives are calling “social infrastructure,” or the essentials of strong communities: housing, jobs, health and wellness. The initiative will dovetail with the NAIC’s Center for Insurance Policy and Research’s efforts, already underway, to study the role of U.S. insurance companies as a source of physical infrastructure financing, said Director Jeff Czajkowski. An umbrella for the social infrastructure initiative is 360 Community Capital, a new nonprofit led by the American Council of Life Insurers. Organizers are working on establishing the basics of the program, such as its governance and tax-exempt status, said Pat Reeder, ACLI deputy general counsel. Companies involved in the program will start by focusing on affordable and workforce housing “because so much else flows from there,” he said. “We think it’s part of the mission of the life insurance industry.” Industry officials and regulators said the effort is not designed to be a giveaway. Investments have to fit in with insurers’ overall investment strategies, they said, meaning that it is a program with a long-term focus. “It has to generate market returns,” said Doug Wheeler, senior vice president at New York Life Insurance Co. As communities get stronger, more wealth comes with it and those people will want to buy life insurance, he said. “It’s a win-win-win,” Wheeler said. New York Life already has a dedicated “impact investing team,” he added. Organizations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is deeply involved in community development, has provided “pre-development” funding to begin the process of determining where it can align with life insurers, said Kimberlee Cornett, director of Impact Investments. Companies in some cases have already made investments that would fit the definition of social infrastructure without realizing it, Reeder said. For example, an insurer may have made investments in school bonds that make financial sense while also benefiting target communities, he said. The Connecticut Insurance Department began reaching out to insurers about impact investing in 2019, noted Kathy Belfi, special adviser to Commissioner Andrew Mais. BR “[The initiative] has to generate market returns.” Doug Wheeler New York Life Insurance Co.14BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 By Bill Pieroni Insurers in these markets must accept competition. The Curious Case of Hypermature Markets T his year in “At Large” we’ve been sharing insights generated by ACORD’s Global Insurance Growth & Profit Pools study, which examined 94 of the world’s insurance markets. Having explored developing markets, mature markets and the U.S. market in particular, I’d like to conclude this series by discussing an intriguing segment uncovered in our research: “hypermature markets.” Types of Markets: ACORD’s research classified “mature” markets as those demonstrating higher- than-average insurance penetration relative to GDP, but lower-than-average growth. Within this category, four markets emerged as hypermature: the U.K., France, Italy, and Australia. In each of these countries, insurance penetration—premiums written, as a percentage of GDP—not only failed to match the global average growth rate, but actually shrank. Yet, these four geographies remain key markets for the global insurance industry. What do insurers need to take into account when doing business in these hypermature markets? Characteristics of Hypermature Markets: While hypermature markets are similar to other mature markets in most respects, they are overwhelmingly dominated by buyer demands around price and convenience. Insurers in these markets are caught in a spiral of price competition and ongoing commoditization. Brand loyalty is almost absent, and customer due diligence across both personal and commercial lines is based almost entirely on price—how cheap can I get insurance, and how easily can I switch? The resulting market is characterized by: Hypercompetition: Intense price competition forces insurers to constantly find ways of cutting costs—already lean operating models must be somehow made even more efficient. This is coupled with the nearly zero-sum nature of customer acquisition—insurance penetration in these markets is already so high that any potential customer will most likely need to be poached from a competitor. Hypersegmentation: In an effort to find a non-price-based competitive advantage, insurers in hypermature markets often attempt to microsegment their brands to target extremely Best’s Review columnist Bill Pieroni is president and CEO of ACORD. He can be reached at bestreviewcomment@ambest.com. At Large15BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 granular niche markets—perhaps policies for very specific types of vehicles, or for members of one particular profession. While insurers often spend material amounts of money and effort to differentiate themselves in this way, they often meet only limited success functions. Hyperaugmentation: Another common tactic in these challenging markets is driving income through “add-ons” to existing policies. This is not just typical cross-selling—insurers in hypermature markets are often found inventing additional products, services, and enhancements for policyholders that are rarely found even in other mature markets. In fact, these additional offerings are often completely outside core insurance functions. Dealing With Hypermaturity: Insurers in nascent hypermature markets must attempt to avoid Theodore Levitt’s “commodity magnet” and avert the downward spiral of price competition. By adding value in non-price-based ways—and educating consumers accordingly—they may be able to achieve meaningful differentiation. However, insurers in these markets must unfortunately accept the necessity of intense price competition. They must adopt a “price- plus” strategy that, while not ignoring product leadership, customer intimacy, and innovation, prioritizes operational efficiency. Success in these markets requires a lean operating model, a deep understanding of the relevant economics, and corresponding capability alignment. BR AM Best TV Visit www.bestreview.com to watch an interview with Bill Pieroni.Risk Adviser 16BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 By Derek Kueker The pandemic showed consumers the importance of life insurance, creating an opportunity for insurers to make a play to close the coverage gap and bring financial protection to more people. It’s Time for Life Insurers to Go on Offense I t is said character is revealed in times of crisis. For the life insurance industry, the pandemic was such a crisis—and the industry demonstrated the true value and social good insurance brings to people in need. The challenge now is to turn the many achievements of the past two and half years into lasting benefits for the industry and the people it serves. Rising to the Challenge The pandemic was not a single event but a series of ever-changing challenges. While insurers focused on writing new business amid lockdown protocols and managing the claims impact of COVID-19, they were hit with a barrage of indirect business effects—financial market volatility, remote working, the Great Resignation, and the list goes on. Without missing a beat, companies created an improvised business-as-usual mode to continue to serve consumers. An industry that relies on trends saw trends constantly evolving—where waves of the virus were hitting, who was being affected, what variants and sub-variants were emerging, how vaccine development and rollout were progressing. As things seemed to be winding down in the summer of 2021, the delta wave unleashed perhaps the worst phase of the pandemic for life insurers. But the industry continued to push forward. Insurers found creative and innovative solutions to ensure that access and affordability to products remained constant. They accelerated changes to underwriting approaches to balance timeliness and consumer safety with risk management, condensing years of major advances into just months. Despite resource and workforce disruption, they met increased demand for protection products and paid billions of dollars in claims, fulfilling commitments to policyholders and providing much-needed financial support amid so much loss. Embracing the Opportunity As laudable as these accomplishments may be, Best’s Review contributor Derek Kueker is vice president and senior actuary, Experience Studies Analytics and chief data officer, U.S. Mortality Markets at Reinsurance Group of America Inc. (RGA). He can be reached at CMSTeam@rgare.com.17BEST’S REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2022 now is not the time for the industry to rest on its laurels. It is time to go on offense. COVID-19 left consumers with a whole new understanding of and appreciation for the value of protection products, creating an opportunity for insurers to close the coverage gap and bring financial protection to more people. Key adaptations made at the height of the pandemic should be evaluated as potential steps to progress and, if compatible with sound risk discipline, incorporated into new ways of doing business. Advances made in areas such as digital distribution and accelerated underwriting, for example, need to be carried forward and built on. Forward-thinking companies must find ways to sustain momentum in both consumer engagement and solution development. Tomorrow’s leading insurers will be those optimists now envisioning the limitless potential ahead and positioning their businesses accordingly. This will require both securing the financial strength to absorb future impacts and fostering the operational nimbleness to pivot quickly as new opportunities arise. With companies expecting to move on to a new phase of COVID-19, the energy and urgency put into the pandemic should not be abandoned but redirected toward building the future. The life insurance safety net held strong for families around the world in the face of a global crisis, and the trust engendered as a result must now be leveraged to make coverage accessible to as many people as possible. If insurers embrace emerging opportunities with the same determination with which they faced the challenges of the pandemic, the industry’s future will be bright indeed. BRNext >