{{indexingdisabled}} Best's Review - February 2023 Edition - Top Audit and Actuarial Ranking Leads List of Best's Review Articles

Contents

  1. Cover
  2. AD: Philadelphia Insurance Companies
  3. Ransomware Raises Difficult Questions
  4. Contents
  5. Best's Calendar
  6. AD: AM Best's Insurance Information Feeds & Web Services
  7. Axis Capital Holdings Names Successor as President-CEO Benchimol Announces Retirement
  8. CEO of Munich Re US P&C Cos. & Munich Re US Holding Inc. Setps Down
  9. Munich Re Life US Hires CFO
  10. Convex Re names Deputy CEO, CUO
  11. SiriusPoint International Taps Successor to Retiring President and CEO
  12. Tokio Marine International Names CEO for Tokio Marine Europe
  13. WTW Hires Managing Director-Director of CRB for France
  14. Web Traffic: Visits to Cyber Insurers
  15. Chubb Group Names Company's First Global Climate Officer
  16. Allstate Names Chief Legal Officer-General Counsel-Corporate Secretary
  17. Locton Hires US General Counsel
  18. Axis Capital Holdings Hires Head of Cyber and Technology, London
  19. Masthead Forestay
  20. Internal Branding Plays an Important Role in Successful Marketing
  21. Digitalization, Informational Scale Create Integrated Interactions That Add Value
  22. AD: Best's Alert Service
  23. Issues & Answers: Evaluating Risk in the Evolving Cyber Market
  24. AD: Nationwide
  25. AM Best's Briefing: Workers' Comp Market Strong, but Inflation Could Be a Concern
  26. Cyber Dilemma: Insurers Face Evolving Ransomware, Demands as Attacks Escalate
  27. Best's Rankings: US Cyber Insurance - Top 20 Insurers - 2023 Edition
  28. Cyber Insurers, Brokers: Evolving Ransomware Calls for Vigilance
  29. Industry Sees Need for Federal Cyber Backstop, but What Model is Best?
  30. Ohio Supreme Court Rules Owners Insurance Won't Have to Cover Losses in Ransomware Attack
  31. Annuities Sales Grew Sharply in 2022; Strong Year in 2023 Possible
  32. AD: Connect with AM Best
  33. Best's Rankings: Largest Insurers - Total Annuities - 2023 Edition
  34. AD: Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio Model - P/C, US
  35. World's Largest Insurers - 2023 Edition: US Health Insurers Top List Based on Net Premiums Written
  36. Best's Rankings: World's Largest Insurance Companies - 2023 Edition
  37. Best's Rankings: World's Largest Insurance COmpanies - 2023 Edition
  38. AD: Best's State Rate Filings
  39. Special Purpose Acquisition Companies Complicate the D&O Market
  40. AD: AM Best
  41. Skyward Specialty Launches IPO
  42. Best's Rankings: Largest Surety Insurers - 2023 Edition
  43. Florida Insurance Reforms: Long-Term Relief on Horizon; Near-Term Headwinds Remain
  44. Growing Power-Washing Market Comes WIth Risks
  45. AD: Best's Underwriting Reports and Best's Loss Control Reports
  46. Best's Rankings: Cyber Rate Filings by Overall Effect Greater Than 40%
  47. AD: Best's News & Research Service
  48. Author: CEOs Must Connect Traditional Capacities, New Capabilities
  49. AD: AM Best Business Trilogy
  50. Workers' Comp Coaching App Responds to Injured Employees in Holistic Ways
  51. AD: Best's Credit Ratings Mobile App
  52. Top Audit and Actuarial Ranking Leads List of Best's Review Articles
  53. Trending Research Includes Reports on 9-Month US P/C and Life/Annuity Financial Results
  54. Panel to Discuss the Importance of Data Variables in the Insurance Industry
  55. The Importance of Data Variables to Benefit Insurance Consumers
  56. Always On: How Video Surveillance is Changing Liability and Damage Evaluation
  57. IMCA/AM Best Marketing Leader Lunch With HUB International's Ellina Shinnick
  58. AM Best's Briefing - Reinsurance: Roundtable Discussion on Renewals and What 2023 May Hold
  59. To Address Ever-Changing Cyberrisk, Flexibility in Coverage Is Key, Cowbell Executive Says
  60. Cowbell's Le: Cyberthreats Shift; So Should the Coverage
  61. AM Best: Inflation, Central Bank Policy, Sovereign Weakness Top 2023 Global Economic Concerns
  62. Swiss Re's Majewski: Health & Wellness Programs Beneifit Life Insurers
  63. Insurance Institute's Leonard: Stagflation Would Most Impact Auto, Homeowners
  64. Allianz Executive: Smooth Sailing for Marine Lines Growth in 2023 Despite Inflation
  65. Allianz's Soja: Favorable Results Should Continue in Marine Lines
  66. LexisNexis' Cesario: One-Quarter of All Claims Are a Total Loss
  67. Best's Credit Rating Actions
  68. AD: BestMark for Rated Insurers
  69. Acquisitions and Name, Ownership and Domiciliary Changes
  70. Preferred Publisher Program
  71. The Importance of Early Case Management in the Litigation Process
  72. AD: Best's Insurance Professional Resources
  73. Gallagher Re CEO: Grueling Reinsurance Renewals Could Haunt Carriers When Market Rebounds
  74. Howden: Jan. 1 Renewals Revealed Hardest P/C Reinsurance Market in a Generation
  75. Masthead Backstay
  76. As Catastrophic Weather Proliferates, Art Insurers Paint a Picture of Uncertainty for Capacity and Rates
  77. AD: Philadelphia Insurance Companies
  78. AD: Applied Underwriters
 
62-63 62-63
Author: CEOs Must Connect Traditional
Capacities, New Capabilities
Book examines how business leaders are adapting and
thriving in an era of disruption and transformation.
The Edge: How 10 CEOs Learned
to Lead
and the Lessons for Us
All
In today’s radically changing world, a leader’s job is
standing on the cliff edge,
getting a grip on unfamiliar
landscapes and acquiring the
skills for leading the enterprise
into new territory, said Michael
Useem, faculty director of the
Leadership Center and McNulty
Leadership Program at the
University of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School, in his new
book,
The Edge: How 10 CEOs
Learned to Lead — and the
Lessons for Us All.
Following is an edited transcript of an AM Best TV
interview with Useem.
What principles do CEOs need to supplement
traditional leadership capacities?
Leaders still need to think strategically, decide decisively
and communicate persuasively. We also have to
honor the room, making sure everyone knows that
we appreciate how good they are. I spent time with
Progressive CEO Tricia Griffith, who began as an adjuster
and worked her way up. A few years back, Progressive’s
chief executive and board said, “Tricia, you’re good at
AM Best TV
Visit
bestsreview.ambest.com
to watch
the interview with Michael Useem.
adjusting, you understand people, you think strategically
and communicate persuasively. We’d like you to become
our CEO.” She accepted the promotion and like all people
who take a significant upward step in responsibility, she
appreciated that there won’t be a day when the decisions
in front of her will be easy.
She also concluded that her younger employees wanted
to be appreciated more for who they are and not just for
the mechanics of getting the job done. They sought to see
the CEO more personally and not perched in a high castle.
Thus, Griffith said, “When I meet people, I need to get off
the pedestal and be able to connect with them directly.”
And she did. When she entered a gathering hall to
address a group of new employees, there was no riser
or lectern. As she moved toward the front, she stopped
to greet a number of new employees, looked them in
their eyes and exchanged several words. By the time
she reached the front of the room, she had already
made a leadership statement louder than any words
she could utter. She is like them, she brings concerns,
she has a family and is happy to talk about it. Griffith
realized that sharing a sense of purpose, community and
approachability have become important elements of her
leadership.
How can leaders adapt and thrive in an era of
disruption and continuous transformation?
When things are going well, leadership is important.
When the world is changing and markets are disrupted,
our leadership calling is even greater. And how we do
that best now is a combination of what we learned in the
past and what we need to add for a different future.
—Lori Chordas
Lori Chordas
is a senior associate editor. She can be reached at
lori.chordas@ambest.com.
60
AM Best Business Trilogy
Go to Amazon to find these and other books.
Send us your book recommendations at
bestreviewcomment@ambest.com
.
AM Best details the history of AM Best, the history of
credit rating agencies, and the life of Alfred M. Best.
The Company—A History of AM Best
The Industry—A History of Credit Rating Agencies
The Man—A Biography of Alfred M. Best
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BEST’S REVIEW • FEBRUARY 2023
A B
of
A M. B
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Workers’ Comp Coaching App Responds
to Injured Employees in Holistic Ways
Travelers launched Wysa for Return to Work, a coaching app
that engages injured employees so they can learn resilience.
Workers’ Compensation
Coaching App
Workers’ compensation claims data shows that more
than 40% of employees who have missed workdays
due to injury have experienced a psychosocial barrier
to recovery. These barriers, which are unrelated to
the individual’s injury, can include fear, unrealistic
expectations, lack of sleep or minimal social support.
To help those employees, Travelers has launched Wysa
for Return to Work, a coaching app that responds to
the emotions expressed by an injured employee and
engages the employee with exercises to teach resilience,
according to Dr. Marcos Iglesias, chief medical director
for Travelers. Following is an edited transcript of an
interview with Iglesias.
How does the app work?
What it tries to do is build resilience. It does this by
offering different strategies, different skills that can
be learned on the app itself, that eventually help that
individual deal with their circumstances better. One
of the things, for example, that a lot of users do use
is the app’s instruction and help in sleeping better.
That’s a powerful thing that can help an individual
overcome their lack of sleep, their tiredness, their
fatigue. Maybe feel better about their recovery, have
less pain, be able to return to function a little bit more
quickly. That’s just one example of what the app can
do.
What was the inspiration for the app?
At Travelers, we have taken an approach that we call the
bio-psychosocial approach, or a holistic approach, to
helping injured employees to recover. We have always
thought that an individual’s physical health is important,
but what we’ve discovered over the last few years is that
their psychosocial well-being is very important to that
individual, to their recovery, to their function.
Psychosocial barriers may slow down or may prevent an
injured employee from recovering after an injury—things
like fear, something we call catastrophic thinking, an
unrealistic expectation of recovery, perceived injustice.
We know that addressing these makes a difference.
Why is it important for injured workers to have
this app?
I don’t think that every injured employee will need this
app or the support that the app provides. What we’ve
discovered is that about 40% of workers’ compensation
claimants have at least one of these psychosocial
barriers that we’ve talked about.
Because it reduces their satisfaction with the claim process,
because it delays recovery, we know that we can impact
the life of this employee who has a risk factor, who has a
barrier. What we do is we look for those individuals through
an interview process that our nurses are involved in.
—Tom Davis
Tom Davis
is editor. He can be reached at
tom.davis@ambest.com
.
AM Best TV
Visit
bestsreview.ambest.com
to watch
the interview with Dr. Marcos Iglesias.
BEST’S CREDIT
RATINGS MOBILE APP
Instant Access to Best’s Financial Strength Ratings
Our Insight, Your Advantage
Learn More: www.ambest.com/mobileapp
www.ambest.com • (908) 439-2200
BEST’S REVIEW • FEBRUARY 2023
61
App Store
22.MK147
COMING SOON:
ENHANCED VERSION WITH NEW FEATURES
Top Audit and Actuarial Ranking Leads List
of
Best’s Review
Articles
Other trending content includes the top global insurance brokers, top U.S. surplus
lines insurers and a feature about MassMutual.
Trending:
Best’s Review
1. Top Audit and Actuarial Firms
2. Top Global Insurance Brokers — 2022 Edition
3. Top 25 US Surplus Lines Insurers — 2022 Edition
4. MassMutual Prepares for the Worst Amid 2023 Warning Signs
5. Making the Move From Generalist to Specialist
Trending: BestWire
$
1. Kemper Lays Off 3% of Workforce, Cites Inflation and Other COVID-19 Impacts
2. United P&C Placed in Administrative Supervision for Duration of Runoff
3. Best’s Rankings: Progressive Surpasses State Farm to Become Largest
US Total Auto Writer in 2021
4. Berkshire Hathaway 3Q Insurance Underwriting Loss Widens to $962 Million, Led by
Geico
5. California Grants Allstate First Auto Rate Hike in Nearly Five Years
Auditors & Actuaries
Layoffs
Trending: AM Best Webinars
1. Working Together to Mitigate Nat Cat Risk in Challenging Climate Times
2. How Insurers Can Navigate Economic Downturns Through Modern Product
Management
3. How Imagery Models Are Delivering Ground Level Truth for Underwriting Risk
4. How Insurers Are Improving Auto Claims Experiences by Focusing on Customer
Satisfaction
5. Generational Effects on Juries and Litigation Outcomes
Catastrophes
Trending: AM Best TV - News Coverage
1. IICF Raises $1.3 Million at Annual New York Gala
2. Munich Re’s Kerner: Look for Continued Growth in E&S
3. Author: Focus Growing on Harnessing Insurance, Risk Transfer Tools
4. Delta’s Pollard: Mitigation Is Key to Managing Risk for the Asia-Pacific Region
Insurance Group
5. IOA’s Bridges: Rates, Cyberrisk, Weather Challenge Agribusinesses
E&S Lines
62
These were the top trending items from Oct. 24-Dec. 24, 2022. Features, news articles and videos were based on page views.
Webinars were based on webinar attendance.
The above content can be viewed on demand at
bestsreview.ambest.com
or by visiting AM Best’s homepage at
www.ambest.com
.
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Payment or subscription required.
Visit
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to learn more about how to advertise in
Best’s Review
, BestWire, AM Best Webinars
and AM Best TV.
BEST’S REVIEW • FEBRUARY 2023
Trending: Best’s News
Trending Research Includes Reports on 9-Month
US P/C and Life/Annuity Financial Results
Other trending research includes reports on structured securities and market
segment outlooks.
Trending: Best’s Special Reports
1. First Look: Nine-Month 2022 US Property/Casualty Financial Results
$
2. Insurers’ Structured Securities Holdings Continue to Rise
$
3. ID Theft and Personal Cyber Coverage Becoming Essential
$
4. First Look: Nine-Month 2022 US Life/Annuity Financial Results
$
5. Declining Yields Leading to P/C Insurers’ Investments in Riskier Assets
$
Financial Results
Trending: Best’s Market Segment Reports
1. Market Segment Outlook: Delegated Underwriting Authority Enterprises
2. Market Segment Outlook: US Life/Annuity
3. Market Segment Outlook: US Personal Lines
4. Market Segment Outlook: US Commercial Lines
5. Market Segment Outlook: Global Reinsurance
Trending: Best’s Commentary
1. Impact of Rising Interest Rates on Insurers’ Balance Sheets Will Depend on
Accounting Method Used
2. Florida Government Seeks to Repair Property Insurance Market
3. Embedded Insurance Gradually Gaining Traction
4. Florida Insurance Reforms: Long-Term Relief on Horizon; Near-Term Headwinds Remain
5. UK Solvency II Reform Likely to Drive Investment Portfolio Restructuring
Trending: AM Best TV - Research Coverage
1. AM Best’s Briefing - 2023 Outlook: Challenging Conditions Ahead
2. Why AM Best Has a Stable Market Segment Outlook for Global Reinsurance
3. Why AM Best Has a Stable Market Segment Outlook for US Commercial Lines
4. Why AM Best Has a Negative Market Segment Outlook for US Personal Lines
5. Why AM Best Has a Stable Market Segment Outlook for the US Life and Annuity Industry
DUAEs
Interest Rates
2023 Outlook
These were the top trending research and commentary reports from Oct. 24-Dec. 24, 2022.
$
Payment or subscription required.
Best’s News & Research Service subscribers can download PDF copies of all Best’s Special Reports,
Best’s Commentaries and Best’s Market Segment Reports along with supporting spreadsheet data at
www.ambest.com.
BEST’S REVIEW • FEBRUARY 2023
63
Trending: Best’s Research
Panel to Discuss the Importance of Data
Variables in the Insurance Industry
Professionals also explore different ways to position brands and examine the
reinsurance sector amid the recent renewals.
Streaming Live
The Importance of Data Variables to
Benefit Insurance Consumers

A

panel of insurance industry experts, including
a former insurance commissioner, will discuss
the history of data variables used in the insurance
industry, how they benefit consumers and the current
regulatory landscape.
This complimentary AM
Best Webinar is sponsored by LexisNexis Risk
Solutions.
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2 p.m. ET.
Always On: How Video Surveillance
Is Changing Liability and Damage
Evaluation
I
nsurance, legal and claims experts examine how the
ubiquity of video capture and recording is opening
new avenues to claims evaluation, along with new
concerns over privacy, accuracy and standards
of evidence. Panelists include Daniel Herbert,
president/CEO, Three Griffins Inc.; Brian Schneider,
president, Schneider & Associates Claim Services;
Christopher Kende, partner, Hill, Betts & Nash LLP;
and Rachel Cooper, senior counsel, product liability
& regulation, McMillan LLP.
This complimentary
AM Best Webinar is hosted by Best’s Insurance
Professional Resources and sponsored by Three
Griffins Inc.
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2 p.m. ET.
On Demand
IMCA/AM Best Marketing Leader
Lunch With HUB International’s Ellina
Shinnick
I
n a roundtable discussion, Ellina Shinnick, chief marketing
officer for HUB International, discusses positioning
brands for differentiation, digital marketing, customer
engagement, building a marketing center of excellence,
and grounding a marketing strategy in data and insights
to drive new business revenue. Other panelists include
Peter van Aartrijk, principal, Aartrijk, and IMCA CMO
Council member; Lee McDonald, group vice president,
AM Best; and Lori Chordas, senior associate editor, AM
Best TV.
This complimentary AM Best Webinar was
a joint presentation of the Insurance Marketing &
Communications Association (IMCA) and AM Best.
AM Best’s Briefing – Reinsurance:
Roundtable Discussion on Renewals
and What 2023 May Hold
S
enior AM Best ratings analysts discuss the recent
renewals with Liz Cunningham, chief executive
officer of Somers Re, and Aditya Dutt, president of
Aeolus Capital Management. Topics covered include
1:1 renewals—what we now know; changes in
reinsurer risk appetites; evolving business models—shift
away from property cat; increased role of delegated
underwriting authority enterprises; retro & ILS capacity;
and the outlook for 2023. The discussion also includes
moderator Anthony Diodato, managing director–global
reinsurance, and Carlos Wong-Fupuy, senior director–
global reinsurance, both of AM Best.
Visit
http://www.ambest.com/conferences/webinars.asp
for details or to register for webinars.
64
Best’s Review
delivers a comprehensive package of
property/casualty and life/health insurance industry news,
trends and analysis monthly. Find us on the internet at
bestsreview.ambest.com.
The latest edition of
Best’s Guide to Understanding the
Insurance Industry
is available on Amazon.
BEST’S REVIEW • FEBRUARY 2023
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Visit
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.
AM Best Webinars
To Address Ever-Changing Cyberrisk, Flexibility
in Coverage Is Key, Cowbell Executive Says
Also, professionals explore top global economic concerns for the new year
and discuss where stagflation would have the most impact.
On Demand
Cowbell’s Le: Cyberthreats Shift; So
Should the Coverage
T
heresa Le, chief claims
officer, Cowbell Cyber,
said the fast-changing nature
of cyberrisk means insurers
should be vigilant with flexible
coverage. Le spoke with AM
Best TV at the Joint Industry
Forum 2022 in New York City.
Theresa Le
AM Best: Inflation, Central Bank
Policy, Sovereign Weakness Top 2023
Global Economic Concerns
I
nflation is expected to slow,
global central banks will
likely become divergent and
continued credit downgrades
and potential defaults are
expected for some of the
most vulnerable countries
in the new year, said Ann
Modica, director, AM Best.
Swiss Re’s Majewski: Health & Wellness
Programs Benefit Life Insurers
H
eather Majewski, head
of Americas life & health
solutions at Swiss Re,
explains why life insurers
should engage with
policyholders participating
in health and wellness
programs and the benefits
for both.
Heather Majewski
Insurance Institute’s Leonard:
Stagflation Would Most Impact Auto,
Homeowners
M
ichel Leonard, chief
economist and
data scientist, Insurance
Information Institute, said
ongoing inflation has affected
insurers’ replacement costs,
driving up claims costs.
Leonard spoke with AM Best
TV at the Joint Industry Forum 2022 in New York City.
Visit
www.ambest.com/ambtv
to see new and archived video from AM Best TV.
Michel Leonard
Ann Modica
Allianz Executive: Smooth Sailing for Marine
Lines Growth in 2023 Despite Inflation
Also, AM Best Audio discusses the increasing need for a compressed time
frame to settle customer claims.
Allianz’s Soja: Favorable Results
Should Continue in Marine Lines
R
ich Soja, global head of inland marine and North
American head of marine at Allianz Global Corporate
and Specialty, said the marine lines should see
continuous growth in the year ahead despite inflation
and increasing reinsurance rates.
LexisNexis’ Cesario: One-Quarter of
All Claims Are a Total Loss
F
rank Cesario, director, claims, insurance,
LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said the rising number of
total losses requires a greater focus on compressing
the time frame to make customers “whole faster and
ensure we’re paying the right amount for the taxes
and fees.”
Visit
www.ambest.com/ambaudio
to listen to new and archived audio from AM Best Audio.
BEST’S REVIEW • FEBRUARY 2023
65
AM Best TV & Audio