A.M. BestTV: Mutual Insurers Face Widening Array of Challenges

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 01:44 PM (EDT)
In this ^A.M.BestTV episode, attendees at the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies’ (NAMIC) annual convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, said mutual insurance companies are pressing to stay ahead of technology startups, struggling with the burden of increasing layers of regulation while trying to position themselves as attractive employment opportunities to millennials. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=namic1916nc to view the entire program.

Nearly 1,900 mutual insurance executives from all over North America are at the NAMIC convention, networking and discussing the challenges facing their industry.

“Mutuals have a long history of strength and durability. Many have been around for decades,” said Neil Alldredge, senior vice president, state and policy affairs, NAMIC. “So going forward, I think, the challenge will be for mutuals to figure out how to capitalize on their strengths.”

Keith Wolfe, vice president, Swiss Reinsurance Corporation, said attracting the right talent in the next 30-40 years remains a challenge for mutual insurers. He noted that many mutual companies are not domiciled in urban locations, which makes it a challenge for them to appeal to millennials.

“Millennials want to live in an urban market area. This makes it very difficult for mutual companies to convince these millennials that they are so important and such a unique employer that moving out to these remote locations is justified,” said Wolfe.

Other people that appear in this episode:

• Chuck Chamness; president and chief executive officer, NAMIC;


• Michael Quigley, head of property and underwriting, regional clients, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.;


• Erin Collins, director- state affairs, Mid-Atlantic region, NAMIC; and


• James Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs, NAMIC.

A.M.BestTV will be covering the entire 2016 NAMIC convention. Visit http://www.ambest.tv/namic16 for full coverage and exclusive interviews with key mutual executives.

Recent episodes of ^A.M.BestTV include:

• Surplus Lines Sector Growing, But Challenges Mount: Insurance professionals for the surplus lines industry said the sector is wrestling with an array of issues, including intense competition, a battle for talent and a healthy market for mergers and acquisitions: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=naplsopanel916.


• Growth Slows, Underwriting Results Dip for Surplus Lines Writers, Say A.M. Best Analysts: Robert Raber, A.M. Best senior financial analyst, and David Blades, senior industry research analyst, said the U.S. surplus lines industry experienced a downturn in underwriting results in 2015, with unfavorable prior-year loss reserve development on general liability business one of the key drivers: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=napslolist916.


• Novarica Vice President: Advances in Predictive Analytics a Mixed Blessing: Jeff Goldberg, vice president, research and consulting, Novarica, said predictive analytics allows insurers to better underwrite individual risks, but could ultimately undermine the traditional business model of spreading risks over larger populations:http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=predictive916.


• Reinsurers Battle for Risk on a Wider Range of Fronts: A.M. Best analysts who follow the reinsurance industry explore insurers’ response to remaining relevant in the face of an ongoing soft market: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=globalrepanel916.

^A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv .

A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.