From the Editor's Desk
The Leaders Issue Features the Top Global Brokers and an Interview With the New CEO of Guardian Life

• Patricia Vowinkel
• July 2021
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In the July issue, Best's Review features an abundance of data and information about the industry's leading businesses—the top global insurance brokers as well as the largest insurers in the United States and around the world.

With this data, we provide readers a comprehensive overview of the key players across sectors.

In life insurance, the Top 5 insurers were unchanged from 2019, based on 2020 admitted assets. But in the Top 10, there was some jockeying for position, with Lincoln Financial Group and MassMutual moving up and Northwestern Mutual moving down.

Some of the big movers were Great-West Life Group, with 2020 admitted assets up 51.6% and Global Atlantic Group, up 34.9%. Oceanview Life & Annuity posted an increase of 191.5% in admitted assets, and American Life &Security Corp. posted a gain of 251.7%. Some notable declines included Great American Life Group, down 9.8%, Unum Insurance Group, down 9%, and Venerable Insurance & Annuity Co., down 1.5%.

In property/casualty, while the Top 5 were unchanged, the Top 10 saw Chubb and Nationwide move up, while Farmers Insurance Group moved down. Some of the big movers were FM Global, with 2020 net premiums written up 17.2%, Zurich Insurance US PC Group up 19.1%, Swiss Reinsurance Group up 77.4%, Sompo Holdings US Group up 46.7% and XL Reinsurance America Group up 34.2%. Some large declines included AIG, with 2020 net premiums written down 15.5%, and Allianz US PC Insurance Cos., down 43%.

July is Broker Awareness Month. Best's Review gathers data each year to rank the Top 20 global brokers. In “Top Global Insurance Brokers – 2021 Edition,” the Top 10 remained the same as last year.

In “Standing the Test of Time,” Best's Review identifies insurers that have maintained an AM Best Financial Strength Rating of A or higher for at least 50 years and at least 75 years. In 2020, 68 property/casualty insurance companies and 18 life and health carriers maintained a rating of A or higher for at least 75 years.

The Leaders Issue also includes an interview with the new CEO of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Andrew McMahon, who became chief executive officer on Oct. 1, 2020, says he's identified three prime goals for his company. In “Guardian Life's CEO Andrew McMahon Wants the Mutual Insurer to Spend 2021 Looking Within,” Best's Review speaks with McMahon about his plans.

In this month's Book Store interview, Larry Goanos, founder of Andros Risk Services, says he wanted to tell “great stories that otherwise would have vanished into the ether.” He does just that in his book “Professional Lines Insurance: An Oral History—The People and Companies Who Built a Niche.”

Goanos says: “If you're in our industry less than 10 years, you might be in a meeting and someone mentions J&H or Frank B. Hall or Reliant and [think] 'Who's that?' This book is a tribute to the people who helped build our industry.”