Sutherland insights insurance news flash apr 16, 2014

INSURANCE NEWS FLASH April 16, 2014

Table of Contents Sales & Marketing ................................................................................................................. 3 Finance ................................................................................................................................. 9 Technology .......................................................................................................................... 15 Strategy .............................................................................................................................. 21

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Sales & Marketing FIO to Look Into Auto Insurance Affordability April 15, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/15/fio-to-look-into-auto-insuranceaffordability?ref=rss The Federal Insurance Office has initiated a study looking into the affordability and availability of auto insurance.

In an April 10 notice posted to the Federal Register, the FIO says it is seeking comments by June 9 from regulators, consumer groups, industry representatives, policyholders, academia and others.

Specifically, the FIO is looking for, “A reasonable and meaningful definition of affordability,” as well as “the metrics and data FIO should use to monitor the extent to which traditionally underserved communities and consumers, minorities, and low- and moderate-income persons have access to affordable auto insurance.”

The FIO says it is acting under its authority to “monitor the extent to which traditionally underserved communities and consumers, minorities and low- and moderate-income persons have access to affordable insurance products regarding all lines of insurance, except health insurance.”

The FIO initiative is driven in part by concerns that the data collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners may not be adequate and that “other data sources will likely be needed,” according to a regulatory bulletin from industry law firm Nelson Levine de Luca & Hamilton, LLC. Related Ratio of Auto Insurance Expenditure to Income Down, but Is Insurance ‘Affordable?’

An IRC study finds that the average auto-insurance expenditure in relation to median income has declined from the 1990s into...

Nelson Levine lawyers say the FIO has the authority to collect information directly from the insurance industry that “it may reasonably require” in carrying out its duties.

Before it can do that, the bulletin says, the FIO must determine that the information is not available in a timely manner from relevant federal agencies, state regulators and publicly available sources.

The FIO also has subpoena power in certain circumstances, Nelson Levine says in the bulletin.

Regarding its interest in auto insurance, the FIO notes that auto liability is mandatory in all states except New Hampshire, and that owning an automobile “is likely associated with a higher probability of employment and other factors associated with economic wellbeing.” Furthermore, the FIO says the percentage of uninsured motorists nationwide has “hovered around 14% between 2002 and 2009.”

The FIO also says, “Industry representatives assert that auto insurance has become more affordable over time but consumer representatives assert auto insurance has become less affordable for lowincome consumers and minorities.”

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On the question of affordability, the FIO says, “While the definition of availability is largely settled, the definition of the affordability of personal auto insurance remains unclear.”

The FIO says the Availability and Affordability Subcommittee of the Treasury Department’s Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI Subcommittee) suggested a definition for affordability could be ensuring the cost of personal auto insurance is “a reasonable percentage of a consumer’s income.” But the FIO says that can be subjective and difficult to discern.

“One approach may be to interpret personal auto insurance premium payments as affordable if such payments do not prohibit individuals and/or families from purchasing other required necessities,” the FIO says. “Or, personal auto insurance may be interpreted as affordable if it is actually purchased by individuals and/or families.”

Insurance consumer advocates have been pressing for FIO involvement since December 2012, when they brought the issue up at an NAIC winter meeting.

The NAIC responded by issuing a report at its recent Spring National Meeting in Orlando which concluded that that states and territories could take a variety of actions to address the issue, according to lawyers at Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky, Abate & Webb, P.A., in Florida.

CFTKAW lawyers say the NAIC report proposed that these actions should range from activities common to most states, such as the creation of rate comparison guides or the implementation of restrictions on underwriting guidelines, to initiatives unique to a small number of states such as comprehensive programs to provide low-cost liability policies to low-income drivers.

Regarding the FIO taking up the issue now, Consumer Federation of America’s Director of Insurance Bob Hunter says, “With millions of low- and moderate-income Americans struggling to afford staterequired auto insurance and insurers constantly adding new highly questionable factors like education, occupation and elasticity of demand that drive up the cost to those least able to afford coverage, FIO’s interest is not only necessary, it is urgent.”

The FIO says comments may be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, or by mail to the Federal Insurance Office, Attention: Lindy Gustafson, Room 1319 MT, Department of the Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20220.

Most Young Renters Uninsured: Nationwide Survey April 14, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/14/most-young-renters-uninsured-nationwidesurvey?ref=rss Although data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that more adults ages 24 to 34 are renting than ever before, increasing by more than a million from 2006 to 2011, most millennials do not have renters’ insurance.

A survey by Nationwide Insurance revealed that despite renting in unprecedented numbers, 56% of millennials do not have renters’ insurance, and 75% are unaware that they can get monthly coverage at a relatively low cost.

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“It’s clear that there’s a misconception among millennials about the importance of renters insurance and how much it really costs,” said Matt Jauchius, Nationwide’s chief marketing officer. “For the $20 renters spend on items such as coffee and streaming video, they can get excellent coverage to help protect their belongings. Considering renters share many of the same risks as homeowners, it’s not only important; it’s a no-brainer.”

Survey respondents--more than 1,000 renters ages 23 to 35--said it would cost an estimated $5,000 to replace their belongings in the event of a catastrophe, but 40% do not see renters’ insurance as a necessity. With millennials being the largest demographic in America at 86 million (7% larger than the baby boomer generation), a large population of renters have a significant amount to lose from being uninsured.

The 52% of renters who do have renters’ insurance said they purchased policies to feel more protected. According to the survey, renters’ biggest fears are fire and theft, at 41% and 31% respectively.

Although 24% of renters said they would save their laptop computer before anything else, 40% did not know that renters’ insurance may cover stolen property. One in three renters did not believe that party mishaps could be covered by renters insurance, which can cover accidents such as an injured party guest or a damaged laptop.

Because of the many misconceptions about renters’ insurance, agents have an opportunity to educate clients about its benefits. Insurance professionals have provided the following tips for talking about the benefits of renters’ insurance with clients: •

A secondary risk of not having renters’ insurance is not knowing how much your belongings are worth. Tenants without renter’s insurance were significantly more likely to not know the value of all their possessions. Renters should consider creating a home inventory to track valuable possessions. Not only will this help renters realize the value of their possessions, but creating an inventory is also helpful in determining how much coverage they may need.

•

According to Nationwide’s survey, many renters do not know what’s covered with renters’ insurance. In fact, 40% of renters surveyed don’t know that renters insurance may cover their stolen property. Explain what perils are covered and not covered by a renters’ insurance policy.

•

The survey revealed that renters who currently have insurance purchased coverage because they want to feel protected. Explain other benefits a policy provides, such as paying for living expenses should a disaster prevents a renter from living in their apartment.

•

There are misconceptions about how much renters’ insurance costs, and what it actually covers.

Work with renters to determine if they are eligible for any policy discounts.

•

According to the Nationwide survey, 68% of all young adult renters said it would cost most more than an estimated $5,000 to replace their belongings should an unfortunate event occur.

Provide options for additional coverage that a customer may need, including an umbrella liability policy or an additional endorsement to cover items like jewelry, sporting equipment or collectables that are not covered by a traditional renters’ insurance policy.

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Survey: 9 of 10 P&C Insurance Customers Trust Their Providers April 09, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/09/survey-9-of-10-pc-insurance-customers-trusttheir?ref=rss Policyholders may not consider insurance to be “delightful” or “enjoyable” in the rational sense, especially with increasing premiums and minimum coverage requirements. Insurance is often viewed as a “necessary evil,” as clients pay for coverage that they hope they will never have to use.

However, the PeopleMetrics Most Engaging Customer Experience (MECx) survey reveals that for insurance customers, emotions do play a role in the likelihood that a client will recommend or stay with an insurance provider, despite potential premium hikes.

In the insurance sector, property/casualty insurance providers ranked third out of 7 sectors on Net Promoter Score (NPS), and customer experience with P&C insurance appears to be improving. The survey revealed that 44% of property and casualty insurance policyholders say that their customer experience is better today than it was 12 months ago. Three-quarters of policyholders say that they have positive memories of interactions with their insurance company, compared to the health insurance sector, where only 57% of customers regard their provider in a positive light.

P&C Insurers Excel at Providing Security and Trust Insurers can still create positive experiences with clients, even if the client is frustrated with the cost or regulations dictating his or her insurance coverage. Results from the survey reveal that two major emotions—security and trust—support strong and positive associations with the insurance provider.

According to the survey, 9 out of 10 policyholders associate security with their insurance provider, and 86% associate trust with their provider.

Compared to other sectors of insurance, P&C insurers are doing a better job at establishing trust and security with their customers, with the level of security with P&C insurers being nearly 10% higher than health insurers.

Not all providers are created equal Despite the overall success by P&C insurers, some providers have succeeded more than others.

Trust between customers is cultivated through positive interactions. For many organizations, having a frontline employee performance solution helps to define, manage, measure and coach the behaviors that create a positive and loyal customer environment.

But protocol alone cannot generate positive experience. In the insurance industry, the determining factor rests in service deliverance by individuals. The most successful companies are the ones with employees who take it upon themselves to go above and beyond what is expected to support the needs of their customers.

The most successful companies, the survey revealed, supported the training, coaching, and engaging of the staff to foster the development of exceptional customer care. But it is not just formulaic, and the most satisfied customers are the ones who have generated more of a personal connection with their provider, resulting in positive memories, greater trust, and ultimately, loyalty to the insurer.

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Privatizing Flood Insurance Presents Opportunities, Obstacles April 02, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/01/privatizing-flood-insurance-presentsopportunities?ref=rss While flood insurance might represent the biggest growth opportunity for private carriers in years, it’s no certainty the industry would be eager or even willing to take on a greater share of such exposures unless conditions are established to give them a reasonable chance of making a profit.

That won’t be easy in a line that historically has been difficult to write, for both private and public entities alike.

Facing a deficit of around $30 billion, it’s no wonder the National Flood Insurance Program and other government agencies have been exploring the potential for greater private market participation. Yet despite the prospect of having a portion of the more than $3 billion paid annually for NFIP coverage in play, most insurers and capital market investors are still likely to take a pass on this risk unless the factors that have undermined the program’s solvency in the first place are addressed to their satisfaction.

That was our conclusion in a report released this month by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services, “The Potential for Flood Insurance Privatization in the U.S.: Could Carriers Keep Their Heads Above Water?”

Among the challenges cited in the report that would confront private insurers interested in writing more flood coverage: Subsidized flood premiums for some 20% of NFIP-insured properties, which not only might have compromised the program’s solvency, but also may have exacerbated the exposure by facilitating construction in flood hazard zones.

Repetitive loss properties, which accounted for one-in-four NFIP claims paid between 1978 and 2011.

The relatively low take-up rate for flood insurance, even among homeowners with federally-backed mortgages who are mandated by law to buy the coverage.

Adverse selection, in which few property owners facing only a moderate chance of flooding buy a policy, thereby undermining the program’s spread of risk.

The likelihood of federal disaster assistance for victims of flooding, which may have prompted many property owners to pass on buying insurance and take their chances on getting a government grant or loan if a worst-case scenario comes to pass.

Washington tried to address many of these issues when Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which included measures to gradually phase-out subsidized rates as well as update flood maps so risk could be more accurately assessed and priced accordingly.

However, once the pricing provisions of Biggert-Waters began to be implemented, there was a political backlash in the most highly-exposed states, with state and federal lawmakers being inundated with complaints about rate hikes that were rendering the coverage unaffordable, while undermining property resale markets.

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In response, the U.S. Senate passed a measure in January to delay rate hikes for four years while an affordability study was completed, but a counterproposal in the House of Representatives prevailed which kept the transition to risk-based rates in place, but limited the scope and slowed the pace of premium increases. The new measure was signed into law by President Barack Obama last month.

The decision to delay, limit, and even roll back efforts to increase prices to risk-based levels is likely to raise red flags for private insurers and reinsurers that may have been open to the idea of entering the flood insurance market. The Government Accountability Office noted this potential repercussion in a January 2014 report on strategies to increase private sector involvement. “…[D]emonstrating the political will to charge full-risk rates within NFIP could signal to private insurers a greater likelihood of being allowed the freedom to charge adequate rates in a private flood insurance market, thus encouraging their potential participation,” reported GAO, while any move in the opposite direction “would increase private insurers’ skepticism about the feasibility of participating…”

Still, even though these challenges may seem daunting for carriers interested in writing flood insurance, they are not necessarily insurmountable. Indeed, a few private carriers have already entered the market in certain states, such as Florida, and local legislative efforts are underway to encourage more insurers to join in, perhaps on a surplus lines basis.

In addition, Deloitte’s report outlines a number of ways in which primary insurers, reinsurers and capital market investors could be eased into the flood insurance market—options which are not mutually exclusive. These include initiatives in which: Private carriers would serve as primary insurers for many policyholders, with the federal government acting as reinsurer.

The federal government continuing to be the predominant primary insurer, but limiting taxpayer liability by purchasing reinsurance from private carriers.

Spreading flood exposures across the capital markets through securitization, via the sale of catastrophe bonds.

We elaborate on 10 potential privatization options in our report, and will detail them further in our next blog on PC360 later this month.

The bottom line is that in theory having the private market—whether primary insurers, reinsurers, the capital markets, or some combination of all three—pitch in to take on significantly more flood exposure could be a win-win for policyholders and taxpayers as well as the insurance industry.

However, that vision can only be realized if government and the private sector can work together to create the conditions to make such an effort mutually beneficial.

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Finance Endurance Announces $3.2 Billion Hostile Offer for Aspen April 14, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/14/endurance-announces-32-billion-hostile-offerfor-a?ref=rss (Bloomberg) -- Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd., the Bermuda-based provider of property and casualty insurance, announced a $3.2 billion offer to buy Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. after the target company turned down its proposal.

Endurance offered to pay $47.50 per share, 21 percent more than the April 11 closing price of $39.37, the company said today in a statement.

“Despite our repeated attempts since late January to engage in confidential and friendly discussions, Aspen’s board and management have rebuffed our proposal,” Endurance said. The refusal to hold discussions denies Aspen’s shareholders “the ability to understand and attain the clear financial, operational and strategic benefits of this transaction,” Endurance said.

Mid-sized insurers and reinsurers have been combining or joining with larger companies to diversify risk and gain scale to take on bigger accounts from primary carriers. Endurance said its offerings in crop insurance would complement Bermuda-based Aspen’s products, including its operations in the Lloyd’s of London market.

Endurance said its return on equity and earnings per share would gain in 2015 under a takeover through more than $100 million in annual “synergies,” including cost cuts, underwriting improvements and better chances for capital management.

Aspen said its board of directors unanimously rejected the offer after consulting with advisers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. ‘Ill-conceived’ “Endurance’s ill-conceived proposal undervalues our company, represents a strategic mismatch, carries significant execution risk, and would result in substantial dis-synergies,” Aspen Chairman Glyn Jones said in a separate statement.

Aspen jumped 11 percent to $43.77 at 4:15 p.m. in New York after trading as high as $46.86. The company had advanced about 1.8 percent in the 12 months through April 11. Endurance dropped 2.8 percent to $52.32, and is up about 8 percent over the past year.

Aspen investors will have the option to receive cash, Endurance shares or a combination, according to the statement. Endurance said it plans to pay 60 percent with its shares, and that investors led by CVC Capital Partners Ltd.-advised funds are prepared to buy $1.05 billion of newly issued common shares to help fund the cash portion of the deal. CVC has provided an equity commitment letter, Endurance said.

“The proposal involves a number of substantial execution risks, including financing uncertainty,” Aspen said.

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‘Enhanced ability’ Endurance had an initial public offering in 2003 and counted hedge-fund manager Richard Perry among founding investors. Fidelity Investments, David Booth’s Dimensional Fund Advisors and Vanguard Group Inc. were among Endurance’s top holders as of Dec. 31, according to data compiled

by Bloomberg.

Aspen counts BlackRock Inc., Fidelity, Vanguard and Dimensional among top shareholders.

Endurance Chief Executive Officer John Charman is seeking to expand the business after joining last year. Charman is the former CEO of Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. and was ousted as chairman of the company in 2012 following a dispute over his role. He said he plans to buy $25 million of Endurance shares in connection with a takeover.

“The combined company will have a strong balance sheet and capital position, with an enhanced ability to pursue growth opportunities and to withstand volatility,” he said in today’s statement.

Endurance’s bankers on the offer are Morgan Stanley and Jefferies Group LLC. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and ASW Law Ltd. are providing legal advice.

Gallagher: Carriers Are ‘Account Underwriting’ in ‘Excellent’ Market Environment April 08, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/08/gallagher-carriers-are-account-underwritingin-exc?ref=rss Arthur J. Gallagher says 2014 first-quarter net earnings were $49.3 million and reported revenues were $915 million, up from $40.5 million and $674.1 million respectively in 2013’s first quarter.

Brokerage and risk-management revenues were $728.6 million, up from $608 million in last year’s first quarter. Of that total, $568.6 million came from the brokerage segment.

AJG says organic growth in commissions and fee revenues grew 4% in the quarter.

On a conference call, an analyst said AJG’s organic growth had “decelerated a bit” and asked if that was a sign of the market environment. AJG Chairman, President and CEO J. Patrick Gallagher said Q1 tends to be the smallest quarter sequentially for organic growth and said he does not feel like the sales process or efforts decreased in the period. He also said he is “not feeling like the market is falling out from under us.”

To the contrary, earlier in the call Gallagher praised the current rate environment and said carriers in U.S. continued to show underwriting discipline. He added that he expects that to continue. He said insurers are “account underwriting”—risks that deserve decreases are getting them, while risks that need increases can expect to see that.

Gallagher also discussed the firm’s recent acquisition of Wesfarmers, stating it is a “coup for our company,” and adding that the deal was not an auction, but rather two firms that selected each other largely because of cultural fit.

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Gallagher to Sell $890M of Shares to Help Fund Acquisition of Wesfarmers April 07, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/07/gallagher-to-sell-890m-of-shares-to-helpfund-acqu?ref=rss (Bloomberg) -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is selling 19 million shares of common stock to help fund the purchase of Wesfarmers Ltd.’s insurance brokering operation, as the buyer extends its growth outside the U.S. The offering would raise $890 million, based on the April 4 closing price of $46.84 for Gallagher.

Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. are leading the offering, Itasca, Illinois- based Gallagher said today in a statement.

Wesfarmers, which operates supermarkets and sells coal, chemicals and industrial equipment, said Gallagher agreed to buy its brokerage operations for A$1.01 billion ($935 million) as the Perth, Australia-based company scales back from insurance. Gallagher has been expanding in countries including the U.K. to add clients and increase business with U.S. customers that operate internationally.

“This acquisition represents an important strategic step for our company,” Chief Executive Officer J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr. said in a statement. “Our combined operations will become one of the largest insurance brokers in Australia and New Zealand.”

Gallagher, which raised funds in June for acquisitions, announced an agreement in September to buy the Giles Group of Companies for 237 million pounds ($393 million) to expand in the U.K. The share sale announced today includes an option for the underwriters to purchase an additional 2.85 million shares within 30 days.

About 23 percent of Gallagher’s revenue came from outside the U.S. last year, up from 11 percent in 2009, according to the firm’s annual regulatory filings. It competes with Marsh & McLennan Cos. and Aon Plc, which are the largest brokers.

New Zealand Wesfarmers expects pretax profit of A$310 million to A$335 million on the sale, according to its statement. The broking businesses include OAMPS Insurance Brokers Ltd. in Australia, OAMPS (UK) Ltd. and Crombie Lockwood Ltd. in New Zealand.

Wesfarmers, which agreed to sell its insurance underwriting business to Insurance Australia Group Ltd. for A$1.85 billion on Dec. 16., has been shifting spending to its Coles supermarket chain it bought in 2007 in Australia’s largest corporate takeover.

“The insurance broking business was small in the scheme of things for Wesfarmers and was more of a management distraction than a value add,” Scott Marshall, a Sydney-based analyst at Shaw Stockbroking Ltd., said by phone. “The easy picking from Coles have been made and while it’ll be a grind going ahead for the business there is still significant upside that can be extracted.”

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Century old He raised the rating on Wesfarmers’ stock to hold from sell today. Wesfarmers closed 1.2 percent higher at A$42.08 in Sydney compared with a 0.2 percent drop in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index. Gallagher dropped 2.8 percent to $45.55 at 10 a.m in New York.

Wesfarmers, which started in 1914 as a farmers’ co- operative, is scouring for acquisitions as it looks to invest surplus funds rather than return them to shareholders, Ian McLeod, managing director of Coles, said in an interview on April 2. McLeod will be assessing takeover targets in a new role from June. Wesfarmers has as much as A$5 billion of cash and debt that can be used for takeovers, according to Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit.

The latest transaction also includes the sale of premium funding operations in Australia and New Zealand, which include the brands Lumley Finance and Monument Premium Funding. The sale is subject to regulatory approvals, the Australian firm said.

MarketScout: Rate Increases Pick Up Slightly in March April 04, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/04/marketscout-rate-increases-pick-up-slightlyin-mar?ref=rss Commercial-lines rates were up 3% in March, a slight increase from the 2% increase in February, as insurers made adjustments to meet profit targets, according to MarketScout.

The 3% figure matches the increase seen in January.

Richard Kerr, MarketScout CEO, says in a statement, “Insurers target a specific return-on-equity.

Despite improving margins, insurers are still not meeting their profit targets, thus the continued marginal increases.”

Commercial auto, workers’ comp and BOP led the way with 4% increases in March. Both commercial auto and BOP were flat compared to the increases in February, while workers’ comp was up from a 3% increase in the prior month.

Inland marine, fiduciary, crime and surety rates increased the least at 1%. No line showed decrease for the month.

Small, medium and large accounts were all up by 3% in March, while jumbo accounts increased by 1%.

By industry class, contracting led the way for increases at +4% in March. Manufacturing, service and habitational were all up by 3%, while public entity was up by 2%.

Personal lines Personal-lines rates were up by 3% in March as well, up from 2% in February. Kerr says, “When measuring premiums from March 2012 to March 2014, rates were up 9% in the aggregate. So, a homeowner paying $10,000 before renewing in March 2012 would be paying $10,926 after renewing their policy in March 2014.”

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He notes that increases are moderating, and that he expects that trend to continue “unless insurers are hit with large catastrophic weather events later in the year.”

Homeowners rates—for homes valued both over and under $1 million—and auto rates were up by 3% while personal articles rates were up by 2%.

Reinsurers Set for ‘Solid’ Q1 Underwriting Profitability: Fitch April 03, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/03/reinsurers-set-for-solid-q1-underwritingprofitabi?ref=rss Global reinsurers are expected to report “solid underwriting profitability” in 2014’s first quarter thanks to limited catastrophe losses during the period, says Fitch Ratings.

The ratings agency says reinsurers’ results should be in line with results reported in 2013.

The quarter did see some significant weather events, including severe winter storms in the U.S. and flooding and winter storms in the UK, Fitch says. “We believe that losses from these events will be manageable for the (re)insurance industry, especially as the most-exposed firms are typically large, well-diversified operators with the ability to offset losses through other profitable lines and strong capital.”

Fitch adds that reinsurers’ share of losses for these events will be small since they were not costly enough to trigger insurers’ excess of loss property catastrophe reinsurance treaties.

“Losses for reinsurers will generally be limited to facultative, per risk and pro rata quota share reinsurance treaties,” says Fitch. “In the case of the U.S., this was partly due to increased retentions by primary-insurance companies over the last few years, as improved capital positions have allowed insurers to retain more risk.”

Fitch cites an Insurance Information Institute report noting that winter 2014 could rank among the top five in U.S. winter-storm insured losses since 1980. I.I.I. said January losses alone totaled at least $1.5 billion. “The significant snowfall and record severe cold resulted in increased claims for both personal- and commercial-lines insurers,” says Fitch, with claims stemming from roof collapses, power failures, frozen and burst pipes, auto accidents and business interruption. “Once the insured losses from all the 2014 winter storms are aggregated, it will push the total for the year above the $2 billion in losses registered from winter events in 2013.”

As for the UK floods and winter weather, Fitch says the Association of British Insurers estimates £1.1 billion ($1.8 billion) in insured losses “due to an historic amount of rainfall that was also the result of the abnormal strength of the jet stream. While the wind strength of individual storms was not exceptional when compared with others in recent years, the rapid succession of storms and accumulated rainfall was.”

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Reinsurance rates still under pressure While underwriting profitability is expected to be strong for the first quarter, reinsurance pricing remains under pressure due to an excess of capacity. In an interview with Bloomberg, James Vickers, chairman of broker Willis Re’s international reinsurance unit, said, “It’s a pretty difficult situation for reinsurers. The trend seen at the Jan. 1 renewals is continuing with no sign of any let-up.”

The Bloomberg article cites pressure from capital-market investors, with Vickers wondering how far rates will eventually fall. “How much more do they need to go down before capital markets lose interest and supply gets closer to demand again?” Vickers asks.

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Technology Zurich Canada Invests in Statistical Reporting April 08, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.insurancetech.com/architecture-infrastructure/zurich-canada-invests-in-statisticalrep/240166982 Zurich Canada, commercial insurer and provider of risk-management solutions, has chosen to implement the regul8 statistical reporting technology from UK-based telematics provider Quindell PLC. Telematics is a growing trend in Canada, as evidenced by launches from CAA South Central Ontario and Intact Insurance divisions this past November. The tech provider also works with UK-based telematics insurer Ingenie, which plans to enter the Canadian market.

[Read about the growth of Ingenie: How Ingenie Expanded Its Young Customer Base] Zurich Canada, the Canadian branch of the Zurich Insurance Group, faces extensive requirements in reporting claims and policy data to the General Insurance Statistical Agency (GISA), which manages statistical information on behalf of nine Canadian insurance regulatory authorities, and the Groupement des assureurs automobiles (GAA), which oversees auto insurers in Quebec. It selected regul8 to accommodate increasing system needs, lower costs, streamline reporting, and provide early error detection and correction. Regul8 will be integrated with the core systems at Zurich, which include PMS, ZIP and Guidewire ClaimsCenter.

“The choice of regul8 was straightforward; we are committed as an organization of ensuring the highest quality of statistical data reporting and building an in-house solution just could not be done in the time frame that we wanted,” says Kevin Hunter, head of IT at Zurich Canada, in a statement.

“Regul8 also ensures that future stat changes are implemented correctly and on time. We are confident we will achieve both higher data quality and more streamlined operations while working with Quindell.”

The latest trends in catastrophe modelling April 04, 2014 | Global Insurance Intelligence http://www.globalreinsurance.com/the-latest-trends-in-catastrophe-modelling/1407784.article Catastrophe modelling – at one time a simple, single-event spreadsheet in an insurer’s toolbox – is now a multi-tiered, multi-event modelled approach to risk management. New versions of catastrophe models are designed to take into account almost every aspect of potential natural and man-made disasters, alongside a company’s own risk portfolio, to provide a much broader picture of what is at stake.

Catastrophe models also have the ability to move and change with an ongoing event, which makes them an indispensable tool for risk managers.

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The future for catastrophe modelling looks bright, with the incorporation of new information from scientific models of hazard and engineering perspectives on damage. However, experts are also warning businesses not to rely exclusively on catastrophe modelling as a tool for determining a business’s potential catastrophe risk.

Following a number of extreme natural catastrophes in the past year – super typhoon Haiyan, polar vortex winter storms in the US and some of the worst flooding on record in Canada, Australia, India, China, Indonesia, southern Africa and Argentina – experts are concerned about the current scope of models. They believe they do not sufficiently address the unpredictable nature of disasters to provide a single solution for business.

Aon Benfield head of impact forecasting Adam Podlaha says the trend for catastrophe modelling is heading in the right direction by including more scientific analysis, as well as alternative model providers such as academics and proprietary firms.

“These are basically taking into account the things we did not know with the models already available,” he says. “An example is [modelling for] earthquakes in New Zealand, which takes into account the same modelling as the Japanese earthquake.”

He points to a similar trend with tsunami modelling. “There is a big shift towards a multi-model approach. There are the big companies that are modelling, but there are also lots of new modelling companies coming out as well.”

One such firm, Intersys, is looking at ways to combine catastrophe modelling with a company’s own risk assessment data to create a more holistic approach to catastrophe modelling.

Intersys director of risk management Cath Geyman says: “We are looking to overlay flood and earthquake zones on the data that our clients work up. Our clients are assessing their own organisations to understand where their critical points are and plot them on a map in order to work out their true exposure.

“What they really then want to do is take the flood and earthquake maps produced by traditional catastrophe modelling firms and combine the two data sets in order to access their risk.”

She adds: “At the moment, there is a lot of focus in the modelling world on really understanding each hazard in a lot of detail and being able to model and predict it in a lot of detail. Perhaps what’s missing is the company’s view on that – each organisation understanding its own complexity, every critical part of it and what the impact would be on it financially should one of these natural catastrophes hit.”

Developing economies Lloyd’s head of exposure management and reinsurance Trevor Maynard believes that the future of catastrophe modelling – as well as the likely insurance options – is linked closely to developing economies.

“As economies develop around the world and populations become wealthier, there will be an increasing demand for insurance,” he says. “These regions will become more material and therefore there will be an increasing need for more granular modelling in those regions.”

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But experts in developing nations believe that despite a high rate of natural catastrophes in these regions, the future of catastrophe modelling is still uncertain and there is plenty of groundwork still to cover.

Lockton Wattana Insurance Brokers (Thailand) executive chairman Wattana Wongvisesnopakun says: “The use of catastrophe modelling in Thailand is still very small compared with the international market. It is not as advanced here, so there is not much use for modelling for the industry here just yet.”

Recent extreme natural disasters, such as super typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 7,000, are testing the scope and coping mechanisms of current catastrophe models. Rapidly changing conditions, in combination with the extreme nature of catastrophes, mean risk managers are often faced with using out-of-date information.

“Generally, hazards do not change that rapidly, although our understanding of them can,” says Maynard. “The Japanese earthquake in 2011 showed us that mag 9 quakes can occur in that region – when models did not expect that. Inevitably, there will always be new information that surprises us.

However, current models have a large spread of events already, which has led to greater financial strength.

“It should be noted, for example, that the Japanese earthquake event in financial terms was much less than some other larger events contained in the model.”

Maynard points out that research by Lloyd’s and catastrophe modelling firms shows that models incorporate changing conditions implicitly but not explicitly.

“For example, the approximate 20cm of sea level rise at the Battery in New York since the 1950s increased [Cyclone] Sandy’s storm surge loss by 30%. Climate change is therefore clearly having an effect on damages,” he says.

Lack of flexibility Podlaha believes it is the unpredictable nature of catastrophes and the innate lack of manoeuvrability of catastrophe models that leave businesses most exposed.

“Most of the current models come as they are,” he says. “They are designed to model extreme weather. They are optimised for big events and the models are officially designed to yield information on big events.

“But from time to time, things happen that the modelling company doesn’t take into consideration.

The result is big, it is bad, and [the company] knew it was always there, but because it did not happen previously, it was not considered properly.

“In general, the models can cope, but incrementally. You do the basic risk assessment. Following every new event, we learn something new.”

A lack of accurate predictability is a driving factor behind the extreme exposure that most businesses face in catastrophic situations. Experts say this unpredictability will continue to underpin catastrophe models for the foreseeable future.

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“It is important to realise that catastrophe models are not forecasts. They do not predict what events will occur in the coming year. They show the range of possible events that might occur and their likely costs as insurers deal in probabilities,” says Maynard.

“Current models already build in features such as recent higher sea surface temperatures into their projections. The intention, specified by insurance regulation, is to predict current levels of risk and if these are different to the past then adjustments should be (and are) made,” Maynard adds.

Oasis framework The need for more predictable information for risk managers has led to the development of the Oasis Loss Modelling Framework, owned by 21 insurers, reinsurers and brokers, including Lloyd’s.

The initiative aims to provide a framework for independent catastrophe modelling.

Oasis project director Dickie Whitaker says: “Risk managers from multinational companies will be able to take advantage of catastrophe modelling techniques in a way that has not been practical with large models built for the insurance industry.

“Corporate risk managers seek better information that helps to understand the risks associated with possible catastrophic events. In many cases, this information is not easy to access in a form that is easily useable and some of the avenues available can be very expensive.”

The insurance options available to businesses are still costly, say risk managers, but increased uptake of government pools is making this more viable.

“The insurance industry pools risks from around the world to help communities and businesses to offset the randomness of extreme events,” says Maynard. “Governments are increasingly seeing the relevance of insurance protection.

Top 6 Digital Innovators in P&C April 04, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/04/top-6-digital-innovators-in-pc?ref=rss Six P&C insurance companies were named to InformationWeek’s Elite 100 ranking of the most innovative U.S.-based users of business technology. The Elite 100 succeeds InformationWeek’s 500 awards program.

The invitation-only awards program honors companies who succeed in digital business, including in areas of data analytics, mobile computing, social networking and other customer-focused technologies.

IW also polled its Elite 100 executives and found a few areas that distinguish digital leaders from their competitors. First, the Elite 100 are interested in using IT to provide a better product to customers or to cut the cost of delivering their products. Supporting that theory, 48% of Elite 100 execs say their companies will introduce new IT-led products or services this year. 46% will use IT to make business processes more efficient and 25% will create new business models or revenue streams for their companies.

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Second, digital innovators are aware of tech tactics, especially in analytics and cloud services. Sixtytwo percent of the Elite 100 say that analytics use is among their top productivity drivers, and 94% use cloud infrastructure or are planning to roll it out this year.

The top 6 P&C Elite 100: Elite 100 ranking:

Esurance

19

InformationWeek also named Esurance as its Customer Experience award winner for its app-based video claims service. Customers can download Video Claim, available on both iPhone and Android, to submit an auto claim through video. Joe Laurentino, VP of material damage, conceived of the app while using FaceTime with his granddaugther. Read more about Esurance’s award and app at InformationWeek.

Allstate Insurance Co. Elite 100 ranking:

29

The Progressive Group of Insurance Cos. Elite 100 ranking:

86

Crawford & Co Elite 100 ranking:

87

CUNA Mutual Group Elite 100 ranking:

95

Lockton Cos. Elite 100 ranking:

100

How technology and Ruschlikon can save brokers time and money April 02, 2014 | Global Insurance Intelligence http://www.globalreinsurance.com/how-technology-and-ruschlikon-can-save-brokers-time-andmoney/1407750.article JLT and EbixExchange on advantages for the (re)insurance sector Technology that has helped brokers meet the Ruschlikon initiative has saved them time and money, according to EbixExchange vice president Jeff Ward and JLT partner Charles Brown.

The Ruschlikon initiative is an industry agreement between brokers and underwriters to connect back office software to Acord Ebot and Ecot standards.

Speaking at a conference in the Lloyd’s building, Brown said that using Ebix to send technical accounts to underwriters in compliance with Acord standards had several advantages.

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“It was really quick,” he said. “From the design of the document, through the testing to the implementation was about two months.”

The system also led to faster settlements, he added: “The evidence, certainly from the larger partnerships that Aon and Willis have with their carriers, is that the cycle is reduced by something like six weeks from today’s process, so that is pretty impressive.”

Other advantages included a clearer audit trail, secure messaging and less bickering over financial settlements, he added.

However, setting up a Ruschlikon-compliant system with each new insurer can be a lengthy process, he said. “It does take two to three months from first discussions with a new carrier to actually being able to deliver another Ebot solution with another carrier.”

Outside the UK, Ward said that in the Middle East, brokers were drawn to EbixExchange’s software services because the competitive trading environment made it so hard to make money without focusing on marginal gains.

He said: “Trading conditions there are quite tough, it is hard to make money, so something like this is a way of saving money, and they are very interested.”

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Strategy Aon CEO Says Berkshire Hathaway Deal Good For Lloyd’s Market April 10, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/10/aon-ceo-says-berkshire-hathaway-deal-goodfor-lloy?ref=rss LONDON (Reuters) - The head of insurance broker Aon has mounted a defence of a deal signed last year with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway that some fear could weaken the Lloyd’s insurance market, arguing it is good for London.

In a speech on Thursday in London’s Lloyd’s building, Aon Chief Executive Greg Case said the agreement, whereby the broker allocates 7.5 percent of the business it places in the market to Berkshire Hathaway in return for passing on some of the risk, benefited the centuries-old market.

Critics had feared it would sideline underwriters operating in the Lloyd’s market, putting pressure on their businesses, but Case argued it was helping bring more money into the market, fuelling overall business volumes.

The volume of premiums placed by Aon clients in the market increased last year, he said.

“The premium volume placed by Aon clients in Lloyd’s increased 3 percent in 2013, which is actually 5 percent if you factor out the reduction in certain lines because of trade sanction issues,” he said.

“Innovation... is good for clients, is in turn good for London, is in turn good for Lloyd’s,” he said.

Aon recently opted to relocate its headquarters to London from Chicago and is set to move into a new skyscraper, still under construction, that looms over the modernist building that houses the Lloyd’s market.

In 2013 it signed an eight year sponsorship deal with football team Manchester United, which Case said had boosted brand awareness around the world for the firm in a way that had left him “stunned”.

Report: Low Cat Losses in 2013 Driving Insurer Competition April 09, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/09/report-low-cat-losses-in-2013-driving-insurercomp?ref=rss Low global insured catastrophe losses and added capacity from non-traditional market sources made 2013 a profitable year for insurers, which have become more competitive by reducing rates for most accounts. This is a key takeaway from State of the Market: NAPCO Property Catastrophe Insights report from NAPCO, an Iselin, N.J.-based wholesale insurance broker specializing in the property catastrophe market.

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Key report findings include: •

At about $31 billion, 2013 global catastrophe losses were well below the 10-year average, with no one event proving capable of affecting pricing.

•

Insurers’ net income rose 55 percent to $43 billion, thanks to strong growth in premiums and low catastrophe losses.

•

New capital from non-traditional sources now totals $50 billion, and catastrophe bonds are being used to protect against a wider array of risks.

•

Low catastrophe losses plus competition from alternative markets are driving down the price of reinsurance, 10 to 25 percent on loss-free accounts.

•

The frame habitational and commercial flood insurance markets remain difficult.

•

After raising rates in 2012 following a cat model release, insurers kept rates relatively stable throughout most of 2013; in 2014 expect a soft market where insurers offer lower prices and plenty of capacity.

The report draws on broker and insurer insights and industry statistics.

“While catastrophe model guidance and rating agency pressure continue to play an important role in pricing and evaluating risks, the continued increase in the industry’s capital--including new capital from non-traditional sources--is changing how pricing is done,” says David Pagoumian, CEO of NAPCO. “These developments may begin to disrupt old business models and force insurers to rethink products and pricing.”

According to Pagoumian, brokers who understand the marketplace have an opportunity to help clients figure out when to remarket programs and how to structure programs to provide better coverage and pricing.

A Look at CNA’s Transformation Strategy April 04, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.insurancetech.com/policy-administration/a-look-at-cnas-transformationstrategy/240166938?queryText=oracle “Transformation is inevitable,” said Randy Skinner, VP of insurance consulting at Oracle, in a presentation during Oracle Industry Connect held last week in Boston. “Consumers are now demanding more from insurance carriers and the performance they provide.”

Such transformation comes in many forms, Skinner explained, but the key is for insurers to achieve speed to market as they continue to adopt government regulations. This frequently involves replacement of core systems to accommodate products and regions new to the industry, in addition to consolidation of multiple back-end systems.

The kind of radical change described by Skinner can be seen in the current project at commercial insurer CNA. The company-wide transformation, which will cross all business lines, started four years ago and is expected to continue for at least another four more years.

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[ The Many Components of Aetna’s Tech Strategy: CTO. ] “[The change] was driven by the need to offer our customers a better product,” explained Lindsay Lovorn, AVP and business lead at CNA, in her presentation. CNA aimed to create an industry-leading product that was easy to understand, modular and tailored to the needs of its customer segments.

The insurer also wanted to increase the accuracy and confidence in the base rate for its property and related packaging products, and increase pricing accuracy and consistency.

To improve project scope for all lines of business, CNA targeted business segments including construction, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, finance, professional services and small business. Half a billion dollars was invested into systems, processes and people that would contribute to the transformation’s success.

CNA’s overall transformation will be the final culmination of a series of projects. On its pretransformation roadmap, primary tasks included renovations to the agency and customer portal apps on its website, underwriting desktop, core policy administration system, claims strategy, and other various business initiatives. From a strategy standpoint, every project had to improve growth, enhance customer experience and demonstrate ROI, Lovorn explained.

Given the multitude of systems within the company, CNA knew this would be a lengthy project and prioritized the organization of projects and employee teams. Management chose to employ a “snail model” for project deployment, meaning that each task is overlapped. This was selected to improve the speed to market flow and reduce IT expenses.

In regards to employee organization, CNA divided its 200 workers into different groups for projects and maintenance so that completed tasks could be edited while new ones began. One large projects-focused team was formed to tackle underwriting, actuarial and vendor assignments.

Multiple project management tools are used to keep the project’s many participants in sync.

In order to ensure each project is efficiently completed, Lovorn leads daily 15-minute stand-up meetings with every team, either in person or over the phone. Higher-level management make a big difference in keeping everyone on-task, she said. Each team was instructed to start the day with an explanation for what they planned to accomplish. To ensure effectiveness, CNA conducts two early business reviews (EBRs) and two user acceptance testing (UAT) phases at the end of each project. [ 7 Places Life Insurers Can Optimize for Success. ] Over the course of the transformation, CNA encountered the often-discussed overlap between the IT and business departments. The IT workers often wanted specific instructions, Lovorn said, but the business side could not give specific ideas for exactly what they wanted.

“There’s a wide gap [between the two departments] that we typically fill with IT-business analysts,” she explained. CNA also created a business application group outside of IT that is responsible for developing rates, rules and forms. After the start of the project, the business side owns a lot more than they did before and the IT side owns less. IT has control of the company’s underlying infrastructure, while the business owns the content on top of that infrastructure.

Analysis of business and IT goals ultimately helped develop project strategy and decide which path to take first. “Bridging business and IT is really, really key,” Lovorn emphasized in her closing remarks. It’s critical for businesses to determine how to integrate the two sides in a way that best accomplishes company goals.

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What the future holds for Lloyd’s Asia April 02, 2014 | Global Insurance Intelligence http://www.globalreinsurance.com/what-the-future-holds-for-lloyds-asia/1407745.article Talking to GR following the announcement that the specialist insurance and reinsurance market turned a profit of more than $5bn in 2013, head of Asia Pacific at Lloyd’s Asia Kent Chaplin was in a reflective mood.

It’s a little over three years since the former head of claims at Lloyd’s of London moved to Singapore, and he has been struck by how, in that time, “interest in Asia has really grown globally from an insurance and reinsurance perspective”.

“The appetite has been phenomenal, as has the influx of capacity of insurers and reinsurers,” he told GR. “The majority of international brokers, insurers and reinsurers now have their regional headquarters in Singapore. Even those brokers that are not headquartered here have their wholesale placing hubs in Singapore.

“In the past 24 months or so we’ve even seen a number of Bermudian reinsurers coming to Singapore to service their Asia-Pacific portfolios.”

In its 2013 annual results, Lloyd’s has stated its intention to “expand in the underinsured, highgrowth economies around the world”, which Chaplin acknowledges means many of the countries he oversees.

“If you look at some of the less established markets in Asia, like the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, the level of insurance penetration is still very low,” he said.

“There is an enormous opportunity to be a part of the evolution of insurance by providing capacity that will grow and strengthen these markets.”

Change and consolidation Chaplin, who began his career as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand specialising in insurance litigation, says there’s another big change that is “really key to the strategy of Lloyd’s in Asia Pacific”.

“It’s the dynamism at the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] level,” he explained.

“There’s an ambitious vision to create a free-trade market for the ASEAN countries by the end of 2015, and a lot of progress has been made between the 10 member states at a financial services level.

“One of the products of that dialogue is that the regulators in the region are increasing their capital requirements for domestic insurers and reinsurers. They’re raising the capital adequacy of their local markets, which is leading to change and consolidation. This will ultimately result in better-capitalised and stronger domestic markets.

“This will benefit the insurance industry by creating professionalism and well-capitalised insurers and reinsurers that can take on more risk, which in turn will help develop the market.”

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Chaplin is at pains to clarify that there is no one approach that can be used by Lloyd’s across APAC. “Asia is a massive and enormously complex region; you need to look at it country by country,” he said.

“The countries in the Asia-Pacific region are at different stages of evolution, not only economically but in terms of their insurance and reinsurance appetite, levels of expertise and buying behaviour.”

Changing risk landscape Australia is a very important market for Lloyd’s, Chaplin says, “as are Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore”. Organisations operating in these more mature and established markets generally have highly sophisticated risk management functions, he adds.

“They’ve been using Lloyd’s in London for decades, in some cases centuries, and there’s a lot of loyalty there. We’ve built long-term relationships and our products have developed over the years to respond to the changing risk landscape,” he said.

“Lloyd’s features heavily in many of those countries’ risk management programs, either through reinsurance or through very specialist insurance products, such as professional liability, financial lines, large industrial construction and engineering risks, even products such as warranty and indemnity insurance.”

However, Chaplin reiterates, the ASEAN economies are growing quickly and “that’s where the insurance penetration will also be growing the fastest”.

“A lot of the growth is in the primary market, and alongside that it is the growth in industry, commercial property and urbanisation that’s increasing demand for specialist insurance and reinsurance,” he said.

“We’re also licensed as an insurer and reinsurer in China, and we are looking forward to long-term growth in China as well.”

Lower limits The limits that corporate buyers purchase are generally much lower in Asia than in Europe and the US, Chaplin says, which corresponds to historically lower loss frequency, claims history and attitude to risk.

He said that while there are are big buyers of catastrophe insurance and reinsurance in Asia, cyber insurance had yet to “take hold in a big way”.

“It is increasing,” he said, “and there have been a few well-publicised cyber attacks in Asia recently so there’s a growing interest, certainly on the demand side, for cyber products.”

The key to Lloyd’s regional strategy lies in “specialist, surplus, excess type of cover”, Chaplin explains.

“If there’s a complex risk, or a lot of capacity is required, that’s where we specialise,” he said.

“Whether it’s terrorism or political risk, trade credit, heavy industrial risks, offshore energy or natural resources, Lloyd’s has the highly specialised expertise for those complex risks.

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“We also provide cover where excess capacity is required because of the size of a project or where there isn’t enough capacity in the local market.”

Dealmakers Optimistic on Insurance M&A Activity Over Next 12 Months April 02, 2014 | Property Casualty 360 http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/04/08/dealmakers-optimistic-on-insurance-maactivity-ove?ref=rss Insurance-industry dealmakers are optimistic that there will be an uptick in merger-and-acquisition activity over the next 12 months despite the tepid M&A volume witnessed in the insurance sector since the financial crisis, according to a report released today by global law firm Mayer Brown and published in association with Mergermarket.

The report, Global Insurance M&A Outlook, is based on survey responses from insurers and reinsurers in the life and/or P&C subsectors, as well as bankers who have worked on insurance M&A transactions.

Survey respondents anticipate M&A activity will rise in both the P&C (88%) and Life subsectors (87%). An improving U.S. economy was cited by 68% of respondents as the main factor spurring the increase.

Alternative asset managers and/or private equity firms will be among the most active buyers driving M&A in the Life (68%) and P&C (71%) subsectors over the next 12 months, respondents said.

Additionally, 85% of respondents said they will finance their acquisitions using their balance sheets, speaking to the strong capital position of many carriers.

Half of respondents said one of the most important alternative growth strategies will involve the development of new distribution channels.

“As business is conducted on a more global scale, insurance companies are increasingly looking for opportunities to expand their product offerings and distribution capabilities through acquisitions,” said Edward Best, Mayer Brown Corporate & Securities partner and co-leader of the firm’s Capital Markets and Financial Institutions groups. “Therefore, it is more important than ever for such companies to have access to global legal counsel that can help them navigate complex issues across various disciplines in multiple jurisdictions.”

Mayer Brown has one of the leading global insurance industry practices, representing nearly 400 insurers and insurance-related entities in transactional, regulatory and dispute resolution matters across the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Media service Mergermarket specializes in forward-looking M&A news and intelligence for M&A professionals and corporates.

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