Re-Act

On the heels of the launch of the Bermuda government’s new blockchain task force, the island sets out its stool

Bermuda is set on positioning itself as the “blockchain laboratory of the world”, according to some of the island’s key influencers.

Speaking during a panel session at the Montgomery Summit held in California this week, Conyers partner Chris Garrod stated that the island could feel confident positioning itself as the “blockchain laboratory of the world”, highlighting its proven success within (re)insurance as a market that innovates and delivers solutions to global industry challenges.

Garrod, who is also member of the government’s Blockchain Legal and Regulatory Working Group, said: “If we are to make this blockchain business successful in Bermuda, all we need to do is continue to do what we do best. There’s no reason why our world-class market can’t do that.”

The panel was moderated by Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) consultant for Emerging Technologies John Narraway, and also included National Security Minister the Hon Wayne Caines, and Aron Dutta, founder and chief executive of Bermuda-based blockchain accelerator Vaphr.

The views expressed were in line with assertions made by the Bermuda Premier at last year’s Global Reinsurance Innovation & InsurTech Bermuda event that the island would establish a technology hub.

He said: “Bermuda understands, and the Bermuda government understands, what lies ahead for the future, and the future is in InsurTech.”

Originally published by Newsdesk 9 March 2018. It has been republished here for the membership of Reinsurance Under 40s.

The US Reinsurance Under 40s Group is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2018. Sean Ramlal, the organisation’s Fundraising and Technology Chair, tells Reactions about how the group helps its members and the wider industry as well how it will celebrate its 10 year anniversary.

– Sean Ramlal, Vice President, Treaty Underwriter – Reinsurance; QBE Re and Fundraising and Technology Chair at the US Reinsurance Under 40s Group

Being involved with the US Reinsurance Under 40s Group is probably one of the best things I’ve done for my career. Over the years, I have personally formed more relationships than I can count and learned so much about our industry and the people in it. It has afforded me the opportunity to gain board experience leading a nonprofit, travel internationally on educational tours of various reinsurance hubs, and make strong connections with industry executives and up and coming leaders. I’ve shaved my head for cancer research, been homeless for a night to raise awareness, and cleaned up parks around Manhattan.

Re Under 40s is a nonprofit founded in 2008 by a collective of young industry professionals based off a similar concept in London and Bermuda. The primary aim of the all-volunteer board is to provide educational, charitable, and networking opportunities for the future leaders of the reinsurance industry. From our first meeting of less than 20 people, our membership has grown to over 2,250 registered today. With members in 27 states and 15 countries, we have professionals representing nearly 350 companies who are benefitting from the many learning and networking opportunities we provide. Our members include underwriters, brokers, actuaries, claims professionals, lawyers, accountants, cat modellers, consultants, asset managers, and just about every other profession that touches the insurance and reinsurance industry. All are welcome to attend our events, regardless of age.

We create an environment for our members to advance professionally through education and relationship building. We hold regular panel discussions, presentations on topical issues, webinars, social and charitable events, an annual education tour, and distribute content through “Re-Act”, our news platform. Besides enriching knowledge, these all serve as a medium for members to form relationships early in their careers, with both their peers and the executives that support us. These business associations are critical to the future of any company and their employees. We like to think of it as building the network you might not even know you need.

Insurance is very much a people industry and knowing the party on the other side of a transaction is crucial to making effective business decisions. Additionally, we give back by fundraising and participating in events in collaboration with organisations such as St Baldrick’s, Covenant House, IICF, Junior Achievement of Greater Miami, Riverkeeper, and the NYC Food Bank.

One of the key focuses of the group is to address the generational gap in our industry. There was a time when many insurance companies had large training programmes which equipped today’s leaders with the tools they used to become successful. As budgets were constrained and competition for experienced talent grew, these new hire programmes began to disappear. The Re Under 40s seeks to fill the void left and promote the professional development of young talent in the industry and in academia.

We are one of the few, or perhaps the only, major reinsurance industry groups that does not charge for membership. Furthermore, we aim to make all events free to maximise attendance and encourage participation by members at all stages of their careers. Of course, this cannot be done without the support of our numerous sponsors. Fundraising is core to our group, and thankfully having a mission that serves the industry openly has made our sponsors more than willing to offer their support.

2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the group and we have a lot to look forward to! We’ve grown so much in the last decade with little sign of slowing down. The first half of the year is already busy with various educational events, including panels, webinars, and lunch and learns on topics such as blockchain and cyber liability. We’re also in the process of finalising our educational tour to Zurich and Munich and our inaugural Golf Social. With expansion to US insurance hubs like Philadelphia, Chicago, Miami and Morristown, we expect continued growth. We are also really excited about launching in Stamford this year! There are many social events in the pipeline, including the Frying Pan Summer Social, as well as charitable opportunities such as the annual St Baldrick’s Foundation head shaving event – where I plan to go bald for the 10th time!

This article first appeared in the March 2018 edition of Reactions. You can find out more information about the magazine by visiting www.reactionsnet.com

By Sarina Puccio,
VP – Credit, Surety, Political Risk Underwriter
Munich Re America

When I started in the surety reinsurance industry in 2012, coming over from a primary carrier, a lot of new players were entering the reinsurance market. They came in and mainly competed on price. Some of the new entrants neither had a specialized underwriting team nor, in some cases, any expertise at all in surety reinsurance. Partly as a result of these new entrants, reinsurance rates started to decline and continued to do so for the next 5 years. Rates came down even on certain poorly performing programs. Along with rate reductions, terms and conditions also softened. These trends led some industry participants to conclude that this was the new normal for our market. Others have gone so far as to consider our business a commodity, which is a mistake as reinsurers can and do provide significant value to clients: our focus cannot be on price alone.

I believe that we are entering a new phase of the cycle for surety reinsurance as indicated by developments over the past few months. The market was much more stable during the most recent renewal period with the majority of programs renewing on a flat basis. This was especially noteworthy as surety business was not affected by the severe catastrophes of 2017. Reinsurers were particularly disciplined in negotiating loss-affected treaties and with respect to terms and conditions. Furthermore, the number of new entrants slowed down markedly and some reinsurers even pulled back, or at least reduced, their existing shares. Compared to past years, some reinsurers have clearly changed their approach.

Like reinsurers, primary surety carriers are likely to experience significant market developments in the near term, a number of which might include:

• Rebuilding the infrastructure in the U.S. is widely recognized as an absolute necessity and is a very important part of the current Administration’s agenda (Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-infrastructure/trump-administrations-infrastructure-plan-taking-shape-idUSKBN1F71BC, January 18th, 2018). Assuming that a large government-backed infrastructure program is implemented, it is extremely likely that there will be a sizeable increase in demand for surety bonds. This would be a big positive for the but also has the potential to bring some significant challenges to the industry:
• Some of the new construction projects will likely be extremely large. What new risks could this bring?
• There is already a lack of skilled workers across the country. If these new projects move forward, then this labor shortage will likely get more severe, increasing the risk to the industry.
• If new bonded projects become available, this could also lead to greater competition within the surety sector. Would new surety players continue to enter the market and further soften terms and conditions?
• Results for primary surety underwriters are still very good, but when the market turns again will the newer management teams be able to adequately address greater claims activity? Due to the excellent surety results over the past 12 years, they have less experience with periods of heightened claims activity.
• Although public-private partnerships (P3) will become increasingly important, many private sector players, including surety writers, have little experience with P3. This highlights that there is still a lot of educational work to do with respect to P3.

These are only a few examples which show very clearly how the whole underwriting process in the surety sector is likely to be impacted in the future. These developments also have a real potential to affect demand for reinsurance as our clients’ future needs will almost certainly change with these developments. That is why reinsurers need to be prepared, proactively focus on the leading indicators in our industry, and seek to provide new tailored solutions as well as superior service to our valued clients. These insights and value-added services are key to a long-term partnership between reinsurers and their clients.

Original Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/surety-has-new-cycle-phase-started-already-sarina-puccio/

Raghuveer Vinukollu, Nat Cat Solutions Manager, Munich Re America

As we begin 2018 and approach the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) reauthorization date of Jan 19th, this is an important time to share key insights on the future of flood insurance and how we, as a community can best achieve flood resilient communities in the U.S.

Insurance plays a major role in developing resilient communities. There are studies that
highlight the importance of high insurance penetration and the correlation to strong resilient countries. So where do we stand in terms of flood resilience in the United States? From a flood insurance penetration standpoint, we are behind the curve. Post Hurricane Harvey, it came to light that a staggering 80% of the homes in Houston were not insured for flood¹.  The flood insurance penetration rate was not much better in NY and NJ during Superstorm Sandy ² . Note that these are coastal states where hurricanes and extreme flooding events are common and where homeowners and businesses should be more aware of the risks. Across the country, according to the Insurance Information Institute, only about 12% of homeowners in the U.S. purchase flood insurance³.

Exacerbating the situation is the fact that an extremely large number of Americans are living in one in 100 year flood zones, or areas that have a 26% chance of flooding over the course of a 30 year mortgage. A recent study by scientists and engineers from University of Bristol and Princeton University revealed that approximately 40 million Americans are living in 100 year flood zones⁴.  This corresponds to $5.5 trillion of property value! In contrast, only 5 million policies are in force by the NFIP⁵.  This protection gap is significant and can have a major impact on the economy as there is a direct impact on tax payers money and thus the overall GDP.

Part of the solution for this flood insurance protection gap is better communication of the risk. Unfortunately, Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM), the official flood maps in the U.S., are not frequently updated and are binary in nature (i.e. either you are “in” or “out” of the flood zone). Both Sandy and Harvey events showed several instances of FIRMs being inadequate to evaluate the extent of flooding. The FIRMs designate the flood risk at a point in time and do not reflect the changing risk of the property. Flood models and flood tools have developed well past the. outdated FIRM methodology and can inform more risk appropriate pricing.

The 21st Century Flood Reform Act, which provides a package of NFIP reforms and has been passed by the US House of Representatives, is a good start toward improving flood risk awareness. FEMA would have to use, apart from the applicable FIRM, other appropriate risk assessment models, data, and tools to communicate flood risk. FEMA must also consult governmental agencies like USGS and NOAA to obtain information relevant to flood insurance mapping.

The bill also includes requirements in order to increase consumer choice through private flood insurance market development. This includes broader coverage offerings, removing the non-compete clause restricting Write Your Own (WYO) companies from selling private flood insurance, and allowing a policyholder to switch between NFIP and the private flood market. The private market is unlikely to take on NFIP properties that have incurred multiple flood losses, or “repetitive loss properties”, so the bill fortifies the solvency of the NFIP by limiting coverage and charging premiums that reflect the actual flood risk of those properties. While these are some of the proposals that the U.S. House has passed, the final decisions and changes are yet to be approved by the full Congress.

In May 2017, the Deputy Associate Administrator for Insurance and Mitigation at FEMA, Roy Wright challenged everyone to aim to double the number of flood insurance policies, both NFIP and private insurance by 2023. A goal like this is crucial for increasing the flood insurance penetration, thus making our communities more resilient. While there have been three extensions so far, extending the existing program without meaningful reforms does not improve flood resiliency. We hope that Congress considers meaningful changes, without lapse, to the NFIP with an outlook for a long term reauthorization of the program and a more flood resilient future for the United States.

Sources:
1 Insurance Business America, Majority of Harvey Victims did not have flood insurance,
January 2018
2 Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration, The Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Towns and Households
3 iii, Facts + Statistics: Flood Insurance, October 2017
4 BBC News, US Flood Risk Severely Underestimated, December 11, 2017
5 NFIP Statistics

Reposted from Best’s News Service dated Nov 15, 2017
http://www3.ambest.com/ambv/bestnews/newscontent.aspx?AltSrc=108&refnum=204393

A record-setting wildfire season in California is more likely to trigger U.S. property/casualty changes than the three major hurricanes that hit the country, according to a Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC senior vice president of North American strategic advisory.

Hurricanes are a “very heavily modeled peril,” and this year’s losses are likely within the realm of expectation, said Blake Berman, author of a Guy Carpenter annual report on insurance risk benchmarks. Insurers don’t have the same modeling capacity for wildfires. Berman said the insurance industry, particularly in terms of modeling, is “still building our understanding” of wildfires. He said he thinks underwriters will look more closely at risk factors such as a structure’s distance from tree or brush lines before writing policies.

“It’s getting increasingly dry in parts of our country,” he told Best’s News Service. “The wildfire activity is unprecedented this year,” and follows high losses in other recent years.  Seven of the top 20 most-destructive and five of the deadliest wildfires in California have occurred over the past three years, including the Tubbs Fire in October. It claimed 5,643 structures and 21 lives, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The National Interagency Fire Center reported 53,986 fires through Nov. 10, fewer than the 10-year average of 64,388. However, the 8.88 million acres burned is significantly higher than the 10-year average of 6.81 million acres. It is the second-highest number after the record-setting 2015 wildfire season.

Five years of severe drought in California left many forests less resilient to wildfire (Best’s News Service, July 21, 2017). At the same time, Berman said, there has been a shift in population away from the Northeast and some rust-belt states to areas with more favorable weather and lower taxes. Some popular areas are catastrophe-prone, whether it’s hail in Colorado or Texas, hurricanes in Texas and Florida or wildfires in California.

The wildland-urban interface contains about one third of U.S. housing units, then-U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said earlier this year in a speech. Fast-growing areas with moderate- to high-wildfire potential range from the South to “large parts” of the West. “Across many of these degraded landscapes, fuel buildups have created explosive conditions made worse by the effects of climate change, such as drought and insect epidemics. Fires are getting bigger than ever before, with more extreme fire behavior,” he said.

The fires followed a third quarter in which three Category 4 hurricanes made landfall in the United States and two earthquakes shook Central Mexico. The property/casualty industry posted a 0.4% underwriting loss in 2016, its first calendar-year loss since 2012, which the Guy Carpenter report attributed to emerging risks, catastrophe frequency and severity and changing capital needs (Best’s News Service, Oct. 24, 2017).  Adverse reserve development in a small number of large but influential lines was a factor, said Berman. The median accident year loss ratio among personal lines carriers increased 3% since 2013, according to the report, with private passenger automobile and commercial auto liability writers netting median combined ratios of 107. The homeowners market continued to perform strongly last year, a lift it likely lost this this year due to the string of catastrophes, said Berman. Commercial liability “continued to see an uptick in losses,” last year, Berman said. The industry’s 10-year run of favorable prior-period reserve development ended in 2016. Ongoing improvements in workers’ compensation improved overall results last year. And stock market gains “have had a very soothing effect” on performance, masking some reductions in underlying underwriting profitability.

One surprise was the industry expense ratio. Guy Carpenter expected it to decline at a quicker rate as companies adopted new technologies and better distribution strategies. He said he thinks insurers instead have used technology to maintain or reduce prices while improving services such as claims management and increasing consumer engagement options.

“The market never really stands still in the property and casualty industry,” Berman said.

The top five writers of homeowners multiperil in the United States in 2016, based on direct premiums written, were: State Farm Group, with an 19.26% market share; Allstate Insurance Group, 8.64%; Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., 6.81%; Farmers Insurance Group, 6.03%; and USAA Group, 5.84%, according to BestLink.