As expected, momentum has picked up in the program market in 2021.

In an increasingly competitive market, carriers are often constrained by capital requirements that limit their ability to invest in growth.

As the world begins to move again and we head into the warmer months, there are several worrying trends impacting severity mixes and resourcing for carriers.

Our team shares the highs and lows of increased competition, modelling changes, and an enhanced severity mix as we wrap up the past twelve months. This is our reflection on the year that was, and the ongoing challenges our industry must address in the year to come.

Scott Newland, General Manager – Government and Long-Tail Claims, has worked through many of these severe weather events and shared his top tips for carriers.

Operating a commercial enterprise in the midst of a global health pandemic has forced businesses to closely consider their practical health operations from guidelines to strictly enforced rules. This comes into play in managing our own workplaces – offsetting risk and reward with a greater emphasis on the role of our people as our most valuable assets – creating safer workspaces and adopting new ways of working enabled by greater work from home capabilities. Plus, the pandemic has called into question how insurance carriers manage their businesses, outsourcing and collaborating to best navigate how they can continue to support customers in a new virtual context.

Over the course of the study, the top 20 per cent of carriers generated an annual average profit of $764 million, compared to just $26 million for the middle 60 per cent.

Strategic utilization of data continues to be at the forefront of underwriting and claims leadership’s minds, leveraging data analytics to differentiate products and services while also streamlining operations. 

To ensure our organization is best positioned to evolve with the needs of the carrier marketplace, we are delighted to share the appointment of Joe Berrios as Managing Director, Carrier Practice, effective immediately.

It has been interesting to see the various impacts COVID-19 has had on claim frequency and severity across industries, which has led to program partners seeking consultation to help predict post-pandemic claim volumes and plan for new program development. 

Back in 2010, I remember hearing at the global CPCU designation conferment that 400,000 open jobs were forecasted to be available in the year 2020. This seemed almost inconceivable at the time, but we now realize that the talent crunch, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, is more severe than the industry could have predicted. As more senior professionals begin to retire in what’s being called the “Silver Tsunami,” the whole industry needs to address the aging demographic and ensure they’re offering compelling employee propositions to draw in new talent.

In the wake of the Great Resignation comes a new movement dubbed “quiet quitting” leaving some carriers with a disengaged …