AM Best Audio Podcast

A panel gathered by AM Best TV at the WSIA Annual Marketplace conference in San Diego said the excess and surplus sector has evolved from being perceived as a market for hard-to-place risks to becoming a staple in the insurance community.

Marcia Blanco, head of financial lines at Munich Re Specialty, said as a result of regulatory claims, defense costs for directors and officers have skyrocketed.

AM Best Financial Analyst Lauren Magro discusses a new Best's Market Segment Report finding that P/C mutuals report surplus growth, and pursue rate adequacy amid another year of increasing severe storm frequency.

Dan Law, head of the cyber practice at HSB, said small and medium enterprise businesses have been slow to adopt cyber protection into their coverage, however insurers need to focus on bringing a product to that market that makes sense.

Neil Alldredge, president & CEO, NAMIC, said that while new mutual formations are rare, existing companies are expanding into new lines of business and geographic areas. Alldredge spoke with AM Best TV at NAMIC's 129th Annual Convention, held in Denver. 

The panel also addressed potential pitfalls of innovation, such as the challenges of pricing products before knowing their true cost and the need for strong balance sheets to support innovative ventures. Panelists spoke with AM Best TV at the WSIA Annual Marketplace in San Diego.

Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of research, LIMRA and LOMA, said annuity sales surged 19% to $215.2 billion, with fixed index and registered index-linked annuities setting new records, according to LIMRA’s U.S. annuity sales survey.

Aaron VanTuyl and Matt Baide, podcast hosts, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, discuss the "OIC Answers" podcast that seeks to inform Evergreen State consumers on a wide range of insurance topics.

Gary Wang, senior consulting actuary for Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, said that the issue of fairness is a very common social discussion that’s taking place across a wide spectrum of industries, and insurance is part of that.

AM Best Director Doniella Pliss highlights a new Best's Market Segment Report that finds growing health care utilization and medical inflation are expanding the role of health reinsurance.