IN-the-Know

Description: Beginning in 2023, Brett Clausen will serve as president and chair of the CPCU Society's Leadership Council. He also works as the Government Relations and Process Improvement Vice President for Farm Bureau Financial Services. He has joined the podcast for a conversation with Chris Hampshire about the CPCU Society and his goals for the upcoming year. Together they address goals for the future and ways to overcome the current challenges of the CPCU Society, including engagement beyond retirement, expanding membership, learning from the pandemic and solidifying growth for the future.

Key Takeaways

• Brett's journey from McDonalds to Masters Degree to CPCU Leadership Council president.

• The pivotal role that claims plays in the insurance industry.

• Brett's goal is to bring insights from the legislative bodies and departments of insurance into the CPCU Society.

• Prioritizing awareness about the impact of the governmental affairs segment of the insurance industry.

• The importance of transitioning from seeking understanding to promoting advocacy.

• What does Brett contribute the longevity of his Farm Bureau career to?

• Brett highlights the value of earning your CPCU designation.

• A look at all of the training, education, and networking that the CPCU Society has to offer its members.

• Brett's progression of leadership roles that prepared him for where he is today.

• Addressing the current challenges of the CPCU Society, including engagement beyond retirement, membership, the pandemic and growth for the future.

• Brett's 3-year goals start with building on the success that we've already had.

• Advice from Brett's early career self to the successful leader that he is today.

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IN2Risk 2022

Quotes

• "Once you're in this industry you're really sucked into it because it's a really gratifying experience to help people out in their times of need."

• "Having a voice at the table is really important to our companies and that's really how I transformed into this new role that I currently have."

• "The main goal that I have within this role is creating awareness within the company, our constituents as well as management."

• "Being engaged in the CPCU Society really helped me develop the leadership skills that I couldn't get on the job or within my current organization."

• "Our goals for 2023 really start with building on the success that we've already had."

• "This industry has so much to offer and I don't think we've done a good enough job of making that known."

The insurance industry is incredibly resilient, and the future is looking bright. Even in the face of new and emerging risks within the property and casualty industry generally and legacy management more specifically, the industry continues to make significant strides. To shed light on the successes and challenges facing the industry, today's podcast guest brings with him over 35 years of experience in the insurance industry with a focus on operations, claims, and workers' compensation managed care. Rich Seelinger, Chief Executive and Claims Officer of Enstar's U.S. Operations. Together with Chris Hampshire, he discusses the legacy marketplace as well as the insights that Rich has gained from his vast career in a variety of operational positions, as well as his advice for filling the massive industry talent gap and attracting the next generation of professionals.

Key Takeaways

• The career path that brought Rich to his current position.

• The practices and processes that attracted Rich to the claims sector.

• A current snapshot of the legacy market space.

• Four primary mechanisms used in the legacy management space.

• Drivers behind the increase of money moving into this space.

• Key partnership elements that benefit all involved parties.

• Four questions Rich asks himself before accepting a new role.

• What are hiring managers looking for across the industry?

• Action items for attracting the next generation of professionals.

• A five-year look at the future of the industry.

• Rich's advice to his early-career self.

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Quotes

• "I was fascinated by workers' compensation claims, not only the technical side of it but even more so the business side of it."

• "The current state of the legacy market space is certainly large and growing."

• "All along the way, part of our objective is to really understand what the customer is trying to accomplish and whether or not we're capable of meeting those needs."

• "The industry can do a much better job of marketing itself to new entrants."

• "The insurance industry has been remarkably resilient over the years."

• "The industry is just beginning to scratch the surface; a lot of good work is being done but certainly more can be done."

With over 700 published articles and 10 books on claims, litigation, and risk management in his name, today's guest is truly an expert in his field. Kevin Quinley, Principal of Quinley Risk Associates, LLC, has over 40 years of experience in the insurance industry. Kevin helps clients nationwide assess claims handling and improve outcomes through expert evaluation and testimony and high-stakes insurance disputes. Today, he joins Chris Hampshire for a conversation about claims, his journey in the industry, how he got involved in witness testimony, the benchmarks he uses to determine which claims he will get involved in, and his experience with writing.

Key Takeaways

• The origin of Kevin's 40-year-career in the insurance industry.
• The inspiration behind Kevin's focus on claims.
• A day in the life of an expert witness.
• How Kevin determines if a case is a good fit.
• The process of evaluating a claim on a case-by-case basis.
• Four benchmarks Kevin utilizes when approaching each claim.
• Kevin's purpose and passion for writing about insurance.
• The downside of writing about insurance claims.
• What is impacting technology and the claims marketplace today?
• Kevin reveals what he wishes he would have known at the advent of his career.

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Quotes

• "What appealed to me about claims was the breadth of learning."
• "If you want to be a lifelong learner, I think claims and insurance is an ideal area."
• "If I can't be the expert, I have a network of other experts I can turn to."
• "The problem is not with AI, it's with how it is used or misused."
• "I wish I had known how important people skills are."

Career options available within the insurance industry are vast and rewarding but widely unknown, especially at the undergraduate level. Regardless, many in the industry would argue that the earlier one can get involved in insurance, the better. On today's podcast, Andrea Garcia joins Chris Hampshire to discuss her experience as a female in the reinsurance sector. Andrea is a Senior Underwriting Specialist and Second Vice President for General Reinsurance Corporation, underwriting casualty facultative business on behalf of Berkshire Re. She offers her thoughts on how to better attract business talent to the insurance industry as well as her insights on being a risk management student who transitioned into reinsurance.

Key Takeaways

• Andrea's education and experience led her to the insurance industry.
• The variety of career options that Andrea's risk management degree provided.
• Reinsurance provided the variety that Andrea was seeking.
• The value of extensive training in the early onboarding months.
• Effective ways to train new underwriters.
• Andrea's experience as a female leader in the industry.
• Ideas for increased inclusivity across the industry.
• A look at the five-year diversity strides within insurance.
• Trends that are leading the industry into the future.
• Why reinsurance? Andrea highlights the benefits of the sector.
• Andrea's experience with the CPCU Society.
• What Andrea wishes she had known at the onset of her career.

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Quotes

• "I've realized that everything around us correlates to insurance."
• "Training is the most important aspect when joining a new company."
• "To have the right onboarding at the very beginning will only make you more confident later on."
• "Success is about creating your own pathway."
• "I just wish I had gotten my CPCU sooner, I really do."

Conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion are improving in the insurance industry every day and today's CPCU Society podcast guest has witnessed the benefits of those strides firsthand. Kael Coleman is the CEO and founder of Protecdiv, the only minority-owned tier-one reinsurance broker in the market. Kael formed Protecdiv to directly address the lack of supplier diversity options and to increase the diverse offerings available within the market. On today's podcast, Kael joins Chris Hampshire for a conversation about reinsurance, why Kael decided to strike out on his own, and the opportunities that can be found at the intersection of a diverse-owned business combined with expertise in mortgage and catastrophe insurance.

Key Takeaways

• A 10,000-foot view of the mortgage and reinsurance credit space.
• The inspiration behind Kael's decision to work with supplier diversity.
• The challenges facing diverse-owned businesses in the insurance space.
• Opportunities at the intersection of a diverse-owned business combined with expertise in mortgage and catastrophe insurance.
• Kael's experience as a black man in the insurance industry.
• Has any real progress been made with DE&I in the insurance space?
• Unexpected surprises when starting a reinsurance business.
• Kael's advice for entrepreneurs who are considering starting their own businesses.
• Powerful considerations when joining the insurance industry.
• The key characteristics Kael looks for when hiring.
• Implementing modern data management and analytics.
• The importance of trust in the relationships of the insurance business.
• A five-year look at the technology and metric changes coming to the industry.
• The future of the reinsurance sector in the insurance landscape.
• Kael's advice for his younger, less experienced self.

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Quotes

• "Conversations surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion are just at the cusp of getting better."
• "A big thing we've lacked so far as an industry is metrics around DE&I."
• "Insurance is the most fun industry that you've never thought about."
• "What we do as an industry is one of the most important things that we do in our society that I think people don't really understand."
• "So much of our business is relationship-based. People have to trust you."
• "If people don't trust what you're saying, they're not going to do business with you."
• "Five years from now we're going to see a lot more integration of technology in the industry."

From being told she shouldn't work because she was pregnant to being passed over for promotions simply because she is female, Sarah Muniz has seen a negative side of the insurance agency that is antiquated and leans heavily in favor of men. In an industry that is already suffering from a significant talent crisis, now is the time to take a look at the talent that is already in place but has been pushed out. Sarah Muniz has been in the insurance industry for over twenty years and is the author of Undiscovered Voices: Unlocking the Potential of Women in Insurance, a first-hand account of the challenges women face in the insurance agency. On today's podcast, she sits down with Chris Hampshire for an honest discussion about the experiences and prejudices that women in the insurance industry face and where we need to go from here.

Key Takeaways

• Sarah immediately fell in love with the insurance industry, but not with the way she was treated there.
• Living in fear prompted Sarah to write the book that shares her story.
• Unfortunately, Sarah's story is not an uncommon one in the insurance industry.
• The situations in which women are most comfortable sharing their stories.
• The impact that agency size has on managing these biases.
• Male brains versus female brains have different but equally capable ability to utilize problem-solving skills.
• The natural skills that women have to connect and read other people is an asset in the insurance industry.
• What fears are keeping women from speaking up?
• Insurance promotes average men — what does that mean for women?
• Solving the insurance talent crisis with the women who are already in the industry.
• The benefits of having females in insurance leadership roles.
• Ideas for creating more mentoring opportunities for women.
• Why is now the time to take a look at and correct these injustices?
• A five-year look to the future of the insurance industry.
• What Sarah wishes she had known at the onset of her career.

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Quotes

• "It's surprising how common these stories are when women are in small groups."
• "I'm met with a lot of women who have said, yes, this resonates with me."
• "Every time I got pushback, I decided to do more research."
• "Although our brains work differently, we can come to the same problem-solving skills at the end of the day, we just may go about it in different ways."
• "Empathetic women are a huge asset in an industry where we're trying to protect other people in their time of need."
• "If we can take the talent we already have, foster it, and make things more equitable, we're going to attract more to our industry."
• "I believe we already do have a talent abundance, it's just going unnoticed."
• "We're not trying to push men out, we're just trying to come up with them."

Insurance-Linked Securities are the next frontier of the insurance industry, and Ethan Nadorlik is at the forefront of this rapidly developing financial innovation. Ethan has worked exclusively on insurance programs during his career and is a seasoned property and casualty insurance underwriter, leader, and strategist. On today's podcast, Ethan and Chris Hampshire sit down for a look at Ethan's career path in insurance, particularly in the Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) space — what's new, what's changing, and what we can expect from this advancing technology in the future of the insurance space.

Key Takeaways

• Ethan's education and the career path that led him into insurance.
• How do insurance-linked securities work?
• The key differences between casualty- and insurance-linked securities.
• The evolution of these contracts starts with a risk originator.
• Highlights of the ILS approach to the insurance marketplace.
• What attracted Ethan to this new insurance space?
• The benefits of working with a start-up that is building value in the industry.
• The questions Ethan asks himself when deciding his next career move.
• The impact and value of the CPCU designation in Ethan's career.
• Ethan's motivation behind moving into the CPCU presidency for the Philadelphia chapter.
• Advice for attracting talent to the insurance industry.
• By working in insurance, you have the ability to change someone's life.
• A five-year look to the future of ILS and the insurance industry at large.
• The impact that Ethan's early work had on his insurance career.
• What does Ethan wish he had known at the onset of his career?

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Quotes

• "My education was great batting practice for what I'm doing in my career today."
• "This is a new frontier, a chance to build something new and a chance to change our industry."
• "ILS is going to be the way of the future."
• "The real value of CPCU is the network you develop when you get involved in the society."
• "If you can get involved with a non-profit board it can show that you might be ready for a management opportunity."
• "Insurance is a vital part of our economy and of people's lives. You can make a difference in someone's life by working in insurance."
• "There are going to be tons of employment opportunities in insurance for the foreseeable future."
• "We've passed the proof-of-concept stage and now we're working toward scale, and I think it's really going to take off."

Insurance expert Ramya Sunad has worked in all segments of the industry. She is a lead property underwriter for USAA and also serves on both the executive and the Global Leadership Council for the CPCU Society. Ramya joins Chris Hampshire on today''s podcast for a conversation about the future of underwriting, changes in the insurance marketplace, and the value of getting involved with the CPCU Society.

Key Takeaways

• "I'm excited to be at work every single day." Ramya shares her journey into insurance.
• Adjusting and evolving from life in India to life in America.
• Key differences between the Indian and American insurance industries.
• Ramya's advice for anyone who is considering transitioning to America.
• What drew Ramya into the changing underwriting space?
• Making better insurance decisions based on exposure to climate, smart technologies, and more.
• Ramya's advice for finding the right career within the insurance industry.
• Attracting a diverse talent base is the key to an optimized, effective, and efficient team.
• Tactics for recruiting a more diverse talent pool, including celebrating what has already been accomplished.
• Ramya's opportunities and experiences as a result of her CPCU designation.
• The CPCU mentor program provides valuable leadership and networking opportunities.
• A look to the future of the insurance industry.
• Ramya reveals what she wishes she had known when she began her career in insurance.

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Quotes

• "Network, network, network, always with the goal of finding solutions."
• "The world is shrinking faster than we have ever seen before."
• "Insurance can bring people from multiple backgrounds into our industry to make a real impact."
• "Find your passion and invest in it, then leadership will come naturally."
• "You certainly need diversity, people who think differently, who solve differently, who apply differently in your teams to make those teams that much more optimized, effective and efficient."
• "When I found my community within CPCU, I knew I belonged."
• "Belonging to the CPCU Society gives me a 50,000-foot view of the insurance industry."

In this episode of In the Know, host Chris Hampshire is joined by Gregg Golson, Vice President and Program Director at J.S. Held University. Gregg has over 25 years of comprehensive experience in claims management and has resolved over 12,500 property claims in his career. In their conversation, Gregg and Chris discuss all that is changing in the world of claims, from technologies and leadership to exciting changes that the future holds.

Key Takeaways

• A little bit about Gregg's career path and what attracted him to claims.
• The challenging aspects of training others on claims.
• Gregg's tips for attracting the next generation of claims adjusters and leaders.
• Primary drivers of change in the claims world, including cost and increased PPE.
• The genesis and impact of J.S. Held's proprietary system claims progress products.
• The applications of drones and other disruptive technologies in claims and project progress monitoring.
• A look at the future of property insurance and flood coverage for coastal areas.
• Gregg's involvement in CPCU designations, including publications, over the years.
• Leadership and networking opportunities that are available through CPCU.
• The value of investing in your people at the employer level through CPCU.
• CPCU designees are always considered role models to others.
• Looking to the five-year future of claims.
• Gregg reflects on what he wishes he would have known when he started his journey.

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IN2Risk 2022

Quotes

• "One of the best ways we can attract people to claims is talk about the cool jobs that we have."
• "At CPCU, there are always people working behind the scenes to make you better and set you up for success."
• "Leadership is such a great opportunity to network."
• "CPCU is superior at providing leadership skills and direct technical knowledge."
• "I don't know of anyone who has joined CPCU who hasn't become an influencer at their company."
• Once you become a CPCU, you are looked at as a role model by other people."

In this episode of In the Know, host Chris Hampshire is joined by Lucian McMahon, senior manager at Verisk Analytics Extreme Event Solutions Group, where he leads the research and development of scenarios for the Arium liability catastrophe modeling platform. Lucian details where this industry is headed, emerging liabilities that are of most interest, and why someone with a data background should consider getting involved in the insurance industry.

Key Takeaways

• Lucian wasn't planning on joining the insurance industry, initially.
• A little bit about what Lucian does at Verisk Analytics Extreme Event Solutions Group.
• The role of research in processing and quantifying emerging risks.
• Lucian details the recent example of a major asbestos claim.
• A look at the future of emerging risks in the liability space, including climate change liability.
• Perceived risk plays a major role in anticipating and estimating future liabilities.
• Details about emerging liabilities regarding PFAS chemicals.
• Property liability clash refers to natural events that also have liability implications, such as wildfires in California.
• Why should someone with a data background consider getting involved in the insurance industry?
• A five-year look at the journey and future of liability catastrophe modeling.
• What Lucian wishes he had known at the beginning of his own journey.

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Quotes

• "[We are] asking the right questions and then crafting a narrative around which it is reasonably credible that liability might spread and ultimately manifest in losses in the insurance industry."
• "The possibilities of different liability events and how they might manifest are very fluid and complex."
• "I think climate change liability is very interesting in the context of how people respond to climate change."
• "Often we are trying to anticipate and estimate how human beings respond to risk, even perceived risk."
• "Insurance in many respects is a very data-rich space."
• "We're in an exciting space and solving problems that many people said weren't possible to solve just a few years ago."