The pandemic brought many challenges to insurance agents, including issues of customer acquisition and retention, increased digital competition, staffing issues, and more. However, technology proved a valuable tool for navigating difficult times and a resource for capturing a competitive edge and securing more of the market.  We recently spoke with Herb Chirico, Chief of Marketing at Imperial PFS, to discuss the most significant challenges agents face in the current market conditions and why premium-financing solutions are critical to securing a competitive edge and reducing capital burden. He explains the key elements of evaluating a premium financing solution and why this type of solution is vital to agents' success.  To learn more, hit play.

Property & Casualty 360 Perspectives podcast

Why InsurTech Financing Solutions Are Here to Stay

Excess & Surplus Lines: Insurance Solutions for Difficult-to-Place Risks

Professional Liability Trends: Beating Cyberrisk

Trends in Specialty Insurance – A View from the Top

Excess & Surplus lines have had a turbulent recent history, between the pandemic, the rise in social inflation, and growing number of CAT events. It’s led some carriers to raise rates or drop coverage altogether. But for some, there also lies an opportunity, notes Jill Beggs, President of Excess & Surplus Insurance lines at Munich Re Specialty Insurance Group. In the latest episode of the Munich Re Specialty Insurance Group podcast series, we joined Beggs to discuss what the current environment means for E&S lines, the challenges brokers are facing in the space, and how to grow and prosper in this risk landscape. To listen, hit play.

Recent cyberattacks have kept cybersecurity in the spotlight. The threat is very real, and criminals are going after large organizations and small and midsized ones alike. What can brokers and carriers do to mitigate this new reality?  In the latest episode of the Munich Re Specialty Insurance podcast series, join Steve Pacheco, Head of US Cyber and Technology E&O for Munich Re Specialty Group, as he describes what the landscape looks like and what tips can help reduce exposure. To listen, hit play.

The specialty market is fast changing and fueled by such trends as consolidation, globalization, and innovation. There are new risks emerging, and these risks not only create difficulty but also present opportunities to differentiate and expand business. A simplified, broker-centric approach and creating more integrated connections between brokers and underwriters are important elements to improving the customer experience.  We recently spoke with Mike Kerner, CEO at Munich Re Specialty Insurance. He explains how emerging trends are impacting brokers and agents, discusses best practices around differentiating during difficult times, and outlines how to create a more holistic broker experience. To learn more, hit play.

As insurance carriers are looking for ways to modernize their operations, one area that’s ripe for opportunity is claims. Claims organizations are moving away from manual processes, which can lead to inefficiencies, leakage and poor customer experiences. They are looking to capitalize on ways data and automation can improve the experience. The introduction of data sophistication, or the strategic integration of data into workflows, is positioned to improve the experience for carriers and their customers, and the industry is ready at this critical, post-2020 juncture. We recently spoke with Frank Cesario, Director, with the Auto Claims vertical at LexisNexis Risk Solutions to understand how insurance companies are introducing data sophistication into their processes. Join us as he explains the vision for claims triage and how a triage operation leveraging data sophistication increases efficiencies, stops leakage and improves the claims experience

How Can Data Sophistication Help Triage Claims?

Highlights from the June 2 webcast “Seven Insights to Help P&C Insurers Attract and Retain Millennial Policyholders.” This event was sponsored by Invoice Cloud, and featured Angela Abbott, Director of Partnerships - Financial Services at Invoice Cloud.  The webcast can be found in its entirety on demand at https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2021/04/02/seven-insights-to-help-pc-insurers-attract-and-retain-millennial-policyholders/

Excerpts from: Seven Insights to Help P&C Insurers Attract and Retain Millennial Policyholders.

Highlights from the May 12 webcast “How to Achieve your Digital Insurance Vision with Transformative Technology,” sponsored by OneSpan. This event featured Oliwia Berdak, VP Research Director, Forrester Research; and Mary Ellen Power, VP Marketing, OneSpan.  The webcast can be found in its entirety on demand at https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2021/04/02/how-to-achieve-your-digital-insurance-vision-with-transformative-technology/

How to Achieve your Digital Insurance Vision with Transformative Technology

As cyber thieves become more sophisticated in their attacks, leveraging tools like machine learning, artificial intelligence and more, the fallout has shown that the risk of cybersecurity attacks has never been greater. As a recent report from the Identity Theft Resource Center notes, cyber thieves often just need login and passwords from consumers to launch attacks as individuals oftentimes reuse passwords at work and home on more than one account.  More than 15 billion credentials are available for sale at any given time in underground identity markets.  Cyber criminals use automated tools that can attempt to access 500 accounts per second using stolen logins and passwords. The time to think about the impact of cyberattacks in our personal lives is now. We recently spoke with Kareen Boyadjian, Vice President of Underwriting and Product Leader for Medefense, e-MD and NetGuard SELECT at Tokio Marine HCC - Cyber & Professional Lines Group, about the current trends fueling the need for a stand-alone cyber personal lines insurance policy, what to consider when shopping for a policy, and how brokers can assist clients in this area. To learn more, hit play.

The Growing Threat of Cyberattacks: Why a Dedicated Personal Cyber Insurance Policy Is Essential

Highlights from the March 23 webcast “Manage the Uptick in Mega Claims Efficiently.” This event featured Pramod Akkarachittor, Vice President of Products at CLARA Analytics; and Seth Rachlin, Ph.D., Executive Vice President-Global Insurance Industry Leader at Capgemini. The webcast can be found in its entirety on demand at https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2021/03/04/manage-the-uptick-in-mega-claims-successfully-efficiently/

Manage the Uptick in Mega Claims Efficiently

Highlights from the April 28 webcast “The Rise of the Digital Insurance Agency: 3 Award-Winning Agents Share How They Drive Growth with Digital.” This event was moderated by Geoffery Metzand featured Jeff Roy, CEO, Excalibur Insurance; Majda Baltic, Founder & CEO, Majdas Touch Insurance; and James Castell, Director of Sales and Marketing, Castell Insurance. The webcast can be found in its entirety on demand at https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2021/03/10/the-rise-of-the-digital-insurance-agency-3-award-winning-agents-share-how-they-drive-growth-with-digital/

Excerpts from The Rise of the Digital Insurance Agency: 3 Award-Winning Agents Share How They Drive Growth with Digital

Customers are demanding more personalized and meaningful experiences from their insurance carriers, and they’re willing to go as far as switching providers to get that experience. A recent survey found that three-quarters of insurance customers reported wanting more personalized offers, messages and recommendations from their insurance carrier. Delivering this type of experience requires carriers to better understand customer behaviors and leverage that knowledge to create deeper connections and better anticipate needs.  We recently spoke with Justin Silver, Senior Director, Solution Consulting at Duck Creek Technologies, about data-driven personalization and the impact it has on the insurance market. He explains what carriers have to gain from harnessing the right data and what’s on the horizon for data-driven personalization in the insurance space. To learn more, hit play.

The Age of Insurance Personalization and What It Means for Insurance Carriers

Highlights from the March 16 webcast “AI: Putting Insurers on the Path to Better Decision Making.” This discussion featured three experts from Shift Technology: first Marcel Gordon, VP Product; John Cully, Head of Brand Communications; and Alicia Holmes, Pre-Sales Consultant.   The full on-demand presentation can be found at https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2021/02/08/ai-putting-insurers-on-the-path-to-better-decision-making/

AI: Putting Insurers on the Path to Better Decision Making

Perspectives taps into PropertyCasualty360.com's partners to provide leading insights on pressing topics shaping the industry. This podcast will feature new analysis on the technology, regulations and best practices that help P&C professionals guide their customers through all facets of the insurance, claims and risk management process.