Contents

Best’s Rankings

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Ranked by 2022 direct premiums written.

($ Thousands)

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12Amer Intl Group 018540$175,13111.613.414.910.342.054.832.91.1

21Zurich Ins US PC Group018549151,196-10.411.516.013.417.185.2367.00.9

34Berkshire Hathaway Ins000811124,42057.59.57.59.222.810.29.40.2

43Assurant P&C Group018523120,94812.99.210.213.3102.834.610.11.4

55XL America Companies018557117,28064.89.06.89.368.522.234.01.5

66Swiss Reins Group00326291,08749.97.05.89.217.014.38.03.1

712Sompo Hldgs US Group01887871,006115.05.43.10.038.67.20.01.0

87Liberty Mutual Ins Cos00006070,91418.35.45.75.318.135.0-6.70.2

99Chubb INA Group01849848,2389.13.74.22.154.461.90.50.2

1010Allstate Ins Group

00000844,28031.53.43.24.855.424.121.60.1

118Arch Ins Group

01848442,275-13.43.24.66.85.38.49.20.7

1214MS&AD US Ins Group

01878239,754122.83.01.70.131.188.5-17.83.6

1311Allianz US PC Ins Companies

01842938,00814.42.93.23.7-1.928.0-20.20.6

1416Trisura US Ins Group

01894426,072115.82.01.20.8153.1261.069.32.0

1515MAPFRE North America Group

01880114,652-4.71.11.52.069.34.51.70.6

1617Palomar Hldgs US Group

01895414,53924.81.11.11.18.836.9-2.31.8

1769HCI Ins Group

01884813,3790.01.00.00.0482.10.00.01.9

1818Progressive Ins Group

0007809,514-6.50.71.01.3148.23.92.70.0

1913Munich-Amer Hldg Corp Cos

0187539,185-61.00.72.21.181.437.027.10.2

2023W. R. Berkley Ins Group

0182528,09559.40.60.50.34.0285.70.80.1

2126Incline Ins Group

0207817,385141.00.60.30.037.254.842.12.6

2222Nationwide Group

0059876,75929.00.50.50.632.184.7132.30.0

2324Cincinnati Ins Cos

0042946,60338.90.50.50.5-19.6152.018.30.1

2419United Surety & Indemnity Co

0111386,441-0.30.50.60.917.70.21.27.8

2520Tokio Marine US PC Group

0187335,8881.80.50.60.93.786.20.40.1

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Note: Data for some companies in this report has been received from the NAIC.

Reflects Grand Total (includes Canada and U.S. Territories).

Source:

- State/Line (P/C Lines) - P/C, U.S.; data as of July 28, 2023.

Best’s Rankings

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Ranked by 2022 direct premiums written.

($ Thousands)

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11Fairfax Financial (USA) Group003116$562,90629.0

22XL America Companies018557527,44225.3

38Arch Ins Group018484323,143125.0

43Amer Intl Group 018540298,53625.0

54Tokio Marine US PC Group018733292,84951.8

65Travelers Group018674261,08036.1

710Sompo Hldgs US Group018878247,97885.7

832Nationwide Group005987240,653999.9

912Swiss Reins Group003262207,01499.4

109Zurich Ins US PC Group018549189,42238.7

117AXIS US Operations018777167,74616.5

126Beazley USA Ins Group018934164,881-13.7

1323Randall Group018738159,353565.7

1411Berkshire Hathaway Ins000811154,31338.6

1521Markel Corp Group018468114,845279.4

1618AmTrust Group018533114,769130.7

1717Intact US Ins Group018458104,92397.5

1814Liberty Mutual Ins Cos000060103,69265.7

1933Palomar Hldgs US Group01895495,126999.9

2016Everest Re US Group00569684,89549.6

2119Aspen US Ins Group01878375,21358.2

2236Ascot Ins U.S. Group01891573,834999.9

2313BCS Ins Co00325169,880-7.0

2415W. R. Berkley Ins Group01825268,68514.8

2520QBE North America Ins Group00565862,06471.1

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Note: Data for some companies in this report has been received from the NAIC.

Source:

- Statement File - P/C, U.S.; data as of July 28, 2023.

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Best’s Rankings: US Flood/Cyber

AM Best: Auto Insurance Profitability

Unlikely in Near Term as Rate,

Inflationary Pressures Continue

Rate adequacy remains a challenge because of an increase in loss severity,

according to a Best’s Market Segment Report.

Editor’s Note:

The following is an excerpt from

Best’s Market Segment Report: Market Segment Outlook:

US Personal Auto

, published on March 30, 2023. Visit

www.ambest.com

to access the full report.

Inflationary Pressures and Rate Adequacy

Challenges

The outlook on the personal auto segment remains

at negative due to the significant deterioration in

reported results, driven by ongoing inflationary

pressures and corresponding rate adequacy challenges.

AM Best estimates that the combined ratio of the

private passenger auto line, which includes private

passenger auto liability and auto physical damage,

deteriorated by nearly nine points.

Many carriers continue to pursue rate adequacy

in response to the rising severity, but their ability to

stay ahead of current trends has been a challenge.

The rise in loss severity has been driven by several

factors: increased high-speed collisions, escalating

costs to repair newer vehicles, higher used car prices,

supply chain and labor market challenges, and rising

medical costs. The return to more normal frequency

levels following the pandemic lockdowns has led

to further profitability pressures. Many companies

in the personal auto segment have pursued rate

increases in response to these trends, but the

timeliness and effectiveness have varied as the

process is rather involved and differs by regulatory

jurisdiction. Although the auto segment as a

whole has been impacted by these factors, carriers

ahead of the curve in terms of rate adequacy and

pricing sophistication have likely built on existing

competitive advantages.

Distracted driving continues to play a part

in loss trends and will likely remain an industry

issue. In addition, newer vehicles with enhanced

safety features account for a growing percentage of

vehicles on the road, which may ultimately impact

frequency favorably, but they also bring higher

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What AM Best Says

Surge of Catalytic

Converter Thefts Tied

to Soaring Prices of

Precious Metals

Best’s Underwriting & Loss Control

Resources offers insights into

coverages and exposures for

automobile and truck dismantlers.

A

seemingly benign car part that helps reduce air

pollution has become one of the hottest targets of

thieves, thanks to a little-known component that has

surged in value since 2018.

The popular commodities are catalytic converters, which

neutralize harmful gases in engine exhaust that contribute

to air pollution and smog and are bolted to the underside

of cars or trucks as part of their exhaust system. They

contain the precious metals rhodium, platinum and

palladium, the most valuable of which is rhodium, whose

value averaged $2,052 an ounce in 2018 and by 2021 had

shot to $18,074 an ounce, the National Insurance Crime

Bureau said in a presentation at the spring meeting of

the National Council of Insurance Regulators. In 2022,

according to the NICB, the price of rhodium dropped to

$14,310 an ounce.

Allstate Corp. said in May that catalytic converter

replacements by policyholders jumped 1,155% nationally

between 2019 and 2022 and by 6,400% or more in

Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

In 2022, there were more than 64,000 catalytic converter

thefts nationally, according to the NICB. Insurance

claims as a result of these thefts jumped to 64,701 last

year, from 16,660 in 2020. Replacing stolen catalytic

converters can cost between $1,000 and $3,500 or

more, depending on the type of vehicle, the NICB said.

Right now, the impact on the insurance industry is

small, but it can definitely be felt, said Robert Passmore,

department vice president, personal lines for the

American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

“Theft losses are a smaller number of overall

comprehensive losses,” Passmore said. “There are a lot

more hail claims and glass claims and trees falling on cars

than catalytic converter thefts, but [catalytic converter

losses] tend to be pretty severe because it’s not an

inexpensive part, and usually there’s some damage to

the rest of the exhaust system that has to be replaced

and repaired. Something that took a matter of minutes

[to remove] can cost thousands of dollars to repair.

Particularly on an older vehicle, you could end up totaling

a vehicle because of something like that.”

State legislatures in 2019 began introducing bills aimed at

combating thefts, many of which focused on regulating

the sale of catalytic converters. The NICB’s proposed

legislation includes recordkeeping requirements. Pat

Martin, NICB’s general counsel, senior vice president

and Board of Governors corporate secretary, told a

subcommittee at the National Council of Insurance

Legislators summer meeting that buyers should require

validation documentation from potential sellers, including

valid identification, proof of licensure and proof of where

the catalytic converter came from.

Other aspects of the NICB’s proposed legislation call

for limiting who can buy and sell catalytic converters,

establishing holding periods for sales and prohibiting cash

transactions. Stamping of vehicle identification numbers

also is suggested as part of the proposal.

In its report on automobile and truck dismantlers, Best’s

Underwriting & Loss Control Resources notes that

salvage yards obtain vehicles for dismantling from vehicle

auctions, insurance companies, public agencies (such as

police and highway departments that pick up abandoned

vehicles), towing services, charities that conduct vehicle

donation programs, and the general public.

“It is important that the automobile and truck dismantler

screen incoming vehicles and parts and maintain

complete records (especially vehicle titles) to avoid being

implicated in theft charges,” according to the report.

Best’s Underwriting Reports

has identified several lines

of coverage that involve underwriting for automobile

and truck dismantlers: Automobile Liability; Automobile

Physical Damage; General Liability: Premises and

Operations; General Liability: Products - Completed

Operations; Environmental Impairment Liability; Workers’

Compensation; Crime; Property; Business Interruption;

and Inland Marine.

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Underwriting & Loss Control

GUYS TALKING

Clockwise from left, John Weber, senior associate editor, AM Best, speaks with Scott Howell,

principal of iProtect Insurance & Financial Services Inc., and Bradley Flowers, founder and CEO of Portal Insurance,

about

The Insurance Guys Podcast

.

‘Insurance Guys’ Driven To Help Other

Agents—Without Boring Them

Scott Howell and Bradley Flowers have been keeping it real with listeners for more than six years.

by John Weber

W

hen Scott Howell and Bradley Flowers

started

The Insurance Guys Podcast

in

2017, they wanted to create a place

where agents could hear other agents discuss

the day-to-day experiences of running a

business. They also wanted to avoid boring

listeners at all costs.

Howell, principal of iProtect Insurance &

Financial Services Inc., and Flowers, founder

and CEO of Portal Insurance, recently spoke

with AM Best TV about their unconventional

approach to podcasting, which they liken to

a pot of chili: It includes a pinch of insurance

John Weber

is a senior associate editor. He can be reached at

john.weber@ambest.com.

agency drama, a dash of technology and strategy,

and a bunch of crazy stories—and it’s served

them well for more than six years.

Following is an edited transcript of their

conversation.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

Flowers:

[Portal Insurance is] a traditional retail

insurance agency that uses a lot of technology in

our processes and procedures. We are based in

Mobile, Alabama, down by the beach. We have

offices in two states and operate in about 11 states.

Howell:

I am the original Forrest Gump. I’ve

lived 14 lives. I have five office locations—four

in Alabama, one in Michigan. I grew up in a

small rural town in Alabama. I went to college

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Insurance Media

insurance is the most boring thing on the face of

this planet to most people—someone is willing to

listen to that and learn from it.

Scott, what questions are agents looking

to have answered in a podcast?

Howell:

They are looking to be entertained.

In terms of what our listening audience wants to

hear, I think it’s a pot of chili, meaning a lot of

ingredients go in that. They want to hear Bradley

talk about technology. They want to hear my

crazy stories. They want us to talk a lot about

what we pay our people, how we pay our people.

They want to hear about what goes on in our

agencies. People love to know that the people

they’re listening to are living it, breathing it, every

day. I think people also like to hear the bad stuff,

which I have a lot of bad stuff happen in my

agency. ... It’s like a moth to a flame to listen to

things like that.

Flowers:

One thing we heard a lot in the

beginning was, “You guys don’t act like you

know everything.” I think sometimes, with

certain thought leaders, you tend to get the idea

from them as maybe [they’re] a little bit of a

know-it-all or too prideful to say, “Hey, I don’t

know the answer to this, but I’m going to find

somebody who does.”

Scott and I, from the beginning, have always

[talked] about what goes on in our agency. We

talk about what works. We talk about what

doesn’t work.

Do you think that’s how you cut through the

white noise?

Flowers:

I think so. It’s real honest, raw. When

somebody meets Scott in an airport or me at a

conference, it’s the exact same version that they get

on the podcast.

AM Best TV

Visit

bestsreview.ambest.com

to watch

the interview with Scott Howell and

Bradley Flowers.

BRING

UNSEEN RISKS

TO THE SURFACE

Expand your knowledge of the businesses and industries

you are evaluating with

Best’s Underwriting Reports

and

Best’s Loss Control Reports

. Written from an

underwriter’s and loss control professional’s

perspective, these detailed, yet concise

reports include the information you need

to eciently assess risk and exposures.

Our Insight, Your Advantage

™

sales@ambest.com

(908)439-2200

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