From the Editor's Desk
The Insurance Industry Begins Year Two of a Brave New World
This issue also includes a look at insurer investments in collateralized loan obligations and a listing of the largest European non-life insurers.
- Patricia Vowinkel
- March 2021
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A year ago this month many in the insurance industry walked out the doors of their offices to begin an unexpectedly long experiment in working from home.
As the pandemic drags on, insurers have been impacted in a variety of ways. Certain sectors have been hit with losses. So far, the most exposed lines have been event cancellation, travel insurance and non-U.S. business interruption, D&O, workers' compensation, medical malpractice liability and financial lines, according to a recent Best's Market Segment Report, Market Segment Outlook: US General Liability Insurance.
Litigation, especially over business interruption coverage, has been a big story in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Working from home has been one thing, but more people are now buying from home as well, forcing insurers to rapidly ramp up digital approaches.
March is Innovation Awareness Month. In this issue, Best's Review examines the transformation of the insurance industry, reporting on the ways the industry has had to adapt and the new directions insurers have begun to explore.
In “The Pandemic Has Accelerated the Pace of Digital Transformation and Product Innovation in Insurance,” Best's Review looks at how the pandemic has forced the industry to rethink products and services and raised awareness about future risks.
“I don't think anyone is expecting to go back to the way things were before, and many of the transformations we've seen over the past year are here to stay,” said Kenneth Saldanha, Accenture's global insurance lead.
For many, it's been a year since they've had to commute to work. In “Insurers Cozy Up to Remote Work and Reduced Office Space,” Best's Review reports on how the pandemic has many in the C-suite re-examining their real estate needs.
Best's Review focuses on the impact of the pandemic on the life insurance industry in “COVID-19 a Year Later: Life Insurers Forced Into Digital, Operations Growth in Survival Bid.”
With interest rates remaining at low levels, insurers have been on a hunt to find yield. In “Collateralized Loan Obligations on Rise in Life Insurance Asset Management as Quest for Yield Continues,” Best's Review reports on the industry's growing interest in these investments.
This issue also includes a listing of the 30 largest European non-life insurers based on gross written premium and profit after tax. European coverage is included in “Activist Investor Urges Finland's Sampo to Dump Nordea Bank.”
In “Parsyl CEO: The Last Mile of COVID Vaccine Delivery Is Where Insurance Matters Most,” Best's Review interviews Ben Hubbard, chief executive of Parsyl, an insurtech that uses smart sensors, software and data analytics to reduce shipping risk and provides insurance coverage for those shipments.
Best's Review is preparing its annual ranking of the top global insurance brokers. Visit www.bestreview.com/brokers to submit information.
Finally, AM Best has redesigned the Best's Insurance News & Analysis website and added new features to make it easier to navigate and find important insurance industry news and research. Visit Best's News http://news.ambest.com, and Best's Research http://news.ambest.com/research.
