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A.M. BestTV: Insurers Scramble to Stay Ahead of Technology, Risk and Consolidation


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Lee McDonald
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - OCTOBER 21, 2015 03:34 PM (EDT)
In this A.M. BestTV episode, independent brokers and insurers attending the Brokerslink Conference in New York City said the biggest threats to their businesses include the risk of disintermediation, becoming too narrowly focused and failing to anticipate the expanding spectrum of risks. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=brokers1015 to view the entire program.

Brokerslink is a transnational insurance brokerage and risk management advisory company, which at this conference has over 200 insurance professionals expressing ideas and important issues that concern their industry.

“One of the biggest challenges facing brokers today is keeping up with the changing pace in this world,” said Jamie Crystal, executive vice president, Crystal & Company, and chairman, Brokerslink. “There is a lot of inter-connectedness that has always been there, but operated at a slower pace. Today, not only has the pace increased, but our clients’ business models are starting to change and because of that the risks are changing. Thus, it is very critical for brokers to spend the time and understand their clients’ business models, and as those models evolve, keep pace with that rapid rate of change.”

Paolo Ribotta, head, Global Corporate & Commercial Generali Group, addressed the issue of insurers reinventing themselves.

“It is not just for us to continue to provide contingent capital and services, but it is to focus much more on the way we deliver the services, the ability for us to think broadly and what are the services our clients need. Therefore, what I see from an insurance industry perspective is a more rebalancing towards the servicing, what we are providing and how do we do this.”

Other people that appeared in this episode:


  • Robert S. Schimek, chief executive officer and senior vice president Americas, American International Group, Inc.

  • William Porter, head of international sales & distribution, Zurich North America; and

  • Jose Manuel Fonseca, chief executive officer, Brokerslink.

Full-length interviews are available as well. Go to http://www.ambest.tv/ to see all the interviews conducted at the conference. Interviews conducted thus far include:

Recent episodes of A.M.BestTV include:


  • Insurers Rediscover the Appeal of Small Business Coverage: Developments in technology, analytics and modeling have increased insurers’ comfort with and ability to underwrite small businesses. However, winning these accounts means increasing risk management and loss control resources. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=smallbusiness1015.

  • Drones Present Coverage Opportunities, Legal Hurdles: Insurance and legal experts explore regulatory concerns and risk exposures raised by the rapid adoption of drones for professional and recreational usage: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=dronestwo1015.

  • Defense Research Institute Conference: Attorneys Detail Shifts in Insurance Legal Landscape: Attorneys at the Defense Research Institute conference, in Washington, D.C., said insurers are trying fewer cases, retaining fewer firms, facing new forms of liability and threats to attorney-client privilege: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=dri1015.

  • International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation Conference: Mutuals Sharpen Focus on Membership: Insurers at the biennial conference of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation in Minneapolis, MN, said mutual companies are putting a focus on building closer relationships with members and gaining better understanding from regulators: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=icmif21015.

A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv .

A.M. Best Company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source.