The Voice of Insurance

In this discussion, Jason Howard, CEO of Beach & Associates and a seasoned leader known for his candid views, shares his insights on the casualty market's challenges amid COVID-19. He dives into the crucial nature of June renewals and the need for innovative insurance solutions to adapt to crises. Jason discusses the evolving landscape due to major broker consolidations and emphasizes the importance of reform at Lloyd's. With his straightforward approach, he provides a fresh perspective on risk management and the future of independent distribution in insurance.

In this wide-ranging debate we cover the the economic, asset-side, risk-side, pricing dynamics and psychological effects of Covid-19 on the reinsurance market, guided by  Willis Re's recent report. Andrew Newman, President, and Printhan Sothinathan, Co-Head of Global Analytics, at Willis Re are two very smart, very senior and very engaging figures. The report is the most comprehensive and far-sighted produced by any market participant to date and if you like this podcast (which I think you will) I recommend you take time to read its 70 pages for a rounder experience: https://www.willistowerswatson.com/en-GB/Insights/2020/04/covid-19-willis-re-impact-report  

The second in our series of special Covid 19 episodes brings together a trio of trade body Chief Executives: Steve White of the British Insurance Brokers Association (Biba), Clare Lebecq of the London Market Group (LMG) and Christopher Croft of the London and International Insurance Brokers Association (Liiba). These heavyweight trade body leaders debated the UK insurance industry’s Public relations performance, its relationship with regulators and the UK and international body politic, the insurability of pandemics and even Brexit, whose negotiations are approaching a crunch point behind the scenes. It is a lively and unusually frank discussion and shows the huge range of work that your trade bodies are getting up to at this difficult time. This second SRG Voice of Insurance Covid-19 special episode comes highly recommended. Here are links to the original news stories mentioned in the introduction: https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132927/bill-to-mandate-future-bi-coveage-proposed-in-congress https://www.theinsurer.com/news/canadian-dentists-provide-aviva-pain-over-covid-19-claims/8044.article https://www.postonline.co.uk/commercial/7528686/nightlife-broker-seeks-legal-advice-after-qbe-rejects-clients-covid-19-claims https://www.theinsurer.com/news/industry-heavyweights-gather-behind-pool-re-as-potential-uk-pandemic-solution/8130.article https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132906/aon-execs-take-50-salary-cut-with-broader-staff-also-set-for-curbs https://www.postonline.co.uk/claims/7529391/admiral-commits-ps110m-towards-refunds-for-motor-customers https://www.postonline.co.uk/commercial/7530426/rsa-faces-group-action-over-disputed-cottagesure-bi-wording https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132698/reinsurers-on-notice-for-c-400mn-c-800mn-aviva-loss https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132865/neal-only-government-has-wherewithal-to-shoulder-covid-19-bi-costs    

This episode is all about the state of play in Bermuda and what is happening on the island. Two weeks ago I had a Zoom call with Chris Bonard, CEO and John Turner, Chairman of Ed Broking Bermuda. As independent intermediaries looking to capitalise on what the island’s insurance and reinsurance markets have to offer, their view is really interesting. Each decade has seen a relative USP that Bermuda has been able to bring to the global insurance market. In the seventies it was captives and in the eighties it was excess casualty. In the 90s and noughties it was property cat and in the 20-teens it was ILS and alternative capital. After the erosion of many of Bermuda’s offshore tax advantages I wanted to find out where the growth is most likely to come from on the island in the twenties. Chris and John’s answers will probably surprise you. As well as getting to grips with Bermuda’s likely future role in the global insurance sector, we inevitably looked at initial reactions to and likely long-term consequences of the Covid-19 crisis and went deep into the role that Bermuda is playing in the hardening global insurance and reinsurance markets. Enjoy the listen!

How is the UK insurance industry really responding to the Covid-19 crisis?  The Voice of Insurance teamed up with Specialist Risk Group (SRG) and brought together three hugely experienced broking CEOs to find out.  Brendan McManus of PIB, Peter Blanc of Aston Lark and Warren Downey of SRG have traded through many crises in their careers, but probably nothing quite like this.  What's working? What's not? Who's showing their true colours, good or bad?  In this essential debate, the trio rated the sector’s own operational response to the crisis and discussed the UK insurance industry leadership’s public relations performance, political risks and whether pandemics are insurable.  They didn't hold back.  They also assessed the performance and financial strength of insurance carriers, the resilience of intermediaries exposed to premium finance credit risk and how the hit to the capital markets might affect debt and consequently the world of Broker M&A.  There was plenty of insight and no small amount of disagreement. You must listen to this now.  Many thanks to Specialist Risk Group (SRG) for making this happen  Links to news articles mentioned: https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132609/neal-covid-19-industry-loss-has-potential-magnitude-of-him https://www.theinsurer.com/news/seven-senators-caution-trump-against-retroactive-bi-proposals/7987.article https://www.theinsurer.com/news/qbe-to-raise-a13bn-for-coronavirus-buffer/7997.article https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132599/california-regulator-orders-insurers-to-return-premiums https://insuranceinsider.com/articles/132608/hiscox-insureds-plan-legal-action-over-covid-19-bi-claims https://www.theinsurer.com/news/abi-responds-to-criticism-with-covid-19-charity-fund/7986.article  

As a journalist one of the best things about my job is being allowed into the far flung and most fascinating corners of our industry to find out how things work. Protection and Indemnity - P&I - is exactly one of those places. And it would be easy to ignore were it not the source of so many of the biggest insurance stories of the past decade. For example a mega claim like the Costa Concordia was a P&I event that captured the attention of the whole world over many months. But most of us know almost nothing about this ultra specialist part of the insurance world and the 13 global marine liability mutuals that inhabit it. In fact we are actually more ignorant - because most of what we think we know about P&I is probably wrong. So that’s why I decided to record this episode with Dorothea Ioannou who is the Chief Commercial officer of the American Club. If you don’t know Dorothea she is extremely well regarded and a strong character and I had a great time talking to her. As well as mythbusting much of what the non marine world thinks it knows about P&I, we discuss the ongoing impact of Covid-19 and other major trends affecting the marine sector and the wider insurance world.

One of the most eye-catching parts of the Lloyd’s of London Blueprint reforms has been the Syndicate in a box initiative. The idea of a fast-track, light-touch, low-cost, fast-fail Syndicate has gone down very well with the market. This is because over the past two decades many players have bemoaned the steadily increasing cost of starting a new Lloyd’s business and have wondered where the next generation of new Hiscoxes, Kilns, Catlins and Beazleys might come from given that barriers to entry are now prohibitively high. The received wisdom over that time has been that MGAs had become to the go-to place for entrepreneurial underwriters to  prove their mettle. But while the Syndicate in a box initiative was well received as an idea, the only trouble was that many in the market were a little confused about what the new structures can and cannot do in practice. And that is why I tracked down this episode’s guest. As the active underwriter of the first and currently only Syndicate in a box, Stuart Newcombe of Munich Re innovation Syndicate 1840 is uniquely positioned to enlighten us all on this exciting new departure for the Lloyd’s community. Stuart is an engaging and personable character with over thirty years experience in the market. I really enjoyed chatting with him and exploding some of the myths around the new structures. But what I liked more was hearing all about what the syndicate is up to. This includes guarantee products for solar panels and energy saving schemes, ideas to insure the gig economy and autonomous vehicles, as well as lots of interesting angles on the use of parametric insurance to fill in the gaps left by traditional indemnity cover. I think you’ll enjoy it too...

This podcast is a new feature - I’m calling it Voice of Insurance Solo. It is really an editorial in podcast form – let me know what you think. Is insurance going to get unfairly punished by governments and judiciaries for the systemic global failures exposed by the Covid 19 pandemic? And if so might state-backed Pandemic Reinsurance vehicles be the logical result of the new deal that will follow any government raids on our coffers? Listen on for thoughts and opinion...  

How well prepared is the 2020 global insurance industry for the challenge of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic? The best thing about being a journalist is about being able to access the top minds and experts to make sense of the world. So today with economies and our clients being forcibly shut down, events cancelled, sovereign and corporate bonds undergoing spectacular gyrations and share prices tumbling globally, (with insurers stock falling more than the market average), I wanted to talk to someone smart to help ordinary people like me and you to understand a little bit of what is happening and what might be at stake. So that is why I’m delighted that this episode’s guest is David Flandro Managing Director, Analytics at Hyperion X. Longstanding listeners will remember David from Episode 3 where he was talking about the 1st of January renewals. I originally had this interview with David slated to be about the fourth quarter and full- year 2019 results season that has just past. But given the circumstances I thought that that would be inappropriate. Listen on for a state of David’s thinking about how the industry is likely cope with the covid-19 crisis on the risk and the asset side of its balance sheet. There are plenty of caveats of course but David gives us a lot to think about, somethings to worry about and some measure of assurance. in times of crisis I always seek out the brightest and most eloquent and David is certainly both...  

The hardening market and the upcoming renewals, ILS, the vexing casualty question and of course the mega-brokers getting bigger - this interview doesn't miss anything out. Jonathan Parry is a highly experienced and well-regarded underwriter with many decades of experience. He knows the insurance and reinsurance markets inside and out. If you don’t know him already I think you’ll like him – and you will learn a lot from him He’s also quite a rare character in that he spent the first half of his career as a broker. This gives him a really well rounded perspective on how insurance and reinsurance works and what clients really want from their underwriters. He is always polite and good humoured but he is firm and has strong convictions and he doesn’t pull any punches.  Jonathan is handing over the QBE Re underwriting mantle at the beginning of April and plans to retire next year. This candid interview gives a career long perspective on what is happening in reinsurance today and what is right and what is wrong...