Editor's Picks

In conversation with Gary LaBranche, RIMS CEO

Graham Tibbets, Director of Product Management at Praedicat explains how evolving litigation trends and emerging risks can result in D&O claims against multiple businesses operating in the same field.

Ali Shahkarami, Global Head P and C Solutions for Swiss Re, discusses the pivotal role of data and technology in tackling insurance challenges, from escalating losses due to natural catastrophes to enhancing risk assessment and client services.

Britt Smith, Executive Vice President and Head of Wholesale for Lower Middle Markets for AXIS, discusses solutions for small to mid-sized businesses amid market shifts.

Bob Forness, Chief Executive Officer, MultiStrat, says collateralized casualty reinsurance is expanding to offer multi-program facilities for MGA aggregators, carriers and brokers. It can also evolve to offer both retrospective and prospective cover, he says.

After three years of downward pressure on pricing, demand for Directors & Officers liability insurance is rising this year, leading to a flattening of the market in 2024, says Tim Usher Jones, Founder and CEO at Banyan Risk Ltd.

MGAs are one of the largest growth areas in both reinsurance and insurance, because they allow for specialization, says Brian O'Hara, chairman, Frontstreet Advisors and co-founder and former CEO of XL Capital. “The more you can specialize in risk, the better you can understand it,” he says.

The eight new companies that entered the state in 2023 show that legislative reforms are bearing fruit, says Mike Yaworsky, Florida Insurance Commissioner.

As Bermuda prepares to implement its global minimal tax, the government has worked closely with businesses with a goal of reducing other taxes, says David Hart, CEO, Bermuda Business Development Agency. “It’s exciting this notion that Bermuda can and will compete on other areas outside of tax,” he says.

Liz Henderson, Head of Climate Risk Advisory and Catastrophe Analytics, Aon, says one of the biggest evolutions she’s seen in the last two years is how commercial clients are seeking climate data to better understand and manage risk.

Neil Hitchcock, Chief Reinsurance Officer at Bermuda Brokers Limited, says he expects the US program business space, including hybrid fronting companies, to continue to grow because the model allows a firm alignment of interests between reinsurers and cedants.

AXIS addressed its balance sheet issues and posted strong earnings in 2023, said Vincent Tizzio, AXIS President & CEO.