Opinion

Remember the attempt to re-convene the New York Insurance Exchange (NYIE) back in 2010/11?

I was once asked in a previous job to sit in with a senior manager on an interview for an entry-level position with the company.

Unless you are a consultant, or an InsurTech peddling a cure-all piece of software, AM Best’s plan to introduce an innovation scorecard into its rating process may sound alarming.

Markets behave in brutal and slightly crazy ways that don’t always best serve the end consumer. They always undershoot on the downside and then overshoot on the upside – sometimes hugely and irrationally so.

Reinsurers are now in a competitive position in the ILS market, having narrowed a major market share deficit in the past five years through some large M&A deals and a few instances of significant organic growth.

They say good things come to those who wait.

There are many in this market who would argue that big is beautiful in underwriting.

The takeover talks between Arch Capital and Barbican offer insight into a strategic choice that all carriers with small-to-mid-sized Lloyd’s operations face right now.

Ten years ago I dropped off my eldest child at a Saturday morning class with a group of other kids in our neighbourhood.

In elite sport the top coaches ration their finite resources to give their best athletes the greatest chance of success.

I spent the early part of last week in Bermuda and, in between running for cover whenever it rained, my days saw me visiting contacts and hearing their thoughts on the current major market talking points.

Last week, AIG CEO Brian Duperreault mused that between efforts to right its own underwriting ship and the actions of Lloyd’s to similarly clean up, the two insurance giants had moved the market.