At the 2016 RIMS Annual Conference, Grace Vandecruze from Grace Global Capital LLC presented a session discussing M&A trends in the insurance industry. There are several factors currently impacting M&A activity in the insurance marketplace: Prolonged low interest rate environment Competitive landscape Low equity valuations of many companies Strong cash positions, excess capital Foreign buyers Private equity Regulatory uncertainty Geopolitical risk Shareholder activism In the P&C industry, when you compare 2005 to 2015 you still see basically the same market share controlled by larger companies with around 54% of the marketplace outside those larger companies. In the life marketplace we
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This RIMS 2016 panel gathered senior industry executives from brokerage firms to weigh in on issues within the insurance marketplace. Panelists included: Todd Jones, Co-Head North America, Willis Towers Watson Donald Bailey, President, Global Sales, Marsh J. Patrick Gallagher, Chairman, President & CEO, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Steve McGill, Group President, Aon PLC Don Bailey, what are the current threats posed to brokers today? Too many of our conversations with clients are dominantly focused on price of product. We have to pivot conversations to conversations of risk, rather than price. If we don’t make that transition, we are going
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This RIMS 2016 panel gathered senior executives from insurance carriers to discuss what they believe are the emerging issues in the insurance marketplace. Panelist included: John Lupica, Vice Chairman Chubb Ltd, President North America Major Accounts & Specialty Insurance, Chubb North America Peter Eastwood, President, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Rob Schimek, CEO, Commercial, AIG Inga Beale, Chief Executive Officer, Lloyd’s of London Inga Beale, what challenges is the digital age posing for the insurance sector? We need to turn challenges into opportunities, but there is a lot going on in the world today. A recent study states 74% of insurance
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Cyber issues have become critical considerations for corporate boards and management teams as cyber incidents can result in a host of costs for regulatory investigations, remediation activities and credit monitoring. Speakers in this RIMS 2016 session included: Kieran Hughes, Vice President | Directors & Officers, AIG Timothy Fletcher, Senior Vice President and Team Leader, Aon Risk Solutions Leslie Lamb, Director, Global Risk Management, Cisco Systems, Inc. There were 1,500 data breaches in 2015. There have been several well-known recent breach incidents and resulting D&O claims in recent years. One most notable is Home Depot which reported a massive breach of
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At the 2016 RIMS Annual Conference, a panel presented a session highlighting the latest challenges in Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance. The panel was: John Burkholder – Director Risk Management, Broward County Board of County Commissioners Cliff Connor – Vice President Medicare Compliance, Gallagher Bassett Services Roy Franco – Chief Legal Officer, Franco Signor LLC The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is leading to a new avenue of Medicare Secondary Compliance which is coming from the Medicaid side. Medicaid has always been a state administered program, but the Federal government pays a significant percentage of the claims. The
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At the RIMS 2016 Annual Conference, Kimberly George, Senior Vice President of Sedgwick and Scott Daniels, Director of Disability for Comcast, discussed a proactive approach to managing mental and behavioral health in the workplace. The discussion focused on how Comcast deals with these issues. Comcast has a very diverse workforce owning a cable company, multiple television networks, and even theme parks.  Behavioral health claims not only impact your employees directly, but they also can have a significant impact on your business. According to a recent study by IBI, four of the top six employment related concerns of employers was related
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The politics of guns in America are volatile, divisive and passionate, yet the risks that firearms present to organizations every day does not depend on the politics of the moment. Employers must deal with the reality of gun violence in America. This RIMS 2016 session discussed the legal aspects of what organizations can do and the practical implications of creating a firearms risk management program. Speakers included: Michael Lowry, Attorney, Thorndal Armstrong Delk Balkenbush & Eisinger Danielle Goodgion, Director of Human Resources, Texas de Brazil What Risks Do Firearms Pose? OSHA states that an employer must provide “employment and a
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The insurance industry loses more than $100 million per year in premiums when misclassified workers are added onto workers’ compensation policies. This RIMS 2016 session discussed the issues related to employee misclassification, including state and federal action on this matter and the impact on employer and insurer costs and risk. Speakers included: – Stephanie Watts, Resolution Manager, Gallagher Bassett – John Zeigler, Attorney at Law, Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin The government has determined that many employers are misclassifying workers as independent contractors in an effort to avoid obligations to pay minimum wages and overtime, as well as unemployment,
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The insurance industry loses more than $100 million per year in premiums when misclassified workers are added onto workers’ compensation policies. This RIMS 2016 session discussed the issues related to employee misclassification, including state and federal action on this matter and the impact on employer and insurer costs and risk. Speakers included: – Stephanie Watts, Resolution Manager, Gallagher Bassett – John Zeigler, Attorney at Law, Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin The government has determined that many employers are misclassifying workers as independent contractors in an effort to avoid obligations to pay minimum wages and overtime, as well as unemployment,
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At the 2016 RIMS Annual Conference, Michael Elliott, Senior Director of Knowledge Resources with The Institutes presented a session on how risk managers can use the large amount of data for analysis. The Internet of Things (IoT) includes things like robotics such as exoskeletons which can enhance the capabilities of workers and help prevent injuries. Wearables can monitor vital signs from workers looking for signs of overexertion and other warning signs. Also, in transportation things like lane assist and other warning devices can help prevent injuries. Internal data sources include structured data such as claims history and safety data, and
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