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 * Sections
   * Critical Risks
   * Risk Management
   * The Insurance Industry
   * Claims & The Law
   * Workers’ Comp Forum
   * Risk Insiders
   * Sector Focus
   * .
   * Risk Central
   * Power Broker
   * Risk Matrix
   * Risk Scenarios
   * Risk All Stars
   * Teddy Award
   * Sponsored Content
   * Branded Webinars
 * Magazine
   * Digital Issue
   * Issue Archive
   * Subscribe
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   * National Comp
   * National Ergo & Ergo Expo
 * Advertise
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   * &BrandStudio
   * Privacy Policy
   * About R&I
   * Contact Us
   * Media Kit

NEWSLETTERS

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UPCOMING WEBINAR



WEBINAR: WC BENCHMARKING STUDY – THE VIEW FROM THE FRONT LINES OF CLAIMS
MANAGEMENT

Experts in this one-hour webinar will discuss dozens of data points that were
garnered from an industry survey of more than 1300 frontline claims
professionals.
By: R&I Editorial Team | June 17, 2024


PRESENTERS



Claims management is a vital pillar of the insurance industry. Now in its 11th
year, the Workers’ Compensation Benchmarking Study drills down into detailed
data identifying how frontline claims talent views their profession. It reports
their perspectives on existing and emerging tools that can move claims
management forward, and parses remote work, artificial intelligence and other
factors that may yet reshape the profession significantly.

Experts in this one-hour webinar will discuss dozens of data points that were
garnered from an industry survey of more than 1300 frontline claims
professionals.


WEBINAR DESCRIPTION

Webinar Sponsor

Payer executives might be interested to know that a significant piece of their
operations is ripe for improvement and cost savings. Thanks to the 11th
installment of the Workers’ Compensation Benchmarking Study, we now have
detailed, up-to-date data on how frontline claims professionals view their
profession. Heavy case loads and administrative tasks remain a significant
burden, but survey respondents express a marked desire for more training, and
have distinct views on how AI can best help them.

The panel members on this webinar, all seasoned experts in workers’ compensation
risk management, will leverage study data to discuss the effective use of
predictive analytics and AI to greatly reduce the grind of parsing medical
records and liberate claims professionals to do their best work, i.e. focusing
on injured worker advocacy, humane but swift closure of claims and better
medical outcomes. When coupled with remote work, these tech-aided quality of
workplace improvements could serve to attract and retain the claims management
talent the industry so earnestly covets. Listening to the data from 1300-plus
frontline professionals will help show the way forward.

Your attendance and participation is strongly encouraged! Attendees will also
receive a complimentary copy of the 2023 Workers’ Compensation Benchmarking
Study.


WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS WEBINAR?

 * Claims Executives
 * Medical Management Executives
 * Risk Managers
 * Carrier Executives
 * CFOs
 * CEOs


EVENT DETAILS

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 – 2:00 pm EDT



The R&I Editorial Team can be reached at mediacontact@theinstitutes.org.





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SPONSORED CONTENT BY SOMPO



CREATIVITY, EXPERTISE AND GLOBAL REACH: HOW SOMPO PROVIDES STABILITY AND
SUPPORTS DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS

Carriers that have the depth of experience and the vision to create and maintain
stable portfolios will be better partners to buyers and distributors of
insurance in the long run.
By: Sompo | July 1, 2024

Insurance pricing cycles will run their course, but industry veterans know that
risk management success is built on partnerships that are transparent, stable,
and flexible.

The past five years saw rate and capacity crunches in a number of lines. As some
markets now shift and soften, insureds can take their lessons learned and
hopefully take advantage of a more stable and predictable transaction
environment going forward, at least for the time being.

One of the staunchest challenges carriers and their broker partners face now and
going forward may be in helping to support buyers of insurance who might be
suffering lingering rate fatigue based on the previous year’s market trends.

Buyers, in essence, are looking for relief and stability in their carrier
relationships after experiencing substantive market dislocation in important
lines, including, but not limited to, property, D&O and cyber.

“In terms of a prolonged hard market, this was a kind of unicorn extending back
to 2019, when the excess liability market started to harden, followed by the D&O
market in 2020 and 2021, E&O and cyber in 2021 and 2022, and then last year, the
property market,” said Jonathan Monks, executive vice president and head of
distribution for North America at Sompo.

These rate increases were challenging for both insureds and their brokers,
especially in the days when they showed no signs of easing. The successive,
cumulative nature of them just added to the stress some buyers experienced.

But for all their challenges, these markets were an opportunity for brokers to
deepen their relationships with carriers committed to building a sustainable
portfolio that responds to the risk landscape, the competitor landscape and the
market’s overall dynamics — insurers more likely to provide stability for
insureds in the long run.

“The core function of insurance is to provide stability,” Monks said. “While
competitors move in and out of markets, carriers, in general, want to be
consistent. Ultimately, our brokers are trying to present stability to their
clients, and we want to help them achieve that goal.”


PARTNERING WITH THE DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

Jon Monks, Executive Vice President and Head of Distribution for North America
at Sompo

Monks and his colleagues at Sompo believe that by being very deliberate about
their product portfolio and being cognizant in avoiding overlap between
distribution channels is one of the best ways they can be good partners to their
brokers.

As a specialty insurer, Sompo places a great emphasis on its relationships with
wholesale brokers. Ideally, wholesale brokers are in turn specialists who are
adept at interfacing with the retail broker community to bring books of
attractive business to specialty carriers.

Since they operate at scale, wholesale brokers can engage in relationships with
specialty carriers that might balk at trading with retail brokers that lack the
necessary scale or expertise in a specific product or industry niche.

The good news for brokers, carriers, and their clients in one major respect is
that certain segments of the property market have shown signs of rate
deceleration in response to a relatively benign CAT loss experience in 2023.

In financial lines, Monks points out that there is a lot of new capacity that
has entered the market. But buyer beware, unlike Sompo, these entrants might not
have the claims experience to price the risk adequately, and they may be sailing
into the teeth of headwinds that might shred their risk transfer capital.

According to Monks, “Last year, security class actions rose almost 20%. From
2022 to 2023, we saw an increase in average settlements, and some of these new
entrants have yet to be tested in a claim scenario,” hinting at the possibility
of challenges insureds and brokers might face in partnering with carriers who
have yet to prove themselves in working through complex claims.

This is yet another example where stability and transparency matter in a
carrier’s relationships with buyers and brokers.

“When making major changes to the terms offered on a renewal, we need to be up
front about those changes and let our distribution partners prepare their
clients for potential impacts,” he said.

“Minimizing surprises is critical to effective client management, and we have a
role to play in that equation for our brokers.”


COMPETENCY, DIVERSITY AND GROWTH

Optimism at Sompo that it can be a trusted risk transfer partner in any part of
a given line’s market cycle stem from three important factors. They are:

 * A strong, diverse portfolio managed by expert underwriters.
 * A resilient balance sheet and global capabilities
 * And risk control and claim services that provide that vital support to an
   important piece, or what should be an important piece of an insured’s risk
   management program; that being avoiding losses in the first place and/or
   efficiently managing an insured through the claim process.

First, to the portfolio and its underwriters.

Monks and his colleagues point out that Sompo is increasingly satisfied with the
performance of its casualty and specialty portfolios in admitted and E&S
offerings.

Going forward, that confidence in its product portfolio will be bolstered by the
specialty expertise of the company’s underwriters.

“The underwriter has a lot of power in our organization,” Monks added. “We
believe that empowering the underwriter can provide a differentiated experience
in the transaction for our brokers and clients, as well as a better financial
result for us as a firm.”

“There’s value in being really strong in our specialty disciplines,” Monks said,
“whether that falls across product or industry lines.”

Geographically, Sompo opened offices in Toronto, Houston and Denver in the past
12 months and is gearing up to open a Miami office. Existing footprints in
Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Chicago have also been expanded.

Being in the right locations matters, because it gives Sompo’s underwriters
better access to the brokers with which it conducts business. The more
frequently they can engage in face-to-face communication, the better for all
concerned.

It’s one thing to hop on a plane to conduct business. It’s quite another to have
a favorite lunch spot where you can meet an important distribution partner
weekly or monthly.

“We’re focused on attracting talent and putting it in places where we haven’t
been as local as we need to be to harvest the portfolio that we want,” Monks
said.

“We are trying to get closer to our brokers because we know that the closer we
are and the more we’re in front of them, waving that specialty banner and
highlighting our underwriting talent and expertise, the more we’re going to get
differentiated results.”

Speaking of geography, that despite its ongoing North American expansion, Sompo
is a global organization that continues to experience growth across key markets
worldwide. That perspective and experience just adds to the sophistication of
its leaders and practitioners.

Sompo banks on underwriting, as any competitive specialty underwriter would. But
its distinctiveness in risk control may set it apart even more starkly. The
company continues to invest in a deeply specialized risk control team that
assists its underwriters in assessing and mitigating risks across a variety of
products.

Those include property, casualty, builder’s risk, excess casualty, ocean marine
and cyber. Ongoing and consistent communication with risk control and claims
helps underwriters envision programs that can cut down on the risk of injury and
other losses on job sites or on properties owned by the insured.

“Loss avoidance, via risk selection and/or risk improvement is a critical
competitive advantage,” Monks said. “We have a team of dedicated risk control
specialists and engineers with deep industry and technical expertise whose role
in the firm is integral to our underwriters and our clients as we work together
to reduce their risk profiles.”

“If you talk to product leadership, the first thing they tell you is that risk
control support is vital to the health of our business,” Monks said.


HERE AND STAYING HERE

As we’ve said throughout, being a reliable risk transfer partner in any market
cycle means having the expertise and the acumen to offer sustainable capacity
for our clients and most importantly, deliver on our promise in a claim
scenario.

“We all feel a responsibility to our insureds and our brokers to deliver
stability and market insight,” Monks said. “That’s ultimately how you build
long-term partnerships. You make every effort to avoid surprising your partners
and you provide optionality, where possible, when situations become
challenging.”

To learn more, visit: sompo-intl.com.






This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising
department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with Sompo. The editorial staff
of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.

We are Sompo, a global provider of commercial and consumer property, casualty,
and specialty (re)insurance. Sompo employs approximately 9,000 people around the
world who use their in-depth knowledge and expertise to help simplify and
resolve your complex challenges. Because when you choose Sompo, you choose The
Ease of Expertise.







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