National Underwriter - February 13, 2012

JACK ROCHE

President Business Insurance, The Hanover

AS A CARRIER dedicated to building our business through independent agents, we see many outstanding opportunities in 2012. First, we see that the best independent agents are seeking to improve their economics by taking a hard look at the value of their current books of business and then creating deeper relationships with fewer key carriers to ensure they are achieving their ultimate business goals. These agents will partner with carriers that align with their core strategies, build mutually beneficial plans to gain competitive advantages and offer other services such as customer-service centers that save an agency’s customer-service representatives time so that they can focus on sales. At the same time, they will look for carriers that deliver strong national capabilities through local relationships.

Additionally, there are opportunities for carriers that have done the heavy lifting: investing in the people, products and services that agents need to be successful, which has positioned them to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the marketplace. Those companies whose books of business are not solid now will be especially challenged to perform in the coming year.

Certainly, the trends toward agents seeking more specialized industry and product offerings to complement their increasing sophistication will continue. Companies that have made investments in unique niches and segments, and that offer the professional- and management-liability products to round out those accounts, will reap the benefits.

MARK BUTLER
President, Distribution and Service Management,
Commercial Markets, Liberty Mutual
The P&C industry endured more than
$100 billion in catastrophe losses in 2011,
marking the second-costliest year on record
for cat activity. Here in the U.S., insured catas-
trophe losses totaled more than $35 billion.
What remains a major area of concern is the
fact that the majority of these losses were
either unmodeled or inadequately modeled in
terms of peril or geography.

PETER EASTWOOD

President/CEO, Chartis U.S. and Canada

Co m m e r c i a l - i n s u r a n c e buyers, brokers and carriers face many challenges in 2012, but four
stand out in my mind.
The first is how best to respond to the
changing market. The need for change
is clear: a poor investment environment,
significant catastrophic losses and other
loss trends. equally clear is the benefit:
Price adequacy fosters long-term stable
markets. underwriting discipline and buyer
awareness of long-term value are critical
during these economic times. making this
more challenging is that for some risk
professionals, it’s the first time they will
experience a hardening market.

The second challenge is remaining focused on improving claims outcomes. controlling the cost of claims is more important in a hardening market. one key to managing costs is to effectively deliver the best possible outcomes. Predictive analytics are critical to understanding how best to manage claims and identify those with the potential to escalate well beyond the norm.

collaboration and attracting—and keeping—top talent in the industry are the last two challenges. Buyers, brokers and carriers must establish shared goals and work collaboratively to ensure mutually beneficial partnerships. recruiting, training and retaining the best and brightest will drive our individual and collective success.