"This is the only business I've been in where people shake hands [over an agreement] and then they try to figure out later what they shook hands about," he remarked.

The long-time executive from Citigroup said in his three-year tenure at Willis, he found insurance to be a great business, one that more people should get into. However, he was critical of the industry for not following common-sense business practices aimed at getting more from its earnings.

Mr. Plumeri was equally critical of brokerage firms that seek to grow through acquisition instead of sales.

For a number of years companies have relied upon investments for profit instead of pushing their combined ratio below 100 percent and pushing their return on earnings into double-digit figures, he said.

This poor performance is turning away investors, and, Mr. Plumeri added, he could not understand how companies could not follow a basic philosophy of business.

"You are suppose to spend less than you make," he said, adding that the industry needs to exhibit more discipline in underwriting to continue improving on the return on investments it is beginning to see.

The industry, he said, needs to become more efficient in underwriting to get policies into the hands of clients quickly. Efficiency, he said, means standardization, which makes it easier for brokers to do business and makes clients happier. In the end, this adds up to more money when the client is happy.

"We have got to be more creative today," continued Mr. Plumeri. "[The industry] is so traditional that it can't be as creative as it should be."

He later added, "We need to learn from the past, not to live by it."

On growing the revenues within brokerage firms, he said growth by acquisition is a dead end. He said since the 1990's, 60 percent of the top ten brokers have disappeared. He blamed the strategy of acquisition and the lack of focus on selling to customers insurance products they wanted for their disappearance.

"A brokerage firm should not be a company of members but a company of dreams," he said.

In another pointed criticism of the industry, he said there are too many men and not enough women in the insurance industry, which translates into a lack of new ideas and talent. He said that there should be more effort made at bringing in more diversity to the industry, especially more women.

"I don't care what someone looks like," he said, employing a sports terminology, "if someone helps me score, I could care less."