Even insurance professionals need a chance to exhale
The top three news stories of 2020 had very real implications for day-to-day operations in insurance.
I recently listened to a webinar in which media analysts discussed the year’s top three news stories: the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. general election, and the revitalized fight for racial justice.
I listened because much in the same way that insurance pros now capitalize on data analytics to uncover fresh prospects, monitor risk and care for customers, our newsroom uses reader data and metrics to determine what kind of news and information you want to receive and when. This modern approach to media work is fascinating for someone like me, who grew up in old-fashioned, daily newspaper newsrooms.
Although often depressing, the 2020 events mentioned above were good for the news business. They also had very real implications for day-to-day operations in insurance.
Take the impact of the pandemic, which changes daily in the various insurance sectors. This fallout is likely to continue for years and is evident in much of the thought leadership showcased in the final 2020 issue of NU Property & Casualty magazine.
Deciphering the impact of the 2020 general election on the insurance business is less straightforward. I recognize that a notable segment of this industry consists of fiscal and social conservatives. But one of the many things I’ve enjoyed about meeting and working with insurance people is, the vast majority of them leave personal politics at the door in the name of advancing the philanthropic mission at the heart of the insurance instrument: Helping make people, businesses and organizations whole again after they suffer a significant and irrevocable loss.
That said, I’ve been around the block enough times to know that the shift in leadership and philosophy playing out in Washington, D.C., is bound to impact insurers at some point. For instance, some Democratic lawmakers have backed proposed legislation that would mandate pandemic business-interruption coverage while many Republicans are pushing for insurance carrier liability protections. Meanwhile, advisers to President-Elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. are eager to establish a fresh stimulus deal in response to the latest surge in COVID-19 infections and closures. That could provide economic relief for thousands of struggling businesses that currently see insurance as their sole life preserver.
And finally, the social justice conversations sparked by too many police-involved civilian deaths are playing out in insurance as leaders begin to recognize the need to recruit, train and promote diverse professionals so that insurance businesses look a whole lot more like the communities they serve. This long-overdue work also is touching my newsroom, where committees of colleagues are reevaluating company hiring practices as well as how we report and package news about the industries we cover so that diversity becomes more than just a buzzword; we aim to make it a core value infused into every aspect of our work.
What’s in the magazine?
The December 2020 issue includes a summary of how business travel is forever changed by the coronavirus, an updated analysis of how business-interruption coverage litigation is progressing, insight from the Lloyd’s of London chairman into how insurance-industry players can prepare themselves for the next global catastrophe, and in-depth reporting on how reinsurers are withstanding these and other “strong headwinds.”
There’s certainly never a dull moment in insurance, or insurance news. But I doubt I’m alone in feeling ready for the break and the peace that should accompany the holiday season.
May the close of 2020 find you and yours feeling refreshed and reenergized for the year to come.
Read more columns by Elana Ashanti Jefferson: