Over the horizon: A look at the insurance industry
P&C industry veteran Bryan Falchuk offers insights on the highlights and lowlights of 2021 for carriers and shares what he sees on the horizon in this Insurance Speak podcast.
Over the last 20 months, the insurance industry has had to adjust to using new technology to operate and communicate with policyholders. They’ve rethought how policies were sold, claims were filed and investigated, and even how they were paid because of the pandemic.
However, disasters still occurred. It has been a very active wildfire season, there were several major hurricanes, the coronavirus continues to affect how businesses open and companies are learning to operate in a new hybrid environment.
The latest Insurance Speak podcast features a conversation with Bryan Falchuk, a P&C industry veteran, who has led functions at several carriers, consulted to the industry at McKinsey and been a leader at an insurtech. He runs an industry advisory firm called Insurance Evolution Partners, and is the author of the book series, “The Future of Insurance.” He discusses some of the key factors affecting the insurance industry over the past year and highlights several areas carriers should be watching in 2022.
One of the myths insurers debunked amidst the pandemic is that the industry is slow to react to change. Insurance touches every aspect of everyday life in many different ways. “Once you start digging in, the question becomes ‘where doesn’t insurance touch?’” says Falchuk. “We are everywhere.”
He emphasizes that the industry has to become more aware of how quickly “we can move to make good on customer promises.”
Falchuk says that many carriers were expecting to see the digitization of their processes in 18-20 months, but during the pandemic, they were able to implement many of those changes in just days and weeks. However, he cautions against becoming too complacent with these accomplishments. “The bar has moved up,” he counters, “and we need to keep pushing forward.”
Among the issues to watch in the coming months, Falchuk recommends that insurers monitor climate change issues and their impact on property exposures. Several carriers are also taking proactive positions in terms of environmental, social and corporate governance activities and choosing which risks they will or will not cover in this area going forward. “We have to be good corporate citizens,” advises Falchuk, “and that is within our control.”
To hear the full discussion on this and other issues, listen via the link above or subscribe to Insurance Speak on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play or Libsyn.
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