A.m. Best Radio Podcast

David Blades and Christopher Graham, AM Best, discuss the latest inland marine Insurance trends, including pet insurance profitability and travel insurance recovery.

Yassir Albaharna, managing director and group CEO, Trust Re, said MENA and African insurers should not be quick to expand internationally, given opportunities within local markets. Albaharna spoke with AM Best TV at the Global Insurance Forum, Miami.

Tobias Grimm, chief climate scientist, Munich Re, discusses the $140 billion insured losses from natural disasters in 2024, the rising impact of climate change, and the industry's role in building resilience and addressing the protection gap.

Mike Allee, president, Universal Conversion Technologies, discusses a recent joint report by LIMRA, Equisoft and UTC showing that 66% of U.S. life insurers and 46% globally are not prepared for AI implementation.

Shanna McIntyre, co-founder and chief data officer at Delos, discusses her company's innovative approach to wildfire risk modeling, leveraging advanced data and technology, and its commitment to providing stable homeowners insurance coverage in wildfire-prone areas.

Divya Sangameshwar, an insurance expert and spokesperson for ValuePenguin, discusses a company report that shows while auto insurance premiums are rising for the seventh year in a row, this year rates are expected to increase only 7.5% compared with 16.5% in 2024.

Tom Varney, regional manager for Allianz Commercial, discusses the top global business risks for 2025 as identified in Allianz’s Risk Barometer, including cyber threats, business interruption, and climate-related events, highlighting the importance of resilience and collaboration among insurers, brokers, and businesses.

Prince Varma, global vice president, and Ben Blanquera, VP of technology and sustainability, both of Rackspace Technology, discuss a recent survey.

AM Best's Aaron Li discusses a new special report that examines how the rapid adoption of new energy vehicles in China is affecting motor insurers and the motor insurance market.

Ryan Stokes, client partner at Xceedance, discusses how AI and virtual tools are revolutionizing the property claims process, enabling faster damage assessments, fraud prevention, and quicker payouts.

Julia Borman, a leading expert at Verisk, discusses the company’s innovative wildfire catastrophe model, its alignment with new California regulations, and its role in enhancing risk assessment, pricing, and resilience planning for insurers facing the escalating challenges of wildfire activity.

Jeff Beligotti, head of long-term care solutions at New York Life, discusses the growing need for long-term care insurance, the financial hurdles aging Americans encounter and the vital role advisers play in addressing these challenges.

Jarrod Schlesinger, global head of financial lines and cyber at Allianz, discusses the rising demand for directors & officers insurance amid escalating regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical instability and risks associated with AI and litigation funding.

AM Best senior analytical staff explore common types of insurance ABS transactions and the key assumptions behind their ratings. They will discuss the default rates applied to the transactions’ collateral, the asset-dependent recovery rates, the use of credit substitution and enhancement on collateral and rated securities and the determination of the implied rating of the securities by applying AM Best’s Idealized Issue Default Matrix.

Fred Smith, EVP of mining and metals at CAC Specialty, discusses the potential of Arkansas lithium discovery, the operational and environmental risks in lithium extraction, and how insurance markets can adapt to support the growing U.S. electric vehicle battery production industry.

Cowbell Founder and CEO Jack Kudale discusses how recent cyber threats expose digital vulnerabilities and how predictive modeling and AI-driven, real-time risk assessment enable insurers to adapt strategies for managing non-malicious cyber events.

Eric Werkheiser, vice president, Nationwide, said the market is moving toward more specialized products and innovative delivery methods, including embedded insurance solutions and unique fronting arrangements. Werkheiser spoke with AM Best TV at Target Markets' 24th Annual Summit, held in Scottsdale.

Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of research at LIMRA, explores the sector’s increasing priority on growth, with a focus on closing the protection gap that affects more than 100 million Americans.

AM Best Associate Director David Blades and Associate Analyst Bryan Raber highlight a new Best's Market Segment Report that finds price adequacy and risk selection initiatives manifested in notably improved underwriting results during the first half of 2024.

Verisk CEO Lee Shavel highlights how the insurance industry is becoming more resilient in the face of catastrophic events, addresses the protection gap, and explores how generative AI will transform underwriting.