Issues & Answers: Underwriting the Future

AM Best Financial Analyst Jaime Quito outlines a new Best's Market Segment Report that finds non-affiliated health premiums ceded reached nearly $100 billion in 2025, accounting for 47% of total health premiums ceded.

Marcel Beyer, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, explains how European insurers initially fled to safer bonds at the onset of COVID-19 market turmoil, then moved decisively into high-yield corporate debt, revealing a liquidity-driven, countercyclical investment strategy.

Elisabeth Sandersfeld, chief financial officer for Merchants Bonding Co., said that disciplined underwriting is the most important part of being an insurance company. “For us, we call it common sense underwriting. That’s our hallmark.”

The offshore annuity channel is driving growth in the US life reinsurance market, according to a new Best's Market Segment Report discussed by Edward Kohlberg, director, and Lou Silvers, senior financial analyst, both of AM Best.

Karen Terry, corporate vice president and director of insurance research, LIMRA, discusses rising U.S. life insurance sales and how digital distribution and shifting consumer demand are creating new growth opportunities.

Taylor Evans, manager, marketing & communications, IAT Insurance Group, discusses how the What’s Brewing podcast evolved into a fast, engaging platform delivering timely insights on trends, including AI.

Carrie Brodzinski, chief underwriting officer at MSIG USA, said as underwriting becomes more data- and AI-enabled, the role of the underwriter becomes more sophisticated.

Attorney Scott Seaman, partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson, discusses his book, “America 250: The History of Insurance and Insurance Coverage Law and Litigation in the United States,” examining insurance's legacy and the risks shaping its future.

Reena Batra, vice president, data science, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, discusses elevated auto insurance shopping, changing consumer behavior and how insurers can leverage data to strengthen retention and identify new growth opportunities.

Ingrid Flores, CEO, Elara Spatial, said AI and computer vision can help insurers resolve property claims faster while giving adjusters more time to focus on the human side of the claims process.