Issues & Answers: The Agency Ties That Bind

Bryan Salvatore, executive vice president, president, specialty at The Hanover Insurance Group, said agency consolidation requires carriers to think beyond the transaction.

Aman Gour, co-founder and CEO of FurtherAI, said the insurance industry’s AI opportunity goes well beyond automating individual tasks, arguing that AI can fundamentally reshape operating models while keeping human judgment at the center.

Bridget O’Donnell, Oscar Health’s vice president of technology strategy and operations, discusses how technology is not “going to be about adding more chatbots to today’s insurance experience,” but a focus on being proactive about assisting plan members to understand coverage benefits.

Joe Park, executive vice president and chief digital & information officer at State Farm, provides an outlook about how technology will reshape property/casualty insurance and build value, but maintaining trust is a key priority for the insurer. 

Janet Ruiz, director of strategic communications, and Lewis Nibbelin, research writer, both with the Insurance Information Institute, discuss the expanding U.S. wildfire threat and how insurers are adapting underwriting, modeling and resilience.

David Duffy, global head of property, Marsh Re, discusses earnings protection, innovative structures and broader coverage options amid changing market dynamics. Duffy spoke with AM Best TV at the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo.

A new Best's Market Segment Report discussed by Christopher Graham, senior industry research analyst, finds the line’s continued profitability indicates that as the complexity of inland risks has expanded, insurers have been up to the challenge.

Bill Nash, vice president and head of member relations and sales, LIMRA and LOMA, discusses retirement readiness challenges, the growing demand for guaranteed income and how insurers can help consumers bridge the retirement planning gap.

Mark Warshawsky, senior fellow and Wilson H. Taylor chair in healthcare and retirement policy, American Enterprise Institute, discusses his co-authored research, commissioned by the American Council of Life Insurers, on retirement income strategies and the growing role of annuities in helping retirees achieve greater financial security.

Julian Enoizi, CEO of Europe, and Francois Dagneau, head of analytics for Continental Europe, both with Marsh Re (formerly Guy Carpenter), discuss Europe’s growing wildfire risk, rising losses and how the insurance industry is evolving its strategies to better manage the peril.