Issues & Answers: The Great Outdoors Market

David Blades, associate director, AM Best, discusses a new Best's Special Report that finds muted insured catastrophe losses during the second half of 2025 significantly benefitted net underwriting income for the year.

Hollie Campe-Astridge, assistant vice president in the Sports & Recreation Department at Philadelphia Insurance Cos., said health and wellness trends are continuing to support demand for outdoor experiences.

David Bock, associate vice president, head of Midwest and West Public D&O for Nationwide’s commercial liability team, discusses how micro- and small-cap public companies differ from larger public companies in risk profile, claims activity and governance structure.

Brian Botkin, chief underwriting officer at MSIG USA, said that the company’s growth has come through a very disciplined underwriting approach and a build-out of its specialty underwriting capabilities.

Majesco Chief Strategy Officer Denise Garth, who is regarded as one of the most influential executives in insurance, has built expertise with leveraging both the analytical and creative sides of her brain for her role at the insurance software developer and also when she guides startups.

Jennifer Kostyrna, director of product management, identity solutions at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, explains how generative AI is rapidly transforming the identity risk landscape for personal lines insurers, enabling more sophisticated and scalable fraud across the policy life cycle.

Senior Associate Editor Steve Hallo discusses his BestWire story detailing how The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services intends to suspend enrollment in Elevance Health Inc.’s Medicare Advantage Part D over persistent noncompliance with risk-adjustment data reporting rules.

AM Best Director David Blades and Senior Industry Research Analyst Chris Graham discuss a new Best's Commentary that finds by year-end 2025, the D&O liability market appeared to be moving toward more modest downward premium adjustments, on average.

Enforcing the use of secure photo technology and maintaining "a human in the loop" are among the strategies proving to be effective at deterring claims fraud, said Dustin Lemick, CEO, BriteCo.

 In his book “Guardians of Uncertainty: The Making of Influential Risk Managers in the Modern World,” Ernest Legrand, co-founder and chief product officer, MAPTYCS, discusses how risk-focused leaders navigate uncertainty to drive resilience and long-term strategic value.