Podcasters Inform Washington State Insurance Consumers

The panel also addressed potential pitfalls of innovation, such as the challenges of pricing products before knowing their true cost and the need for strong balance sheets to support innovative ventures. Panelists spoke with AM Best TV at the WSIA Annual Marketplace in San Diego.

Bryan Hodgens, senior vice president and head of research, LIMRA and LOMA, said annuity sales surged 19% to $215.2 billion, with fixed index and registered index-linked annuities setting new records, according to LIMRA’s U.S. annuity sales survey.

Aaron VanTuyl and Matt Baide, podcast hosts, Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner, discuss the "OIC Answers" podcast that seeks to inform Evergreen State consumers on a wide range of insurance topics.

Gary Wang, senior consulting actuary for Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, said that the issue of fairness is a very common social discussion that’s taking place across a wide spectrum of industries, and insurance is part of that.

AM Best Director Doniella Pliss highlights a new Best's Market Segment Report that finds growing health care utilization and medical inflation are expanding the role of health reinsurance.

Juan Andrade, president & CEO, Everest Group, said concerns about social inflation and legal-system abuse are contributing to increased severity in claims across the industry. Andrade spoke with AM Best TV at the Rendez-Vous de Septembre conference in Monte Carlo.

NCCI chief actuary Donna Glenn reports strong profitability in workers' compensation as frequency of claims continues to decline, severity aligns with wage growth, and medical inflation remains moderate.

David Blades, associate director, and Christopher Graham, senior industry analyst, both of AM Best, highlight a Best’s Market Segment Report that finds profits continued in 2023 and conditions are right for another strong year in 2024.

Patrick Baker, private directors and officers product manager at Travelers, discusses the different exposures private companies face compared with their publicly traded counterparts.

Karen Clark, founder of catastrophe modeler KCC, discusses the amount of insured losses so far in 2024, about $40 billion of which she attributes to convective storm activity.