
Competitive Factors Increase Challenge of Florida Underwriters
Robert Regis Hyle | July 21, 2014
Insuring your property is one of the largest annual expenditures that American homeowners face and like most bills, it’s not pleasant for them, particularly for those that they live in Florida where reinsurers re-underwrite their book of business on a frequent basis.
“Not only do homeowners go through a difficult process when they apply for coverage, but also when they renew their policy,” says Bill Martin, president of Florida-based Bankers Insurance Group. “There needed to be a better solution to the problem, but to some extent the data made available to us wasn’t ready for the way we wanted to use it.”
Insurers dealt with events that took larger chunks of surplus than they had modeled in the past, explains Martin.
“For some carriers, that hit was not bearable on a year-to-year basis, but other insurers were more willing to take the hit. What they ended up doing was creating a hard market,” he says.
As insurers became more aware of risk patterns they began to reduce coverage on some exposures, even to the point of excluding incidents such as dog bites, according to Martin. The result was not just a tight market, but a challenge to be fully covered for accidents that could happen.
Martin believed Bankers needed better data so he turned to LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
“They are a data aggregator for every industry, not just insurance. I made the assumption they would be the most likely source for the broadest amount of data,” said Martin. “We needed to do things differently at Bankers because we were using the data to more or less pre-rate the state.”
Martin looked at other possibilities, but in 2011 he found it difficult to find anyone who could provide the amount of information Bankers needed. Bankers decided to stay with LexisNexis based on three levels.
“One is simple,” says Martin. “They have data across more than just insurance so they can look to all the databases within the enterprise to see what might be relevant to the underwriting model. Second, they built out a large and very analytical insurance department that specializes in our industry and goes so far as to specialize by product in some instances. Finally, if you look at their history, they have been willing to work with carriers on new services and processes. Some of the other data companies might innovate, but would require a subscription you might never use. So the amount of data and the insurance focused team were all key parts of this.”
Even with an experienced underwriting staff, insurers have difficulty getting to a predictive process, points out Martin. The method to make the quote up front rather than post-quote is easier to program and maintain than the traditional post-binding underwriting model because the carrier has made its decision on the customer and this shortens the process.
“You have to dismantle the old process and that’s hard to do, even for small companies, because there are data calls to be made in terms of the prefill, and a reduction of the number of questions asked,” he says. “Technology wise, it was more work than expected, but much easier to maintain.”
Underwriters know they have processes that work well, so it is difficult emotionally for them to let go of these predictive underwriting tools and replace them with a little more risk and better customer experience to cover that risk, explains Martin. Over the last year, though, Bankers’ underwriters have seen the results and are excited.
Bankers made the transition in Florida from December of 2011 to June of 2012 and got it fully operational early in 2013. “We knew what we wanted to build by the summer of 2012 and put the pieces in place,” says Martin. “The other states have come along in half steps. You can do some screening work in advance of the programming and you can do some portfolio management.”
Florida is a state where insurers should be able to innovate in their underwriting processes, points out Martin. He doesn’t believe it is any more difficult to write policies there than anywhere else because insurers can experiment more than in other states.
“There is more room to react to your mistakes,” he says. “In a weird way, while the reinsurance game is tough, the underwriting game attracts more innovation, and the tight market rewards innovation.”
The first thing Bankers did with the model after pre-rating the state was deciding which risks were underpriced. Because the model was so strong, Martin explains the carrier had to walk away from just three percent of their policyholders. Another small group agreed to changing rates, so the insurer didn’t have to non-renew many of its policyholders.
“We then opened the doors. The existing book that was there prior to the model being introduced performed better than we expected, so we were excited about the model for new business and the loss ratios are coming in a good 60 percent below the renewal ratios, something you don’t ordinarily see in personal lines,” says Martin.
The model has not been perfected yet, but Martin explains “it is fire tested and done in an environment where some errors could be corrected so we should be able to go to areas that are not in Cat mode and get more customers there. The customer experience is key because someone is always willing to cut your rate. We need homeowners to come to us because we are easy to deal with and give them more reason to do business with us. It gives us an advantage on price, but the answer isn’t always price.”
Featured articles
- Electronic Chat with Larissa Tosch
- Martha Notaras Will Join ITA LIVE 2019 as a Keynote Speaker
- Five Things to Consider When Evaluating Your Cyber Risk
- ITA Pro Magazine, January/February 2019
- Major Ransomware Attack Could Hit U.S. with $89B In Economic Damages
- ITA Announces 1st of Three Keynote Speakers at ITA LIVE 2019
- Electronic Chat with Jeroen Morrenhof
- Legacy Systems Are Dead. Really? Don't Count On It.
- Now Accepting Nominations for the 2019 ITA Bridge Awards
- It's time to register for ITA LIVE!
- Registration is Now Open for ITA LIVE 2019!
- What to Expect from a Digital Experience Platform Implementation
- ITA Pro Magazine September Edition is Now Available
- It's National IT Professionals Day
- Save the Date for ITA-LIVE 2019
- OneShield Software and UrbanStat Work Together to Improve Real-Time Analytics and Risk Decision-Making
- ITA LIVE 2019 - SAVE THE DATE!
- Insurance Technology Association Announces New Editor-in-Chief
- August 2018 Edition ITA Pro Magazine is Now Available
- Enterprise Architecture in an Agile World
- Top 10 Tips for Securing Your Mobile Devices and Sensitive Client Data
- Industry Insight: 4 Global Insurance Trends in Digital, Data, Content Services and Security
- Diving Deeper into Prioritizing Your Strategic Digital investments
- Why Content Rules
- How Mass Personalization Will Open the Small Business Benefits Market
- At Year End 2017, Will Your Organization Be Protected from Cyber Risks?
- Do Insurance Bots Dream of Mitigating Risk?
- Conditioned to Respond
- Managing & Mobilizing Insurance Data in a Connected World
- Race to the Finish Line
- New Tools, New Opportunities in Claims
- ITA LIVE: Reaching Insurance Industry Crossroads
- Advice to Insurance IT Leaders: Keep Your Eye on the Ball
- New Date, Venue for ITA LIVE 2017
- Guidewire Makes Major Push to Small and Midtier Market by Acquiring ISCS
- Insurance Disruption is Happening Right Now
- Insurity Adds Strategic Investment Partner, General Atlantic
- Beyond Transformation: The Convergence of Finance, Risk, and Actuarial Functions
- The Rapid Evolution of Consumer Protection Regulation
- Talent Hunt: Finding, Attracting, Retaining Top People
- Insurers Flexing Their Distribution Models
- Technology Driving Disruption in Insurance
- Fear of ‘Next Bubble’ Challenges Life, Annuity Carriers
- Technology Allows Commercial Lines Insurers to Stand Out
- Single Sign-on Viewed as Biggest Tech Challenge for Agencies
- ISCS Observes 20th Anniversary; Scurto Predicts Major Changes Ahead
- Policyholders and Their First Impressions
- Progressive Making Progress on the UBI Front
- High and Dry: Insurers Search for Disaster Recovery Plans
- Insurers Sign The (Un)Dotted Line
- Reflections of a Retired Insurance CIO
- Mobile Device Management Just One Answer to BYOD Issue
- Lessons from GEICO and Progressive on Winning the Critical Buying Stage
- You Are a Target for a Cyber Attack
- Web-based Systems are the Next Evolution in Claims Technology
- Gaining a “Wow” Experience from Web Users
- Time to Shift from Business/IT Alignment to Business/IT Alliance
- Healthcare Insurers Changing to Consumer Model
- Organization is the Key for Selecting Software Vendors
- Analysts Expound on the Needs of the Mid-tier Insurance Market
- Finding the Cure for Obamacare’s Website
- New Software Solutions Benefit Insurers on the Inside and Outside
- Products, Market Impede Investment in Systems for Life Insurers
- Combatting Cyber Threats: Predict, Prevent, Persist
- The Future of Telematics Heads Beyond Insurance
- The Shame in Cyber Security Lapses
- Building Policy Administration Systems for the Future
- Insurers Look Into The Eyes of Their Policyholders
- It’s a New Dawn for the ITA
INSURANCE IT NEWS
- Adoption of Cloud Platforms Likely to Accelerate at Large and Midsize Carriers Alike, Says Novarica
- Guidewire Software Announces Hexaware as New Consulting Alliance Partner
- Steve Kronsnoble Joins CastleBay Companies as Insurance Principal Consultant
- Electronic Chat with Larissa Tosch
- Instec Expands Insurance Expertise with Hiring of Industry Veteran CJ Lotter
- Group Insurers Investing in Tech to Drive Customer Acquisition and Retention, Says Novarica
- RLI Selects DataCubes to Optimize Certain Underwriting Processes
- Reinsurance Software WebXL Version 4.3 Released by Prima Solutions-Effisoft Group
ELECTRONIC CHAT
The Email Chat is a regular feature of the ITA Pro magazine and website. We send a series of questions to an insurance IT leader in search of thought-provoking responses on important issues facing the insurance industry.
-
Electronic Chat with Larissa Tosch
Bill Sinn
ITA interviews Larissa Tosh, CIO of Glatfelter Insurance Group... READ MORE
ITA LIVE 2019
The tide is up! It's time to register for ITA LIVE 2019, our annual educational and networking conference! Our theme is "The InsurTech Revolution: Cutting Through the Hype." and we'll be bringing in a torrent of industry thought leaders, amazing insight and wonderful perspectives on the world of insurtech and its impact on the insurance landscape.
ITA LIVE 2019 will present real-life examples of true startup technologies that are helping insurers gain real advantage -- and a competitive edge -- in the marketplace. We’ll highlight the more successful InsurTech partnerships, while offering case studies that demonstrate exciting innovation and cutting-edge techniques impacting all aspects of the insurance ecosystem.
Ride the wave to LIVE 2019. Sign up today! We look forward to seeing you in May, 2019!
BLOGS AND COLUMNS
-
This month, the ITA celebrates Insurance Careers Month and encourages carriers, brokers, agents and our industry associations to plan their own... READ MORE
-
The Hidden Costs of Custom Software Systems
David Pittman
Customization in the general sense has a very positive connotation. However, in the world of software systems, customization quite often falls short... READ MORE
only online
-
Down Market Opportunities Beckon Benefits Insurers
You have surely heard it said that small businesses are the growth engine for America. Today, the phrase has a special ring to it for benefits... READ MORE
-
Technology at the Heart of Change in Insurance
With stagnant growth and lingering low interest rates, the life insurance industry faces a challenging future... READ MORE
-
Got Policies? IVANS Service Helps Feed Commercial Lines Producers
Finding insurance carriers willing to write commercial lines risks has always been a challenge for producers... READ MORE
-
Technology Changes Coming Faster than Ever for Insurers
As Guidewire Software prepares for the start of Connections, its 11th annual user conference that begins on Nov. 2, Brian Desmond, chief marketing... READ MORE
Vendor Views
-
The Hidden Costs of Custom Software Systems
Customization in the general sense has a very positive connotation. However, in the world of software systems, customization quite often falls short... READ MORE
- Vendor Views
Partner News
-
Distracted Living: What It Means for Insurance
One important trend in society over the past decade is our increasing ability to create and consume a seemingly unlimited amount of digital content... READ MORE
- Partner News