Personal lines jobs at risk says McKinsey
Insurance professionals working in personal lines could be under threat from technology according to one industry analyst. Michael Pritula of McKinsey & Company says that the growing use of digitalization and advanced analytics among US auto and home insurers could put insurance jobs at risk. Speaking at the Insurance Information Institute, Pritula warned: “The need for people in the personal lines business is going away.” He said that those working in commercial lines would see a slower rate of job decline due to the need for additional manpower in assessing commercial risks such as cyber liability.
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US insurers still unable to cover Iranian oil shipments
The lifting of sanctions on Iran by Western governments will have some interesting consequences, not least a further fall in oil prices as the country is allowed to start exporting again. However, some restrictions remain for now including the ability of US insurers to offer coverage for oil shipments, although some other insurance business can now resume with Iran. Reuters reports that tanker cover was suspended when the sanctions were introduced and nations such as Japan introduced government insurance programs to bridge the gap. It was due to end this March but is now set to be extended.
Insurers adapt to tech but cyber could be fatal
The insurance industry is adapting well to developing technology challenges including driverless cars, the sharing economy and cyber liabilities. That was one of the messages shared at the Property/Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum held at the Insurance Information Institute in New York last week.
A panel of experts considered how technological advances are changing the insurance business. Insurers need to think differently about exposures and how to craft products for a changing world,” said Hemant Shah, co-founder and CEO of Risk Management Solutions, which provides catastrophe modeling services to the global insurance and financial services sector.
One fast-evolving risk could prove too much for some insurers though warned one insurance commissioner: “Cyber could be fatal,” Adam Hamm of North Dakota stated, elaborating on how a small to mid-sized insurer who writes a cyber liability policy for which it receives a substantial claim, and then does not have the resources to pay that claim, could see its solvency threatened.
Manitoba scraps licence plate insurance stickers
Manitoba Public Insurance stickers on licence plates are to be scrapped from this March. The province has announced that as police now use automatic licence plate readers which immediately alert officers to uninsured vehicles the use of the stickers is becoming obsolete. Blank stickers will be sent to drivers renewing policies from the end of February to cover up outdated ones and it is expected that all vehicles will be free from the stickers by 2021.
