David Saric, of Insurance Business, sat down with Sovereign Insurance’s Kyle Meadus, Krista McNaughton-Brown, senior commercial underwriting managers, Audra Butt, commercial auto manager, as well as Andrew Micieli, RDA’s commercial lines manager, to discuss what the challenges are for insurance companies trying to meet growth and profitability goals in 2024 – and the important role partnership play for mutual success.
In order to stay on track to meet or exceed growth and profitability goals this year, insurance carriers need to weather challenges from a talent and business standpoint.
“We’re experiencing a knowledge gap in the industry. Are there enough resources available for the new brokers and underwriters to be able to learn and excel at their jobs,” pondered Andrew Micieli (pictured below, left), RDA’s commercial lines manager.
Kyle Meadus (pictured top, left), senior commercial underwriting manager at Sovereign Insurance, bolstered Micieli’s assertion, noting how industry-wide talent dilemmas are also affecting external operations.
“Talent acquisition and retention are a challenge facing our industry,” he said. “Without key stakeholders, the insurance industry will continue to face challenges on services at all levels as the demand increases on customers’ ever-changing needs.”
Similarly, Audra Butt (pictured top, right), commercial auto manager at Sovereign, noted that “a key challenge for carriers is finding and retaining good talent within the target classes they write.” This can lead to what Micieli calls a strained broker/customer relationship.
Meanwhile, Krista McNaughton-Brown (pictured below, right), a senior commercial underwriting manager alongside Meadus, believes that there needs to be a better balancing act between the art and science of risk evaluation and underwriting, which includes:
Having a robust plan in place to forecast the challenges to bolstering profitability and growth is a key way for an insurance company to realize its objectives.
From an industry perspective, Micieli stressed the importance of having enough resources provided to new insurance professionals, including mentorship opportunities and recurring product training. It’s critically important to have in depth knowledge and expertise on the evolving risk landscape to price products accordingly.
“Having the talent and expertise able to leverage the evolving data and analytics capabilities and apply market insights, critical thinking, and understand the importance of managing relationships is essential,” McNaughton-Brown said. This is underscored by the importance of attracting, retaining, nurturing and continuous development for key talent.
Meadus recognized the importance of implementing advanced technology to operate more efficiently and meet consumer expectations.
“Insurance companies need to adapt as the customer has become more tech-savvy,” he said. “Investment in technology will support streamlining processes and enhancing the overall customer experience. Insureds and clients benefit from better product offerings and an improved claims processing experience.”
For those already in the industry, Micieli urges people to “be curious, ask questions frequently, be vocal about what you need to become a better insurance professional, and capitalize on available resources, such as attending seminars.”
And of course, carriers and brokers can’t forget the importance of strong relationships when it comes to facing challenges ahead.
“Relationships are key to any success,” said Butt. “We need to make sure we’re building relationships, not only with our broker partners, but also with the clients. Knowing an insured’s operations from their point of view is critical. Doing this helps with the pricing of the account overall, as underwriters understand the risk fully.”
McNaughton-Brown, Meadus, Butt and Micieli will be participating in the company’s latest webinar entitled, “What insurers will need to do to meet their growth and profitability goals in 2024 – and the important role brokers play”. In it, the four will discuss what insurers need to focus on to meet their targets, the critical role brokers play, and how by partnering together to meet these objectives, they are able to ensure mutual success for the carrier, partner, and client.
To register for the webinar, visit this link.
