At SIGMA, our actuaries do more than crunch numbers; they help shape the future of risk management and the insurance industry. With decades of combined experience across diverse sectors, our team delivers deep analytical insight and practical solutions to the complex, evolving challenges our clients face.

In today’s blog, we’re excited to introduce the consulting actuaries behind SIGMA’s work. Each brings a unique lens to the broader insurance landscape, offering insight into trends such as the growing demand for captive solutions, the emergence of new and evolving risks, and the increasing impact of shock verdicts.

As the industry responds to economic shifts, regulatory pressures, and rapid technological change, SIGMA’s actuaries are on the front lines, tracking developments, identifying opportunities, and helping organizations stay ahead of the curve. Read on to meet the team and discover the trends they are seeing shape today’s dynamic insurance market.

Al Rhodes, what current trends are you seeing in the captive space?

The captive space is expanding in two key areas. First, there is ongoing growth in enterprise risk coverages, which typically involve lower frequency but potentially high severity claims. We've found that this increased interest is coming from both existing captive owners and companies seeking to establish new, standalone captives. Secondly, we have noticed a desire from prospective captive owners to form their captives in emerging domiciles. A significant driver of this trend seems to stem from their desire to "stay home" with their captive, suggesting a preference for domiciling their captives in their home jurisdictions. It will be interesting to observe how quickly and extensively infrastructure develops in these newer domiciles to support this growth.

We welcome you to view Al's bio, and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Michelle Bradley, what current trends are you seeing in social inflation and shock verdicts?

Social inflation and the rise in shock verdicts exceeding $10 million continue to influence actuarial analytics, particularly for automobile, product, and medical professional liabilities. The growing possibility of a large verdict can significantly affect a company's funding for prior retained losses, as well as its future retention strategies. Geographic risk profiles and industry types become crucial considerations in these instances. Based on our research, their correlation to court jurisdictions and public perception make them core drivers of potential verdict awards. Companies facing increased retentions for these risks should therefore acknowledge the probability of a shock verdict and proactively integrate it into their risk management strategy.

We welcome you to view Michelle's bio, and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Jason Luckett, what current trends are you seeing in cyber insurance and analytics?

After years of significant rate increases, the underwriting market for cyber risk has softened. New market entrants have increased competition and given insureds the chance to shop around for better deals. This favorable movement in market conditions may be accompanied by unanticipated risks to insureds, including a loosened engagement in best practices for loss control and a decreased focus on obtaining an ideal policy structure for their unique exposures. While the market conditions remain favorable, it could be a prudent time for insureds to examine alternative risk financing options for cyber exposures. When the market inevitably hardens, companies who've done so will be in a strengthened position to mitigate potential cost increases.

We welcome you to view Jason's bio, and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Brian LePage, what current trends are you seeing related to retention levels for clients?

The most appropriate per occurrence retention can vary greatly between companies. Depending on their risk appetite, as well as the availability and cost of excess coverage in the marketplace, the amount of risk a company retains may change over time. Many of SIGMA's clients regularly review the efficacy of their current retentions using a Total Cost of Risk (TCOR) analysis. This type of report takes into account the retained losses at both the expected level and higher confidence levels, as well as the cost of coverage at each retention to help identify the best option for an upcoming period.

We welcome you to view Brian's bio, and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Sol Feinberg, what current trends are you seeing in non-traditional risk analytics and approaches?

Increasingly, companies are developing new and unique strategies for handling their own complex risks. Over the last several years, for example, we have witnessed significant growth in clients requesting analytical guidance for coverages related to climate risks, wage and hour risk, and cyber risk. Analytics for such coverages often involve a focus on alternative risk strategies, such as captive insurance.  For companies seeking guidance on similar types of policies, it's important to note that some of these risks may have limited historical data. In these situations, it is often appropriate to consider expanded resources of industry data, such as legal databases, academic studies, and rate filings. Industry data from these sources can be used to supplement actual historical information in determining assumptions for risk modeling. 

We welcome you to view Sol's bio, and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Rich Moncher, what current trends are you seeing in AI and other technologies?

AI, machine learning, and data analytics are transforming the modeling processes used in P&C actuarial analyses. Even in their earliest stages of development, these technologies have been used to drastically streamline data collection and optimize tasks such as rate reviews and predictive model refreshes. More recent advancements, like improved pattern recognition, are helping actuaries identify emerging risks, pinpoint trends, clarify underwriting rules, and decrease content processing time through more efficient document classification and data extraction (especially for regulations, legislation, claims files, and rate filings).

We welcome you to view Rich's bio, and connect with him on LinkedIn.

We welcome discussion with any of our insurance colleagues who want a better understanding of these topics, and those wishing to contact us can do so at support@SIGMAactuary.com or by scheduling a call today with one of our consulting actuaries.

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