In 2010, after selling Specific Software Solutions, I went on a whirlwind tour to visit brokers around the country. The purpose was to ask one question, “What challenges does the property/casualty brokerage industry face?” The response was consistent and best summarized by a quote I wrote down to use as the motivation for my PhD […]

During the past few months, I have argued that becoming and being an "Analytical Broker" is key to continued success both as a producer and as an agency or brokerage firm. Here at SIGMA, we are committed to providing education and guidance to support your effort to improve your analytical capabilities. In this blog, I […]

By Michelle Bradley, ACAS, MAAA, ARM, CERA and Enoch Starnes Through a series of blog posts, SIGMA has begun to address some common questions, requirements, and issues based on our previous experience with clients and auditors. Prior entries have focused on qualifications and factors surrounding the actuarial analysis. In this post, we’d like to dive […]

As we continue with this year’s series on being an Analytical Broker, I wanted to emphasize the importance of fundamentals. Being an Analytical Broker requires certain fundamental “blocking and tackling” skills which must be mastered before higher level analytics can be considered.  In this case, “blocking and tackling” refers to your ability to interpret loss projections […]

A Confidence Level Analysis built using Monte Carlo simulation is a popular technique that every Analytical Broker should be familiar with.  This blog highlights three resources to give you a quick overview of the topic. 1.  This graphic gives a quick summary of the topic.  A PDF of this graphic can be downloaded from our […]

By Michelle Bradley, ACAS, MAAA, ARM, CERA and Enoch Starnes Through a series of blogs, SIGMA has begun to address some common questions, requirements, and issues based on our previous experience with clients and auditors. The first blog in the series focused on actuarial qualifications and an actuarial qualification statement. The second focused on auditor […]

In the television drama, "Person of Interest," massive amounts of surveillance data, complex algorithms, and some interesting special effects help us imagine just how far data analysis and predictive analytics might someday go in order to predict risk. While the show’s early 2011 premiere was purely fictitious, the explosive case of N.S.A. whistle-blower Edward Snowden […]

Last month, I introduced the concept of an “analytical broker” and discussed the push for analytics from the C-Suite down through the organizations that are your clients. I also used a small vignette to raise the question, “what is an analytical broker?” This month, I introduce enterprise risk management from a new perspective. One of […]

Imagine that you are sitting across from a risk manager during a sales presentation. The company is a fast growing manufacturing firm and would be the largest new account for your agency this year. You’ve covered your firm’s capabilities and are optimistic about the account’s acquisition. Then, the risk manager throws a potential wrench into […]

By Michelle Bradley, ACAS, MAAA, ERM, CERA and Enoch Starnes Through a series of blogs, SIGMA has begun to address some common questions, requirements, and issues based on our previous experience with clients and auditors. The first blog in the series focused on actuarial qualifications and an actuarial qualification statement. The second focused on auditor […]