Are insurers ready for an aging population + urbanization?  June 9th 2025

Insurtech Insights New York reporter's notebook | Digital Insurance

Highlights from speakers and sessions at the Insurtech Insights conference and surrounding events in New York from June 3-5.

USAA president and CEO Juan Andrade addresses the audience at Insurtech Insights in New York on June 4, 2025. Lucy Pilko, CEO, Americas, AXA XL, with Naveen Agarwal, senior advisor, BCG, at Insurtech Insights on June 5.

In the coming weeks, Digital Insurance will have more reports on the Insurtech Insights conference held in New York on June 4-5. These are some brief highlights and impressions from the event.

Climate risk demands community engagement, experts say In an InsurTech Summit program hosted by McDermott, Will & Emery on June 3, preceding the conference, executives and climate risk advisors from insurers, insurtechs and academia, called for community level engagement for resilience against climate disasters.

A panelist noted that in California, from 2019 to 2022, the claims demands on insurers were stable, keeping them profitable, but they were always "one day away" from catastrophic losses and an industry crisis like the January L.A. fires.

Tariffs make insurers cool to buying US Treasury bonds In a panel discussion on the impact of tariffs hosted by InsurTech NY on June 3, preceding the conference, Kevin Chen, CIO of Horizon Financial, noted that volatility in U.S. financial markets has created a challenge for insurers managing their bond holdings. Ratings agency downgrades of US Treasuryies have cooled foreign insurers' appetite for these securities, especially European insurers. These insurers had been "major buyers" of these bonds, Chen said.

Unique opportunities to shape safer, smarter communities Deloitte's 2025 Insurance Predictions report explores why building a more resilient society requires insurers to embrace their role as leaders in risk...

Partner Insights from Deloitte AI reduced claims processing time, USAA CEO says AI has reduced the length of time needed to pay claims, said Juan Andrade, who became president and CEO of USAA in April, in a panel discussion on insurers business results from using AI.

In the January wildfires in California, applying AI technology to drone imagery made it possible to identify claims and pay homeowners before they could even see their property, Andrade added.

"In catastrophe claims management, it's really allowed us to reduce the number of days from 14 to seven, where we can pay the claim after a wildfire or a hurricane," he said. "In areas where access had actually been denied, not only for our claims adjusters, but also for the residents of the neighborhood themselves, we deployed that technology, could look at the before and after, and actually get a check to one of our members before they even knew the state of their home."

Chubb executive identifies small business insurance trends Robert Poliseno, division president of small and lower midmarket at Chubb, presented 10 trends concerning insuring small business:

• Small business is resilient.
• Growing revenues in the workplace.
• AI
• Application of AI tools in marketing.
• Concern about climate change.
• Decline in inflation expectations.
• Cyber risk.
• Building trust in digital payments.
• Workplace discrimination challenges.

Access to insurance. AXA CEO: Using AI to reduce risk is in early stages Lucy Pilko, CEO of AXA XL, discussed applications of AI for reducing risk, saying the insurance industry is currently at about the same point it was 10 years ago in starting to deal with cyber risks.

Keeping '90s technology worsens insurers' talent problem Garrett Droege, senior vice president and director of innovation and digital risk at IMA Financial, and Josh Hall, head of sales and business development at ManageMy, in a panel on insurance brokerage issues, pointed to a cause for the insurance industry's difficulties retaining talent.

When insurers' interfaces take "20 clicks" to get to writing a policy, because they are using systems built in the 1990s, newer staff find it becomes too difficult to actually write insurance, and many leave the industry within about six months, they observed.

Insurers should promote social good of their product, NAIC official says Jon Godfread, North Dakota insurance commissioner, and president of NAIC . North Dakota insurance commissioner Jon Godfread, who is also president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), on a panel discussion of regulation, called for educating the public more clearly on the financial nature of insurance and its function to protect against risk, as opposed to serving as a savings account or financial investment.

"We're seeing a pretty strong narrative against the insurance industry, and a lot of that has to do with misunderstanding of what the products are, and what they do," he said. "We have to do a better job of telling our story as state regulators, as the insurance industry, all those pieces, what the social good is of the value of insurance into the economy. More understanding of that will hopefully give us a little bit more grace. Our markets are working. It's just when there's a catastrophe, it is a catastrophic event."

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Michael Shashoua, Senior Editor, Digital Insurance

Independent Auto Glass Shops Concerned About Safelite’s Growing Influence - Autobody News

[Ed. Note: Independents need to stop whining about Safelite's success and start innovating. Safelite is successful because it does a great job at a fair price for its insurance partners, has a brilliant business model and is customer service and community oriented. It continuously innovates in response to changing market dynamics.. It's recently introduced "fix now, pay later" program is a good example, introduced at the perfect time. Mobile service has also been a valuable customer attraction.]

The IGA has filed an antitrust claim against Safelite Solutions, which it says is on its way to holding a monopoly in the industry.

Third-party administrators have nearly always been a part of the playing field during the 18 years Seminole Auto Glass in Tallahassee, FL, has been in business.

“We've seen the third-party administrators get changed around throughout those 18 years. When we first started, there were a handful of them,” said Sarah Seymour, who owns the business with her husband, Larry Seymour. “It was an equal playing field. You would get referrals. You would get work from the third-party administrators that were in existence. The discounts ran off of the National Auto Glass specifications, which is kind of like suggested retail price — that's how we all do our invoicing.”

But since one company began employing what she and the Independent Glass Association call a monopoly via its insurance claims management service, Seymour says pricing has become untenable. The situation led the IGA to file an antitrust claim against Safelite Solutions earlier this year with the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition Office of Policy and Coordination.

What the Claim Alleges

In the event of an automotive glass claim, consumers will typically report claims to their insurance companies via website or app. Other times, they call a claim number.

“When that occurs, what happens in our industry is you're actually not talking to your insurance company,” IGA Executive Director Gary Hart explained. “You are talking to a third-party administrator that is acting on behalf of your insurance company. And this is where the lines get a little blurred.”

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MGA Premiums Increase in 2024, Marking Fourth Consecutive Year of Double-Digit Growth: AM Best - Risk & Insurance

Managing General Agent (MGA) premiums grew by 14.5% to $89.9 billion in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth despite moderating pricing in certain insurance lines, according to AM Best.

Managing General Agent (MGA) premiums grew by 14.5% to $89.9 billion in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth despite moderating pricing in certain insurance lines, according to AM Best.

The insurance market continues to embrace the specialized expertise offered by MGAs, with the total number of uniquely identified MGAs exceeding 700 in 2024. Market research suggests the actual number operating in the U.S. likely surpasses 1,000, as many generate annual premiums below the reporting threshold required in NAIC statements.

Specialization has emerged as a dominant trend, with approximately 55% of MGA premiums coming from firms focusing on specific lines of business or risk classes. Property specialization leads at 11% of reported MGA premiums, followed by private passenger auto (10%), crop (5.4%), general liability (5.3%), and workers’ compensation (4%), according to the report. Other notable niche specialties include cyber, flood, pet, surety/fidelity, and earthquake coverage.

The premium momentum has remained robust despite pricing moderation or declines in certain segments such as workers’ comp, professional liability (particularly directors and officers liability and employment practices liability), and cyber liability. This specialization trend shows no signs of slowing as underwriting becomes more automated and relationship-building evolves through a combination of human expertise and technological networks, AM Best found.