Upland Specialty Insurance

Upland Specialty Insurance:?2025 E&S Market Outlook The U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) insurance market experienced a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the past five years.?It is anticipated that the 2025 E&S market will maintain its growth trajectory, but at a more moderate rate with total direct premiums projected to exceed?$100 billion.??The market's flexibility and capacity for innovation will continue to attract clients seeking coverage for unique exposures.??? ? The 2024 growth rate slowed down from previous years due to tempering market conditions in some predominant E&S product lines.??“Despite this, the market did see expansion driven by factors such as higher loss activity, increased reinsurance costs, and a limited appetite among admitted carriers to write business in catastrophe-prone areas due to the increasing severity of natural disasters and social inflation,” stated Jim Damonte, President and Chief Underwriting Officer for Upland.??? ? The E&S insurance market is expected to remain in a hard market phase in 2025 and continue to experience elevated premiums, stricter underwriting standards, and reduced capacity for certain risks.??Increased Loss Activity due to the rising frequency and severity of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires, have led to higher claims costs as well as the growing trend of larger jury awards and settlements in liability cases becoming a significant factor. Higher reinsurance costs have also been passed down to primary insurers, contributing to increased pricing combined with the ongoing economic challenges and inflationary pressures adding to the overall risk environment.??? ? Claims Outlook ? Across the market, rising social inflation and the continued growth of third-party litigation funding (TPLF) continue to impact claims outcomes. One of the leading players in the TPLF arena recently announced a goal to raise $1 billion for its new fund. ? “On a positive note, several ongoing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) suits in the New York construction sector continue to develop and gain momentum,” added Rich Smith, Upland Chief Claims Officer. “The tort reform legislation unveiled by Georgia’s governor also marks a positive trend following Florida’s tort reform in 2023.” ? Technology Outlook ? “At Upland, we continue to evaluate transformative technology like AI to augment our well-defined business process workflows to allow our teams to scale,” stated Kate Walas, Chief Operating Officer. “We start small, focusing on solving business inefficiencies, automating lower-level tasks and incrementally building on success.?Our goal is to deliver decision making insights for our Underwriters that allows them to optimize their workflows while continually improving the experience for our customers.” To review the entire white paper, visit https://lnkd.in/gpTfF9nE

Upland is supporting the next generation of E&S underwriters! Jessie Berger, Upland's Vice President of Underwriting, was a speaker at the WSIA Extreme Risk Taker Symposium discussing the challenging topic "Ready to Work - From Student to Professional in the E&S Industry." Thank you, Jessie, for supporting WSIA and promoting Upland's image in the E&S market.

Upland participates in the 2025 WSIA Extreme Risk Takers Symposium in Las Vegas. The symposium is designed for university students studying risk management, insurance, finance, business, as well as others who may be interested in learning more about the excess and surplus (E&S) lines industry. It is open to all undergraduate students with over 100 participating. Upland's Shanna Sweeney, Senior Vice President, and Paul Dragisic, Assistant Vice President, for Excess Casualty Liability were present to teach students a course on Emerging Risks and Trends in the E&S marketplace. Sarah Dyczewski, Upland's Director of Talent Acquisition, was joined by Maria Benavides, Corporate Recruiter, as they participated in the WSIA recruiting activities during the symposium. Upland supports the WSIA as they work with today’s university students, helping to ensure the next generation of E&S underwriting.?

Upland's Product Recall participates as a gold sponsor for the Global Crisis Management Summit Americas (GCMS) in New Orleans. Upland sponsored the Tuesday lunch and held an After-Hours Reception at the famous Napoleon House. The Upland Product Recall team were joined by over 50 product recall brokers and professionals to enjoy camaraderie, hand-prepared bananas foster and the Napoleon House's famous PIMS cup cocktails. Thank you to GCMS and all of our broker partners.

If you are a model ops engineer, love working with Python and GitHub tools, and are looking for a new opportunity-we want to talk with you! Upland has a new position available for a Model Ops Engineer-come work with our talented Risk, Data and Analytics team! Click below to learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/d_PhNVET

Upland celebrates with Brown & Riding at the Waste Management Open in Scottsdale, AZ. The Excess Casualty team is represented by Shanna Sweeney, SVP; Paul Dragisic, AVP; Joie Johnston, Senior Underwriter; Dominic Chilimidos, Underwriter; and Kyle Calder, Associate Underwriter. Thank you, Brown & Riding for your partnership and a great time!

If you are an experienced FP&A Analyst and looking for a new position (fully remote!) with a rapidly growing organization, Upland has the position for you! We are hiring a Sr. FP&A Analyst to join our talented finance team! Click the link below to learn more about the role and apply! https://lnkd.in/eb2K6QPb #Upland #finance #remote #insurance

Upland would like to wish everyone a safe and joyous Holiday Season and a prosperous New Year!

Kate Walas, SVP and Chief Underwriting Officer for Upland, was featured in the Insurance Business TV Big Question episode “Where is the insurance industry going right or wrong with AI?”? She is the second featured panelist in the video that consists of a host of industry experts who give their verdict on where the industry is going right and wrong with artificial intelligence. Click here to view the entire video: https://lnkd.in/eJw39WmH

Experts shed light on Construction Insurance Trends The US construction insurance market is experiencing significant shifts, driven by a combination of rising project costs, evolving regulatory requirements, and a more dynamic claims environment. To explore these changes, Insurance Business hosted a roundtable discussion featuring Carl Dowling, Senior Vice President of Casualty Construction Liability at Upland Specialty Insurance, and Jeff Benson, Builders Risk & Contractors Equipment Program Leader at Victor Insurance Managers. Both leaders offered insights into the latest trends shaping the construction sector and the implications for brokers navigating the excess and surplus (E&S) market. Click here to view the entire roundtable discussion: https://lnkd.in/epDbEF2a Click here for information on Upland's Casualty Construction Liability product: https://lnkd.in/gjT5jT2a