Improving P&C Underwriting: A Recap of Commercial Lines USA 2023

Our team recently spent a few days in the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois focused on underwriting at Commercial Lines USA 2023, talking with commercial insurance carriers, cyber MGAs and more.

It was a great event spending time with clients, meeting new insurance and insurtech connections and talking underwriting.

Kicking Off Commercial Lines USA

As a Gold Sponsor, our involvement kicked off on Day 1 with our Co-founder & CEO, Andy Moss , sitting down with Robert Spina , CIO of Bowhead Specialty , to shed light on the power of data in underwriting.

They discussed how Bowhead's underwriters took a non-linear path and leveraged our Workbench to boost productivity and bind business faster.

Here's a quick recap of their discussion:

• Leveraging Data Advantage: Bowhead gained a competitive edge by harnessing data enrichment through our digital underwriting workbench. Unlocking valuable insights, they elevated their underwriting capabilities and identified untapped opportunities.
• Streamlining Operations: Our Workbench streamlined Bowhead's data challenges. By consolidating submission tracking and data management in one visible place, they improved efficiency and achieved better loss ratios.
• Balancing Craft and Automation: Andy and Bob explored the ideal balance between human expertise and automated processes. Bowhead's underwriters have been able to focus on high-value tasks while leveraging data augmentation and intelligent underwriting capabilities to enhance their decision-making.
• Overcoming Data Limitations: They discussed the challenges of limited public information for private companies. Our platform assisted their underwriters by presenting found data and allowing them to exercise their expertise in decision-making.
• Foundations for Success: Andy emphasized the importance of getting the basics right from the start. Proper submission tracking and data management provided a comprehensive view of the business, enabling informed decisions and enhancing competitiveness.
• Driving Innovation: They uncovered the power of establishing a robust data framework. By connecting the dots and leveraging our Workbench, insurers streamlined product launches, reduced friction points, and continuously improved their offerings.

“We find submission tracking is done in spreadsheets or as institutional knowledge in the heads of underwriters. Helping underwriting teams pull that work into one visible place helps them improve loss ratios,” said Moss.

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Exceptional Underwriting Sessions

Some of the other sessions brought together a range of speakers talking about how to evaluate software and integrate emerging insurtech into the traditional world of insurance.

"Always be on the same page before bringing on a software vendor" was an excellent reminder by Alex Williams , the Chief Digital Officer at Mission Underwriting Managers, LLC .

In her fireside chat, Alex provided the audience with great advice on choosing and working with the right vendors.

She spoke about how it is easy for teams to unintentionally get siloed when a good partnership sees internal teams agree on priorities and align before implementation.

Alex reiterated it is not just a monetary cost to consider, but a time investment that many companies don't factor in related to an internal employee's time away from core functions and opportunities costs.

Build vs. Buy

The moderator of Alex’s session, Michael Fiedel ?of InsurTech Ohio , asked about her preference "Build vs. Buy". Her answer was a relatable: "It depends."

Alex’s preferences are staying true to a company's core, which in Mission's instance, is underwriting.

She prefers speed of buying while not having to stand up (and fund) and entire department.

The benefits to build can be you own it, however, you also own the maintenance and responsibility to maintain.

We liked Alex's pragmatic approach to adopting software vendors and the internal evaluation questions each company should ask:

• How much are you willing to put in (time and money)?
• What is the impact on customers (either internally or externally)?
• Is now the right time?
• Do we understand our audience (i.e. broker portals)?

It was great to see a discussion that reiterated the way we think about underwriting partnerships at Send.

Tech Helping To Write Better Business

We attended a game-changing panel on how emerging technologies are Commercial Lines insurance to help reduce risk and increase efficiency, while revolutionizing customer support and client retention.

The panel talked about how collaboration, agility, and the expanding insurtech ecosystem are all driving current players forward.

Some of our favorite quotes from the panelists included:

-Cultivate a Culture of Innovation: “When it comes to insurtech adoption, carriers need to know failure is okay. It's good to try things out." - John Burkhart ?of Skyward Specialty Insurance

-Efficiency through Technology: "All of these tools will be able to help us be more effective and focus on the appetites that each company has”?- Ravi Ranjan ?of W. R. Berkley Corporation

-Human Expertise + Technology: “Human underwriters still need to tell the data what to do. It will open up the availability of insurance to more people that need it." - Jill Johnson ?of Coterie Insurance

Overall, it was a great few days talking underwriting, insurance and eating some deep dish pizza. Look out for the Send team at future events by following our Send LinkedIn Page.