As the baby boomer generation retires, property/casualty reinsurance departments worry about who will have the knowledge to replace these knowledge workers, according to recent research from
More than 40 chief financial officers and reinsurance administration leaders at property/casualty (P&C) insurance carriers responded to the survey, which revealed respondents also worry about the lack of reinsurance automation and accuracy of spreadsheet formulas tied for second place as vital issues. One-third of the responding companies have reinsurance automation, nearly double the number reported last year. The highest use of automation occurred at companies with $100-$500 million in direct written premium. However, even with greater use of automation reported, 60% still rely on spreadsheets and 7% use manual methods. While the majority still lacks automation, only one-quarter replied that their company does an average or less than average job of managing their reinsurance recoverables. That might be due, in part, to the fact that 57% receive recoveries in less than two months.
“The survey also indicates that carriers could benefit from automation of property catastrophe events,” said Sue Peirce, AVP of Reinsurance Operations at StoneRiver Inc. “In a year that has seen some significant catastrophes, only 37% rated their company above average in how well current processes allow automation of these events.”
Nearly one‐third (32%) stated their reinsurance modeling tools were either below average or very weak. This is an area that bears development as good decisions are critical to maintaining a strong financial position and competing successfully, according to the survey.
