"What was the biggest development or surprise in 2018?"

What was the biggest development or surprise in 2018?

“Catastrophic weather events such as Hurricanes Florence and Michael and the California wildfires pose a fundamental challenge to the insurance business.  The industry must marshal all of its underwriting, risk management, and claims-resolution skills if it is to effectively address the core challenges ongoing climate change will surely present.”

Claire F. Rush,
Partner, Rush & Sabbatino. CLM Member since 2012.

“Ongoing exposure to a variety of new computer technology, including billing and file management programs, expanded requirements for electronic filing, and other necessary operating software. This includes purchasing and setting up the new technology, and implementation of each new program to meet industry expectations and stay updated with current trends.”

Angela Cirina Kopet,
Managing Attorney, Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP. CLM Member since 2009.

“In construction, the severity of the current labor shortage has taken the industry by surprise. Lack of manpower was once easily fixed with cash, but this wave came faster and harder than the market could anticipate. There aren’t enough humans to perform the work under contract, leading to poor performance, defaults, and delays.”

Rose Hoyle,
Construction Risk Engineer, AXA XL. CLM Fellow since 2011.

“The biggest surprise in 2018 was the delivery of a customer-centric experience. The usage of artificial intelligence, mobile apps, drones, and chatbots has truly accelerated the time to close claims and has increased the degree of collaboration with the claimant.”

Karen Furtado,
Partner, Strategy Meets Action. CLM Fellow since 2014.

70%

Percent of senior executives from across the insurance ecosystem who believe their jobs will be impacted by AI.

Source: Insurance Nexus 

52,203

Number of U.S. wildfires from Jan. 1 to Nov. 26, 2018.

Source: National Interagency Fire Center  

79%

Percent of contractors reporting steady or increasing backlogs in Q2 2018.
Source: Q2 2018 Commercial Construction Index 

$5 billion  

High-end estimate of insured losses from Hurricane Florence, excluding National Flood Insurance Program losses.

Source: Insurance Information Institute 

$869 million

Dollar amount of industry InsurTech investment
through the first half of 2018.

Source: Deloitte