2011 INSURANCE TRENDS WORLDWIDE

40 Insurance Trends for 2011:

40 Insurance Trends for 2011 By Claude Penland, Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society www.InsTrends.com

One:

One 40. Bermuda market may be getting crowded , though Flagstone Re’s Chief Executive Officer said to not count Bermuda out . 39. Worldwide Takaful (Islamic insurance) market is growing fast . 38. Microinsurance market has promise in developing countries, though it may take an enormous effort .

Two:

Two 37. The values of commercial-backed securities on insurance companies’ balance sheets may need to be marked down . 36. Consider these ten emerging risks for insurance and reinsurance companies. Reflect on the World Economic Forum’s list , as well as Lloyd’s .

Three:

Three 35. Look out for insurance brokers with guns on the high seas. 34. Actuarial jobs are the #3 career, according to CareerCast. 33. High-risk health insurance pools are only attracting two percent of expected consumers. 32. There will be a number of insurance technology challenges , including cloud computing and mobile applications.

Four:

Four 31. Obesity costs $300 billion per year , according to the Society of Actuaries. 30. What is the future of insurance regulation? Actuaries consider that question . 29. Alternative pharmacy networks are emerging , according to Milliman. 28. The annual calls for the National Flood Insurance Program to be privatized have begun.

Five:

Five 27. Beijing, China automobile traffic is among the worst in the world. Microsoft Research Asia is studying how cabbies get around for better ideas about efficient driving . 26. MileMeter’s pay-as-you-drive metered car insurance is growing in popularity .

Six:

Six 25. Health record proposal to support personalized, predictive, preventative and participatory medicine. 24. Insurance mergers and acquisitions are expected to increase globally in 2011. 23. Office of Personnel Management plans to build a healthcare claims database . 22. Disgrace insurance for sponsors is now available to protect their reputations .

Seven:

Seven 21. States are borrowing from the US federal government to pay unemployment insurance . 20. Property and casualty insurance companies increase their use of predictive analytics . 19. Some insurance runoff specialists are growing up fast. 18. Rainfall contracts launched by the CME Group.

Eight:

Eight 17. There are not enough qualified insurance regulators in the United Kingdom. Solvency II is contributing to that employee shortage. 16. United States insurance companies lose 6,000 jobs . 15. The combination of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and Solvency II will place strain on insurance companies’ balance sheets.

Nine:

Nine 14. Institute of Actuaries of India has plans to expand throughout Asia. 13. US companies’ health plan “ grandfathering ” with regards to health “reform” is still in flux. 12. Medicaid costs anticipated to increase a lot in several US states. 11. New Hampshire is pushing for more locally-domiciled insurers.

Ten:

Ten 10. CEO’s, CFO’s, Chairmen, Presidents, CIO’s, General Counsels and COO’s are very well paid among the largest ten property and casualty, health and life insurers: a compensation comparison . 9. The Asian reinsurance market could consolidate. 8. Virtual insurance , such as crop insurance in FarmVille , might be on the rise.

Eleven:

Eleven 7. Insurance claims adjusters and lawyers are using social networks for investigations. 6. Sinkholes in Florida are becoming an insurance problem . 5. Medical malpractice costs increasing. 4. Automobile insurance claims costs in the United Kingdom are rapidly rising.

Twelve:

Twelve 3. Saudi Arabian health insurance premiums increasing 30% per year. 2. Mortality improvements may slow within a few decades. 1. The Canadian insurance-linked securities market should grow.