Nick Olijslager, Managing Director, and Emil Metropoulos, Senior Vice President                                                                                                                                  Contact

Large insurers continue to seek Casualty Clash coverage. They are motivated by the results of the quantification of their tail risk exposure in Enterprise Risk Management initiatives, maintenance of consistent earnings and minimization of shock loss surprises to analysts. Clash protection also offers protection against higher working layer retentions. In addition, insurers are generally concerned about accumulations (stacking) of net loss exposures across a single or multiple lines of business and/or multiple insureds that may leave the insurer vulnerable to a non-industry loss event of unpredictable magnitude. Insurers are operating in a very competitive environment in many (but not all) of the underlying primary casualty covers covered by clash reinsurances. Consequently, the larger national/international insurers are experiencing larger deviations than smaller/medium sized regional companies as their exposures and subject premium have continued to fall. Almost all treaties renewed with expiring retentions and limits although there was some insurer pressure to increase terrorism sublimits.

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Emil Metropoulos, Senior Vice President
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Conventions are fertile ground for risk. With tens of thousands of people in one place, a single act of terror or a natural catastrophe could result in substantial insured losses for workers compensation carriers. But, it has been almost impossible to assign a number to this risk, let alone manage it effectively, since the data and modeling capabilities have not been available until recently. By triangulating among workers compensation, convention and venue databases, the measurement of convention clash risk is becoming a reality.

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Emil Metropoulos, Senior Vice President
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The continued rise of the convention industry has created a unique clash exposure for workers compensation (re)insurers. Carriers are increasingly familiarizing themselves with “known” accumulations, the risks associated with the day-to-day workplace, since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. “Unknown” accumulations, on the other hand, have been more difficult to grasp. When employees across an insurance portfolio gather for conventions, additional catastrophic risk exposures begin to emerge.

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