11 People on the Move

Lemonade's CIO joins Kinetic Insurance's advisory board, Risk Placement Services promotes construction and national casualty leadership and more in this edition of People on the Move.

By: Raquel Moreno | March 15, 2022

Topics: People on the Move

Graham Company Elects New Member to Its Board of Directors

Mary Sklarski, member, board of directors, Graham Company

Graham Company, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the U.S., has elected Mary Sklarski, CPCU, ARM, to its board of directors. Sklarski was formerly chief operating officer and chief growth officer with national insurance brokerage and consulting firm, Woodruff Sawyer.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mary as the newest addition to our board of directors,” said Bill Graham, chairman of the board, Graham Company. “Her depth of knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to pursue a strategic plan to better service our unique client base.”

Sklarski has had an extensive career in insurance including numerous roles within Chubb Insurance Company on the West Coast and 16 years at Woodruff Sawyer, according to a press release. After nearly 40 years in the insurance industry, Sklarski retired in 2019.

“Joining Graham Company’s board of directors felt like a natural fit for me,” said Sklarski. “I am excited to share the knowledge and experiences I have acquired over the years to make a positive impact on the organization during this pivotal point in the company’s trajectory. I look forward to the great work ahead with an incredible group of leaders.”

Kinetic Names Insurtech Pioneer to Advisory Board

John Peters, chief insurance officer, Lemonade

Workers’ comp Insurtech company Kinetic Insurance has welcomed Lemonade Inc.’s chief insurance officer, John Peters, to its advisory board.

“John Peters is one of the brightest minds in the business with a breadth of experience transforming insurance operations and truly disrupting the insurance sector,” said Haytham Elhawary, founder and CEO of Kinetic Insurance.

“John brings the strategic leadership and industry relationships to Kinetic’s board that will guide us in truly reinventing workers’ compensation,” Elhawary added.

Prior to joining Lemonade, Peters held a multitude of executive roles for commercial insurance and loss control at Liberty Mutual and spent 10 years at McKinsey & Company’s global property-casualty insurance practice, according to a press release.

In his role, Peters will advise the Kinetic Insurance executive team on all aspects of the business, including MGU strategy, carrier relationships, advanced underwriting and actuarial strategies, and the integration of novel datasets in our business.

CICA Announces 2022–2023 Board Appointments

Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) has announced new additions to its board of directors. Chief operations officer for Pro Group Captive Management Services, Renea Louie, ARM, ACI, Fellow will chair the board.

Louie brings 30 years of industry experience and extensive knowledge in the alternative risk transfer industry, according to a press release. She has served on the CICA Board for the past 4 years.

In addition to Louie, the board elected Captive Resources’ CEO Nicholas Hentges as vice chair, and Mary Ellen Moriarty, vice president for Property & Casualty, EEIA, as secretary/treasurer. Lance Abbott, BevCap Management LLC, serves as immediate past chair.

CICA also elected Udo Kappes, head of P&C, employee lines, and reinsurance at Airbus Insurance Risk Management. Kappes’ industry experience includes positions at the German property insurance association Verband der Sachversicherer, and serving as the in-house insurance broker of Daimler Chrysler.

“It is an honor and privilege to serve as CICA’s 2022-2023 Board Chair,” Louie said. “The global pandemic has revealed to a much larger universe of business owners the power of captives and the coming years will bring large growth for the industry.”

McGriff Expands Real Estate and Hospitality Team

Donna Matthews, senior vice president, real estate and hospitality, McGriff

McGriff has hired Donna Matthews as a senior vice president and Denver-based marketing account executive in its real estate and hospitality practice.

Matthews joins McGriff with nearly 20 years of large and complex property broking experience, according to a press release. She most recently worked for a large multinational broker where she served as head of the property division for the Mountain West region. In that role she focused on risk solutions for clients in the real estate industry, particularly multifamily owners and operators.

“We are thrilled that Donna is joining our team, bringing deep experience in the broader real estate space and particularly in the multifamily segment,” said Paul Cicerchia, McGriff real estate and hospitality practice leader. “Her experience and relationships in both the domestic and global insurance marketplace will certainly benefit our clients and prospects.”

Risk Placement Services Promotes Leaders in Construction and National Casualty

Michael Mulvey, executive vice president and construction practice leader, Risk Placement Services

Risk Placement Services (RPS) recently announced Zach Burdine’s role has expanded to include vice president, national casualty. Burdine is now responsible for the strategic growth of the RPS casualty teams throughout the U.S.

Currently, Burdine serves as RPS area president based in Austin, Texas where he manages the binding/MGA production team in Texas and previously grew the RPS energy practice group through recruitment and product development, according to a press release.

Burdine is active within the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA) as well as the Texas Surplus Lines Association, having chaired and served on various committees. He holds designations as an Associate in Underwriting and Energy Risk and Insurance Specialist.

Additionally, Mike Mulvey has been promoted to executive vice president and construction practice leader for RPS’ Northeast region, based in New York. In his new position, he will work across RPS’s regional offices to leverage market access and industry expertise in the placement of construction risks, per the release.

Mulvey joined RPS as a commercial underwriter and broker in 2005, moving into roles of increasing responsibility while enhancing his construction industry expertise. Most recently, he led the RPS New York Metro office.

The Hartford Names New International Head of Financial Lines

The Hartford has named Keith Mather head of financial lines for its international business. Mather will be responsible for building a sustainable and profitable book of international retail and wholesale financial lines business.

Based in London, Mather will also be tasked with driving long-term growth and success for the company’s global specialty sector, according to a press release. He will report to The Hartford’s international CUO, Colin Sprott.

“The Hartford’s international Global Specialty business remains a top destination for talent,” said Carl Bach, The Hartford’s international CEO. “We will continue to grow our team by adding specialized underwriters who know the insurance industry and understand the unique risks of conducting business globally.”

“Keith brings decades of experience in international financial lines with a keen intellect in portfolio risk management and product development having supported diverse multinational organizations in Europe, Middle East and Australia,” Bach noted.

Prior to joining The Hartford, Mather served as UK head of financial lines for Generali, where he provided portfolio balance and risk reductions across multiple industries and geographies. &

Raquel Moreno is a staff writer with Risk & Insurance. She can be reached at [email protected].

How a Carrier Partner Can Help Navigate a Challenging Management and Professional Liability Market

A combination of a choppy economy with increased claims frequency and severity could lead to rate increases in the Management & Professional Liability market.

Rates in the management & professional liability (M&PL) markets were on the rise from 2020 to early 2023 and are now falling rapidly.

M&PL divisions manage a number of different insurance products including management liability (D&O), professional liability (E&O), employment practices liability (EPL), fiduciary liability policies, cyber, etc. In 2023 and into 2024, a big influence on the marketplace has been the extremely aggressive and softening public company D&O market.

Though these rates have been softening for management liability, that may change over the next few years as companies continue to adjust their business models motivated by economic uncertainty. Layoffs were up nearly 200% last year, Forbes reported, even as other recession indicators, like the inflation rate, improved. A recession could lead to an increased claim activity and force carriers to raise rates.

“Whenever there is a meaningful downturn in the economy, we tend to see claim frequency pop up,” said George Schalick, Jr., senior vice president of the Management and Professional Liability Division at Philadelphia Insurance Companies (PHLY).

With continued fiscal uncertainty, businesses potentially already burdened with pandemic-related claims should seek a carrier with a long history in M&PL products. They will provide much-needed risk management guidance and be better positioned to support their insureds during market fluctuations.

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

George Schalick, Jr., Senior Vice President of the Management and Professional Liability Division, Philadelphia Insurance Companies

The current soft market might come as a bit of a surprise as it does not track with previous underwriting cycles and economic conditions. Afterall, many privately held and non-profit organizations struggled during the early days of the pandemic with shutdowns and rapidly declining revenues. But the Government assistance programs, like the Paycheck Protection Program loans, helped keep many afloat during the tough times.

“During COVID many organizations stopped doing business until they were able to sort out all of the health and safety challenges,” Schalick said. “They were forced to lock down, but then all the government assistance programs allowed them to keep people employed. The increased volume of claims we anticipated we would see coming from the lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed upon businesses in the U.S. didn’t manifest at first.”

“Just because there wasn’t an onslaught of reported claims at the beginning of the pandemic, doesn’t mean the circumstances that would give rise to a claim being reported didn’t occur. Courts and the judicial system were closed or slowed and now that they are back open, we’re starting to see the circumstances that occurred during the COVID lockdowns becoming claims today,” Schalick said. “Litigation is progressing.”

Added to the delayed pandemic litigation is a concern over newer claims that might be filed as the country inches toward an economic downturn. Though a recession was avoided in 2023, experts think a soft dip could occur in 2024, with 76% of economists saying there’s a 50% or less chance of an economic downturn this year — that almost always results in more management liability claims.

“During the Great Recession in 2008, we saw an almost immediate spike in claims because of the economic conditions and the pressure it placed on organizations. They were making personnel changes with significant belt tightening almost immediately.” Schalick said.

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Despite an uptick in claims and increased economic uncertainty, management liability rates haven’t increased, resulting in market-wide pricing levels that may not meet the increased pressure of rising settlements and jury verdicts.

“Rates are going the other direction and settlement values are not falling,” Schalick said.

The mismatch between rates, claim frequency and severity is, in part, because carriers experiencing the dramatic soft market in the public D&O market are seeking premium gain in the private and non-profit market.

“In the public company market, the rates have been decreasing significantly. The rates were increasing in the private, not-for-profit market, and rightfully so, but there’s a desire to supplement overall mid-size D&O for carriers who also write private not-for-profit, and they see that as an opportunity to aggregate premium,” Schalick said. “So the always competitive landscape in the private, not-for-profit market has dramatically increased in the last 18 to 24 months.”

Still, companies of all sizes and types should be concerned about management liability rates in the future. Legal system abuse is resulting in increases in both the amount of litigation and the size of verdicts plaintiffs are receiving.

Certain areas of the country are particularly vulnerable to this type of legal system abuse. As a result, insureds in these localities are likely to be vulnerable to rate increases.

“The environment is so positive for the plaintiff that forces premium increases so carriers are able to stay in that market long term,” Schalick said.

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

It’s clear that insureds are facing an uncertain M&PL market over the next few years. Fortunately, carriers with a long history in the M&PL space will be there to offer stability.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies has been supporting this market for 35 years. PHLY is committed to offering long-term rate stability, even as economic and claims trends start to push premiums upwards. They have an appetite for all sorts of companies, large and small, for-profit and nonprofit alike.

“We’ve been at this game for a long time and are one of the most tenured underwriters in this space,” Schalick said. “We like to stay very consistent.”

PHLY has worked with both for-profit and non-profit on management liability policies. With dedicated M&PL teams throughout the company’s 13 regions, PHLY provides the support agents and brokers are looking for on behalf of their clients. The teams know their regions well and can respond to local trends. They’re also dedicated to making the renewal process as easy as possible for their partners and policyholders.

“We have real confidence in our results, so we focus a lot on making the renewal experience as painless as possible for all agents and insureds,” Schalick said.

The company is also investing in tools to help insureds avoid losses. Earlier this year, they launched a new online risk management platform, PHLYGateway, which offers resources for insureds on how to create an employee handbook and trainings on issues such as recognizing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination.

If insureds have questions, they can consult a Best Practices Help Line, provided via the platform. That way, they can get on the spot risk management guidance to help them prevent claims.

To learn more, visit: https://www.phly.com/mplDivision/managementLiability/default.aspx.

This article was produced by the R&I Brand Studio, a unit of the advertising department of Risk & Insurance, in collaboration with Philadelphia Insurance Companies. The editorial staff of Risk & Insurance had no role in its preparation.

11 People on the Move

Graham Company Elects New Member to Its Board of Directors

Kinetic Names Insurtech Pioneer to Advisory Board

CICA Announces 2022–2023 Board Appointments

McGriff Expands Real Estate and Hospitality Team

Risk Placement Services Promotes Leaders in Construction and National Casualty

The Hartford Names New International Head of Financial Lines

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11 People on the Move

Graham Company Elects New Member to Its Board of Directors

Kinetic Names Insurtech Pioneer to Advisory Board

CICA Announces 2022–2023 Board Appointments

McGriff Expands Real Estate and Hospitality Team

Risk Placement Services Promotes Leaders in Construction and National Casualty

The Hartford Names New International Head of Financial Lines

Share this article!

Trending Stories

Rising Star Abby Flaherty of Risk Strategies Details Her Entertainment Brokering Journey and How Industry Tragedy Has Impacted Coverage

Planck’s Leandro DalleMule Discusses the Ethics of AI in Insurance

3 Keys to Combat ‘Big Brother’ Fears with Safety Technology

2024 RIMS President David Arick Shares How COVID and AI Have Changed the Risk Management Space

More from Risk & Insurance

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Sponsored: Philadelphia Insurance Companies

How a Carrier Partner Can Help Navigate a Challenging Management and Professional Liability Market

Why Insureds Might See an Uptick in M&PL Claims

What’s in Store for M&PL Policy Rates in 2024?

Why a Tenured Carrier Partner Can Help Insureds Navigate An Uncertain Market

Share this article!