6 People on the Move

PIANJ elects a new board member, Insurtech business Betterview brings on a director of sales, Greenberg Traurig grows its insurance and regulatory transactions practice and more in this edition of People on the Move.

By: Maura Keller | July 9, 2019

Topics: Insurance Industry | People on the Move

Julie Mix McPeak Joins Greenberg Traurig

Julie Mix McPeak, former Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner, is joining global law firm Greenberg Traurig in the firm’s insurance and regulatory transactions practice.

McPeak is the first woman to serve as chief insurance regulator in more than one state. In 2018, McPeak served as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.

Julie Mix McPeak, chief insurance regulator, Greenberg Traurig

Before leading the Tennessee Department of Commerce, McPeak worked in private practice as counsel to the insurance practice group of law firm Burr & Forman LLP. She also served as the executive director of the Kentucky Office of Insurance (KOI).

Before her appointment as executive director, McPeak spent nine years as an attorney for KOI, including the final five years as general counsel. She also served as general counsel to the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet.

Greenberg Traurig’s Insurance Regulatory & Transactions group brings together lawyers from its national and international offices with experience in a broad variety of complementary disciplines to support clients from all segments of the insurance industry.

“Greenberg Traurig’s Insurance Regulatory and Transactions group is proud to welcome an attorney of Julie’s caliber and reputation to the firm and our practice,” said Fred Karlinsky and Thomas Bond, co-chairs of Greenberg Traurig’s Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice, in a joint statement.

“Julie has had a stellar career in both the public sector and private practice. Her track record of success, as well as her leadership roles in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, will provide a great benefit for the firm and for our clients.”

Greenberg Traurig, founded in 1967, has more than 2,000 attorneys in offices in the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. Most recently, the firm opened its 30thU.S. office in Minneapolis, Minn., and its 40th worldwide in Milan, Italy. Nashville is its 41st office.

Peter Hedberg and Amanda Stantzos Join Corvus Insurance

AI-driven Insurtech company Corvus Insurance announced the hiring of Peter Hedberg and Amanda Stantzos as vice presidents of cyber underwriting. The company also announces the launch of its sixth office location in Chicago, to be led by Stantzos.

“When it comes to complex risk environments like cyber, we know how much it means to brokers to work with underwriters with strong category experience; Peter Hedberg and Amanda Stantzos are trusted names in cyber insurance,” said Phil Edmundson, CEO and founder of Corvus Insurance.

Prior to joining Corvus, Hedberg was vice president, East Coast technology and privacy underwriting manager at NAS Insurance Services. For more than six years, Hedberg has been underwriting cyber and technology E&O at both NAS and Hiscox.

Prior to his underwriting roles, Hedberg worked at Hays Companies for 10 years, serving in a variety of roles at the brokerage. He will lead cyber underwriting at Corvus’s New York City location, working with brokers across the northeastern U.S.

Stantzos also joins Corvus from NAS Insurance Services, where she served as assistant vice president of underwriting, specializing in cyber liability and technology E&O. In her new role, Stantzos will lead the establishment of a new Corvus office location in Chicago, working with brokers across the midwestern U.S.

Corvus Insurance was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Boston. The company’s investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Hudson Structured Capital Management and .406 Ventures.

Betterview Appoints Adam Nunes as Director of Sales

Adam Nunes is joining Betterview as the company’s new director of sales.

Nunes brings more than 10 years of insurance and technology experience to the company, previously specializing in small commercial insurance at State Farm, as well as working in his family’s commercial brokerage firm.

Adam Nunes, director of sales, Betterview

In addition, Nunes has consulted with companies on implementing new data sources into business operations and has worked at various Insurtech startups.

“I have always been fascinated with the insurance industry, especially with the human aspect. I find it rewarding being part of an industry that helps to protect people from things they didn’t expect to happen,” Nunes said.

Betterview provides property insight and workflow tools for insurance companies to improve the customer experience by accelerating decisions and improving risk at every point of the life cycle. Betterview’s roof risk score is used by commercial and personal lines underwriters to assess the condition of roofs on new business and renewals.

The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Elects Lydia Bashwiner to the Board of Directors

The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey (PIANJ) recently swore in Lydia Bashwiner at the organization’s annual business meeting in Atlantic City on June 9.

Bashwiner will serve a three-year term, filling the role of vice chair of the government affairs committee and the legislative legal review subcommittee.

A graduate of Seton Hall Law School, Bashwiner is admitted to practice in New Jersey, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the United States Supreme Court.

A New Jersey-licensed insurance producer for property and casualty, Bashwiner is also a certified workers’ compensation professional. In 2012, Bashwiner was named a finalist for the NJBiz General Counsel of the Year Awards.

“We are extremely proud of Lydia for earning this distinction,” said Joe Parisi, Jr., chairman and CEO of Otterstedt Insurance. “She embodies the spirit of our commitment to the insurance industry in New Jersey and beyond for the last century and the future, and in every way is ‘Leading with Experience.’ ”

PIANJ is a voluntary, membership-based trade association representing professional, independent property/casualty insurance agents.

Jennifer Leuer Joins CyberScout as Chief Executive Officer

CyberScout, an identity theft resolution, data defense and employee benefits services company, announced the appointment of Jennifer Leuer as chief executive officer, effective June 24, 2019.

Jennifer Leuer, CEO, CyberScout

Prior to joining CyberScout, Leuer served as president of partner solutions at Experian, where she transformed the partners solutions business into a fast-growing operating unit.

“With her deep knowledge of our core offerings, Leuer is uniquely equipped to enhance CyberScout’s position in the marketplace,” said CyberScout vice chairman Bill Tait.

Since 2003, CyberScout has provided full-spectrum identity, privacy and data security services, offering proactive protection, education and data theft resolution, as well as breach preparedness and response. Serving approximately 17.5 million households worldwide and the designated identity theft services provider for more than 770,000 businesses, CyberScout is offered globally.

“Leuer is a strong leader with a stellar record of success,” said Adam Levin, CyberScout chairman and founder.

“Her experience, vision, passion and sense of urgency make her the perfect choice to lead the CyberScout organization, as we grow our global footprint exponentially.” &

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Maura Keller is a writer, editor and published book author with more than 20 years of experience. She has written about business, design, marketing, health care, and a wealth of other topics for dozens of regional and national publications. 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.

6 People on the Move

Julie Mix McPeak Joins Greenberg Traurig

Peter Hedberg and Amanda Stantzos Join Corvus Insurance

Betterview Appoints Adam Nunes as Director of Sales

The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Elects Lydia Bashwiner to the Board of Directors

Jennifer Leuer Joins CyberScout as Chief Executive Officer

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6 People on the Move

Julie Mix McPeak Joins Greenberg Traurig

Peter Hedberg and Amanda Stantzos Join Corvus Insurance

Betterview Appoints Adam Nunes as Director of Sales

The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Elects Lydia Bashwiner to the Board of Directors

Jennifer Leuer Joins CyberScout as Chief Executive Officer

Share this article!

Trending Stories

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Navigating Global Travel Uncertainties: Business Travel Risk Insights from HUB’s Will Mule

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

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More from Risk & Insurance

We Want to Know: What Challenges in the Workers’ Comp Industry Today Are Most Concerning?

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Build Your Army: Maintaining Cybersecurity Amid the IT Talent Gap

Searching For a Surety Partner? Look For Someone Invested in Stability for the Years to Come

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!