Rising Star Christy Corbett Encourages Clients to Visit the Bermudian Market in Person

Come see the Stars! As part of our ongoing coverage of the best brokers in the commercial insurance space, Risk & Insurance®, with the sponsorship of Philadelphia Insurance, is expanding its coverage of the Rising Stars — those brokers who represent the next wave of insurance brokering talent.

Look for these expanded profiles on the Risk & Insurance website and in your social media feeds now and throughout 2023.

Here’s our conversation with Christy Corbett, broker at Aon, and a 2022 Hospitality Power Broker and Rising Star. 

Risk & Insurance: How did you get into insurance and specifically decide to become a broker? 

Christy Corbett: I had recently finished my university degree in business and had yet to decide on a career path.

I was working in real estate, as I had done throughout the course of getting my degree, when a friend reached out to me about applying for a position within Aon. It was an entry-level position collecting data from various lines of business.

Through this development and with my real estate background, I very quickly realized the property was the line of business I wanted to pursue. While I originally thought my analytical mindset and personality type was better suited for underwriting, once making the move internally to the property broking team, I realized that I would thrive within broking.

Albeit, it did take a lot of stepping out of my comfort zone.

R&I: What are some of the trends you’re seeing in the gaming/hospitality industry? 

CC: Current trends within the gaming/hospitality industry are largely being swayed by capacity constraints resulting from continued losses from natural disasters.

There has certainly been a trend in increasing AOP deductibles, clients taking more within a self-insured retention and decreased catastrophe limits. In many cases, the overall program limit purchased has been impacted as well.

While historically clients had the ability to be conservative and purchase considerable CAT limits, that CAT capacity is simply not there any longer. CAT modeling and peer benchmarking can be a useful tool in determining the necessary limits for individual clients.

Property values continue to be a major topic of discussion in 2023. There is a heavy focus on inflationary trends, appraisals and reporting of correct business interruption exposures. If insurers do not feel that values are adequate, there is an increased push for value limitation clauses such as a margin clause or occurrence limit of liability endorsement.

R&I: What are the current global challenges in the marketplace and how do you help your clients overcome these challenges? 

CC: The reduction in capacity is currently the largest challenge we are facing in the property space.

Insurers globally have had drastic changes to their reinsurance treaties as current demand for natural catastrophe reinsurance exceeds supply. As such, it has resulted in insurers taking on larger retentions and getting hit with severe rate increases. This ultimately impacts their net line and how they deploy capacity on the direct side.

Throughout the first quarter of 2023, we have seen many programs have sizable holes, particularly within the CAT exposed layers due to carriers either pulling out or reducing capacity. As supply shortages trickle down to the direct side, these holes have been more difficult to place. These supply and demand challenges are difficult to overcome in the current marketplace.

For me, it is about finding as many options as possible for a client. The more options a client has on the table, the easier it is to grasp the full picture of available market solutions.

Term changes have also become increasingly challenging. Many insurers are looking to impose more restrictive terms to their policy wording to limit their exposure to loss.

R&I: How do you navigate tough client situations in tough market conditions? 

CC: Property rates have been on the rise for several consecutive years, and while a downtrend of rate may have been anticipated in 2022, inflationary pressures and a challenging reinsurance market has only caused a reacceleration into 2023.

Client frustration is at an all time high.

Early and frequent communication is vital to managing expectations. We always encourage clients to visit the island [Bermuda] and to meet face-to-face with our markets, many of whom are the decision makers.

While it is a very difficult market, it is clear that relationships are more paramount then ever. Nobody can tell your story better than you.

R&I: What advice do you have for young brokers entering the field? 

CC: For anyone interested in a broking career, I’d give two key pieces of advice: First, don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. Second, develop and grow as many relationships as possible. I think a great start to developing relationships is to find a mentor within the industry. &