Articles by Susanne Sclafane

Sclafane is Executive Editor of Carrier Management, a publication of Wells Media Group serving property/casualty insurance carrier executives. She is a media professional with deep background in the P/C insurance industry including 25 years as editor and reporter for trade magazines, online news services, digital journals. Her prior experience includes 14 years as a casualty actuary.

US P/C Insurers Post Best Q1 Underwriting Result In 17 Years

Even though direct loss ratios for commercial auto and other liability lines rose in first-quarter 2024, across all lines U.S. property/casualty insurers posted a net combined ratio of 94—the best since first-quarter 2007. Translating to an aggregate underwriting profit of …

GEICO Tops Progressive With Higher J.D. Power Scores

Although Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett and Ajit Jain told investors last month that GEICO is playing catch-up with Progressive to improve technology and connect rate to risk, Berkshire’s personal auto insurer still surpasses Progressive on customer satisfaction. According to the …

Where the AI Risks Are: Swiss Re’s Top 10 Ranking by Industry

The insurance industry came in sixth in a ranking of 10 major industries based on current AI risk, and seventh based on future risk, with healthcare replacing IT as the most exposed sector in the next 10 years. The rankings …

Liability Reinsurance Crisis Could Be Looming, TransRe CEO Says

“There could be a liability crisis in reinsurance in a couple of years,” a reinsurance executive predicted this week. Ken Brandt, chair, president and chief executive officer of TransRe, offered the assessment during a 30-minute chat with S&P Global Ratings …

Social Inflation Fix: Insurers Can’t Be Out Front, Chubb’s Greenberg Says

Although insurers can help to stop the growth of social inflation, they can’t lead the effort, an industry executive said during an insurance conference this week. Evan Greenberg, chair and chief executive officer of Chubb Limited, explained that social attitudes …

AIG a ‘Different Company’ Poised to Grow in E&S and More: CEO Zaffino

AIG is “a different company” today than it was when CEO Peter Zaffino joined the company in 2017, but like the old AIG, the new one is poised to grow again, he said. The former executive of Marsh, who recalled …

Where the AI Risks Are: Swiss Re’s Top 10 Ranking by Industry

The insurance industry came in sixth in a ranking of 10 major industries based on current AI risk, and seventh based on future risk, with health care replacing IT as the most exposed sector in the next 10 years. The …

Tokio Marine Forecasts ¥1 Trillion 2024 Profit; ‘Drastic’ Growth Ahead

In Japanese yen, the profit figure that Tokio Marine Holdings projects for 2024 is ¥1 trillion. While the forecast may seem less extraordinary in U.S. dollars of roughly $6.7 billion, either way it’s a 40% jump over 2023. Executives from …

Progressive Set to ‘Maximize’ Growth, Building on Q1

When Progressive’s chief executive officer weighed the words that should go into the management discussion section of the company’s first-quarter 10-Q report, she considered two possibilities to describe anticipated growth for the balance of 2024. “Was ‘maximize’ growth the right …

Berkshire’s ‘Most Important’ Biz Drives Q1 Results; GEICO Still Behind on Tech

Berkshire Hathaway continued to deliver eye-popping results for its insurance and reinsurance operations during the first quarter of 2024, with underwriting profits for personal auto insurer GEICO and reinsurance operations topping any prior first quarter in the last decade. Across …