This article is part of Carrier Management’s series on the Future of Insurance.

Mike Foley, CEO, Zurich North America

Q: What major changes do you see on the horizon for the property/casualty insurance industry in the next 10 years? What will insurance companies, insurance leaders, the industry and its workforce look like in the next decade? What risks will they insure?

Foley (Zurich NA): The world is becoming riskier every day. It’s more interconnected than ever before. With the rate of change happening so fast, it’s really a fascinating time for us to manage risk.

Insurers that use data to garner insights and are large enough to have scale will stand out from the pack. Right now, the advancement of analytics coupled with underwriter judgment is driving better risk selection and pricing. We know underwriters who use insights from models to augment their decisions have better outcomes. After conducting a recent study of underwriters’ decision-making, we found that individual pattern recognition is not always sufficient in today’s complex world. We set them up for success by having the right technical capabilities available to them. At Zurich North America, we developed nearly 30 predictive models that are being used today in claims, underwriting and for prospecting.

At Zurich North America, we developed nearly 30 predictive models that are being used today in claims, underwriting and for prospecting.
When thinking about the future of the industry, the talk now is all about technology. Digitization and automation alone are not keys to success. What really matters is how we connect with our customers and gain a clear understanding of their needs. Our strategic focus is on the customer. Our success comes when we make our technical capabilities a competitive advantage, develop relationships that build trust, and deliver propositions and capabilities that reflect what our customers value.

Read more Future Insights by person

  1. Mike Albert, Co-Founder, Ask Kodiak
  2. Tim Attia, CEO and Co-Founder, Slice Labs, Inc.
  3. Arun Balakrishnan, CEO, Xceedance
  4. Ilya Bodner, CEO, Bold Penguin
  5. Bobby Bowden, Executive Vice President, Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer, Allied World
  6. Andy Breen, Senior Vice President, Digital, Argo Group
  7. Adam Cassady, CEO, Tyche Risk
  8. Chris Cheatham, CEO, RiskGenius
  9. Trent Cooksley, Head of Open Innovation, Markel Corporation
  10. Mike Foley, CEO, Zurich North America
  11. Guy Goldstein, Co-Founder and CEO, Next Insurance
  12. Mike Greene, CEO & Co-Founder, Hi Marley
  13. Brian Hemesath, Managing Director, Global Insurance Accelerator
  14. Russell Johnston, CEO, QBE North America
  15. Dr. Henna Karna, Managing Director and Chief Data Officer, XL Catlin
  16. Tony Kuczinski, President and CEO of Munich Re, US
  17. Rashmi Melgiri, Co-Founder, CoverWallet
  18. David W. Miles, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, ManchesterStory Group
  19. Pranav Pasricha, CEO, Intellect SEEC
  20. Mike Pritula, President, RMS
  21. Kathleen Reardon, CEO, Hamilton Re
  22. Jeff Richardson, Senior Vice President, OneBeacon Insurance Group
  23. Vikram Sidhu, Partner, Clyde & Co
  24. Christopher Swift, CEO, The Hartford
  25. Rebecca Wheeling Purcell, Schedule It
  26. Keith Wolfe, President US P/C—Regional and National, Swiss Re


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