Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, the Specialty Markets division of Munich Re works with Program Administrators, capitalizing on their expertise to develop products in specific niches. Specialty Markets has focused its efforts on enhancing its capabilities and improving its product line-up by developing new specialty products, tools, and filings, and enhancing its systems to be more efficient and provide better service to Program Administrators. Projected premium for Specialty Markets insurance platform for 2010 is $610 million.
Programbusiness.com spoke with Specialty Markets Vice President John Willemsen and Senior Vice President Tom McGrath about the exciting changes taking place at the Munich Re division and what it means for this space.
“Our overall goal is to give us speed-to-market capability and to further facilitate doing business with us,” says John. “We’re providing additional services to Program Administrators to enhance the way we do business with them, which in turn will also be of tremendous benefit to their insureds.”
An overview of Munich Re’s new capabilities includes:
Enhanced Products
Additional Admitted Companies: Part of Munich Re’s capabilities expansion strategy includes the addition of two admitted companies in June: American Family Home Insurance Company (AFH) and American Southern Home Insurance Company (ASH). “We’re approved in 31-42 states for the major lines, with a goal of having all states approved by the end of 2010,” says John. These two additional companies will enhance a Program Administrator’s ability to accurately price coverage for individual insureds. They now have the additional means required to underwrite and price a wide range of insureds within their specialty, complementing Munich Re’s already robust platform for this marketplace.
AFH and ASH are subsidiaries of American Modern Insurance Group, which became a part of the Munich-American Holding Corporation group in 2008. Along with American Alternative Insurance Corporation (AAIC), the three companies are positioned to provide Program Administrators with financial stability and security for their program needs.
New BOP Product
Slated for release in early 2011, Munich Re’s new specialty BOP product will be available across a broad appetite of niche markets.
Enhanced Systems Capabilities
Enhanced Policy Issuance and Rating Systems: Ability to perform composite rating is being worked on, eliminating the need to rekey information. The company is also working on providing Program Administrators with the capability to extract data from rating systems and feed it directly into an agency management system.
Data Management: As part of Munich Re’s commitment to help Program Administrators better manage risk, the company is working to provide better and more valuable information as it relates to program results. “This information and the tools we have developed will allow our Program Administrators to better assess a risk,” says Tom.
Additionally, Munich Re is developing an online portal to give its Program Administrators the ability to access secured key information easily and quickly, such as guidelines, experience reports, line of business information, and access to rating systems and ISO tools. Also featured on the website will be company news, alerts, timely topics, press releases, and announcements. “The launch of the website is slated for release by year-end,” says Tom. “Our goal is to evolve it into a dashboard for Program Administrators to use on a regular basis. It will be the central site from which we want Program Administrators to work, a central hub for them to access and for Munich Re to provide information consistently on all our programs.” The website will also be customized and personalized depending on the program.
Strategical and Tactical Enhancements
Integration of Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB) coverage forms: The filing for Equipment Breakdown has already been completed to offer the coverage throughout Munich Re’s entire platform. Future developments with HSB include filing coverage forms for: Identity Theft, Employment Practices Liability, and Data Compromise.
Two new Workers Comp Programs will be added in addition to the existing 28 programs Munich Re offers.
“Everything we have undertaken underscores our overall commitment to the Insurance Program marketplace backed by the strength of Munich Re,” says John. “Our plan is to continue to invest heavily in the insurance platform, and we have a list of ongoing enhancements we’re intending to make in our Insurance Program capabilities.”
For more information about Munich Re’s new and enhanced capabilities, you can contact John at JWillemsen@munichreamerica.com or Tom at TMcGrath@munichreamerica.com.