Staying Ahead of the Market

FOCUS ON: Preparing a Collaborative Underwriting Submission, early….

It’s important to collaborate with your broker during the information gathering stage. While the underwriting requirements from 2021 provide a relevant base for 2022 renewals, the required details and applications have evolved. Gathering the appropriate information and completing the current versions of applications can help prevent a “stale” submission which often delays the process.

Brokers can also help identify pain points underwriters may have based on preliminary responses. In some instances, it may be possible to bolster the context around a particular risk management decision; in others, it may be possible to help clients explore ways to improve control. Without time, it will not be possible to improve the perceived risk posture before a policy expiration or renewal date. We recommend clients start the process as early as 150 days prior to the placement date.

FOCUS ON: Long Term Program Goals

Ten years from now, E&O and cyber exposures will likely still pose material risk to companies. We believe companies will continue to buy more insurance, transferring a portion of their risk to insurers. A hard market can create tremendous friction, leading to swift decisions around retention or limit.

It’s important for clients to develop and maintain a long-term vision and manage their insurance program strategy based on those goals. This view may change the dialogue around certain decisions related to retentions, limit, insurer partners and key coverage debates.

FOCUS ON: Ransomware and Business Interruption

The topic of ransomware isn’t going away quickly, if ever. Insurers will continue to focus on key controls they perceive will limit the probability of a ransomware event and the severity of the event. Topics such as access control, business continuity planning, and patch management remain relevant and will continue to develop. Being prepared for that discussion with underwriters is key.

Additionally, we’ve seen claims friction across two common fronts:

• First, we continue to see misalignment of vendors or counsel used in response to an event, with insurer vendor panels. At least annually (and more often as incident response playbooks are revised) the client’s preferred incident response vendors should be discussed in the context of the insurance policy to ensure alignment with the insurers’ requirements for pre-approval and/or panel usage.
• Second, as business interruption and extra expense claims progress through the adjustment process, clients should have a plan in place to document information needed for cyber business interruption claims and should have a forensic accounting team – with cyber expertise - selected to help expedite the proof of loss process and maximize the potential recovery.