Insurance company in usa: For most sectors of the economy, the last 12 months have been tumultuous. The lingering Covid-19 pandemic continues to challenge healthcare systems and businesses worldwide, and the effects of climate change have only made matters worse. Despite these challenges, insurers, companies that are employed to protect clients against major risks, have had a good year, especially when it comes to the stock market. Over the last 12 months, iShares U.S. Insurance company ETF has had a total return of 45% versus a robust 32% return for the S&P 500.
“On an absolute basis it’s been a great performance this year,” says Piper Sandler’s senior insurance industry analyst Paul Newsome.
change brought about by Covid-19
The biggest change brought about by Covid-19, for insurers, has been an increased reliance on digital tools in sales and claims processing, in the absence of face to face interactions as well as a deeper awareness of mortality from consumers who have sat on their couches and watched news coverage of devastating death tolls.
set to surpass that high watermark
Frank Spencer, vice president of life insurance sales for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company has seen the massive loss of life translate to the biggest year of life insurance premiums for his company in 2020 with 2021 set to surpass that high watermark.
increasingly replaced by app-based claims
“Sadly, because of the pandemic the United States population is very much aware of mortality,” Spencer says. A run on life insurance hasn’t been the only major shift during the pandemic as the in person interactions that used to be a major part of the insurance industry have been increasingly replaced by app-based claims, online billing and other virtual replacements that have become a necessity in a time of social distancing.
five years worth of digital adoption in 2020
- “We probably got five years worth of digital adoption in 2020,” Spencer adds.
- That change was less a product of technological innovations by the companies and more so consumers
- opting to use tools developed well before lockdowns and mask mandates, according to Beth Riczko,
- president of property and casualty personal lines at Nationwide.
- “In the industry, there was a strong focus on building digital capabilities,
- pre-Covid, but adoption was somewhat slow,” she adds.