In addition to being one of RT Specialty’s top Workers’ Compensation brokers, Joe’s current role includes working with internal teams to develop proprietary WC Specialty programs for underserved classes of business. Joe joined RT Specialty with the 2020 merger with All Risks, Ltd., as a broker with the industry insight and deep relationships needed to expand and support new programs for emerging industry verticals. Prior to joining All Risks, he worked in sales and claims roles for both insurance carriers and a national insurance brokerage. Joe holds two designations from the National Alliance: Certified Insurance Counselor and Certified Risk Manager. His dedication to safety extends beyond his work. Joe is actively involved in the Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training (FAST), which is dedicated to water safety and drowning prevention. He and his daughter participate in the annual Alcatraz and Golden Gate swims in support of FAST.
1● How is the product development process being structured to maintain agility and quickly adapt to emerging challenges, ensuring that Workers’ Compensation products continue to satisfy evolving business requirements?
a. The insurance marketplace and the economy at large are dynamic with things changing all of the time, creating challenges for our retail agents and their clients. There are always new types of businesses that pop up or growth industries. You’ve got to have your ear to the ground to discover what is next. We currently offer exclusive programs for 11 hard to place classes that are underserved in the marketplace. For example, this year we launched a vertical in restoration contractors because of the pent up demand in the market due to the unique exposures presented by that class of business. So, if there is a need in the market, we start to build the institutional knowledge to go after that next vertical. We are a very flat organization at RT Specialty which allows us to have a collaborative approach and to stay in constant contact with our sales force and their clients and provide solutions that will help address their needs. We have done a lot of outreach over the years and have built credibility in these verticals so agents are reaching out to us because they know we have deep knowledge and specialize in workers’ compensation. We are in a never-ending state of research to find new trading partners or market segments that need our capacity. So much of what we do is market driven and you must pay attention to clients, listen to what they are saying and what their needs are to grow in our business.
2● Can you share your experiences from risk retention programs that you were recently involved in?
a.The overwhelmingly majority of what we place is first dollar coverage also known as guaranteed cost insurance. This is not surprising given that workers’ compensation rates are at generational lows. Where the rest of the P&C market, and property market rates in particular are at the highest levels – workers’ compensation is the opposite. Insureds are looking to come off risk retention because the guaranteed cost space we thrive in is so competitive.
3● What are some of the challenges in your business that current services are unable to provide an optimal solution?
a. We are well positioned to provide a workers’ compensation solution especially in our program classes. Due to relatively low pricing currently in the market, we are finding the higher hazard micro businesses to be the most challenging to place. Workers’ compensation has no maximum medical limits as to what gets paid out to injured workers so when you have a small policy and no limits it can be tough to determine the correct premium to charge. There is a struggle to find markets to work with because they don’t want to play in that space where you have low premium and unlimited exposure. This is where there is opportunity to grow. Advances in AI and underwriting algorithms have helped us find solutions for some of these risks coupled with advancements in technology to service them. The RT Connector is a platform that our company has developed for traditional E&S coverages and classes to help us in this micro space. We are working to develop a workers’ compensation solution to pair with those classes so retailers have a multi-line solution for their clients. We are looking to work with carriers that have the understanding and technology to price and service these small policies profitably and efficiently. Our experience in this size and type of accounts is helping us find those carriers.
4● Any emerging trends in insurance and risk management that you believe will significantly impact the industry in the coming years and why?
a.In workers’ compensation, there are certainly some looming challenges after years of prosperity. Social inflation, climate change, distracted drivers, co-morbidities, aging workforce, increasing casualty reinsurance and carrier reserve depletion all point to greater rate needs at some point over the next few years in this line of business. That is where risk management, financially strong trading partners and class expertise will be paramount in order to find solutions for our retail agent’s clients at a price point they can afford. We have the expertise to weather the storm if things change. We are growing in our space despite the negative rate environment because we have the expertise to focus on best of class risks but we could see some upward rate pressure at some point due to the above factors.
5● Any advice, suggestions, warnings, you would give to professionals in your similar role working in other companies in the risk management domain in terms of do’s or don’ts?
a. Remain constantly curious, ask a lot of questions and take copious notes! Don’t overthink your process. I have found that often times the simplest answer is normally the first one and the right one. I’ve been fortunate enough to work on accounts from a myriad of industries; with that comes the ability to find similarities across seemingly unrelated industries. This has served me well when identifying new market segments for our specialty programs.
