Social Inflation: The Effect of Large Verdicts

Presenters: Elise M. Farnham, CPCU, ARM, AIM (Moderator), Ian Sterling, CPCU, Scott Shapiro and Nicoletta George, MBA, CPCU, AIDA

Oct. 1, at 2 p.m. ET

While underwriting is often based on historical results, rates and premiums must take into account future losses and their financial impact on the insurer. Insurers have experienced loss emergence caused by large verdicts, particularly on casualty lines. The panelists will discuss methodologies to account for these changes in the environment, including impacts to claims operations. The panelists will also identify and recommend potential company actions to combat social inflation and the influence of litigation funding. Failing to recognize the potential for these losses can put a company at risk making this a hot-button topic.

Presentation Objectives:
1. Recognize the potential for large verdicts by discussing the impact of jurisdiction, attorney involvement, the role of litigation funding, and changing juror sentiments
2. Identify and predict the trends impacting large verdicts
3. Recognize how innovative actuarial methodologies using more granular data and ML modeling can be used effectively
4. Identify and discuss the industry’s response to large verdicts

Field of Study:  Finance
Knowledge Level:  Advanced Career
Prerequisites: Work experience in accounting and risk analysis
Advance Preparation: None
Delivery Method: Group Internet Based
CPE Credit: 1 CPE

This webinar was organized in collaboration with IASA, an affiliate of The Institutes. For more information about IASA's CPE policies, visit: https://www.iasa.org/cpe-policy/

 

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Elise M. Farnham, CPCU, ARM, AIM (Moderator) 

President 

Illumine Consulting
 

Elise M. Farnham, CPCU, ARM, AIM has 51 years of experience in risk management and insurance as a P&C claim professional, author, and expert witness. She has held executive positions with Crawford & Co., GAB Robins N.A., The Harmonie Group, and Carson-Brooks. She is a member of the Insurance Professionals of Dallas and past president of the International Association of Insurance Professionals (1998-1999), past RVP for Region 1, and past President of NAIW of New York City. Ms. Farnham has been recognized as the IAIP National Claim Professional of the Year, Insurance Woman of the Year three times by Insurance Professionals of Atlanta; and Instructor of the Year by the Atlanta Chapter of CPCU. She is active with the CPCU Society, having served on the CPCU Legal and Regulatory Interest Group committee and is a past president of the Atlanta Chapter of CPCU. In 2024, she received the Gottheimer-Malecki Award from the Society for her contributions to the industry. She has served on the boards of the Insurance Accounting and Systems Association (IASA), Registered Professional Adjusters Society (RPA), The Institute's Board of Ethical Inquiry. Her articles have been published in numerous industry domestic and international trade journals.

Ian Sterling, CPCU 

P&C Actuarial Lead

KPMG, LLP
 

Ian is the leader of KPMG's US property & casualty actuarial team with over 20 years of actuarial and insurance experience, having worked with insurance, reinsurance, government, corporate companies, and captives both locally in the United States and across the globe. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Ian has performed a variety of traditional actuarial work, including reserving, appointed actuarial services, due diligence support, insurance and reinsurance program evaluation, model risk management and validation, internal audit controls testing and design, transfer pricing, and pricing.

Additionally, Ian has lead innovation efforts, including implementation of machine learning models, data visualization dashboards, analytics, and automation. He has written and published articles on numerous topics and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

Scott Shapiro 

US Insurance Sector Leader; Principal 

KPMG, LLP
 

Scott Shapiro is the KPMG US sector leader for insurance, leading the US Firm’s insurance advisory, tax, and audit practices. Scott has 34 years of insurance experience both as a consultant and as an industry executive. As a consultant Scott focuses on transformation and operational improvement and is also a client lead partner. 

Nicoletta George, MBA, CPCU, AIDA 

Global Underwriting Manager, General Liability  

AXA XL
 

Nicoletta George, MBA, CPCU, AIDA, AIC is global underwriting manager of general liability and GCUO casualty at AXA XL. Before joining AXA XL in 2014, she held various strategic and underwriting roles at other global insurance organizations. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Adelphi University, the Prosci Certified Change Practitioner Certification and the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Associate in Insurance Data Analytics and Associate in Claims designations from The Institutes. She is serving as a committee member on the CPCU Society Risk Management & Loss Control Interest Group.