Program business premium rose 12.18 percent in 2018, reaching $40.5 billion from $36 billion in 2016. It continued to outpace the total property/casualty industry, which grew commercial lines premiums by only 9.97 percent in 2018.
“Since launching the study in 2011, we have tracked program business’ phenomenal expansion, including premium growth, which is a key measure of success. The data we collected from this year’s survey shows that program business continued to be a growing and vibrant market in 2018. In fact, many of the administrators who participated in the poll reported growth in their business and expressed great optimism about the future of the program space,” said Ray Scotto, TMPAA executive director.
The TMPAA released the results of its annual The State of Program Business Study at the association’s 19th Annual Summit in Scottsdale. The survey documents the size of program business and tracks various trends that shape the market. Since it was launched in 2011, the survey has documented the rapid growth of the program business from $17.5 billion in commercial insurance revenue in 2010, to $40.5 billion in 2018.
In addition to reporting on the continued growth of this insurance segment, the study tracked changes in views and practices related to insurance technology and cyber coverage. The 2019 poll also introduced the topic of inclusion and diversity, one of the most closely watched topics in every industry.
One of the most significant finding of the survey is the dramatic increase in the involvement of administrators with various forms of insurance technology. Responses indicate that administrators have caught up in terms of insurtech and are now harnessing new technologies and applying them to various areas of program business. An analysis of insurance technology indicates that administrators are more keen to develop their own technologies as compared to their carrier counterparts who tend to rely on third party companies for insurtech.
Christopher Pesce, President of Maritime Program Group and President of TMPAA, attributes this change to a combination of insurance technology maturing and the fact that various insurtechs are now more available. “The program administrators are figuring out how to utilize insurtech. The idea of insurtech is no longer an abstract concept for a program administrator, it’s now a necessity, and we fully expect to see the adaption rate of new technologies expand exponentially. It’s the evolution that we all forecasted.”
A look into cyber-related views and practices shows a marginal increase in take-up among administrators. Still, there is plenty of room to grow for cyber among both administrators and carriers.
The 2019 poll is the seventh in a series of annual surveys of program administrators and carriers to track trends in program business. Respondents to this year’s survey included 194 program administrators and 61 carriers.
The question topics for the 2019 survey were designed by a committee of TMPA Program Administrators and Carriers, the TMPAA Advisory Board and Advisen Ltd.
As with the previous surveys, the research was conducted by the Associations partner, Advisen. The production and publication of the 2019 report was sponsored by Allianz, Allied World, AmWINS, Live Oak Bank, and NetRate Systems.