Verisk CEO Still Sees Pressure on Life Insurers

Verisk Analytics CEO Lee Shavel said Wednesday that some life insurers are facing pressure, and that the pressure is good for Verisk insurance support services sales.

During a conference call, a securities analyst asked Shavel about the effects of problems with commercial real estate and bond investments on life insurers.

“I would, first, recognize that pressure,” Shavel said. “But that pressure is, in fact, creating the opportunity that we are pursuing.”

What It Means

The companies backing your clients’ life insurance policies and annuities may continue to go through big changes.

Verisk

Verisk held the conference call, which was streamed live online, to go over first-quarter results with analysts.

Verisk is a Jersey City, New Jersey-based company best known to the public for estimating the amount of losses caused by hurricanes and other disasters.

In the past, the company provided many different types of support services for property and casualty insurers. In recent years, it has diversified, by marketing itself to life and annuity issuers as well as to P&C insurers. Companies can pay it a subscription fee for access to the services needed to offer life and annuity products.

Shavel’s Remarks

Verisk now includes life and annuity sector clients in the insurance conferences it runs.

Shavel said the clients have talked to him about the pressure they’re facing.

“Given the pressure, they’re using this as an opportunity to rethink,” Shavel said. “Some of them have exited the business, and they are reestablishing it on this new platform that we are providing for them.”

The players that are staying in the business want to be able to develop new products more quickly and spend less on product administration, and that can also lead to Verisk services sales, Shavel said.