The past year has been extraordinary for the IRL. I’ve expanded coverage of markets around the world, greatly expanded editorial commentary on what is reported as news and connected with insurance communities near and far. Thank you to all my subscribers around the world! May 2024 be good to you all.
As I reflect on the past and consider what’s in store for the new year, it’s useful to take a broader and longer look back to get a sense of what the future might look like.
I was very fortunate to have begun my career at Rollins Burdick Hunter Company based in Chicago. Led by luminaries Adrian Palmer (chairman), his brother Karl and George S. Burrows, both as vice chairs. It was a very good team – all very smart. Adrian was a deal maker and stuck by his word. Karl was an exceptional people man. George was a seminal deep thinker, product innovator and true gentleman. I could go on now with stories some of which I’ve published in the IRL over the years and some still to be recalled and written, but first I need to stay the course and share what my former leader Pat Ryan said recently in a yearend article in the Insurance Journal.
But first, a little history. Pat acquired Rollins Burdick Hunter (7th largest broker) as a first move towards building Aon into the global advisory and brokerage it is today. I was very fortunate to have been along for this adventure – Ryan acquired RBH 1982/3, retired from Aon in the summer of 2008, and because Pat never retires he founded Ryan Specialty Group in 2010 which plays to all the strengths of today’s insurance business specializing in wholesale brokerage, insurance underwriting managers and other specialty services to brokers, agents and insurers. Now his quote:
“In thinking about the insurance industry and what’s occurred over the past 100 years, the biggest change in my opinion has been in the attitude shift towards the intermediary. In the 1980s and 1990s, conventional wisdom was that the insurance agent and broker was going to be a disintermediated, that with technology innovation, carriers were going to go direct to insureds bypassing the agent and broker. There was a lack of investment in the brokerages during this time. All of this flipped with the .com bust in 2000.
Technology was not the answer, but the value add that an agent and broker brings to a client with their advice and advocacy was really important. With this shift and realization, the advent of the global broker came to be. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were really only two large brokers and no real global broker.
Since 2000, there are now numerous global brokers, and investment money is flowing into this sector. This attitude shift is what I believe has been the major change in the industry over the past 100 years. In my opinion, the US agent and broker is the most valuable asset in the insurance industry.” ~ Patrick G. Ryan, Ryan Specialty Founder, Chairman & CEO.
Several sites to read more about PGR include:
https://www.insurancehalloffame.org/patrick-g-ryan-simple
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2008/03/20/88417.htm
https://ryanspecialty.com/leader/patrick-g-ryan/
So, the future of insurance is bright because the world needs insurance. And companies such as Pat Ryan’s will continue to expand and offer advice and products in an ever-changing world. Study Ryan Specialty and you will learn.
On a final note, I believe that the insurance industry is one of the best places to work and this is especially true for women. From my earliest days at Rollins Burdick Hunter some of my most talented colleagues were women. Don’t worry guys, there’s still room for us but if you want good sound advice, ask a women or your wife. Happy 2024!
