Executive Outlook 2021: Steve Phillips, Sovereign General

Steve Phillips, Chief Operating Officer, Sovereign General Insurance

When it comes to the global pandemic, widespread sentiment is that the commercial insurance industry will not fully return to the pre-COVID environment.

All businesses have been changed to some extent and to dramatically different degrees. As an industry, we need to support our clients whose businesses have been affected.

The fundamentals of the mid-market commercial insurance industry have not changed during the pandemic; what has evolved, due to the demands of the pandemic, is our collective ability to adapt with agility.

The pandemic has compounded hard market conditions for company clients, distribution firms, and insurance companies. Post-pandemic, insurers will continue to take the disciplined underwriting actions necessary to counter the continuing upward claims trends. Analytics will be as critical as ever, enabling insurers and markets to remain specific, definitive, and selective with their risk appetite.

In turn, there will be a continued need to leverage valuable data and insights to understand fully the ever-changing risks right down to the company client level. Such data will allow us to adjust rapidly with customized solutions that meet client needs.

Leveraging enhanced data and analytics will help underwriters work better with brokers to provide the most comprehensive solutions to their clients.

Data is key, but at Sovereign, people are always at the heart of everything we do. That priority will never change. Distribution partners and Sovereign need to work closer than ever to understand clients’ true exposures, champion risk prevention and management strategies, and develop complete solutions.

We know Canadian businesses are depending on all of us. They’re a critical part of building back the economic strength of Canada well into the future.