WSIA: We Have Got Our Work Cut Out to Educate Regulators and Lawmakers (AM BestTV)

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In this episode of ^AMBestTV, Brady Kelley, executive director, Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA) and other key WSIA executives spoke about how insurers must educate policymakers on why business interruption writers should not be forced to pay retroactive COVID-19 claims. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=wsiapanel520 to view the entire program.

“WSIA is strongly opposed to any proposed legislation that would force an insurer to pay for a loss that it didn’t sell coverage for,” said Kelley. “There are states and some federal lawmakers who are looking for ways to retroactively apply coverage for business interruption. WSIA, along with all of the national trades, are looking for ways to educate policymakers on why business interruption writers cannot pay COVID-19 claims for coverage they never wrote.”

No segment seems to be immune from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the surplus lines segment.

“These are uncharted waters for all of us, and the impact to all of us has been significant,” said Bryan Sanders, president, Markel U.S. Insurance and president, WSIA. “Some companies are really struggling with the business interruption, so our industry has been focused on responding and meeting the needs of those members as soon and as best we can.”

Other participants in this episode include:

Davis Moore, chief executive officer, Worldwide Facilities LLC and WSIA vice president; and
Brenda Austenfeld, president, RT Specialty’s National Property Practice and WSIA board member.

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^AMBestTV covers exclusive AM Best and insurance industry information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the insurance, reinsurance and related sectors daily. Sign up for alerts of episodes at www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View ^AMBestTV episodes at www.ambest.tv.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.