At Tuesday’s Advisen Casualty Conference here in New York, a hot topic was that of trends within the industry. It was clear that Stan Galanski, president and CEO of Navigators, had put some thought into the topic, coming up with the following trends he feels are important to the industry:

• Globalization — “There is a need for global product liability coverage,” said Galanski. We need to look no further than the UK Bribery Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the recent news involving Walmart is a good example).

• Miniaturization — “We’ve gone from records to 8-tracks to CDs to iPods to the cloud,” said Galanski, talking about how the density of electronic components can be construed as a risk. He referenced the case of Intuitive Surgery, Inc., the maker of the da Vinci surgical robot, which has allegedly caused numerous injuries and at least one death — that of a 24-year-old woman who was undergoing a hysterectomy when the robot caused burns to an artery and her intestines, which led to her death two weeks later.

• Disintermediaton — By this, Galanski means the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain. “So what exposures are risk managers picking up with the absence of these people and/or businesses?” Though disintermediation may be more cost effective, it comes with added risk.

• Personalization — When you open iTunes, the application suggests songs you may like based on your recent purchases or downloads. The same goes for Amazon. When you log into the site, it suggests new books or apparel you may want to purchase based on past buying habits. “It’s a great feeling as a consumer, but as a risk manager it brings concerns about your business’ laptops and computers.
  online pharmacy levofloxacin with best prices today in the USA

  “

These are indeed interesting observations of trends, but they are, in fact, only one man’s opinion. But we learn by sharing. With that in mind, I ask you what trends you’re noticing within the casualty industry?