Risk & Reward: An Inside View of the Property/Casualty Insurance Business

by Stephen Catlin, James Burcke

A new book co-written by Stephen Catlin, the founder and former CEO of international insurer Catlin Group Limited and a member of the Insurance Hall of Fame, provides unique insights into the inner workings of the commercial property/casualty insurance industry. In Risk & Reward, co-written with James Burcke, Stephen Catlin draws on his more than 40 years of experience as an underwriter and insurance company executive to discuss some of the more important practices and concepts underlying the insurance business. In Risk & Reward, co-written with James Burcke, Stephen Catlin draws on his more than 40 years of experience as an underwriter and insurance company executive to discuss some of the more important practices and concepts underlying the insurance business. Risk & Reward includes Stephen’s candid views • Basic insurance industry practices – including underwriting, claims management, reinsurance protection, reserving and insurer-broker relationships – and how they could be improved; • Major challenges facing the insurance industry today, including the growth of cyber exposures and the industry's failure to address critical problems relating to processing, data and transactional costs.; and • Key management principles, including leadership, talent management, brand-building and the need to develop a cohesive corporate culture. Risk & Reward also traces Stephen's entrepreneurial journey in transforming Catlin Group Limited from a small, two-employee Lloyd's of London underwriting agency to a global insurer that employed 2,500 people in 25 countries and underwrote $6 billion in annual premium volume when it was acquired in 2015. Stephen also shares his thoughts regarding Lloyd's, including its turbulent history over the past 40 years, its role in today's global insurance industry and its prospects. Individuals who work in the insurance industry – and even those who know little about insurance – will benefit from Stephen Catlin’s wisdom and insights.

Genres: Business

355 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2017

Reviews

[Kyriakos Toumbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent business book in disguise! Although the book title tries to place itself as an insurance related book, it truly is an amazing business book which happens to draw examples and insights that occurred within the insurance market. At the same time, it does an excellent job immersing the reader into the insurance industry, giving a bottom to top view of everything while following the path of Stephen in growing his company.
A very good read indeed!

[Ted Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best overview and history of the commercial insurance market that I've ever come across. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone in the early stages of their career in the industry. It's short, accessible and engaging throughout. I particularly enjoyed the chapters covering his personal career and felt they provided some invaluable context as to where the market was 50 years ago and the direction in which it continues to travel.

It is rare for someone in our industry to put pen to paper in this manner and I'm certainly grateful that Stephen Catlin chose to do so.

[Tom Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

My company recently made a move into insurance and it’s not an area I know a lot about. I was recommended this book.
It’s a mixture of general market background, Carlin’s own experience company building and industry challenges for the future.
Even if you have no interest in insurance I’d recommend this book. It’s written well enough for a layman like me to pickup and enjoy!

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who’s starting in insurance.

There is ample evidence of Catlin’s determination and business acumen but there are a couple of things worth noting

- His focus on balancing underwriting and reinsurance to succeed - 101 insurance, I hear some of you say but surprised that it’s so prominent

- The transition from an underwriter to business leader and someone who raises capital so that others underwrite

It’s always challenging to look at the past with today’s priorities but I was also interested to read about his concern with the social value of insurance at the early stage of his career and later on with Catlin’s business culture.

[Shane Rajiv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent insight into Lloyd’s and a fun read covering many topics including the middle which reads like a memoir. Couldn’t recommend more to those working in insurance. I’ve been working around Lloyd’s for a long time and learnt so much of the history why things are the way they are.

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It wasn’t at all what I expected. As a litigation lawyer who spends much of my time in insurance, I’m used to dry. Risk & Reward was anything but dry. I was gripped by Stephen Catlin’s story - his rise and rise - told in an accessible, compelling style, full of insight, wisdom, and reflection from decades spent building his insurance business from modest beginnings into a global force.

Ever since my work first led me to the history of Lloyd’s, especially through the upheavals of the 1980s and 1990s, I’ve been fascinated. After reading and enjoying Adam Raphael’s “Ultimate Risk”, I was eager to see the world from Catlin’s perspective. Both books brought that history vividly to life for me.

But Lloyd’s was only the beginning for Stephen Catlin. His journey is a remarkable success story - one of foresight, timing, and steady nerve in launching his own syndicate and ultimately building it into a multibillion-dollar business. There’s inspiration here for anyone starting out in business, in any field.

For me, as a lawyer, this book was a rare opportunity to step behind the policy wordings that are the battleground of insurance law and into the engine room of this enigmatic industry.

[Drilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes when Catlin wrote at the outset of the book that his intention was to provide a good guide to how the insurance industry works through his memoir, as he thought the industry lacked such crucial literature. I'm disappointed to say he fell short of that ambition. The book goes extensively into his founding of Catlin, and the private equity investment as well as later IPO and merger into XL. Where it falls short is in providing more context to the substance of Catlin's busines: how to write and manage insurance policies. There was no insider view into how he perceived writing insurance differently versus others, there was only a few mentions of being saved from large losses using programmatic reinsurance, without delving further into the subject.

Still overall a relatively quick and easy read, but for those expecting a more detailed look into the business of P&C (re)insurance and underwriting, this book does not provide much of that.

[Veaceslav Cernica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading the book like having a nice conversation with a genuine professional

Remarkable advices and thoughts, checking and strengthening and questioning my own beliefs. Very nice conversation (reading). I recommend to the insurance professionals and risk managers.

[Hannes Monaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for anyone interested in how to start an insurance business or if you are seeking knowledge on how the insurance market operates.

[Sagar Reddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking for insights into the world of Insurance business. This is a good book.