From record heat waves to the coldest of winters, hurricanes, droughts and flooding, it’s no secret that our climate and weather are changing…and changing the agribusiness insurance landscape with it.

In 2018, the California Camp Fire wildfire resulted in more than $16 billion in loss. Flooding in the Midwest resulted in crop contamination from nearby livestock fields. And the crippling cold from two polar vortexes in the last five years caused frozen pipes and burst boilers, leading to property and equipment damage claims.

Earlier this year, AAIS surveyed insurance carriers to better understand where they believe the auto insurance market is heading and the challenges associated with the auto technology evolution. After analyzing the responses, the results were clear: change is coming, and the opportunities for AAIS to help Members stay ahead of the curve are great.

There has seen an increase in governmental oversight of the manufacturing, handling and storage of food. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was passed to prevent practices that could potentially create food safety hazards. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in turn, released rules for the safe transport of food. They are known as rules for "Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food", and they are affecting the inland marine market.

Insurance and technology have been linked together since the papyrus and quill.  While the technology has changed, from paper to electronic, from documents to apps to web-enabled experiences, the functionality provided by technology has always supported the business – and not the other way around.  While the latest technology is being marketed as “transformational” and “disruptive” to insurance, what is often lost is HOW that might take place. And without that, there’s little value in that transformational technology.  

Shared mobility services are not only growing, they also are expanding in scope. Among these trends is the significant increase in vehicle sharing programs. A recent Frost & Sullivan report noted that approximately 7 million users were sharing roughly 112,000 vehicles in 2015 in the United States alone. These numbers are expected to grow to over 36 million users and 427,000 vehicles by 2025. Market revenues are predicted to increase to more than $16 billion within the next five to ten years.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with coining the phrase "the only constant is change". Odds are he wasn’t predicting the current state of auto insurance, but those words ring true today as we look at this ever-changing marketplace. Lately there has been a lot of discussion about auto insurance, and varied opinions around the future of the largest line of P&C business. Nobody knows exactly what the auto insurance market will look like in 20 to 30 years, but it will be vastly different than it is today. AAIS Auto Product Manager Casey Brewer outlines the forces currently reshaping the market. Following are excerpts that summarize "The Trifecta of Disruptive Trends" affecting the Personal Auto Insurance market.