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Insurance Business Review: Specials Magazine
RWR WV Insurance has built its reputation by moving beyond the traditional agency model and acting as a hands-on partner for its clients. Rather than competing solely on price or policy volume, the agency begins with a comprehensive risk analysis to understand each business, reviews existing coverage to identify gaps, and then develops recommendations based on the client’s actual exposures and goals. This approach reflects the belief of RWR WV Insurance President and co-founder Sean Forney that an agency should put clients first and serve as a trusted advisor—not merely a broker selling an intangible policy. A significant part of that value comes from the support RWR WV Insurance provides after a policy is in place. Through its partnership with Keystone Risk Management, the agency offers value-added services such as loss control, worksite inspections, OSHA compliance support, and Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance guidance. The agency also manages claims throughout the process, ensuring they move efficiently while keeping the team informed of potential issues before renewal periods. Forney also emphasizes technical specialization, strong underwriter relationships, and tools such as Bind IQ, which help the team work more efficiently, reduce errors, and spend more time supporting clients. In practice, this translates into faster service, greater risk visibility, and a more proactive client experience. ... Read More
Top Claims Administration Services 2026
How can AI improve auto glass claims administration and customer experience at First Notice of Loss? The success of an auto glass claim is often decided before the work even starts. Mario Veltri, senior manager at Gerber National Claim Services (GNCS), points to First Notice of Loss (FNOL) as the moment that defines a claim. In his view, claims begin to drift when the right information is not established at the start. FNOL is not just intake. It is where the vehicle is understood, coverage confirmed, the correct part identified and service capability determined. When these steps are handled in sequence, often across disconnected systems, gaps emerge and the process begins to lose accuracy and visibility. GNCS is built around resolving that problem at FNOL itself. Through its proprietary platform, Claim XS, it connects insurer data, VIN-level vehicle identification, supplier inventory and service provider systems at intake, allowing those decisions to be made together rather than in stages. The platform determines the correct glass, identifies calibration requirements and checks, and, in real time, checks which providers have both the capability and capacity to complete the job, while confirming local part availability. “By collapsing the sequence at FNOL itself, Claim XS aligns capability, capacity, calibration requirements and parts availability before the claim progresses,” says Veltri. “The difference shows up immediately in the customer experience. Instead of we’ll get back to you, the answer is specific in terms of what needs to be done, where it will be done and when it can happen. How does Claim XS adapt insurance claims workflows through AI and real-time integration? Built In-House, Built to Adapt Claim XS has been developed in-house over two decades as a web-based platform, now layered with AI to support how different insurers and fleet programs handle claims. Each client defines its own FNOL intake, validation requirements and routing logic, something traditional, standardized systems cannot support without workarounds. That need became clear in 1999, when Veltri founded NetCost Claim Services and worked directly with insurers and fleet operators managing auto glass claims, where no two processes operated the same way. When the business became part of The Boyd Group in 2014, that capability expanded with direct access to service providers across the U.S., aligning workflows with real shop capability and availability. ... Read More
Top Independent Surety Broker 2026
Rosenberg and Parker is not built like a typical brokerage. Founded in 1944, R&P is the largest independent surety-only brokerage & advisory firm in the world that prioritizes client outcomes over growth for its own sake. The firm integrates deep technical expertise with aligned incentives and disciplined execution to help clients reduce costs, unlock liquidity, and improve access to surety credit. Operating across the U.S, Toronto, and London, it’s placed bonds across six continents while working with over 40 Fortune 500–sized companies and six of the ten largest private equity sponsors globally and supports $20 billion in bonded obligations. That track record has positioned R&P as a Top Independent Surety Broker globally. R&P has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a small broker catering to Greek, Jewish, and Italian contractors based in the heart of Philadelphia. R&P, founded by Charles K. Rosenberg, has experienced exponential organic growth over the last five years. That growth has been shaped less by scale than by two principles Charlie instilled early in the company’s inception: integrity and a clear rejection of ego-driven behavior. Across three generations, the culture remains centered on knowledge and domain expertise grounded in a team-orientation that prioritizes firm outcomes over individual recognition. While the company’s current size, sophistication, and level of innovation would be unrecognizable to its founder, his grandson believes there are still core values that are unmistakable. “What Charlie would recognize is the integrity, but also the level of expertise behind it,” says Jack Rosenberg, Partner and President. “We expect our people to understand clients’ businesses in detail and to take ownership of outcomes. That is what allows us to deliver consistently.” This philosophy shapes how the company is built. Unlike large brokerages, where generalist producers control relationships while specialists remain under-incentivized, R&P prioritizes depth over breadth. The company frames this as a principal-agent problem: those who own client relationships are often not doing the technical work or sharing in the economics, which weakens outcomes. At R&P, producers with deep technical expertise who originate and grow accounts participate directly in the economics, aligning expertise, responsibility, and long-term performance. This ensures those closest to the work are accountable for results, improving underwriting quality and client outcomes. ... Read More
CXO INSIGHTS
Leading through the Seasons of Life
Shari Starkey, Vice President, Claims, CorVel Corporation
Complacency: The Risk of Routine
Roy Hock, Director Risk Finance & Casualty Insurance, Valero Energy Corporation [NYSE: VLO]
Data, Discipline, and Leadership in Maritime Claims
Lydia Patterson, Sr. Claims Director, Ingram Barge Company
Experience Transparency and the Future of Underwriting
Blayne Gerfers, VP of Underwriting, Head of Global Property, N2G Worldwide Insurance Services LLC
Shaping the Future of Underwriting and Risk Assessment
Matthew Dybus, Director of Underwriting, Loadsure
IN FOCUS
The Evolving Role of Independent Surety Brokers in a Complex Market
Independent surety brokers are evolving through advisory depth, specialization, and stronger client alignment as market complexity and expectations reshape competitive positioning.
Evolving Standards in Claims Administration Services Market
Claims administration services are evolving through transparency, operational discipline, and integration, enabling consistent outcomes, stronger client trust, and long-term strategic partnerships.
EDITORIAL
Insurance Leaders Defining the Future of Advisory Services
Insurance organizations are operating in a market shaped by interconnected risks, increasing claims complexity and growing demand for specialized expertise. In response, companies are finding new ways to strengthen resilience, improve claims administration and enhance advisory services. This edition of Insurance Business Review highlights organizations that are setting the pace through a combination of industry knowledge, technology and disciplined execution.
Featured on the cover is Brown & Brown, recognized with the Top Property and Casualty Insurance Companies 2026 award. Through its decentralized operating model, the company combines local relationships with global capabilities to help organizations address evolving risks. Its use of analytics, catastrophe modeling, claims advocacy and alternative risk structures helps clients improve business continuity and make better-informed decisions. Bringing together deep industry expertise and data-driven insight, Brown & Brown provides practical solutions that support long-term resilience.
This edition also recognizes Gerber National Claim Services as the Top Claims Administration Services 2026 provider. Through its proprietary Claim XS platform, AI-enabled workflows and real-time visibility, the company has modernized auto glass claims administration while improving speed, accuracy and the customer experience. We also recognize Rosenberg and Parker as the Top Independent Surety Broker 2026. Built on technical expertise, aligned incentives and a collaborative culture, the firm continues to raise the standard for surety advisory services while delivering strong results across global markets.
Also featured in this issue, Brian Arnold, Claims Director at World Insurance Associates LLC, discusses how AI and predictive analytics are reshaping workers’ compensation claims management. Ghias Minto, Cyber Security Manager at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, examines the growing role of cyber insurance in helping organizations strengthen resilience.
We invite readers to explore this edition and learn how leading organizations are combining expertise, innovation and trust to address the challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry.
