NAME: Kamalesh Jha
NEW JOB TITLE: Cincinnati-based chief underwriting officer, American Modern Insurance Group, a part of the Munich Re Group
PREVIOUS POSITION: Atlanta-based senior vice president, Assurant Inc.
INDUSTRY OUTLOOK: The insurance industry has shown resilience, and over the last few years has helped society rebound after many catastrophic events. Also, the insurance industry is attracting talent and investment in the insurtech space, which is helping bring innovative ways to improve customer experience, pricing/risk selection accuracy and operational agility. I expect the coming years to be intellectually stimulating as well as satisfying as the industry continues to play an important role in society.
GOALS FOR NEW POSITION: We have an incredibly collaborative culture and a strong foundation at American Modern. With the implementation of a new innovative platform over last couple of years, the team has built momentum to deliver for both our partners and customers. My focus will be to help further build on that momentum through a combination of product differentiation, superior customer experience and operational efficiency.
CHALLENGES FACING THE INDUSTRY: Environmental changes are dramatically changing loss patterns. In addition, mainstream adoption of technologies, such as telematics and IoT, are impacting customer behaviors, and as a result, insureds expectations from their insurers are increasing with regards to responsiveness and ease of doing business.
FIRST EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY JOB MARKET: I started in the insurance industry as a product manager for a large property/casualty company. It was a great experience and a good way to learn about the technical aspects, as well as the interaction between various internal and external stakeholders.
ADVICE: Show intellectual curiosity, ask questions and build a strong knowledge of the field you are in.
OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY, A DREAM JOB:
COLLEGE MAJOR: Mechanical engineering
LOOKING FORWARD TO: Working with the team to further strengthen the American Modern brand and product offerings and win in the specialty insurance marketplace.
FAVOURITE MEAL:
BOOK: Two books I recently read and found helpful are The Effortless Experience and Competing in the Age of AI.
HOBBIES: Reading and hiking
TV SHOW:
ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Spend time with my kids.
