Articles by Jerry Theodorou

The R Street Blog on Insurance Journal presents the work and viewpoints of the free market think tank R Street Institute in Washington, D.C. Jerry Theodorou is the director of the Finance, Insurance and Trade Policy Program. He develops and advances effective free market public policy solutions to complex issues where federal and state governments have intervened. Prior to R Street, Theodorou was a Director of insurance research at Conning in Hartford, Conn. In his 12 years at Conning, a leading insurance asset management and research firm, he was highly sought after for his insights and publications on a broad range of matters impacting property and casualty insurers, and was in strong demand as keynote speaker at conferences. Prior to Conning, Theodorou worked for the global insurance giant American International Group (AIG) in a variety of global underwriting, operations and strategy roles, including close to a decade of expatriate managerial assignments in Europe and the Middle East.

Early Lessons From Helene Show Catastrophes Are Here to Stay, Flood Insurance Vital

Hurricane Helene made landfall late Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Florida Big Bend, a sparsely-populated 150-mile coastal stretch from Apalachee Bay, south of Tallahassee, to Waccasassa Bay in the south. All told, the population of the area amounts to less …

Financial First Responders

In recent months the dynamic markings for voices asserting the insurance industry is not up to challenges posed by climate change have gone from mezzo-piano to mezzo-forte. Endorsing a proposal by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to create a federal reinsurance …

Legal System Abuse Hammers Truck Insurance

The U.S. trucking industry has been shaken to its foundations. A welter of external challenges catalyzed the failure of approximately 88,000 trucking firms in 2023. That is 10 percent of the nation’s trucking companies. The chief culprit was a steep …

The Future is Uninsurable? Hardly

In recent months the dynamic markings for voices asserting the insurance industry is not up to challenges posed by climate change have gone from mezzo-piano to mezzo-forte. In his endorsement of a proposal by Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to create …

Insurance Companies Feeling the Pressure in Iowa and the Midwest

A New York Times article this week reported troubles in Iowa and insurers pulling up stakes from the Hawkeye State, leaving the homeowners’ insurance market. The exits were prompted by horrendous financial results driven by off the charts weather patterns. …

Viewpoint: Florida Insurance Market on the Mend

Almost one year ago, on May 31, 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed sweeping insurance reform legislation into law. At that time, the Florida insurance market was on life support. Homeowners’ insurance companies, stung by massive losses, were leaving the …

The Year in Insurance – A Look Back, A Look Ahead

2023 was an unremarkable year for insurers. And that’s a good thing. Insurers and their shareholders prefer boring predictable results over unexpected volatile shocks. Property & casualty insurance company stocks performed relatively well. In 2023 the S&P Insurance Stock Index …

Insurance Fraud on the March

Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker, Baby Face Nelson and Willie Sutton robbed banks. When asked by a journalist asked why he did, Sutton famously replied “because that’s where the money is.” If banks’ $3.1 trillion in cash and invested assets …

A Catastrophe of a Catastrophe Bill

On January 12, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced a bill, the “Incorporating National Support for Unprecedented Risks and Emergencies (INSURE) Act.” The stated goal of the bill is to “stabilize the home insurance market while ensuring vulnerable communities are not …

Behind the Negative Image: The True Role of Insurance Companies

The insurance industry faces an image challenge. Plaintiff attorney highway billboards and websites routinely disparage insurance companies as fat, greedy and collusive. One plaintiff law firm website declares that “at the end of the day, the liars, cheats and the …