Milliman targets coastal insurers with Tampa office & Rollins hire

Consulting and actuarial firm Milliman, Inc. has recognised an opportunity to profit from the expansion of coastal zone insurers in the United States and their need for sophisticated analytics, responding with the launch of a Property & Casualty office in Tampa, Florida.

As the interest in insuring coastal properties and wind exposed regions has increased in recent years, Milliman recognises that there is a growing demand for its property insurance analytics and sees the Tampa unit as a way to reach out to these companies.

Milliman says that the P&C operation is a response to domestic property insurers expansion up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, showing the firm’s “continued commitment to the region and its growing insurance market.”

Milliman has hired John Rollins, a consultant actuary with experience in both insurance-linked securities (ILS) and traditional reinsurance, to lead the Tampa P&C venture.

The Tampa P&C team will work closely with Milliman’s Nancy Watkins, a principal and consulting actuary based in San Francisco office but with deep experience of the Florida property insurance marketplace.

Rollins, who was most recently Chief Risk Officer at MGA Cabrillo Coastal General Insurance but had previously worked at Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and risk modeller AIR Worldwide, has 27 years’ experience and a specialism in catastrophe-exposed property and flood insurance.

His actuarial expertise in handling disaster events is significant and Milliman highlights his innovative approach to catastrophe-exposed personal lines pricing, reserving for unpaid hurricane claims, as well as the structuring and issuance of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and traditional reinsurance.

In his time at Florida Citizens, Rollins was Chief Risk Officer when the company grew its reinsurance program significantly and first tapped the capital markets with its Everglades Re catastrophe bonds, including the still-record sized $1.5 billion transaction.

“Milliman is generally recognized among Florida insurers as the market leader for property insurance consulting services, data, tools, and competitive analysis,” added Nancy Watkins. “Having a seasoned, local presence in the state enables us to more effectively anticipate our clients’ needs and continue to advance the sophistication and breadth of our property insurance offerings.”