National Underwriter spoke with Sean Kevelighan as hetransitions from global head of public affairs for Zurich InsuranceGroup to serving as the new president and CEO of the New YorkCity-based Insurance InformationInstitute (I.I.I.). Read the interview in full atwww.PropertyCasualty360.com.

Why did you leave a private insurance company forI.I.I.?

Sean Kevelighan: It was a difficult decision to make, butI'm excited to have the opportunity. I've been fortunate to be ableto understand, appreciate and work with I.I.I. closely for severalyears, starting in 2008 when I first joined Zurich. I gained abetter understanding of the value that they brought to the industryand the broader community as well. When I received the phone calloffering me the job, I already had a strong appreciation for theorganization, as well as the work Bob Hartwig and his team havedone.

Where do you think the P&C industry is heading?

Kevelighan: It's difficult to predict but change isinevitable, whether through some consolidation in the industry orthe other disruptors that the industry is facing. The rapid changesin technology and digitalization are key elements of change for theP&C industry; it's only a question of how or when, which arestill unknowns. I.I.I. is doing extensive research in this area,and I foresee this evolving.

For the industry itself, it's going to come down to theincreased potential for new competition. Some of the fundamentalsof insurance are also undergoing change, for example, productivity,claims handling, even underwriting, and how technology plays a rolein all of them.

How do you see I.I.I. changing as the P&C industryevolves?

Kevelighan: I.I.I. will continue to do what theorganization has done so well over the years under Bob Hartwig'sleadership and with his team. First of all, [I.I.I. will maintain]objectiveness when looking at the information and letting the factsand statistics speak for themselves. I.I.I. does a great job ofgathering information and helping members and other key stakeholdergroups understand what the information means, and I expect that tobe an important role that we'll continue to play — with thoseimmediate issues we're seeing right now as well as the ones thatare evolving and changing the industry in the future.