AIRROC was honored to have Elaine Rocha, Esq., most recently the former Senior Vice President and Global Chief Investment Officer of AIG as the opening keynote speaker for the October 2024 Legacy Transactions & Networking Forum. A Jersey girl hailing from Asbury Park she is, no surprise, an enthusiastic fan of The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. She describes how she “fell into” a career in insurance and, if she calls herself the “Forest Gump” of insurance, she is referring to being at the right place, at the right time. Her career trajectory took her from law school to an insurance practice at a New York law firm as a coverage attorney, switching gears to the underwriting side at AIG, then to the investment side, helped stand up Fortitude Re and ultimately being accountable for $85 billion of assets under management.
She has extensive experience in investments, financial management, law and governance, operations, strategic planning, and major transformation and change initiatives. Drawing from her extensive and varied experiences, Elaine spoke about the evolving insurance industry landscape and what she sees as the potential for the legacy space. Themes throughout her presentation focused on continuous improvement and the search for solutions, which is a hallmark of the legacy market. Who better suited than the legacy industry, she exclaimed, that has the tools, the expertise, the knowledge and the data, to predict and prepare for the next set of liabilities. Climate change, pandemic risks, supply chain issues, geopolitical, and cyber are some of challenges that the insurance industry and the broader society are facing; yet they provide opportunity for growth and problem solving.
She also cited the influx of private equity into the legacy space, which is not surprising from an asset management perspective, given that the assets matched to liabilities are basically fully funded. The attraction, quite simply, is that the longer the duration to generate returns, the more risk you can take, the more money you can make.
Strategic partnerships have also emerged as key strategies for expansion and innovation. Alliances with fintech and insurtech are empowering insurers to leverage historical data and predictive algorithms to enhance decision-making and risk assessment. This marriage of technology and insurance is a natural progression that will fundamentally enhance operational efficiencies. Opportunities for public and private partnerships exist and these collaborations will help drive transformation across the industry and play a crucial role in creating a more resilient society.
Diversity of perspectives is another viewpoint that Elaine embraces. When individuals with diverse and fresh perspectives come together, they bring a variety of approaches, experiences, and solutions to the table. This diversity of thought enables more comprehensive problem-solving and fosters innovation.
Her ultimate point brought her presentation full circle. Again, invoking Forest Gump, Elaine posited that “legacy is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you are going to get.” She challenged the audience to think about bringing fresh perspectives to this exciting industry to tackle the complex risks ahead.
A video replay of this presentation can be accessed in the AIRROC On Demand Library at https://airroc.memberclicks.net/airroc-on-demand.
