"One of three kids, I was the least interested in insurance"

“One of three kids, I was the least interested in insurance” | Insurance Business America

Insurance News

“One of three kids, I was the least interested in insurance”

Yet now he leads as company’s chief operating officer

Insurance News

By
Emily Douglas

The name ‘Falvey’ resonates deeply within the insurance industry. But for Jack Falvey (pictured), the journey to becoming the chief operating officer of Falvey Insurance Group was anything but straightforward.

“Of course my father, Mike Falvey, started Falvey Insurance Group. But of the three kids, I was the one least interested in insurance,” he explained.

Instead, Falvey pursued Asian studies at Northeastern University, even living in China for two years. His initial career trajectory was towards management consulting, having interned with the Boston Consulting Group.

However, a life-changing call from his father altered everything.

“He sold me on the idea that I could implement strategies and see the fruits of that labour,” he told IB.

And, the opportunity to build data analytics, strategy, and organizational structure was too enticing to pass up. Growing up in an insurance-centric family, Jack Falvey said: “We talked about aggregates and deductibles at the dinner table rather than the New England Patriots’ score.”

This foundation served him well as he delved deeper into the industry, finding himself enamoured with the complexities of structuring risk. Under his leadership, Falvey Insurance Group has seen exponential growth.

“When I joined, we were at about $40 million in gross written premium,” Falvey said. “Now, we’re nearing a quarter billion dollars.”

And Falvey’s passion for data and analytics, something which facilitated his company’s growth, is palpable. For over 15 years, Falvey Insurance Group has been data-centric.

“We built our own proprietary systems back in 2000,” he noted. This granular data aids their underwriting, claims, and finance teams, providing insights into operational and underwriting trends.

The company’s commitment to data analytics is evident in its daily operations too. It tracks weekly rate movements in different sectors across the country, including by commodities. The group also monitors loss trends to identify potential hotspots of theft in cargo and river movements to pinpoint potential claims arising from their vessel pollution space. By overlaying weather data on top of their exposures, they can assess potential risks from events like wildfires.

“A big thing about data from an underwriting perspective is you really only get one chance to make the decision,” explained Falvey. “Are you going to write the account or are you not? And you can price it, so you need to have all that information at the time you’re making that decision.”

As for the future, Falvey is excited. The focus is on the ‘next generation MGA’. He envisions MGAs that match appetite with distribution, offering comprehensive solutions for brokers.

“We’re building those package solutions in a specialty space by pairing the carrier appetites with the product needs,” he told IB. And these innovations have been very well received, according to Falvey.

“We work across MGAs on certain accounts to build the solutions they need.”

This adaptability and commitment to finding solutions has propelled its growth, with an impressive 25% to 30% increase each year for the past few years. A testament to the power adaptability, innovation and passion can have on a competitive sector.