The casualty industry faces increasing complexity, ranging from longstanding tort exposures and mass litigation to emerging risks such as artificial intelligence liability, as firms navigate a rapidly evolving landscape. Against this backdrop, casualty (re)insurers increasingly recognize the benefits of using forward-looking risk assessment and analytics to help understand, price, and manage casualty risk with greater precision and confidence.
NEW YORK: Moody’s has announced the launch of Moody’s Casualty Risk Intelligence Group (MCRIG), formed with the participation of six founding firms-AXA XL, Marsh, RenaissanceRe, Tokio Marine,Travelers and Convex.
The newly formed group aims to support the advancement of the global casualty (re)insurance market by contributing research and analytical perspectives that encourage the development of independent, science-led, forward-looking approaches to risk assessment, underwriting, and portfolio management.
The casualty industry faces increasing complexity, ranging from longstanding tort exposures and mass litigation to emerging risks such as artificial intelligence liability, as firms navigate a rapidly evolving landscape. Against this backdrop, casualty (re)insurers increasingly recognize the benefits of using forward-looking risk assessment and analytics to help understand, price, and manage casualty risk with greater precision and confidence.
MCRIG was formed to create an open dialogue between industry leaders and Moody’s to discuss areas where new approaches to risk assessment and analytics can help advance the casualty (re)insurance industry. These focus areas could range from exploring the standardization of exposure, loss, and claims data and enhancing portfolio transparency to developing new approaches to forward-looking litigation intelligence that can help clarify where risk is heading.
Joe Melly, Managing Director, Head of Casualty and Financial Lines, Moody’s, said: “Casualty insurance is the next frontier for risk analytics, and Moody’s is committed to leading that transformation. The casualty industry carries enormous economic weight and growing complexity. It is ready to move toward new data standards, litigation intelligence, and decision-grade analytics to help firms understand and manage their exposure.”
“The formation of MCRIG is Moody’s route to achieving this goal. By engaging with a range of participants, MCRIG aims to support the enhancement of independently developed analytical frameworks and insights intended to advance risk understanding.We are proud to launch the MCRIG in New York and to do so with such a strong and diverse group of founding participants,” commented Melly.
Noel Richardson, Chief Risk Officer, AXA XL, said: “Casualty insurance faces significant complexity from emerging risks such as PFAS and AI liability, yet the industry relies largely on backward-looking analysis. Through MCRIG, we have an opportunity to develop the data standards, litigation intelligence, and forward-looking analytics that are currently missing. By working with peers and Moody’s, we can build the tools casualty underwriting genuinely needs—and create real value in how we assess, price, and manage risk.”
Christopher Ross, Global Casualty Leader, Marsh Re, said: “Marsh believes strongly in the benefits of a collaborative approach to exploring emerging risk issues and welcomes the opportunity to work with our fellow MCRIG members to develop data-driven insights that empower our clients with new and cutting-edge views of risk. The casualty (re)insurance market has undergone significant changes over the past several years in response to the evolving nature of risk. The advent of AI and its downstream implications will only accelerate change, and we will lead the industry in evaluating and creating solutions that enable our clients to succeed in this market.”
Fiona Walden, SVP, Chief Underwriting Officer, Casualty & Specialty, RenaissanceRe, said: “We are proud to be a founding member of the MCRIG and look forward to contributing our expertise and partnering with Moody’s and our fellow members to advance casualty analytics and data standards across the industry. This group reinforces our efforts to bring greater transparency and forward-looking insight around emerging casualty trends, supporting our clients and the long-term health of the casualty market.”
Don Mahoney, Vice President, Enterprise Underwriting, Casualty, Travelers, said: “We are pleased to join Moody’s and this exceptional group of partners. This initiative will provide better visibility into casualty exposures in an ever-changing environment and a stronger foundation for risk managers and underwriters across the industry.”
Alongside the launch of MCRIG, Moody’s has announced a significant increase in investment in casualty data, analytics, and modeling. Casualty and Financial Lines at Moody’s, which includes the Praedicat, Inc. acquisition in 2024, together with sustained investment in people, data, and technology, reflects a clear mission: to bring casualty to the same level of analytical rigor that catastrophe modeling brought to property more than three decades ago.
To deliver casualty-specific, decision-grade intelligence, the team uses Moody’s comprehensive, globally renowned commercial data estates, spanning firmographics, financials, credit risk, M&A activity, directors’ and officers’ data, litigation records, cyber risk scores, and satellite-derived analytics across hundreds of millions of entities worldwide.