Meet American Specialty CUO Chris McQuilkin

Chris McQuilkin is joining the American Specialty team as the Chief Underwriting Officer. We got a chance to sit down with him and ask him a few questions to get to know him better.

1. We are excited to have you on the team! What brought you to American Specialty?
The quality of the people, the strength of the brand, and the opportunity to participate in a growing organization.

2. How do you hope to impact American Specialty in the next 5 years?

I hope to support the growth of underwriting expertise and business acumen. I want to help us to grow in our decision-making abilities and spend the right time and energy on the right issues.

3. How did you get into the world of insurance and underwriting?

I was training to be an options trader going to college and got my degree in finance with a specialization in options trading. There was a confluence of unique timing with a particular market downturn in the late 80s that dried up opportunities in options trading.

I was exposed to underwriting purely by recruiting in college. I had a unique opportunity to be exposed to national account underwriting with custom risk clients and it appealed to be because of the analytical problem solving it took. I was exposed to the world of insurance from a family perspective as well as my mother was a complex claims adjuster for specialty liability.

4. How do you feel that your educational and professional background prepares you for your new role?

I’ve had a wide variety of underwriting responsibilities and leadership opportunities over my career that uniquely qualify and prepare me to help move the company forward by capitalizing on the opportunities we have in front of us.

5. Why would you recommend someone get into underwriting?

There’s something new or different everyday so there are always new things to learn. You could call it a life learning career. There are also unique opportunities to influence the outcomes and results of both your clients and the business community at large.

6. What are current trends in the industry that you are keeping an eye on?

• Social cost inflation
• CAT property risk changes climate
• Litigation trends
• Opportunities for staff development and learning
• The impact of technology and data on our business and in the future
• Artificial intelligence

7. Is there any content that you consume that drives or inspires you?

I read voraciously. The book, Who Moved My Cheese, always sticks with me. It is about embracing change and managing it. I’m also a big Michael Lewis book fan. I try to attend prevailing thought leader’s webinar discussions when they’re available. I listen to quite a few podcasts if I’m driving around including two great insurance podcasts that I regularly listen to and learn from. One is called Insurance Talk, and one is called IN-the-Know.

There’s a Japanese proverb that I saw that inspires me that says, “none of us is as smart as all of us.” It really means, there’s so much learning that happens within groups and with teams and you can make a better decision if you harness the strength of the team. The most powerful things that have propelled me are about team success and how you overcome a unique obstacle as a group effort with everyone playing a unique role.

8. What is your biggest piece of advice to someone starting out in the insurance industry?

It’s a long journey. You are starting a life learning career, and you will learn thing from a variety of different people and roles that will continuously impact the way you think and perform in the job.

9. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Travel! Now that I am an empty nester, my wife and I enjoy trying to do as much traveling as we can. My goal is to hit 50 states before I’m 60 and we are three states away. I also want to hit 25 or 30 countries by 65. We have a lot of traveling ahead of us.