2022 Underwriters of the Year | Nouara Lanasri, Senior Casualty Specialist Underwriter, Liberty Mutual

Nouara Lanasri joined Liberty Mutual five years ago in its commercial division in Montreal, where she has been delivering a fresh approach to finding win-win solutions for Quebec brokers.

Her career began 15 years prior, at The Sovereign Insurance Company, member of Cooperators, special risk division.

“Unlike most people in our industry, I studied specifically in insurance, and what I like most is when I find insurability solutions, and the process of risk analysis, exchange and negotiation with our brokers,” Nouara says, adding the Canadian Broker Network (CBN) recognition leaves her feeling respected and valued by the brokers who nominated her.

Q: What makes for a great underwriter/broker relationship?

“Trust and empathy. Sincere and open discussions. Underwriters should also put themselves in the broker’s shoes and understand the many challenges brokers have faced in recent years: market changes, increases in sales and building materials [costs] due to inflation, climate and technological changes and staff and resource shortages.”

Q: What’s the biggest challenge for underwriters, and one thing underwriters/insurers can do to overcome this?

“As underwriters, the biggest challenge we face every day is to understand the risk well, and to set the right price reflecting the exposure – considering inflation, technological advancements and the overall economic situation. To overcome this, it’s key to remain close to our brokers, necessary to promote exchanges by updating them on what can influence our analysis and our decision, and from time-to-time informing the broker of any changes in the market as a whole. The better we understand the exposures, the better we can come up with win-win answers and offers that build a business partnership.”

Q: What’s one opportunity underwriters should focus more on?

“It’s now or never to get back to the basics of our insurance business. The premium set for a risk is the result of an in-depth analysis and an actuarial study. We need to be more concerned with an underwriting profit.”