Enough Exceptionitis

Hank George, FALU, CLU, FLMI
Best's Review • June 2005

With “-itis”as the medical suffix for inflammation,“exceptionitis,”a convenient neologism, might be defined as an inflammatory process in the decision-making locus in the underwriter’s cerebral cortex. When unchecked by a countervailing force (judgement), it induces migraine-equivalents in that region of the reinsurer’s brain that accommodates patience in the face of rogue clients.

One just concern of reinsurers is the sheer volume of underwriting exceptions being made by direct writers. These oft-abject cave-ins are (ill) begotten in the face of hideous pressure from producers and their irrepressible advocates to accommodate (perceived) demands of clients.