20 percent more premium. A lower reinsurance rate.
One small mutual was spending 62 cents of every premium dollar on reinsurance. Art Meadows has spent four decades merging companies in at that sharp end of the cycle. Last fall the geographic spread from one of those mergers earned the combined carrier a better reinsurance rate on 20 percent more premium. He also runs one mutual on 5 employees where a peer carrying the same size book needs 14, and credits the entire gap to technology. Both plays are in the report, in his own words, alongside four state insurance regulators, Triple-I's chief economist, and carrier and MGU leaders, all speaking candidly, on the record.
Nine leaders, on the record
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The 2026 operating environment
Only 12% report the data maturity required to deploy it. The report examines how operations leaders are closing that distance: documented processes and governed data ahead of deployment.
The measure policyholders experience most directly, and the one regulators in this report return to when they define carrier accountability.
Capacity providers are directing support toward programs able to demonstrate operational rigor alongside underwriting judgment.
Seven chapters: the state of the market, the regulatory voice, AI and the operations gap, the carrier voice, claims, talent, and the outlook from 2026 to 2030. Each chapter is built from primary interviews, presented in the leaders' own words and set against current industry data.
Nine leaders, on the record
The leaders in these pages gave us the same message from different vantage points, and they gave it generously: on the record, in their own words. Operations is the work that executes what every other discipline decides, and these are the people running it.
Read it in their own words
Every feature interview, complete and candid, with the data underlying each chapter: market conditions, regulation, AI readiness, claims, delegated authority, and talent.
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The full PDF, sent to your inbox immediately.
Complimentary.
Frequently asked questions
What is The 2026 Policy Makers Annual Report?
An annual report on insurance operations, published by FOCUS and built from feature interviews with the people running them: state insurance regulators, carrier executives, and MGU founders. It covers the state of the market, the regulatory voice, AI and the operations gap, the carrier voice, claims, talent, and the outlook through 2030.
Who is featured in the report?
Michel Léonard of the Insurance Information Institute, Kate Harris and Jason Lapham of the Colorado Division of Insurance, Mike Yaworsky of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Andy Case of the Mississippi Insurance Department, Andrée Bourgon of Ascendex Underwriters, Toni Logan of American Integrity Insurance, and Art Meadows of East Tennessee Mutual. The series is hosted by Pete Crowe, President of FOCUS.
How do I get the report?
The report is complimentary. Submit the form on this page and the current edition is delivered to your email immediately.
Who publishes it?
FOCUS, an insurance operations partner serving property and casualty carriers, MGAs, and MGUs. Policy Makers is its annual media series on insurance operations.