Jennifer L. Biggs  curriculum
USA

Author
 
Date: Tuesday, March 19

Session: 33, 44

General Reinsurance


Presentation

   Latent Exposures

 
 

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Summary

Latent Exposures
Organized by the Casualty Actuarial Society

Chairman: Susan Patschak (USA)

Panelists: 
·Raja R. Bhagavatula (USA) 
·Jennifer L. Biggs (USA)
·Bruce D. Fell (USA)

A significant portion of the session will be devoted to asbestos litigation, which has been described by the U.S. Supreme Court as an "elephantine mass." The panelists will discuss the recent increases in personal injury claim filings and awards, defendant bankruptcies, and the spread of the litigation to peripheral defendants. 

The panelists will provide an update on pollution liabilities (whose estimated ultimate costs have now been surpassed by asbestos liabilities) and provide information regarding newly emerging torts such as lead, tobacco, and mold.

Finally, the panelists will offer insights regarding the potential effects of liabilities from latent exposures on the balance sheet and value of insurers and reinsurers.
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 Jennifer L. Biggs

Curriculum
Ms. Biggs is a consulting actuary with Tillinghast - Towers Perrin in its St. Louis office. She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Ms. Biggs graduated with college honors from Washington University in St. Louis with a B.A. in mathematics and a business minor. 

Ms. Biggs is a member of Tillinghast's asbestos and environmental practice area. She coordinates research and development activities relating to asbestos liabilities of insurers and reinsurers. She has quantified reserve needs for asbestos, pollution, and breast implant liabilities. Ms. Biggs has also been active in the firm's asbestos and environmental reinsurance placement initiative. 

Ms. Biggs is Chairperson of the American Academy of Actuaries Mass Torts Work Group which created a public policy monograph, "Overview of Asbestos Issues and Trends," released in December 2001. Ms. Biggs is also a frequent speaker on asbestos issues.

In addition, Ms. Biggs has significant experience in the professional liability area. Her work includes analyses of funding requirements, self-insured retention limits, and allocation systems for self-insured trust funds of several hospitals. She also performs reserve evaluations, opining on year-end statutory reserve levels for physician insurers. Additionally, she has assisted insurers by analyzing rate levels and preparing filing materials for entry into new states.

Prior to relocating to Tillinghast's St. Louis office in 1988, Ms. Biggs spent almost four years in Tillinghast's Bermuda office. There she gained considerable experience in financial reinsurance, performing pricing analyses for loss portfolio transfers. Most other assignments were related to loss reserving for reinsurance and captive insurance companies.
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Author