Markel's Richie Whitt on market conditions, capital allocation and State National: Part I

In our latest edition of The Best Policy as part of #REinsuranceMonth, we are joined by Richie Whitt, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Markel Corporation.

In the first half of our interview, we discuss market conditions across the broad platform that Whitt oversees and how Markel makes capital allocation decisions to address opportunities in an improving market environment. 

We start by looking at the E&S market and how it compares to previous cycles, the chief executive's expectations for the upcoming renewal across property, casualty and specialty, and potential opportunities on the retro side.

We also talk about fundraising in the ILS space and the fronting solutions business at State National.

Finally, Whitt shares how capital allocation decisions are made across insurance, reinsurance and retro.

Part II will air later this week and will cover capital raising, low interest rates and the Covid-19 pandemic as a catalyst for change in the industry.