Author Profile

Ross holds a BS & MS in Mathematics. His undergraduate minor studies was in British poetry, while his major concentration in his Master’s courses was in Calculus. Initially, he taught high school math; leaving to enter the reinsurance field, where he became an underwriter and leader, eventually becoming COO of a reinsurance company overseeing underwriting, accounting, and claims. Toward the end of that career, Ross served as an expert witness and arbitrator in disputes between insurance carriers. At retirement, Ross briefly returned to teaching.

As a lead underwriter, Ross investigated a proposal for a reinsurance contract, analyzed the risk potential, determined a price, and negotiated the rate and terms. Other reinsurers accepted those terms and signed on for shares below my signature (hence the term underwriter). Ross presented the rationale to the insurance carrier or drafted the presentation for an intermediary’s presentation. In his work, he also wrote contract wording. There were standard clauses, however, each contract or treaty had certain specifications that required interpretation and a proper explanation. Thus, his writing was formal where precision and logic were necessary, and would be capsulated within industry and legal constraints.

As an industry leader, Ross had opinions and knowledge of trends and evolutionary changes in risk that were important to make known. That motivated him to expand his voice in the marketplace. He began writing articles about reinsurance trends and statistics. Although not an Actuary, Ross participated on an industrywide actuarial committee and in one instance chaired the first actuarial study of insurance damages in the US for hurricanes, tornados, floods, and earthquakes. This presentation and release were followed by several articles in reinsurance periodicals and an effort with other leaders to change the pricing methodology for liability excess of loss reinsurance. In retirement, his writing shifted to fiction. His stories have several common aspects: the approach is unusual, the perspective is interesting, and the writing is coherent.