Helen Yates reviews the news
This week we spoke to Helen Yates, the Editor, StrategicRISK/Global Reinsurance, to get her take on the past week in insurance news.
What has been the stand-out story for you in the insurance/risk management market this week and why?
In a number of different guises, it is about how the insurance industry is (or rather isn't) staying relevant. There are reports about captives being a good solution for risks such as cyber and D&O amid the ongoing hard market. There's the CityAM story that Aviva and Liberty Mutual are being pursued by pub chain Fuller's over the non-payment of COVID-related BI claims. These legal disputes are denting insurer reputations and prompting buyers to switch provider or cancel their cover, according to GlobalData.
Meanwhile, WTW reports that three years of major supply chain disruptions have seen a surge in demand for risk transfer solutions, but that BI insurance protection is still a 'wafer-thin patchwork'. Insurers and brokers have to join the dots and come up with reliable, affordable insurance solutions that respond as expected, particularly for today's more intangible risks. Nobody is saying it's easy, but it's essential for the industry's future.
2. Who is your insurance personality of the week and why?
It's got to be Warren Buffett, thanks to his ever-generous nuggets in Berkshire Hathaway's letter to shareholders. At 92 he's as sharp as ever with sage advice for investors and insights into how he became so successful. I admire him for the same reasons as many others, but in particular for his risk management wisdom, turn of phrase and seeming lack of pretention (for instance, still living in the same house he bought in 1958).
In this year's letter, he says: "Our CEO will always be the Chief Risk Officer – a task it is irresponsible to delegate". Hopefully he will heed his own advice and get on board with climate and ESG disclosures.
3. Which news this week do you think will have the most long-term impact on the insurance and risk management profession?
The one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The conflict is spilling over in so many different ways and will impact society, the business world and of course the insurance sector for many years to come. From the direct devastation of the war itself through to the many knock-on effects, with inflation exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis, energy security challenges (and short-term trade-offs in our transition to net zero), cyber threats, supply chain disruptions and of course an increasingly polarised world.
I don't think we'll truly understand the impact of it all for many years to come, but coming so soon after the global pandemic it is again elevating the importance and need for strong risk management.
4. If you could interview anyone from the world of insurance and they had to answer your question 100% truthfully, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Denis Kessler. I'd ask if it was true that he'd serenaded a couple of rating agency analysts with a rendition of a certain Rolling Stones song (while playing air guitar) back in the day when SCOR was trying to get its A rating back. I really hope it's true. He's a legend in the reinsurance business either way.
5. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the insurance industry, what would it be?
Having watched the industry from the side-lines for the past 18 years I have seen a lot of positive change, but there still appears to be an issue in some quarters with toxic cultures and behaviours. If someone as senior as Amanda Blanc can experience sexism and disrespect in the workplace in this day and age, it tells me there's still work to be done. If I had a magic wand, I'd wish for zero tolerance in this industry and every other where discrimination and bullying are concerned.
6. And finally, would you survive a zombie apocalypse?
I asked my other half and he didn't think I would, because I'm too short and with zombies you need to go for the head.