Clare Ruel reviews the news

This week we spoke to Clare Ruel, Senior Reporter at Insurance Times to get her take on the past week in insurance news.

Which news story this week do you think will have the most long-term impact on the insurance industry?

Lloyd’s of London released a report this week about the high risk of cyber-attacks from Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Coincidentally, the previous week, I’d covered how Amazon Ring incidents have exposed new IoT risks and inconsistences in cyber insurance provisions. I think IoT risks for the industry will have a long-term impact with home-working likely to be factored in post-pandemic as well as ongoing technological developments; insurers need to be prepared as losses can also be physical.

 What has been the stand-out story for you in insurance this week - and why?

Independent broker Be Wiser announced that it had started consultations with its 280 employees around potential job losses resulting from a reorganisation of business.  On the flipside of this, we have already seen some new brokers popping up during the pandemic, and I believe there will be more.

What innovations or technologies do you think will make the biggest impact on the industry this year?

No-code technology. I think will be the next big thing, fast overtaking artificial intelligence and IoT as it simplifies IT with the capability of wrapping around legacy systems.

Which Insurtech companies will you be keeping a close eye on this year?

Zego! They are doing some interesting things with micro-mobility and getting involved with the e-scooter roll out, I can only see this getting bigger.

Who is your insurance personality of the week and why?

Matt Hodges-Long, co-founder of the Building Safety Register, the firm launched its building safety manifesto this week. He has been instrumental in actively suggesting solutions to some of the safety issues that have arisen post-Grenfell for the insurance industry. He is also chief executive and co-founder of TrackMyRisks.

And finally… 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?

Inga Beale, and I would ask her what it was like working at Lloyd’s of London as its first female chief executive and what the industry needs to do to move forward with diversity and inclusion.