Aon Benfield is examining how insurers and reinsurers can identify and capitalize on new growth opportunities amid challenging market dynamics at its 14th Biennial Hazards Conference in Australia. Aon noted that it’s “one of the largest gatherings of hazard risk professionals from both academia and the re/insurance industry.
In his keynote speech Malcolm Steingold, CEO of Aon Benfield for Asia Pacific, will discuss those opportunities. According to Aon Benfield’s calculations, which are quite broad, “global reinsurance capital remains at a near-record level of US$565 billion, and with sustained pressure from alternative capital sources, re/insurer margins are being placed increasingly under pressure.”
In his planned speech Aon said Steingold would “examine how organic growth might be achieved in the current environment by focusing on three specific areas,” which it listed as follows:
1. The reintroduction of products to the market using advanced data and analytics such as professional liabilities for financial institutions or product liability for pharmaceuticals.
2. The development of solutions for key emerging risks such as cyber, intellectual property and supply chain risk.
3. The re-privatization of risks that were transferred to the public sector in certain regions such as, earthquake, wind, flood, terrorism and US mortgage credit.
Steingold said: “Over the past decade, the market has become more complex with increased regulatory, rating agency and shareholder pressures. This has resulted in some re/insurers adopting a “zero failure” mindset, which may seem to offer a degree of protection, but does in fact stifle innovation and growth.
“Strategically, the industry has the ability to meet client needs, innovate and create an entrepreneurial environment that will bode well for business to rise to address the challenges it is facing. There is plenty of capital in our industry today, but there is also plenty of risk that is not currently being addressed by our industry. By developing the skills, capabilities and talent to address these risks, re/insurers will grant themselves new, long-term revenue streams.”
The bulletin noted that the “theme of the 2015 conference – “Beyond Tomorrow” – builds on the theme of the previous event – “THINK outside the Risk”- which explored ways to improve risk management in an increasingly complex world.
“Speakers and panelists this year will provide perspectives on understanding the future through talks on big data, evolving market trends and how pending technological advancements will challenge the insurance industry to evolve.
“Big picture trends will examine developments in the science of natural hazards and disasters and include a panel discussion on futurist fear factors. Corporate resilience will feature heavily in sessions associated with planning for the future while the conference will conclude with a series of presentations looking toward opportunities in a new market paradigm.”
Source: Aon Benfield
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