Emerging market delegates boost IIS event
The influx of attendees from emerging markets will boost the International Insurance Society’s (IIS) annual seminar to reach record numbers as it celebrates its 50th Seminar in London this week.
“With this year's event being in London and it being the milestone of our 50th seminar, we will have around 60 different countries in attendance, which is the most we’ve ever had,” said Michael Morrissey, president of the IIS. “They’re not only from the US, and the UK, we also have delegates from Bhutan, Myanmar and everywhere in between.”
Interest from domestic insurers in emerging markets has increased as a result of sluggish growth in the developed markets.
“Growth of our membership has been mostly in emerging markets as they’re wanting and needing to learn quickly,” said Morrissey who has centered this year’s event around technology and science.
“Whether it relates to the impact on life insurance of genomic research and personalised medicine, or non-life industry concerns about natural catastrophe modelling and telematics, the impact of science and technology is great and getting even greater throughout the industry,” he said.
Other topics on the agenda will be the impact of chronically low interest rates, climate change and the incorporation of public private partnerships.
“The increase in frequency and severity of the impacts of climate change is a very deep concern in the non-life field and the related question of whether or not there needs to be an enhancement of public/private partnerships,” said Morrissey.
“On the life side, the concern relates to the ageing of the developed world and how public, private partnerships between the insurance industry and government might help the older age financial security problem.
“Over the next 12 months, the IIS will be focusing on the latter and how the global insurance industry can help policymakers deal with society's greatest challenges. Through forums like ours, we have an important role in letting public policy makers understand that the insurance industry isn’t just an entity that writes cheques after bad things happen; it mitigates losses, even prevents many losses and quantifies and prices risk in a way that's helpful to all sectors of our society.”
The Seminar runs from 22-25 June, 2014.
