Insurers vulnerable to new risks
Insurers are vulnerable to risks they do not understand, said Sandip Patel, global industry leader for insurance, healthcare and life sciences, IBM.
He was speaking at the Rendez-Vous de Septembre’s presentation debate called Industry 4.0:
Will insurers participate in the expected upswing or will they miss the boat, which was hosted by Torsten Jeworrek, member of the board of management, Munich Re.
He claimed that this lack of protection is causing a “white space” in the industry, which is leaving insurers at risk.
Patel named five key risks to the industry: cyber, arising from a high reliance on IT and connected systems; business disruption, either natural or cyber; macro-environment risk; reputation risk, through situations such as data loss, which can result in loss of revenues; and talent risk.
“The challenge we have as an industry is first to understand these risks; second and more important is to think about which of these are threats to our business which we need to proactively manage and then to develop opportunities for new revenue,” said Patel.
The expert claimed that globalisation is “exacerbating” these risks, because they are manifesting themselves in different situations and industries, which is having a “cascade” effect.
He claimed that there is a serious need for “communication across supply lines” and risk mitigation strategies that are supported by predictive analytic solutions to help risk prevention.
