Over-regulation could harm the industry: Catlin

There is a grave danger that over regulation, the inconsistency of regulations across geographies and a lack of fundamental trust between insurers and insureds could kill off the insurance industry.

This was the opinion of Paul Jardine, chief operating officer of Catlin, speaking at the IIS conference yesterday (Tuesday June 24) in London.

He also noted that the balance of power is moving more towards the policyholder, who has much more insight into risk profiles than insurers may ever have.

Jardine added that a fundamental lack of trust exists, especially within the European market. He cited a table showing that the perception of insurers in the UK is very low – lower than lawyers and bankers.

Stephen Catlin, chief executive of Catlin, added that there are considerable challenges ahead in terms of the industry’s relationship with regulators and that over the next few years, there will be “a number of stresses and strains we must work through to become an efficient industry again”.

Mario Greco, Generali CEO, added: “It is important for us to get certainty. I wish for all regulators to coordinate better, that they can clarify what they want from us and give us clear guidelines.” He added that he was hopeful this would create more stability over time.