New emerging risks offer insurers a valuable revenue stream!

By: Jim Bramblet — New emerging risks include: Cyber insurance; Increased longevity risk; New
commercial exposures in motor insurance; Insuring digital/virtual assets; The sharing economy;
The freelance/gig economy. Most folks understand the nature of risk arriving with autonomous and more instrumented vehicles, and much has been written about coverage moving from personal lines auto to general liability for vehicle manufacturers and software providers. But I’d like to explore a different angle. As I mentioned previously, I think the three levers of design thinking, building/iterating and connecting will give insurers an edge in the market. Let’s assume a carrier wants to introduce a new product to cover the general liability of an asset manufacturer for its analytics enabled Internet of Things (IoT) device. Applying the concept of design thinking to this business-to-business relationship, the carrier will ask itself how it can expose risk data, prior loss data, safety data and risk engineering data for underwriting and pricing when it quotes on that policy.

Through relationships and integrations with OEMs, it will have a material opportunity to gain a
better understanding of the space and how to price risks. Imagine the competitive advantage for a carrier that can stream data on the historical performance of insured assets directly from manufacturers.

Or the carrier’s ease of doing business with the brokerage community, or the effectiveness and
efficiency of a more data-enabled underwriting workforce. Similarly, the concept of building/
iterating applies. The maturity of big data platforms and associated data lakes will make integration much easier. And as risks continue to evolve as fast as manufacturers can continuously improve assets, the ability to quickly consume new risk data and drive that into underwriting and pricing processes will further cement competitive advantage. This advantage must be fueled by an agile business and technology organization that has the tools to test, fail and succeed quickly.

Finally, connecting to an ecosystem outside of a carrier’s four walls is fundamental to
understanding emerging risks, developing products that are relevant, and underwriting and pricing them in an effective and profitable manner. In the near term, carriers might be hesitant to invest here, citing things like the lack of standards across manufacturers or the lack of scale in the market.

I would counter that now is exactly the right time to invest in these capabilities and to develop the living business muscles that will be required to compete in five years. Carriers willing to start
building these skills now will have time on their side. Their risk is low because they will have time
for testing and failing before these new capabilities need to be scaled up.

“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated”

Not all days are bad and not all days are perfect either. As we walk around in our individual capacities we all carry heavy burdens that can be extremely heavy and can weigh us down. We also have experienced moments that we are not proud of and even if they are to be repeated we might wish for death.

Just because we face many struggles it does not mean that we are failures. Struggling is not the same as failing but what is most important is how strong we come back after a fall. A spirit that does not want to be defeated cry but at the same time gets the strength to wipe away those tears and continue to face the challenges. Each one of us have faced wars or challenges that we have not won at times but that does not mean that we are weak. Not every war is meant to be won, but some wars are meant to provoke our fighting spirit so that we can think outside the box.

When hit with difficult times in life, gather all the strength in you to fight and pull through. Some situations might be scary but remember in our last article we emphasized on the phrase what does not kill you only make you stronger. So what do we need to do? See the light of positivity in all the difficulties that you face with faith and hope. Never let your struggles define you.

Every setback is a setup for a come back and you ought to concentrate all your thoughts on the work or challenge at hand. PATIENCE! PATIENCE! PATIENCE! There are no shortcuts to any place worth going and no matter the obstacles we face, all things are difficult before they become easy.

When we suffer defeat we must use it to reflect what changes we are willing to make in ourselves and our lives. It could also be life changing events that are guiding us into our true calling. No matter the challenges we may encounter winners never give up. People who quit are never winners. You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from and how you can still come out of it.

IIZ ANNUAL FUNDRAISING GOLF TOURNAMENT – FRIDAY 15 JUNE 2018

“If you think its hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.” IIZ brings you yet another exciting fundraising golf tournament at the Chapman Golf Club on the 15th of June 2018. It’s another Par-Tee-Time for a round of Golf. Lot’s of exciting prizes to be won. Register today for Exhibition, Sponsorship and Participation. Call us today for more information!!!

WINTER SCHOOL | 19 – 22 AUGUST | TROUTBECK NYANGA

Join us at this year’s Winter School as IIZ partners with the Insurance Industry aiming to avail a platform for training and development of future leaders in the insurance industry. Leaders who will make things happen; who will maintain the image of the Insurance Industry and build it to lofty heights from the foundations the current leaders are laying. The theme of the 2018 Winter School is “Driving Growth—Disrupting the Mind-set Completely.” Call us today for more information!!!

IIZ ANNUAL DINNER | FRIDAY 7 DECEMBER 2018 | MEIKLES HOTEL

We close down the year with this august event where people from all sectors of the industry gather to celebrate the milestones achieved in the year. Come and dine with us as we celebrate a successful and fruitful year. This year we are having an exciting theme…watch the space!!!