EDITOR’S LETTER


Not throwing in the towel

“One reason for such optimism is the growing signs of a hardening market and the opportunities it brings.”

Welcome to the August edition of Intelligent Insurer Review.

It’s been a busy summer so far. Half-year and second quarter results are out and the impacts of COVID-19 have been evident. However, leaders in the re/insurance industry are still optimistic that the fallout is manageable.

Signs of optimism for 2021 are clear in the Lloyd’s of London market as plans for next year reveal market participants have requested £11 billion of new business for 2021. This is a figure that is 60 percent higher than in 2020, according to Lloyd’s CEO John Neal.

And Munich Re chairman Joachim Wenning was adamant that “Munich Re will emerge from this crisis economically stronger” in spite of P&C profit being halved in Q2 2020 as a result of the pandemic.

One reason for such optimism is the growing signs of a hardening market and the opportunities it brings. In this issue Axis Capital, for one, talks about the price changes it has seen so far.

The pandemic remains the biggest story for now, and in this issue we look at the way the outbreak has pushed digital processes ever higher up the re/insurance agenda, with features on Swiss Re’s iptiQ and how interest in AI-powered, touchless insurance has intensified.

We also look at the growing risk that comes with our increasingly interconnected world as a new insurance taskforce publishes it first report to kickstart the journey to find a global insurance industry solution to the ongoing debate about cyber war and cyber terrorism risk.

With the end of the pandemic possibly moving a little closer, the industry has shown it has no intention of throwing in the towel. If the half-year results are anything to go by we can expect to see a lot more market bullishness from re/insurers around the world.

Claire Churchard is deputy editor of the Newton Media Insurance Group

Image: shutterstock.com / Perfect Lazybones