In the time before COVID-19 and economic shutdowns, re/insurance offices were a daily hive of activity, with personnel buzzing to and fro about their respective markets and executives flying in and out from all over the world on a regular basis.
Fast-forward to 2021 and any return to that previous baseline seems like a distant prospect. As companies and employees have adapted to the changes, calls for hybrid or remote working arrangements have grown louder from both parties, with the rise of yet more variants of the disease pushing back any plans for a full return to the office.
For the hyper-social re/insurance world, this means some big changes. How will these pan out as the dust settles from the pandemic?
In a panel chaired by Tom Anderson, director of sales US at AdvantageGo, at the Re/insurance Lounge, Intelligent Insurer’s online, on-demand platform for interviews and panel discussions with industry leaders, David Govrin, SiriusPoint’s global chief underwriting and president of Americas reinsurance, and James Few, chief executive officer UK and international at TigerRisk Partners, gathered together to discuss the issue.
“I will be a strong supporter of face-to-face communication resuming as soon as is reasonably practical.”
James Few, TigerRisk Partners
Can you hear me? Can you see me?
Before the pandemic, the re/insurance broker industry was one of the most face time-intensive roles in financial services.
Few has borne the brunt of the onslaught of Zoom and videoconferencing, spending hours a day that would previously have been spent in the physical presence of clients and partners in front of a desktop.
However, while Few and TigerRisk have adapted as well as any to remote working, he thinks that the current status quo will be unsustainable in an industry as dependent on relationships and trust as re/insurance.
“It is quite difficult to do it hour after hour. If I’ve got 10 hours of Zoom calls in a row, I don’t think I’m as effective towards the end of the day as I’d like to think I might have been at the start of the day,” he said.
“Over time, it’s going to become harder and harder to keep maintaining the energy and the ability to interact with each other.”
Few may be suffering from the same Zoom fatigue which has struck many workers over the last year or so, but he recognises that there are some instances when it makes more sense to convene digitally.
“I hope we’ll take some of the good ideas and the cost saving and the efficiency we have developed in the last 18 months, because some of it’s good, it’s faster, and maybe a bit more efficient.”
This approach won’t work for all problems, however.
“For at least the more complex problems and for the more elaborate relationships, I will be a strong supporter of face-to-face communication resuming as soon as is reasonably practical,” he said.
“We’re not at the point where human capital doesn’t matter.“
David Govrin, SiriusPoint
Pushing forward
Govrin similarly sees the benefits of change born out of necessity rather than long-term planning.
“The forced switch to remote work and subsequent evolution by firms in the business has helped push the industry forward,” he said.
“We have to understand the impact that technology is having—not just on this industry, but every sector, and the impact that technology is going to have over the next 10 years and for the rest of my lifetime,” he added.
“The pandemic has only expedited that impact across many industries.”
However, Govrin said, the re/insurance industry remains dependent on the talent it can attract to manage the business, despite the significant steps taken over the last year and the longer horizon.
“We’re not at the point where human capital doesn’t matter,” he said.
“We’re talking right now. We’re all individuals who have some form of human capital. Human capital is still going to be very important.”
Anderson agreed, saying that the forced changes adopted over the past year could be a chance for the industry to have a clean slate to build on for the future.
“I look at it as a renaissance,” he said. “When we do get out of this, what does that look like, a year, 18 months from now is where you set it.
“There will be hybrids, there’s going to be adaptability and the ability to do technology, but we’ll also need to have those meetings, those dinners, and the conventions.”
To view the full Re/insurance Lounge session click here
Image: Shutterstock / PKpix
“There will be hybrids, there’s going to be adaptability.”
Tom Anderson, AdvantageGo
