EDITOR’S LETTER

No time to relax

“We have again covered all the ways this industry is so good at adapting to change and able to innovate.”

The floods that devasted Germany and Belgium in July served as a timely reminder to the industry of just how unpredictable the world can be—a lesson it is important never to lose sight of when you work in the world of risk management and mitigation.

More recently, the industry has been hit by further hard-hitting and extremely stark reminders of the volatility the industry must contend with. Hurricane Ida was the second most intense hurricane ever to strike Louisiana, behind only Hurricane Katrina, and California is again experiencing a devastating wildfire season.

All this is occurring just when the industry thought some of the major challenges it has faced in recent years had passed or been solved—and when the COVID-19 seemed manageable, and rates were improving: the idea of a now almost mythical hard market appeared to be reborn.

All these factors make for an interesting start to conference season. Just months ago, there was talk of rates dampening on the back of a relatively benign first half of the year and new capacity entering the market. After what we have seen in recent months, reinsurers will be keen to give no ground in negotiations in the coming months.

It is against this backdrop that we brought together industry experts to discuss some of the biggest issues re/insurers are grappling with. We held a panel discussion examining flood risk—and learned just why the industry finds this risk so hard to handle.

We have again covered all the ways this industry is so good at adapting to change and able to innovate. We have spoken to many new startups in the industry in recent issues. This month, we speak to the founder of Hoxton, a new managing general agent that has entered the market at a time of change—and when it is needed. With innovation at its heart, the company epitomises how the industry copes with change.

We also have a fascinating chat with the partners of Eos Ventures, a strategic venture capital fund focused on insurtech companies, to find out what they look for in a deal—and their views on whether the insurtech boom is a bubble set to burst.

All this plus more on technology, Latin America and climate change. Enjoy the September issue of Intelligent Insurer Review.

Wyn Jenkins is managing editor of the Newton Media insurance group

Image: shutterstock.com / Benjamin Clapp