Andrew Yeoman, CEO of Concirrus, was present at IUMI 2022 in Chicago last week. His view of the conference as a whole was that “the only constant will be change”.
He note that the theme of the conference was ‘Adapting to a World in Transition’ and felt that this really characterized the presentations and conversations during the week. “Whether it’s the changing of market rates, the situation in Ukraine (and elsewhere), the widespread acceptance of data and analytics, or the emergence of ESG as a market priority, it’s clear that the only constant is going to be change”, said Yeoman.
“It was fantastic to hear that the market has returned to profitability, and long may this continue, although the sentiment in the conference was that 2022 rate increases have slowed. That said, there remains a great deal of optimism for the year ahead.” Yeoman said that many conversations centred on confiscation and war risk in Ukraine; there was also a growing concern on general supply chain fragility and the risks from port and vessel accumulations. As more data has become available, new insights were being delivered and new insights were being demanded.
From a re-insurance perspective, the sentiment seemed to be that the sector was “heading into a challenging renewal period with re-insurers looking to tighten wording and seeking a better return on the capital deployed. Ultimately, capital costs and constraints flow to the direct market and it will be interesting to see how the next three months pan out as we head towards the 1/1 renewals”, said Yeoman.
He noted that ESG formed a core part of the conference, clearly on many corporate agendas. “How this plays out in the market, how it’s decided what risks to write, what endorsements and exclusions might apply and how risk selection will work are some of the many issues that need to be worked through. However, it’s very rewarding to be part of a market that’s genuinely trying to make a difference”, said Yeoman.
“The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the need for real-time data to understand, price and manage risk. As we head into a future where data assets are clearly as advantageous as financial assets, now is the time for organizations to act – ensuring they are well equipped to take full advantage of the benefits data analytics can deliver”, Yeoman concluded.