How does the insurance industry view sustainability and risk?
The answer is probably “all the time”. So it was great for the Worshipful Company of Insurers sustainability group to create an event to consider “ The Profit Opportunity – Insurance’s Climate Advantage”.
Over 40 senior attendees from a broad cross section of the industry attended. The panel and the audience discussed the size of the business opportunity being presented, through the transition to a low carbon economy and how the insurance sector needs to adapt, to deliver profits from this profound change. The panel of speakers addressed this with the enthusiasm and expertise to look at this subject from all angles.
Thanks go to:
Rain Newton-Smith. CEO of the CBI
Rowan Douglas CBE. CEO of Howden Climate
John Kermath Co-Founder of London GreenCity
Rain addressed the UK-wide opportunity. She spoke to the challenges facing industry and the need to underpin investment with de-risking solutions. She also touched upon skills shortages.
Rowan addressed the structural importance of insurance to society, as a risk sharing mechanism. He raised challenges about the failure as an industry to get out of inevitable silos and partner with other financial, business and government stakeholders. He made the point that within the skill sets, of analytics and risk assessment, are valuable tools that are broadly unknown. They can be a valuable source of revenue too.
John represents a green investment accelerator model that has been hugely impactful in Boston, USA for 14 years and has now opened up in London. He explained how they “ wrap around’ investment opportunities and provide multiple levels of support including Lab space. This also includes insurance and risk management, at the very earliest stages.
They have overcome the problem inherent in asking underwriters to cover “ new Tech” by baking-in established risk management disciplines from the off and collecting common data sets. They now have 14 years of enterprise risk data from all the businesses that have passed through the Boston operation which is now used in marketing risks here in London.
Outcomes and beyond
The meeting outcome was a truly positive perspective on the “size of the prize” and great insights as to how the insurance sector should be more visible and better connected to investors and industry.
The audience was keen for future engagement, so watch this space.
Thanks to many at the Livery including Nick Dunlop and Paolo Cuomo.
LCAG are glad to support and promote the great work of the City’s Livery Companies