Analysis
US flood insurance: bridging the political chasm
Hurricanes Michael and Florence have again drawn attention to the issue of underinsurance of flood risk in the US. The industry says regulators are stymieing the market, and reforms are stuck in a political logjam. InsuranceERM's US editor Sarfraz Thind reports
Finding the future for AI in P&C insurance
Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve a number of important processes, and raise the understanding of risk drivers, insurers told Willis Towers Watson in a recent survey. Neil Chapman explains the key findings to Paul Walsh
InsuranceERM's Technology Guide 2018-19 is now live
Christopher Cundy introduces this year's guide to risk, capital and asset management software
Insurers far from being family and diversity-friendly organisations
Panellists at last week's Dive In festival said they were encouraged by the insurance industry's willingness to improve policies on work-life balance and diversity, but warned there is still a long way to go. Ronan McCaughey reports
RMS targets efficient accumulation risk management with data schema
Insurers have identified a need to better understand how risk accumulates across different business lines. Paul Walsh talks to RMS's Andrew Coburn to understand how the firm's new data schema will help.
"Standalone cyber is the way forward" - Tokio Marine's Daljitt Barn
Cyber risk expert Daljitt Barn has taken up a new role as global head of cyber risk at specialist insurer Tokio Marine. He explains to Paul Walsh why insurers have struggled to grasp the cyber risk threat, and what they should do to grow the market
Finding the goal in insurtech - part two: the insurers
In the second part of this series of interviews, Cintia Cheong and Paul Walsh talk to insurers about their approach to insurtech development and where they are already reaping the rewards
Is the price of patent insurance too high?
Intellectual property and patents have become a cornerstone of the global economy, but the risks associated with these assets are rarely laid off to insurers. Tim Freestone continues his series of articles on insuring intangible risk with an investigation into the pricing of patent insurance
Finding the goal in insurtech - part one: the investors
Strategies for capitalising on new insurance technologies are as varied as the technologies themselves. In part one of this series of interviews, Cintia Cheong talks to insurtech investors about the most promising areas for tech development, and how they are making their investments
Modelling future profit emergence under IFRS 17
Understanding how IFRS 17 financial statements might evolve in the future will be of vital importance to insurers and their investors. Steven Morrison describes a methodology for 'top-down' modelling of key metrics to enable fast and effective decision-making
Most of Europe's non-life business "marginal or loss-making" in 2017
Analysis by Insurance Risk Data of combined ratios reveals marine, aviation and transport is the sector with the least profitable premiums. David Walker reports
Tokio Marine overhauls risk management systems
The Japanese insurance group has upgraded its risk management processes to eliminate manual interventions and deliver an enhanced view of group risk. Christopher Cundy reports
IAIS gears up for a global supervisory regime
Since the International Association of Insurance Supervisors introduced the Insurance Capital Standard in 2016, the industry and some supervisors have pushed for fundamental changes in a number of areas. With a new consultation package, the IAIS aspires to square the circle. Aggelos Andreou reports
Insurers dedicated over €7m to lobbying EU last year
Spending on influencing EU officials has been maintained despite passing of Solvency II. Molly Wilson reports on the figures
Putting gender equality principles into practice
Many insurers have committed to narrowing the pay and seniority imbalance that exists between their male and female employees, but are their policies having any effect? Paul Walsh investigates
Californian commissioner warns over fire insurance risk
California is not at a crisis point yet in terms of the availability of insurance to citizens burnt out in last year's fires, but the trends are not good, Dave Jones the state's insurance commissioner says. David Walker reports
Capital modelling: Why do more simulations matter?
Greater computing power adds significantly to the integrity and value of the capital modelling process. So how much longer can capital modelling actuaries resist the case for changing to higher performance platforms? Asks Sunnie Luthra
Supervisors inconsistent in monitoring climate risk
Supervisors' varying levels of familiarity with climate risk requires the establishment of a global framework for measuring and managing those risks, according to the IAIS and the UN SIF.
Capital modelling: building a better correlations matrix
Correlation matrices have a major influence on how internal models allocate capital, but conventional processes sometimes struggle to make sense from a business perspective. Colin Kerley suggests an alternative approach
Equity release mortgages: stopping the roof falling in
The Prudential Regulation Authority has shaken up life insurers by proposing new assumptions around the valuation of ERMs. The more prudent approach seeks to avoid a potential disaster if house prices stagnate or crash, but the impact on insurers could be serious. Christopher Cundy reports