Modern Insurance Magazine Issue 60

ISSUE
60
ISSN 2515-3803
Risky
Business
Searching for
Answers
with Iain Willis,
Gallagher Research Centre
Europcar:
Industry Collaboration
Modelling
Modern Risk
with Dr Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace,
Lloyds of London
INSUR.TECH.
TALK
Insurtech Insights
Modern Claims
Awards 2023
Winners Edition
2023 Contributors Media Partners
Modern Claims Awards
Sponsor

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WELCOME
Hello readers,
Welcome to Issue 60 of Modern Insurance Magazine, where we’re
looking into the nature of catastrophic events, modelling risk, and
resilience.
We live in a heightened risk landscape. There’s an ever-present threat in terms of
global natural catastrophe risk - made even more turbulent by climate change -
alongside that of anthropogenic (man-made) peril such as Terrorism and Cyber.
How has the insurance industry responded and evolved to this myriad of systemic
risks? Are we doing enough to shield our assets? What steps can we take to
minimise the protection gap, and how can the industry do more to seize the
opportunity for preparedness and protection in the months and years to come?
Amelia Barlow, Editor
To introduce our key theme, I’m delighted to have been joined by Tim Yeates, Co-
Founder of Carbon1 Ltd, on p.8. I also spent time with Iain Willis, Research Director
at Gallagher Research Centre (p.14) and Dr Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace, Director of
Portfolio Risk Management at Lloyd’s of London (p.12) to challenge and celebrate
industry action in this niche but vital corner of the sector.
As always, there’s a vast selection of thought leadership contributions from our
in-house editorial board of experts, starting with Carpenters Group on p.17. You’ll
also find several articles from our group of esteemed industry associations from
p.33 onwards!
In addition, we’re celebrating the valued winners and shortlisted finalists of this
year’s Modern Claims Awards in this issue, a full event write up of which you can
read from p.59.
Finally, let’s not forget the return of INSUR.TECH.TALK, in partnership with
Insurtech Insights, bringing you the very latest updates from the world of insurtech
through a series of highly astute interviews and thought leadership features.
I’ve wanted to delve further into this aspect of the insurance industry for a really
long time. For me, this edition has been a real labour of love to put together, and I
sincerely hope you enjoy.
Until next time,
Rachael Pearson, Project Manager
Amelia Day Barlow,
Editor,
Modern Insurance Magazine.
amelia@charltongrant.co.uk
ISSUE 60
ISSN 2515-3803
Editor
Amelia Barlow
Project Manager & Events Sales
Rachael Pearson
Modern Insurance Magazine
is published by Charlton Grant Ltd ©2023
All material is copyrighted both written and illustrated. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly
forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. All images and information is collated
from extensive research and along with advertisements is published in good faith. Although the
author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this publication
was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any
liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether
such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.
MODERN INSURANCE | 3

8
12
Contents
48
59
14
66
4 | MODERN INSURANCE

8
12
14
17
33
30
32
43
45
47
48
Insight
Every Cloud has a Silver Lining, by
Tim Yeates, Co-Founder, Carbon1
Ltd
Interview
Modelling Modern Risk with
Dr Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace, Lloyds
of London
Searching for Answers with Iain
Willis, Gallagher Research Centre
Editorial Board
Find out what our editorial board
panel of experts have to say in
this edition of Modern Insurance
Magazine.
Associations
Assemble
Modern Insurance’s panel of resident
associations outline the burning
issues in insurance.
Features
A Final Word with Steve White,
British Insurance Brokers’
Association (BIBA)
Is it time for Risk Managers to
rethink their role in the Climate
Crisis? by François Lanavère, Head
of Strategic Partnerships, AXA
Climate
Just a Thought with Eddie
Longworth…
Building Trust through Responsible
AI in Claims: Championing a
Voluntary Code of Conduct
Making Efficiency Gains in
Subsidence Claims, by Chris Carlton
MRICS, New Business & Key Account
Director, Geobear
Chemistry for a Sustainable Future:
Q&A with Grant Dempsey, Sales
Manager - Distribution, BASF
Automotive Refinish UK & Ireland
Industry Collaboration: Working
together to provide the best
mobility solution, with James
Roberts, Europcar
51
53
55
57
59
Thinking Upside Down: Mind the
Protection Gap, by Ashley Preece,
Product Owner, Claim Technology
In Conversation with… Neil Garrett,
UK, South Africa & Nordics Sales
Director, Solera | Audatex
I Love Claims / ARC 360: A New
Climate for Claims
10 Mins with...
10 minutes with...Ola Jacob,
Independent Insurance Advisor
In Celebration
Modern Claims Awards 2023
Insur.Tech.Talk
Interviews
66 Welcome
Megan Kuczynski, President,
Insurtech Insights
67
68
CLARA Analytics
Heather H. Wilson, CEO, CLARA
Analytics
Climate Risk and Resilience
with Stephen Weinstein, Former
Chair of the Bermuda Business
Development Agency
70 Maptycs
Jacqui LeGrand, CEO, Maptycs
71
73
Verisk
Bill Churney, President, Extreme
Event Solutions, Verisk
Insur.Tech.Talk
Editorial Board
Experts from within the Insurtech
sector and beyond join us once more
to share their unique insights!
INSUR.TECH.TALK BOARD
Disclaimer: Our publications contain advertising material submitted by third parties. Each individual advertiser is solely responsible for the content of its advertising
material. We accept no responsibility for the content of advertising material, including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. We do not endorse,
and are not responsible or liable for, any advertising or products in such advertising, nor for any any damage, loss or offence caused or alleged to be caused by, or in
connection with, the use of or reliance on any such advertising or products in such advertising.
MODERN INSURANCE | 5

Editorial Board
17 SUPPORTING
VULNERABLE
CUSTOMERS IN
CATASTROPHIC
CLAIMS
19
21
Carol Hopwood, Head of
Serious and Catastrophic Injury,
Carpenters Group
DATA SECURITY IS A
VIZION STANDARD
Chris McKie, Managing Director,
Vizion Network Limited
PREPARING FOR
CLIMATE RISK
Caroline Elliott-Grey, product
manager, LexisNexis Risk
Solutions, Insurance, U.K. and
Ireland
A RESILIENCE
STRATEGY FOR THE
FUTURE
Simon Hunt, Commercial &
Services Director, National
Windscreens
SAFEGUARDING THE
FUTURE AT SYNETIQ
Tom Rumboll, Chief Executive
Officer, Synetiq Solutions
23
25
‘GROW’ AT EDAM GROUP
Clare Charity, Group Learning and
Development Manager, EDAM
Group
MITIGATING MODERN
RISK
Lior Koskas, CEO, Diglog UK Ltd
BUSINESS RESILIENCE
IN THE E2E NETWORK
MODEL
Jim Loughran, CEO, e2e Total Loss
Vehicle Management
STEERING OUR
GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY
TARGET FOR CLIMATE
PROTECTION
Natalie Wong, Marketing &
Portfolio Management Lead, BASF
Automotive Refinish UK & Ireland
CAN WE INCREASE
VEHICLE REPAIR
CAPACITY?
Jim Gordon, Operations Director,
Activate Accident Repair
Editorial Board Contributors
6 | MODERN INSURANCE

EUROPCAR
NEW BRAND BLOCK
Color gradient background
File: 20151645E
Date: 7/10/2015
AC/DC validation :
Client validation :
Insur.tech. talk and
Editorial Board
27
29
31
PAVING THE WAY
FOR HEIGHTENED
RESILIENCE
Andrew Chandler, Sales Director,
FMG
IMPROVING RESILIENCE
TO RISK
Will Prest, Project Manager,
Paracode Agile Insurance
Software
OUR RESPONSE TO
CATASTROPHIC
CLAIMS
Mick Jennings, Managing
Director, Nationwide Vehicle
Recovery Assistance
NAVIGATING THE
SKILLS GAP
Dave Sargeant, Managing
Director, Gemini Accident Repair
Solutions
RISING TO THE
CHALLENGE
Lisa Bartlett, President, UK &
Ireland, Crawford & Co.
RESILIENCE AT RGI
SOLUTIONS
Sarah Glenn, Commercial
Director, RGI Solutions
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
Welcome - Bradley Collins, Chief
Commercial Officer, Insurtech
Insights
AXA Retail - Tara Foley, CEO of AXA
Retail
Munich Re - Dr. Fabian Winter, Group
Chief Data Officer at Munich Re
EIS - Anthony Grosso, CMO of EIS
35 MASS
Zego - Sten Saar, CEO of Zego
Transparency with E-Scooter
Aon Regulations - Marguerite Soeteman-Reijnen,
Chairman Sue Brown, Executive Chair, Board, Motor Accident Aon
Holdings Solicitors Society (MASS)
CHO
Arma Catastrophic Karma - Ben Events, Smyth, Climate CEO, & Loss
Arma Anthony Karma Hughes, Chair and CEO, Credit
Revolut
Hire Organisation
- Balázs Gáti,
(CHO)
Global Head of
Insurance, Revolut
37 APIL
An Overdue Reform to Bereavement
BIMA Damages - Mathilda Strom, Co-Founder
73 & Deputy Jonathan CEO, Scarsbrook, BIMA President,
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
WTW (APIL) - Pardeep Bassi, Global
Proposition Leader – Data Science,
WTW FOIL
Collaboration is Key
Laurence Besemer, Chief Executive
Insur.Tech.Talk
Officer of FOIL (Forum of Insurance
Lawyers)
Editorial Heather Sanderson, Board Sanderson Law,
Vice-President of CDL (Canadian
Experts Defence from Lawyers) within the Insurtech
75 sector and beyond share their unique
insights. In this issue, we look at
39 BIBA
balancing Insurance automation and the Weather with customer
satisfaction, Graeme Trudgill, the concept Executive of ‘digital Director,
transformation’,
British Insurance
and
Brokers’
how new
Associations
(BIBA)
signals
point to technology as a solution to
address MGAA economic concerns.
Markets Unlocked through the Power
INSUR.TECH.TALK of Data BOARD
Mike Keating, CEO, Managing General
Agents’ Association (MGAA)
41
CII
Industry Influences on Climate
Dr Matthew Connell, Director, Policy
and Public Affairs, Chartered Insurance
Institute (CII)
BDMA
Collaboration in the Climate Crisis
Adrian Jolly, Head of Strategic
Development, British Damage
Management Association (BDMA)
MODERN INSURANCE | 7

INSIGHT
Catastrophes are extreme
events. Almost by definition,
they overturn every sense
of normality in our human
environment, exceeding the
normal capacity of society’s
risk management stratagems.
8 | MODERN INSURANCE

INSIGHT
These events openly challenge any
tendency that society may have towards
complacency. Our human disposition to
believe that disasters can be ignored until
they happen – or, indeed, that they only
happen to others - has never been helpful
in terms of protection and preparedness.
On an increasingly regular basis, nature
has the remarkable ability to remind us
who’s boss on ‘our’ planet. Climate change
is today’s ultimate reminder of this, with
rising sea levels, extreme temperatures
and unpredictable weather events
causing chaos across all aspects of our
contemporary society.
Historically, populations and economies
have been exposed to the full impact of
many natural disasters: floods, droughts,
hurricanes, pandemics, earthquakes,
eruptions, forest fires, and so on. But even
with sophisticated protection measures
such as vaccinations, flood defences,
building codes and forest management all
at our disposal, natural catastrophes still
lead to millions of deaths and possess the
power to reverse decades of economic
development.
The list is long and tragic. In recent years,
we’ve seen a global pandemic, earthquakes
in Turkey/Syria, floods in Pakistan, drought
in the Horn of Africa, wildfires in North
America – to name but a few devastating
natural losses. Many of these ‘once-ina-lifetime’
disasters are happening at an
alarming rate, destabilising our ability
to review historic data to model the
likelihood of future perils.
ADAPT OR DIE
The (re)insurance market has been
forced to adapt quickly to much higher
values of economic exposure. In some
cases, spreading the risk has become
almost impossible for even the largest
(re)insurers. This in turn has led to many
insurers withdrawing from developed and
established markets in the US, such as
those in California and Florida, alongside
the avoidance of entering large swathes
of emerging markets in countries such
as Africa and Asia. These are sure-fire
warning signs; insurance is in danger
of reducing its future relevance in the
financial services arena, and increasing its
reliance on taxpayer-funded state support
instead.
Major catastrophe losses have always
been a wake-up call for (re)insurers.
Post-loss strides are generally made in
the short term - ‘Cat Pools’ are set up,
supplementary capital is raised, and
insurance taxes are levied.
These solutions seem to be increasing
geographically, both in size and
sophistication. However, even these
positive changes can be too limited in
scope. Whether these measures are
compulsory or voluntary, national or
multilateral, they tend to focus heavily on
post-loss financing. This means that the
funds available can easily fall behind the
growing loss costs of the catastrophes
themselves.
THE
UNDERLYING
PROBLEM
Insurance cannot work sustainably in a
market where losses are essentially out
of control. Finding ways to control efforts
and improve risk prevention is the only
logical response.
Many countries around the world do not
even have a strategic risk plan in place.
Their economies are weak and insurance
penetration is low, demanding systemwide
intervention with foundations in
education, collaboration, communication,
and well-informed long-term investment.
Such investment has to demonstrate
valuable returns, so we need to measure
benefits not just in financial terms,
but in broader environmental, social,
and economic ways too. Incidentally,
significant work has been ongoing for
some years now, encouraging (re)insurers
to use their own balance sheet assets for
the purpose of such gains.
We all share in our experience of the climate
problem, albeit to varying degrees. As a
consequence, we’re going to have to find
ways to share in the solution, much as we
did with vaccination development at the
start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yes, the
well-publicised commitment to worldwide
Net Zero forms part of the solution, but
this needs to be implemented globally
to be of real use – a challenge that must
be addressed sooner rather than later
if we are to make any significant strides
towards this goal.
MODERN INSURANCE | 9

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF
SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY
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INSIGHT
THE
NECESSARY
ROLE OF
INSURANCE
Insurance has a vital role to play in
many aspects of these risk solutions. As
an industry, we belong to organisations
such as the Insurance Development
Forum (IDF) - a global partnership
between the United Nations, World
Bank and the insurance industry - which
aims to push hard for establishing
concrete change.
Many of the tools that we require are
data and knowledge-based, so it is
fortunate that the technology sector has
never been stronger. AI, data gathering,
analysis and risk modelling can all be
harnessed to tackle systemic perils,
and our industry continues to possess
a definitive advantage in this space. We
are developing and utilising such risk
management tools already, so more
intensive cross-sector partnerships
and collaboration across multiple
disciplines would certainly make sense
if we are ever going to effectively grasp
solutions for positive transformation.
Our industry also knows how to raise
capital, price risk, and design prevention
and protection solutions. We even know
how to regulate these activities around
the globe. However, we are going to
have to make fundamental changes and
unbundle our most valuable forwardlooking
services from premiums written
if we are ever going to sustain the
healthy operations of our well-oiled
machine.
effectively against the perceived
remote threats of the future. Insurers
need to be at the heart of these
tough discussions to create a greater
consensus around the gravity of the
catastrophe problems we face as a
society, demanding more practical
collaboration across all aspects of the
solution.
Too many lessons are easily forgotten
over time. Much-needed houses
continue to be built on flood plains,
or reconstructed out of wood in
hurricane zones. Buildings, towns,
and even cities known to be exposed
to seismic shocks are not earthquake
resilient, even though we have the
knowledge and means to make them
so. Since insurance is a long-term
system, surely we can find a way
to help with the improvement of
resilience - perhaps by ‘building back
better’ and collaborating further with
planning authorities?
Perhaps my inclination to identify
opportunity wherever there is risk
could be interpreted as professional
bias. Regardless, I am convinced
that this is a time of huge prospect
for our industry if only we can
recognise our strengths, seize the
day and act decisively. Changing fast,
fundamentally and all together is our
biggest hurdle.
SEIZE THE
OPPORTUNITY
The overall catastrophe management
challenge for policy and decision
makers has always been considerable,
with significant investment needed
in the present in order to protect
Tim Yeates,
Co-Founder, Carbon1 Ltd.
MODERN INSURANCE | 11

INTERVIEWS
Modelling
Modern Risk
with Dr. Kirsten Mitchell Wallace
Modern risk comes in many different forms. With this in mind, Modern Insurance
Magazine sat down with Dr. Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace, Director of Portfolio Risk
Management at Lloyd’s of London, to discuss emerging challenges in the catastrophe
risk market, the potential of new state-of-the-art underwriting technology, and the steps
being taken to reassure the wider industry in light of rising claims costs.
Hi, Kirsten – great to meet you! Thanks so
much for your time today.
Q
You are responsible for leading the strategy
and day-to-day activities of the Lloyd’s Portfolio
Risk Management Directorate. I’d like to start by
talking about your current priorities within this role.
Where does your focus lie at present?
AThanks Amelia. Great to meet you, too!
The primary goal of the Portfolio Risk
Management department at Lloyd’s is
to create confidence to take risk. We have four
teams focusing on Exposure Management and
Aggregation, Outwards Reinsurance, Pricing
and Portfolio Analytics, and Emerging Risks. The
quantification of catastrophe risk is a very important
part of that, but it’s certainly not all we do – our work
covers many disciplines and parts of Lloyd’s.
We have four key strategic priorities at the moment,
which is primarily where our focus lies. Firstly, we’re
reviewing the risk landscape – not just in natural
catastrophe risk but also in non-natural catastrophe
risk, like Cyber and Liability. We’re also looking at
how we can apply technical advances in the field and
disseminate best practice. We are developing our
oversight, particularly around pricing, which is quite
new for Lloyd’s. Finally, we’re looking at how we can
improve our processes to make them smoother.
QWe live in a time of unprecedented levels
of risk from both natural and anthropogenic
causes. What are the emerging market
challenges facing the catastrophe risk industry at
the moment?
AWell, in terms of natural catastrophe (‘Nat
Cat’) risk, we’re in a fairly good position in
many ways because we have years of data,
alongside established frameworks for understanding
the risk and recording exposures. In terms of non-
Nat Cat risk, particularly cyber, there’s definitely still
more work to do in terms of how we quantify those
risks. That’s certainly a big challenge at the moment.
The completeness and appropriateness of our risk
quantification methods is also a challenge. We must
continually review our models to make sure they’re
appropriate for current risks, accounting for changes
in hazard, particularly with regards to regional
perils and in response to climate change. Whether
it’s monitoring the impacts of social inflation or
issues around insurance to value, models should be
complete for all of the different sources of risk that
might be associated with a peril.
QLloyd’s maintains mandatory Realistic
Disaster Scenarios to stress test both
individual syndicates and the market as a
whole. How have tests evolved in recent years,
and what are your findings within this results
framework?
AWe’re always evolving and reviewing our
Realistic Disaster Scenario framework to
make sure it continues to be appropriate for
the risk landscape.
However, we also know the risk landscape is
changing rapidly. We’ve just completed a data
collection exercise on geopolitical risk scenarios,
for example, and we’ve recently updated our cyber
risk scenarios to make sure we’re still measuring
the right things – blackouts, data breaches,
ransomware and cloud cascade scenarios.
Three years ago, we also introduced six new liability
scenarios around financial product mis-selling,
financial market manipulation, pharmaceutical
products, construction products, and chemicals in
the food & energy sectors respectively.
We need to make sure our scenarios remain
appropriate for both Nat Cat and non-Nat Cat risk.
QTell me about your most successful
transformation effort. How has this come to
fruition in recent years?
AIn terms of oversight at Lloyds, the move
from ‘minimum standards’ (of which
we had hundreds) to oversight based
on just 13 principles has been really important.
This embraces the concept that the level of
risk should be proportionate to your maturity
and ability to manage that risk, and that’s been
a really fundamental transformation. We’ve
certainly moved away from a minimum standards
approach, towards a method that is more outcomeorientated.
It seems to be working really well.
QWhat potential is being realised through
new, state of the art underwriting
technology?
AWell, there are a number of algorithmic
underwriting proposals in play at the
moment, not to mention existing syndicates
as well. There’s a lot of discussion about Big
Data in particular, and the potential that could be
unlocked. For example, businesses are now using
satellite data to really understand the details of
roof types on individual properties, which can
massively impact the outcomes of claims potential.
Telemetrics data isn’t something we’d use so much
at Lloyd’s, but having seen the impact of that in the
12 | MODERN INSURANCE

INTERVIEWS
Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace
is the Director of Portfolio Risk Management at Lloyd’s, the world’s
leading insurance market. She is responsible for leading the strategy
and day to day activities of Exposure Management & Aggregation,
Outwards Reinsurance, Pricing & Portfolio Analytics and Emerging
Risks teams. She has been at Lloyd’s for over 5 years and has over 20
years of experience in the insurance industry. In her previous role as
Regional Cat Manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa at SCOR, she
was responsible for leading catastrophe risk teams based in Zurich and
Paris. Before this she was Head of Cat Pricing and Methodology and
responsible for coordinating the development of SCOR’s own view of
risks, as well as managing the Zurich-based cat team. She also worked
for Willis as a Senior Catastrophe Risk Analyst for almost five years and
spent two years in model development for RMS and a couple of years as
a risk management consultant.
Kirsten has a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from Imperial College, London
and a Masters in Meteorology from Reading University, as well as a
degree in Chemistry from the University of Bristol. She also has an
International Diploma in Risk Management from the Institute of Risk
Management, a Level 5 qualification in Coaching and Mentoring from
ILM, and is a Certified Catastrophe Risk Management Professional.
motor insurance space, there are clearly so many
potential avenues where we’re seeing information
open up - particularly for insurance, pricing,
accumulation and product development.
QConversely, catastrophe modelling is a
relatively young discipline in comparison
to other risk management processes within
insurance. How does this create limitations?
ACatastrophe modelling came about in the
early 1990s, so we’re looking at around 30
years - quite a while in career terms! That
being said, we face some of the same challenges we
always have, one of which is the communication of
uncertainty.
Limited quantification of uncertainty in catastrophe
models is definitely still a restriction. I think that
continues to create a real test for us as an industry,
particularly for anyone who’s involved in modelling
or quantification of risk. You can’t just think about
what the point estimate answer is, but also what the
uncertainty around that is, and what your appetite
for that uncertainty is. How conservative do you
want to be? We’re asking people to think about that
a lot more within the market at the moment.
QWhat about Managing Agents? How can
they improve their modelling and pricing of
catastrophe exposures?
AThe completeness and appropriateness of
their view of risk in relation to the current
risk environment is paramount. Managing
Agents must be alive to all of the changes that
are happening at the moment, and ensuring that
those changes are adequately reflected within their
distribution of losses.
Traditionally, I think the focus of catastrophe
modelling and exposure management has been
more on the tail risk, making sure people are
adequately capitalised for really big events. Now, it’s
becoming equally important for people to put the
same level of focus not just on the tail, but on the
whole distribution. You’ve got to get the expected
loss right if you want the pricing to be right and the
technical pricing to be appropriately derived.
QFinally, many insurers have declared an
intention to reduce their natural catastrophe
exposures due to volatility and the
likelihood of rising claims costs. What more can
be done to provide the sector with appropriate
reassurance?
AIt’s true that claims costs are rising, and
in reality, we expect them to continue to
rise because there continues to be more
exposure. Much of that exposure is in locations
which are inherently considered to be more
hazardous; coastal areas or the wildland-urban
interface, for example. That’s before we’ve even
considered the impact of climate change.
On top of this, climate change will have an impact
– and that impact will vary depending on different
perils in each specific region.
A rigorous analysis of historical claims and the
components of this data helps to ensure that
current claims are being modelled appropriately
and, on top of that, potential future changes within
the environment can be worked into modelling
frameworks. The data going into these models
needs to be accurate, and other factors which could
amplify claims should be considered within the
modelling framework.
It’s important that we focus on the frequency of
catastrophe claims, not just the severity, keeping on
top of the science and making sure that our models
remain appropriate for the current conditions.
Dr Kirsten Mitchell-Wallace,
Director of Portfolio Risk Management,
Lloyd’s of London
MODERN INSURANCE | 13

INTERVIEWS
SEARCHING
FOR ANSWERS
with Iain Willis,
Gallagher Research Centre
Q
The Gallagher Research Centre
(GRC) launched in September
2022 to support research and
innovation across the full spectrum of
reinsurance. Tell me more about the
key tenets and objectives of the GRC.
How has the evolving nature of risk
demonstrated a need to adopt this wider
remit in recent years?
A
Well, it’s fair to say that we live in an
increasingly dynamic risk landscape.
A number of systemic risks have hit
us in the last few years; Brexit, COVID-19
and the war in Ukraine have all really driven
macroeconomic risk in particular. Climate
risk is also an influence, and coupled with
other evolving and emerging risks, I don’t
think we’ve ever needed research more in
order to really understand some of those
issues.
The question of it all being interconnected
is key; these factors impact all areas of
insurance in quite significant, disparate
ways. The impact of globalisation also
means that events have a much greater
complexity than ever before in terms of
how they impact different insurance lines.
It’s only through research that you really
start to further comprehend that, and
this is an area that we’re keen to address.
It’s clear that you need a lot of different
experts in the room to solve a problem,
and we’re keen to work with those experts
in our search for answers.
Q
How are the findings of your
research enhancing existing models
and risk solutions?
Over the last few decades,
catastrophe models have been
A effective, and super useful when it
comes to understanding a pragmatic view
of risk. If you can model a risk, you can
understand it, you can price it effectively
and close the protection gap, making
insurance more affordable. But we’re facing
significant challenges now, with secondary
perils contributing to much of the damage
and disruption that we’re seeing across the
world.
Take hurricanes, for example. Catastrophe
risk models will generally focus on wind,
perhaps without considering tropical
cyclone-driven rainfall which can often
result in pluvial or fluvial flooding. Models
are generally built around capturing one
single peril; they don’t always capture how
a weather event can graduate and develop
to affect other geographical areas. We
don’t really have models that capture these
transitions, and so we need research in
order to look at the whole, holistic journey
of a weather event. Secondary perils can
often cause much of the insured loss, and
yet they remain somewhat unmodelled.
We tend to find the same issues exist
with manmade perils. A lot of modern
risks just aren’t covered in existing risk
14 | MODERN INSURANCE

INTERVIEWS
solutions, particularly in specialist insurance
when it comes to understanding potential
conflict. Undertaking research that helps
us get to grips with the complicated
dynamics of supply chain dependencies
is critical. In recent years, we’ve seen
instances of being blindsided by that level
of interconnectedness, and investing in
research is the real key to understanding
how we can be best prepared for future
systemic shocks.
Q
A
How have you seen research trends
change and evolve in recent years?
What factors have triggered these
changes?
Research is increasingly moving to
more interdisciplinary approaches.
To answer the big questions, you
need a range of different specialisms in the
room. To fully understand the risk posed
by hurricanes in the reinsurance industry
you need wind experts, but you also need
hydrologists, coastal flood specialists,
actuaries, civil engineers. A lot of the current
focus lies in understanding risks holistically,
considering the bigger picture behind that
risk and its full effects.
Research trends are also becoming more
attuned to systemic risks. We’d been
living in a fairly benign period for quite a
few years before the pandemic; conflict,
the macroeconomic landscape and wider
geopolitical risks hadn’t significantly
moved insurance markets on a global scale
until very recently. Now that we’ve faced
an unforeseen set of global challenges,
alongside a growing climate crisis, research
trends are steering towards a greater need
to understand systemic risks in order to be
better prepared.
Q
On the subject of interdisciplinary
approaches, the GRC looks to
create ties between insurance and
academia. How does this collaboration
benefit Gallagher Re’s product offering
in relation to both natural and manmade
perils?
The output of our research filters
back into our product offering
A through any and all relevant means.
From an economic risk aspect, for example,
we’re working with London School of
Economics in order to better understand
the drivers of macroeconomic inflation and
interest rates; and how these differ in the
US, Eurozone and Asia. While some macro
drivers are the same, the impact is different
regionally and across different insurance
products. This is of huge relevance to our
brokers and the wider insurance market
more generally. Rising inflation had a major
impact on reinsurance renewals over the last
12 months, so it’s vital that we’re ahead of
the curve on this.
When we’re discussing research in the
natural catastrophe space, there’s a strong
correlation between data and risk models.
Our academic partners are a fundamental
source of the latest scientific data to help
build hazard models, solutions, advocacy
and advisory services that Gallagher Re
offers. We’re always keen to point out that
the Research Centre is focused on ‘applied
research’ rather than philanthropy; all of our
research is being used in some way to the
ultimate benefit of our clients and the wider
industry as we seek to navigate a really
tricky risk landscape.
Q
Interestingly, you showcased some
new storm surge scenarios for
UK insurers at your ‘Rising Tides’
research seminar back in May. What key
findings were exposed by this analysis?
A
Well, 70 years have passed since
the North Sea floods of 1953.
Despite being the biggest UK
coastal flood disaster of the 20th Century,
research within the reinsurance industry
on storm surge risk has been relatively
overlooked in recent years. Since 1953, the
UK government has spent a lot of time
and money upgrading and creating flood
defences around the UK coastline, which
have been effective, but we’ve also had
more significant tidal levels since then.
The key difference is that current flood
defences are hugely mitigating storm surge
risk, but that also begs the question of what
will happen if flood defences fail or are
breached? In the 2013/2014 winter season,
there were 25 breaches of UK coastal flood
defences. This became something we
wanted to explore in our research.
Working with HR Wallingford, we simulated
a number of different flood breach
scenarios along the UK’s east and west
coastline, taking note of particular locations
that are heavily exposed in terms of
properties.
The takeaways from this were fascinating.
Our findings show that even when a
defence breaches, the remaining defence
still protects much of the coastline, often
acting to slow down the flood waters. The
second question was to consider how much
worse that same event could be in 2050
due to climate change and rising sea levels.
Again, HR Wallingford completed a number
of different simulations based on the surge
scenarios, and the findings are enlightening.
A huge amount of the UK coastline is
protected at the moment, but if that
protection wasn’t there, it’s hard to deny
how exposed certain communities are. We
also found that climate change will further
exacerbate that risk, with an additional 20%
more properties at risk in 2050. It made
for a great event with lots of technical
deep-dive sessions and discussion with our
clients and guest speakers!
Q
Which topics generated the most
audience engagement at the
research seminar?
There was a lot of debate in
the room around flood defence
A breaches. We could have a storm
tomorrow and it might be the biggest surge
event ever seen in the UK. Sure, there would
be very little impact if all defences hold.
Realistically however, we know that
some defences are likely to
breach. So, if you’re a UK insurer and you’re
modelling and pricing that risk, there’s a
huge amount of uncertainty to factor in
there.
Compound risk was another key talking
point. What might happen if a river flood
meets a large coastal surge in an estuary?
In these circumstances, you have to
consider the joint probability of such an
event occurring. This idea of compounded
risk is something that the industry is only
very recently starting to consider. Again,
there’s no reason why we can’t understand
these risks better through effective and
collaborative research.
Q
Finally, what do you think might
prove to be the most valuable focus
in catastrophe research and
risk modelling over the next decade?
We need models to be more
dynamic. We’re starting to see that
A the current ways in which we look
at risk are perhaps not entirely sustainable;
non-stationarity and trending climate are all
factors that challenge the accuracy of our
existing catastrophe risk models. We need a
more dynamic approach to modelling risk in
order to ensure that our models are realistic
and not out of date.
Intercorrelation between other perils, and
understanding how all of our weather is
connected, will also be really important as
we look to learn about how climate change
and climate modes can affect our weather
patterns. If we can understand some of
those bigger processes, moving away
from our tendency to model perils in very
defined, geographic regions, this will be a
huge area of innovation across the global
catastrophe risk marketplace.
MODERN INSURANCE | 15

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EDITORIAL BOARD
Supporting Vulnerable
Customers in
Catastrophic Claims
At Carpenters Group, our colleagues are trained
to recognise vulnerable clients from the very first
point of contact. The definition of this includes
any vulnerabilities that could impact an ability to
participate in litigation, or diminish the quality of
evidence which they can give. A vulnerable client may
also lack legal capacity to conduct the litigation. We
need to understand their needs by giving our people
the skills and knowledge to recognise this, before
delivering our services in a bespoke and holistic way.
In the early stages, an important part of our role involves identifying
pressure points. We must do all that we can to mitigate pressure on
the family, so early face-to-face meetings and engagement with our
opponent insurers is critical - as is securing financial and practical
support for our clients in a timely manner.
Certain stages of the litigation process are more stressful or difficult
for our vulnerable clients, such as attending multiple medical
assessments, giving witness statements, or attending Chambers
and Court. We take steps to fully prepare our clients by taking them
through what to expect step-by-step, scheduling domiciliary medical
appointments where appropriate, arranging conferences in their own
home, or asking the Court for bespoke directions under CPR 1A and
PD1A for vulnerable parties.
We also engage with registered intermediaries who are recruited
and trained by the MOJ. They act as a conduit to help maximise
communication for vulnerable clients, which helps our clients when it
comes to making themselves understood.
Dealing with vulnerable clients means that we have to think
about doing things differently. They will always receive the same
professional courtesy and respect; however, we are trained to be
mindful of restrictions, limitations and other prospective difficulties.
We will agree on a bespoke approach, created to meet their needs
in a way that keeps them comfortable whilst remaining mindful of
fulfilling our professional obligations.
For instance, we frequently work with brain injured clients who lack
the capacity to litigate themselves, but still wish to be involved.
Careful and tactful handling is needed to strike a balance between
the involvement of the litigation friend, whilst simultaneously allowing
our client to still feel very much at the centre of the process and have
their voice heard.
Speaking in simple language, keeping sentences short, using pictures
or images, keeping meetings short and selecting a meeting time that
fits in with fatigue management are all examples of steps that we will
take to ensure that our vulnerable clients always understand what is
happening. We must think creatively about the best ways to meet
their needs in a form that works for them, and keep this under review
at all times.
Carol Hopwood,
Head of Serious and Catastrophic Injury, Carpenters Group
Data Security is a
Vizion Standard
In 2018, facing changes to data protection
law and an increased risk of cyber-attacks,
Vizion formed their Client Advisory Group - a
consortium of representatives consisting of
leading insurers, cyber experts, and specialists
from the Vizion team. This group created the
‘Vizion Standard’ to support repairers that
would continue to provide education, support,
and resilience across the Vizion network.
The ‘Vizion Standard’ is part of Vizion’s commitment to the customer;
assurance that we, our clients, and our repairer partners consider
their privacy and protection of personal data to be a critical element
of the consumer journey.
In the recent past, the cyber landscape witnessed a seismic shift from
small petty online crimes to large-scale ransomware attacks. Such
attacks have brought some organisations to the brink of collapse.
The thing is, it can happen to anyone, and as the web grows more
dynamic and more connected, the ‘Vizion Standard’ adapts to everevolving
cyber security threats - delivering consistently updated
certification and auditing to ensure that both Vizion and our clients
stay ahead of virtual and physical security and privacy needs.
July sees the launch of the 2023 standard assessment, the latest
version of the standard, which will be sent to our entire network using
our own auditing and assessment application, Opus.
The Proof is in the Pudding
Vizion Network has achieved widely recognised ISO/IEC 27001
security standard certification and ISO/IEC 23001 business continuity
management, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to
information security and risk management.
The holistic approach of ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 23001 means
that the entire organisation, not just IT, is covered from cyberthreats,
resulting in benefits to people, technology, and processes.
By gaining this certification, Vizion has demonstrated to its clients
and customers that it is committed to managing information and risk
securely and safely.
This certification is the latest milestone in our information security
roadmap, which continuously demonstrates our commitment to
data security. Everyone at Vizion is deeply dedicated to protecting
client data, and proud to have achieved the ISO 27001 and 23001
certifications to prove it.
Chris McKie,
Managing Director, Vizion Network Limited
MODERN INSURANCE | 17

Be a part of
something bigger
Helping people. Innovating an industry.
At Crawford, employees are empowered to grow, emboldened to act and inspired to innovate.
Our industry-leading team pioneers new solutions for the industries and customers we serve.
We’re looking for the next generation of leaders to take this journey with us.
You’ll be empowered to help people when they need it most, to work on things that you’re
passionate about and your ideas will matter.
To create the future you want, look at the careers available at Crawford:
www.crawco.co.uk/about/careers or contact recruitment@crawco.co.uk
www.crawco.co.uk
Crawford & Company is an equal opportunity employer.

EDITORIAL BOARD
Preparing for
Climate Risk
The Met Office predicts coastal flooding from
storms is expected to increase under climate
change, worsening the impacts of storm
surges 1 . Around 5 million people already live
in flood risk areas in England and Wales 2 , so
it is critical that insurance providers gain the
deepest understanding of the perils they and
their customers face.
Geospatial data intelligence is evolving to meet this need, but so too
are the platforms to access this data – making it swifter and simpler for
insurance providers to act on a holistic and cohesive view of risk built
from multiple data sets.
Surge events are sudden by their very nature, but it’s now possible to
visualise perils in real-time to make a full, fast and accurate assessment
of environmental risk, putting insurance providers on the front-foot
to help manage the risk. Geospatial data visualisation tools such
as LexisNexis® Map View help insurance providers to understand
their exposures and accumulations at a glance, predicting which
policyholders could be vulnerable in the path of a storm or flood.
One peril that has really come to the forefront in the last few years is
flash flooding, causing devastating floods to basements 3 . In response
to this rising threat, the LexisNexis® Basements Indicator goes further
to help property insurance providers identify whether a basement
or an underground level may be present in a home or a commercial
building. This is essential knowledge not only for pricing, but also for
risk mitigation as a peril advances.
Meanwhile, subsidence prone areas are set to double by 2050 4 .
Therefore, access to detailed information about trees (which can add
to subsidence risk around a property) is valuable. Insurance providers
can now understand the location, canopy cover and height of trees 3
metres and taller in the proximity of the properties they are insuring.
Windstorms are amongst the most damaging natural hazards leading
to insurance surge events. However, new modelling solutions - such
as the LexisNexis® Windstorm Model - predict maximum wind gust
speeds as a better predictor for property and structural damage,
compared to sustained wind speeds.
Climate change is already affecting our daily lives, and these changes
may become more marked as weather extremes continue. However, a
host of geospatial data intelligence has kept pace with these changes,
allowing insurance providers to make more informed decisions when it
comes to pricing policies accurately and fairly, mitigating risk as perils
approach whilst revealing potential hotspots for claims.
Caroline Elliott-Grey,
Product Manager, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Insurance, U.K.
and Ireland
1 https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/understanding-climate/uk-and-globalextreme-events-wind-storms
2 https://reachandrescue.com/flood-statistics/
3 https://www.ncl.ac.uk/apl/news/item/london-basement-extensions/
4 https://www.bgs.ac.uk/datasets/geoclimate-ukcp09-and-ukcp18/
A Resilience Strategy
for the Future
Our supply chains have evolved to meet the
pressures of the past few years, with glass
supply across Europe and Asia providing
global sourcing flexibility. We’ve increased our
stock holding capacity across the UK as part
of our long-term strategy towards improving
resilience, including the expansion of our
infrastructure with new, strategically located
branches and warehouses, allowing us to
deliver glass in the quickest possible time.
An increased focus on our digital capabilities - considering
automation, AI and robotics - futureproofs our customer journey,
working to fulfil the expectations of customers in this digital age.
This also provides an additional layer of resilience at various stages of
the customer journey.
In an environment where recruitment is more challenging than
ever, developing and retaining our existing team is a priority. Whilst
attracting new talent to the business, we also seek to provide our
existing team with development opportunities as a key part of our
resilience strategy.
Climate change is affecting the predictability of seasonal demands
in windscreen repair and replacement. Our business resilience
strategy has certainly had to adapt to allow for this increase in peaks
and troughs in the volume of jobs, all of which is dependent on
fluctuations in the weather.
We are acutely aware of the need to look at every aspect of our
operations and supply chain to drive towards net zero. We are
working with our suppliers and recycling partners to pave the way to
a circular economy by recycling 100% of the 3,300 tonnes of glass
that we replace each year.
I am excited for the release of our sustainability report, which enables
us to set our short-term and long-term ESG targets and measure the
progress that we have made as a business.
Watch this space!
Simon Hunt,
Commercial & Services Director, National Windscreens
MODERN INSURANCE | 19

EDITORIAL BOARD
Safeguarding the
Future at SYNETIQ
As a vehicle recycler that provides a
responsive service to clients during a
catastrophe, we understand just how difficult
preparing for potential events can be. There’s
simply no way to predict how they will unfold.
Monitoring, learning and adapting from past events can provide an
element of preparation for future catastrophes, but with only 8% of
large business currently monitoring climate-related risks 1 , there’s still
some way to go in building quality results to help.
We experience an increase in vehicle volumes each winter, a common
time for catastrophe events, and being aware of this does help us to
enter preparation-mode as we approach the colder months. During
this season, we monitor weather changes and plan our resources
accordingly so we’re never on the backfoot.
Having a consistent and honest line of communication with our
clients has been a vital tool in our ‘catastrophe event toolkit’. Being
aware of their vehicle volumes gives us the chance to plan and direct
our resources; only by working together can we ensure the claims
process continues unaffected. We reflect on successes as well as
lessons learned, using this to plan for future events as a team.
We don’t overlook the fact that policyholders are at the very heart of
a claim. We’ve all been in their shoes; we want the claims process to
be as smooth and pain-free as possible. Our colleagues are trained to
work with policyholders, acting as a helpful resource during what can
be an extremely stressful time.
The insurance landscape as a whole is ever-evolving, and we need to
be ever-adapting as a result. Within the vehicle recycling industry, it’s
all-hands-on-deck to look into the safe disposal and recycling of EV
batteries. We’re also conscious that the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel
vehicles is creeping ever closer. We need to prepare ourselves for an
increase in claims relating to EV vehicles at all times of the year, not
just during a catastrophic event.
At SYNETIQ, we’re working with OEMs and risk intelligence specialist,
Thatcham Research, in order to look at solutions and bring a recycling
solution to the industry.
Assessing climate risk isn’t isolated to the insurance industry, and
it’s certainly not our issue to face alone. The UK Government has
already called for large businesses to step up in their monitoring and
reporting of such risks. From April 2022, it has become mandatory for
large businesses to report climate-related risks to the Task Force on
Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, with the aim of increasing the
quantity and quality of climate-related reporting across the business
community 2 . This cross-industry approach of working together truly
is the way forward to successfully tackle whatever climate challenges
could come our way.
Tom Rumboll,
Chief Executive Officer, SYNETIQ Solutions
1
ONS Business Insight and Conditions Survey (2022)
2
www.gov.uk
‘GROW’ at EDAM Group
We’ve all had an interesting couple of years,
faced with challenges that could not have been
foreseen, learning lessons about ourselves
and what is important in our lives. This has
also been a challenging time for business, not
just in terms of survival but also in terms of
maintaining people, our greatest asset.
Investment in a People Strategy has never been more integral to the
success of a business - not just to survive, but to thrive. The strategy
must provide clarity of purpose, strong leadership, and personal
growth. It must be holistic and take account of the employee at a
personal level. Do you see a nameless claims handler, or do you see
John, an expert communicator with ambitions to become the next
Team Leader?
At EDAM, we know every member of our team, their story so far
and what they want their next chapter to be. We are also committed
to understanding and providing the support needed to make that
their reality.
In late 2022, after extensive collaboration with our team, we launched
our new performance management model ‘GROW’. ‘GROW‘ ensures
that we possess clarity on our ‘Goals’, get ‘Recognised’ for our
contributions and support ‘Opportunities’ for personal growth, all
whilst taking good care of our ‘Wellbeing’.
To further support this initiative, we launched our Learning Hub
and issued each employee with at least 2 ‘GROW’ hours per month,
which can be used as the individual sees fit. Through ‘GROW’ and the
Learning Hub, we can unlock and support the potential of our people.
We also host an array of development opportunities, such as
shadowing placements offering the opportunity to explore and
understand more about another team. Other options include
Leadership Development, Secondments, Technical Training, Skills
Training, wellbeing activities and volunteering opportunities.
The Learning Hub is ‘For You, By You’, and the results speak for
themselves. 10% of our team have moved to another role or have
been promoted within EDAM to start their next chapter, including two
members of our Leadership team who have since been promoted
into Senior Leadership roles. We have received around 850 Learning
Hub requests and have issued over 1,000 ‘GROW’ hours to our team
in the last six months. Last but not least, we are very proud that our
employee turnover is now at an all time low, significantly below that
of the wider industry benchmark.
Clare Charity,
Group Learning and Development Manager, EDAM Group
MODERN INSURANCE | 21

Helping businesses
make better decisions
“The Digilog Solution is a key tool for us as it
enables us to ‘fast track’ many truthful
customers whilst we can have more detailed
discussions with those where the technology
detects high risk.”
Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence to analyse and
validate risk in a Telephone or Video conversation.
Right Choice Insurance Brokers
Our unique software enables the fast & accurate validation of
genuine customers whilst identifying key risk issues associated
with a claim, application or dispute, irrespective of the
customers past, profile or geographic location.
Find out more:
Email: enquiries@digiloguk.com / Call: +44 208 087 2724
www.digiloguk.com / https://www.linkedin.com/company/digilog-uk-ltd

EDITORIAL BOARD
Mitigating Modern Risk
There are many ways in which insurers can,
and should, be more forward-thinking and
proactive in their approach to mitigating
risk. They can do this by leveraging various
emerging and cutting-edge technologies such
as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning
(ML) and language analysis to deal with large
amounts of data in real-time.
One such technology is the Internet of Things (IoT), where data from
wearables, smart home appliances and other devices can improve
the accuracy of risk assessments and create a clearer, up-to-date
depiction of the risks faced by the policyholder.
A bespoke and personalised risk management solution may also be
offered, something which extends beyond the traditional insurance
policy. For example, insurers can provide their customers with access
to resources and tools that help them to alleviate risk in their everyday
lives. This has already been utilised by some companies who provide
their policyholders with wellness programmes or home security
systems. However, it does not stop there…
Insurers need to improve their collaboration and share more data,
which will inevitably help to address these new and emerging risks.
Working with the likes of the IFB and similar organisations, regulators
and policymakers will assist in developing a new and more robust
approach to risk management. This will undoubtedly result in
insurance that better reflects the constantly changing nature of risk in
today’s dynamic world.
Furthermore, working closely with academic institutions whilst
participating in ‘think tanks’ and research would also greatly
contribute to identifying new and emerging trends.
The key to being more proactive is in keeping an open mind,
embracing innovation and remaining agile in the face of change.
Insurers who are always on the lookout for new ways and means to
tackle the issue of risk – those who are willing to adopt new business
models and trial the latest technologies available - will be better
equipped to meet the needs of their policyholders and provide better
protection to customers and their own organisation alike.
Lior Koskas,
CEO, Digilog UK Ltd
Business Resilience in the
e2e Network Model
Business resilience is increasingly under the
spotlight in the motor claims supply chain. At
the time of writing, the latest provisional findings
from the CMA regarding Copart’s acquisition
of Hills Salvage have rung alarm bells for many
insurers.
‘There are very few salvage companies with a track record of
servicing large national contracts for insurance companies,’ the CMA
states. ‘This deal could reduce the options for customers, which could
lead to higher prices or lower quality services.’ Only one potential
effective structural remedy has been identified - the full divestiture of
Hills Motors by Copart.
The FCA monitors insurers for operational resilience, including the
effective management of third-party providers. Therefore, supply
chain resilience is a business priority for insurers and forms part of
their business continuity planning.
At e2e, we are alive to the operational resilience challenges facing
insurers. Our network model can deliver service certainty to insurers
from their salvage provider, despite significant M&A activity in
the market as a whole. Large, single entity salvage and recycling
companies are attractive propositions for those on the acquisition
trail, representing an increased risk profile for insurers.
The beauty of our unique, non-profit network model is that
it is greater than the sum of its parts. The network provides a
nationwide service delivered by independent, entrepreneurial
salvage businesses with decades of expertise, who are committed
to collective professional standards and unified network goals. The
model also provides insurers with the additional benefit of deep
regional knowledge, and the intelligence available through combined
data and analytics. Should a member of the e2e salvage and recycling
network be acquired, there is the scale, flexibility and capacity for
alternative members of the network to take over. Service is seamlessly
maintained for insurers with adherence to contractually agreed
service level agreements and the audited network quality standard.
The network approach delivers resilience, insulating the insurer from
dependency on one supplier whilst still benefitting from one audit and
management function.
e2e builds resilience into its operations through robust network
management and good governance. Risk mitigation and business
continuity plans, aligned to evolving market dynamics and needs, are
continually reviewed and adapted as required. Risk management rules
cap maximum exposure to any one network member at any one time.
Business continuity plans exist to cater for the exit of any specific
network member, for whatever reason. The insurer contracts with e2e,
and it is e2e’s responsibility to manage the network and deliver against
the insurer’s needs. In the event of a member leaving the network and
where service provision is reallocated to an alternative member, or
members, ESG goals are also factored into decision making in order
to reduce CO2 emissions related to transportation and ensure optimal
proximity of members’ sites.
Jim Loughran,
CEO, e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management
MODERN INSURANCE | 23

EDITORIAL BOARD
Steering our global sustainability
target for climate protection
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable
future. We implement our corporate purpose
by systematically incorporating sustainability
into our strategy, our business, not to mention
our assessment, steering, and compensation
systems. We secure our long-term success
with products, solutions, and technologies
that create added value for the environment,
society, and the economy.
Sustainability is at the core of what we do; a driver for growth and
value. Analysing our contributions to sustainability also enables us to
manage risks effectively. We pursue a holistic sustainability approach
that covers the entire value chain – from our suppliers and our own
activities right through to our customers.
Based on our corporate strategy, we steer the global sustainability
target for climate protection via the most important key performance
indicator: ‘absolute zero CO2 emissions’. To this end, we have
established the necessary steering mechanisms and control systems
at Group level. Our activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
include the use of renewable energies for both electricity and steam
production; developing and applying new low-carbon production
processes; using renewable raw materials, and adopting ongoing
measures to further increase energy and resource efficiency in our
production.
We have also set up a project organisation to achieve our climate
protection targets. The Net Zero Accelerator unit concentrates on
implementing and accelerating projects on low-carbon production
technologies, the circular economy, and renewable energies.
We want to offer innovative products and solutions to our customers
that support their sustainability goals - that’s why we continuously
monitor and evaluate relevant sustainability aspects. These evaluations
are taken into account in our strategies, in the implementation of
research projects, and in innovation processes.
A significant steering tool for the product portfolio, based on the
sustainability performance of our products, is the Sustainable Solution
Steering method. A particular focus in the continued development
of our product portfolio is on products that make a substantial
sustainability contribution in the value chain. These include products
that make positive contributions to areas such as health and safety,
reducing emissions, and the circular economy.
Our target of generating €22 billion in Accelerator sales by 2025, which
was based on our corporate strategy, was already achieved in 2021 with
sales of €24.1 billion. To address the growing sustainability requirements
in our markets with innovative solutions, we want to align our product
portfolio even more strongly with climate protection, climate neutrality
and the circular economy. That’s why we’re updating our methodology
and our product portfolio steering target, with a revised method due
to be introduced later in 2023. Learn more about BASF’s Climate
Protection Solutions at www.basf.com.
Natalie Wong,
Marketing & Portfolio Management Lead, BASF Automotive
Refinish UK & Ireland
Can we increase vehicle
repair capacity?
Advanced vehicle technology, an ageing workforce
and a lack of apprentice recruitment over the
last decade are fuelling a capacity crisis in the
vehicle repair sector. According to a report from
the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), as many
as 160,000 vacancies in the sector will need filling
by 2031. Of these, a massive 16% are likely to be
vehicle technicians. So, what’s causing this skills
shortage, and what can we do about it?
Vehicle Technology
It’s true that more complex vehicle technology increases the need for
specialist training and equipment. EU regulations mean that all new
vehicles are fitted with ADAS safety features, which may need to be
recalibrated after an incident. EV and hybrid repairs require specialist
training and equipment to work safely with high-voltage batteries.
It’s not just the technology on modern vehicles that’s changed,
either. There’s wider use of materials in the bodywork – steel, plastic,
carbon fibre and aluminium all require different repair methods and
equipment.
Training
Training alone will not solve the problem; record numbers of
technicians have gained EV accreditation in the last 12 months. At
Activate Accident Repair - and all BSI approved repairers - technicians
complete regular, accredited training on the latest vehicle technology
and best practice. While significant investment is going to upskill the
current workforce, retirement, migration and people leaving the sector
mean the skills shortage is likely to continue to grow. We need to
encourage existing technicians to stay in the industry and attract young
people to a career in vehicle repair. Basic salaries are increasing across
all roles, which is sure to help attract and retain employees.
Attracting people to an automotive career
There are two factors at play here - increasing the number of
apprenticeships, and challenging the misconceptions that turn people
off the motor industry.
At Activate Repair, we have an annual intake of apprentices across all of
our sites UK-wide. Apprenticeship numbers are up across the industry,
but they are still not at pre-pandemic levels.
I’d strongly recommend offering an apprenticeship scheme.
Government funding is available, and it’s a great way to recruit
enthusiastic team members and help them develop in their chosen
profession.
Encouraging more people into the industry is trickier. We need to
demonstrate the wide range of fantastic careers on offer to people
from all diverse genders and backgrounds. The development in vehicle
technology may also make the industry more appealing to Gen Z.
At Activate Repair, we’re doing this by sharing the career stories of
our greatest assets – the people that work for us. This showcases not
just the types of roles available, but also the flexibility and professional
development that we can offer.
Jim Gordon,
Operations Director, Activate Accident Repair
MODERN INSURANCE | 25

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EDITORIAL BOARD
Paving the Way for
Heightened Resilience
Home or hybrid working is no-longer the
exception but the norm, as is the volatile
global economy that has seen prices spiralling
and supply chains struggling. There’s an
inordinate amount of change and uncertainty
in these continued headwinds, and it’s
more important than ever for businesses to
build dynamic and innovative models, with
adaptability and resilience at the core.
As we saw with the COVID-19 pandemic, more resilient businesses
had better outcomes - some even emerging stronger and with
customer loyalty flourishing. It’s therefore not surprising that
resilience has risen to the top of many agendas.
As the market continues to present its vast array of challenges,
FMG have recognised the importance of a resilient business model
to reduce the impact of unforeseen events on our customers. True
resilience encapsulates our capacity to mitigate stress, to recover
critical operations and thrive in these new conditions. Done well, true
resilience creates opportunity and a potential strategic advantage.
We’re following these three tips to build resilience into our business:
1. Take advantage
Consider crises as inevitable disruptions to be prepared for, managed,
and leveraged, rather than occasional ad-hoc events. This approach
drives proactive and productive decision making that positively
shapes the customer experience as the impending landscape
emerges. New problems need new solutions, and that in itself is an
opportunity.
2. Cultural shift
Backward-looking metrics, legacy constraints and the mentality
of ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ can result in a stagnated
model that becomes difficult to pivot. Adopting resilience requires
a cultural shift at all levels of the business to create a competitive
edge. Businesses must reinforce change by championing resilience,
sharing their learnings from recent crises with a focus on meeting,
anticipating and exceeding customer expectations in turbulent times.
3. Connected creativity
Create a work environment that fosters a positive, open and
respectful attitude towards new ideas and innovation. Inviting
colleagues to share thoughts, challenge perspectives and anticipate
future needs brings a higher level of employee connection and
investment, all of which becomes instrumental to your brand’s
customer experience.
The industry will always present new challenges, but customers must
come first under any and all circumstances.
Andrew Chandler,
Sales Director, FMG
Improving Resilience
to Risk
As an insurance software platform, resilience
is non-negotiable. We are a cloud-based
business with extensive backup and
redundancy capabilities, so if the worst should
happen, Paracode customers will still be able
to use our system and access their data.
We are constantly assessing not just the risks to our business, but
also the risks faced by our customers in order to ensure that we are
as well prepared as possible. In relation to catastrophic events in
particular, insurance software can help the market to prepare through
the provision of scalable technology, particularly in relation to First
Notification of Loss (FNOL) and claims handling. Paracode is robust
and inclusive of in-built redundancy should the worst occur.
Given the potential for specific work locations to be knocked out by
catastrophic events, it also makes sense to build insurance software
that is cloud based rather than on-premises, which guarantees
business continuity for our customers when it comes to employees
who are able to work from any location, on any device.
The industry can certainly be more proactive, rather than reactive,
in response to predicting future risk. For example, there’s a huge
opportunity to engage with specialist companies in the satellite
imagery space at the moment, some of whom are able to provide real
time data on catastrophic events around the globe. There are also
specialist insurance technology providers who are building sensors
that can be installed in properties to detect flooding, fire risk and so
on, in order to trigger support even when properties are empty or
uninhabited.
It is also worth noting that fraud and cyber-crime will typically increase
when economies are strained, either through recession, unemployment,
or climate crisis. With climate risk likely to trigger negative expected
and unexpected consequences for economies around the world,
climate events are likely to be a leading indicator of increasing cases
of fraud. Naturally, resilience to the risk of fraudulent activity should
become paramount in light of this.
Will Prest,
Project Manager, Paracode Agile Insurance Software
MODERN INSURANCE | 27

INVESTIGATION WITH
REAL INSIGHT
It’s not by chance that RGI Solutions
has grown to become one of the UK’s
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out in business back in 1990, our
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and quality in everything we do’.
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Today, with leading insurance
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Proud of our heritage, clear fixedprice
services and outstanding fraud
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Believing that being ‘good’ really
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Our portfolio of services is regularly
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comprehensive, up-to-date and
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which we operate.
THE INTELLIGENT CHOICE
With highly experienced, qualified and
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Understanding that speed is always of
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The Intelligent Choice
Integrity, reliability, insight, value and quality
Address : The Chambers, 44 Station Road,
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Mailbox : sales@rgisolutions.co.uk

EDITORIAL BOARD
Our Response to
Catastrophic Claims
Every incident and every claim that we
are involved with has the potential to be
catastrophic to someone. Nationwide Vehicle
Assistance pride themselves in providing a
total support solution to all stakeholders in
these situations, from insurers and vehicle
manufacturers to drivers and policyholders.
Incidents involving chemicals and hazardous goods have the
potential to be some of the most catastrophic situations within our
remit. Nationwide Chemical Assistance is our specialist division, and
we’re proud to say that it remains one of Europe’s largest recovery
solution companies in this sector. Our network of audited businesses
and qualified ADR licensed drivers have vast experience of incident
handling, and we also employ our own Dangerous Goods Safety
Advisers. Ongoing training is essential, with every qualified driver
working towards 35 hours of CPC training to maintain their license
and remain fully competent in their duties. ADR licenses are renewed
every 5 years.
For our corporate customers, we are acutely aware of our
responsibilities around protecting and upholding their brand values
and standards. As such, our recovery agents are regularly instructed
to ensure that these requirements are met at all times. This ethos
translates into industry-leading response times and an unrivalled
level of customer care. Our on-the-scene image capture capability
underpins the vital role we play at an incident; API links with
customer systems to speed up the notification process and eliminate
the need for double keying. All of these processes have a positive
impact in the handling of potentially catastrophic claims.
We regularly hold customer demonstration days to present our range
of services and our response to major incidents. These are delivered
to fuel companies, a range of emergency services and recovery
operators. We welcome insurance companies and other key industry
stakeholders to attend and observe our demonstration days too.
For drivers and policyholders, any form of accident is likely to feel
catastrophic. Our core team and our wider network of agents are
understanding and empathetic to the nature of this stress. With
a typical response time of just 55 minutes after FNOL, and with
our quick and efficient communications, we do everything we can
to put drivers at ease. If they are unable to continue their journey,
Nationwide Vehicle Assistance will arrange onward transport to their
destination or even overnight accommodation if required.
To find out how we can help your customers, please contact the team
at sales@nwva.co.uk or by telephone on 01621 730039.
Mick Jennings,
Managing Director, Nationwide Vehicle Assistance (NWVA)
Navigating the
Skills Gap
The skills gap in the accident repair industry
has been a major challenge for many years,
although Gemini Accident Repair Centres are
transforming that.
Rewind to 2017. An aging technician demographic, combined with
a lack of investment in training and recruiting, had led to a massive
shortage of skilled staff in the sector. As a business and an industry,
change needed to happen fast.
At Gemini, we accelerated the adoption of a training team, a
team that has now grown to cover all fundamentals necessary to
bodyshops and future technology advancements. This team initially
began mentoring apprenticeship routes to guide young talent
entering the industry into life-long careers, but now it oversees
the project of retaining and developing existing talent, maintaining
required skill sets. A key aspect of this ensures that developments
in technology advance hand in hand with the skills required by
technicians and vehicle damage assessors.
There was an initial battle in the skills gap environment, where most
industry experts battled with how to make impactful and necessary
changes. Our relationships are key at Gemini, working alongside
partnerships such as EMTEC (part of Nottingham College), and
AutoRaise, the industry charity for apprenticeships. We made it a
priority to work alongside partners with the same thirst for making
change around education and development.
Year after year, we have recycled this strategy of navigating the skills
gap. Following the success of our Multi-Skilled Technician and Vehicle
Damage Assessor apprenticeships, we continue to bridge the skills
gap and progress to the next rung of the ladder, with a present focus
on centralising our recruitment plans. This means that roles are quicker
to fill, and we can turn our heads to a talent pool of staff who have an
impressive list of skills across multiple disciplines.
Ongoing advancements in the repair world will continue to bring
around fresh challenges, as well as opportunities. It’s all about being
prepared and ready to invest in managing change, starting with the
people. Yes, technology is evolving, but so are we.
Dave Sargeant,
Managing Director, Gemini Accident Repair Solutions
MODERN INSURANCE | 29

FEATURES
A Final
Word
with Steve White
Just hours after announcing his forthcoming retirement at this
year’s BIBA Conference, Modern Insurance Magazine sat down
with BIBA Chief Executive, Steve White, to discuss Next Gen
talent, industry collaboration, and overcoming present-day
challenges in the broker market.
QHi Steve, thanks so much for
taking time out of your busy
schedule to meet with us today!
The theme of this year’s Annual
Conference is ‘Rising to the Challenge,’
in which speakers and insurance
company representatives analyse how
the industry has continued to positively
respond to evolving political, economic
and environmental headwinds. In light
of this, how would you define the biggest
challenges facing brokers and the wider
broker market at the moment?
AThanks Amelia, it’s great to be
speaking with you today.
We publish an annual manifesto
which covers feedback from our members;
they’re telling us what’s important and
where their biggest challenges lie. Talent
attraction certainly seems to be a key issue
at present – everywhere we go, we’re being
told that attracting talent is proving to be
really difficult. Fifteen or twenty years ago,
most towns had an independent insurance
company on the high street, and brokers
would often recruit through outreach.
Since this changed, the broker market is
really having to really focus on ‘growing
our own’ – from the attraction of talent
right through to the development and
retention of staff, it’s absolutely a priority
for us as a core sector of the insurance
industry.
heard from our members that customer
service across the insurance arena had
deteriorated somewhat post-pandemic;
the hard market, staff shortages, and
issues with trading platforms all seem
to have been contributing factors. We
went to Gracechurch in response to
this, experts in surveying the quality of
insurance service, and asked for help in
both measuring and creating an industry
service delivery standard.
The measurement exercise is underway
at the moment - we’ve had over 500
brokers respond to that – and the survey
is an ongoing, living and breathing project.
With this, we can measure how service
is changing. What does ‘good’ look like?
We’re reverting back to our members to
ask this question, and their responses will
form part of our output.
QFantastic! Reverting back to
your earlier point around talent
acquisition challenges for a
moment; what about Next Gen
talent? How are BIBA helping to drive
Next Gen recruitment in the sector?
AI’ve always been a huge advocate
for getting younger brokers
involved. As we went out and about
on our regional tour recently, we spoke to
many young brokers about the length and
breadth of what we do, and there’s always
something that seems to spark an interest.
from their peers as to why this is a great
career path to take. Our Young Broker
Ambassadors are such a diverse bunch,
not just in the way they look but in the
way they feel, the way they speak. We’re
also looking at outreach in schools
and colleges, looking beyond graduate
programmes to gather more diversity of
thought in our recruitment processes and
leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to
improve our wider diversity in this space.
QAnd finally - in your opening
speech this morning, you
announced that you will be
retiring from your role in the
latter half of 2023. How do think BIBA
will evolve moving forward, and how do
you hope to see your legacy live on?
ASteering the BIBA ship is a 24/7 job,
and 10 years is certainly a long time
to have been doing it! If you ask our
members, I think they’d say we’re doing
most things right. That being said, there’s
always room for incremental improvement,
and my successor will certainly need to
take a helicopter view in order to look at
BIBA’s present strengths and weaknesses.
Social media has really flourished in the
last decade; I identified that we had a
great story to tell, and doubled the size
of our Comms Team to guarantee that we
told that story well. Your members need
to understand and value what you do, and
I’m delighted to see more people renewing
their memberships year after year. We
have firms queuing up to be associate
members, and I’m just so proud of the
team and the effort that they all continue
to put in. Everything we do has to make
our boat go quicker, and I have every faith
that this mindset will continue at BIBA in
the months and years to come.
Steve White,
Chief Executive, British Insurance
Brokers’ Association (BIBA)
Regulation is also a perennial and topical
issue for members, especially this year
where regulators seem to have been
working an awful lot on our space.
There comes a point where it becomes
overwhelming; our members want to be
compliant, but it’s so difficult for them
to keep track of so many rule changes,
especially principle-based rules where
firms are expected to work things out for
themselves. We need prescriptive rules –
tell us what to do, and we will do it!
QDo you have an example of how
BIBA is collaborating with the
wider industry in the face of these
challenges?
AThere’s such a lot of collaboration
going on, which is great to see!
Service is a great example. We
Our regional broker engagement has
become much younger, and we’ve now
got several young regional Chairs. We’re
also looking at how we can promote
a career in insurance brokerage as a
‘destination’ career. Too many young
people stumble into this, but we want
them to actively choose it. We’re utilising
our Young Broker Ambassadors as the
focal point of a social media campaign,
so prospective brokers can hear directly
30 | MODERN INSURANCE

EDITORIAL BOARD
Rising to the Challenge
Looking across the insurance industry and
scanning the wider geopolitical horizon at the
moment, it’s clear to see that our marketplace has
never faced a greater array of challenges.
Growing frequency and severity of events, rising loss complexity,
expanding risk horizons, deepening supply-chain issues, acrossthe-board
price hikes and an escalating energy crisis are just
some of the developments fusing together to create one of the
most turbulent claims environments in recent history. Our ability
to face these issues is heavily reliant on the strength of the talent
foundation underpinning the insurance sector.
Much has been said about the war on talent that rages within the
industry – particularly in the context of the community adjusting
to a combination of ‘the Great Resignation’ and ‘the Grey Tsunami,’
both of which have created a skills shortfall.
Our industry must commit to a process of talent futureproofing
if we are to maintain and enhance our relevance in an ever more
risk-exposed environment. At Crawford, we are adding breadth and
depth to our talent pool by adopting a holistic approach to talent
management, extending from new joiners right through to business
leaders. Our approach is based around three key areas – creating
a pipeline of talent, closing the skills gaps, and diversifying our
workforce – all of which we believe make Crawford a great place
to work.
Over the last 18 months, we have integrated a multifaceted talent
strategy based upon a comprehensive portfolio of development
programmes. At ground level, our apprenticeship programme
spans a series of training, networking and support capabilities
designed to immerse new joiners in the Crawford experience from
day one. We also operate a values-led engagement and retention
programme of training and resources to support every employee,
both with regards to integration in their respective teams as well
as the organisation at large. We want every member of the team
to see themselves as part of Crawford’s long-term vision.
Our talent programme is also a core component of our people,
diversity and wellbeing strategies. We are committed to investing
in the next generation of adjusters, focusing on increasing
diversity, equity, inclusion and social mobility across new hires.
This is no small challenge, especially with such a diverse spread of
needs and motivations, but rest assured - it is certainly one that
we are rising to.
Lisa Bartlett,
President, UK & Ireland, Crawford & Co.
Resilience at RGI Solutions
In response to challenging market conditions
and dynamic customer demands, RGI Solutions
has taken proactive steps to change and adapt
the business model. Building resilience and
staying ahead of the curve has been our key
focus, and we have successfully accomplished
this by making some necessary changes.
Embracing technology and investing heavily in digitalisation is one
strong example. In the height of the pandemic, we invested in online
video and telephone interviewing platforms where statements
were taken and signed digitally. We have also experienced greater
efficiency when it comes to the claims cycle, and continue to use this
technology wherever it is suitable.
By leveraging technology and developing innovative solutions,
we were also able to improve efficiency, streamline processes and
enhance customer experience. With remote working and contactless
service becoming the norm, we offered our clients the flexibility to
access our services via our portal and ‘File View’ access, in order to
demonstrate their claims journey in real time.
We also realised the importance of partnerships and collaborations
in creating a robust and sustainable business model. Hence, we
established strong partnerships with various industry players, which
has enabled us to tap into new markets, gaining access to resources
and knowledge whilst strengthening our capabilities.
In addition, we have emphasised the need for a flexible and agile
approach to business, constantly adapting to the changing needs
of the market. By adopting this approach, we have been able to
diversify our product and service offerings, catering to different
market segments and remaining relevant in an ever-changing business
landscape.
Finally, we have continued to invest in our people, empowering them
with the skills and knowledge to thrive in an ever-changing business
environment. By nurturing a culture of innovation and creativity, we
have built a highly resilient workforce that can easily adapt and thrive
in challenging times.
The above measures have enabled us to create a business model that
is agile and adaptable. As we continue to navigate through these
challenging times, we are confident that our business model will
stand the test of time, as it has done for over three decades. We will
continue to serve our clients with the highest levels of professionalism
and excellence that leans into our core values, to ‘provide integrity,
reliability, insight, value and quality in everything we do’.
Sarah Glenn,
Commercial Director, RGI Solutions
MODERN INSURANCE | 31

FEATURES
Is it time for
risk managers
to rethink
their role in
the climate
crisis?
With climate risk now the primary concern for
risk managers around the world, Sustainability
Transition expert François Lanavère explains
how the role will become more important to
businesses than ever before.
The job of a risk manager is defined as a) managing an
organisation’s risks, and b) minimising the adverse impact of losses
on the achievement of the organisation’s objectives.
There is nothing placing more risk and presenting more loss to
businesses than the climate crisis. PwC recently confirmed that
55% of global GDP—equivalent to about $58 trillion—is moderately
or highly dependent on nature, and in five key industries including
construction, all of the economic value from company operations
exhibits ‘high dependence’ on the environment.
No wonder, then, that in 2022, climate risk became the number
one global concern for Risk Managers for the very first time. As
natural disasters develop, increase and intensify, the role of the
Risk Manager has, and will continue to become, more essential
than ever.
As part of our offering at The Climate School, AXA Climate recently
worked in partnership with leading specialist consultancies, risk
management experts and research teams alike to build an online
training curriculum specifically designed around upskilling risk
managers and building awareness. Here are some of the most
pressing areas that need to be on your radar, and how you can
begin to take action.
Climate risk - what are the threats?
For a start, there are the simple physical risks. This could range
from your supply chain being unexpectedly disrupted through to
some kind of extreme weather event, such as a freak heat wave
that would disrupt industrial processes or make work impossible.
Yes, you have insurance, but that industry in itself has recently
been shown to have massively underestimated the immediacy
of the effects of climate change. So, it’s only sensible to do your
homework and plot out your company’s possible risk exposure to
events such as unusually strong storms and droughts in key parts
of the world.
Next, question your climate crisis-related financing and talent
risks. Investors are looking for action here, and the Gen Z hires that
you’re soon to be relying on are refusing to work for companies
that aren’t proactive. Do you have policies that could prevent such
long-term existential threats?
Tied to this is the absolute certainty of increased regulation and
climate crisis compliance. Think Scope 3, but also newer systems
like TNFD and Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN). If you
roll all this together, it’s clear that there will soon be a huge
need for planning – not just cross-company but also in extracompany
communication with partners and suppliers, big work on
communications and PR, serious thinking about product design,
and concrete plans for Green transition. Enterprise transition is a
risky process in itself.
François Lanavère
Head of Strategic Partnerships, AXA Climate
Know your role - identify and quantify!
With all of this in mind, it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed.
However, your role isn’t necessarily to have a firm grasp of exactly
what each risk is. Instead, focus on mastering the methodology
of identifying, quantifying and treating risks over a longer-term
period. Learn to look beyond the 5-year horizon of business that
most risk managers have (now wrongfully) been trained to explore.
Here are some ways in which you can prepare to do just that.
Logically enough, you first need to identify all of the physical
risks and transition issues that concern your company specifically,
crucially looking beyond the five-year horizon wherever you can.
Next, build risk scenarios—a narrative where you plot out various
what-ifs (potential issue, possible causes and consequences). From
these, you and your team need to query the most likely outcome,
and ask what would have the most impact if they happen.
For example, perhaps your production plant will have access to
30% less water in 2030 due to drought. How do you maintain your
production line with that in mind? Are there other ways to produce
your product using less water? How confident are you about that?
Once you’ve assembled all of this information, you can complete
your prep with a quantification exercise. As a model requirement,
the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
will require numbers alongside every part of your new climate risk
model, and your C-Suite will also want to see these figures too.
The catalyst for change is you. Now is the time to grasp the issues
and make huge strategic contributions. Major regulatory deadlines
are fast approaching, each of which offers a unique window of
opportunity. Take advantage and help your company adapt.
The Climate School is one tool that can help you break this problem
down and take assured action.
François Lanavère is Head of Strategic Partnerships at AXA
Climate. AXA Climate provides climate consultancy and
digital training, with initiatives such as The Climate School,
which has been used by more than 4 million people around
the world to upskill their green skills.
To find out more about The Climate School’s dedicated
course for risk management professionals, visit
www.axaclimateschool.com
32 | MODERN INSURANCE

ASSOCIATIONS ASSEMBLE
ASSOCIATIONS
ASSEMBLE
Welcome to
Associations Assemble!
Modern Insurance Magazine is delighted to be
joined by some of the leading names from our
industry associations, organisations and institutes.
This issue voices the thoughts of:
Sue Brown
Chair,
Motor Accident Solicitors Society
(MASS)
Anthony Hughes
Chairman and CEO,
Credit Hire Organisation (CHO)
Jonathan Scarsbrook
President,
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
(APIL)
Laurence Besemer
Chief Executive Officer,
Forum of Insurance Lawyers
(FOIL)
Heather Sanderson
Vice-President,
Canadian Defence Lawyers
(CDL)
Graeme Trudgill
Executive Director,
British Insurance Brokers’ Association
(BIBA)
Mike Keating
CEO,
Managing General Agents’ Association
(MGAA)
Dr Matthew Connell
Director, Policy and Public Affairs,
at the Chartered Insurance Institute
(CII)
Adrian Jolly
Head of Strategic Development,
British Damage Management Association
(BDMA)
MODERN INSURANCE | 33

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ASSOCIATIONS ASSEMBLE
Sue Brown
Title: Chair
Association: Motor Accident Solicitors Society
(MASS)
Transparency
with E-Scooter
Regulations
E-scooter regulations are still months,
or even years, away. Appearing before
the Transport Select Committee recently,
Transport Minister Jesse Norman admitted
that proposals are still a long way off,
adding that this will also be preceded by
a consultation process. This news will be
hugely disappointing for anyone concerned
about the impact of e-scooters on health
and the general public.
With over 2,000 people injured by e-scooters, including
some deaths, there’s an ever-growing need to just get
on with it. As one Committee member noted, the UK
is the last major country in Europe to bring forward a
regulatory framework.
The Motor Insurers’ Bureau also believe that accidents
with cars and uninsured e-scooters add 3% or 4% to
the cost of motor insurance premiums. With the details
having not been published, any scrutiny can only be
a rough estimate. However, with gross written motor
premiums exceeding £20bn, this would translate to
costs of around £600-800 million per year to UK
motorists, adding around £20-25 per premium. If this
became common knowledge among British motorists,
it’s very likely that calls to regulate e-scooters would
intensify considerably.
The MIB is, of course, legally obliged to compensate
the non-fault victims of accidents involving uninsured
e-scooters. These victims fully deserve to be protected.
However, with 1,349 collisions involving e-scooters in
the year ending June 2022 - not to mention apparent
costs of around £600-800m - this would roughly
translate to around £450,000-£600,000 per collision.
Clearly, such figures would be absurd, which is
why there’s an urgent need for this estimate to be
published – opening the door to full scrutiny and
workings. Motorists are already facing hefty premiums
at a difficult time
through rising repair
costs. Meanwhile, a
reduced bill remains
for personal injury
claims. We deserve
full transparency and
disclosure of these
figures so motorists
can see what they’re
paying for.
Anthony Hughes
Title: Chairman & CEO
Association: Credit Hire Organisation (CHO)
Catastrophic
Events, Climate
& Loss
Perhaps you wouldn’t think that mobility
provision is sensitive to surge events, but
floods, fires and other catastrophes have a
tendency to impact the Credit Hire industry
as much as any other. In 2017, for example,
more than 1,000 vehicles were destroyed
in a huge car park fire in Liverpool on New
Year’s Eve.
In that instance, mobility providers would’ve needed to
provide 1,000 like-for-like vehicles for customers, all of
whom need to get to work or take their kids to school.
In another natural disaster, following Storm Dennis and
Storm Ciara in February 2020, salvage company Copart
collected 3,000 flood damaged cars in one day, mostly
from the South West where these storms were at their
most ferocious.
The majority of Credit Hire business is derived from
insurer partners, most of whom are hugely concerned
by the climate emergency themselves - not least
because the cost of reinsurance has risen sharply,
putting great pressure on commercial and personal
premiums.
Earlier this year, Howden Broking Group said that
global property catastrophe risk-adjusted reinsurance
rates-on-line were up by an average of 37%, the biggest
year-on-year increase since 1992.
Natural disasters such as Storm Dennis are becoming
much more frequent, and reinsurers have been exposed
to such heavy losses that, even with inflation-busting
increases in the price of reinsurance treaties, it may
eventually become impossible for them to provide the
safety net of coverage.
The pace of global warming is accelerating; the
warnings are flashing red.
Governments and insurers are
contemplating a scenario
where the private sector
cannot deliver insurance
for catastrophic certainties
on its own. Our industry –
currently working through
immediate challenges in
the motor supply chain –
must also start thinking
through the ways in
which its own business
models will deal with the
approaching storm.
MODERN INSURANCE | 35

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ASSOCIATIONS ASSEMBLE
Jonathan Scarsbrook
Title: President
Association: Association of Personal Injury
Lawyers (APIL)
An Overdue
Reform to
Bereavement
Damages
The death of a child is a parent’s worst
nightmare come true. The heartache is
compounded further when a child is killed
because of negligence.
In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, a grieving
father will then discover that he is not eligible for
statutory bereavement compensation if he is not
married to, or in a civil partnership with, the child’s
mother.
It is not unusual in 2023 for British couples to become
parents without getting married first. More than half of
births last year were to unwed parents.
In a written ministerial answer in April, the Ministry
of Justice (MoJ) implied that the relationships these
fathers have with their children are not as close as they
would be if the children were not “illegitimate”. This
stigmatises both the fathers and their children. The
MoJ’s approach, not to mention the language used,
demonstrates how deeply flawed the Government’s
attitude is to the fabric of modern families.
APIL members often bear the burden of telling
bereaved relatives that their relationship to a loved one
is not recognised by the law on statutory bereavement
damages. When we told our members about the
Government’s most recent refusal to reform the law and
asked them for help, the membership was galvanised.
Members are writing to their MPs in their droves about
the need to reform the antiquated and offensive law on
bereavement damages.
MPs are often unaware of the fact that statutory
bereavement damages are only available for a very
limited number of grieving relatives, and that the
statutory sum they are given is very low. They are
invariably shocked when they learn the truth, as are
most people.
Bereavement damages is a
key campaign issue for APIL.
We continue to highlight these
issues with parliamentarians
and the public alike. Reform is
long overdue.
Laurence
Besemer
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Association: FOIL
(Forum of Insurance Lawyers)
Heather
Sanderson
Title: Vice-President
Association: CDL
(Canadian Defence Lawyers)
Collaboration is Key
International co-operation between legal
organisations and insurance organisations
is an increasingly important tool as climate
change challenges the insurance industry.
AM Best reported that natural disasters cost the global
economy US$343bn in 2021, which is US$46bn more
than 2020 and significantly over average for the 21st
Century. In the main, these losses have been driven
by secondary weather-related perils such as severe,
regional weather events, rather than primary perils like
earthquakes and hurricanes.
These severe weather events do not respect national
borders, and have fueled a worldwide issue of availability
and accessibility of property insurance. The issue
must be addressed through international co-operation
between industry and legal professional organisations.
The benefit of international co-operation was evident
through a recent joint webinar hosted by the Forum
of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) and Canadian Defence
Lawyers (CDL). The panel advocated that insurers must
share their data to enable a co-ordinated response in
support of the insurance industry as it transitions to the
changing weather landscape. There must be further
collaboration to change wordings and build back more
resilient structures in areas away from flood plains and
landslide risk.
The panel also addressed a gap between the actual loss
and the insured loss - as well as its impact - which is
fueling a climate change liability risk. Challenging D&O
policies, well-funded NGO’s are calling-out greenwashing
and holding corporations to their net zero commitments
by questioning their carbon neutral plans.
Claims are also being made against a failure to build
weather resilient structures, holding designers and
contractors to a higher standard than existing building
codes. The panel noted that these claims challenge
traditional CGL liability wordings, which carry a long-tail
risk. International co-operation is required to implement
wording changes in light of these liability risks.
The bottom-line message of the panel is that without
co-operation in these key areas, profitability will almost
certainly be impacted.
MODERN INSURANCE | 37

ASSOCIATIONS ASSEMBLE
Graeme Trudgill
Title: Executive Director
Association: British Insurance Brokers’
Association (BIBA)
Insurance and the
Weather
It’s inevitable that climate change will
impact the insurance broking sector at
every level, regardless of the types of
insurance a broker is involved with.
Of course, those in the international sector will have
already seen clients catastrophically affected by
weather extremes including storms, floods, landslides
and wildfires. Extreme flooding in Italy has led to a
terrible loss of life as well as the cancellation of the
Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, something
which is likely to result in a large and complex
cancellation claim if not self-insured.
Brokers focusing on UK domiciled business and their
customers are by no means immune. For example,
flash flooding recently caused a major incident to be
declared in Somerset, and a quick keyword search of
‘storm’ on one news app revealed twelve worldwide
stories in the last eight weeks alone.
In the immediate future, the industry needs to maximise
accessibility to suitable insurance coverage. As one
example, Flood Re already makes a big difference to
affordability in flood hit areas, and they’ve now been
able to allow for an alternative to traditional indemnity
style maintenance when effecting flood repairs.
‘Build Back Better’ is a scheme which accepts repairs
incorporating Property Flood Resilience measures up
to the value of £10,000, on the basis of avoiding or
substantially reducing flood damage in the future.
Climate change is an issue which goes far beyond the
insurance sector, and with ESG firmly on the agenda
in many broker boardrooms, this will certainly remain
front of mind. We are looking at how our own firms
impact the environment, alongside that of our supplychains
and those of our customers, members and
stakeholders. BIBA
has recently launched
a new ESG guide for
members, something we
really hope will support
members in their
navigation of this issue.
Mike Keating,
Title: CEO
Association: Managing General Agents’
Association (MGAA)
Markets Unlocked
through the Power
of Data
The insurance industry has traditionally
been slow to adopt emerging technologies
and processes. But times are changing,
with forward-thinking MGAs leading
the way in demonstrating the value of
technological innovation for even the
largest and most established organisations
within the sector.
This is particularly true when it comes to looking at
how MGAs use data from the online customer journey.
Insurers have struggled when it comes to gathering
and capturing data, not to mention extracting insights
from this information which could help in the process
of informed decision making.
This is primarily due to legacy IT systems, most of
which were implemented many years ago and have
not been upgraded since. Given this timeframe - and
the amount of data they now store - most insurers
are quite rightly nervous to make changes, overcome
by the fear of losing important information during
the transition. However, this lack of flexibility makes it
harder to integrate and apply data from the vast array
of new sources emerging almost daily, which is driving
a revolution in insight and understanding.
This is where MGAs are proving to be a real asset.
They are not hamstrung by legacy systems, remaining
agile and fast-moving whilst able to access, analyse
and understand many sources of information. This
provides crucial insights when it comes to writing
specialist insurance, enabling MGAs to make better
operational decisions, launch new products and enter
new, emerging markets quicker than ever before. They
can also provide their capacity providers with access to
markets that they would otherwise struggle to reach.
The ability to be nimble is fundamental in such a fastchanging
world, and whilst
insurers are beginning
to invest more heavily in
updating their own datahandling
systems, MGAs
continue to lead the way –
firmly securing their role in
the future of the industry.
MODERN INSURANCE | 39

ASSOCIATIONS ASSEMBLE
Dr Matthew Connell
Title: Director, Policy and Public Affairs
Association: Chartered Insurance Institute
(CII)
Industry
Influences on
Climate
Insurance does not touch on sustainability
as obviously as sectors such as aviation,
energy production, or even agriculture.
However, there’s probably no other sector
which interacts with the drive to net zero in
as many different ways as insurance does.
Insurers influence climate change through:
• Using their leverage as underwriters to ensure that
projects are built right first time. This is because
substandard construction is inherently unsustainable.
For example, buildings that are not resilient to
earthquakes or hurricanes in high-risk areas will have
a lifespan that is a fraction of that of a properlyconstructed
building.
• Sharing data and insights into developing risks, for
example giving advice to clients and governments
around evolving flood risks.
• Investing in a way that promotes sustainability, either
by investing in firms that are producing goods and
services that promote sustainability, or by taking
an active role in the governance of firms to prepare
them for the transition to a sustainable approach.
• Underwriting firms that produce new technologies.
For regulatory reasons, innovative firms sometimes
struggle to find cover because of a lack of a track
record. In turn, this threatens their ability to secure
credit. For example, mobility solutions based
on hydrogen have challenges around reserving
requirements because they are so new, despite
having significant advantages over other energy
sources in relation to sustainability.
• Resolving claims in a more sustainable way, either
by repairing rather than replacing new for old, or
replacing inefficient technologies with more efficient
technologies. Around 80% of the building stock that
will exist in 2050 already exists, so the actions of
insurers now will have a direct and irreversible impact
on the achievement of
climate goals.
Every part of the
insurance value chain –
broking, underwriting and
claims – is involved in the
drive to net zero. Without
insurance, we cannot
achieve sustainability.
Adrian Jolly
Title: Head of Strategic Development
Association: British Damage Management
Association (BDMA)
Collaboration in the
Climate Crisis
The British Damage Management
Association (BDMA) is the accreditation
body of choice for the UK damage
management and property restoration
industry sectors. The membership
demographic forming the BDMA comprises
of damage management contractors and
individual practitioners, insurance company
claims management personnel, loss
adjusters, and loss assessors.
There’s no doubt that global warming is having a
seismic effect on national and global weather patterns.
In the UK, we are experiencing more prolonged drought
periods, more extreme temperatures, and greater
incidences of both torrential and excessive rainfall.
The above means that the UK insurance sector faces
a significant increase in the number of surge events
that it is having to handle. Events of this nature can
cause substantial damage to buildings and contents;
domestic housing and commercial premises can all be
affected, causing extreme disruption and distress. Event
types include a greater incidence of fires, localised flash
flooding, regional and national flooding, and burst pipe
claims caused by low temperature extremes. Never has
resilience and contingent capacity planning been more
important and focused.
The wide variances in weather conditions and events
creates a ‘feast and famine’ situation for damage and
claims management practitioners alike. When it’s quiet,
it’s very quiet. However, significant work volumes
from surge events can cause excessive pressure on
resource, not just in terms of equipment, but in terms of
manpower too.
Whilst governments and industry are increasingly
imposing regulation and measures to slow the
effects of global warming, the horse may already
have bolted. There’s no doubt that communities will
continue to suffer from extremes of temperature,
rainfall, and drought.
Insurance companies
and their policyholders
will bear the brunt of
increased claims costs, and
in turn, the BDMA and its
members will undoubtedly
form an integral part of
the restorative response
required.
MODERN INSURANCE | 41

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FEATURES
Building Trust through
Responsible AI in Claims:
Championing a Voluntary
Code of Conduct
One of the core tenets of insurance is that of trust. Our customers
must believe that monies will be available to meet their costs and
settlement will be on a fair and equitable basis in the event of a
valid claim. Without that trust, the whole ecosystem of insurance
comes under threat. Customers will feel short-changed, deceived,
and even mutinous – perhaps to the point where fraudulent
behaviours are seen as somehow acceptable.
Just a
Thought
from Eddie Longworth
Therefore, it seems obvious that claims
settlement systems must reflect that core
principle in both design and application.
Be it a human-centred, technology
driven, or hybrid decision-making modus
operandi, there is a requirement upon us
to deliver a service that is transparent,
accountable, and beyond reproach.
What then of the role of AI as we navigate
the waters of future developments?
How are we to ensure that there is never
any danger of AI mismanagement,
misunderstanding, or unintended
consequences breaching the fundamental
principles of a trust-based relationship?
It seems to me that one way is for those
involved in the AI world – in whatever
guise that may take - to agree on a
voluntary Code of Conduct that will guide
their thoughts, deeds, and activities. An
AI ‘Ten Commandments’ perhaps, that
drives us to ever higher standards of
ethical behaviours, helping to ensure that
the amazing AI-driven developments
of the coming years are not ‘the tail
wagging the dog’. However, as much
as we can marvel at AI’s extraordinary
feats of analysis, insight, and automated
decision-making, we must always have a
set of guiding principles as our reference
points, that help to avoid poor practices
or simply the mistaken application of the
power of AI.
We all know the Little Britain catchphrase
of ‘computer says no’, and we’ve all
met this barrier to trust and mutual
comprehension in our daily interactions
with financial institutions and other
service suppliers. Imagine that frustration
and breakdown in relationships when writ
large on the AI platforms of the future.
Like any technology, we must have regard
not only for what we can do with it, but
also what we should do with it.
That old dictum of being comfortable
with headlines on the front page of the
Daily Mirror if anything were to go wrong
might well be the best advice that we
could give ourselves as we contemplate
a future world of claims, in which
technology will eclipse human beings as
the primary decision makers.
Of course, we must also grasp
opportunities offered by ethical AI
applications with both hands. No Code
of Conduct should ever act as a brake on
the rapid development of this amazing
technology. Instead, it should serve as
a great catalyst for all stakeholders to
mutually agree the ‘stake in the ground’
that we will need if we are to retain public
trust in our industry.
Because, and I repeat, without that trust
there is no solid foundation on which we
can build. Technology is not the driver
of our industry but the enabler. It is
not AI that ultimately determines who
is right and who is wrong, whether a
claim should be paid or not, if a claim is
fraudulent or valid.
Instead, it is the human beings behind
this technology on which our future
depends, and a voluntary Code of
Conduct can only serve to improve
the chances of us getting it right -
to the benefit of all the players and
policyholders for generations to come.
Join me in advocating for such an
approach, and feel free to contact me
directly with your thoughts and support:
eddie.longworth@jelconsulting.co.uk
Eddie Longworth,
Director, JEL Consulting
MODERN INSURANCE | 43

Subsidence claims
improving supply chain efficiency
Geobear is the inventor of geopolymer
injection treatments to stabilise properties
impacted by subsidence.
The fast process means treatments can be
completed in as little as one day, minimising
the disruption to end customers and
improving satisfaction.
34% less carbon is emitted than traditional
methods and tree removal is not required for
the process to work.
As a BBA-accredited business, we work with
insurers and adjusters to bring transformative
solutions to the sector and reduce overall
claim times and costs.
www.geobear.co.uk

FEATURES
Making Efficiency
Gains in
Subsidence Claims
A critical aspect concerning subsidence claims revolves around the
timeliness of their resolution. On average, a subsidence insurance
claim can take 18-24 months to conclude. Subsidence claims, being
relatively complex, demand thorough investigations in order to devise
appropriate solutions. In the wake of the surge in 2018, out of the
40,000 successful insurance claims, only half had been resolved
within a two-year timeframe. Given the 2022 summer heat surge
that the insurance sector experienced, it’s possible that it could
be 2024 before some of the claims from last summer are settled.
The claims process commences when the
customer notifies their insurer about the
presence of cracks or movement in their
property. At this stage, the insurer will
handle the claim in-house, or they will
assign a loss adjuster to handle the claim
on their behalf. The adjuster conducts a
comprehensive inspection, organising a site
investigation (SI) and monitoring program
if appropriate to do so, before reporting
their findings to both the insurer and the
customer. After analysing the results, the
adjuster determines whether additional
information is required and looks to propose
a repair solution and programme of works
for the claim.
The response to claims was efficiently
coordinated using video technology. By
meticulously analysing available information,
Geobear could design and undertake a
ground improvement scheme within 90 days
of claim notification. Using an approach that
only takes an average of 1-2 days to complete
on-site, Geobear can stabilise and strengthen
the subsoil beneath affected foundations,
effectively halting further movement. This
innovative approach eliminates the need
for prolonged and complex investigations,
monitoring, and mitigation phases - enabling
the insurer and loss adjuster to proceed
directly to final superstructure repairs.
The key to all of this lies in expediting
the claims process. Enhancing efficiency
throughout the process reduces
administrative time and uncertainty, leading
to improved customer understanding and
satisfaction.
Efficiency improvements in subsidence
claims can be achieved by working in
partnership with insurers and loss adjusting
clients. Geobear serves as a case study
in efficiency improvement, benefitting all
stakeholders involved through an innovative
approach to resolving subsidence issues.
Subsidence repair contractor Geobear
worked with a Top 10 UK insurer and leading
global loss adjuster to revolutionise the
subsidence claim lifecycle by aiming to
reduce the time taken for such claims by
one year, all without incurring additional
costs. Research indicated that costs rose
as claims extended beyond 90 days, while
customer satisfaction declined. However, it
was found that these outcomes could largely
be avoided. Armed with this understanding,
the partnership collaborated to develop, test
and implement an innovative solution for
subsidence claims.
The solution incorporated ‘smart triaging’,
resulting in a streamlined claims process
and a novel approach to repair. This new
methodology was rapid and non-invasive,
effectively curtailing ground movement
to allow prompt commencement of the
repair phase.
Within a remarkably short timeframe of just
six months, the partnership successfully
devised an entirely new approach to
managing subsidence claims. By minimising
the number of works in progress, adjusters
could concentrate their resources on a select
number of claims, enabling the delivery
of a superior level of customer service.
This reduction in overall claims volumes
alleviated pressure on the extended supply
chain, ensuring smooth operations. Complex
claims were also resolved at an earlier stage,
reducing internal administrative costs and
emotional distress for the policyholder.
In addition, the Geobear solution eliminates
the necessity for tree removal, safeguarding
the surrounding community environment.
Furthermore, homes are stabilised with the
treatment, accompanied by a market leading,
insurance backed guarantee and a certificate
of structural adequacy to provide that extra
layer of reassurance.
Collaboration within the supply chain delivers
unparalleled benefits to customers. Given
the increasingly dry climate in the UK, the
likelihood of subsidence surges has risen
from 10% to 25%. To prepare for the growing
probability of such events, a proactive and
collaborative approach must be fostered.
Building efficiency today ensures timely,
cost-effective, and satisfactory outcomes for
tomorrow’s customers.
Chris Carlton,
MRICS, New Business &
Key Account Director, Geobear
MODERN INSURANCE | 45

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FEATURES
Chemistry for
a Sustainable
Future:
Q&A with
Grant Dempsey
Modern Insurance Magazine were delighted
to welcome BASF Automotive Refinish UK &
Ireland as our Headline Sponsor at this year’s
Modern Claims Awards. We sat down with Grant
Dempsey, Sales Manager – Distribution, to discuss
sustainability, innovation, and how their work feeds
into the overall aims of the motor repair sector.
Hi Grant - let’s kick things off by talking about
sustainability and climate! What’s your current focus when
Q it comes to sustainability, and how is BASF working to
achieve net-zero emissions?
AAt BASF, our goal is net-zero emissions by 2050. How’s that
possible for a company in the energy-intensive chemical
industry? It’s ambitious, for sure. But we’re confident we can
get there. That’s because we’re leaving no stone unturned in our
pursuit for change, questioning everything that can be questioned
and finding inspiration in surprising places.
We have an established track record in reducing our global CO2
emissions. Since 1990, we’ve almost halved them, and by 2030,
we want to reduce our emissions by a quarter compared to 2018.
By 2050, in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement, we’re
aiming for net-zero CO2 emissions.
We’ve set a benchmark in achieving climate protection targets with
our BASF Carbon Management Program, and we’re also aiming
towards a Circular Economy with our ChemCycling approach. We
also co-founded the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a global effort
to end plastic waste in the environment. This is how we understand
our corporate purpose - ‘we create chemistry for a sustainable
future’.
Q What’s new for BASF in the world of innovation?
AInnovation made BASF the leading chemical company.
Today, our customers and wider society are both looking for
innovative solutions more than ever. We all need answers
for problems like climate change, scarcity of resources, and marine
littering. As the most innovative chemical company, we take a
special responsibility here, because innovations based on chemistry
are the key to those answers.
In 2023, we’re proudly leading the way with our highly-anticipated
Glasurit® 100 Line basecoat system. Exceeding all global VOC
requirements, Glasurit 100 Line is already proving to be an absolute
winner in the field. With Glasurit 100 Line, leading body shops in
our industry can now make the environmentally-responsible choice
when it comes to automotive repairs.
At BASF, our innovative power is based on efficient research
and development. We build on our Know How Verbund: the
great creativity, the specific skills, and the broad knowledge of
our networks. It’s all about developing solutions together for a
sustainable future. Join us in our efforts to innovate; we welcome
your expertise and opportunities for external collaboration in our
fight against ongoing challenges!
QBASF has won its fair share of awards and accolades in
recent months, which is fantastic! Tell us more about these
achievements…
ALast October, we won the 2022 British Coatings Federation
Sustainable Innovation Manufacturer Award with our
waterborne basecoat system AGILIS® by R-M®, BASF’s
premium refinish brand. The award raises awareness of new
developments within the industry towards a more sustainable
future, and highlights the significance of the positive impacts made
by manufacturers. We couldn’t have been prouder of our win!
Just last month, BASF - in collaboration with Pulpex Ltd - picked
up the first SCI® Award for Innovation Enabled by Partnership. The
underlying mission was to develop a bottle that was renewable,
biodegradable, and recyclable through existing paper recycling
schemes. The resulting fibre bottle offers brand owners a
sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternative. This is such an
exciting time for sustainable innovation at BASF.
QThat’s great! So, can you give an example of how your
award-winning initiatives and products factor into the
ecosystem of the motor repair industry?
AWell, where do we begin? Our award-winning R-M® AGILIS
paint system is the UK’s first waterborne vehicle refinish
basecoat system to hold a VOC value below 250 g/L. R-M
AGILIS has now revolutionised the global premium automotive
refinish market, setting a standard with the highest ecoeffectiveness
in the industry.
I’d also be remiss to forget BASF’s Biomass Balance Approach. Our
products, like R-M Pioneer Series, are manufactured with renewable
raw materials. This means less CO2 (over 1,900 tonnes to date),
and with initiatives like R-M AGILIS and Pioneer Series, bodyshop
businesses can attract new, sustainably-minded customers too.
QOn the subject of awards, BASF were recently the Headline
Sponsor at our Modern Claims Awards in Liverpool. What
did you enjoy most about the evening, and why do you
think it was important to sponsor the awards?
AIt was a great privilege to be Headline Sponsor for this year’s
event. The stunning location and the atmosphere created by
the team was particularly enjoyable, and I would personally
like to congratulate the winners and all involved in making the
event such a success. As a supplier to the collision repair industry,
it was important for us to have the opportunity to raise awareness
that with each automotive refinish repair utilising our awardwinning
eco-effective products, we are progressing towards our
climate protection goal, all while supporting our customers on their
journey to net-zero.
Grant Dempsey,
Sales Manager - Distribution, BASF Automotive Refinish
UK & Ireland
MODERN INSURANCE | 47

F EATURES
Industry
Collaboration:
Working together to provide the best mobility solution
Modern Insurance Magazine has partnered with mobility provider, Europcar Mobility Group UK, to run a
series of roundtables in 2023. In the second instalment, held at Europcar’s Kings Cross branch in May, we
discussed the customer benefits of collaboration between credit hire organisations, vehicle rental companies
and insurers.
KEY TALKING POINTS
n Why aren’t credit hire
processes working?
n The role of technology
n Open communication
throughout the repair
supply chain
n Fit for purpose for
Consumer Duty
n Credit hire versus courtesy
vehicle - improving
consumer understanding
MAKING COLLABORATION WORK FOR ALL
PLAYERS
Kirsty McKno, Managing Director, Cogent
Hire, kicked off the discussion with an admittedly
controversial point. She believes the current credit
hire processes in the industry are broken, and open,
honest discussion is essential. Without identifying
where the process is broken, and where there is
genuine friction, it can’t be fixed. She highlighted
that for collaboration to be successful, it requires a
true meeting of minds, two sides coming together
with the same agenda.
Kirsty believes the industry is currently not
transparent enough and does not share enough
data to make collaboration successful.
THERE IS A LONG ROAD
BACK TO WHERE CREDIT
HIRE SHOULD BE
Wayne Mason-Drust, Managing Director,
Accident Express Group, added that where credit
hire is today is not really where it was originally
intended to be. He believes it is important to
recognise this in order to get the industry to where it
needs to be. He cited the example of the third-party
system. Over the years, this has been hardened
and eroded so that it no longer does what it was
designed to deliver. Kirsty agreed, stating that
if it worked as intended, litigation would only be
required for the all or nothing liability cases.
A LIKE-MINDED VISION
James Roberts, Business Development Director,
Insurance, Europcar Mobility Group UK, asked
how the industry can improve interactions and
better support insurers. Jamie Summerscales,
Senior Manager, Third Party Claims, Covéa
Insurance, spoke about how the General Terms of
Agreement (GTA) was introduced to bring peace
between insurers and credit hire organisations, but
that time has seen a shift in behaviours. He believes
it still works when both parties understand and buy
into the same framework, but not when players
start to move the goal posts or introduce new
ambiguities. Then it begins to unravel, ultimately
inviting litigation.
He believes that, before the industry can work
together to fix what is not working today,
48 | MODERN INSURANCE

FEATURES
participants in the GTA must look in the mirror and
judge whether they contribute to the vision and
purpose of the framework.
Matt Corby, Founder, Vehicle Replacement
Group, added that he believes communication
is the missing ingredient to make collaboration
successful. With opposing ways of structuring
how credit hire is provided, and without common
ground, there will always be friction. He said
protocols work for larger players, but smaller
MGAs and smaller insurers have to do their own
thing and there is a void between the two where
collaboration is impossible. Jamie agreed, pointing
out that this breeds a damaging lack of trust.
One of the main challenges, according to Luke
LeSauteur, Director, West Grove Consulting, is that
everyone is seeking to gain competitive advantage.
Large CHOs dominate the top 20 insurers and
do the most transactions. It’s not in their interests,
therefore, to collaborate. Until priorities change
from profit to purpose, these conversations will be
very difficult. Everyone around the table agreed
that better competition is needed, to breed better
practice and keep CHOs more honest.
THE COMMUNICATIONS ELEMENT
Communicating clearly with customers and sharing
data openly with other players in the supply chain
can make a significant difference to outcomes and
customer experience. The latest technology, as
Kirsty explained, can be utilised to deliver positive
customer service and an efficient repair.
She described how Cogent Hire aims to shrug
off the bad, frictional practices and look at a
new way of doing things, utilising ‘people plus
technology’. Vehicles are triaged, for example,
with customers informed quickly of the next steps,
such as whether the car is written off or if a smart
repair can be carried out to remove the need for a
replacement vehicle. At all stages, each customer
knows where their vehicle is in the process and
what will happen next.
OPEN COMMUNICATION
THROUGHOUT THE REPAIR
SUPPLY CHAIN AND WITH
CUSTOMERS IS ESSENTIAL
Open communication is also vital between each
business involved in the repair and claim process.
Matt suggested this should occur through APIs
between the credit hire company, repairer, and
insurer/ broker, so that FNOL and other data is
shared to give all organisations the same level of
information. As Kirsty added, from the customer
point of view each of those companies is simply
part of the insurer. It is, therefore, in the insurer’s best
interests to maintain open communication with the
entire supply chain, to gain real-time updates and
avoid over-hires or other mis-communications.
WHOSE DATA IS IT ANYWAY?
However, Luke shared one of the communication
challenges that he faces when working across
all channels – the repairer, customer, insurer,
accident management company. That is the
question of who owns – and who can see –
the data. This can be a blocker, halting both
communication and collaboration.
Jamie reminded the group that the focus must
remain on getting vehicles processed and
repaired or settled as quickly and efficiently as
possible, via open dialogue between all parties. If
that is done effectively, the hire will be minimised
and take care of itself.
CONSUMER DUTY
James also asked the group for their thoughts on
the upcoming Consumer Duty. He asked whether
people believe consumers will know what their
rights are, or if the onus is on the industry to
protect them.
The general consensus was that the industry will
continue to work to protect consumers, but that
insight is needed regarding current complaints
and how these issues can be avoided in future.
Jamie added that the entire industry has a duty to
ensure their customers understand the products and
services they are purchasing, and to process and
repair vehicles as quickly as possible.
The difficulty, according to Luke, comes when
customer service becomes a potential sales
opportunity. At all times, it is critical that the
customer understands their rights, even if
something changes.
Kirsty provided an example of where cases
originally referred as ‘at fault’ later become
known as ‘non-fault’. At that point, the credit hire
company will need to make their involvement clear
to the customer. It comes back to the challenge of
communications discussed earlier, and the friction
created because processes do not include a clear
explanation of details to the customer.
Jamie felt the Consumer Duty legislation should not
cause a seismic shift to the front of house teams who
already sell to customers and explain the terms.
But Kirsty questioned whether that really does
happen every time, suggesting that it could require
a significant adjustment for many.
Kirsty went on to explain that because credit hire
itself is an unregulated activity, many credit hire
companies are not regulated and, therefore, may
not realise this new legislation applies to them. She
believes the industry needs to raise awareness of
the fact that credit hire companies need to know
about the new rules – if for no other reason than
because they will be included as part of the supply
chain under insurers.
CREDIT HIRE COMPANIES
MAY NOT BE REGULATED,
BUT CONSUMER DUTY
STILL APPLIES
CREDIT OR COURTESY?
The other discussion around the table involved the
significant issue of consumer misunderstanding,
particularly regarding the terms around the vehicle
supplied under a credit hire agreement while theirs
is being repaired. In Jamie’s experience, many
people do not realise that they are driving a credit
hire vehicle or that they will be liable for the cost
later. Wayne agreed, citing examples of cases
being referred on to a credit hire or credit repair
business. He has previously had conversations
with customers around what their rights are,
advising that the credit hire company will pay out
a significant amount of money on their behalf, but
they are ultimately responsible for the cost. Often,
these customers will opt to go through their own
insurance instead.
Matt added that the next step in a non-fault claim
(when the customer does opt to go through their
own insurer) involves the insurer referring them onto
a credit hire company. In these cases, the customer
is likely to accept the referral because they see
this as part of their insurer’s service. However, this
leaves the customer in the same situation and at risk
of a large and unexpected cost if the terms are not
clearly explained.
Using the term ‘credit’ is, in Kirsty’s opinion,
a reason for customer confusion. In reality, the
arrangement is actually just a deferment of
payment rather than actual credit. She suggested
that changing this terminology would perhaps help
consumers when it comes to understanding the
agreement that they are entering into.
COLLABORATION: NOT JUST A BUZZWORD
In the closing comments, Kirsty stated that
‘collaboration’ should not just be the latest trendy
buzzword; players must commit wholeheartedly.
Wayne reiterated the importance of every area
of the industry being involved and heard in
discussions, to shape the future and the terminology
being used.
Jamie believes that there are a lot of challenges
in the market that can be overcome together.
He asked whether technology really can fix the
problem, or does it just bring new ambiguity and
make some things worse? Matt added that there is
a lot of will from each organisation, but old legacy
systems and mindsets are slowing down innovation
and development. Luke suggested the involvement
of bigger players in the discussions would help the
industry and its customers.
Further topics discussed around sole supplier
relationships and the barriers to change will be
examined in the next issue of Modern Insurance
Magazine.
The next roundtable will take place in September
2023, where the discussion will be continued.
MODERN INSURANCE | 49

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3
Mind the
Protection Gap
Much like the rest of the world, the UK has a natural catastrophe protection gap, where total
economic losses exceed the total insured losses. Former Governor of the Bank of England, Mark
Carney, worried a few Lloyd’s syndicates when talking about the ‘tragedy on the horizon’ at Lloyds
in 2015. However, not much has materially changed since then in terms of closing the gap and
reducing risk exposure.
Why is this? Are policyholders willingly exposing themselves
to risk? Is there a lack of trust between the policyholder and
the insurer? Or, perhaps, with the cost of everything else
increasing, wallets are stretched too thin to cover?
Prospect theory - and more specifically, loss aversion - form
the basis of the behavioural economics of insurance. Tversky
and Kahneman found that psychologically, the pain of losing
is about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining, which
begs the question; why are people underinsuring their homes
to climate and catastrophe risk, given the increasing frequency,
duration and volatility of such events due to climate change? In
the UK, we are less susceptible to large impact events such as
tsunamis, earthquakes or wildfire. However, take a moment to
think of the winter storms and summer heatwave temperatures
that the UK faced back in 2022. Subsidence, escape of water
and general weather events account for 48% of home insurance
claims in the UK.
One could assume that the protection gap would be related to
inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and a lack of financial support.
However, in 2022, the average cost of home insurance was
actually the lowest it has been for 10 years. Everyone loves
a deal, but with a cheap home insurance policy you’ll often
find that the insurer has stripped more and more out of the
coverage to offer a reduced price, resulting in an insufficient
product that doesn’t provide the necessary cover. Insurance
doesn’t equal protection.
The blame for the protection gap typically sits with customers
for being underinsured. However, the protection gap is in fact
a by-product of the knowledge gap. I personally hate taking
my car into the garage due to my lack of knowledge on the
subject matter of car mechanics. A knowledge gap between
those buying and selling leads to trust issues - trust which is
then broken when the car still has a problem after paying for
the works, or when the claim is not approved after buying what
you thought was a great policy. Therefore, there is a shared
responsibility to educate consumers, simplify the process and
increase transparency on what they are actually buying. Only
then will trust be gained and retained.
Insurtech is leading the way - not just in our ability to predict
events, but also in our ability to assess damages after the
fact. Levering technology can also simplify the process for
consumers. Picture a climate protection product which offers a
cash pay-out based on an approved severity of risk. This creates
a climate risk management approach suitable for all parties, a
simplified and transparent process for buying insurance, and
an improved claims journey powered by technology - much
of which you will be able to find in Claim Technology’s open
insurtech marketplace. This can also lead to increased trust
between the insurer and the policyholder.
If insurers would start treating
policyholders with more care and
minimise their customer turnover,
building products that are fit for
purpose and don’t break as soon
as you want to use them, we really
could begin to reduce the home
insurance protection gap in the UK.
Ashley Preece,
Product Owner, Claim Technology
MODERN INSURANCE | 51

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FEATURES
In Conversation
with… Solera |
Audatex
Hi Neil, thanks so much for your time today.
Q Tell me about Solera, what you do and the solutions that
you offer to support the wider industry?
ASolera, as a global automotive software and solutions
company, is built on four pillars, each of which support an
array of interconnected solutions. The aim of our fourpillar
structure (vehicle claims, vehicle repair, vehicle solutions
and fleet solutions) is to be the global leader in vehicle lifecycle
management, with a touchpoint at every significant milestone.
How does Artificial Intelligence fit into your business
practices, and how are you encouraging your staff and
Q customers to trust the decision-making capability of AI?
We use the power of AI, data and services to streamline
processes across vehicle claims, repair, sales and fleet
A management, delivering actionable insights so our
customers can make better business decisions.
For intelligent vehicle repair estimates, we use Qapter. It blends
human repair expertise with the science of AI, which detects
vehicle damage via images. It’s intuitive for customers and
assessors to use, with the customer guided through the process
of taking and uploading relevant images by the technology itself.
AI then presents a cost estimate for the experts to review. This
provides trust, because assessors can see how accurate the AI
estimates are and the ways in which they are informed by our live
datasets, thus keeping apace of cost changes.
In addition, some decisions can be made straight away and
without physical inspection, such as assessing whether the car is
safe to drive, requires recovery or is a total loss case. This brings
substantial savings for insurers and expedites the customer’s
claim. AI is really opening up all kinds of applications where we can
improve our business efficiency.
QWhere were the most significant challenges in your area of
the industry over the last 12-18 months, and how are you
adapting to meet the demands of the ‘Perfect Storm’
across the motor claims sector?
AThe Insurance industry is facing many challenges: inflationbusting
highs, advances in technology, and staffing. The
automotive insurance industry has always run on small
margins and has a driving need to offer a high-value, competitive
service with minimised costs. Our role has always been to facilitate
this, and it has never been more important.
The economy may be faltering - inflation high and insurance
a more competitive market than ever – but our role remains
the same. To provide the technologies, services and solutions
which mean insurers can work faster, more efficiently and more
sustainably, while supporting their customers as professionally and
swiftly as possible.
The harder the market, the more value our solutions add for
everyone in the automotive sector, whether they fill the role of a
supplier, repairer or operator.
QSolera have recently partnered with Mercedes-AMG
PETRONAS Formula One team, which is great to see!
Tell us more about that partnership and how this factors
into your plans for Solera.
ASolera and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One
Team share the same commitment to transforming the
automotive industry, so we’re really excited about this
collaboration. It’s an opportunity to break new boundaries and
inspire excellence on a global scale.
Back in June, we also exhibited and spoke at Automechanika at
the NEC in Birmingham, where we also featured a replica of the
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One car. It certainly gained a
lot of attention and exposure for Solera!
QFrom your experience, where do you see the future of
mobility heading, and what does the industry still need to
do in order to adapt?
AThere are a number of areas in which we think the industry
could adapt, and we’re really aiming to play a part in
this. The automotive world is an ecosystem. We like to
compartmentalise sectors such as insurance, dealerships, haulage,
couriers and vehicle repairers as separate business areas. Really,
they are all part of the same ecosystem, and their problems and
solutions are often the same or dovetail together. For example,
they may have different business models but often shared values,
challenges and solutions, like sustainability or improved road safety
measures.
The UK Government has detailed a clear decarbonisation pathway
for road transport, with emissions control progressing to enforce
Clean Air Zones. Sales of new ICE cars will also end in 2030, with
diesel commercial vehicles following suit in 2035 and 2040. This
means everyone must adjust their skills and their business models
accordingly.
We all have a role to play in this journey. At Solera, we hope that
by creating technology platforms which embrace and interconnect
the whole automotive ecosystem, we can help all of these sectors
handle the challenges ahead of us, each adding value to one
another’s proposition.
Neil Garrett
UK, South Africa & Nordics Sales Director, Solera | Audatex
MODERN INSURANCE | 53

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FEATURES
A New Climate
For Claims
The changing global
climate is having a
substantial and
increasing impact on the
insurance industry, with
storms, droughts and
wildfires more frequent
and severe than ever.
The problem for insurers is knowing what
to expect. What they knew in 1990 and
even 2010 is not necessarily relevant now,
and what they learn now is unlikely to
help them forecast for 2030 and beyond.
In the US, the number of natural disasters
has doubled in the last 20 years, while in
the UK storms and flooding have become
a regular and costly event. In February
2022, three storms buffeted the UK in
quick succession – Dudley, Eunice and
Franklin – with the claims cost to insurers
estimated to be about £500m.
According to the Met Office, extreme
weather like this is only going to become
more frequent and severe. Its data has
revealed that UK summers from 2009-18
were 13% wetter than 1961-90, and they
are now predicting that extreme rainfall
events in the UK could be four times as
frequent in 2080 as they were in 1980.
Risk
For the insurance industry, this poses
both a direct and indirect risk. Alongside
the obvious and immediate damage
caused by such weather, insurers must
also consider the cost of more insidious
effects in areas of the sector such as
subsidence. Evidence of this is already
starting to take effect, with subsidence
surges in 2018 and 2022 both coming
after unusually warm winters and wet
summers.
Speaking at this year’s ILC Subsidence
Claims specialist event, Sarah Dodd,
Director of the Subsidence Forum
and Treelaw, noted that ‘subsidence is
inextricably linked to climate change’.
With Consumer Duty just around the
corner, handling these claims quickly and
fairly has never been more important.
However, this is easier said than done,
with a lack of skills, erratic volumes
and growing challenges around taking
mitigating measures making effective
claims handling ever-more difficult.
Steve Gelder, CEO, Gelder Group,
who was also talking at the specialist
event, said ‘a subsidence claim is
the worst claim in the world to have
for homeowners. They are virtually
paralysed for two years. They can’t sell
the house, they can’t change insurers,
they can’t do anything. Previously, an
engineer would visit the site and decide
what needed to be done. But now
there are so many people involved, and
everything takes so much longer’.
Skills
The skills issue is widely reported. All
industries find themselves in a battle
for fresh talent, exacerbated by the
pandemic. There are now more than a
million vacancies in the UK, meaning
insurers have to compete with other
sectors for the best people.
Nick Hill, Head of Home Claims, Aviva,
acknowledges that ‘there is enough
expertise in the sector to handle
subsidence claims now, but projecting
forward, we need to make sure that
expertise remains there and improves,
adopting new and innovative methods.
We need to guarantee a continued
pipeline of people and skills’.
Insurers can’t afford to simply recruit en
masse when surges strike. While the vast
majority of subsidence claims are simple,
about 10% are complex and require
expert knowledge to first identify and
then process the claim correctly.
Alex Finch, Commercial Director, Optera
Structural Solutions, said ‘you have
to secure the technical people within
your business, and then ringfence them
around technical claims. The people still
training and developing can then handle
the simple claims’.
Partners
Partnering with experts in the supply
chain at an early stage is one way to
ensure correct handling of complex
claims, while innovative technologies
are also assisting insurers as they work
their way through sudden increases in
volumes.
Automation and live video are becoming
commonplace, and the challenge now is
to find digital-savvy people who are able
to make the most of these solutions.
Kevin Williams, Head of Subsidence &
Valuations, Sedgwick, said ‘the surges
of 2018 and 2022 are very similar, but in
2022 there was much more use of digital
solutions. That will increase again when
we get another surge, and as an industry,
we need to ensure that we have those
skills available to us. You have to recruit
and train new talent’.
MODERN INSURANCE | 55

mins with...
Ola Jacob
Title: Independent Insurance Advisor
QWhat is your most memorable achievement whilst
working in your current role?
AMy mind still considers the creativity and
complexity of Heroes and Villains. These characters
are often born from the same tragic story, yet their
paths diverge drastically. The hero, driven by empathy
and compassion, endeavours to prevent others from
experiencing the same pain. The villain, consumed by
anger and hatred, seeks to inflict that pain on the world.
However, there are no clear distinctions between good
and evil, and the intentions of the character do not always
align with the consequences of their actions. Some villains
think they are heroes, and vice versa.
Insurance can be a murky world filled with labyrinth-style
policy wordings and elaborate claims procedures, and it
is easy for us to become villains in the eyes of the public.
I have made it my mission to transform the narrative
surrounding insurance and present us as the heroes we
are. By combining parametric and indemnity insurance,
we have the power to revolutionise the industry. I am
deeply honoured to have been named the ‘Technology
Champion of the Year’ for pursuing this goal, but there is
still so much work to be done. Together, we can transform
insurance into the hero we all need.
QWhat piece of advice has been the most valuable
to you?
AAlways remember the importance of emotional
intelligence and the need to give back to others.
Not surprisingly, all of my sponsors - Dominic
Christian, Tom Gallagher, Darren Powell, Matthew Pike,
Steve White and Jane Keilty - echo the same advice and
practice what they preach. They will all be included in the
book that I refer to later.
QWhat has been the key positive or negative
impact of change in your area of the market?
AAs someone who has covered the length and
breadth of the country, conversing with brokers
and underwriters about the potential of parametric
insurance, I have witnessed first-hand how change can
be both challenging and refreshing. However, I have been
heartened by how receptive and enthusiastic everyone
has been about embracing new ideas. The benefits of
incorporating rapid payouts into policies to help mitigate
losses have been outstanding, and we have successfully
transformed a niche concept into a mass-market
enhancement for thousands of businesses in the UK and
the US. Of course, there are still many more companies
that could benefit from parametric insurance, but the
pressures of deadlines and targets can often make it
difficult to explore new ideas. Even so, I am confident
that the willingness to adapt and innovate will ultimately
triumph in the end.
What three items would you put on display in a
museum of your life and why?
QThis is by far the hardest question, and I needed to
get help from my family and friends to come up with
Aan answer. The first item would be a ‘Gold Bar’ - not
a real one, but a white chocolate biscuit from McVities. This
seemingly insignificant biscuit holds a deep meaning for
me, as it represents my first taste of seizing opportunities.
When my classmates were risking expulsion by scaling the
school gates to visit the local shop, I had the bright idea
of bringing the shop to them, beginning my chocolate and
sweets empire at the age of thirteen. The ‘Gold Bar’ was my
bestseller.
The second item would be a globe treasure chest filled with
relics from my travels and adventures. This chest serves as
a reminder of the vast array of perspectives and insights
that different cultures offer, as well as the beauty and
diversity of our world.
The third and most important item would be a hardback
book called ‘No One Has Ever Achieved Anything Alone’.
The book will contain a personal note of gratitude to all
those who have helped me along the way. From mentors
and colleagues to teachers and my opinionated brothers,
I’m eternally grateful for their support.
What three guests would you invite to a dinner
party?
Q
A
In case my brothers are reading this, my answer
assumes they are already coming. Otherwise, they
would take the first two seats.
Julius Caesar, faced with countless obstacles and
adversities, is arguably one of the best negotiators in
history. He always had problems to solve, but he found
a way to look at the bigger picture and ultimately bring
enemies and contrasting viewpoints together.
Aurore Dupin Dudevant. She was so determined to succeed
and didn’t let anything stop her; she did the impossible,
creatively using a male pseudonym ‘George Sands’ when
female writers were not recognised at that time. This
reminds us that we can be whatever we want to be despite
what society has to say about it.
Finally, Mansa Musa. An African emperor whose wealth and
generosity is legendary. Some historians believe he was the
wealthiest man in the world. The lost stories of Africa have
always fascinated me, and who better to tell this story? It’s
an inspirational tale of good prevailing over greed.
MODERN INSURANCE | 57

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MCA2023
On April 27th, Modern Insurance Magazine
raised the roof of Liverpool’s Rum Warehouse
in celebration of a united claims industry.
The claims sector has changed, adapted and evolved
beyond measure since we last held this event back in 2017.
However, recognising our rising and established superstars
never fails to bring the industry together, encouraging us
to learn from each other’s successes and meet collective
challenges as a strong and united community.
It is this unified resilience that we’ve come together to
celebrate at the 2023 Modern Claims Awards. The evening
begins with a touch of glamour as honoured guests and
hopeful winners arrive for a glass of champagne against a
backdrop of prestigious branded supercars - kindly provided
by Laird, our Car and Media Board sponsor.
After a call to be seated, Modern Insurance Magazine’s
very own Rachael Pearson is first to address the room,
welcoming guests to the Rum Warehouse and thanking
all sponsors, judges and nominees for their involvement.
Hannah Gurga, Chair Judge and Director General of the
Association of British Insurers is next to take the stage,
followed by Gavin Townsend, Sales Manager (UK and
Ireland) at BASF Automotive Refinish, kindly representing
the voice of our valued Headline Sponsor.
Welcome speeches complete and the room is promptly catered for, entertained between courses by
a small troupe of magicians and slight-of-hand performers. Fred Macaulay soon takes to the stage as
our host for the evening to complete a short stand-up comedy set before announcing the 2023 winners
and highly commended. From Coverdrone winning in the Insurer of the Year category, right through to
Donna Scully’s poignant success as the Outstanding Achievement of the Year winner, the room was
buzzing with recognition and pride.
Please join us in
congratulating all of
the 2023 winners, highly
commended, and everyone
who made this year’s
Modern Claims Awards
such a memorable evening
of celebration and unity.
MODERN INSURANCE | 59

MCA2023
Results
INSURER OF THE YEAR
WINNER - Coverdrone
JOINT HIGHLY COMMENDED -
Napo Pet Insurance and ARAG plc
kindly sponsored by FMG
BROKER OF THE YEAR
WINNER - Clegg Gifford & Co Limited
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Ceta Insurance
kindly sponsored by Kindertons
​BODYSHOP OF THE YEAR
WINNER - The Vella Group
HIGHLY COMMENDED -
Gemini Accident Repair Centres Ltd
kindly sponsored by e2e Total Loss Solutions
​LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR (CLAIMANT)
WINNER - HCC Solicitors
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Indemnity Legal
kindly sponsored by Medical-Legal Appointments Ltd
​LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR (DEFENDANT)
WINNER - RPC
HIGHLY COMMENDED - HCC Solicitors
kindly sponsored by SX3 Claims Ltd
​INSURTECH OF THE YEAR
WINNER - FloodFlash
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Clearspeed
kindly sponsored by AllThingsCX
​MANAGING GENERAL AGENT
OF THE YEAR
WINNER - FloodFlash
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Arkel
kindly sponsored by ParaCode Ltd
​ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM
OF THE YEAR
WINNER - Winn Group
HIGHLY COMMENDED -
FMG’s Third Party Claims Management Team
kindly sponsored by Solera, Inc.
​BEST GREEN INITIATIVE
WINNER - NBRA (National Body Repair Association)
HIGHLY COMMENDED - The Vella Group
kindly sponsored by Enterprise Holdings
​SUPPORTING THE INDUSTRY
(1-25 EMPLOYEES)
WINNER - GT Motive UK
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Countrywide Hearing
kindly sponsored by Automotive Glazing Academy
​
60 | MODERN INSURANCE

MCA2023
Results
SUPPORTING THE INDUSTRY
(26+ EMPLOYEES)
WINNER - Sedgwick
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Clegg Gifford & Co Limited
kindly sponsored by ACSO
INNOVATION OF THE YEAR
WINNER- Clearspeed
HIGHLY COMMENDED - SBS Insurance Services Limited
kindly sponsored by Autoflow Ltd
TECH INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
WINNER - HF – HARP
JOINT HIGHLY COMMENDED - Corporé and expert.ai
kindly sponsored by AutoWindscreens
MAJOR LOSS AWARD
WINNER- Corporé
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Direct Commercial
kindly sponsored by Accident Express
FIGHT AGAINST FRAUD
WINNER- Sedgwick
JOINT HIGHLY COMMENDED - Charles Taylor and HF - HOLT
kindly sponsored by Winn Group
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR
WINNER - Danielle Williamson, S&G Response
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Andrew Mackenzie,
Atrium Underwriting Ltd
kindly sponsored by RGI Solutions (UK) Ltd
BEST NEWCOMER
WINNER - Clearspeed
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Go-Insur from Pancentric Digital
kindly sponsored by Modern Insurance Magazine
DIVERSITY AWARD
WINNER- Duncan Lewis Solicitors
HIGHLY COMMENDED - Parklane Plowden Chambers
kindly sponsored by Carpenters Group
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
OF THE YEAR
WINNER- Donna Scully
kindly sponsored by S&G Response Ltd
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
WINNER - The Rt Hon. the Lord Hunt of Wirral MBE
kindly sponsored by BASF Automotive Refinish UK & Ireland
MODERN INSURANCE | 61

MCA2023
“My highlight of the night was the opportunity to present
the Outstanding Achievement Award to Donna Scully,
who has a tremendous record of fighting for fairness
and is a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion
across our industry.
Donna is highly regarded and respected throughout
our sector, and I was proud to play a part in offering
the deserved recognition for her contribution. It was
also a pleasure to see Lord Hunt of Wirral receive the
Lifetime Achievement Award for his remarkable career
and championing of our industry.”
Hannah Gurga, Director General,
Association of British Insurers
Chair Judge, Modern Claims Awards 2023
“It was a great evening overall, but the highlight for
me was bearing witness to Donna Scully receiving
her ‘Outstanding Achievement of the Year’ Award.
Obviously, I supported her as the right choice, but her
acceptance speech again showed the humility that
we have got so used to from Donna. To see her receive
the award in her adopted home city of Liverpool, which
she loves so much, and with the ‘Fans Supporting
Foodbanks’ charity that she has done so much work
with in the room as the award was won – it was an
incredibly special moment.”
David Williams, Vice Chair Judge, Modern Claims
Awards 2023
“As the bright lights of Liverpool shone down on the
Modern Claims Awards, it was clear that this was a
night to remember. From the elegantly dressed guests
to the thrilling suspense of the awards themselves, it
was an honour to be present and support excellence
in our industry.
As the night drew to a close and the last champagne
glass was raised, it was clear that the Modern Claims
Awards had not only celebrated the best of the best
in the industry, but had also left an inspiring message
of perseverance and dedication. Here’s to a future of
continued excellence and the recognition it deserves!”
Sarah Glenn, Commercial Director, RGI Solutions
“The Modern Claims Awards was a fantastic night that
brought together some of the best in the industry and
celebrated their achievements. While I presented an
award, I was more delighted to see Winn Group win
at the event also, acting as a nod of recognition for
all of the hard work that goes into our market-leading
accident management service.”
Mark Pallas, Associate Director,
Head of Business Development, Winn Group
“The Modern Claims Awards was an incredible night!
We are so proud to have been the official Headline
Sponsor for such a tremendous event – and even more
honoured to have been able to sponsor and present
this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Thank you to everyone who attended for making this
the event to remember – and to the Modern Insurance
Magazine team for putting together such a showstopping
night!”
Natalie Wong, Marketing & Portfolio Lead,
BASF Automotive Refinish UK & Ireland
Thank you to all our sponsors...
62 | MODERN INSURANCE

MCA2023
“We chose to sponsor the Bodyshop of the Year
Category at the Modern Claims Awards because we
wanted to recognise the resilience of the bodyshop
community, and focus on customer service to
acknowledge what has been a challenging year.
The night was a real showcase of industry progress
and stand out achievements. The atmosphere was
electric and you could tell that everyone was enjoying
themselves. Absolutely fantastic! We were really proud
to be sponsors.”
Mia Constable, Head of Business Development,
e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management
“ParaCode were nominated for two awards and proud
sponsors of the Managing General Agent of the Year
category. We were delighted by the brand promotion
that we received, the mixed table we were sat on
was a really fun group, and the effort that went into
dressing the venue was absolutely top class.
Thank you to the whole team at Modern Insurance
Magazine for a wonderful event!”
Sarah Lambert-Gibbs,
Business Development Manager, Paracode
“For me, talking about the work of Fans Supporting
Foodbanks was the highlight of the night, and it was
a privilege to have them attend the event, too. Very
special. Then, to add icing on the cake, hearing the
testimonials & receiving the Outstanding Achievement
of the Year Award was incredibly humbling. The song
choice was emotional but inspired, and I thought it
was a magnificent evening from start to finish. Kate
and the team hit it out of the park, again!”
Donna Scully, Director, Carpenters Group
“It was a real highlight to see dedicated solicitors and
other firms within the claims industry come together
to celebrate each other’s tireless efforts in upholding
justice and advocating for the rights of those in need.”
Michael Shallcross, Managing Director,
Medical-Legal Appointments Ltd
“We were very pleased to sponsor the Tech Initiative of
the Year category at this year’s Modern Claims Awards.
Liverpool has a great history, and it’s a really nice city
to host an event like this. The venue, atmosphere, food
and entertainment on the night were fantastic. It was
also wonderful to see the hard work of Carpenters
Group Director, Donna Scully, recognised in receipt of
the Outstanding Achievement of the Year award.”
James Reynolds, Commercial and Sales Director,
Auto Windscreens
“I loved that the team at Modern Insurance Magazine
thought outside the box with our sponsorship, allowing
us to place our branded cars at the entrance. As for
the evening; what a great event filled with familiar
faces, new faces and plenty of fun entertainment.
Roll on 2024 - we’ve already signed up!”
Nik Ellis, Managing Director, Laird
MEDIA PARTNERS
MODERN INSURANCE | 63

INSURTECH
INSUR.
TECH.
TALK
MODERN INSURANCE | 65

INSURTECH
WELCOME
Hello, dear readers!
Welcome to the tenth
issue of Insur.Tech.Talk!
Who’s ready to make some waves?
This issue was put together at the end of May 2023, the
beginning of hurricane season for many around the world.
With global warming on the rise and the climate crisis a firm
part of the global insurance narrative, natural catastrophes
represent a profound opportunity for innovation. There is a
light in the metaphorical storm!
For Property and Casualty (P&C) insurers, catastrophes are
defined by the infrequent events that cause severe loss,
injury and property damage to a large population. In light
of this, I have assembled a panel of experts who will provide
their insight on the technologies and applications that our
industry has developed in order to predict and mitigate risk,
revolutionising the claims process for all involved.
Until next time, happy reading!
Megan Kuczynski,
President,
Insurtech Insights
66 | MODERN INSURANCE

INSURTECH
CLARA
Analytics
CLARA Analytics is not just a claims intelligence platform for risk
professionals. It’s also an AI decision support assistant for adjusters - used at
carriers, MGAs/MGUs, reinsurers and self-insured organisations for loss cost
and expense savings.
So, how is AI improving the claims process? We sat down with Heather H.
Wilson, CEO of CLARA Analytics, to find out. be, catastrophic.
Q Q
Heather, so great to connect! Congratulations on
You
being named in the top 100 global insurtechs of
2022! You have certainly accomplished a lot in a
short amount of time.
I saw you were recently on CoffeeAndNoCode with Gary
Hoberman. It was a great episode! Can you expand on what
you mean by “we compete against the Ghost of Build”?
ANowadays, organisations are realising that to be agile
and accelerated, they need to think of parallel paths
in terms of build and buy. There is room for both. We
are finding that organisations want to partner with CLARA
because we are truly ‘plug-n-play’ with our API architecture,
allowing our clients to get started with capabilities that
otherwise take years to build.
Sometimes, the “Ghost of Build” is still roaming the
hallways. However, I have found that mentality has been
changing over the last two years because advancements
are happening so quickly that organisations need an
accelerated path. We are a low-lift technology, providing
claims organisations with a gateway to modern insurance.
Our onboarding process takes 8-12 weeks to get clients
moving forward with our AI Platform.
QTalk to me about CLARA Analytics’ focus on
workers’ comp. How does the technology triage the
most complex of claims?
ACLARA Analytics is the only casualty AI platform
in the marketplace, covering workers’ comp, auto
liability, and general liability. Our models are triaging
the most complex of claims throughout the course of its full
lifecycle, creating a decision support system for the adjuster
or claims handler.
The adjuster is provided with a ‘second set of eyes’ - or
a ‘GPS’ as we like to say - that will monitor and provide a
heads-up on predictive alerts. This prompts our users to
take action and details why that action is needed, helping
the claim to stay on the optimal path. We are shifting the
paradigm for claims adjusters to be drawn to their claims
files with ‘trusted prompting’ and explainable, prescriptive,
next best actions.
QWhat are the biggest challenges facing P&C carriers
in the midst of growing concerns around global
warming and the climate crises as a whole? How
does the CLARA Analytics product suite provide a solution
in light of this?
AAt CLARA, we focus on the bodily injury cases our
clients face, whether this is in a workers’ comp, auto
or general liability setting. In any type of casualty, our
AI system is used to provide predictive alerts and trusted
prompting, which helps our clients get the best outcomes
possible for these severe cases. We also have a large global
data set that provides benchmarking for our clients as they
deal with exposure and understanding occurring patterns.
Heather H. Wilson,
Chief Executive Officer,
CLARA Analytics
just announced a new AI platform for general
liability claims. What role does augmented
intelligence play for general liability insurance?
AYes! Beyond workers’ compensation and auto liability,
we recently announced the launch of general liability,
which makes us the only AI platform for casualty
claims. We are really excited to bring this to the insurance
marketplace, because we know the difficulty of managing
this book of complex claims.
We know that our Triage and Litigation products will help
claims officers and adjusters to intervene when our models
are detecting the potential of litigation, or they will help
with settlement of those cases. We have already proven
ourselves in the workers’ comp and auto liability space, so
to help our current (and future) clients in this highly litigious
environment is an opportunity to provide our demonstrated
expertise.
QHeather, you are so inspiring and serve as a role
model for many women in insurance innovation.
You’ve been the Chief Data Officer for Citi, the Global
Head of Innovation at Kaiser Permanente, a board member
at Equifax, and now CEO at CLARA Analytics.
What advice do you have for other women when it comes to
advancing their careers? What are some of the obstacles you
have had to overcome to get to the C-suite?
AI have been a lifelong learner and listener. Both of these
skills have been foundational for me to be confident
and a risk-taker as a leader. To continue growing as
a leader means putting oneself in uncomfortable or new
situations sometimes. It’s important to work through the fear
and understand that mental strength is needed when you
want to embrace that growth.
Also, having a rewarding career equates to the ‘grit and
grind’ of a work ethic — it’s just what it takes! Lastly, this may
sound very simple, but relationships matter. I have found
myself working with amazing people again who I met or
initially knew years ago. Building and maintaining strong
relations is imperative to success.
Heather H. Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of
CLARA Analytics, has more than a decade of executive
experience in data, analytics and artificial intelligence,
including Global Head of Innovation and Advanced
Technology at Kaiser Permanente and Chief Data Officer
of AIG. She currently sits on Equifax’s board of directors.
While at AIG, she was named the Insurance Woman of the
Year by the Insurance Technology Association for her data
innovation work. Wilson has been a steady supporter of
diversity. She launched the Kaiser Permanente Women in
Technology group, focused on mentorship and retention
for women in math, technology and science, and at AIG,
she launched Global Women in Technology and served as
Executive Sponsor of Girls Who Code.
MODERN INSURANCE | 67

INSURTECH
Climate Risk
and Resilience
with Stephen Weinstein
In this very special edition of Modern Insurance Magazine, Megan Kuczynski, President of
Insurtech Insights USA, sat with Stephen Weinstein, Former Chair of the Bermuda Business
Development Agency, to discuss mitigating climate risk, emerging technologies, and the
importance of ocean science.
Q Hi Steve, great to catch up!
I was intrigued by one of your recent LinkedIn posts
regarding the cost of global warming to policyholders in
areas hit the hardest by catastrophic surge events and risk.
Where do you see this direction heading in the next 3-5
years?
A
From the highest level, the acceleration of climatedriven
risk is driving the most significant set of
challenges across the industry. At the same time,
fostering mitigation, adaptation and transition is giving rise
to the most significant - and exciting - set of business and
investment opportunities. I think we have to be clear eyed and
vigorous, in terms of mitigating these risks but also in terms
of allocating new capital into growth opportunities.
It’s also important to recognise that not all climate risks are
created equal. For example, I’m extremely confident in the
industry’s ability to manage risks of hurricanes, particularly in
the US southeast. Florida hurricanes are, I believe, the most
rigorously understood hazard in the world, and data available
to the industry can be accurate, validated and actionable.
Our recent challenges in Florida have instead been driven
by fraud, not by the very real but well-managed risks of
hurricanes.
In many developing markets, I believe the industry has
developed very useful tools in terms of understanding
the meteorology and physical impact of extreme weather
events - including the near and medium impacts of climate
change. But we lack the kind of validated and actionable data
in a number of regions with respect to property and other
insured value available. This is an area where I think insurtech
innovations can help bridge the gap. There’s a lot of exciting
work going on - some in public, some in stealth mode - with
sensors, imagery, data mining, AI, and other cutting-edge
innovations, all of which marry up effectively with tested risk
management tools in the context of well-modelled hazards.
We also have to recognise that there are some risks where our
understanding of the peril may not be as robust as it needs
to be. To me, the most prominent example of this is California
wildfire. Clearly, the models have not been performing as well
as they should be in order to allocate capital with confidence.
Some of this relates to changes in the underlying risk. Out of
the 15 largest recorded fires in California history, every single
one has occurred at some stage in the last two decades. Six
of the seven largest have occurred since 2020 alone.
While traditional data is robust in California, we may not have
been collecting the right data. Insured properties can be
ignited not just by smoking in bed, kitchen fires, wiring issues
and the like - all of which is reflected in traditional submission
and claims files - but by factors like vegetation on the
property.
In my view, these are issues that are too large not to tackle,
and I believe that in 3 to 5 years we’ll see some exciting
progress across the board in the private sector. The harder
nut to crack may be needed in public policy reforms, but I
choose to be cautiously optimistic on that front as well. When
it comes to climate, we have no time to waste. Everything
that emerges in the coming years is likely to be something we
should have been doing already.
How do you see climate-focused solutions being
integrated into traditional P&C coverage?
Q
In the three decades since Hurricane Andrew
destabilised much of the P&C market, the industry as
A a whole has done a solid job enhancing its ability to
manage climate driven risks in terms of coverage. Andrew
drove a big paradigm shift in terms of severity assumptions,
and the storms of the Katrina-Rita-Wilma era certainly
changed our understanding of frequency risk. While 9/11 was
not a climate risk, it did lead to advancements in managing
risk aggregation, which have great utility in terms of climate
driven perils. Across that time, stochastic risk modelling
and big data utilisation evolved from outlier ideas to nearuniversal
application. At this point, if a P&C carrier doesn’t
think of itself as a climate focused company, it’s on its way to
being a legacy company.
However, this outlook speaks to traditional P&C coverage.
I think the real challenge - and the fun - lies ahead in
innovation and in expanding the solutions we can offer to
help mitigate climate risk. Some of this will come from closing
the coverage gap in respect of the climate driven perils
that we understand well already. I think of US Flood in that
context, for example. In regions where we already underwrite
commercial flood, there’s no reason not to imagine a more
robust residential flood market. The US flood gap has been
an outgrowth of public policy distortions that underwritten
acumen and data sets are already positioned to address.
I think the underlying megatrends of climate adaptation and
transition support an incredible opportunity for insurance
innovation. For example, a Bermuda company recently
launched an innovative product in respect of batteries
that combines some features of indemnity and warranty
protection. I’m aware of some efforts to provide solutions to
support manufacturers, installers and owners of residential
solar. We see continuing innovation to mitigate risk linked to
extreme heat, cold, precipitation and other climate perils. I’m
sure there are fascinating ideas in stealth mode or beyond my
own ability to imagine. It’s always a good time for insurance
68 | MODERN INSURANCE

INSURTECH
innovation, but given the scale of the climate crisis, there’s
never been a better time than now.
Q
A
Science.
I’d love for you to expand on Bermuda’s current and
future Climate Tech initiatives! I’m especially keen
to hear more about the Bermuda Institute of Ocean
I’m really excited by Bermuda’s vision and commitment
to become a climate finance capital, building on its
decades of leadership in climate driven reinsurance
and ILS. Catastrophe driven reinsurance is written worldwide,
but Bermuda emerged as its global capital in the decades
following Hurricane Andrew. Now, I see Bermuda expanding
into the most adjacent vertical - climate driven finance.
Bermuda as a platform offers founders, funders and
management teams so much in the way of supporting and
accelerating strategies. In terms of human capital, on a
‘pound for pound’ basis, Bermuda has the most significant
critical mass of climate fluent experts in the world. This
ranges from C Suite reinsurance veterans, to risk managers,
accountants and compliance managers who understand how
climate risk and revenue impacts their functions. Bermuda’s
globally recognised, highly sophisticated regulator is a critical
advantage - including the fact that there’s only one, the
Bermuda Monetary Authority. Innovation in climate finance
can sometimes blur traditional product distinctions. Some
of the ideas I hear about frequently seem to mix attributes
of, say, insurance, banking, consumer credit, derivatives and
potentially more. In the US, there’s a regulator for each of
those domains - not to mention the 50 states which all have
separate insurance regimes. In Bermuda, the BMA is a unified,
consolidated regulator with depth and expertise when it
comes to climate. In climate matters, where speed to market
is important, having a single, sophisticated regulator to work
with - rather than dozens - can be a game changer.
I really believe Bermuda will become the Silicon Valley
of Climate Finance. It shares all of the key architecture of
innovation hubs when it comes to climate risk, and the
Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences is a key part of that
ecosystem. There’s no better place to study the world’s
oceans than Bermuda, given its location in the deep ocean.
For more than a century, Bermuda Institute of Ocean
Science (BIOS) has been a global leader in ocean science
and applied marine reinsurance. Critically, it’s home to
some of the longest-running sets of ocean observations
available anywhere in the world, the Bermuda Atlantic Time
Series. Resident and visiting scientists are at the leading
edge of ocean research. At the same time, BIOS offers a
robust suite of educational programs, ranging from PHD
program candidates to young local Bermuda students, all of
which is magnified by their recent merger into Arizona State
University.
Looking forward, BIOS and ASU may be uniquely positioned
to help explore and expand our understanding of perils like
extreme heat, ocean warming, wildfires and sea level rise. As
the capabilities of BIOS and our partners expand, so too does
our relevance to market participants.
Q
Tell me about some of the most blockbuster new
climate technologies you’re seeing in the market at
the moment!
If I could wave a wand, I’d want to see future
innovations on the market already. Still, that doesn’t
A mean we shouldn’t celebrate what we already have!
To name but a few in the Bermuda ecosystem specifically,
Aanika Biosciences is a Bermuda firm with really impressive
microbial technology, used to track and trace organic material
in supply chains. With their own reinsurance entity and other
partnerships, this improved ability to distinguish otherwise
identical commodities from each other will increase
transparency throughout the claims process beyond
what’s possible in traditional processes and digital
technologies.
directly with assets for sustainability tracking, risk transfer,
reporting, benchmarking, and analysis.
Our Kettle Enhances is also bringing solutions to challenging
risks like wildfire by using, in lieu of incomplete or inaccurate
historical data, swarm neural networks to produce precision
priced products. This creates specific returns to match with
markets with corresponding appetite.
Q
What do insurers need to do to identify and develop
climate-focused solutions, ensuring net-zero transition
and risk mitigation?
This is a pretty big topic, and I hope it becomes even
bigger in the future.
AFirstly, I think the industry needs to be increasingly willing to
embrace collaboration and open-source solutions. We don’t
have decades to tackle the climate crisis, and the scale of
the risk and contrasting opportunity is too vast for any one
player. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach, with speed
to market and speed to solutions. There’s room for everyone;
and every new solution will create a place for the next one.
Secondly, I would encourage all of us to lean into the
transition. Follow the money! Infrastructure at the scale global
players have now committed to requires insurance. We need
new coverage ideas for D&O and for professional lines, too. I
think the opportunity is limited only by our imagination and
ability to demonstrate an understanding of risk.
Finally, I would encourage players in the market to think about
investing in relevant applied research and engagement. In
large part, we have sprinklers and airbags because insurers
played a role in risk mitigation and research funding. Steam
boilers became universal in times gone by, safer because of
the insurance mechanism. The role of insurance in effecting
change should not be underestimated.
Stephen Weinstein,
Former Chair of the Bermuda Business Development Agency
Stephen is a financial services and insurance executive with
an extensive background in innovation,
strategy, governance, mitigation
and resilience, and transactions.
He currently serves as the
Chair of Itasca Re, a recently
launched Bermuda specialty
reinsurer, Chair of the
Bermuda Institute of
Ocean Sciences (BIOS),
an independent
U.S. non-profit
scientific research
and educational
organisation, and
Itasca Re, a Bermuda
domiciled specialty
reinsurer.
My friends at Blockchain Triangle are pioneering tech
to aggregate, homogenise, and analyse data across
individual sources, including IOT sensors to link data

INSURTECH
Maptycs
Founded in 2016, Maptycs provides a geospatial risk
visualisation platform for property insurers, reinsurers,
brokers and risk managers. We had the pleasure of sitting
down with Jacqueline Legrand, CEO and Co-Founder, to
discuss how Maptycs’ platform can support risk selection,
pricing, and event response.
Q Jacqui, great to see you!
You have a fascinating background, moving from
IBM to a global insurance leader, and now to
Maptycs. What problem did you identify in the
market, and how can Maptycs solve this for the
insurance industry?
With the rise of natural disasters and the
explosion of high-quality location-based data,
A insurers need to consolidate high volumes of
data in multiple formats to compute pricing and losses
with accuracy. This is exactly our value proposition.
We combine the data of our clients’ property
portfolios with ‘a la carte’ external data, like risk maps
and real-time events from governmental agencies or
from specialised third-party providers. We do this for
any type of perils, like flood, earthquake, wildfires, and
more.
How do (re) insurers, risk managers and
brokers use Maptycs in different ways?
Q
A
Insurers primarily use Maptycs for property
underwriting and reinsurance placements.
Risk Managers use Maptycs to improve their
property risk management strategy in terms of risk
prevention and risk transfer. Brokers are increasingly
working with Maptycs to improve their clients
servicing using modern technology, and subsequently
have a competitive advantage for client acquisition
and retention.
I would love to hear your thoughts about
the global climate crisis, and how Maptycs is
Q addressing this across your product suite!
A
We wanted to offer our users the ability to
run any type of climate change scenario to
assess the future impact on their portfolios
and investments. To do this, we designed a model
that used all IPCC pathways data - ranging from
temperatures, precipitation, wind, population density
and sea level rise between now and 2100. It was an
ambitious undertaking, but our clients are very happy
with the result.
What specific climate catastrophes and
geographies does Maptycs cover?
Q
A
Our geospatial analytics features work around
the world. In terms of perils, we can cover
any perils and geographies covered by our
data providers. At present, we have integrated flood,
wildfire, earthquake, wind, drought, tsunami, wind
datasets and maps. We also keep enriching our
data offering as more datasets become available or
requested by our clients.
How can the Maptycs platform be used for
event response?
Q
In the platform, we integrate real-time data
on tropical storms, wildfires and earthquakes,
A and combine this with a powerful notifications
system. It helps insurers optimise their claims
management resources, and also helps to maintain
adequate reserves for claims payouts. It also helps risk
managers to proactively mitigate losses and manage
business continuity during natural disasters.
Q
A
You are a very inspiring leader and
entrepreneur. What advice do you have for
other female founders?
As a leader, I have had the opportunity to work
and live in various countries with people from
many cultural and professional backgrounds.
This taught me to learn and adjust fast, and to be
fearless, humble and confident.
As an entrepreneur, I have learned to be resourceful
and to listen to our clients to continuously improve
our solution. As a female founder, I have accepted that
I cannot have it all, but I can make it all work. Make
sure you have a robust organisation at home; embrace
good and forget perfection; stay focused and avoid
distractions. Remember, you need to make big things
happen fast; leverage your network. They will provide
reliable feedback and open doors to develop your
business.
Jacqui LeGrand,
CEO, Maptycs
Jacqueline Legrand is CEO & Co-Founder at MAPTYCS,
an Insurtech company that uses advanced geospatial
analytics technology to help insurance professionals
better understand property risk exposure and manage
events response in real-time.
She has 25 years of experience in insurance
and reinsurance markets across Europe and the
Americas. Prior to joining MAPTYCS, Legrand was COO
& Board Member at MDS, a Global Insurance Broker with
operations in Iberia, Brazil, and Africa. She was also CEO
of Brokerslink, one of the largest global brokers’ network
and CEO of HighDome PCC, a captive insurance company.
Earlier in her career, she oversaw the international
business at Crystal & Company in New York. Before
stepping into the insurance industry, she used to work
at IBM, managing multinational client accounts in the
automotive industry.
Legrand has been recognized as an Insurance Executive
to Watch and a Top Insurtech Leader, She received a
Master of Business Administration degree from ESLSCA,
Paris. She attended a Graduate Marketing Management
program at Columbia University, a Finance program at
Harvard Business School and earned the ARM (associate
in risk management) designation.
70 | MODERN INSURANCE

Verisk
insured.
Hi Bill, great to sit down with you at the start of
hurricane season to hear some of your insights!
Q
This issue of Insur.Tech.Talk focuses on climate change,
climate tech, mitigating risk, and improving the claims
process. I understand Verisk was launched five years before
Hurricane Andrew hit Florida. Talk about timing! Tell me
more about Verisk’s risk analysis approach to catastrophic
events, especially through computer simulation models. How
has your technology improved prediction?
AYou’re so right - timing was everything with Hurricane
Andrew. There was a great deal of scepticism about
catastrophe modelling before Andrew came along.
At that point in time, people had a very limited view of how
much damage a catastrophe like that could cause in the
insurance industry. Despite what models like ours were telling
them, when that occurred in 1992 people acknowledged a
need for different technology and different approaches to
tackle it. That’s really where the accelerated use catastrophe
models came into being.
It’s a computer simulation model to provide a more complete
picture of the potential damage that hurricanes, earthquakes,
floods and severe thunderstorms can do. Historical claims
data that insurers have can be robust, but it’s not sufficient
to give a perspective of more infrequent events like natural
catastrophes.
The general premise of trying to simulate what could happen
next year - thousands of times over to give a full distribution
of potential losses - remains fundamental methodology at
Verisk. As you alluded, the technology and the sophistication
of the models has improved immensely over this time period.
We don’t think about predictions. We don’t necessarily
predict what will happen this year. What we’re trying to do
is give a sense of the possibilities. These models have been
proven in terms of resolution, and some of that comes from
the insurance industry itself. They’ve collected much higher
resolution exposure data in many parts of the world. The
models now can better differentiate risk across hundreds
of different building types and geographies, not to mention
the sophistication and resolution at which we’re calculating
damage, which has gone up dramatically over time.
Q
A
What kind of impact has Verisk’s technology had on
both the insurer and the policy holder as it relates to
the claims process?
The industry has experienced years of very high
catastrophe losses. Compared to the years before
Hurricane Andrew however, the industry is in a much
better position to handle large-scale catastrophe losses. It
also has the proper amount of capital on hand so claims from
these events can be paid out.
What do I mean by that? Well, let’s go back to Hurricane
Andrew. When that event happened, at least twelve
insurance companies went insolvent, causing a great deal of
disruption in the market. Fast forward to 2010, 2011 or 2017,
for example – years of very high recorded catastrophe losses
– and only one or two companies went out of business in
response.
I think as a policyholder, you should feel much more
comfortable in the knowledge that the insurance industry
is a more secure place now with regards to capital on hand.
To some degree, some people would say that it has helped
to smooth out insurance cycles. Even though we’re in a hard
market right now, the amplitude of those cycles is a bit less.
This is because catastrophe models have given people more
of a baseline to understand what the risk is.
Great! So, what is Verisk doing to improve the
protection gap?
Q
AFirst of all, I’ll define the protection gap in order to put
it into context. Obviously, we have natural disasters
occurring here in the US and around the world, but
not all of it is insured. That’s an issue in the United States,
where we would say maybe half of natural disaster losses are
Most people don’t buy earthquake insurance. Most
people don’t have flood insurance as you move around the
world. It’s even more exacerbated in places like Asia, where
maybe 10% of losses are insured. So that’s what we’re talking
about when we talk about a protection gap. It’s a mismatch
between the cost of the actual economic loss, and what
people can recover from insurance.
We would say that we have models covering insured losses,
over 90% of which occurs in the world on an insured basis.
So, the technology is there to help companies confidently
underwrite that risk, and we continue to update those
models across the insurance market. We also work with
different governmental and non-governmental agencies who
look to issue catastrophe bonds in the event of a disaster,
subsequently securing emergency funds. We’ve done that
in regions with low insurance penetration, like a number of
Pacific Islands and Latin America.
Outside of our core business of modelling, we also support a
non-profit organisation called Geohazard International, that
helps reduce suffering and fatalities in the event of natural
disasters. Part of our efforts help to shine a light on the
issue and raise awareness, using our technology to improve
outcomes. You absolutely want to minimise fatalities with
these events. Tackle that first, and then worry about physical
damage afterwards.
Q
A
Amazing! And what do you see as some of the most
novel new technologies being born out of the climate
crisis?
I’ll make a bit of a diversion as I think this is an
important topic. In the insurance industry, there’s been
a lot of concern over the last five years in relation to
the level of insured losses going up significantly. There’s been
a lot of blame on climate change, but we’ve reiterated that
climate change is merely a factor.
Let’s take a step back. First and foremost, more structures
are being built in areas of high hazard. Also, the value of
those structures continues to rise; we’re in an environment
of super high inflation. An event that might have caused
$10billion in loss ten years ago would see double that loss
now. The technology has to work for the insurance industry
in order to make sure they’re using high quality, accurate
exposure information. If you don’t get the exposure data
right, you can chase climate change all you want, but you will
continually run behind.
Getting proper data is a much more solvable, intractable
problem, and it’s fundamental to running the business. We
stress this first and foremost around issues of climate. Our
focus has been on trying to develop and architect a set of
catastrophe models so we can go back to clients and say,
look, this data reflects the climate change that’s happening
today. We’re seeing good improvements in climate models,
but there’s still a level of uncertainty in long term projections.
It is becoming easier though, because of better computing
power and improvements in these models when it comes
to looking at correlations across different regions, and so
on. What a lot of insurers and global companies will worry
about is the correlation between hurricanes and wildfires in
the US, or how risk in Europe might be correlated with that
In Asia. We’re actively developing solutions where everyone
can have better insights into those types of questions, which
could help manage and allocate capital better, and achieve
better business outcomes.
Bill Churney,
President, Extreme Event
Solutions, Verisk
Bill Churney is President
of Verisk’s Extreme Events
Solutions team. He’s
responsible for setting the
team’s global strategy and
overseeing its worldwide
operations. Bill has extensive
experience working with
companies to better
understand how they manage
risk and identify ways to
use analytics to improve
catastrophe risk management.
INSURTECH
MODERN INSURANCE | 71

Save The Date
07.02.24
Deadline for entries
27.10.23
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Kindly sponsored by

INSURTECH
EDITORIAL
BOARD
WELCOME to the Insur.Tech.Talk
Editorial Board.
Modern Insurance Magazine is once again
bringing our board of insurtech experts
together in a showcase of thought leadership
insights from the very heart of this area of
the industry.
This issue voices the thoughts of...
In this issue, we’re looking at controlling risk
and resilience, facilitating security through
data and technology, the connection between
insurance and climate, and the power of realtime
data.
Scott Holmes,
Sales Director UK&I,
Quantee
Dino Bertolis,
CEO and Founder,
Breez
Daniel Thafvelin,
Group CEO,
Contemi Solutions
Sophie Twilton,
Project Manager,
Contemi Solutions
André Symes,
Group CEO, Genasys
Denise Garth,
Chief Strategy Officer,
Majesco
Tim Hardcastle,
CEO and Co-Founder
at INSTANDA
MODERN INSURANCE | 73

INSURTECH
The Connection
Between
Climate and
Insurance
Climate change has the potential to radically affect our
insurance industry. As our climate continues to change, insurers
face increased financial risks from claims related to extreme
weather, such as floods or fires. From rising sea levels to hotter
temperatures and more frequent storms, climate change
ultimately creates an unpredictable environment which insurers
aren’t able to prepare for.
So, is climate change too big of a
problem for individuals and SMEs to
have any kind of positive influence? I
wanted to explore this question and
understand how the insurance industry
can make a positive impact.
Breez is a UK insurtech using telematics
technology to help people travel more
affordably, safely and sustainably. I
spoke with Dino Bertolis, CEO and
Founder of Breez, about how insurance
companies can make a difference in
lowering their total cost of ownership.
QTelematics has long been
established in the insurance
world, most famously in the
car insurance space. How is telematics
being used in the sustainability space?
AThe same way telematics has
been used in insurance for
understanding and influencing
risk, telematics can also be used
in sustainability for measuring and
reducing emissions. It’s one of the
few examples of how an insurance
technology is being expanded into
other industries, which is great to see.
The use-case of quantifying transport
and emissions might seem obvious, but
many companies in the sustainability
space either aren’t aware of this
technology’s benefits, or they still
believe the associated costs are
prohibitively high. This is no longer
the case; we’ve witnessed a significant
decrease in both hardware and
software costs, thanks in part to the
efforts of companies like ours.
Q
A
What opportunities exist
for insurance companies to
positively impact climate
change?
I believe one of the most exciting
opportunities is for insurance
companies to encourage
behaviour change towards a greener
world. It may sound like a cliché, but
let me elaborate. There tends to be a
strong correlation between behaviours
that reduce risk and those that reduce
emissions. For instance, safe driving
lowers fuel consumption, decreases
emissions and reduces the likelihood
of accidents, subsequently decreasing
claim costs.
This presents an opportunity for insurers
to incentivise and reward appropriate
behaviours in a way that both reduces
their loss ratios and significantly lowers
emissions. Importantly, the savings on
claim costs provides funding for these
incentives and rewards that promote
behaviour change.
The key to achieving this is telematics.
When viewed in this light, the
technology is a social good, and it’s
astonishing that some insurers still
reject the idea of telematics as an
effective tool for risk measurement and
management
QMany people associate
telematics with a little black box
installed in their car. How has
telematics changed and evolved?
Fortunately, the industry has
advanced beyond black boxes.
A We’re now living in a world of
connected cars and connected devices
that perform equally well, if not better.
Scott Holmes,
Sales Director UK&I, Quantee
Dino Bertolis,
CEO and Founder, Breez
Augmenting different data sources
has become increasingly crucial over
time to quantify mobility behaviour.
Currently, our focus lies on connected
car data, mobile phones and wearable
devices such as smartwatches, all
of which are far more practical for
consumers.
It’s fascinating to observe how
technological change and the nature
of risk continue to drive an everexpanding
intersection between
climate change, risk and insurance.
I believe telematics technology is a
pivotal example of this, and I’m sure
we’ll see more insurers leverage this
technology for non-traditional use
cases, especially as this technology
becomes more mainstream and
accessible.
MODERN INSURANCE | 75

INSURTECH
Catastrophe
and Climate:
Facilitating Security
through Data and
Technology
Daniel Thafvelin,
Group CEO, Contemi Solutions
It’s no secret that global climate conditions are shifting.
We are seeing an increasing number of extreme weather
events and natural disasters across the globe - the results
of which have been, and will continue to be, catastrophic.
Insurance software vendors, standing at the intersection
of technology and risk management, play a crucial role
in facilitating insight and seamless processes, helping
to rebuild the lives and homes of those affected by
catastrophic weather events.
Whilst loss of life may have been lessened in recent years
thanks to further sophistication and the introduction of
multi-hazard early warning systems, economic losses
continue to surge. However, the very nature of insurance
aims to provide security, supporting the policyholder should
you fall victim to material losses due to climatic events.
Vendors need to understand the role they play in this
ecosystem, and focus on the contributions they can
make to this process instead. Software is a valuable tool
for streamlining and optimising processes across the
world, and this is no different when it comes to insurance.
Understanding how your software can be used and the
impact it can have will result in even better and more
efficient tools.
Analytics and Reporting
Insurance software often incorporates robust analytics
capabilities, leveraging data insights to drive informed
decision-making. By analysing historical claims data,
insurers can identify patterns, trends, and risk factors,
enabling them to make data-driven assessments and refine
underwriting processes. This improves applicability of
insurance products provided to customers.
Efficiently Manage Insurance Claims
Insurance software reduces time and overhead costs for
the insurer, as well as providing a lean ‘hassle free’ process
for customers requiring financial support following loss/
damage.
Error Reduction & Improved Accuracy
Data validation & verification mechanisms in insurance
software, alongside automated calculations and checks,
help to mitigate the risk of error.
Sophie Twilton,
Project Manager, Contemi Solutions
Streamline Communication
Software creates a centralised platform, with integrated
communication channels and alerts which enables realtime
collaboration and information sharing. This allows
stakeholders to access relevant resources & updates at the
click of a button.
Enhanced Customer Experience & Accessibility
User-friendly interfaces - accessible online or via a mobile
device - ensure quick and easy access for customers in
their time of need.
Cost Savings
Improved efficiency and reduced overheads leads to a
reduction in costs for the insurer. This can be passed onto
customers through the cost of their policy.
Whilst insurance may provide some security, it’s crucial
that we all play our part in reducing our own carbon
footprint and attempt to protect our fragile and fluctuating
environment. The insurance industry itself is adapting
to the ever-changing world around us and adjusting to
become more sustainable.
Seamless.Insure - a Cloud-Native, No-Code insurance
platform - was designed to connect, automate and simplify
insurance management and claims processing. Cloud is
revolutionising the IT industry in several ways, including the
reduction of energy consumption through its contradiction
to on-premises solutions.
Get more information on Seamless Claims at
https://seamless.insure/seamless-claims/
MODERN INSURANCE | 77

INSURTECH
Control
What You
Can Control
Risk doesn’t always show itself, but it’s an ever-present companion
for insurers. It drives with us in our cars, follows us into our homes
and workplaces, and looks over our shoulders as we create new
products or services.
Denise Garth,
Chief Strategy Officer, Majesco
At times, risk is unreasonable and barely predictable. It speaks to us in the language of data, and it challenges us to tame it by
learning more about it — then it evolves into something new. For insurance, understanding risk lies at the core of the business.
Insurers assess, underwrite, and manage risk to provide the right products and value-added services that help customers to
navigate the challenges of risk.
Risk is growing and becoming more complex. Gone is its predictability; risk events are becoming more frequent, and new risk
layers - such as climate, societal and technology risks - add new considerations and complexity. Handling the new realms of
risk requires both a policy and portfolio view. It requires expanding the traditional underwriting approach to consider a broader
array of information to assess risk beyond the obvious. This growing complexity of risk affects insurers’ product offerings,
underwriting profitability and customer relationships, resulting in many customers lacking sufficient coverage, creating a gap
and increased financial risk.
The old adage of ‘control what you can control’ is now front and centre for insurers as they consider new risk management
methods in relation to their underwriting and customer service strategies. While most insurers are focused on improving risk
assessment, many more are expanding to also focus on loss prevention and mitigation, creating risk resilience for customers.
Risk resilience through prevention and mitigation is becoming the marketing love language of insureds - eclipsing repair and
restoration. With risk resilience, customers experience prevention before they need protection - whether businesses, homes,
vehicles, assets or employee health and wellbeing are at risk. Even better, risk resilient technologies communicate and educate.
Every claim and pre-claim event becomes a teachable moment to help avoid future claims.
Leading insurers are leveraging technology such as IoT devices, advanced analytics, loss control assessments and valueadded
services, not only to assess and monitor risk but to proactively respond to it with mitigation services and actions. From
monitoring water hazards and the safety of employees to helping people live healthy lifestyles, leading insurers are shifting to
risk resilience strategies that not only drive better business outcomes, but also cultivate customer loyalty.
Today’s increased catastrophes, market environment and pressure on profitability demands a greater focus on preventable
losses and better outcomes - primarily through underwriting profitability, proactive risk mitigation to minimise or eliminate
claims, and enhanced customer experiences.
Make risk explain itself. Improve lives and businesses and control what you can control using a next generation, risk resilient
technology foundation.
MODERN INSURANCE | 79

INSURTECH
André Symes,
Group CEO, Genasys Technologies
The Power
of Real-
Time Data
Insurance is an emotive issue for consumers, with the
insurance sector constantly challenged by the public
sentiment that insurance is a grudge purchase. But
when policyholders are experiencing a catastrophe,
insurance businesses can really do a lot to shift the
dial towards a more favourable perception of the
value, with trust built in accordance with how they act
during and after the crisis.
It’s not rocket science. The ideal scenario is for policyholders to have
a quick, seamless claims experience in their time of need, combined
with the view that they’re receiving a fair price for their premium at
renewal. It’s crucial to consumer trust that policyholders aren’t unfairly
penalised, especially when catastrophic events, sometimes driven by
climate change, are often beyond anyone’s control. So, how do we work
together as an industry to change the way we do insurance and put the
end-customer first, whilst simultaneously providing insurers with the
ability to deliver solutions quickly in a catastrophic scenario?
Smart insurance businesses achieve this reality through their core
tech and an API-first approach. Core tech plays a significant role in
mitigating the impact of catastrophe, because it provides the ability
for an insurance business to innovate and deliver at speed. Innovation
to help meet and even exceed customer expectation, improve the
customer experience and to protect the company’s bottom line can all
thrive when the tech stack is built around a single core platform which
everything can connect to, evolving and innovating as needed.
Well-designed APIs drive this innovation. API-first technology plays
a crucial role in catastrophic scenarios through the real-time data it
offers. Accessing real-time data is critical here if insurers and reinsurers
are to accurately identify their catastrophic risk and exposure in order
to price accordingly.
An API-first approach enables insurance businesses to drill down
review management information and geo-plot the risk. This geospecific
information can then be overlaid with additional third-party
information such as weather and fire risks to really understand the level
of exposure. This is useful if businesses want to encourage positive
policyholder behaviour change, such as implementing climate-related
adaptations to their property. By taking an API-first approach to datasharing,
businesses can better understand risks in real-time rather
than retrospectively correcting their catastrophe modelling, which is
essential when forecasting losses.
In our experience of working with diverse clients, consumers may
require additional protection from the variety of unforeseen risks which
frequently emerge when a catastrophe unfolds. This is when it becomes
imperative for an insurance business to be able to lean in and possess
the digital ability to quickly ‘plug in’ through APIs, launching a new
type of product designed to meet this unexpected consumer need. At
Genasys, we supported a client in their launch of such a product, from
initial concept to live launch in just 50 days.
An API-first approach in the delivery of real-time data helps keep it
real for everyone. To play this out in context, imagine a fire wiped out
80% of your book of business. Then imagine if you could identify the
fire damaged properties in a specific location and understand the
exact reasons for the disaster to strike. Based on this insight, imagine
how you could pro-actively mitigate future catastrophic loss for
your policyholders and your business. With an API-first approach to
accessing real-time data, you can turn this theory into reality. Let’s be
the change we want to see and let’s change the way we do insurance,
by using technology that helps us to put the customer first.
MODERN INSURANCE | 81

INSURTECH
MGA Resilience
in the Face of
Agile Start-ups
Digital transformation continues to rock the boat in the
insurance industry, with technology increasingly acting as
the new middleman between insurers and clients. In 2021,
investment in insurtech start-ups grew by a staggering 87%,
and whilst 2022 proved a tough year for some insurtechs (and
indeed the wider tech industry as a whole), the overall trajectory
is only headed in one direction. So, with freshly minted start-ups
in the sector among the main drivers of investment, how can
large scale MGAs stay resilient?
Tim Hardcastle,
CEO and Co-Founder at INSTANDA
To remain ahead of the curve,
traditional MGA insurance providers
must invest in digitisation to create
the agility and flexibility that mirrors
the methodologies of these newer
intermediaries. At the same time,
they must put their advantages (data,
human resources, and brand reputation
to name but a few) to good use.
Relevant products must be created for
audiences demanding modern end-toend
technological experiences.
With this in mind, how can start-ups
revolutionise the insurance industry
with agile solutions?
Agile start-ups and insurtech
As tech-driven innovation reshapes
the insurance industry, investors are
rapidly taking note, with the number of
insurtech start-ups skyrocketing. What
are the key factors driving growth?
Insurtech has enabled the insurance
industry to step up its user experience,
offering services which are far
superior to traditional providers.
The introduction of technology like
smartphone apps, online policy
handling and claims processing tools
means that customers and brokers
can access their insurance policy
information with ease. Embedded
platforms also enable insurers to
seamlessly merge with technology
in other sectors, meaning insurance
no longer needs to be treated as a
standalone proposition.
The impact of Insurtech on mature
MGAs
New solutions offered by insurtech
intermediaries provide complete endto-end
services - negating the value of
some prior MGA-carrier relationships
and often significantly decreasing the
total cost of ownership for carriers
through technology.
Therefore, emerging start-ups are
challenging some more established
MGAs by offering newer, slicker product
offerings and customer experiences.
Where insurtechs have chosen the MGA
structure, many have been founded by
non-insurance folks who are bringing
tech and data expertise from other
industries to the table. Whilst this has
its potential drawbacks, it has certainly
given traditional MGAs a different
competitive landscape to consider.
Positive disruption
While the introduction of insurtech
intermediaries is certainly disrupting
the industry, it isn’t all doom and
gloom for the traditional players. This
shift is pushing existing MGAs forward
by driving the need to embrace
technology, and when looking at the
bigger picture, it could provide a
multitude of benefits across the value
chain.
Customers and brokers can receive
a better all-round experience and
access to new, innovative products and
services. Carriers will be able to access
data that they might not have had at
their fingertips otherwise, thus giving
a better understanding of how their
capital is deployed.
Flexibility in large scale MGAs
Large scale MGAs can achieve digital
transformation through numerous
avenues - perhaps the most influential
being the replacement of legacy
systems to revolutionise the approach
to product creation and policy
management. By digitising core
services through the use of automation,
cloud technology and data analysis,
existing MGAs can bolster their
appeal with carriers, brokers and endcustomers
alike.
Speed-to-market solutions like
INSTANDA allow for adaptable
test-and-learn environments which
empower MGAs to get out ‘lightweight’
versions of new products quickly and
easily. MGAs can then assess product
performance before enhancing and
amending them in line with market
demand. The ability to create, build and
implement complex insurance products
in weeks or months - as opposed to
years - can help alleviate some of the
pressure caused by an influx of startups.
INSTANDA’s no-code technology
(hosted via Microsoft Azure) also
enables MGAs to say goodbye to
the need for never-ending cycles
of ‘change requests’ with their tech
partner, drastically lowering their total
cost of ownership.
82 | MODERN INSURANCE