Need for greater resilience is key theme for Asia-Pacific risk managers

The Pan Asia Risk & Insurance Management Association (Parima) attracted a record number of delegates to its Resilience Week, which was its first major virtual event and replaced its normal annual conference because of the ongoing pandemic. The association hosted an impressive lineup of risk and insurance industry leaders, including Evan Greenberg of Chubb, Greg Case of Aon, Thomas Buberl of AXA and Dan Glaser of Marsh, who all shared their thoughts on the implications of the pandemic and new global economic order for the risk and insurance management community and the insurance industry that serves it. Parima chairman Franck Baron used the opportunity to challenge the insurance sector – carriers and brokers – to rise to the challenges faced by us all and engage in deeper partnership to find better solutions to the new risk environment. The often brutal reaction of the market to the crisis through sharply rising prices and dwindling capacity is not good enough, stated Mr Baron clearly. The brokers and insurers have talked of the benefits of long-term partnership for many years now but, as Mr Baron pointed out, there are many Parima members who have in recent renewals found little reward for their loyalty, the quality of their risk management approach and their loss records. The market needs to get its act together and deliver a more mature approach to the business of risk management and transfer or it will suffer lasting damage among the risk managers and their bosses in the boardroom, argued Mr Baron and his fellow Parima leaders. More broadly, the association said at the end of the week that there had been four recurring themes during the event, which was set against the backdrop of the pandemic. These were: the need for agility, the acceleration of the digitalisation process and the challenges this brings, the arrival of more senior-level engagement in the risk process and, obviously, a need for more strategic risk management at corporate and governmental level to make the whole economy more resilient in preparation for the next systemic crisis, which is likely to be cyber-based. “Agility is key to making well-informed and balanced decisions at the right time. Risk managers must stay ahead of risks to recover and rebuild. We must take the lead in building a healthy insurance ecosystem, get to the root of climate change and take advantage of opportunities brought by the current environment,” stated Parima. “Risks are becoming more interconnected and interdependent. Captives have the flexibility to response to new and unique risks, with the ability to grow and have access to capacity,” it added. On the theme of digitalisation and its challenges, Parima state: “The pandemic has accelerated digitalisation by twofold, if not more. Cyber risk is the next global ‘grey rhino’. Crisis preparedness is critical to mitigate the impact of an incident on your balance sheet, reputation and the trust of stakeholders. It has been observed that an economy’s level of digitalisation is directly relevant to its capacity to absorb economic shock and therefore more resilience [is needed].” On engagement, Parima concluded: “Covid-19 has shifted the conversations in boardrooms around the world, making them more risk-aware. Risk managers must grab this opportunity to impress the value of embedding risk management in the business agenda. “Know the businesses hotspots, choose your industry partners wisely, talk to senior management and broaden your expertise.” And, finally, on the need for more strategic risk management, the association stated: “Leaders need to be the role model and set the norms, behaviour and culture for their organisations. Big data and analytical abilities result in greater visibility of risks. It is up to risk managers how they can use these for decision-making as scenarios become more complex. The maturity of an organisation’s risk culture and the ability to break silos internally remain key components for the success of its employee care programme.” Parima is supporting Commercial Risk’s conference, ‘Global Programmes Asia 2020: Gaining Maximum Benefit’, which takes place virtually on 24-25 November. To register for free as a delegate, please click here.

Need for greater resilience is key theme for Asia-Pacific risk managers

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