The good news is the insurers are there

An animated Kadidja Sinz, director general for XL France, launched into a disquisition of what insurers are up to at the recent AMRAE conference in Lyon, France.

She said insurers are focusing on predictive modelling and on capital management, an area with the most volatility, in particular natural catastrophes.

Despite the challenging conditions, the good news is that the insurers are still there. There is no gap in coverage.

At the same time, Sinz said that the insurance industry must be seen to be relevant through innovation.

“Where are the solutions to the new problems,” she said. “XL has been adding key people to help come up with an answer to precisely this question.”

Sinz said risk managers were becoming more innovative, devising solutions to everything from crisis management to social media risk. And there is innovation too in the process of claims management. Ultimately, it boils down to the quality of dialogue between the parties involved – the underwriter prepared to go the extra mile, perhaps.

Sinz also said that political uncertainty had become a major area of concern and challenge. Until recently, she said, the offer had been limited, but this may partly be because solutions must be tailor-made, necessitating major insured to work directly with their insurers.