She was speaking for insurance buyers in a roundtable discussion also involving an investment banker, a broker and a ratings expert.
Having said that a reduction in premiums would be the most evident way of pleasing clients' line managers, Dequae encouraged insurance companies to think longer term. She said, "When money is scarce, risk reduction projects do not necessarily get the budget they need. If insurers have too much capital, why not consider investing it in risk improvement? It could allow them to decrease the premium at the next renewal or improve the profitability of their underwriting, as it makes the risk better," she said.
Dequae has been in demand to present the views of European risk managers at a number of conferences. In March, she took part in a summit for European chief financial officers in London, the European Insurance Forum in Dublin and a high level insurance industry forum organised by the US Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) in New York to discuss improvements in business practices.
The FERMA president was also able to describe the work being done on creating transparency of broker remuneration through FERMA and in various European associations when she took part in a discussion at the annual conference of the French risk management association, AMRAE, in a wintry Deauville in January.
