India is very important to Lloyd’s business plans, as it represents such a huge opportunity for growth. The country is now the fastest growing global economy and is forecast to become one the top three economic powers in the world over the next decade, backed by the Indian Government’s target of creating a $5tn economy by 2024. This growth will need insurance and reinsurance to support it. At Lloyd’s we see a significant opportunity in the Indian insurance and reinsurance market. The Indian general insurance industry has demonstrated an impressive growth of 12-15% in gross written premium last year.

We welcome the reforms being undertaken by the government in India and by the Indian regulator. The moves to allow 100% FDI in insurance intermediaries is a very positive step and will increase foreign investment in the insurance sector. We hope that the Government will consider introducing a 100% FDI in insurance companies, too. A host of foreign reinsurers have set up branch operations in India, and we expect many more to come. Lloyd’s will look to introduce specialist (re)insurance products into India, which will complement the local market and also plug some of the product gaps. Lloyd’s is continuing to see an increase in its Indian business and last year, we wrote US$275m of Indian reinsurance business.

This first Future at Lloyd’s blueprint marks an exciting new chapter for Lloyd’s. It sets out how we are going to combine data, technology and new ways of working to ensure we remain globally competitive. We are aiming to build the most advanced insurance marketplace in the world.

This is great news for everyone who works with us including our brokers, capital providers and customers. It will mean we offer even better solutions to the risks faced by our customers; we will deliver better products and services to our customers and capital providers; we will simplify the way we work by being more efficient and reducing costs; and we will build an inclusive, diverse culture the that reflects our global customer base. In combination, this will help Lloyd’s grow and importantly offer more comprehensive, tailored and relevant products to our customers.

Lloyd’s has launched a series of cutting-edge products recently targeted at the new needs of customers. Examples include a new multi-million-pound space insurance policy for the emerging private spaceflight industry, designed to cater to the distinct needs of a rapidly growing new space sector; and a parametric policy that protects hotels from lost profits, for example, due to unexpected events, which are outside the control of the hotel such as a terrorist attack.

Last year we launched the Lloyd’s Lab, an InsurTech innovator that gives cutting edge start-ups the chance to work with Lloyd’s market experts to create the next big insurance innovation.

We have also created our Product Innovation Facility, which is a safe place for underwriters to trial solutions for non-standard risks that might not fit the traditional market, such as those relating to intangible assets and new technologies. Innovation is very much at the forefront of what we do to ensure we continue to provide our customers with the products they need in a fast-evolving business and risk landscape.

Risk sharing, transferring and trading is a fundamental feature of the global financial system. How such transactions are structured and valued, whether as insurance, reinsurance or as other forms of financial instrument has always been influenced by the geopolitical and economic environment.

The current global political environment has the potential to reduce the financial effectiveness of some cross-border reinsurance and retrocession transactions. This added to an ever-changing view of the physical, financial and legal risks that can be transferred and protected by the (re)insurance industry means that there continues to be an ebb and flow between the (re)insurance and wider financial system in terms of the solutions and products provided, and the evolution of products to meet clients’ needs.

We have seen this in recent years with the ongoing development of indexed and parametric products as alternatives to traditional forms of indemnity insurance (e.g. for natural catastrophe risks), and for expanded forms of coverage for emerging and expanding perils such as cyber. We also continue to see a merging of the traditional (re)insurance industry with the wider financial services sectors and investors (in particular pension and sovereign-wealth funds) in terms of the participants and counterparties involved in risk sharing, transferring and trading. For as long as the insurance industry focuses on providing confidence to our customers that we will be there for them when they need us; reduces the costs of delivering our products; and invests in creating products that are relevant to the risks faced by our clients; the industry has a bright future.

So, whilst the reinsurance sector is clearly going through a period of extensive and rapid change and recalibration, the role of reinsurance looks healthy as long as operating models continue to evolve to embrace technology, enable and promote product innovation to meet customers’ needs, and can rapidly respond to changes in political, legal and regulatory environments.