It is May and the darling buds of May are already in full bloom, in some parts though not in others. Global warming is rearing its ugly head with some parts really wet and drowned, while others dry and farms wither.
On the business front, despite the global uncertainties, including the geopolitics, terrorism and North Korea, the flurry of business continues in full swing with both the IMF and WTO reporting more positive expectations for the year ahead. There is therefore good news to mull over for all.
Even in insurance, the protection gap and underinsurance are factors which not just spell opportunities but more importantly, underscore the responsibilities of the insurance industry to step up to their core competence to offer the cover that the commercial and individual buyers need.
It is easier said than done in a world where risks are getting bigger and more pervasive and even at times “unpredictable” too. Cyber is a blow-out even bigger than Nat CAT they say. So what can insurers do? What can regulators do? Who has the answers? We even have an interview with outgoing IAIS Sec-Gen on how regulations have served the industry for the better.
On our part, we offer half the answer by zeroing in on finding new partners and new channels for insurers to spread their wares and risk services through new strategic partnership with banks, tech-firms, social media and online channels and agents, advisers and brokers. As the microinsurance success stories show, sometimes all you need is the channel as the products are timeless with minimal tweaking.
As a partner to the industry, we at AIR, are doing two major events in June to help the industry better understand and cope with the two biggest headaches in the industry: Asia Cyber Conference in Singapore with the theme: “Managing the whole compass of cyber risks beyond just insurance” and the 15th Asia Catastrophe Conference which we bring back to its birthplace in Taiwan with the dramatic theme: “Insurance in the Ring of Fire”.
As for May, our Country Profile is on one of the more advanced and sophisticated markets in Asia – Australia – where we hosted a roundtable to collect the full list of pet peeves and favourite charms that work in the market Down Under with active lessons for the rest of Asia. It is a recommended breezy “must read”.
It is May so we must offer you the full colours in bloom with our range of articles from basic selling in life and the disruptions in life, to the more complicated blockchain and predictive modelling and the in-betweens on the value of insurance, the perennial favourites on women in insurance as well as the new normal of going digital, ERM, D&Os, RBCs, driverless cars.
It is May, and in that spirit of growing positivism, to look at the great things you have done in the industry to think of nominating your company for the Asia Awards now in its 21st year. As I always say: you must first know you are good before you can stand tall. So take that first step to assess your track record and send in your nominations for the Asia Awards, whose nominations close on 31 May.
The best must always be yet to be. Otherwise the future has ended.
My very best for the forthcoming summer. If your business is good, make it greater.
Sivam Subramaniam
Editor-in-Chief
Asia Insurance Review