Airmic CEO calls for redefinition of insurer-client relationship

Speaking to a room full of leaders from within the London market, Mr Ludlow recognised Airmic represented some of the audience's largest customers, placing approximately £8 billion in insurance each year.

"As such an important part of our role is representative - to speak on behalf of corporate policyholders when we feel there are areas that can be improved," he said. "But more often than not our relationship with the insurance market is collaborative: it's about bringing insurers, brokers and businesses together to facilitate best practice for all. We believe we have a shared interest in helping you have happy customers."

Mr Ludlow explained that while the insurance market goes through a necessary transformation, both in its processes and product offerings, there also needs to be a "redefining of the client relationship".

"Insurance seems wedded to the concept of making good the financial effects of negative perils," he explained. "The insurer-buyer relationship remains, for the most part, transactional. But if you want to keep insurance relevant to your commercial customers, you would do well to align insurance with risk in its widest sense, and to more closely align your services to our customers objectives. … Your customers have many new assets and needs! We need to focus on these for relevance, value and long-term growth tomorrow."

The importance of addressing intangible assets for customers, the harsh market and the challenging global context were also discussed.

In a question and answer session to close, Mr Ludlow addressed the issue of diversity and inclusion in the insurance industry and its growing importance to Airmic's members as they choose their insurance partners.

"A lot of insurance buyers are diverse and they take different views," he said. "If they don't find the market attractive, they won't buy. Some corporates are starting to put it into their paperwork that when they are looking for a supplier they are looking at the supplier's D&I - not just the supplier's policy [on D&I], but their performance.

"There are absolutely members telling me they won't be returning to the market if it does not get sorted out."

You can listen to John Ludlow's full speech on the CII website, here.