Lloyd's: "modern cities need modern insurance"

More than half of all humans live and work in cities and other urban centres. Alone, this influx of citizens would be enough to bring sweeping change to cities, but this surge of urbanisation has taken place at the same time as rapid technological advancement and socio-political shifts, radically transforming the way we live and work.

This change is forcing city planners to cater for the needs of rising urban populations, build resilient infrastructure and adapt to the changing nature of work. For the companies which operate in these cities the risks to their business are also changing: new risks such as cyber are appearing, and old risks, such as unplanned developments, are resurfacing.

Lloyd's has commissioned research from Urban Foresight to investigate these changing risks, which focuses on how four key trends are creating threats and opportunities in cities round the globe.

• Trend 1: Urbanisation and the implications of growing economic concentration in cities. It also looks at effects of urbanisation on infrastructure and the risks associated with unplanned developments; 
• Trend 2: Population change and the changing social makeup of cities. This section looks at how different forms of population growth and changing demographics will affect cities. This includes the potential impact these may have on domestic and international demand for goods and services;
• Trend 3: The changing nature of work and work systems, driven in part by technological and cultural developments, including the adoption of industrial digital technologies, automation and artificial intelligence;
• Trend 4: Political and social stability, including disruptive technologies, such as targeted social media, constraints on resources and cultural change.

As part of the research Lloyd's is a hosting a 'Modern cities need modern insurance' workshop from 3pm to 4.15pm on Tuesday 4 June at the Airmic Conference in Harrogate, to discuss these trends and how they are affecting the risks that cities and companies face.

The workshop will focus on the seven cities analysed in the report and will discuss how the threats they are facing may occur in similar cities. At the end of the workshop you will know more about the challenges in the cities you do business with. You will also be able to share how you wish these risks to be reduced and what role Lloyd's could have in that process.

Click here to sign up to the workshop

Click here to find out more about the conference and to register.