Customers “demand better service and products”

Customers “expect and demand higher quality services and better quality products” from their insurers, Airmic chair Chris McGloin told the annual conference. Opening the event, he said effective risk management was the best way for members to “take control of their destiny”.  

His speech addressed the need for more increase innovation by insurers – a subject identified as the top priority of Airmic members in a recent survey.

“I have been in many discussions where insurers tell me that their desire for product innovation is real but that there are challenges to developing these not least due to the capital adequacy required by Solvency II,” he said. “The absence of hard exposure and loss data plus uncertainty over recognised mitigation standards is certainly an issue for insurers seeking to develop new products.

“Effective Enterprise Risk Management is the best way to enable risk managers to take control of their own destiny and put themselves in the position to address new risks and develop new risk transfer solutions.”

McGloin painted an upbeat picture of the association, with more members than ever attending more Airmic events than ever. Individual membership is up to a record 1269, nearly 40% of whom attended the conference. The number of companies represented in the membership has risen to 524 member companies, up more than 10%.

He paid tribute to the insurance industry and the way it had weathered the financial crisis. “The insurance industry has shown its resilience in the face of turmoil and uncertainty. The industry can be proud of its strong financial record during this period,” he saud.