This week we talk to Laura Hobern, Partner at LCP, about key learnings from the 2023 year-end and what to look out for in 2024. We discuss: • What is driving the recent casualty reserve deteriorations across the market? • Is the market doing enough on inflation, in particular social inflation? • Insights from LCP’s recent market benchmarking • What are some of the issues at the top of the board’s agenda at the start of 2024?

This week we talk to Chelsey Sprong, Head of Social Impact at Beazley, and Jinita Shah, Partner at LCP, about diversity, equity and inclusion in the insurance market. We discuss: • Pros and cons of using quotas to help improve female representation at senior levels • The FCA and PRA consultations on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector • What firms can be doing on the ‘S’ in ESG and how this links to DEI • Tips on how to make diversity, equity and inclusion “business as usual”

This week we talk to Seema Bradbury, CRO of Asta, and Ed Harrison, Principal at LCP, about what the risk function of the future will look like and how we can get there.

This week on Insurance Uncut Jess catches up with Katie Saunders and Richard York-Weaving, two of LCP’s motor insurance experts, about the latest trends and their recent market survey. They discuss: • What is driving the increase in motor premiums? • What are the underlying factors driving higher inflation in the motor space? • Expectations for the forthcoming review of the Ogden rate. • The latest on the whiplash reforms.

This week on Insurance Uncut we talk to Tom Clementi, CEO of Pool Re, about: • How Pool Re works and the critical role it plays in protecting against the impacts of terrorism • How Pool Re is evolving as the risk landscape changes • How public/private risk pooling partnerships could further bolster national resilience in the future

This week Mel Tam, Senior Consultant at LCP, tells us about her time as a Claims Actuary and what we can learn from the actuarial work being done in Australia. We discuss: • What the role of a claims actuary is and how it can add value • What can UK actuaries learn from Australian actuaries? • What is an unconference? • Mel’s role as a Board Trustee for Mind in Enfield and Barnet.

Insurance Uncut went on the road to Edinburgh for the actuarial profession’s 50th GIRO general insurance conference. The final episode in this mini-series is with Laura Curtis, Chair of the IFoA General Insurance Lifelong Learning Committee, responsible for organising GIRO. We discuss: - Reflections from GIRO. - Tips if you are looking to get more involved in the IFoA and its research activities. - Laura’s career journey through insurance.

Insurance Uncut went on the road to Edinburgh for the actuarial profession’s 50th GIRO general insurance conference. From the last day of GIRO 2023, we bring you conversations with three great guests. We chat to: - Declan Lavelle, LCP partner and immediate past president of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland, on key developments in the regulatory regime in Ireland. - Helen Cooper, CRO at esure and Ron Richman, Chief Actuary at Old Mutual Insure, about fairer pricing, transformation projects, neural networks and more! NOTE - this episode was recorded live and there is some background noise, which might not be comfortable for all listeners.

Insurance Uncut went on the road to Edinburgh for the actuarial profession’s 50th GIRO general insurance conference. From the afternoon of day two of GIRO 2023, we bring you four great conversations. We chat to: - Isabelle Williams, Oli Grossman and Joanna Thornett from LCP about their talk ‘Zero to hero: can we build a capital model in an open-source framework, from scratch, using ChatGPT?’ - Rachel Haldane, Exposure Manager at Start Network and Andy Jinks, Head of the Insurance and Investment, Government Actuary’s Department, about their talk ‘Insurance for humanitarian crises.’ - Amrit Santhirasenan, Co-founder and CEO at hyperexponential, about his talks at GIRO and reflections on running a rapidly growing business. - Mirjam Spies, Interim Chief Actuary at Lloyd’s, about the Lloyd’s update and her thoughts on leadership.

From the morning of day two of GIRO 2023, we bring you three great conversations. We chat to: - Visesh Gosrani, Director Catastrophe Modelling at Cowbell Cyber, about his hot topic talk looking at the risk and opportunities of AI technology. - Erin Bargate, Head of Casualty Pricing at Hiscox London Market, about her talk on managing inflation uncertainty, including tips on how you can allow for inflation in your reserving. - Rachel O'Connell, Head of Reserving at Starr Insurance Companies, about her talk, with the Insurance as a Force for Social Good Working Party, titled ‘Are we the baddies?’

From day 1 of GIRO 2023 have three great conversations to bring you: • The IFoA Present, Kalpana Shah, about her aims for her presidency and key themes at the conferences. • Laura Evans, Chief Actuary at Flood Re, who gave us the highlights from the two talks she is giving at the conference (‘To price flood risk-reflective or not?’ and ‘Flood events that make us think?’) and how Dr Tara Shine’s plenary set the scene for climate change to be a key theme for the conference; and • Charlie Stone and Melissa Tam from LCP who gave us the key highlights from their talk on ‘How can actuaries best add value to claims?’

To start season 4 we are excited to be taking Insurance Uncut on the road. We are off to Edinburgh for the actuarial profession’s 50th GIRO general insurance conference. We will be bringing you several episodes this week from the conference, catching up with speakers and soaking up the atmosphere. To kick us off we are chatting to Ed Harrison who is on the GIRO organising committee to give us the inside track on the big issues in the market that this year’s conference will be covering.

This week we are talking to Andy Bord, CEO of Flood Re, about how the specialist reinsurer is achieving its goals and about being an effective CEO. We discuss: • What problems Flood Re is helping to solve. • How Flood Re is approaching climate change risk. • Managing stakeholders across the spectrum of flood risk. • How to create a positive organisational culture.

This week we are talking to Ronald Richman about current challenges for Chief Actuary’s. Ronald is Chief Actuary at Old Mutual Insure as well as being Vice Chair and Member of the Actuarial Studies In Non-life insurance Board at International Actuarial Association and Chair of the Climate change Practicing area committee for the Actuarial Society of South Africa. We discuss: • Discrimination-free pricing – how can we tackle the problem • How to make AI less of a black box • Climate change risk management • Being a Chief Actuary in South Africa

This week we are talking to Kathryn Morgan, a Non-Executive Director (NED) for four insurance firms. With her previous experience as an actuary and a regulator, Kathryn offers a unique and insightful perspective on what’s occupying the minds of insurance NEDs today. We discuss: • Kathryn's personal journey towards becoming a NED and the potential paths others can take. • Promoting diversity and inclusion in the insurance industry. • Three key issues currently commanding the attention of NEDs: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations, the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the implications of higher inflation. • Opportunities to get greater value from internal audit

This week we are delighted to introduce LCP’s new podcast, Beyond Curious with LCP. On this episode, hosts Laura Amin and Charl Cronje talk to Tom Porter about how CEOs can embrace AI and ensure that their organisations stay competitive and relevant. Tom is LCP’s Strategy Director and is leading our journey to embrace AI effectively across the firm.

This week we are talking to Lisa Balboa, Head of Life & Health Digital Business Accelerator at Hannover Re. Lisa shares her insights on how insurers are using wearables and other technology to encourage healthier lifestyles. We also talk about the work of the actuarial profession’s Mental Health Working Party. We discuss: • The potential of wearables to enhance insurance cover. • How generative AI will impact the whole insurance value chain. • Mental health - how insurers can be rethinking the underwriting approach.

This week we are talking to Natasha Anning, CEO of the Medical Indemnity Protection Society Ltd (MIPS) and the insurer MIPSi. Natasha shares some great insights on the unique challenges of running a successful medical defence organisation, on med-mal trends and on leadership. We discuss: • Key developments in the med-mal market including differences between the UK and Australia. • What does a successful insurance organisation look like in 2023 and beyond? • Tips for career development and how to be an effective CEO.

This week we are talking to Stuart McDonald MBE, Partner at LCP, about what we’ve learned from the COVID-19 pandemic a few years on and how prepared we are for the next health crisis. We discuss: • Stuart’s groundbreaking work with the IFoA COVID-19 Actuaries Response Group. • The long term impacts from COVID-19 and how well the UK is prepared for the next pandemic. • Anti-microbial resistance and UK health inequalities.

This week we are talking to Rupesh Bhudia, Head of Pricing for Crisis Management at Hiscox, about geopolitical risks. Rupesh has some great insights into the latest market trends and how actuaries can add value in an area where data isn’t abundant. We discuss: • What are the major geopolitical trends impacting the insurance market? • How do you monitor and manage geopolitical risks in practice? • How does your role differ from some traditional actuarial roles?

This week we are talking to the ‘Salary Guy’ Michael Stefan about recruitment, retention and diversity. Michael is a partner at Hanover Executive Search and is the leading publisher of salary research data for actuaries and risk professionals in the general insurance market. We discuss: • The latest hybrid working trends. • What the stats say about how well gender diversity is being addressed within the UK general insurance market. • Top tips for employees planning career moves and employers seeing to win the war for talent.

This week Richard York-Weaving, one of LCP’s motor experts, tells us about key trends affecting the UK motor market, including insights from our annual motor survey. We discuss: • How is inflation impacting motor claims? • How are insurers trying to stay competitive in the face of uncertainty from the whiplash reforms, Ogden rate changes and the FCA pricing reforms? • How might electric and self-driving cars change the motor market in the future?

This week we are discussing liability exposure management with Ramiz Mohamed who is Head of Casualty Exposure Management at Hiscox and chair of the new IFoA working party on liability exposure management. We discuss: • The differences between liability and property exposure management. • What are the key challenges and techniques used within liability exposure management? • Deep dives into social inflation and climate change litigation

This week Zoe Burdo, LCP’s expert on behavioural science, returns to the podcast and we look at how general insurers can improve their decision making. We discuss: • Differences between unconscious bias and behavioural bias • What role NEDs have in helping firms to manage bias • Practical tools for managing bias, including using self-assessment as a starting point for improving decision making

This week we are talking to Russ Bowdrey from Ortec Finance and Lara Palmer from LCP about climate change risk. Having Russ and Lara with us means we cover both how climate modelling works and what insurers should be doing on climate change risk now. We discuss: • Why it is important for insurers to be acting now on climate change • How is climate change modelled and what insurers might be able to learn from it? • Current regulation and practical next steps for insurers.

To kick off season 3 we are discussing cyber risk with Simon Cartagena. Simon is Deputy CRO for SCOR UK, soon to become CRO of Cincinnati Global Underwriting in London and on the actuarial profession’s cyber risk investigation working party. We discuss: • How the war in Ukraine impacted cyber risk in 2022 and what new cyber risks have emerged from the conflict. • What more we should be doing to reflect cyber risk within capital models. • The different techniques to model cyber risk currently and how they should change going forward.

In the final episode of Season 2, we look back on our key learnings from 2022 and what we are looking out for in 2023. We discuss: • Dealing with inflation – are we there yet? • Better together - how we work and communicate with colleagues and where we can improve. • ESG – will this come off the back-burner in 2023? • Geo-political climate – what has 2022 taught us and what might be coming up.

This week we delve into the world of football analytics ahead of the 2022 World Cup. We are talking to Ashley Mould and Bart Huby who lead LCP’s football analytics practice about how they are using mathematical techniques to help clubs predict players’ future performance and unearth hidden talent. We discuss: • The maths behind TransferLab – a tool to help clubs and players when making transfer decisions. • Examples of how clubs and players are using TransferLab and what is next for football analytics • The 2022 football World Cup.

This week Charl and Jessica are talking to Junaid Seria, Head of Analytics and Governance at Scor P&C, about Hurricane Ian and the longer-term trends in catastrophes. We discuss: • What is the latest on Hurricane Ian? • The rise in mid-size catastrophes and what impact this may have on the market. • How climate change and inflation are affecting catastrophe claims.

This week we welcome Jinita Shah, host of LCP’s ‘Breaking the glass ceiling’ event, to discuss how we can support more women in reaching the board and the C-suite within the general insurance market. We discuss: • What are the biggest barriers women face in their career progression? • Tips on how you can break your glass ceiling. • Three key audience questions from the event.

This week we welcome back Ed Harrison to discuss the UK government’s plans for dismantling Solvency II. We discuss: • How repealing Solvency II rules might work in practice • Key issues relating to Solvency II equivalence • Impacts on insurers of the economic disruption triggered by the recent mini-budget

This week we talk to Lydia Savill, Counsel at Hogan Lovells, to get the inside track on litigation trends affecting the insurance industry. We discuss: • Litigation on climate change, wider ESG issues and greenwashing – the types of claims, who’s bringing them and who is exposed. • The litigation funding industry and how this influences the risks for insurers. • Pros and cons of different dispute resolution methods.

This week we are talking to Matt Paterson, founder of Silverbeam Consulting and previously Head of Liability Claims (specialising in Bodily Injury, Credit Hire, Fraud and Telematics) at Admiral, about the past, present and future of UK Motor claims. We discuss: • The impacts of the whiplash reforms and FCA pricing reforms. • Current motor market trends: inflation, claims prevention and the repair market. • How analytics can be used to improve claims handling in future.

This week we talk to the hosts of Investment Uncut, Mary Spencer and Dan Mikulskis, about three key hot topics in investments right now for insurers. We discuss: • Inflation – why have the forecasts been wrong and what is the impact on investments? • Russian invasion of Ukraine – what are the first and second order impacts? • Environmental, Social and Governance – what are investors doing on ESG right now and how is the industry tackling greenwashing?

This week we talk to Philippa King, Senior Actuarial Manager at Ageas, about transformation projects in the insurance industry. We discuss: • Practical lessons from implementing IFRS 17 • How to transform your teams to get the best out of them and make them happier • Why insurers will need to get better at transformation to stay competitive

This week we talk to the Nick Betteridge, Group Chief Actuary at Canopius, about how the underwriting strategy process for insurers is evolving. We discuss questions including: • How insurers’ strategies are changing, including the role of data, technology and algorithmic strategies. • The importance of culture (in particular Diversity and Inclusion) for achieving strategic goals. • How geopolitical developments impact insurers’ strategies.

This week we talk to the founders of InsurX, Gilbert Harrap & Will Iles, about data-driven underwriting and how it is changing the insurance market. We discuss questions including: • What is data-driven underwriting and what different forms can it take? • Are “star underwriters” are a thing of the past or has their time truly come? • What lessons can the insurance market take from other industries on leveraging data to drive business volumes and radically reduce costs?

In our special bonus episode this week, Jessica sits down with Tom Durkin and Cat Drummond to discuss how LCP’s InsurSight Predict platform will transform reserving for insurers.

This week we talk to Rob Jarvis, Head of Enterprise Risk Management at Tokio Marine Kiln, about how the risk function plays a key role in “joining the dots” to help insurance firms perform better. We discuss: • Why we are in a ‘golden age’ for risk management. • How has the role of the risk function evolved and how will it change going forward? • Where the risk function can add the most value.

This week we welcome back Ed Harrison to explore the seismic shifts in inflation and how best practice for insurers is changing, even compared to our previous chat with Ed in November 2021. We discuss: • Latest inflation expectations and how the markets keep getting it wrong. • How our biases can influence how we deal with future inflation. • Practical tips for insurers, including how to challenge the “status quo”.

Nick Line, Chief Underwriting Officer at Markel, joins us to discuss “the underwriter of the future”. General insurers ultimately live and die by the performance of their underwriters, so how can firms use the latest tech and analytics advances while keeping the ‘secret sauce’ that makes a great underwriter? We discuss: • What does the underwriter of the future look like? • How will firms gain and maintain competitive edge, and how might they be left behind? • How is diversity changing underwriting?

This week we catch up with LCP partner and energy expert Rajiv Gogna. Given the myriad links between energy and insurance, and the unprecedented disruption in energy markets, this is a must listen for anyone in the insurance market who wants to get up to speed in this area. We discuss: • What happens when you switch on a plug? • The new UK energy strategy and what new technologies we can expect to see • How the geo-political situation is changing the energy market.

In our first episode of the season, we catch up with Tom Durkin, head of LCP’s Insurance Consulting team about “the insurer of the future”. We discuss: • Why do insurers need to change? • Examples of firms which are ahead of the game. • What firms should be looking to do now to start the journey.

In our final episode of the season, we reflect on all the great conversations we have had and give an update on any developments. We go back over: • Climate change – we have discussed this ‘hot’ topic across many of our episodes this season. We bring together all the lessons we have learnt and what developments there have been. • Strategy – looking at how boards should be developing their approach to strategy and how risks and cultures influence this. • Inflation – what the current situation is and what can you be doing about it.

This week we talk to LCP’s behavioural science expert Zoe Burdo about the behavioural biases that general insurance boards face in typical strategic and management decisions. We look at how biases can impact firms’ judgements when making assumptions about the future and dealing with unknown unknowns. We explore questions including: • Anchoring, framing and over-confidence – how do these impact decision making in strategy, business planning and risk management? • What are the red flags to look out for when making decisions as a group? • How might biases impact attitudes to climate change and cyber risk?

This week we talk to Nitesh Patel, Head of Reserving at Argo, about his career journey. We discuss how “sliding door” moments can define careers and how the role of actuaries in the insurance market is growing. We explore questions including: • What are the skills you need to make the most of your career? • Tips for being a great mentor. • Why actuaries are playing a greater role in the leadership of general insurance firms.

This week we talk to Charlie Stone about whether machine learning really could help insurers better predict the future, prevent losses and even give actuaries “superpowers”! Charlie is a Principal at LCP and leads LCPs InsurSight analytics platform. We explore questions including: • How is machine learning changing the way insurers operate and compete? • What should insurance actuaries be doing to ensure they make best use of machine learning techniques? • What are the practical pitfalls in building or implementing machine learning solutions? • What can board members do to ensure that their firms don’t fall behind?

This week we speak to Ed Johnson, head of Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) sales at Swiss Re for the EMEA and APAC regions, about the important role of ILSs in the global insurance market. We explore questions including: • How do ILSs fit into the overall strategy of a typical large insurer and investors? • How are COVID, climate change, inflation risks and other economic/social trends impacting the ILS market? • How will the ILS market evolve in the future?

This week we speak to Michael Hosking, CRO for a number of entities within the Berkshire Hathaway group about the risk outlook for 2022 and how general insurers are responding. We explore questions including: • How has COVID changed insurers’ approach to managing risk? • How are cyber, conduct and culture risks are evolving? • What skills are needed for the risk team of the future?

This week we speak to Richard Holloway about catastrophe events in 2021 and what general insurers should be thinking about for year-end. We explore questions including: • What have been the big cat events of the season and how has this differed from previous years? • How is climate change impacting catastrophes and how do we model them? • What should firms be considering ahead of the year end?

This week we speak to Graham De’ath about climate change risk modelling for general insurers and, in particular, how they can learn lessons from other institutions (such as pension schemes) who have had to comply with climate change regulations sooner. We explore questions including: • How can you model climate change risk practically and usefully? • How can climate change modelling help inform business strategy? We also talk about some key lessons we’ve learnt from COP 26.

This week we speak to John Clements about investment strategy for non-life insurers. We explore questions including: • Inflation – what are the key investment risks and opportunities? • How is ESG affecting investment strategy? • What should insurers be looking to do with their investments right now?

This week we are talking to Cat Drummond, a Partner at LCP, about key trends in the general insurance market, drawing on insights from Cat’s annual review of solvency disclosures of the top 100 firms in the UK and Ireland. We explore questions including: • Are insurers’ balance sheets becoming stronger or weaker? • How well has the market coped with COVID-19? • Is the industry adequately prepared for cyber risk and climate change? • Post-Brexit, will the UK make changes to Solvency II?

This week we are talking to Ed Harrison, a Senior Consultant at LCP, about inflation in the insurance industry. We explore questions including: • Why is inflation a hot topic for insurers right now? • What is social inflation? • How does inflation affect different aspects of insurers’ business models? • How can insurers tackle inflation risks in their day to day operations?

We talk to Tom Clementi, former CEO of MS Amlin Underwriting Limited. We explore questions including: • What three things should a good insurance CEO focus on? • How can an insurer build a culture that fosters long term success? • How can NEDs and the C-suite work together more effectively? • How can insurers compete in a post-COVID world and avoid being disrupted? • Are some insurers are getting their thinking on climate change back to front? and many more!

This week show hosts Charl Cronje and Jessica Clark speak to Laura Hobern, a principal at LCP, about the sharing economy and how it will change the insurance industry. We discuss: • What the sharing economy is and examples of firms who work in this market? • How insurers need to change to meet the needs of the sharing economy? • What are the pros and cons of the sharing economy? • What opportunities can the sharing economy provide?

This week show hosts Charl Cronje and Jessica Clark speak to Stewart Mitchell, partner at LCP, on how environmental, social and governance(ESG) issues will change the insurance landscape. We discuss: - Examples of how ESG issues have already started to cause changes in the insurance industry. - Who should decide what insurers should (or should not) cover? - Are these changes good for business? - What changes might we expect to see in the future and when?