Innovation changing face of commercial insurance, says Swiss Re

Technological, economic, demographic, societal and geopolitical macro trends are driving deep changes in the business environment – changes that are creating new opportunities and risks. Meantime, as the corporate sector evolves from being dominated by physical assets to deriving more value from intangible assets, such as intellectual property, networks, platforms, data and customer relationships.

These changing dynamics are in turn driving change in the way commercial risks are transferred, and is the topic of Swiss Re’s latest Sigma report, ‘Commercial insurance: innovation to expand the scope of insurability’.

Product development and innovation around data and data analytics have expanded the scope of insurance solutions to a wider range of threats and perils, and made risk transfer more efficient. In addition, companies are using novel insurance solutions to protect earnings, reduce cash flow volatility and support business strategy and growth.
"New types of solutions are providing protection against a wider range of perils, and extending insurance cover from tangible to intangible assets," says Kurt Karl, Swiss Re's Chief Economist. For example, holistic covers combine multiple risks and/or interdependent triggers, and allow better alignment to the specific risk transfer needs of an insurance buyer. "In addition to offering coverage for multiple risks, holistic solutions offer efficient risk transfer given their focus on the joint distribution of all risks."

CIR examines Swiss Re’s report in more depth in the November issue of the magazine, available in print and online.

Related Articles