Insurance industry anything but assured

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Results from a recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have revealed that CEOs within the insurance industry feel more pressured in their roles than those in areas such as banking, health care and entertainment.

The annual report, in its 20th year, seeks to identify key issues within the industry by surveying those in top leadership positions.This year 95 insurance CEOs from across 39 countries participated in the survey.

Topping the list of concerns for insurance industry CEOs was the issue of over-regulation. However, a large amount of those surveyed also considered technological disruption a serious issue facing the industry.

Of the 95 CEOs surveyed 28 percent believed technology will be a key factor in reshaping the industry over the next five years, while 58 percent acknowledged that it will have a serious impact.

While a fear of change and disruption was highly present throughout the report, PwC global insurance leader Stephen O'Hearn said many insurers were rising to meet the challegnes facing them.

“Their readiness to embrace the new possibilities opening up in the marketplace is evident in the fact that 67 percent of industry leaders see creativity and innovation as very important to their organisations, ahead of other financial services (FS) sectors.

“Insurance CEOs are also ahead of the curve in exploring the benefits of humans and machines working together (61 percent) and considering the impact of artificial intelligence on future skills needs (49 percent).”.

Further concerns outlined in the report included were uncertain economic growth (84 percent), social instability (75 percent), geopolitical uncertainty (74 percent) and the future of the Eurozone (72 percent).

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