As the insurance sector moves through one of the most challenging periods in recent times, GB executive vice president Jon Winsbury says it’s vital to continuously monitor your decisions and analyse your learnings.

He noted that, often, companies will do a major review after a catastrophe has passed - but by that time, memories are starting to fade and key lessons may be lost. He says leaders in particular should pay attention to how they’re responding to the current crisis day by day, how it aligns with company values and what learnings they will take away for the future.

Read more: “Every crisis is unique, but there are common elements”

“You need to think about what you’re capturing dynamically as you move through this about the actual event,” Winsbury said.

“Corporate memory is really important, and I find that people don’t necessarily pay attention to that as much as they should. You should ask what you’re doing now that’s different, and what that tells you about the future.”

“A lot of organisations do a big review at the end of a catastrophe, but, by then, people have forgotten and you just can’t get to the heart of it,” he continued.

“But if you’re capturing that dynamic as you go, it will really stand you in good stead the next time you have an event.”

With a swift response often being the key in the current climate, Winsbury says leaders also need to be wary of expediency - getting something done quickly and practically at the expense of company values. He says leaders should have a good grasp of where expediency may be necessary, and where it will ultimately do more harm in the long run.

Read more: COVID-19: Rough road ahead for global reinsurers

“We have a rapidly changing dynamic, and I’ve always said that a company’s culture, vision, mission statement and history are its moral compass,” he said.

“Expediency can be useful, but it can also be evil in that it can lead you down a path of making decisions that your business would not normally make. And so, you need to be on guard for that.”

“Every leader within the organisation needs to be thinking ‘is this still the right decision, are we doing things the right way, and are we being expedient in a bad way?’” he explained.

“The best gauge of that is by taking 10 seconds when those decisions are coming at you, thinking about your organisation’s history and moral compass, and make the decision with those factors bearing in - not just because it felt like you had to do something under pressure. I’ve seen people making those decisions in catastrophes before with the best endeavours at heart, but it’s not turned out that way.”