How has the insurance industry changed over time?

Regulation, technology, disintermediation, globalisation – each has had its own impact on the insurance industry during the last few decades. Today, the industry continues to wrestle with a number of challenges, and there’s no shortage of new events shaking its foundation: from Brexit to Trump.

We asked David Marock, group CEO of international insurance services provider Charles Taylor, about the biggest changes he has seen during his extensive career.

“I think it was a lot easier if you rewind 10 or 20 years ago for businesses to be successful and to be profitable, and I think businesses were far more stable too,” Marock told Insurance Business. “If you fast-forward to now, the competition has intensified – both from within the industry, but more significantly from outside the industry.

“On the P&C side, you’ve had alternative investors coming in, the growth of the ILS [Insurance-linked securities] market: all of those changes have made it a far more challenging industry. It has increased the competition and made it much tougher to be successful.”

All of that change has culminated in a need for industry players to consider new perspectives, and even new approaches, according to Marock, who pointed to ‘driving change’ as one of his biggest priorities in 2018.

“In a way it has brought the industry to a point in which there is quite an urgent need for change, transformation and adaption to a new environment,” Marock commented.

“From a Charles Taylor perspective, I think we are well-positioned to support companies with that change. We have expanded and adapted the range of propositions that we offer in the market – one of the big areas in which we’ve invested quite substantially over the last few years has been in bringing out new products and services and launching new business lines.

“But we have also honed in on the insurtech space, where I think one of the key ways in which companies need to respond to change is through changing their approach and use of technology within their businesses.”

What changes do you think have defined the industry during your career? Let us know by leaving a comment below.


Related stories:
Charles Taylor CEO: Challenges, success, and my goal for 2018
ECIC chief exec: Markel deal “a fantastic move”