In insurance, risk appetite is defined by judgement, from the pricing decisions underwriters are willing to defend to the emerging risks the market chooses to support.
To mark International Women’s Day, senior women across the insurance industry shared the decisions shaping underwriting, pricing and risk selection.
In sectors such as life sciences, rapid technological progress is challenging traditional approaches to risk assessment.
Kirsten Shastri (pictured left), head of life sciences at Tokio Marine Kiln, said the pace of innovation means insurers must continually refine how they structure coverage.
“The life sciences market is constantly evolving, with new and innovative products emerging that require tailored insurance solutions – one size definitely does not fit all,” she said.
Shastri pointed to a recent example where the insurer supported the launch of a contraceptive device in a new market.
“A standout moment was insuring the first-ever release of a new contraceptive device in a new territory,” she said. “We were extremely proud to support this launch, as we played a small part in giving women greater choice and control over their health.”
However, she believes underwriting frameworks can sometimes lag behind scientific progress.
“In my field, progress has been slow when it comes to reassessing longstanding exclusions,” she said. “Some legacy policies still apply overly broad reproductive-health exclusions, which is an approach widely viewed as out-of-step with modern medical developments.”
Improving technical understanding also remains central to how insurers approach emerging risks such as cyber.
Lindsey Maher (pictured centre, left), head of global cyber development at CFC, said strengthening market expertise can materially influence underwriting confidence.
“One of the most meaningful decisions I’ve influenced this year was launching our CFC Cyber Masterclass – a broker education programme designed to turn every generalist broker into a cyber specialist,” she said.
“Cyber is no longer a niche add-on; it touches every client and every risk.”
Maher believes the industry’s appetite for cyber exposure often reflects how well the risk itself is understood.
“From where I’m sitting, the market is aggressive where it doesn’t fully understand the risk and cautious where expertise should let it be bold,” she said.
As underwriting markets shift through the cycle, maintaining discipline around pricing remains equally important.
For Caroline Coulson (pictured centre, right), chief underwriting officer at Pernix Specialty, underwriters must remain prepared to walk away when pricing fails to reflect the exposure.
“Some brokers can be aggressive on pricing,” she said. “In the CPRI market the deal economics must work for all involved. However there is a line that can be crossed where brokers push for pricing that is not sustainable for underwriters and we will walk away from a deal where the pricing is not commensurate with the risk we are taking.”
Coulson also emphasised that risk selection is shaped by the perspectives contributing to underwriting decisions.
While underwriting judgement ultimately determines how insurers respond to risk, industry leaders say structural factors still influence who reaches senior roles within the sector.
According to Sarah Vaughan (pictured right), founder and director of Angelica Solutions, recruitment practices and workplace expectations can unintentionally limit career progression.
“It’s not enough to ask where the women leaders are,” Vaughan said. “We need to look at the conditions we create or fail to create for women returning to work, switching paths or working flexibly.”
“The way we define and reward talent needs to change.”
While underwriting judgement determines how insurers respond to risk, structural barriers can still influence who reaches senior roles within the sector.
The market’s challenge is not simply how much risk it is willing to take, but how effectively it understands the exposures it is writing.
As Caroline Coulson put it: “Risk appetite is not monolithic, it’s dynamic.”
