The two main trends that are making insurers shift to prevention are the growing complexity of risks society faces, and the ever-increasing availability of data and artificial intelligence tools.
A move towards prevention through predictive technologies will become commonplace in certain insurance sectors.
AI, data and a digital insurance ecosystem could have many potential benefits and applications, from automobile accidents to the reduction of crop loss through efficient resource allocation.
In recent years, more of their clients are talking about the importance of prevention, and their expectation for their insurer to be able to help them mitigate risks in their business, no matter the industry.
But the most powerful application of a digital insurance ecosystem according to Desvaux, is against technology risks.
Many new risks emerge, as the industry evolves, such as increased severity of nat cat on physical assets, or cyber security on the ever-increasing digital part of the economy.
To protect these, we need risk transfer but more importantly prevention to reduce the risks and severity of claims, thus fulfilling our role as partners.
There is also an opportunity for AI and similar technology to help identify vulnerabilities in global supply chains or similar complex systems and mitigate issues like the global supply chain interruption caused by the pandemic.
The aim is to move beyond “simple” risk management and prevention toward societal benefits, whether that is to anticipate the locations of wildfires or floods, to help build communities that are more strategically resilient to climate change, or to provide real-time, targeted services in emerging or precarious markets to bolster their financial stability.