Brought to you by:

The things insurance chiefs worry about

Insurance CEOs are embracing disruption but also worry more about the impact compared with business leaders in other sectors, according to a global survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

Over-regulation, the speed of technological change, evolving customer behaviour and competition from new entrants are highlighted as ever-increasing threats to growth.

But the 20th annual CEO Survey shows 67% of insurance industry leaders see creativity and innovation as “very important” to their organisations – more than any other financial services sector.

The survey team interviewed 1379 CEOs from a range of industries across 79 countries.

Insurance CEOs are also ahead of their counterparts in exploring the benefits of humans and machines working together, and considering the impact of artificial intelligence on future skills needs.

“Despite soft premium rates, low interest rates and subdued economic growth in many developed markets, insurance CEOs are optimistic about their own companies’ growth prospects,” PWC says.

About 35% are “very confident” they can achieve revenue growth over the next year and more than 80% are at least “somewhat confident”.

The cost and disruption of regulation continues to be the leading concern for insurance CEOs, while shifting customer behaviour moves into second place, with 45% of respondents “extremely concerned”, up from 24% a year earlier.

PWC Global Insurance Leader Stephen O’Hearn says customer intelligence and cutting-edge interaction have enabled insurtech businesses to set the pace in the marketplace, but their growing presence offers opportunities.

“Insurtech partnerships can help insurers improve their processes, strengthen efficiency and reduce costs,” he said.

“They also can help insurers improve their analysis of the huge amounts of data at their disposal, which can lead to better customer understanding, higher win-rates and more informed underwriting.”