This week we received intriguing news that insurers could get an alert about risky behaviour, PI claims fell by around 40% in terms of value, in Ireland, plus we analyse what the Argentina ID card database hack means for insurers. It’s all happening
START: CAN AI PREDICT RISK BEHAVIOUR?
It sounds like a sci-fi movie, but reading the info from TigerRisk this week, that is what the software is meant to do. TigerRisk and Pinpoint Predictive say that by using AI to study behavioural data in detail, insurers can get alerts when a certain type of risk increases.
No, we don’t think that AI software can predict the next Yaris vs Ford Focus bump in Asda’s car park, but general patterns and trends could be identified. Sometimes they may be weather-related, like the escape of water after cold spells, others could be more about major sporting or cultural events, or certain keywords being used in FNOL calls or emails. There is value in predictive data, but as ever, it comes down to joining the dots to form a complete picture.
RUN: PI CLAIMS IN IRELAND GETTING CHEAPER
The latest stats from PIAB suggest that PI claims by value have dropped by 40% since 2020, which could mean we have turned the corner on injury claims. The PIAB notes that new judicial guidelines introduced about 6 months ago seem to have had an effect but warns that public liability claims remain high.
There’s an interesting case where the Court of Appeal overturned a decision to award an injured cyclist 113,000 euros.
GROW: CYBER IS THE NEXT PANDEMIC
There was the Facebook/Insta outage recently, US pipelines switched off and more importantly. some hackers managed to download the population of Argentina’s ID card data. Yes, all 46 million records, some of which are reportedly for sale on the dark web.
IE thinks this all highlights the vulnerability of purely online systems. The next pandemic-type emergency could be a virus which stops container ships in the middle of the ocean, so what happens to the global supply chain then? Insurers can expect more organised cyber-attacks and ransomware demands in 2022. In fact, Lockton announced this week they have set up a special Crisis Management Division.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, we say.
AND GROW: ESG IS THE NEW STANDARD
News this week that Beazley is launching a Lloyd’s of London Syndicate that will offer extra capacity to ESG (Environmental and Social Governance) friendly clients. Smart move, as climate change-related infrastructure, power generation, housing insulation, heat pumps and more is all in the pipeline and all need insuring.
Those brokers who still haven’t got around to adding statements on everything from diversity quotas, and carbon net zero targets to e-scooter charging docks at the office, need to get their skates on.
This stuff is pretty much mandatory now, although the thought occurs to IE; who decides what the minimum ESG benchmarks are for insurers and brokers? The FCA, the government…Twitter activists?
And with that tricky riddle, we bid you a pleasant weekend.
