Insurers should be looking through binoculars rather than a microscope when assessing the potential impact of technology in transforming their business, focusing on the long term opportunities and threats posed by emerging exposures rather than concentrating only on how the latest hardware or software might help them incrementally improve internal systems and performance.

That was one of the key takeaways from presentations and informal discussions at what I like to refer to as the industry's "annual family reunion" in New York City — the Property-Casualty Insurance Joint Industry Forum, where the heads of primary carriers, reinsurers, brokerage firms and their association leaders gather to consider the state of the market and direction of the business.

Will a whole new insurance niche be needed?