P&C insurance reveals its superpower
Several articles in the April/May issue of NU Property & Casualty illustrate how insurance shapeshifts alongside society.
There are several articles in the April/May issue of NU Property & Casualty magazine — our annual Risk Issue — that reflect the way insurance continues to shapeshift alongside contemporary society.
First, our cover story takes a thorough, thoughtful look at the many ways in which artificial intelligence (AI) is propelling the insurance business forward. The article was penned by insurtech entrepreneur Daniel Turgel, and his devotion to the subject matter is evident throughout the piece. He writes from the perspective of a professional who truly believes that good technology will make business and life better and easier.
At the same time, his personal interest and excitement about the promise of AI is palpable throughout the article, which is paired with a contribution penned by three thought leaders from The Hartford who outline some of the liability concerns for businesses that are employing such groundbreaking technologies.
The second feature in this issue is published in honor of the 52nd annual observance of Earth Day.
Insurance pros know well the risks and losses tied to global warming, which were echoed earlier this year in “Climate Change 2022,” a report released by the (federal) National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) in conjunction with the (international) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
In a statement about the report, Dr. Richard Spinrad, the oceanographer who serves as NOAA’s current administrator, speaks plainly and directly about the growing threat posed by global warming.
“We must urgently reduce our emissions while also increasing our efforts to adapt to the impacts we can no longer avoid,” Spinrad says. “Simply put, societies and ecosystems need to prepare now for the growing effects of extreme heat, drought, sea level rise, and other impacts of climate change.”
As our article illustrates, insurance provides valuable tools to help people and businesses respond to climate-driven disasters. Underwriting, for instance, is a powerful way for organizations to access and mitigate environmental risks while at the same time responding to evolving regulation and financing demands.
Reporting the story provided me with hopeful takeaways from the otherwise grim climate-change conversation.
For this issue, I also had the pleasure of interviewing Vertafore’s first female chief technology officer. Liz Nguyen is a technologist who pairs software engineering insights with an industry-specific outlook.
She and I never directly spoke about the insurance industry’s ongoing push to foster diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), a directive that corresponds with the pressing need to draw fresh talent to the sector.
But simply being exposed to Nguyen’s high-level thinking and leadership gave me a sense of optimism. Despite hiring challenges, insurance businesses are indeed on the right path with regards to moving the needle on DEI initiatives for the betterment of the industry as well as society at large.
You and I know that insurance was conceived to respond when people and businesses experience a loss event. Such events often represent the worst days in a policyholder’s life. But the common theme to emerge from the articles in this magazine is that insurance is more than just a “product.” It is a foundational tool that not only protects policyholders but also adapts to the world around it and helps steer humanity and society in a positive direction.
Read additional columns by Elana Ashanti Jefferson: