Multiple macroeconomic and geopolitical trends – inflation, rising interest rates to levels not seen in the past four decades, supply chain disruptions, trade tensions, and geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East – are all events that continue to create broad uncertainty for the industry in particular, and for individuals specifically. As a result, insurers must prepare for a wide range of very uncertain outcomes.
Which are the key trends that will shape the insurance industry in the period ahead was the main question, besides other specific industry and market challenges at the panel “Insurance Sector: Strengthening Resilience in a Challenging Environment” at the conference “Trends in the Financial and Insurance Sector 2024”, organized by Bloomberg Adria.
Speaking at the panel were Francesco Masci, CEO of DDOR osiguranje, Dragan Filipović, CEO of Generali osiguranje Srbija, and Nikola Đukić, CEO of UNIQA neživotno osiguranje. The panel was moderated by Jelisaveta Lazarević, Head Producer for Economics at Bloomberg Adria. On that occasion, Francesco Masci, said he was pleased to have the opportunity to offer insight into very interesting topics, including the integration of AI technologies into insurance industry operations and the significant role of insurtech in the market, inflation, cyber security, and ESG.
“The reality is that there is no done deal and we’re navigating unchartered waters; also, apart for the climate risk, there is currently no certainty and there is a lot of ground to cover in order to seize the opportunities and cope with all the challenges ahead. As insurers we’re gearing up to exploiting the full potential embedded in the new technologies and we’re creating the best possible conditions to remain profitable and, as a consequence, to contribute to the further expansion of the economy and to the creation of jobs. With regard to the latter, the development of closer ties between the public sector and the private sector, remains a catalyst of the future economic growth, where the insurance industry can play a critical role”, said Masci.
Financial intermediaries witness changes, and among them, insurance companies find themselves in an environment of increased global and local risks, which necessitates adaptation and finding adequate products and services, as well as a focus on preventing risk rather than mitigating it.
The conference was ceremonially opened by Jorgovanka Tabaković, Governor of the National Bank of Serbia, and the introductory analysis of the financial sector in the Adria region was presented by Andrej Knez, Chief Analyst at Bloomberg Adria.