Airmic Conference - spotlight on workshops and latest news

There have been changes to some of the workshop topics. They underline the changing nature of the risk landscape, with a greater emphasis than ever on diversity and workforce mental well-being.  This subject is also already addressed in the QBE workshop A5 on Monday afternoon. Predictive analytics is another up-and-coming topic for an Airmic conference, covered on the second afternoon. Also featured below is an updated review of the digitisation of Insurance Premium Tax internationally - a topic with legal implications for insurance buyers.

Session B7, 4.15pm, Monday 11 June

Title: The talent mix - a challenge for all. Presented by JLT.

This workshop seeks to examine the challenges faced by organisations within the industry, and their clients working in risk related functions across all industries as we face an increasingly fast-paced and technologically challenging world.  This interactive workshop will cover the positive and challenging aspects of working in insurance and will draw on the experiences of those recently recruited, those who have been through graduate programmes, and those seeking to enter the industry. Representatives from JLT and Vodafone will talk through their top tips for working in the industry and how we can make it more appealing to those looking to enter the world of work.

Using research, we will demonstrate the importance of having an inclusive and diverse workforce both for buyers of insurance, and insurance organisations and concentrate on how the risk landscape has changed in a world of greater digital risk and how that impacts on how we recruit, retain and develop our staff. We will hear examples of how ensuring a diverse workforce is important to clients, and how the industry is trying to diversify its workforce to meet client demand. Finally, we will talk about efforts that are being made to prepare our talent for the future of the industry.

Session C7, 10.00am, Tuesday 12 June

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce: Why employee mental health is a responsibility for us all. Presented by Aviva.

The world is changing and developing at break-neck speed and with the recent boom in technology and social media, it's now proving harder than ever to truly leave work for the day. These are exciting times, but many employees are left feeling worried and overwhelmed.

 Mental Health is the biggest cause of absence in the UK and represents a significant risk to the productivity and effectiveness of all workforces across the UK.

 If you think it isn't a risk for your business, think again. With 1 in 4 people experiencing a mental health problem this year, and 1 in 6 employees reporting feelings of anxiety or depression each week, it is not an issue to be underestimated. And as professional risk and insurance managers, this is a real opportunity for you to educate your business by bringing your knowledge and understanding of the market to the HR agenda.

 At Aviva, we are continually looking at ways to encourage a diverse and inclusive working environment and improve the mental wellbeing of our own workforce, as well as helping other employers to look after theirs.

This session is aimed at risk managers who would like a better understanding of how to:

• keep people in work
• help them when they are absent and
• intervene early to prevent more serious issues developing.

Session D7, 12 noon Tuesday 12 June

Using predictive analytics to minimise property damage. Presented by FM Global

Considering the perils and risks faced by businesses today, what if we can know more about the probability of an incident occurring at a facility, the scale of the damage it could cause, and the resulting outcomes? During this interactive workshop, we will demonstrate how property and business risk has an element of predictability once location specific risks are understood and aligned to a comprehensive database of loss history.

We will explore how insurers and businesses can go beyond merely collecting vast amounts of valuable data during day-to-day operations, and truly exploit the full power of predictive analytics to assist important risk management decisions.

As risk managers obtain more accessible predictive data, they will be able to compare with greater certainty the relative likelihood and potential damage from events such as fires, floods, and machinery breakdown. In turn, risk control strategies can be prioritised to ensure the impact of losses from the most likely events are significantly reduced.

By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

• Understand what predictive analytics is, and how it can help manage risk
• Understand how to use clean and consistent datasets to identify, within a portfolio of locations/assets, where and how a loss is most likely to occur at any given time
• Learn how to leverage analytics to prioritise strategic business decisions

Workshop B1: 4.15 pm Monday 11 June

How to Navigate an Increasingly Digital Insurance Premium Tax Landscape. Presented by Sovos FiscalReps

Recent developments within the insurance industry are driving a natural evolution towards a more digital future.

With the development of new products, ever-increasing regulation, implementation of Solvency II, BEPs and GDPR initiatives alongside ongoing M&A activity leading to insurers having to deal with the challenges of legacy systems, many insurers and brokers are now turning to technology for more efficient and cost-effective business processes. Investment in InsurTech enables new competition and even the more traditional and complex multinational programmes are incorporating blockchain technology to streamline their existing practices.

Alongside these natural developments, tax authorities are increasingly turning to technology to request detailed data electronically, resulting in more effective audits. With the introduction of online reporting tools, there is evidence of a natural progression towards digitalisation. This follows the trend set over the last few years with changes we have seen in VAT reporting globally, and for premium tax this digital evolution realistically is now not too far in the future.

This trend will see risks moving from the financial risk caused by inaccurate calculation and application of insurance premium taxes (IPT) in a more manual, paper-based process, to a larger reputational risk where tax authorities can begin to triangulate data within a company or between companies, requiring more transparent and audit proof processes with consistent reporting practices. In the longer term, as governments move to more defined digital solutions, the risk will become more operational working with the authorities to meet regulatory obligations.

Although the main responsibility for IPT compliance sits with the insurers, policyholders can often be impacted in the event of non-compliance. The Sovos FiscalReps workshop aims to educate the risk manager about the key information required for the insured risks to ensure full compliance, as well as how to prepare for an increasingly digital age.

The Airmic Conference will be held at the ACC Liverpool on 11-13 June - if you've not registered yet - visit the conference website.