New report provides a summary of key research themes and challenges for the European re/insurance sector and a pathway for collaboration between academia and the industry

London, 27 May, 2020: Research collaboration organisation Lighthill Risk Network Ltd (Lighthill) today calls on the global re/insurance sector to support a coordinated effort to establish and improve links with academia and research organisations to further our understanding of systemic risks facing societies.

Spearheading the effort, Lighthill today launches a new report summarising key research themes and challenges across a range of sectors that the re/insurance industry would benefit from collaborating with academia to successfully address.

The report, Improving Impact: Building Better Links Between Insurance and Academia, collates information from current reports across different potential research fields, and includes calls to action from insurance experts on what they feel the next key research focuses should be.

The report provides a snapshot of the current major challenges for the non-life property and casualty insurance sectors, ranging from climate change to cyber risk and managing global uncertainty – some of the biggest issues that global re/insurers are grappling with today and will continue to shape the face of the market in 2020 and beyond.

Leading insurance experts from the Lighthill helped compile the key research questions, whose members include senior representatives from Guy Carpenter, Liberty Mutual, Aon, Hiscox, Lloyd’s, and MS Amlin.

Lighthill Chief Executive Dickie Whitaker said:

“The drive for insurance to increase its global impact and relevance is continuous – our sector can and must help build further resilience and mitigate the impacts that risks such as natural disasters, systemic economic crashes, and emerging technology present to economies and societies.

And the protection gap – the portion of economic losses not covered by the private sector or government-sponsored insurance programmes – is, in part, a consequence of these challenges.

The current Coronavirus pandemic brings into sharp focus the constant need for the insurance industry to continuously develop and refine its understanding of risk and the drivers behind decision making and insurability.

Doubtless, this crisis will impact our industry and many others in the months and years to come, and improving links with academia / insurance could help us all learn lessons and build resilience after the dust has settled.

How can we deliver products to people who do not buy insurance? How can we better communicate the value of insurance and is the perception of the value of insurance changing? At the same time, how can we make research more relevant to ultimate decision makers?

Enhancing knowledge transfer into business from academic experts is at the forefront of risk-related research. This report is intended to provide the research community with a gateway to collaborate with the insurance sector by highlighting current key research priorities.”

Access the report here: https://lighthillrisknetwork.org/reports/

Notes to editors

About Lighthill Risk Network

The Lighthill Risk Network is an all-encompassing and inclusive organisation with the specific aim of facilitating and enhancing knowledge transfer into business from academic, government and commercial experts at the forefront of risk-related research.

https://lighthillrisknetwork.org/

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