All segments of the reinsurance business are being affected by current events, and it is critical that companies provide colleagues with the support needed to move forward with their day-to-day activities. Looking toward the remainder of 2020, as COVID-19 upends how businesses interact with technology, the reinsurance market sees a number of emerging trends that present both potential challenges and opportunities.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s rapid global spread brought business as usual to a screeching halt. Social distancing measures, essential to slowing the spread of the disease, compelled many organizations to alter their operations or rethink how they do business.
The pandemic’s velocity initially caused many businesses to transition into reactionary response mode as new information and government actions materialized. The immediate need for changes, including the introduction or scaling up of remote working, posed a time-sensitive challenge for effective strategic planning, according to Marsh colleagues Reid Sawyer, Leader, U.S. Cyber Risk Consulting Practice, and Allison Pan, Senior Vice President, Emerging Risks. Marsh is an affiliate of Guy Carpenter.
As the pandemic continues, senior leaders face growing uncertainty, and the volume of information and decisions they must make complicates the most pressing risks. This is compounded by complex questions — including about the length of the crisis, whether there will be a lull during the summer, the economic impact and the threat of a second wave — that remain insufficiently answered.
Simply put, the pandemic demands that corporate leaders use a data-based strategy to rethink the ways in which enterprise risk is defined, measured and managed.
As companies around the world, including Guy Carpenter, continue to operate on a largely work from home basis, consistent communication is key to ensuring colleagues continue to feel “connected” to their co-workers, clients and the overall market.
