Airmic: Speakers and sessions to look out for

Inga Beale, CEO Lloyd's
Did you always want to be in the career you’re in now?
No – I actually left after I had been working for about eight years in the city and I went travelling around the world. As it happens, I made the decision to come back and have worked in insurance ever since.

How did you get to where you are today?
It was hard work and perseverance that got me to the position I’m in today. I didn’t set out with a life plan but I’ve been given great opportunities during my career and each one I took led to another great opportunity.

What would you say your career highlight has been?
I haven’t been CEO at Lloyd’s long enough to make that claim just yet so I’d have to say my time at Converium in Switzerland was my proudest moment. When I was appointed group CEO there was a lot of work to do before selling it onto SCOR – which we did for an excellent deal.

Is there anything you’d change about your career to date?
My career has taken various turns and you never know what the next one will lead to. Several opportunities included moving country and getting exposure I would never have had if I’d stayed working in London. It’s been incredibly exciting, and tough at times, but I have to say I’ve achieved more more than I would have dreamed of and I’m absolutely thrilled.

What do you think the biggest risks facing UK businesses today are?
The biggest risks facing UK businesses have to include cyber liability, supply chain and reputational risk – as well as the standard risks to property and liability exposures. The risk landscape is continually changing, and this brings about the need for insurance products that respond to these emerging risks.

What is your view of the UK’s risk management industry?
The industry has a strong emphasis on learning and education and it is well supported by bodies such as Airmic and the Institute of Risk Management. Risk managers are less reliant on the traditional broker relationship and there seems to be an appetite to work more closely with underwriters and vice versa.

What are the topics people will be talking about at this year’s Airmic?
As well as cyber, reputational risks and supply chain, the hot topics will include mergers & acquisitions and the risk in transactions, product recall liability and compliance with the new Insurance Act. UK firms are also becoming increasingly aware of the impact of kidnap & ransom risks.

Seraina Maag President and CEO, AIG EMEA
Did you always want to be in the career you’re in now?
Actually I wanted to travel with a circus, perform acrobatics on horses at night and teach primary school to the circus children during the day. Life is full of surprises – an injury changed my life’s course.

How did you get to where you are today?
The most important thing is to be passionate about what you do every day. I fell into insurance by accident, but it turns out I love our industry and the contribution we make to all human endeavours.

What would you say that your career highlight has been?
There is no better feeling than when we unite as an industry. The most recent example that comes to mind is the earthquake in Nepal, when we came together across companies to help our customers in need.

Is there anything you’d change about your career to date?
Honestly, no. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful experience in this industry and the support I get from my family is amazing.

What do you think the biggest risks facing UK businesses today are?
Uncertainty about the UK’s future relationship of the European Union and the risk of a corporate data breach. Despite a lot of talk, many businesses are continuing to neglect their cyber security.

What is your view of the UK’s risk management industry?
There is a more integrated approach to risk in the UK, with companies moving away from a compliance-driven approach to focus on collaboration and behaviour-led risk culture. This way, risks can become value-creating opportunities.

What are the topics people will be talking about at this year’s Airmic?
I expect there to be a lot of discussion around the impact of data analytics on pricing, since that is likely to be a game changer in our industry in the long run. There may also be a focus on reputational risk in the wake of some high profile corporate incidents. Personally, I hope people will also want to discuss new approaches to cyber security.

Airmic 2015 - sessions to watch out for...
This year’s Airmic conference features a host of events and workshops on all things risk-related, from debates on the future of the market, to talks on behavioural economics and workshops on the impact of mergers and acquisitions. Post has pulled out what it thinks will be the highlights to help you get the most out of your Airmic 2015 experience.

Tim Harford, Monday 15 June, 2.30, Auditorium
Tipped as one to attend by some of the respondents to our Liverpool Lowdown Q&A, this address by world renowned behavioural economist and award-winning Financial Times columnist Tim Harford will be looking at how solutions to risk conundrums can be solved through thinking differently and the hidden logic of the world around us.
What to expect: Everything and anything – from the reasons why all countries are in debt to life hacks for finding missing socks.

Claims, Liabilities, Trends and Solutions: will new government policies be good for you? Presented by BLM, Monday 15 June, 4.00-5.15
What are the objectives of the new government, post-General Election? Will it tackle fraud, particularly in the whiplash sector? How will the changes to legal liability law introduced by the coalition pan out? These are the questions on many risk managers’ lips - and this BLM session looks set to answer them.
What to expect: Expert insight into how claims and the law interact – as well as some highly educated crystal ball gazing into what the future holds.

Airmic Forum: Insurance leadership debate, Tuesday 16 June, 10.00
Tackling the thorny issue of the future of the insurance market and the potential impact on corporate clients, the renowned Airmic panel debate really features the great and the good of the industry this year. Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale, AIG Property and Casualty CEO Seraina Maag, BP vice-president of insurance risk solutions Lesley Harding and Willis deputy CEO Steve Hearn, pictured, will all be thrashing it out onstage and responding to audience questions.
What to expect: The conference to be abuzz with activity – audience members can text in questions for the panel to answer, so make sure your 4G is switched on or you’re hooked up to the ACC Wi-Fi.

Do you understand your supply chain exposures? Presented by Zurich, Tuesday 16 June, 12.00-1.15
In an increasingly global business world, supply chain risk is at the top of the ‘things that keep risk managers awake at night’ list. Zurich’s interactive session will look at key threats like cyber and the changing regulatory environment, and the tools that can be used to tackle these risks.
What to expect: Audience participation – it is an interactive session, after all – and observations into the global risk sector that are second to none.

Claims trends and adapting to emerging risks, presented by Crawford & Company, Tuesday 16 June, 2.45-4.00
Who doesn’t get a shiver down their spine at the prospect of spending an hour and fifteen minutes discussing the truly exciting stuff the insurance industry has to offer? Everything from how to handle hackers to deadly infectious diseases will be covered by the claims gurus at Crawford in this Tuesday afternoon workshop.
What to expect: Top tips for scenario planning and preparing for the worst, and something slightly more optimistic in the form of some of the exciting new emerging risks facing the industry.

Baroness Karren Brady CBE, Wednesday 17 June, 12.00, Auditorium
The ‘first lady of football’ and aide to the (debatably) scariest man in business –
Alan Sugar – Karren Brady became managing director of Birmingham City Football Club at the age of 23, going on to become vice-president of West Ham FC and a director at The Mothercare Foundation, Channel 4 and Sport England. She’s bound to offer valuable insight into being a dynamite business leader and tips on how to develop her trademark resilience.
What to expect: Eloquence – Brady has written two novels and two business books and is a regular newspaper columnist – and plenty of reputational risk insight.