Specialist, high-impact and agile consulting.

By Paul Jardine

Digital Transformation

​The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), followed barely a week later by the decline of Credit Suisse Group, raised the ugly spectre of another banking crisis to rival the crash of 2008.The reasons behind the fall from grace for both banks differed, but they quickly sparked a rapid decline in rating agency and investor confidenceCredit Suisse was only saved by a rushed merger deal. SVB’s future looked more uncertain; its UK arm was quickly rescued by an acquisition deal with HSBC, but the bulk of its operations were left hanging in the breeze, until First Citizens BancShares stepped in over a fortnight later with a deal hammered out with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to acquire all of SVB’s deposits, loans and branches.The cause of SVB's collapse has multiple strands, but it is a sobering reminder of the interconnectedness of the financial world. That the 16th largest bank in the US can go bankrupt for want of a $2bn raise is quite scary. Coming less than six months after the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer’s disastrous ‘mini-budget’ threatened to crash pension funds when it caused excessive bond market volatility, these developments made me reflect on the potentially huge impact of the law of unintended consequences - and the correlations in the business world between companies’ assets and their liabilities. While the two may be matched, they are typically managed independently in terms of their risk exposure.That led in turn to a recollection of when, in the 1990s, I worked as a partner in an accounting firm. From year to year we would have an entire management and business structure focused on one product or industry and would then shift the focus of that structure to another area the year after, and so on.What inevitably happens if you keep shifting the focus of your business, however, is that you lose sight of what’s going on in the back office of your organisation. This can end up with your organisation accumulating an array of legacy IT systems, with employees in different departments calling data items by different names.You then face an uphill struggle in attempting to amalgamate all of the components of your business, making it more challenging to assess the likely impact of any seismic macroeconomic events on the overall business.That level of oversight requires robust IT architecture, a strong data management structure, and a clear ownership framework to enable business leaders to provide their board with decent management information and relevant KPIs that will allow them to determine the organisation’s level of resilience. Transforming the London marketFor many mature (re)insurance firms in the London market, some of whom may have been trading for several decades, the likelihood of accumulating legacy IT is high. At the same time, Lloyd's and the London (re)insurance market has something of a chequered history when it comes to major change programmes.But with data quality an increasingly important part of differentiating yourself in a crowded marketplace, a minimum requirement for any insurance business looking to make its structure more robust should be to ensure all its individual segments report in the same, consistent way.Furthermore, ensuring that the data acquired from clients and brokers is robust and accurate will enable companies to obtain real insights into the risks being acquired.Current initiatives for transforming the market –including Lloyd's Blueprint Two, market-wide standardisation of data, and the development of the Core Data Record–have the collective aim of helping businesses to create contracts with straight-through processing, that allow accounting settlement and tax reporting to be done effectively and seamlessly. While some commentators believe this is isn’t a true transformation programme, because it won’t necessarily change the customer journey, this is a necessary first step toward automating the back office. This will provide companies with a platform for automating the remainder of the broking and underwriting process, removing frictional costs, enhancing transaction speeds, and giving greater certainty to clients about coverage and claims. Going further, fasterThe key to market modernisation is going to be finding those businesses – whether brokers or carriers – who are prepared to stick their necks out, go as fast as they can, and who are then happy to share their experience.The advantage for those who get there faster is that they will have the ability to think more deeply about how to leverage third party data to get further insights and create more customer-centric services based on that data. In many lines of business that could be the difference between winning and losing.However, the reality for many businesses in the London market is a heavy reliance on outsourced IT services - especially when you consider that in the smaller broker community the majority of organisations outside of the top Lloyd’s and London market firms have fewer than 100 employees. Companies of this scale typically lack the resources and/or budget to carry out wholesale technological change, which is why a mutualised solution for London market digitisation makes increasing sense.The insurance industry is a comparatively niche business sector which has largely escaped the notice of global technology companies. As such, all but the largest companies have been reliant on a relatively small number of SME technology firms, supplying highly customised solutions to individual companies. This has resulted in a multitude of complex legacy systems which can prove very difficult and expensive to upgrade or replace.The foundational modernisation work going on in the London market is fundamentally about automating back office operations that clients never see, but is nonetheless a necessary first step towards improving those products and services which are the real client focus.What that means for a traditional insurance business is that, rather than reducing headcount as it takes advantage of greater automation, it can instead repurpose colleagues to perform other tasks that add value to the business.To my mind, that's the hidden value in terms of transforming the way that you think about your business- more thinking time, a reduction in frictional costs, and improved service standards that will drive greater longevity of client relationships. ​

By Mark Weller

Digital Transformation

We are living through a period of massive upheaval and uncertainty. Predicting what even the next 24 months will hold is nigh on impossible. One thing we do know: You can't shrink to greatness.Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you will be aware of the ongoing global supply chain crisis. Manufacturing companies around the world have experienced significant disruption for over two years, exacerbated by the global pandemic, trade wars, staffing issues within transport and logistics and latterly the impact of geopolitical events, most notably Russia's war in Ukraine.From lockdowns in Shanghai to the pressures of Brexit on our doorstep, many large multinationals are rethinking their approach to supply chain risk management. Previously, the emphasis was on 'just-in-time' lean manufacturing and gaining efficiencies by holding onto as little stock as possible.But the pendulum has swung back. Corporates are considering whether they need to retain some 'just-in-case' stockpiles - looking to high-profile examples, such as PPE shortages - as proof that sometimes it is good to hold onto a bit of stock for a rainy day.And, of course, times are changing. Globalisation as we once knew it may have seen its heydayConcerned about the impact of decisions and events on the other side of the world, some companies are moving their supply chains closer to home (so-called reshoring and 'friendshoring'). This is no small trend with up to a quarter of global supply chains are currently on the move, according to McKinsey.The perils of holding onto too much capitalSo what does this mean for the insurance industry? It is in fact a prescient analogy when you take a step back and consider the turmoil we find ourselves in.The insurance and reinsurance industry remains well capitalised, but for how long? Global reinsurance capital declined from $675 billion at the start of the year to $645 billion at mid-year 2022, according to the latest data from Aon.The industry is facing mounting Ukraine-related losses, the prospect of inflation and financial market volatility, and the Atlantic hurricane season has only just begun. In and around the usually sheltered streets of Leadenhall there is growing disquiet surrounding the cost-of-living crisis (there is no ignoring it at the petrol station or the supermarket) and how it will trickle through.There is a temptation in such uncertain circumstances to hold onto too much capital and taking an overly cautious 'just-in-case' approach while continuing to emphasise cost optimisation. This is what we see many clients doing as their margins begin to narrow.Of course there are merits in taking a cautious approach, boosting reserves, focusing on fewer, more profitable classes of business and divesting of expensive and unnecessary office space given the shift to hybrid working, for instance. But it is essential to manage such strategies very carefully: Cut too deep and it will be difficult to return.Not everyone is at the same stage in the cycle. Some remain doggedly in growth mode, seeking M&A opportunities and tapping into private equity investment. There is still money around, but it comes with greater scrutiny attached and growing pressure to generate the right level of returns.What of the middle road? How do you grow and optimise the business while holding onto some capital? What levers do you pull? Either you reinvest, or you think differently. Time to reinvestAs Paul Jardine mentioned in his latest blog post, the time to act is now. You've got to overcome your hesitancy and take some bold steps on your transformation program. Don't wait until the next soft market and/or market shock because it will be too late and the market will have moved on.Think about your growth strategy and how you're going to get the revenue up. We are currently seeing a lack of investment in acquisitions (with a few notable exceptions), but the hard market cycle can't last forever and the organic growth opportunities will begin to dwindle.There is a lot of guesswork around what the immediate future holds but you need to live and die by the data that you have. Based on the data, you should know how to move forward.The trends we are seeing play out in global supply chains thus apply to the world of insurance when it comes to cost versus revenue, or just-in-case versus just-in-time. Ultimately, you can't keep shrinking to greatness and companies have got to reinvest. Those that do should find ample opportunity to take market share.​​

By Paul Jardine

Ohalo

​Innovation for innovation's sake can send you down an expensive rabbit hole. Ask yourself: what question are you trying to answer and is the customer at the heart of it? The insurance industry is enjoying some of the best market conditions it has seen in a while, despite increasingly challenging headwinds. In such an environment it can be tempting to make hay while the sun shines and to forget about the future. But now is precisely the time to be thinking strategically about your digital transformation and asking where you want to be in five years' time. Here's why: Once we're back in the depths of a soft market or dealing with the next systemic risk, there simply won't be the bandwidth or the capital. And, if you don't do it now, your competitors definitely will. There is a tendency in the insurance sector to put off innovation, to just benchmark ourselves against our peers and forget why we are doing all of this. We've got to stick our head above the parapet and think not only about the threat of disruption from competitors within the industry but the threat from external players we haven't even thought about.  Widen your lensI remember meeting up with a former colleague who had become the chairman of a major insurer and I asked him what the difference was between being a full-time CFO and being in his plural career. His answer was that previously he thought he had the broadest possible view. The company was benchmarking itself against its peer group, the market and best practice. But in reality, his view was far too narrow. "We weren't spending enough time thinking about the 'What ifs' or the threats we didn't even know about because we were so focused on our business, people, mission and strategy, results and our shareholders," he said. "It's only when you step back, and you've got time to pause and think, that you realise there's a lot of other stuff going on."An example I always used to give was the Finnish Rubber Works, which was established in 1898 to manufacture wellington boots. During presentations, I would go through every stage of the corporate history, then pause and ask the audience, who is the company? It was Nokia, which at the time, was the largest mobile phone company in the world. We all know what happened next. Nokia's incredible decline in just six years because it was blind to the threat from new technology - notably from the iPod/iPhone - and because it had failed to innovate in time. Putting the customer firstDon't delay. Now is the time to sacrifice some margin to maintain your competitive position. But be clear on why you are innovating and what questions you are seeking to answer. First on the list has got to be, how do we offer more value to the customer?We all know that customer expectations are changing. It's no longer just about the product - it's now about the service. Through e-commerce, we are all used to getting what we want in the most efficient way possible. I went on a road trip to Portugal recently and was scratching my head because each country has different legal requirements on what equipment you are required to carry - everything from a spare set of bulbs through to breathalyser kits. I was sitting at the laptop, put a few search terms into Amazon and viola, up came a page full of comprehensive European travel kits - all reasonably priced and next-day delivery.The needs of the customer is one of the guiding principles of the LMG Data Council. We need to have the customer in mind with every discussion and decision we make. Ultimately, our aim is to deliver a world-class customer journey with minimal workarounds, single points of data entry and one single version of the truth. But currently, just 50p in every pound spent on premium is going towards the customer, so there is a long way to go. Be selective There is no need to reinvent the wheel - the technology exists and there are some fantastic insurtechs doing creative things. But be selective. Look outside of the confines of the industry and ask yourself, what does your customer want and expect? The innovators are thinking about how they use their resources more effectively and how they enhance them through the smart use of technology.At Peacce, where I am also an advisor, we are doing some work with clients to generate insights into the prospects who don't buy their products. They went through the journey of getting a quote but didn't buy... why was that? Was it too expensive or did they not feel valued? There's still an awful lot of work to be done around meeting customer expectations.So the technology to achieve our transformation goals is there already. The next step is harnessing it, selecting the right options and enriching the most useful datasets so you can make better decisions that will ultimately lead to great customer outcomes. Crucially, don't wait until the next soft market. By then, you will have been left behind. Or to put it slightly more crudely: If you're not the lead dog pulling the dog sled, your view will always be the same.​