Insurers have long been in the business of helping customers manage risks in an uncertain world. In recent years, they have seen plenty of volatility, including sharp rises in inflation and high interest rates, supply chain disruptions and escalating military conflicts. Yet overall, the global insurance industry has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with many insurers recording solid financial performances in 2024 amid subdued global GDP growth. But some recent gains have been driven by temporary factors like higher-than-normal premium increases, threatening to render insurance unaffordable to vulnerable individuals and communities.
The crucial question is how quickly and creatively can insurers embrace change, moving beyond the industry’s traditional risk-aversion. Today’s leaders need to look beyond the next quarter to envisage new ways of operating, new products and new markets. In the coming years, the world will need to build resilience—exactly what insurers are meant to deliver. How will more frequent extreme weather events impact risk models and pricing? How will rapidly advancing technologies like artificial intelligence and a staggering amount of data enable new product innovations and operational efficiencies? What should insurers do to address the growing global protection gap?
The answers will reshape insurance firms in the coming years. This Economist Impact report, sponsored by SAS, explores how leaders perceive their industry in a time of growing risk—and opportunity—via a survey of more than 500 insurance executives in September and October 2024.
