{"id":1442,"date":"2020-02-10T15:48:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T20:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2020-08-20T00:32:55","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T04:32:55","slug":"insurance-in-davos-world-economic-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/2020\/02\/10\/insurance-in-davos-world-economic-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"What I learned and the 1 big takeaway in Davos at the World Economic Forum 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had the real fortune to head to Davos this year and the World Economic Forum and some of the other forums around blockchain, cryptocurrency, and inclusiveness.\u00a0 \u00a0I decided to go, mostly because this year\u2019s theme \u201cSustainability\u201d wasn\u2019t something I hear regularly discussed in my personal or professional circles.\u00a0 I wanted to see if there were themes being discussed there that we needed to discuss here.\u00a0 Are overseas carriers thinking differently that gives them a competitive advantage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a04a137ed967\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a04a137ed967\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/2020\/02\/10\/insurance-in-davos-world-economic-forum\/#Here_is_what_I_observed\" >Here is what I observed:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/2020\/02\/10\/insurance-in-davos-world-economic-forum\/#Here_is_what_I_learned\" >Here is what I learned:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/2020\/02\/10\/insurance-in-davos-world-economic-forum\/#The_Biggest_Lesson_I_Learned\" >The Biggest Lesson I Learned<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Here_is_what_I_observed\"><\/span>Here is what I observed:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There were only 3 carriers (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.generali.com\/info\/discovering-generali\/all\/2020\/Generali-Group-at-Davos-2020\">Generali<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zurich.com\/en\/knowledge\/industry-knowledge-platforms\/world-economic-forum\">Zurich<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hanwha.com\/en\/about_hanwha\/hanwha_identity\/energy_for_life_initiatives.html\">Hanwa<\/a>) and 1 broker (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmc.com\/davos-briefing-book.html#ThoughtsfromtheWorldEconomicForum\">Marsh<\/a>) who had a public presence in Davos.\u00a0\u00a0 Most were front and center around Asset Management and Hanwa was there more because they are a large Korean conglomerate.\u00a0 There were only a few non-US banks present and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackrock.com\/institutions\/en-us\/insights\/markets\/bii-davos-brief\">Blackrock<\/a>.\u00a0 The biggest presence were technology and tech provider firms like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcltech.com\/world-economic-forum\">HCL<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/digitaldirections.com\/tcs-davos-live-blog-2020\/\">TCS<\/a>.<\/li><li>Being at Davos is like any other conference or event.\u00a0 The company attends if it believes attendance is good for their business and if their clients will be there.\u00a0 Since Davos is a place for the ultra-high net worth (Bloomberg reported that over 100 billionaires were there) financial services firms are there to entertain their \u2018private clients.\u2019\u00a0 There are far more press and company support staff attendees than actual members of the WEF.<\/li><li>Technology that pushes the frontier has a place in Davos.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canna-tech.co\/davos\/\">Cannabis tech<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/bef.latoken.com\/davos2020\">cryptocurrency\/blockchain<\/a>, anti-surveillance, <a href=\"https:\/\/tradeshift.com\/davos\/\">Tradeshift<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.palantir.com\/\">Palantir<\/a> to name a few.\u00a0 The UN-Forum, the Ukraine, Russia, and Polish houses, plus others like the <a href=\"https:\/\/misk.org.sa\/en\/\">Misk Foundation<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/iafsc.org\/\">Interfaith Alliance<\/a> round out the external meetings and activities that perhaps reflect the real hope for society. \u00a0 These side meetings are attended by a mix of academics, passionate people, and entrepreneurs trying to change the world or hawk their latest investments.\u00a0 The conversations focus on how to solve problems and building the relationships to start to tackle the issues.<\/li><li>I met two insurtechs: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cybcube.com\/\">Cybercube<\/a> (who provide cyber risk analytics), and <a href=\"https:\/\/vouchforme.co\/\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Vouch for Me (who are working on a unique approach to lowering the cost of auto insurance)<\/a><\/li><li>A <strong>Quantum<\/strong> computer looks nothing like any computer we currently use. The picture is of me with a real IBM quantum computer.  <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"267\" data-src=\"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/KH_Quantum_small.jpg\" alt=\"Quantum computing will impact insurance and insurtechs.  Davos 2020\" class=\"wp-image-1445 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 200\/267;\" \/><figcaption>With an IBM Quantum Computer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Here_is_what_I_learned\"><\/span>Here is what I learned:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To answer my\nquestion \u2014 are there things that overseas carriers are doing that will give them\na competitive advantage?\u00a0 <strong>Maybe<\/strong>,\nbut it most likely won\u2019t come out of attending the main political stage at Davos.\u00a0 So, what did I learn?\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There are some amazing people and in Davos, it\u2019s easy to meet them and learn from those interactions.\u00a0 I found out that <strong>Chuck Robbins<\/strong> (The Cisco CEO) and I have an Atlanta connection in common.\u00a0 They are taking amazing steps to develop innovative internship programs and work to ensure diversity and equality in pay and opportunities across their global footprint.  <strong>Dina Powell<\/strong> from Goldman Sachs talked about the importance of mentoring. She pointed out that even a person first starting out in their career can mentor!<\/li><li>The cellist, YoYo Ma is a true world statesman.\u00a0 He even brought in a discussion of <strong>metrics<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cMusic isn\u2019t a competition for metrics.\u00a0 We haven\u2019t developed the capacity to measure what we just experienced (listening to him perform).\u00a0 He also shared how important is to have \u201cscouts\u201d on the edge of society.\u00a0 Within Insurance, this has become synonymous with having staff devoted to tracking \u201cInsurtechs.\u201d<\/li><li>The monarchy in Dubai are putting their resources to ensure they become a powerhouse outside of Oil.\u00a0 For example, they have created a university devoted to training students in AI.<\/li><li>There is an extreme sports athlete, <a href=\"https:\/\/willgadd.com\/\">Will Gadd<\/a>, (a fellow Calgarian) who tackles his endeavors exactly how an insurance carrier should look at risks, underwriting, new opportunities, and even solving challenges.\u00a0 This is so poignant especially in today\u2019s Insurtech hyped world.\u00a0 He calls it the \u201c<strong>Positive Power of Negative Thinking<\/strong>\u201d and in short it involves the following:<ul><li>Use terror to your advantage to think thru the problem<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Listen to your fear and break things down into their underlying components \u00a0<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><strong>Freedom<\/strong> comes from recognizing the hazards and moving forward\/mitigating the risks<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Everyone on the <strong>team<\/strong> must be alert and look out for each other and speak up if they see something that seems out of the ordinary<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" data-src=\"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Hertz_Gad.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1444 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 200\/150;\" \/><figcaption>With Will Gadd<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Biggest_Lesson_I_Learned\"><\/span>The Biggest Lesson I Learned<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For me, one\nthing I learned is that you can be a top 10 global insurance company with over\n$70B in premiums and still have the <strong>heart<\/strong> of an American regional\ncarrier.\u00a0 I heard Gabriele Galateri di\nGenola, the Chairman, and Philippe Donnet, CEO of <strong>Generali<\/strong> talk about\nthe fact that they have begun to adopt the ESG sustainability goals.\u00a0 They decided to stop underwriting coal\nproduction and use.\u00a0 However, they also\nrealize that they can\u2019t arbitrarily pull out of certain markets.\u00a0 Why? because of the social and economic\nimpact it will have.\u00a0 They have a\nresponsibility to their communities that transcends dollars.\u00a0 How can they then integrate their new\ncommitment to sustainability?\u00a0 By working\nwith the local industries to help them move off coal and to more sustainable\nenergy solutions.\u00a0 That is the true\nessence of what it means to be an insurance carrier.\u00a0 You provide a safety net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In closing,\nI think Jack Ma, founder of <strong>Alibaba<\/strong>, sums up the future of insurance so\nwell from his presentation at Davos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cIn business, never worry about competition, never worry about the pressure. If you worry about pressure, don\u2019t be a businessman \u2026 If you create value, there is opportunity. Today the whole world worries. That means there is great opportunity.\u201d<\/p><cite>Jack Ma, Alibaba<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s to\ncreating great value together!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"card-text\">I had the real fortune to head to Davos this year and the World Economic Forum and some of the other forums around blockchain, cryptocurrency, and inclusiveness.\u00a0 \u00a0I decided to go, mostly because this year\u2019s theme \u201cSustainability\u201d wasn\u2019t something I hear regularly discussed in my personal or professional circles.\u00a0 I wanted to see if there [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p class=\"m-0\"><a class=\"btn btn-outline-secondary btn-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/2020\/02\/10\/insurance-in-davos-world-economic-forum\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","content-type":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,30,43,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-legacy-insurance-carrier","category-service","category-smaller-insurance-carriers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insurtechadvisors.com\/old\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}