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PROFESSIONAL & FINANCIAL RISKS
Watch your step: the business governance and cyber crossover
With data vulnerability an omnipresent threat and accountability shifting to board level, awareness of how cyber and D&O insurance can intersect is critically important.
Next steps to growth
Raising capital or going public requires insurance support, but the market is limited and demands skilled negotiation.
Get your story straight
Regulatory scrutiny and class action activity has insurers unsettled. Taking the time to formulate a strategy to represent your risk positively to insurers is now imperative for companies seeking professional indemnity and D&O insurance.
Chasing unicorns
New entrants to the market are challenging traditional thinking about insurance, but also present exciting opportunities for those bold − and agile − enough to respond in kind.
What price intergrity of governance?
The Federal Government’s BEAR legislation has provoked outcry from the finance sector over lack of adequate consultation and incited concerns about its broader implications for Australian business in general.
Soaring sentiments and safe harbours
This year is proving to be an interesting one for the D&O market. The market is in distress but directors are optimistic about business conditions, and insolvency law reform is back on the government’s agenda
CONSTRUCTION
Put your house in order
A combination of major and attritional losses and market withdrawals has reshaped the Australian and global construction insurance market so there is less tolerance for perceived risk across all sectors and businesses must be meticulous in detailing their exposures.
Shaper focus on quality
An infrastructure boom on Australia’s east coast is causing insurers to question if there are sufficient skills to go around on some types of projects.
Optimism grows but risks persist
Construction insurance continues to be a key focus of growth for insurers, with an increase in the development of public infrastructure and the re-building of weather ravaged areas of Australia.
CYBER
Rebooting cyber security
As legislation at home and abroad continues to develop, it is key that all businesses understand the cyber exposures they face and how best to mitigate against the threat of breaches that could be costly from both a financial and reputational perspective.
The tangled web
Cyber security breaches have caused major disruption to thosands of businesses and millions of consumers in 2017. Here we outline the fallout from some of the year's biggest cyber attacks.
Cyber insurance and the year of ransomware
2017 has been a remarkable year for cyber security breaches and even if Australia has been affected comparatively lightly to the rest of the world, there has been sufficient activity to ensure alarm bells continue to sound in boardrooms across the nation.
PROPERTY
Using data to build trust
High-hazard risks looking for ISR cover are, perhaps, the most difficult market in the insurance industry at the moment. Hard-to-place property risks are facing an uphill battle when it comes to premium pricing and placing cover.
Reality bites
After a prolonged period of major losses attributable to extreme weather events, the Australian property insurance market is showing signs of biting back after many years of underpricing.
Shifting appetities
The market continues to harden and insurer risk appetite is changing. We are seeing increased scrutiny around risk exposure with more questions being asked by insurers at renewal.
ENERGY
Powering the renewables boom
With 50 large-scale renewable projects either under construction or about to commence, Australia is on course to easily achieve the Federal Government’s 2020 Renewable Energy Target.
Hold fast under market pressure
Amid a flurry of strategic reshuffling in the energy sector and upward pressure on premiums, insurance brokers need clear understanding of their clients and market forces.
Instability calls for agile response
A widening gap between the value of insurance cover and claims being made under hardening conditions is raising the stakes on brokering demands in this rapidly shifting sector.
Keeping the lights on
It’s a challenging time for the energy sector, and concerns about reliability continue to dominate public discourse. Increased investment in renewable generation, battery storage and other technologies suggests a paradigm shift in the energy industry has well and truly occurred – but will it be enough to keep the lights on?
MARINE
Rising tide
Following one of the longest soft markets in memory, the marine insurance market is hardening across both hull and cargo lines.
The calm before the storm
The marine sector is currently enjoying a current period of relative calm, but a potential storm of uncertainty is on the way with regulatory reform either looking likely to be passed in 2018 or already scheduled to come into effect.
SPORT
Level the playing field
With changing weather conditions, funding issues and overuse, our turf has never been more under threat and player safety is beginning to be compromised.
Playing catch-up on concussion risks
As data-driven industries, sport and insurance are coming to terms with their own grey area: concussion injuries.
TRANSPORT
Running on empty
It is no secret that the transport industry faces a skilled driver shortage which is reaching crisis stage in the trucking sector.
Going places?
With the sector benefitting from the infrastructure and construction booms and the needs of a growing population, transport operators have reason to feel positive.
FOOD PRODUCTION
Packaging your risk
‘Prevention is better than cure’ may be an old adage, but it is certainly true in the food production industry.
Food for thought
The food production sector has been heavily featured across mainstream media over recent months, placing the industry’s unique risk exposures front and centre.
GENERAL LIABILITY
Beware the lone wolf
Two hot topics in the news recently have wide-reaching implications for the general liability markets: ‘lone wolf’ attacks and flammable building cladding.
A changing playing field
General liability insurers are in a position of opportunity with changing market conditions. The challenge is to anticipate consumer demand and respond with more creative targeted products and services.
INSOLVENCY
Boom or bust?
Insolvency levels in Australia remain high, and a recent increase in the level of complexity of appointments is creating a challenging environment for insolvency practitioners − one which is not without its own set of risks.
Protection against non-payment
The construction industry continues to be hardest hit by insolvencies in 2017, while increased competition in the agri-export sector is stimulating a rise in open account transactions, leaving more businesses at risk of non-payment.
AVIATION
High risk operation won't fly with insurers
The Australian aviation insurance space has undergone a transformation in recent years, with reduced aviation insurance supply giving way to risk selectivity.
CLAIMS
Claims in a hardening market
Navigating the claims process always has associated challenges
and these are exacerbated by the hardening insurance market. This makes boardroom awareness of how broker claims teams respond increasingly relevant.
HIGHER EDUCATION
University challenge - sustaining excellence
Australian universities must adapt their business models if they are to survive, and the pace of change is highlighting new risk exposures.
MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
Do adjust your set
The entertainment industry continues its digitally driven metamorphosis, while the insurance market for the risks involved demands clearer definitions.
MINING
Green shoots of recovery
A combination of major and attritional losses and market withdrawals has reshaped the Australian and global construction insurance market so there is less tolerance for perceived risk across all sectors and businesses must be meticulous in detailing their exposures.
POLITICAL RISK
Playing the long game
Sudden changes driven by political factors in foreign jurisdictions have the ability to cause severe disruption and uncertainty for multinational business involved in cross-border investments.
REPUTATIONAL RISK
Putting a price on reputation
Major brands suffering reputational damage is big news. What comparatively few Australian businesses realise, though, is that consequential loss of revenue due to such incidents is an insurable risk, and one that is becoming increasingly accessible.
REINSURANCE
Availability of capital ≠ greater profit
While appetite for purchasing reinsurance risk is at record levels, profitability for insurers will be a challenge − in some sectors more than others.
SURETY BONDS
The great enabler
Surety bonds provide the ability for businesses to free up valuable working capital to achieve the next phase of their expansion, growth or acquisition journey.
TERROR RISK
Playing for the worst-case scenario
With incidents of terrorism rising across the globe, Australian events and venue operator businesses are increasingly seeking assurances that their insurance cover will respond in the unlikely event of an act of terror on home soil.
WORKPLACE RISK
Impacts of proposed legislative changes
The bar on corporate accountability is being raised and organisations need to meet the challenge proactively by putting measures in place that manage risk and mitigate exposure in situ as well as on paper.