Skip to main content

Global Risks Report Podcast: European Conversations

The future of insurers

A conversation between Laurent Somon, Structured Solutions Broker at Guy Carpenter and Tanguy Touffut, the CEO and Co-founder of Descartes Underwriting.
Close up of hands of business people during a meeting

How the changing risk landscape will affect premiums and coverage in the coming years

A conversation between Laurent Somon, Structured Solutions Broker at Guy Carpenter and Tanguy Touffut, the CEO and Co-founder of Descartes Underwriting.

The duo begin by giving an overview of what parametric insurance is and how it how it can be used, especially in relation to a natural disaster such as a wildfire. Tanguy goes on to explain the benefits of parametric insurance, one of which is the quick turnaround time with some claims being handled in a few hours or days compared to the average of 550 days it takes in some corporate segments.

Recent problems for insurers and reinsurers of natural catastrophes in the face of the climate crisis was discussed and Tanguy explained how better modelling could affect the sector going forward, “most insurers still use models that rely entirely on past events to predict the probability of future natural catastrophes, despite the application of detrending methods to collect the data the approach is clearly not sufficient to assess the true risk that insurers are exposed to. We need to use physics to model the underlying phenomenon and understand what risk we may face today and in the future. For instance, to better understand wildfire risk, you need to look at soil moisture, windshear and temperature in order to anticipate potential events that have not yet occurred.”

How technology could be used more generally in the insurance industry in the future through improved understanding of data science and increasingly powerful and reliable artificial intelligence was another topic the pair delved into. They finish off by talking about the protection gap and how those most vulnerable are often underinsured and what can and is being done to combat this problem.

About our speakers

Carolina Klint is Marsh McLennan Chief Commercial Officer for Europe and Global Risks Report spokesperson. She is responsible for delivering services and solutions to Marsh’s largest national and multinational clients. Carolina has more than 20 years of international and leadership experience.

Laurent Somon is Structured Solutions Broker at Guy Carpenter with over 10 years’ experience in insurance and pensions solutions in Europe and America.  

Tanguy Touffut is the CEO and Co-founder of Descartes Underwriting. Tanguy worked for global operators in the insurance and advisor markets for over 15 years before co-founding Descartes Underwriting in 2019.

Related insights