Reinsurance broker Aon has launched a report examining growth prospects and future opportunities for London’s insurance market.
Within the report, Lloyd’s Chief Executive Officer John Neal discussed the need to close the protection gap by preparing for future systemic risks.
Neal commented: “Insurance is at the heart of global economies, and as these economies have grown and developed, so too has the role of insurance within them.
“However, insurance cover has never been universal, and the uptake of insurance remains inconsistent across geographies and sectors.
“This underinsurance creates a glaring ‘protection gap’, and the value of many of the world’s assets – personal, commercial, and cultural – are not covered for damage caused by unforeseen events,” he continued.
Neal noted that before the pandemic, these protection gaps were an area of concern across the sector and beyond, adding that the industry has seen the distress a lack of protection can lead to, especially when companies and societies need its support the most.
“As such, it is something Lloyd’s … has sought to demystify and play an active role in closing for many years, publishing our first report on protection gaps back in 2012, and collaborating with partners to build on those insights and find solutions,” he said.
When discussing how to best protect society from future systemic risks, he discussed that fostering new conversations and collaborations across customers, insurance brokers, syndicates, companies, and governments will be crucial to unlocking these challenges.
Neal also noted the importance of working together to support the global recovery by using risk expertise to close the protection gap, driving greater social and economic resilience into the future.
“Reducing underinsurance will require ongoing collaboration, expertise and enthusiasm, with cross-industry partnerships playing a foundational role in accelerating progress.
“Our purpose at Lloyd’s is sharing risk to create a braver world, and we will continue to use our unique position in society to bring together the insurance industry, governments, and communities to share risk, close protection gaps and create a sustainable future together.”
