At this fall’s RMI MBA Advisory Board meeting, students were given the responsibility and opportunity to lead discussion on topics such as the future of insurance and emerging risks. As a part of our preparation, we teamed up with advisory board members to gather information from their perspective and to gauge market trends. We also interacted with chief information systems officers, brokers, insurers, and cyber network experts to access each perspective, which helped us formulate our thoughts and lead the discussion effectively.
Perceiving that the future of insurance rests somewhat on the willingness of consumers to share personal information, the discussion started with the questions “How can we make people more comfortable in sharing their data?” and “Why are people more comfortable in sharing their data with Facebook and Instagram but not with their insurers?” These questions sparked a lively discussion that touched upon topics such as customer behavior, regulatory impacts, and insurance industry reputation with implications to society. We agreed that the future will be interesting as we observe how the industry responds by pushing customer’s comfortableness to share data.
The topic of information sharing transitioned naturally into another growing concern of (and opportunity for) the industry: cyber risk. As insurers seek greater information sharing by customers, the obligation to ensure data security rises. In preparing for the advisory board meeting, we talked with experts who shared their knowledge about cyber market trends, cyber risk quantification, and how insurance programs can be structured to mitigate cyber exposure.
Overall, it was an incredible opportunity for me to hear different perspectives of the upcoming challenges from the board members representing the insurance marketplace. This session further underscored both the importance of being open to divergent views and the importance of networking, which are both indispensable tools to one’s success.
Having an advisory board that is deeply committed to preparing the next generation of risk professionals is truly remarkable. Their generosity of time and knowledge is beyond measure.
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