Against a backdrop of global polycrisis, the re/insurance sector must push the boundaries of traditional risk-taking, grow capacity and put innovation first, as it seeks to support clients in maintaining resilience and stability.

This was the key message from Guy Carpenter’s Baden-Baden Reinsurance Symposium, a gathering of senior executives from across the sector, where speakers included Laurent Rousseau, chief executive officer, EMEA and global capital solutions at Guy Carpenter; Clemens Jungsthöfel, chief executive officer of Hannover Re; Amy Barnes, global head of energy and power at Marsh; and Penny Seach, group chief underwriting officer at Zurich Insurance.

Highlighting the role of re/insurance in providing strategic guidance in an increasingly unpredictable environment, the group pointed to rising geoeconomic tensions, climate pressures, supply chain rewiring and systemic uncertainties as the headline factors reshaping the risk landscape.

Rousseau said: “For the re/insurance industry, this is a moment to step up, to create more risk transfer capacity, bring better solutions, and push the traditional boundaries of risk taking.”

Seach added: “Rising geoeconomic fracturing creates a backdrop of more serious and less predictable global risks, and as insurers, we have front row seats to this. But we can’t shy away from risk; it is at the very heart of what we do.”

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