2024 Executive Outlook | Abraham Baboujian, RRJ Insurance Group

Abraham Baboujian, president/co-CEO, RRJ Insurance Group

2024 will see a sense of calm and maturity in our attempts to come to grips with three issues dominating the P&C landscape — cyber, digital/technology transformation, and climate change.

Cyber will continue to make a lot of noise, but it will be less alarming due to increased awareness, continued education, risk mitigation through better baseline levels of cyber security, and a wider range of insurance solutions. In fact, global cyber insurance is projected to grow from an estimated $12-billion market to $27 billion over the next three years and will therefore remain on our priority lists for the foreseeable future. The more we talk about it, the more we educate, inform, and solve problems regarding this nascent line.

Technology integration will continue to drive innovation, with AI and machine learning algorithms used for underwriting and claims handling, thereby improving risk assessment, fraud detection, and more economical claims settlements. This will yield better customer experience and cost management. I believe this issue will rightfully gain more prominence in the P&C dialogue.

Climate change impact has been growing, and will continue to grow, in frequency and severity. Multi-channel initiatives will be required to tackle and minimize its consequences. Public and private sector initiatives will be paramount in tackling this.

We need to address emerging issues and maintain our focus of looking after the overall insurance needs of consumers and businesses. As we evolve and adapt with the help of information and increased capacity, we will see a more competitive and innovative market with a necessary focus on profitability. The insurance industry’s stewardship needs to improve. We must educate, inform, and simultaneously find solutions through a coherent and “noise-free” strategy, as well as stable, balanced and focused leadership.

To prepare for 2024, we need to understand the impact and consequences of inflation and high interest rates on various segments and demographics, and tailor insurance solutions accordingly. All the while, we must remain aware of geopolitical issues and the impact of global instability, and the resulting uncertainty on economies and the potential supply chain issues.

The industry must encourage, motivate, and perhaps even mandate the pursuit of education beyond the regulatory expectations; extoll the benefits of curiosity and feed it; illustrate the advantages of regulatory accommodations and flexibility given the fast pace of change.