International collaboration and provision can ensure better outcomes

The insurance industry needs to approach the opportunities and challenges facing the segment from different perspectives, as well as different responsibilities and priorities.

And, according to International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Secretary General Gerry Cross, in his welcome remarks, opportunities and challenges the industry faces “have always had a significant international dimension”.

“Insurance is, the end of the day, a business of risk diversification,” said Mr Cross.

“And now that the world is more interconnected than ever before, and with the risk landscape evolving significantly, the cross-border dimension is more important than ever.”

He said, “And this makes the work of the IAIS in building on recent successes also more important than ever.”

This, Mr Cross said, contributed to the theme of this year’s conference, ‘Towards better outcomes: Insurance in the age of interconnected risks’.

“It is important to maintain an enhanced focus on the real-world outcomes of well-regulated, well-functioning insurance markets, that can deliver with this perspective across all of our different roles in the ecosystem,” he said.

“We can support that ecosystem in better meeting the financial needs and wellbeing of citizens across border communities.”

Achieving these outcomes requires contributions from across insurance community, supervisors, industry and other stakeholders, he added.

Collaboration can address interconnected risks

In his opening remarks, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, also highlighted that risks are now “interconnected as never before”.

“Geopolitical shifts ripple through supply chains, financial markets change and weather-related risks are intensifying,” Mr Hui said.

“AI is also transforming health insurance underwriting, prices and customer service, while ageing populations are reshaping demand for protection and health.”

All these risks, he continued, cannot be met by one provider, market or industry alone. In fact, according to Mr Hui, it leads to the value of international collaboration and the “shared understanding of emerging risks”.

Focussing on better outcomes

In his keynote speech, IAIS Executive Committee Chair Miyoshi Toshiyuki called better outcomes “what international insurance provision is for”.

To that end, according to Mr Miyoshi, the industry has built infrastructure, such as comprehensive international frameworks for supervision of active insurance groups around the world, educational institutes and guidelines for the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks.

But all these international standards, Mr Miyoshi said, “are only valuable when they are implemented to help deliver the intended outcomes”.

“Common standards support confidence in insurance activities that increasingly extend across borders,” he said.

“They provide a shared basis for supervisory cooperation and help supervisors understand and address risks.”

Mr Miyoshi also said, “Better outcomes have other equally important strategies within individual jurisdictions. International standards should support regulatory and supervisory frameworks that work for the people and the communities they serve.”

For example, he stressed that for households holding insurance policies, “this means being able to have confidence in the protection they purchase and being treated fairly”. On the other hand, businesses look for access to insurance “that enables them to manage risks and pursue opportunities”.

“And for the broader economy, it means an insurance sector that contributes to resilience and sustainable economic growth,” said Mr Miyoshi.

The IAIS Annual Conference, with the theme ‘Towards better outcomes: Insurance in the age of interconnected risks’, is running from 12 to 13 November 2026, in Hong Kong SAR.

Source: www.asiainsurancereview.com