Thea Utoft Høj Jensen, Director General of Insurance Europe, provided the keynote address, underscoring the substantial influence of the insurance industry in Europe, managing assets worth €9 trillion, with about 70% invested in European stocks and bonds. Given their significant role as Europe’s largest institutional investors, insurers are uniquely positioned to promote environmental sustainability and digital transformation. However, Jensen emphasised the critical role of regulation, advocating for a balanced approach: “We must focus on making regulation smarter and more proportionate, ensuring that it protects policyholders as well as enable insurers to operate efficiently and innovate for the future.”
Julie Dubuisson, General Manager at Convex Europe, highlighted another transformative element reshaping the insurance landscape: AI. Over the past few years, its rapid adoption has profoundly impacted the sector. Dubuisson explained, “It intervenes in managing the enormous amount of data we must process, plays an important role in fraud detection, allows process automation, and offers a better customer experience.”
Climate change is also driving significant shifts within the industry. Maria Mateo, CEO of Luxembourg-based InsurTech firm Ibisa, and Lize-Mari Barnes, CEO of Swiss Re Luxembourg and Global P&C Re CFO, examined how insurers are adapting their strategies. Barnes pointed to parametric insurance products as increasingly crucial, complementing traditional coverage to ensure quicker claim settlements. She also introduced catastrophe bonds (CAT Bonds) as innovative financial instruments that transfer climate-related risks to capital markets. Furthermore, Barnes highlighted a proactive shift among insurers towards risk prevention, stating: “Most common is really risk engineering consultancy services that are offered by many insurance companies to reduce risk and increase resilience.”
The growing integration of private assets, in particular private equity, within life insurance products was also discussed in a panel featuring Christine Theodorovics (CEO of Baloise Luxembourg), Alexandre Draznieks (CEO of Lux Cardiff Vie), and Gilles Dusemon (Partner at Arendt). The speakers attributed this trend to the need for greater asset diversification, Luxembourg’s advantageous regulatory framework, and Europe’s increasing appetite for private investments.
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