Executive Outlook 2022: Marc Lipman, Lloyd’s Canada

Marc Lipman, President, Lloyd’s Canada and Attorney in Fact in Canada, Lloyd’s of London

As the Canadian economy and society tentatively emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a number of important questions for the insurance industry to consider. None are more important than: Has the industry served our clients appropriately and does the insurance sector remain relevant for our customers? COVID-19 has laid bare our vulnerability as a society to a whole range of systemic risks that can have far-reaching and sustained impacts on all our lives. Our world is faced with more unknowns than ever before. And systemic risks – like climate change, cyberattacks, pandemics and space weather – are more difficult to understand, quantify, and protect against. They can be global in impact, often hitting multiple industries, countries and billions of people simultaneously, with potentially devastating consequences.

Responding to these risks requires international cooperation, as well as collaboration across industries and between the public and private sectors. Insurers have a particularly important role – in terms of promoting prevention, adequate preparation and successful recovery. We must challenge ourselves to find new and better ways to support our customers. We need to simplify our products, make them easier for our customers to understand, and streamline the claims process. Working together with our customers, and other third parties, will be vital.

Crucially, our sector has a unique and critical role to play now, as we face a decisive moment in our fight against climate change – a systemic risk like no other. We have the opportunity and the responsibility to use our expertise to support various industries and entire economies in their transition to a sustainable future. We can do so in three important ways: by directing capital toward climate-positive solutions; by working with governments and investors to provide financial structures to support disaster response; and by innovating with new products and solutions that support the transition to renewable energy.

See all the 2022 Outlooks here.