Geneva Association Summit 50

The major risks facing society today bear close resemblance to those we faced in 1973, the year The Geneva Association was founded: from geopolitical uncertainty to rising energy costs, inflation and cost-of-living crises. Major trends like technology and demographic shifts have catalysed new risks. Further shifts are on the horizon. 

At Geneva Association Summit 50 we’ll project ourselves into the future, tackling issues like the future of health and what insurers will look like in 2050, with insight from Christian Mumenthaler, Chairman of The Geneva Association and CEO of Swiss Re, and Antonio Huertas Mejías, CEO and Chairman of MAPFRE and Geneva Association Board member. The event will also include a special award ceremony to announce the winner of our 2023 Women in Insurance Award.

Join us for this anniversary event as we celebrate The Geneva Association’s 50-year milestone!

Tuesday, 28 November – Networking lunch, followed by a half day of sessions and dinner at Terrasse Restaurant in the heart of Zurich 
Wednesday, 29 November – Full day of sessions and farewell drinks

Click here to view the full programme and speaker lineup.

Sessions: Tuesday, 28 November – Wednesday, 29 November 2023

Keynote address: “Insuring the Future, Safeguarding the Planet”
 

Panel 1: The Future of Health

The history of health systems globally is a remarkable story of building human capital. Today a multitude of factors are putting those very systems under stress. We are faced with the growing burdens of disease, climate change and fast technological advancement, throwing up a myriad of existential, ethical and financial considerations. We are now challenged to envision health much differently than our predecessors and make tough decisions; otherwise, we risk undoing the human capital we have built since the industrial revolution. What should the future of health look like? What does this mean for insurers? This expert panel will tackle these questions.

Confirmed speakers: 

Fireside chat

Interactive sessions 

• Anticipating the future risk landscape – led by Vincent Defour, CEO & Co-founder, Trensition, and Kai-Uwe Schanz, Head of Research & Foresight, The Geneva Association
• Innovation in insurance – led by Cyril Bouquet, Professor of Strategy & Innovation, IMD Business School, and Dennis Noordhoek, Director Public Policy & Regulation
• Role of insurers in the climate transition – led by Maryam Golnaraghi, Director Climate Change & Environment, The Geneva Association

Panel 2: What Will Insurers Look Like in 2050?

Societal, technological and regulatory shifts are set to transform insurance companies over the next 25 years, requiring a complete rethink of business models and skills. How advanced will insurers be by 2050 when it comes to artificial intelligence? To what extent will they reorient to focus on prevention? Will insurers sufficiently lean into collaborations with ecosystem partners outside the insurance space? Will they be able to attract the right talent? In this panel, insurance CEOs will gaze into their crystal ball and reveal how they see the future unfolding for the industry. 

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Special remarks

Panel 3: Insurers and the Transition to a Resilient and Decarbonised Economy

The global decarbonisation which is urgently needed over the next decades requires the unprecedented, large-scale deployment of new technologies. What will be the role of re/insurers? This session will take a deep dive into how they, as both risk managers and investors, can contribute to the financing, market adoption and wide-scale deployment of innovation. As the world invests in new green infrastructure, the session will explore the need to factor in physical climate risks from an early stage.

Confirmed speakers:

Panel 4: Harnessing Technology to Insure More People

Insurtech, including digital and other types of new technologies, carries the potential to insure more people and contribute to societal resilience and welfare more broadly. On the supply side, insurtech improves risk assessment, operational efficiency, and as a result, the availability of insurance. On the demand side, insurtech improves the affordability, accessibility, and attractiveness of insurance products and is used to manage NatCat, agriculture, and health risks, among others. With many lessons learned, this panel will discuss what insurtech should do, can do and cannot do to promote inclusive insurance, ranging from microinsurance targeting low-income populations to addressing protection gaps for the middle class.

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Panel 5: Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure: What role for cyber insurance?

Critical infrastructure (CI) sectors, such as healthcare, transportation and digital services, are increasingly the targets of cyberattacks. Though cyber intrusions have so far been largely localised and contained, they have the potential to cause far more damage, including bodily injury and loss of life. This is especially the case in light of heightened geopolitical tensions and a possible escalation in cyber warfare. In the face of increasingly hostile cyber threats, how can governments, re/insurers and CI providers themselves increase the CI sector’s resilience and better prevent and manage the associated risks?

Confirmed speakers:

Conference moderation by Adrita Bhattacharya-Craven, Director Health & Ageing, and Darren Pain, Director Cyber & Evolving Liability, of The Geneva Association.