Insurance industry needs better public relations, says global boss of Willis
Speaking at InsiderScope (organised by The Insurance Insider) in London earlier today, Willis chief executive Joe Plumeri spoke passionately about the need for better public relations for the insurance industry if it was to earn the respect of politicians and the public – something that bankers, he said, had failed to achieve given the debacle that’s engulfed the banking sector. A PR nightmare of its own making. And who could dare disagree?
Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO, Willis spoke at the InsiderScope event earlier today
Plumeri is a high-octane CEO with personality to match – something magical in an industry that has a reputation for breeding naturally cautious and self-effacing individuals who’d rather have their finger nails pulled than speak to the media.
The Plumeri style isn’t for the faint hearted. He’ll call a spade a spade. Not only that, he’ll sell you the spade and insure you against all personal risks. He’s my kinda guy!
What grabbed the audience by the throat was Plumeri’s ambition. And I don’t mean financial. Ambition in terms of reputation that the insurance industry deserved. He was deeply motivational. Not something that the insurance fraternity are used to. He was brilliant. He was real.
He said that the unprecedented challenges facing the global economy should be embraced by the insurance sector. A sector that had repeatedly shown its resilience for more than 100 years.
“My contention is that the golden age of insurance is upon us. It’s going to be a bigger golden age now because what happened in the world has never happened before,” he observed.
The tough talking New Jersey born entrpreneur highlighted the rising frequency and severity of catastrophic events, the once in a lifetime meltdown of financial markets, the threat of terrorism and the political upheaval across north Africa and the Middle East as recent examples of a world in turmoil.
He also highlighted the longer-term trends that could elevate the risk faced by governments and businesses, including an ageing population, growing frustration with the economic and political establishment and competition over energy resources.
He’s no sentimentalist. Rather than dwell on the relative stability of the previous 50 years, Plumeri exuded breath-taking optimism when looking to the future. That sets him apart from all the doom-sayers who have nothing to offer but negative commentary about the future of the insurance industry.
It was a masterclass in having the balls to speak what you really think. If this was the US, I’m confident that if Plumeri’s ambitions pointed in the direction of politics, he’d make an inspirational Senator.
“All the above represent long-term risks, requiring long-term solutions and increased need for insurance and risk management solutions,” he explained.
With such challenges ahead for the global economy, Plumeri urged the insurance industry to be the world’s safe harbour. Now that was ambition. It was about being bold.
“We should own resilience as an industry,” he said. And at that point I was transported back to 2004 where I was working for the Defence Academy of the UK and responsible for launching the UK’s first national resilience centre.
The threats facing us as a country or as an industry can be boiled down into the following components:
- Terrorism
- WMD proliferation
- Resurgent militant Islam
- Nationalistic and ethnic clashes
- Rejection of Western values
- Economic competition
- Changing demographics
- Failed states
- Technology acceleration
- Natural disasters (“Acts of God”)
- Environmental risks
- Legislation and regulation
- International organised crime
- Dwindling resources
- Global warming
Plumeri’s stall was laid out. The insurance industry more than any other should be the ‘thought leader’ of the future.
“We focus on extreme events more than anyone else, which makes us more resilient than anybody else. Banks don’t do that, they simply do transactions. There is no other industry in the world that has the insight into business that helps them be resilient in the way that we do.”
Wow. He urged us to go home and tell our kids. And our grand kids (well, I would if we had them).
Bedtime will never be the same.
