Lockton’s James Sees Bigger Role for Brokers as Risk Climate Worsens

The current global risk environment is a time to “analyze operations and take the tough decisions necessary to ensure survival in any downturn,” Julian James, a senior executive with global insurance broker Lockton, told an international audience of insurance industry leaders in Taiwan.

However, James stressed, although the insurance industry is not immune from the contagions infecting the global economic system, now is an opportunity for insurance brokers and their partners to thrive.

James is chief executive officer of Lockton International. He was speaking at the 44th annual seminar of the International Insurance Society in Taiwan.

“To put it mildly, the global hierarchy is changing, almost as we speak, with rapid growth occurring now in the economies of China, India, Russia, Brazil and the Middle East. These changes present a new and emerging customer base. The intelligence of our approach as we enter these markets will increasingly determine our future success as traditional markets plateaux,” he said.

Citing hurricane activity from 2005, the recent Sichuan province earthquake and the latest disaster scenarios from Lloyd’s, James called the global risk environment “more severe than ever.”

He cited the tragic event of the Sichuan province earthquake, which will bring economic losses possibly exceeding $60 billion.

He said that leaders in the world of risk should learn from the recent G8 Summit. “The lesson is that we are far less constrained than the political leaders. I suspect that they are still very much in ‘dealing with problems’ mode at the moment. My point is that we can and must do much more than this,” James said.

Source: Lockton