- Editor's note: Christian was appointed CEO of Athora Deutschland in June 2018. At the time of this interview, he was at Axa.
Christian Thimann, head of group regulation and sustainability at Axa has been a fierce critic of the International Association of Insurance Supervisor's (IAIS) timetable and policy agenda. Designating Axa, among others, as a global systemically important insurer (G-Sii) misses the point when it comes to systemic risk, he has argued.
With an activities based approach now being favoured by regulators, and the non-traditional non-insurance (NTNI) approach for higher loss absorbency requirements having been scrapped, his criticisms have clearly been taken on by regulators. As macro-prudential policy is further developed in Europe and globally, Thimann's arguments will continue to carry great weight in the future.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Insurance provides the richest experience in the financial industry because it operates at the intersection of the economy, finance and society. The economy because managing risks is an economic task; finance because it uses financial tools to manage risk; and society, because ultimately it is deals with people's protection, health, assets and lives.
Who has had the largest influence on your work?
Hans-Werner Sinn, Jean-Claude Trichet, Mario Draghi, Henri de Castries, Denis Duverne plus all my colleagues from academia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and Axa, as well as the insurance sector more broadly and its regulators.
What is the biggest issue you are dealing with right now?
Sustainable finance – working towards a financial system that is not only temporarily stable but that fulfils its purpose. Its purpose to foster sustainable economic growth with high employment – not bubbles and bursts; sustainable social development – not inequality and social exclusion; and a sustainable environment that uses less fossil fuels and provides less damage to nature. These are all long-term challenges. The biggest issue is to shape the financial system in such a way that it does not disrupt, through short-term fluctuations, those firms, governments and households who act long term.
How do you expect the insurance business to evolve in the coming years?
It will not evolve much in the coming years because there is lot of inertia in the sector and because technological changes are exponential: they start slow and become fast and ultimately disruptive only after a certain time. One easily overstates effects from technological changes in the short run, but underestimates them in the long run.
What interests do you have outside work?
I have a family with four teenage children that keep us nicely busy. Currently, I also am working on a book with many photos and little text about Germany, to explain Germany's societal challenges that are difficult to understand for people in other countries.