Moody’s Analytics: Gain a 360-degree view of risks
Colin Holmes, general manager - insurance, at Moody's Analytics, and Michael Steel, general manager, RMS, a Moody’s Analytics company, discuss their vision for integrated risk assessment
How can Moody’s Analytics help insurers address climate risk and ESG issues?
Our strategy is all about helping our customers make better decisions through our integrated risk assessment solutions.
ESG and the impact of climate risk are now significant focal points, for reasons that are well-established. We have invested significantly in recent years and further developed our capabilities this year supporting ESG assessment to meet the increasing demand, as insurers develop and implement strategies for sustainability, and as regulatory and reporting requirements are introduced.
Our ESG and climate scores, data and expertise have equipped market participants across the globe with the understanding they need to manage risks and identify growth opportunities. With the addition of RMS and their deep knowledge and expertise in underwriting and climate modelling, Moody’s is uniquely placed to operationalise the process for integrating ESG into underwriting decision-making. We combine our comprehensive ESG coverage for public and private entities, underpinned by a double materiality approach, delivered by our cloud-based SaaS platform built with the underwriter and portfolio manager in mind.
How do you expect risk modelling to change over the next five years?
As risks are becoming ever more complex, delivering solutions to meet demand for better data, modelling and analytics is critical over the next five years and beyond.
Once again, tragic climate-related events across the globe sharpen the focus on the increased frequency of climate-related losses. More insurers are beginning to make a public declaration on their climate and sustainability strategies. They are also committing to the mandates of net zero industry bodies, such as the Net Zero Insurance Alliance. This turns attention to achieving a consistent risk strategy across business functions and managing reputational risk among a growing range of interested stakeholders.
We expect to see more developments and a broader range of data and factors included on our Climate Conditioned models. Bringing together our expertise in climate, natural catastrophes, economic and market risk offers insurers a deeper understanding of a more integrated approach in this challenging area.
We also expect the importance of technology and cyber risk to create potential growth opportunities for insurers in a new risk area. We are continuing to invest heavily in our cyber capabilities and are working to integrate products and services to support insurers as they seek to grow their cyber offerings.
Investments in technology and particularly our cloud solutions, such as RMS® Risk Modeler™ and RMS ExposureIQ™ create a seamless integrated view of risk for an insurer which is embedded into their core workflows. This enables faster, more efficient decision-making as the risk landscape evolves.
Is IFRS 17 and LDTI still a major challenge for insurers at this stage?
Insurers are now in the later stages of their preparations for IFRS 17 and LDTI reporting in 2023. Our teams are focused on giving the help our customers need to be production ready for the reporting deadline. There are of course other insurers and countries with later implementation dates beyond 2023. We are working with them at different stages in the implementation timeline, but they will benefit greatly from the lessons learned in the first wave of implementation and reporting.
We are also working with some insurers who are now assessing if their actuarial and financial reporting capabilities are up to the mark. With the immediate need for a process to be established and defined, the focus is shifting to modernisation.
Beyond accounting standards, we have been engaging with the industry on a fresh IFRS challenge, the new IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. Based on the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the new Sustainability Disclosures that impact both sides of the balance sheet, P&L and cash flows will need to be made at the same time and with the same rigour as financial reporting.
