Ivo Roest, manager for enterprise risk and integration at NN Group, discusses why resistance to antibiotics is a risk that insurers need to have on their radar, as well as reviewing the past year
What was the most positive ERM development of the year?
Within my own company NN Group: the continuous focus of the company to adjust to external trends, such as the responsible use of AI to facilitate our business, how to address the impact of climate change on our company and customers, and how to further digitalise and standardise our company's operations. On a more personal level there are two things: the rollout of a risk dashboard across our company to automate risk reporting, having good insight in the latest risk metrics, and creating standardisation in our risk practices. And, one of my team members, Sereina Pfister, winning the rising star award of InsuranceERM for her dedication to the field of sustainability risk.
What was the biggest ERM disappointment this year?
The lack of political push to create more direct climate-related action in the real economy. While supervisors and regulators are pushing hard on all kinds of regulation around sustainability reporting and driving the financial industry to assess and quantify climate risks, direct climate action by companies in the real economy is lacking. While the financial industry can and should do its fair share, this is not the best and direct way of driving change.
What emerging risks are you most concerned about?
We just published a paper through the CRO forum addressing good practices around emerging risks. We have both emerging and evolving risks. I am mostly concerned about resistance to antibiotics. While it is mentioned frequently in the medical world, I think the effects of this are really underestimated. The use of these medicines is widespread, both within the health industry as well as outside. We should restrict usage to the health sector only, such that its focus is on helping people recover from sickness, and nothing else. Otherwise, the implications could be really impactful, both on individual customers, but also on longer-term health trends that could impact the insurance industry.
What is your favourite part of the Christmas holiday season?
Reflecting on the year that was, having dinner with family and friends, and participating in the Dutch tradition of listening to the top 2000, the yearly event of playing the best 2000 songs as chosen by millions of listeners of Radio 2.
