Russell Group’s Basi: “Spreading the word” for connected risk

An outcome-based connected risk policy enables corporates to have a proper, resilient solution for their exposures going forward, according to Suki Basi, founder and CEO, Russell Group.

Talking to The Insurer TV during the Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo, Basi cited three factors that lie behind the phrase "building capacity for connected risk", which he used in a recent article ahead of the event.

“One was to define the meaning of connected risk. The second was to look at the solution that we have been devising. And the third is building underwriting and broker capacity in[to] the end solution,” he said.

Explaining connected risk

“We defined connected risk almost a decade ago, at the onset of all of the complex global events that we were seeing,” Basi said.

Russell Group formed a corporate work group in 2018 to better understand clients’ needs, which led to the outcome-based product that Basi said is “beyond perils” – by which he means it has a “simplified wording structure” to meet a wide range of risk needs.

“It's essentially looking at the increasingly interconnected threats that all businesses and communities are facing, as demonstrated by recent events, from the pandemic and subsequent,” he noted.

Basi said the thinking followed on from work Russell Group had been doing in business continuity planning and resilience, particularly in the light of present-day geopolitical and climate-based risks.

"The corporate risk space needs programs and mitigation solutions to essentially drive down that exposure to actually meet their appetite and tolerance levels,” he added.

He stressed that as the casualty market hardens, it could help reinsurers and insurers with more clarity for underwriting in a situation that would otherwise mean more wording and more complexity introduced to underwriting structures.

Developing the connected risk offering

Basi explained that his aim at Monte Carlo was to spread the word about connected risk.

“We’re t rying to develop interest in the underwriting and broker capability for the end solution. To get a level of understanding and communication across to the target audience, so they would like to collaborate with us going forward. Collaboration is the key to this – there is no one single vendor, one single market solution,” he explained.

He stressed that the average age of staff at Russell Group is much younger than some may think, which could give them an edge in maximising new technological developments in the risk space.

Basi said: “It’s really a reflection of the work that we've been doing internally to bring newer skills to enable us to be more resilient going forward. Looking at a greater use of technology, but not just technology for technology's sake. It’s technology that delivers the most value to the client, and delivering value to the client is what we see as key going forward.”

Watch the 5-minute interview with the Russell Group’s Suki Basi to hear more about: