On a regular basis Allianz Risk Consulting (ARC) holds a very well received event called 'AGCS Expert Days', which is designed for the clients and brokers of our AGCS entities worldwide.
The 'Expert Days' are geared towards the insurance industry to exchange expertise on a particular topic by inviting different leading experts from the industry, economy, science as well as AGCS speakers.
Day 1
"The AGCS Expert Days are much more than just a forum for insurance experts," said AGCS Board Member Hartmut Mai, opening the two-day conference: "It is an opportunity for experts to understand the latest trends and prepare their companies for the future."
Dr. Christian Schweda, Head of IT Governance at Allianz SE, explained in his presentation on the digital agenda of Allianz SE how this can be done: "If you want to digitize an organization, it is not enough to hire a few data scientists: 'The entire DNA of the organization has to change, every colleague has to have an understanding of IT".
Upskilling, cyber-security education, but also an understanding of IT architecture are important. In the presentations that followed, Heiko Böttger talked about digital transformation at Allianz Risk Consulting and Martin Mitev about artificial intelligence at T-Systems International.
In the course of industrial networking (Industry 4.0), predictive maintenance is gaining ground in many factories and industrial plants. In the ideal scenario, it can be used to predict malfunctions and initiate maintenance or repair work before failures occur. "Predictive maintenance will help to increase the availability of technical systems, but it is not a guarantee against major losses and also entails new risks," explained AZT engineer Thomas Gellermann.
Will ultra-large container ships (ULCVs) with 318,000 tons of oil soon be able to cross the world's oceans completely autonomously? Anastasios Leonburg, Risk Consultant Marine CEE, stressed the rapid technological development of autonomous shipping, with which the IMO (International Marine Organization) and many local legislators cannot keep pace: "For legal and technical reasons it is very likely that we will initially find local solutions in a single country - for example the operation of an autonomous ship within a fjord in Norway," said the expert. "But it will probably be some time before we cross the Atlantic in a driverless cruise ship."
Day 2
... started with lectures on cyber risks. Dealing with increasingly sophisticated dangers from the net requires companies to be permanently vigilant and to check their own IT security systems. However, it is not just about systems. "Security is a matter of attitude," said Jordan Rahlwes, consultant at ENGIE for cybersecurity in power plants. "It starts with the right awareness, which includes the insight that "cyber security is not just an IT problem".
Prof. Marko Schuba of @yet Industrial IT Security focused on a comprehensive view of IT and OT security as a process (OT = Operational Technology). Only then would all important areas of cyber security for industrial companies be covered.
The government is also concerned about the IT security of citizens and companies. The Federal Office for Security and Information Technology (BSI) offers concrete help. Dr. Harald Niggemann presented its extensive spectrum of tasks and services in his keynote speech: It ranges from information (regular management report on IT security in Germany; top 10 ranking of cyber threats including countermeasures) to IT security consulting via IT Basic Protection Catalogue and Industrial Control System (ICS). Niggemann confirmed the importance of an overall view of IT and OT: "In many companies there is a cultural clash between engineers and IT specialists. In order to avoid security gaps, a common language must be found here."
On the AGCS side, Jens Krickhahn, Cyber expert at AGCS, once again emphasized the importance of cyber insurance. After taking a look at the latest trends in malware (e.g. Emotet and Ryuk), he explained the principles for underwriting cyber coverage at AGCS.
BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a digital tool for the construction industry, presented by Frank Walter of Arcadis Germany and Marc Heinz of Vrame Consult. BIM contains all relevant data and information to minimize the risk of cost-intensive planning, construction and safety deficiencies and to create optimal conditions for the operation of the building.
The blockchain technology should at some point make it possible for machines to independently purchase supplies and earn money. "This will turn machines into their own ecosystems," explained Dr. Ulrich Franke of Supply Chain Security. Especially for the supply chain management this offers a lot of advantages.
However, BSI representative Niggemann was quick to warn of the dangers of such a change, highlighting the serious threat of the supposedly very secure blockchains into the field: The cryptographic algorithms behind the protocols of the blockchains are exposed to the danger of being decoded by cryptoanalysts.
3D printing is revolutionizing the production world. Jürgen Weichert, AGCS Global Liability, reminded us that every designer of a digital 3D model (which can be downloaded and printed out on the internet) is a product manufacturer in the legal sense. As such, it is subject to product liability and must also carry out recalls if necessary. If it wants to insure itself for this, the 3D product must be sufficiently tested.
Prof. Dieter Meschede from the University of Bonn finally provided insights into the future of quantum technology. "The 20th century is the century of the electron, the 21st century will be the century of the photon. Put simply, photons are light particles; and they have properties that the electron cannot compete with. Photons are much faster than electrons and achieve much higher performance over long distances."
The meeting ended with a summary by AGCS Board Member Dr. Thomas Sepp.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is a leading global corporate insurance carrier and a key business unit of Allianz Group. We provide risk consultancy, Property-Casualty insurance solutions and alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and specialty risks across 12 dedicated lines of business.
Our customers are as diverse as business can be, ranging from Fortune Global 500 companies to small businesses, and private individuals. Among them are not only the world’s largest consumer brands, tech companies and the global aviation and shipping industry, but also wineries, satellite operators or Hollywood film productions. They all look to AGCS for smart answers to their largest and most complex risks in a dynamic, multinational business environment and trust us to deliver an outstanding claims experience.
Worldwide, AGCS operates with its own teams in 33 countries and through the Allianz Group network and partners in over 200 countries and territories, employing over 4,400 people. As one of the largest Property-Casualty units of Allianz Group, we are backed by strong and stable financial ratings. In 2018, AGCS generated a total of €8.2 billion gross premium globally.
