The insurance sector lives a deep transformation, driven by the vertiginous advance of technology – with artificial intelligence as the protagonist – an uncertain geopolitical environment and the increasingly visible effects of climate change. To this scenario is added a regulation in constant development, which seeks to anticipate the new dynamics of an industry that integrates environmental, social and governance criteria (ESG), while reinforcing its management systems against emerging hazards such as cyber attacks. In parallel, companies try to capture the best available talent and respond to a client who demands personalized experiences, in a population aging scenario. The list of challenges, duties and opportunities is extensive and draws, according to Amalio Berbel, KPMG insurance sector in Spain, «a road map for any insurer in the coming years.» During a meeting organized by El País, in collaboration with KPMG and Corporate Excellence, Berbel highlighted the strengths of the insurance sector and emphasized the economic importance of this activity. «We see the future with many challenges,» added Carolina Lameiro Medina, general inspection deputy director of the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds. «But also with many opportunities,» he said. The agency's representative said that supervisory entities work to incorporate a micro and macro approach in the new regulations, ensuring that companies evaluate technological threats, from an individual perspective, and also their systemic impact. Lameiro indicated that the Digital Operational Resilience Regulation (DORA) – which is fully applied since the beginning of this year – marks a turning point by demanding more rigorous control and an improvement in the management of risks related to information and communication technologies. Similarly, he recalled that the Board of Directors will continue to be the ultimate responsible for these risks and must have specific competencies and specific supervision mechanisms. Regarding the implementation of artificial intelligence in the business, Lameiro explained that the new European Regulation on this matter identifies as high -risk systems those used in processes of valuation and health and health insurance tarification. «The regulation is one of the most important challenges, although it is not the sexiest,» added Javier Olaso, responsible partner of KPMG insurance in Spain. «The sector is based on trust and reputation, and regulations are essential to maintain that.» Olaso stressed the importance of the industry in the Spanish economy: it generates more than 750,000 jobs, between direct and indirect, of which more than 90% of these are fixed and indefinite; In addition, it represents around 5.3% of GDP. Although financial culture has grown in recent years, there are still gaps with other countries in the area. «We are the fifth European market by volume of premiums, but if we compare it in terms of GDP, we go down to the tenth place. If we analyze the ratio of premiums per inhabitant we descend until the sixteenth position,» he said during the event entitled the future of the insurance sector, held in Madrid last Thursday. Carolina Lameiro Medina, general inspection deputy director of the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds. Jaime Villanuevapatricia Ayuela, CEO of Direct Line Insurance, stressed that sadly, catastrophes such as Dana have contributed to greater awareness about the importance of insurance in the country. «I see with hope that people begin to perceive insurance not as an expense, but as a vital protection,» he said. The key, said Ayuela, is to offer useful products, which work just when they are needed. In this sense, technology is decisive. «It allows us to do things that 10 years ago seemed impossible.» One of the most strength is the AI, which offers spectacular results, accelerating the processing and data analysis capacity, which facilitate customization and speed to launch products to the market. Francisco Lara, president of Grupo Pelayo, agreed that the phenomena derived from climate change play an increasingly important role in business management. «Its frequency and intensity continues to grow, affecting both patrimonial and car insurance and, to a lesser extent, those of health,» he said. Similarly, it added that another the factors that mella is doing in the industry, the demographic changes will be determining for the future of the companies of the branch.
Structural challenges
«Everything related to longevity, long -term savings and pensions represents a real problem. It is not an exclusive issue of the insurance sector, but I think we have to assume a leading role to respond to structural challenges,» he said. For Jesús del Río Aynat, deputy general director of the Mutual Group insurance business, the main challenge of the sector is to anticipate the changes that are taking place in the economy. «Customers now have a more digital culture, expect immediate responses and seek customization,» he said. The manager stressed the importance of having an updated business against technologies such as AI that mutates every day. In addition to this, he stressed that the company is internally adopting control, monitoring and monitoring mechanisms to avoid bad praxis derived from the use of artificial intelligence. It has also established a model of governance and systems to ensure the quality and traceability of the data they use. «This is just the beginning of the way.» 
Amalio Berbel, KPMG Insurance Sector in Spain. Jaime Villanueva «The acceleration process is huge and very hopeful,» said Javier Valle, general director of Vidacaixa. The manager stressed that to get the greatest of the benefits to new technologies, a series of previous steps such as having a complete and robust enough data structure must be taken. This information, he added, has to be on advanced platforms so that it can be interacted in a simple and useful way. This will depend on the future of a business. «The sector is totally dynamic and strategic.» Valle indicated that the great challenge is to convey to citizens the importance of having insurance and protecting themselves to future risks. «In this increasingly complex world, protection is a necessity,» he concluded.
