Scor CEO Laurent Rousseau has robustly defended the (re)insurance’s market’s attitude towards risk assumption.

Speaking at this year’s Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous, Rousseau (pic) rejected accusations that the industry is failing to address the risks that business will increasingly face in the coming years such as cyber, climate and intangible emerging risks.

He accepted that addressing such risks is of vital importance for the market, but said that that it needs to mobilise greater capital pools and engage in better data sharing if it is to rise effectively to the challenge of future underwriting.

“Clearly there needs to be better dialogue with government,” he added, referencing the need for the market to address systemic risks such as pandemic risk.

Speaking of the need to avoid becoming “a shadow insurance sector” he underlined the necessity for greater dialogue between the (re)insurance market and government.

Also speaking at the Rendez-Vous, Scor head of P&C Jean-Paul Conoscente, CEO of Scor Global P&C, suggested that the market has not yet got a proper handle on cyber risk, stating that “cyber losses could be bigger than we imagine”.

Conoscente said that one of the ongoing problems with cyber is the failure of the market to properly understand the risk, and that if a better understanding were achieved the wider financial markets could be properly attracted to cyber risk.

Their comments follow recognition by Scor that recent shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict have highlighted how interdependent societies have become:

“Any disruption of the supply chain leads to a shortage of goods and an increase in prices of raw materials at a global scale. Digital technologies are powering the supply of goods and services worldwide making them a key asset for our collective productivity.”

“In the last 18 months, supply chain cyber-attacks have been a growing source of concern and have further demonstrated the ever-increasing interconnections among organisations.”