Embrace ‘searching questions’ for innovation mindset

Captive insurance companies must gain a better understanding of what they want out of innovation, according to one of the first sessions on day one of the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) 2023 annual conference.

Companies need to ask some searching questions of themselves, including what they mean when considering innovation, which might be technology-related, delegates heard at the session titled ‘Captive support of innovation and disruption within current economic landscape’.

Panellists Deyna Feng, director captive programmes at Cummins Inc and Dynamo Insurance Company, Mark Field, director of insurance services at Sutter Health, and Heather McClure, chief risk adviser, US Healthcare Practice at Aon, agreed that innovation can also be a mindset.

Leadership and identifying true leaders within a company are important when it comes to looking at innovation, according to the panel. They said it was vital that captives align themselves with their parent organisation in looking at and addressing innovation issues, with McClure urging attendees to make sure that a captive does not become ‘a department of no’.

McClure added that an alignment of goals on all levels was important, especially as innovation could help with a number of recent issues that the traditional insurance market is having trouble with, from cyber attacks to business interruption problems.

The panel encouraged delegates to create a process for the management of innovation issues, to have an open mind on what constitutes innovation and to use knowledge from claims and risk exposures to fund projects that drive innovation.