Insurers and corporate risk managers are navigating a market shaped by complexity, uncertainty and rapid change. From geopolitical instability and extreme weather to the rise of hyperscale data centers and AI-driven transformation, the industry is confronting a new era of risks while also grappling with a continued talent gap.

In this interview, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions U.S. CEO Adrian Hall discusses the challenges and opportunities emerging across the property and casualty insurance market, including the growing demand for multinational program expertise, alternative risk transfer solutions and technical specialization. He also shares his perspective on how insurers need to adapt their client relationships, embrace AI and invest in the next generation of talent. This interview took place at the May RIMS RISKWORLD conference in Philadelphia and has been edited slightly for clarity.

Carrier Management: What are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities right now in property and casualty insurance?

Adrian Hall: Over the last period, we’ve seen the marketplace shift. But from a Swiss Re Corporate Solutions perspective, those market changes, the volatility and the ambiguity that we’re seeing in the marketplace, we’ve been very much anticipating some of that. The discipline needed and the differentiation needed in what clients are facing is going to be super important. Compared to where we were at this time last year to where we are today, that uncertain environment, that volatility, that ambiguity that large corporates are facing continues to accelerate. A lot of these risks are new, but they’re happening concurrently and at pace with extreme weather, economic volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, and that does create a lot of disruption and a lot of complexity.

If I think of a couple of areas that we’re focusing on as an organization, one of them is international programs. In the multinational space, navigating global markets and fluctuations in global markets is somewhat challenging. Over the last six years, we have heavily invested in our international program space where that global consistency and local expertise is going to be really required. And we’ve got a strong track record there of partnering with clients, investing in our platform and investing in our service delivery.

The other area when we think about creating value for clients is the alternative risk transfer space. So, international programs and alternative risk transfer are two strategic areas for us where we are investing heavily. And what I mean by alternative risk transfer is the captives—that includes virtual captives as well—the risk structuring and also parametrics.

The other key area of discussion right now, no surprise, is data centers. We write data centers today, but obviously with these hyperscale data centers that we’re seeing, they are becoming larger. They’re becoming more complex and more concentrated. It’s taking considerable construction, operational focus and accumulation risk management as well. It’s an area that we have the technical expertise and focus, and it’s an area that we see a significant opportunity. I think with the sheer size of the data centers and the requirements that they’re going to demand or are demanding today, it’s also going to require alternative risk transfer in that space.

CM: What’s changed about how insurers need to show up in the marketplace and what does it take to succeed now?

AH: I’ve been in the industry now, what, 32 years? I would say what has not changed, from my perspective, is listening and deep customer insight. As the macro world changes, as large corporates are changing, that deep customer insight into the organization still is absolutely key today. That hasn’t changed. So, when we think about differentiation and also anticipating customer needs compared to 32 years ago, there’s more sophistication with some tools that we have, with data technology and with advancements in that space in terms of customer delivery. But the actual customer insight into proposition development is still the same.

I think obviously the data technology, the AI, these are massive topics now that are shifting the industry and a big focus for Swiss Re Corporate Solutions as well. That’s driving a lot of change. It’s driving a lot of change in terms of how we are operating to deliver better service and how our own workforce and our teams are working very differently. There are some fundamentals, though, that are core to our business that stay the same—advancing differently but staying the same.

CM: What are the biggest trends you’re seeing right now in the workforce that risk managers should be paying attention to?

AH: From a workforce perspective in terms of changes, obviously, I would tie it back into AI right now. I’ll just use that as an example where building the knowledge, the curiosity, the confidence in AI from a workforce perspective is critical. We are very much focused as an organization on investing in ChatGPT and Copilot as a company and investing in our employees to leverage those AI tools and build that confidence. As we are implementing changes in service delivery models, whether that’s claims related or underwriting related, we also want to ensure that from a team perspective, we’re embracing AI and navigating change.

This is not unique to Swiss Re, but I think large organizations are navigating a huge amount of change as companies always have done. I think the advancement of data technology generally is provoking opportunity for the workforce. And I think that is also, from a leadership perspective in organizations, putting even more emphasis on ensuring that we’ve got very clear communication and a very clear outside-in perspective. We want to ensure that everything we’re doing from a Swiss Re Corporate Solutions perspective is very outside-in driven. And then we navigate from a team perspective with all the different tools that we’re advancing.

I still think, and this has always been a discussion point in the insurance industry, investment in new joiners into the industry is going to be super important. That’s something that Swiss Re Corporate Solutions does as well. I think about some of our programs bringing new colleagues into the industry, and that is going to be important. We see those succession gaps. We see that need as an industry to ensure that we’re progressing our skills and delivery into the market and bringing newer people into the organization as well.