The annual GTR+ Insurance publication gives us the opportunity to delve deeper into the world of trade credit and political risk insurance.

As in trade finance banking, the insurance industry is ushering in a new era, heralded by new technology and platforms, which aim to both digitalise current processes and create new insurance products.

In 2019, we witnessed and reported on several such initiatives, from the launch of Willis Towers Watson’s US$1bn political risk insurance programme based on modelling and analytical tool Value at Political Risk (Vapor); to the new LiquidX Trade Credit Insurance Marketplace, which allows financiers and corporates to request insurance with multiple underwriters through an online process; and Beat Syndicate 4242 and Previse’s innovative technology-driven insurance offering that enables supply chain providers to pay suppliers instantly. We take a closer look at some of these innovations in our insurance digitilisation feature, which investigates whether or not insurtech has been over-promising and under-delivering.

Away from technology, our annual London-based insurance roundtable explores the growth that is required across products and asset classes to ensure that the insurance market continues to remain relevant to its banking clients, and considers the possibility of there being too many players in the market, and the affect that might have on future development. Our regulatory report calls on the market to help demonstrate to regulators that non-payment insurance deserves proper recognition as an effective credit risk mitigant.

Elsewhere, our cyber report explores the fresh doubts about what is and isn’t covered for cyber risk in non-cyber policies, and how this is prompting a shake-up in the industry, with all eyes on the resolution of the Mondelez vs Zurich lawsuit, set to be an important milestone in the evolving cyber insurance market.

We look forward to what 2020 will bring to an industry that plays a critical risk absorption role in global trade.