Howden’s Blanc calls for shift in way insurance is thought about

Howden’s Peter Blanc has urged for a shift in the way insurance is thought about following the launch of a new charity.

Called Humanity Insured, the charity was unveiled last week (19 September 2024) and aims to help communities build climate resilience through insurance propositions.

Among people it aims to help are farmers – according to One Acre Fund, more than 90% of smallholder farmers are uninsured and face poverty traps due to more frequent and severe climate shocks and the lack of available tools to mitigate these risks.

“The ever-present threat of climate shocks and stresses destabilises lives and livelihoods, forcing those at risk into survival mode as financial assistance is not reliably available and often arrives too late,” Humanity Insured said.

In turn, it wants to make insurance accessible to climate vulnerable communities and pays a proportion of premiums, so they have a safety net.

Speaking about the charity, Blanc, head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at Howden, said it could help with the concept of insurance being changed from ”something you have in your back pocket, just in case” to a “more economically sensible way of pre-funding”.

He felt the industry had the tools, the artificial intelligence (AI) analytics and capability to do this.

“Humanity Insured is all about making that first step. It lifts populations. It literally saves lives,” Blanc told delegates at the Earnix Excelerate conference in London yesterday (25 September 2024).

”It is an incredibly powerful thing we can do as a profession, just by shifting our thinking about insurance as pre-funding, not post disaster emergency.”

Industry backers

Howden convened the insurance industry to establish Humanity Insured, which has received seed funding from several insurance businesses.

This includes Howden, Allianz, Hiscox, The Fidelis Partnership, Tokio Marine Kiln and Beazley.

Blanc said: “Every single insurance company has got an environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, this is something that everyone can get behind.”

Charlie Langdale, chief executive at Humanity Insured, added: “Everyone should know the security that insurance brings as that security is what empowers people to invest in their livelihoods.

”This is an essential response in an ever-more volatile world that relies on post-event funding. Humanity Insured will not only stop families adopting negative coping strategies after climate shocks, but by being financially prepared, the most unprotected are able to pre-emptively manage the climate risks they face.”