AIG CEO: Insurer Needs to Be a Disciplined Taker of Risk

Source: Reinsurance News - Steve Evans | Published on September 13, 2018

AIG
AIG CEO Brian Duperreault spoke at the annual PwC briefing in Monte Carlo yesterday, saying that discipline needs to be at the heart of everything AIG does.
 
Duperreault took the reins at AIG after the insurer had years of issues, leaving the seasoned CEO with a job to do.

In his speech he discussed the need to address AIG’s failings and around a year and a half in, Duperreault feels progress is being made and results will begin to be seen soon.

But at its heart, Duperreault wants AIG to become more focused.

“One of the things we have to do is, resurrect the culture of underwriting discipline and underwriting excellence.

“Somehow we’d lost our way over the last 10 or 15 years,” he explained to the audience.

“Fundamentally we’re risk takers and if you’re not a disciplined taker of risk, or you have hubris about it and you think you can take more and more, because you did it right before. You don’t have a healthy respect. You’ve got a problem on your hands.

Duperreault said that the changes being made at AIG will increase its specialisation and give accountability to the teams responsible.

He noted taking responsibility for their underwriting actions as key, saying that he wanted to create “unit integrity” across the firm.

“Discipline around a company will give it long term health,” he continued.

But alongside this disciplined approach to underwriting that Duperreault is creating at AIG, he also noted the other factor that will be vital in making his efforts to turn the firm around successful.

Saying, “You also have the other constants, you have to be constantly innovative. Innovation, coupled with discipline, is what makes a company great.

“That’s probably the thing I’m working the hardest on, to make sure we keep that balance of discipline and innovation at the same time.”

Duperreault also said that it will take time for the work to be completed, saying “we’re in a time of execution.”

But once the execution has been completed, which is likely to be an ongoing process as change is itself a constant state in re/insurance, Duperreault said the results will become evident in AIG’s results.