AI - Real uses of AI in Insurance and how to govern them effectively

AI is now on the agenda of all insurance-sector boards, with big promise to boost both the top- and the bottom-line. Yet many AI projects fail to deliver their budgeted benefits or don’t even make it past a pilot. And if they are not delivered as anticipated, they can create undue risk for the organisation, customers and employees, and financially.

As an NED how can you govern their strategy and implementation effectively to ensure success while minimising risks?

The WCI iNED Committee has been fortunate to gather together an outstanding panel of senior AI practitioners, all of who have implemented successful transformational AI projects in their diverse re/insurance organisations:

• Mark van Zanden – Chief Analytics Officer – Convex Insurance, Bermuda
• Ermir Qeli – Head Data Science & AI – Swiss Re, Zurich
• James Searle – COO – WPA Health, UK

The panel members will share their real-life experiences and their key ‘dos and don’ts’. 
We are going to steer clear of any hype or consulting jargon, focusing strictly on real AI implementations and lessons learnt- to give practical know-how for the Board.
 
The Forum will be Chaired by  iNED Committee member Artur Niemczewski, who himself is an AI practitioner, as AI Champion at the Chartered Insurance Institute, and an active board director.

Learning Objectives

By attending this forum, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the right conditions within an organisation for a successful large-scale AI implementation
2. Formulate key questions to ask during a board evaluation pre- and post- an AI project
3. Understand key risks, operational, conduct, or regulatory, and clarify practical steps to minimise them.

This virtual iNED Forum is open to insurance Non-Executive Directors (iNEDS), aspiring iNEDS, Company Secretaries, Compliance staff and all those involved with corporate governance, underwriting, broking and risk management in the insurance sector.

There is no requirement for delegates to be members of the Worshipful Company of Insurers.

Speaker(s)

Mark van Zanden
Chief Analytics Officer, Convex Insurance

Mark has 30 years of (re)insurance industry experience.  He joined Catlin in 2005 and was most recently Chief Executive of Underwriting Capital Management for AXA XL.  Mark has also been a consulting actuary, a reinsurance broker and an underwriter.

Emir Qeli
Head Data Science & AI, Swiss Re

Ermir Qeli joined Swiss Re six years ago and currently leads Stargate Services, an initiative focusing around making better use of data at Swiss Re. Prior to that, he headed the Data Science team within within the Digital and Smart Analytics unit. In his role, he has been championing the use of data analytics to solve various business problems in insurance and reinsurance and bring analytics to the core of our industry.

Prior to Swiss Re, he had various roles focused around data analytics, visualization and software engineering. He received a diploma in Computer Science in Tirana, Albania and a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Marburg, Germany.

James Searle
COO, WPA Health

Jim Searle is Chief Operating Officer of WPA, the specialist UK health insurer. He joined WPA as Chief Information Officer in early 2017 and became Chief Operating Officer in 2018.

Before joining WPA, Jim was a Partner at Control Risks, the international risk consultancy, where he held a number of roles advising organisations on security, risk and resilience. Prior to this, he served as an officer in the British Army, initially as an infantry platoon commander and subsequently with the Intelligence Corps.

At WPA, Jim's focus has been on improving operational effectiveness and customer service while developing the organisation's technology capability. In recent years, this has included bringing more of WPA's technology development and expertise in-house and leading its adoption of artificial intelligence across software development and business operations. His particular interest is in how technology and AI can improve productivity and service while allowing organisations to retain control of their critical capabilities and data.