‘I am much more confident’ – IUA CEO Chris Jones on Blueprint 2 development prospects

Newly arrived International Underwriting Association chief executive Chris Jones and outgoing CEO Dave Matcham joined Mark Geoghegan for this episode of The Voice of Insurance podcast.

Jones says the people working on Blueprint 2 are ‘some of the smartest people I’ve met in the market’. Jones told Voice of Insurance podcast host Mark Geoghegan that if you put unachievable deadlines on a project, it can cause confidence to drain or even kill the initiative. However he believes the right people are currently in place, working on the all-important digital transformation project for the London market.

Jones, who took the IUA helm in May, said: “My reflection coming in is having resets of resets is never a good sign from an optics point of view. But some of the people I’ve met who are heading up this now, and are responsible for delivering this change, are some of the smartest people I’ve met in the market.

“And there’s a huge amount of challenge still, but no one’s putting deadlines that are not achievable. They are kind of taking it step by step.”

Jones teamed up with Dave Matcham, who recently retired after 20 years in the role.

Matcham told the podcast when he first came to London in 1988, the market was introducing the Electronic Claim File (ECF) system, which aimed to streamline claims handling and processing.

Matcham reflected: “Having sat on the Velonetic board for all those years, I’ve seen the ups and downs of market modernisation. I’ve seen initiatives succeed. I’ve seen initiatives fail.

“And there’s been all sorts of reasons why it goes one way or the other, but in this environment in which we now sit, and I’m not an expert in program management, far from it, but the levels of governance, the levels of market engagement, the levels of professionalism applied to all aspects of the Blueprint, one has to be, perhaps as confident as you could be, that sometime next year we will get phase one over the line.

“And that will be the bedrock upon which all the other digital facilities and capabilities can be made.”

Geoghegan asked if there should be widespread use of a common standard, once all the digital infrastructure is in place.

Jones replied: “One would hope that the obvious benefits of using common data standards, using the ACORD data standards, it’s the way forward. It’s a natural way.”

Matcham’s insurance journey

The podcast covered a wide range of topics but kicked off with Matcham’s career.

Matcham left school with two A-levels. He got a job in the aviation department at the Institute of London Underwriters, the company version of the Lloyds marine and aviation transport market.

He moved to London and worked his way up the ladder. In 1993, he enjoyed a big break when he became a director and took charge of operational activities.

Describing the technology at the time, he remembered: “We did not have computers. We had a typing pool, and we had a dispatch department, a photocopy department, and a whole series of people who walked circles around the market every day, including minutes of joint hall meetings or these things called ‘consult the lead’, ‘respect the lead’ where, if a fleet of vessels was due for renewal, you had to tell the market that the leaders were the following so they could be consulted on the terms of that renewal.”

The organisation changed to the International Underwriting Association in 1999. In April 2005, they aimed for the organisation to become more responsive and offered Matcham the top job. The rest is history.

Jones’ IUA ambitions

Jones wants the IUA to focus on two main goals.

First, he wants the organisation to be known for its expertise in underwriting and claims, sharing knowledge and leading discussions on industry challenges like contract wording and new tech.

Second, he wants to improve how the IUA attracts, retains, and trains new talent, especially those with zero to five years’ experience. While other groups handle attracting new people, the IUA aims to support and develop its members early in their careers. Overall, the plan is to boost the IUA’s reputation and help young professionals grow in the industry.

He said: “Certainly once you’re in the industry, it’s a great industry to be in, but I think we can do more to get them in and when they’re here.”

AI and market regulation

Several issues were discussed, including the rise in artificial intelligence and its implications. AI has huge benefits, and the market is using it across multiple applications, the podcast heard.

Jones saw a role for the association in working across the market to gather valuable information on AI.

He said: “AI is the most topical macro risk that we’re looking at. The moment, we need to have association leads who can coordinate across multiple classes of business. What things are you seeing in professional indemnity? Are we seeing AI washing? Are we seeing AI hallucinations? How do policy wordings interact with AI? Do we exclude AI? So having that kind of macro the structure.”

He also enthused about the idea of using AI for contract building. Ideally, there would be one product being used widely to create a market uniformity.

Another major issue flagged up by Geoghegan was regulation.

Jones said he was seeing more scrutiny from regulators. He noted the work on setting up a regulatory regime for establishing the UK as a hub for captives.

On the government-inspired drive for growth, he said: “I think certainly when we talk to FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority) we see their focus on growth and competitiveness of London as something that comes through in our day-to-day discussions with them. And that definitely wasn’t the case two, three years ago.”

Listen to the full interview to hear more on follow-on underwriting, AI risks and the future of the London market.