Former FBI man tops the bill at Guernsey Insurance Forum

Delegates at this year’s Guernsey Insurance Forum in London are set for captivating insights into the cyber-risk world with former head of the FBI’s Cyber Division James Trainor confirmed as keynote speaker.

Now Senior Vice President within Aon’s Cyber Solutions Group, Mr Trainor played a critical role in the FBI’s national strategy to combat cyber-crime. He now helps shape Aon’s overall cyber strategy to mitigate and reduce cyber-risks on behalf of clients.

Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley is excited to have such an intriguing keynote speaker and is confident the event on Thursday 5 October will reinforce the island’s position as a significant player in international insurance.

“There have been big movements in the sector in the last 12 months and as a former insurance practitioner that is pleasing to see,” he said. “We also take pride in how topical our events are and there have been several examples of high-profile cyber-attacks recently, making them a more significant subject than ever - so we are delighted to have a keynote speaker with such a compelling background in that area. I am looking forward to another successful event.”

Much of Mr Trainor’s expertise revolves around innovation and evolution - the key themes of discussion at the conference.

Guernsey itself has examples in abundance when it comes to innovation in the insurance sector. This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the protected cell company, the legislation for which was developed in the island and has gone on to be used across the financial services world as an alternative application for the structuring of many different types of products.

In terms of evolution, Guernsey enhanced its rules for insurance-linked securities as recently as January, clarifying their regulatory treatment and streamlining the application process so that an applicant for the licensing of a new Special Purpose Insurer (SPI) may be granted a single consent for the formation of further SPIs without call for further application, typically allowing new insurers to be established within one business day.

“Such advancements, coupled with a fascinating keynote, makes this year’s Guernsey Insurance Forum an event not to be missed by those operating in the sector. Last year’s forum attracted an audience of more than 150 and we anticipate another strong turnout this year,” said Mr Wheatley.

Mr Trainor’s speech will be followed by two panel sessions. Topics to be dissected by the panels will include:

1.     Creating a suitable environment for unicorns (start-ups valued at over $1 billion); how they are created; what it will take for UK InsurTech to produce one; what hurdles must be overcome on the way to that figure and whether there is a better incubator than the UK.

2.     Insurance’s answer to 21^st century megatrends; what they are and what they mean for the 21^st century; human longevity, emerging technology, big data and urbanisation; the role of insurance in the new world and opportunities for incumbents and challengers.

Panellists include: Caroline Bradley, Deputy Director of Insurance at the Guernsey Financial Services Commission; Peter van den Broeke, Senior Policy Adviser at the International Association of Insurance Providers; Julia Graham, Deputy Chief Executive of AIRMIC; Rowan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of Capital Science & Policy at Willis Towers Watson. TV journalist and broadcaster Naga Munchetty is moderating.

The free-to-attend event, sponsored by Appleby, Artex, Bedell Cristin, BWCI, Royal London and Willis Towers Watson, takes place at etc.venues, 8 Fenchurch Place. Registration begins at 1.30pm, with the event ending in a drinks reception at 5pm.