As the CrowdStrike outage crippled businesses across the globe, most of us were on our phones trying to find out what might be going on. 

The media sought out the answers and looked to quantify the scale of the issue. How many computer systems were down around the world? How many businesses were affected? What’s the total cost? Where do we go next? 

In the midst of all of this, the insurance industry was playing a role which few associate with it. It was helping to fix the problem and prevent hackers from using the outage for their own gain.   

Before entering the world of insurance communications, I, like much of the general public, knew very little of its work. My only interactions were limited to a few times a year when I needed travel or car insurance. I only heard from the Specialty side of things when an executive was rolled out to discuss rising premiums or legal disputes on the news. 

My understanding of the breadth of work insurers carry out was limited. 

Most people understand that insurers underwrite risk. They enable businesses to progress and give investors confidence. Now, while this is correct, it merely skims across the surface of an industry that plays a pivotal role in propping up the world economy. 

The primary role of an insurer is, and always will be, underwriting business. That isn’t going anywhere. There has, however, been an overlooked shift in an industry that has greatly evolved since in recent years – risk mitigation and management.   

Take the London market, for example. When Lloyd’s was merely a coffee shop, the idea of cyber and climate change wouldn’t have entered the conversation. Businesses just wanted insurance on their ship as it sailed from A to B. 

In today’s world, the role of insurers goes far further. As risks have become more complex, businesses have been increasingly leaning on insurers. Not just for financial support, but also for assistance in their strategic planning. 

Long before the CrowdStrike outage hit, vulnerabilities would have been flagged, and levels of risk been calculated. Upgrades to tech infrastructure would have been, at the very least, recommended. 

As a tidal wave of system failures swept across the world, many businesses would have gained access to 24/7 risk council and turned to their insurers not as a route for payout, but as a reliable business partner who fundamentally understood their risk. 

Cyber has gone from a small and evolving line of business to becoming one of the most important and dynamic elements of a Specialty insurer’s product arsenal. Climate change is sitting in the wings and currently pushing the in-house capabilities of business planning to their limits. Geopolitical turbulence is increasingly threatening global supply chains, and a bumper year for elections sets an uncertain tone for the years ahead. 

As the world continues to tackle more complex risk, the insurance industry will continue to evolve to meet this mounting demand. The breadth of work in an insurer’s wheelhouse will increase, and so will the depth and complexity of the industry itself. It’s up to the industry to tell this full story.