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"JOIN THE RISK REVOLUTION", NOTES FROM FERMA FORUM 2024

Writer's picture: Zeynep TurkerZeynep Turker
Oct 23, 20246 min read


With a very high pace and record attendance, Ferma Forum 2024 ended with the presentation of the Risk Management Awards and Ferma's anniversary celebrations.

During the two days of the forum, which I have given you tips about, it was not easy to choose between the concurrent panels, the titles of which I have already mentioned. Here are my brief notes and impressions from the panels and main session speeches I attended, all of which were interesting and topical.


This year's theme is "risk revolution" - During the main sessions, speakers from risk managers of the world's leading companies, representatives of global insurance and reinsurance companies and global brokers highlighted the rapidly changing and transforming profile of risk from their own perspectives and underlined two concepts: Sustainability and Cooperation. Many of the topics I frequently mention in the blog were discussed at Ferma. The importance of natural disasters, secondary disasters, risk analyses, risk engineering and modeling, cyber threats, which should be the first item on the agenda, were emphasized. However, it has been repeatedly stated that humanity has more data and materials in order to make the damages they can cause predictable, and that the most important asset in interpreting them and preparing for the future is the human experience and solidarity to interpret this data.


Risk yöneticilerinin önceden geleneksel risklere odaklanmış uzmanlıkları son yıllarda oldukça çeşitlendi. Global kutuplaşmanın etkilerinin konuşulduğu panelde , panelistler yakındaki ABD Başkanlık seçimlerinin dünyaya etkileri ve kurumların bu seçimin getireceği sonuçlara ne kadar hazırlıklı olduklarından bahsettiler.


The panel, “From suits to sneakers”, emphasized that in this interesting period where Baby Boomers, X, Y and Z generations are working at the same time, it is less about generational conflicts and more about the need for experienced professionals to solve today's problems by taking into account the needs of the future. Generation Z has already reached 38% of the workforce, and organizations need to make themselves flexible enough to meet the expectations and needs of this generation and the Alpha's coming behind them. If you remember, I mentioned the insurance industry and BIG DATA before. The insurance industry has the potential to create work environments and career opportunities that are in line with the expectations of the new generation, leaving aside the old-fashioned perspective.


Another interesting session was a panel discussion on how Captive companies can contribute to their organizations against the increasing risk of climate change. While captives work on traditional asset insurance and employee benefits, they are also an important resource provider for exemplary modeling and risk analysis studies. On the one hand, captives, who are the insurance providers of their organizations against changing risks by determining their needs, also have to think about the balance of the balance sheet. To this end, it was discussed that captives can create resources for investments, especially by interpreting the data they have together with the data in the global insurance market and using it to support decision-makers in determining their strategies in terms of preparedness and resilience against risks. Not only climate change, but now risk managers and captive companies have to be data-driven organizations that use the data they have for cyber threats, political risks, migrations, green transformation, fossil fuels, financial risks, decarbonization, net zero target, generational conflicts and meeting expectations, as well as profitability.


Let's talk about the cyber risks that marked the agenda: From the perspective of reinsurers, brokers and insurers, approaches were shared over the Crowdstrike incident. While it was stated that the damage amount of Crowdstrike reached 5 Billion dollars, that the sector responded quickly and that it would come out with a clean bill of health, it was discussed that this event was actually blatant and not a surprise. While explaining the extent of the damage that cyber risk can cause, insurers discussed the insurability of data loss or leakage and related image losses and the extent of direct and indirect financial losses, as the value of data owned by organizations is now many times higher than the value of their physical assets. While the insurance industry says that “not everything can be insured”, the importance and necessity for states to create a pool for cyber threats and for insurers to achieve basic cyber standards was emphasized. Just like in our country, SMEs are the most vulnerable segment to cyber threats and low risk awareness, financial inadequacies and the fact that they need support are also valid for European countries.


Throughout the forum, the panels I participated in discussed success stories, failed initiatives, sustainability and resilience plans and actions in the face of ever-increasing risks, and the recurring concept of cooperation and solidarity. It was emphasized that the traditional role of insurance as a payer in case of damage has now changed to a real partner standing close, that UWs now focus more on the risk management stories of institutions rather than financial data or special conditions of the institution, the importance of risk engineering and modeling, the participation of captives in ESG actions, Environmental, Social and Governance policies, and the changing structure of risks and destructive damages can only be overcome together with experienced people, experts and cooperation.


Artificial intelligence, modeling, political risks, the need for alternative risk transfer methods, parametric insurance solutions and protection gaps were also discussed in detail in other panels.


Almost at every global meeting, what I think and wish for is the fact that while so much is happening in the world and organizations are rolling up their sleeves and setting off for the future, the road ahead is very long and challenging. In our country, which is one of the important players in the world, there is not much time left to think and work for a livable and sustainable future for our future generations, our children. Developed countries with high economic prosperity, which produce knowledge, can allocate time for plans for the future in addition to their daily issues, discuss problems, search for solutions, make investments and systematically prepare. As was stated in all the panels, the problems are numerous, the risks are great and frequent, there is urgency and solutions should be designed with the long-term future in mind.


The stands in the exhibition area were the center of pleasant conversations and refreshments. Insurers and brokers also surprised risk managers with interesting events. One of them was the artificial intelligence photos of our fantastic heroes. I chose "superwoman" among the heroes who decided to fight risks and threats for a happy and livable world. A very sweet memory from Ferma.




The information exchanges during the networking sessions during the Forum were really valuable. Many risk managers listened to different solutions in the insurance market from experts, notes were made, business cards were exchanged and future meetings were organized. As already mentioned, there was a very distinguished Turkish community at Ferma this year and the attention was very high. Our risk managers exchanged a lot of information. With plenty of new information and ideas in their pockets, they are on their way back to share and implement their accumulated knowledge.


Ferma took place in Madrid this year. Madrid has held the title of the best conference city in Europe for the last 5 years. Every detail was planned, from the orientation when registering for the event and the transportation of participants from all over Europe and the world during the conference, from their hotels to the Infema conference center where Ferma took place, to the transportation of insurers and brokers to their reception locations. As Madrid is used to hosting multiple crowded organizations at the same time in its historical, vibrant and lively world, we easily adapted to the environment. On the last evening of Ferma, before the Real Madrid - Borussia Dortmund match, which was very close to the hotel we stayed at, the flood of fans walking around the city with their jerseys and scarves reminded me of Istanbul's matchdays. Last time I checked the score was 2-2.


There are pages and pages of notes and many more topics that I will blog about in detail in the future as I have the chance. The world is facing new risks with the rapid transformation it has been experiencing in recent years; these faltering times while trying to normalize and stabilize are leading people and institutions to take precautions, manage or eliminate their risks, and invest and protect their assets for a sustainable future and prosperity. Risks have always existed in one form or another, what matters is how risks are addressed, how solutions are designed and, more importantly, how we do it all together in cooperation.

Wishing you a happy and prosperous world.



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