There are many cases where poor information or human psychology can impede effective decision-making.For example, one theory in behavioural economics warns that people taking decisions are inclined to drawincorrect mental references based on what they know. “Nudge theory” is a potential...

CII Introduction: The UK insurance sector lies at a critical juncture in its long and eventful history. On the one hand, insurers are feeling the recessionary pinch in the form of a capital squeeze and a hardening market, but they can still benefit from escaping the contagion in the global...

CII Introduction: the insurance industry provides a long-standing and often forgotten role of helping people and businesses do things without the fear of catastrophic loss should something go wrong. How can this be achieved in a sustainable manner? Does the industry use the most sophisticated...

CII Introduction: At the beginning of the new millennium the issue of pandemics was a hot topic. With outbreaks in the Far East of SARS and then avian flu the media was awash with debate on what would happen if something similar hit the UK and questions around how well prepared we are. As we...

CII Introduction: a consumer’s ability to understand, assess and form a personal attitude towards financial risk is a key component in building confidence in choosing and using financial products. From choosing what pension funds to invest in to deciding whether or not to take out protection...

CII Introduction: the importance of the insurance industry to everyday life in the UK cannot be better illustrated by the plight facing reformed offenders who have difficulty accessing it. In this latest CII thinkpiece, Chris Bath of the charity UNLOCK, which represents reformed offenders argues...

With only weeks to go untilthe United Nations climate change conferencein Copenhagen, the world is looking for itsleaders to strike a deal that will be farreachingenough to curb catastrophic climatechange from occurring. For the insuranceindustry this agreement is about more thanpreparing for a...

This thinkpiece is the first in a series of several articles on the subject of climate change to be published in 2009. This summarises a detailed report published on 23 February by the CII edited by shared Nobel Prize winner Andrew Dlugolecki, entitled Coping with Climate Change: Risks and...

The economic downturn has affected people in many ways. One such example is the impact on perceptions towards risk, both in terms of businesses and individuals. In the final paper of the ‘Risky Business’ series Clare Sheikh, Group Director of Strategy, Marketing & Customer for RSA, explores...

The current financial market crisis has impressively demonstrated the importance of aneffective credit risk management for financial institutions. At the same time, the use and thevaluation of credit derivatives has been widely criticised as a result of the crisis. Over the pastdecade, credit...