Amy Barnes

When I first joined the insurance industry, I realized that telling people about it was the fastest way for them to lose interest.

Fortunately, that's changed.

Risk is so much higher on people's personal and professional agendas.

We know that it pays to manage risk.

In my industry, our ability to price risk means that we have tools and products that can give a signal as to how we might adapt to climate change.

So when I joined this industry, I knew nothing about it.

But in my first week, I learned its role in a modern economy.

Aeroplanes wouldn't fly, surgeons wouldn't operate, and Taylor Swift would not go on tour without access to insurance.

In fact, very few people will take on a major financial commitment without it.

It works because the losses of the few are paid for by the many, making risks manageable.

And so banks rely on insurance, and if anyone here has built a wind farm or bought a home, the banks will have required you to have insurance in place.

In fact, many, maybe even most financial transactions are contingent on insurance being in place.

And so insurance is the lubricant of the financial services industry, and without insurance, you'll struggle to access debt.

Last bit of the insurance lesson, I promise.

Premiums price risk.

So the cost of the insurance gives an indication of how likely it is that the insurer thinks that you will suffer a loss.

And we all know this.

Young, inexperienced drivers pay high insurance premiums.

Yet on my home, if I install a burger alarm or locks on my windows, I know the cost will be lower.

So the premium indicates how likely it is you will suffer a loss, but there are things that we can do to reduce the risk and reduce the cost.