CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 2021 - Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has hosted a fireside chat with Peter Zaffino, President and Chief Executive Officer of insurer AIG, as part of its Virtual Reinsurance Renewal Season.

The goal of Aon’s fireside chats is to stimulate insightful debate that serves to address key areas of client need: navigating new forms of volatility, building a resilient workforce, rethinking access to capital and addressing the underserved.

Hosted by Greg Case, Chief Executive Officer of Aon, Zaffino called on the industry to continue its efforts to better address cyber risk – one particular “worry” he highlighted during the session with Case.

“Is cyber an aggregated risk that the industry can actually underwrite effectively to provide value to clients? That’s something I do worry about because you’re starting to see more ransomware, more frequency, but the big systemic risk hasn’t happened yet. Is enough capital in the reinsurance industry to actually help mitigate some of that loss, and are there enough active players that can actually be creative at solving client problems?”.

Taking a wider perspective, Zaffino said that the COVID-19 pandemic had presented new opportunities for innovative re/insurance solutions, but added that the sector wasn’t addressing emerging risks and climate change quickly enough.

In terms of AIG, Zaffino said he was encouraged by the progress the firm had made in terms of diversity and inclusion, adding that almost 20 percent of the firm’s global workforce was part of employee resource groups that directly supported inclusion.

“Diversity, inclusion and equity is very important to us. We’re really trying to educate the company on unconscious bias and [ask] how do we actually create a mechanism where we’re being more inclusive or being more collaborative?”

He also said he was proud of AIG’s sponsorship of the AIG Women’s Open golf championship, highlighting that the firm now had “the largest purse” for women’s golf.

ENDS

Aon UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the provision of regulated products and services in the UK. Registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 00210725. Registered Office: The Aon Centre, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4AN. Tel: 020 7623 5500.