AstraZeneca has implemented a five year business resilience insurance policy that will help protect against supply chain disruption, reputational damage and product withdrawal.
The policy was designed and structured by AstraZeneca in partnership with Strategic Risk Solutions and is backed by three of the world’s largest reinsurers.
AstraZeneca is also part of the Russell Working Group, which has been developing ‘connected risk’ outcome-based solutions. Steed presented the final business resilience policy to the group.
The Russell Working Group was originally formed in 2018 to focus on ‘connected risk’ and to explore how data and analytics could help corporate risk managers and (re)insurers design risk solutions more suited to today’s environment.
The group has more than 30 members, including 20 of the FTSE100, representing companies of various sizes across industry and encompassing both insurance and risk professionals.
“It was a real privilege to witness history in the making of a new era for insurance with this tangible connected risk solution,” said Suki Basi, managing director of Russell.
“The insurance market has been perceived as being resistant to change but here is an example of the market leaders displaying true innovation.”
Initially, the “connected risk” concept offers risk financing against a range of major events, with minimal exclusions, but Russell said that as exposures become better understood and with improvements in data and analytics, there will be a major industry shift to risk transfer structures of this type.
“I was delighted to advise on the progress and success of the AstraZeneca Group Insurance team in implementing our exciting new business resilience insurance policy within the AstraZeneca captive and reinsurance framework,” said Kevin Steed, head of group insurance at AstraZeneca.
“The level of dialogue between the various risk managers on the Russell Working Group call was phenomenal, clearly outlining the common interest that insurance products need to be relevant, not just now, but also for the future.”
Steed was a guest on the Global Captive Podcast in 2021 when he discussed the growth and evolution of AstraZeneca’s Cayman-domiciled captive and how it utilises structured reinsurance programmes.