Blockchain and artificial intelligence will reshape much of the insurance industry, but there should also be far more gender and race diversity across the sector. Those were two of the points raised during a discussion on --technology shaping industry-- at ILS Convergence 2018. Kara Swisher, an American technology journalist and cofounder of Recode, the technology news website, said the likes of artificial intelligence would significantly impact the insurance and reinsurance landscape. So every part of your business is going to be affected by AI, or whatever. Every part of your business could be replaced and affected,-- she told delegates at the two-day conference.

The head of a Bermudian software engineering firm and a New York insurance lawyer will speak at a seminar on artificial intelligence and the insurance industry next week. Sandra De Silva, the founder, chief executive officer and chief software architect at Nova Ltd, a firm that has provided bespoke software development to the reinsurance industry since 2006, will talk on how AI and machine learning are impacting the insurance industry. Her fellow speaker will be Mina Matin, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright in New York, who has extensive experience representing international insurers, reinsurers and captive insurance companies in litigation and arbitrations, in particular in the US, Bermuda and UK. The event, entitled --Artificial Intelligence and Insurance: A Glimpse of the Future--, is hosted by the Institute of Risk Management Bermuda Group and will take place at the offices of Deloitte at 20 Parliament Street, Hamilton next Wednesday from 4pm to 6pm. The IRM Bermuda Group stated: --This discussion will help those who are attending develop a better understanding on: what is AI; current uses of AI within insurance, and; what are the current issues within insurance coverages that may be impacted through the use of AI.--

Artificial intelligence is not about robots taking over the world, but about leveraging the powerful technology to capture and analyse vast quantities of data, and making the best use of that information. That--s the belief of Noel Pearman, Bermuda professional lines underwriter and cyber product lead at XL Catlin, who has been speaking on the subject in the US. For the insurance sector, one likely manifestation of AI will see customers purchase increasingly tailored policies based on data directly relevant to the way they live their lives. Mr Pearman explained: --One of the things we are doing now is capturing data at a rate that we were never able to do before.-- The prevalence of --The Internet of Things-- devices that collect real-time data will allow insurance companies to mine information and offer better rates to customers whose behaviours represent a lower risk, such as those with better driving habits.