With digital disruption reshaping the risk landscape, insurers face growing pressure to keep pace. At CFC, a London-based specialist insurance provider, head of innovation George Beattie (pictured) is focused on anticipating the next wave of cyber, climate, and intangible risks - and developing products to address them.
"Cyber has moved from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have," Beattie said. "It's now a risk that amplifies all others." While many businesses have long ranked cyber as a top concern, he notes a disconnect: "Insurance penetration has remained lower than it should be given that perception."
Part of the problem, he said, has been a market reluctance to fully decouple cyber from traditional property coverages. But as economies become increasingly intangible, companies are waking up to the fact that their most valuable assets aren't physical. "We’ve transitioned from an economy based on tangible assets to one based on intangible. That’s now driving cyber demand," he said.
He points to events like climate catastrophes where the physical damage is only part of the story. "It’s the digital disruption that can truly cripple operations. These risks are interlinked, and that's how we're structuring our products."
Beattie oversees innovation across more than 70 products, focusing on both new launches and updates to existing lines. “We make sure they can be traded digitally and stay relevant to market needs,” he said.
Beattie describes the company’s approach as pragmatic. "We avoid over-engineering. Our cyber product isn’t tied to specific perils. Instead, it acts as an umbrella for digital disruption. That way, policyholders aren’t chasing endless updates."
The same approach extends to newer areas such as climate and the carbon markets. Beattie points to a recent collaboration with JP Morgan and carbon developer Chestnut, which supported a financing deal tied to large-scale reforestation efforts. “It was developed in response to a specific market gap,” he said.
Despite increasing awareness of intangible risks, insurance remains skewed toward physical assets. Beattie sees this as a blind spot. “Data, IP, customer trust – these now drive enterprise value. But they’re hard to define and insure,” he said, “which means traditional policies often miss them.”
He believes the key to responsible innovation lies in discipline. "The worst thing you can do is create a smart-sounding product that no one wants to buy. Innovation has to be commercially viable."
CFC is currently assessing the impact of AI across its core lines – from Cyber to D&O. Rather than rushing out standalone AI products, Beattie said the short-term goal is understanding how AI accelerates existing risks. "We need a foundation first. Once you understand how AI affects traditional coverage, you can spot the gaps."
When asked which emerging risks are most under-discussed, Beattie didn’t hesitate. First, the fragility of the digital supply chain: "Single points of failure in cloud or software infrastructure are growing more exposed." Second, the convergence of climate and technology: "We’re increasingly dependent on digital systems that extreme weather can knock offline."
Third is the accelerating power of emerging technologies like AI. “The frontier for general intelligence has advanced far faster than expected,” he said. “That shift changes everything.”
Beattie sees a clear mandate for the industry: stay relevant by closing the protection gap around intangibles. "Insurance accounts for just 2% of global GDP and it's shrinking. We have to move faster."
Reflecting on the industry’s broader direction, Beattie emphasised the importance of agility. “To be able to have a voice as big in the fight as the biggest insurance companies out there by being more agile, I think is exactly where we need to be spending our time,” he said.
