Rendez-Vous revival defies the doubters – including me

Sometimes it is refreshing to be proved wrong. This week I have seen a barrage of posts on LinkedIn from people getting ready to pack their bags and head off to Monte Carlo for the Reinsurance Rendez-Vous in the first week of September, the 68^th annual event since it was founded in 1957.

It reminded me that five years ago, as the world returned to lockdown, fearful of the seemingly endless Covid-19 variants, the Rendez-Vous went virtual for a second year. I cast doubt on its ability to return to its previous glories. I was wrong.

My reasoning was sound. Flying armies of underwriters, brokers, consultants and journalists into the Principality of Monaco was both expensive and contributed far too much to organisations’ carbon footprints. Virtual conferencing had found a place. These seemed like valid arguments at the time: but the world has moved on since then.

We have all embraced video-conferencing and, in doing so, have gained a greater understanding of when it works well and when it doesn’t. Virtual events have their place but have not replaced face-to-face gatherings, especially those where informal networking is as important as a structured programme. That certainly applies to the Rendez-Vous where the whirlwind of individual meetings in the cafes and hotel bars remains one of the key features of the Rendez-Vous: some would say its very essence.

Firms may be more choosy about which events their top executives and teams attend but no-one is arguing for a return to the full-on virtual world we had to inhabit during the Covid pandemic.

The AI factor
There may be another factor at play here: the reassertion of the primacy of human-to-human interaction in the modern business world as artificial intelligence continues its relentless march into our lives. This is especially relevant for global reinsurers and insurers in a world that has found itself in uncharted waters in terms of major risks. AI cannot assess risks, set rates, terms for risks it has never seen before. It can gather enormous amounts of data and present a comprehensive picture of those risks but it will surely need human judgement to decide how much of that risk, and at what price individual (re)insurers, are prepared to take on. Looking a broker and client in the eye will be a crucial determining factor for underwriters in those multi-million dollar transactions. I would like to see a board of directors explain to shareholders that their firm has gone bust because they let AI make all the key decisions.

The intelligence gained at Monte Carlo will inform and shape that human judgement.

Net zero pressure falters
The other factor in my questioning of the prospects for returning the Rendez-Vous to its previous glories after Covid was the pressure firms were under to reduce their carbon footprint and aim for net zero emissions.

The political climate on both sides of the Atlantic has changed considerably since 2021 with right-wing parties embracing the wilful ignorance of the climate-change deniers, led by President Trump, and pushing back on net zero initiatives. The prominence that many major firms, including in the insurance market, once gave to their commitments to address climate change and reduce their own emissions has receded. This is especially true of American firms. Few will be counting their emissions as they jet off to the French Riviera in a couple of weeks time.

So, for positive and negative reasons, the Rendez-Vous has re-established itself as one of the key events in the global insurance calendar. I am sure it will continue for many years to come.

Carry on packing those bags.