You have been with AXA Partners for 10 years, and in your current role for almost five. How has your position evolved, and what are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry?

Upon joining AXA Partners, the most significant change and evolution for me was transitioning from a partner role in a small, homegrown company with 10 offices across Asia, dominating the assistance market in the region, to becoming a part of a vast multinational organisation with millions of moving parts. This shift required adaptation culturally to integrate our successful processes with those of AXA Partners. One major benefit of working for one of the global leaders in the assistance business is to operate with well-established and rigorous processes, which are crucial to providing best-in-class service.

Another major change for me was my move from a regional role in Asia to a global role based in the UK. This shift provided me with the opportunity to witness the evolving acceptance and use of security assistance and travel risk management by corporations worldwide. While I had previously supported these services globally, I was still navigating through varying local cultural mentalities, risk acceptance, and perceptions, which differed significantly across Asia. Now, in my global position, I am able to observe how these services are perceived, accepted, and at times rejected, and how risk is viewed differently not only from country to country but also from region to region. This insight has proven to be an invaluable asset.

The world is going through significant geopolitical challenges. Do you feel travellers are taking risks seriously enough, and if not, what can be done to educate them?

The crux of the matter lies in the realm of education. Appropriate education targeted at the right level and audience is crucial for serious risk mitigation. Presently, the impetus for this effort is driven by legislative duty of care, rather than intrinsic desire or responsibility. Duty of care, a moral or legal obligation to ensure the safety and wellbeing of others, places the responsibility on employers to safeguard their employees.

For duty of care to be effectively implemented, it must be embraced and comprehended from the highest level of management downwards. It is imperative for leaders to not only understand the rationale behind duty of care, but also the consequences of failing to meet legal requirements. At AXA Partners, our priority is to ensure that top leaders grasp the significance of their duty of care obligations, viewing it not only as a legal necessity but as essential protection for their most valuable asset: their staff. Furthermore, we encourage leaders to delve beyond the legal framework and consider the moral imperative.

While incidents are now being filmed and streamed live, the leisure market remains cautious about integrating security-related safety in policies or products

It comes as no surprise that organisations providing a high standard of duty of care experience superior retention rates, as travellers feel well cared for and can focus on their essential business activities without concerns about the risks they may encounter.

How do you, and the business, stay on top of the most up-to-date risks that might threaten traveller safety?

We prioritise delivering top-notch service content, and to achieve this, we actively subscribe to multiple intelligence providers who specialise in gathering, verifying, and sharing information, notifications, and advice. Our approach involves maintaining close relationships with the entire security and intelligence ecosystem, including government, military, and police entities. This ensures that we are consistently abreast of the latest threats and trends, enabling us to enhance our service provision with additional risk mitigation measures. Ultimately, this allows us to offer improved risk mitigation not only to our own personnel, but also to our clients.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used for malicious purposes. How can the insurance sector stay on top of new tech and identify potential travel threats?

At AXA Partners, we place utmost importance on technology and cybersecurity to safeguard not only our own operations, but also the personal data of our stakeholders and clients. Recognising the potential misuse of AI for criminal activities, we also acknowledge the benefits of technology in enhancing our ability to counter cyber threats and manage travel-related risks.

Thanks to AI, we can now swiftly generate a status report on affected travellers within minutes following an event. This rapid reporting, previously a labour-intensive manual process that took much longer and a huge amount of work for major events impacting travellers, has significantly improved our ability to respond swiftly to mitigate risks for travellers or provide support in their time of need.

The significance of cyber travel security extends to both leisure and business travellers, as the threats are equally pertinent. Education plays a crucial role in mitigating cyber risks, especially for leisure travellers who may lack access to formal knowledge and know-how. It’s encouraging to see financial institutions stepping up to provide regular advice and safety tips to their customers, yet it ultimately falls on the traveller to heed and follow these guidelines.

As cyber threats continually evolve, it’s imperative for travellers to remain vigilant, as each mitigation measure gives rise to new threats. Staying alert is paramount in safeguarding against these ever-evolving risks.

AXA Partners is proactively implementing robust AI content verification systems and strict usage policies to prevent the misuse of AI-generated content, ensuring that such content is not employed to target or harm our organisation. Additionally, we are conducting regular audits and collaborating with external experts to stay ahead of emerging threats and safeguard our digital assets.

How are extreme weather conditions and the climate crisis affecting the risks travellers face?

Extreme weather events are on the rise, with climate change likely playing a significant role. For example, in 2023, we experienced the hottest year on record, coupled with unprecedented heatwaves in Europe, particularly in Greece, where wildfires on Rhodes led to travel disruptions in July. Storms, floods, and droughts have also become more frequent and severe. What were once considered 50-year floods now occur every decade, and this trend is expected to worsen.

This shift has impacted insurance claims due to heightened levels of disruption, making travel insurance increasingly vital for travellers. There is a growing demand for higher coverage levels due to the surge in claims and the evolving nature of disruptions.

Education plays a crucial role in mitigating cyber risks, especially for leisure travellers who may lack access to formal knowledge and know-how

As part of the AXA ecosystem, AXA Partners leverages the capabilities of AXA Climate, which analyses historical events to anticipate future impacts stemming from climate change. This equips our organisation with enhanced abilities to develop insurance products that align with future needs and proactively mitigate risks associated with events that have yet to occur.

Civil unrest can also be a cause of threat for travellers. How can insurers help to mitigate these threats?

We have diligently strived to leverage top-tier intelligence sources, ensuring that we receive timely and verified information. As a global leader equipped with best-in-class tools and high standards of intelligence, the company is well positioned to make swift decisions. While unforeseen events may unfold rapidly, often with minimal or no prior intelligence, our preparedness for such scenarios and the provision of comprehensive pre-travel awareness training to travellers enables us to adeptly navigate crisis situations.

How do you think the safety of travellers will look towards the end of 2024 and into 2025? 

Technology has emerged as a trailblazer in monitoring, tracking, travel data capture, pattern analysis, assistance, and logistics. The past five to 10 years have witnessed a surge in travel risk management technology, with AI now playing a pivotal role in service provision. Moreover, advancements in data privacy have led to increased acceptance of travel tracking and monitoring, offering travellers a greater sense of security, knowing that their movements are monitored solely for security and assistance purposes.

The implementation of active tracking enables us to respond to and support travellers in need with greater speed, as it provides an exact location to serve as a starting point. Crisis communications are imperative, particularly for large organisations, and it’s becoming increasingly common to integrate this capability with travel risk management, expediting the support process, whether remote or physical.

The safety of leisure travellers is also gaining prominence due to heightened demand, driven by travellers’ increased risk awareness, particularly with the advent of cell phones and live streaming capabilities. However, while incidents are now being filmed and streamed live, the leisure market remains cautious about integrating security-related safety in policies or products, as leisure travel is associated with relaxation and positive experiences. Therefore, supporting this type of traveller must be deeply embedded as a core service provision, rather than an add-on service.