The role of the insurance industry CFO has evolved beyond accounting, budgeting, and compliance to encompass strategic foresight, risk mitigation, and digital transformation.
Speakers at the 18th Asia Insurance CFO Summit in Hong Kong highlighted how the CFO of today must not only safeguard financial health but also steer their organizations towards long-term profitability in an increasingly volatile environment.
In his opening remarks conference chairperson and Zurich Insurance Hong Kong CFO Martin Noble said that these are truly unprecedented times and the challenges and expectations that a modern finance function needs to meet have increased beyond compare. “We need to be on the top of our game and need to continually keep learning to stay ahead,” he said.
In his keynote address, the government of Hong Kong SAR, under-secretary for financial services and the treasury Joseph H. L. Chan spoke of the pillars on which Honk Kong was being positioned as an international financial centre. These included the free flow of capital and information, a resilient banking system, a common law system and independent judiciary and a rich pool of professionals and robust regulatory regime. Mr Chan said that the major advantage for businesses was in leveraging the country’s unique advantages as a major gateway connecting mainland China with the rest of the world. Hong Kong is among the world’s most open insurance centres with the value added of the insurance industry accounted for 3.5% of GDP in Hong Kong in 2023. To strengthen Hong Kong as an international risk management centre, the government has implemented a series of measures including tax concessions, Insurance-linked securities (ILS), captive insurance and group-wide supervision
Hong Kong Federation of Insurers chairman and CTF Life Insurance deputy CEO and CFO Ellick Tsui said that the insurance industry stands at a crossroads. “As a CFO and investment leaders, you are not just a steward of capital but the architect of resilience,” he said. He called on insurance company CFOs to utilise advanced analytics to improve risk modelling and take into account current geopolitical risks and market conditions and expand their portfolio to include a mix of assets and geographic regions to mitigate the risks associated with specific markets. “As a CFO, cost is always a concern without compromising service quality, possibly through technology and process improvements. Regularly audit expenses to eliminate any inefficiency, and focus on core business areas as well as leading trends on new business opportunities,” he said. He emphasised the need to reassess the underwriting criteria to align with the latest economic realities and to consider ESG factors in the investment decision process.
A joint presentation by Deloitte Global lead IFRS insurance and AP IFRS 17 / finance and actuarial transformation leader Francesco Nagari and Deloitte Financial Services finance transformation partner Laura Blainey, focused on how life insurance CFOs can leverage on the company’s four corners of insurance reporting, to build a more effective steering framework, enabling them to maximise investments and improve reporting capabilities. The framework focuses on integrating key performance indicators, particularly profit and capital measurement, to enhance business planning, forecasting, and overall financial performance.
“It's a framework, both logically and operationally, that we believe can guide, particularly the life insurance CFO, to drive the business to new heights in terms of growth and profitability,” said Mr Nagari. The goal of this would be to maximise the return on capital. “In our opinion, the return on capital is really the key performance indicator for the insurance industry, which is even more capital intensive,” he said.
Ms Blainey spoke on the unique opportunities for finance teams and actuarial teams to elevate the business contribution and enable them to drive more growth and profitability across the insurance business. These opportunities were in data consistency and integration, risk sensitivity and capital allocation, shareholder returns and operational complexity and system integration. “There is a need to harmonize all the different systems that are used across actuarial, finance and risk management,” she said.
The 18th Asia Insurance CFO Summit, organised by Asia Insurance Review and sponsored by Deloitte, EY and Fitch Ratings, is being held in Hong Kong on the 27-28 May 2025.