15 April 2020 • 4 min read

Don’t Let A Good Crisis Go to Waste – Use the opportunity to adapt

On Tuesday, 14 April 2020, CN&CO Events hosted its first series of online insurance “mini-conference”, InsureTalk1, of which iTOO was a proud headline sponsor. Our Managing Director, Justin Naylor shared some of his insights about the current Covid-19 crisis and some trends that he sees being sparked from facing the...

iTOO

iTOO

Don’t Let A Good Crisis Go to Waste – Use the opportunity to adapt

On Tuesday, 14 April 2020, CN&CO Events hosted its first series of online insurance “mini-conference”, InsureTalk1, of which iTOO was a proud headline sponsor.

Our Managing Director, Justin Naylor shared some of his insights about the current Covid-19 crisis and some trends that he sees being sparked from facing the Coronavirus pandemic challenge. Here is a summary of what he had to say:

Winston Churchill coined the phrase – “Don’t let a good crisis go to waste” and really this means that during the time of a crisis your status quo or day-to-day normal is changed and this gives you a great chance to think about opportunities during and after a crisis.

Many of the world’s leading companies were founded during a crisis or used a crisis to grow and change their business for the good. The likes of Starbucks, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, CNN, Apple and Lego are just a few companies that took advantage of a crisis and ended up stronger than before.

Justin spent some time during lockdown thinking about the current situation and these are some of the trends he has formulated following observation of the world during Covid-19:

  • Don’t be a dinosaur – If you are not learning and changing everyday, you are slowly becoming extinct. This crisis has forced many businesses to work from home, connect digitally and come up with creative ways of doing business, as well as reach out to customers.  A great example is the game lodge industry doing virtual game drives, this may not replace their traditional income from foreign tourists, but it is a chance to explore new ways to reach out to more customers around the world.
  • There is no “I” in team – We are all connected. A virus breakout in a relatively unknown city in China and the decisions of presidents around the world can impact us all, which goes to show that our own lives and the lives of the most marginalised on the planet are closer than we could have imagined. A virus does not discriminate against class, religion, or colour – there are no protective bubbles and we need to care about the world around us and our communities as we are all in this together.
  • Local is lekker – One positive that has come out of this crisis, is that most of us are united behind our president and the bold leadership he has shown, but we also understand that the economy is facing a tough challenge and it is probably going to take a lot longer than we think recover and get back to normal. This crisis gives an opportunity to support local businesses – take a shot left and buy local – as the success and growth of these businesses is imperative to the success and growth of our communities.  For now, to keep business up and running, the ultimate “local” is going to be operating in unusual ways, from home exercise, cooking, entertainment and family. All businesses should be thinking of  innovative ways to supply their services to people from the comfort of their own homes.
  • Keep it real – We have all been living lives that are multi-faceted and maybe too busy and this time during lockdown forces us to rethink how we live our lives going forward. Joy Of Missing Out (JOMO) will become the new FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). One thing we will all miss most during lockdown is the face-to-face relationships and true connection above acquaintances and technology-based connections.
  • What is it worth? – We have all been caught up in a world that is materialistic and consumption driven and this time out will probably allow people to question how we have been spending time, money and what are the things we truly value. Time is the new money and health is the new wealth. Business and consumption will need to become more sustainable.
  • The need for Expert Insurance – The world has changed and so have the risks we face. To illustrate with an example – in 1975, 85% of the value of the S&P 500 was made up of tangible assets like buildings, plant, machinery, stock. Today about 84% of the value of these leading 500 companies is made up of intangible assets such as brand, intellectual property and reputation. This is a huge shift and yet insurance spend has not kept up with the change and many businesses and people are still spending mostly on protecting their physical assets.A global pandemic such as coronavirus is another example of a risk that was mostly not covered for ordinary people and businesses. As the world changes around us, it is so important to work with a good broker who understands you or your business so that you can get advice about what else can go wrong and how can you protect against it with the help of an #Expert in special risks.