ENCOURAGING PREVENTION FOR BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES With aging populations and an increasing rate of diseases driving rising healthcare costs globally, prevention is becoming an ever more important pillar of healthcare. As a rule, preventive medicine reduces expenditures in the healthcare system since the costs of prevention are lower than later treatment costs. One area where SCOR has placed a focus on prevention is mental health. Mental illnesses, particularly depression, now represent the leading cause of disability claims, making up 30% of cases in several European markets (e.g. Germany and Austria). The results of a pilot program in German are promising, speaking to the role reinsurers can play in improving anxiety and depression and reducing claims. The program combined cognitive behavioral therapy with digital tools, including an emotiontracking bracelet that monitored stress through physical signals. Participants who received real-time feedback and participated in online coaching sessions found they were able to better manage stress. Prevention efforts also have great potential when it comes to reducing modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, falls in older adults, and cancers and other illnesses caused by smoking. PREVENTION IN PROPERTY & CASUALTY While we may not be able to prevent natural catastrophes and other P&C risks events, we can limit and/or mitigate the damage of these events by ensuring new constructions and large-scale projects meet certain standards before they are eligible for financial transfer to (re)insurance. One such example is renewable energy facilities. Renewable energies like wind and solar power are crucial for a sustainable future, helping to address the impacts of climate change and prevent further environmental degradation – but A FOCUS ON PREVENTION An essential part of managing systematic risk In today’s interconnected world, risks are complex and intertwined and as our understanding of risks improves, their impact on each other becomes clearer. AI and other digital advances are helping to further reveal how risks interact, leading to unprecedented understanding of this interconnectedness. As we work to untangle the overlapping causes and effects of a complex risk universe, one thing is clear: it is better to prevent a risk event from being realized than it is to rebuild or recover after the fact. And while some risks are hard to anticipate – like when an earthquake will strike and how much damage it will cause – certain risks are increasingly possible to predict and, therefore, prevent. 46 ACTIVITY REPORT 2024
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