During a recent interview with Carrier Management, CEO of Sompo GRS, Michael Chang, pointed to the industry’s “friends and family” culture as a factor holding back long-discussed initiatives to make the industry more racially diverse. He recalled the conservative culture he encountered during his career and noted that, “People, in general, are not comfortable being uncomfortable”.
In the article, Michael Chang and Abel Travis, VP of Fundamental Underwriters, a division of AF Group, discuss inequitable “proof vs. potential” standards and describe the pressure to avoid failure—a particular burden that stifles risk-taking in an industry that should be rewarding “fail-fast-and-learn” models of innovation.