moneyblog

Towards Prosperity Research Launch

It was great to see the FSC launch the Towards Prosperity research on Thursday night. Some results might surprise those with a solidly agrarian view of the New Zealand economy:

• Financial services is a large part of our economy – in fact larger than the average for the OECD 28.
• Our contribution isn’t limited to the larger cities, with growth shared throughout the regions as well.

There is lots more to discover, in a pack which is a great grounding for more specific work that you may do for clients, channel managers, or advisers. You can download your copy here: Download Toward Prosperity - Financial Services Council - Research into the Financial Services Sector December 2018

World AIDS Day

This Friday the 30th of November is World Aids Day. 42% of Kiwis say they would feel uncomfortable eating food prepared by someone living with HIV, and 46% of New Zealanders would be uncomfortable letting their child play with a child living with HIV. That's a shame, disease is conquered by science, not by prejudice. The major aim of World AIDS Day for NZAF is to help end HIV stigma. That would help a lot in terms of getting the right things done - people getting tested, taking steps to prevent the spread of the disease, and eventually we can end HIV. The insurance industry has some way to go to help out - we could change policy wordings and cover HIV, as has been shown by AIA's recent changes to their medical policies.

 

Latest Goodreturns Article - four million lives saved

Here is the link to my latest piece on goodreturns. Which is something of a good news story.

The evolution of trust

If trust is the new currency, and my only quibble with that statement is the word 'new', then exploring what trust is, how it works, and why it is so valuable is something worth doing. People do work on this stuff, some of them model it so you can get to grips with the basics experimentally.

Below is a link to an interactive site which allows you to explore what cheating does to a situations in which trust is required - and how variations in behaviour, even the role of simple mistakes, can have an effect on the behaviour present in the whole system. It does take time, about half an hour. I enjoyed working through the site with Matthew, my youngest child, who is twelve, who found it and brought it to my attention. Making predictions and testing them was fun and fast-paced. It helped us to have a conversation about trust, and how we respond when people let us down - and how others perceive us when we let them down. It shows the value of forgiveness in economic systems to allow trust to recover - and demonstrates that is a profitable approach. All in all, it was a valuable contribution to thinking about some of the challenges we have in developing market structures that support good conduct.

Click here to play an interactive game of trust by Nick Case.

How Japan can cope with the 100-year-life society

This article from The Economist discusses the issues facing Japan as they expect over half of Japanese babies are expected to live to 100. The impact of lengthening life can be seen all around us - in 1800 for a person to live to 50 was rare - the world over. Today, it happens more than not, even in some of the poorest places on earth. The changes to our industry appear not to be obvious, but that is probably because the changes are slow. Once, the very idea of trauma insurance, or disability income insurance, were seen as revolutionary. Today our worry is that the allocation of premium to life insurance is a problem - that money should really be spent on living benefits. 

Obesity and cancer

Obesity is a factor in cancer, this article explains how that works - and the changes necessary to reduce risks. My favourite part of the article is where they explains the action of a drug trial:

Prof Lydia Lynch said: "A compound that can block the fat uptake by natural killer cells might help.

"We tried it in the lab and found it allowed them to kill again.

"But arguably a better way would be to lose some weight - because that is healthier for you anyway."

You mean a better diet and more exercise? Dammit, I was hoping for a pill!

Not all change is progress...

The depressing spread of views and choices that harm health and well-being is evidence of the fact that not all change is progress. Perhaps the trend towards increasing scepticism about vaccines is a reflection of a disillusionment with government. Private health insurers, being seen as standing apart from government and medicine, may have a role to play in promoting vaccination. Graphic by Our World In Data:

 

Fatal Crash Rate

Here is a 'What if?' will self-driving cars arrive before I lose my licence due to age-related infirmity?

Business Owners’ Increased Use of Technology Creates New Gateways for Cyber-Criminals

As digital regeneration of business gathers pace, cyber attack risks increase.

'Connected technologies like artificial intelligence, drones, robotics or wearable sensors have the potential to be game-changers. But business owners beware, connected technologies also increase the chances of a cyber attack because they give cyber-criminals new access points if not properly protected. Research shows that 91 percent of business owners use one of these technologies, but 48 percent are unconcerned they will increase the likelihood of a cyber-attack.'

Click here to read more. Once upon a time business premises in the real-world had to be significantly hardened due to the presence of cash in almost every shop, office, and factory. Today, that risk has shifted away (excepting high cash shops, and certain types of activity like bars) towards scams, phishing, ransomware, and more.

How likely is death in a plane crash?

Of course, it depends. The main factors are whether you fly on commercial airlines, or military transports, or choose a wingsuit and jump off a cliff. If you chose the first option, it's pretty safe:

 

I still remember the "passenger accidental death benefit" rider that used to be offered by some insurers. In fact, flying on a commercial airline is one of the safest things you can do. Riding your own motorbike one of the more dangerous.