YouSaid · the spoken record

Thomas Buberl

lines on the record: 32
first: 2024-03-14
most recent: 2024-03-14
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“So, first of all, it's great to work with so many motivated people. Yes, you say it's difficult to get good people, but we have good people, and it's a pleasure to work with them. Secondly, an insurer looks into every industry. So from satellites to crocodile farms to travel insurance. So it's a very broad view. And certainly it is really a place where you can do good for society. So what I mentioned earlier around our approach on”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've fallen many times. I wear obviously a helmet and wear a vest like the motorbike vest. When you fall, it blows up. And so far, apart from a broken finger, nothing.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, yeah, I do run every morning. I do five kilometers every morning, and I'm a very passionate horse rider. And in order for the horse to support you, you can't have too many kilos.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I would say it's three phases. Number one, technology has changed our industry in order to handle large data sets, to do analysis, to also simplify the customer service and also the customer expertise. So that I would say is done. We now have AI coming in, where I said earlier, making sure that we use the unstructured data that we have, and a lot of our data is unstructured is really beneficial to really understand risk more. And then I think there is a third element I mentioned earlier the topic around prevention. This is very much happening today through digital services. Example, when we look at how to analyze the risk of a property relative to climate risk, we use a lot of satellite data, or if we want to ensure marine transport and see where is the danger of theft and damage.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, we worry a lot about these risks because these risks do create claims, and so the Russia-Ukraine situation did create a lot of claims on the political risk side, on the marine side, on the aviation side. And so for us, it's important to look out for them. And certainly to see where the next crisis comes from, because even if the Ukraine-Russia crisis was to be resolved, I'm sure the next crisis is coming. Look at what is happening in the Red Sea now, which again has massive implications around maritime transport, war cover for maritime transport, supply chain risk, and so on. I project myself in a world now in which we see many, many more of these crises happening, and we need to deal with it.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Obviously, these changes produce a high volatility of the economic environment, and certainly we spoke earlier about the geopolitical environment. So in a highly volatile and highly unpredictable environment, it is important to take a strategy of low risk. And so essentially what we have said, we have built now a platform that is working very well. We are the biggest insurer now of enterprises across the world. We are one of the biggest in Europe. We want to make sure that we scale up this business more in the next phase.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I think there's a couple of factors. Number one is fiscal stimulus, the fiscal stimulus in the US was much higher than it was in Europe, and obviously fiscal stimulus leads to more demand. Secondly, there is a lot of onshoring happening or reshoring happening from somewhere else into the US, which is obviously something that creates growth as well. And then thirdly, when you look at your demography, this is much healthier than what we have in Europe.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, I mean, look, I've been in my job for eight years. I have a lot of fun in the job, and there is also still a lot to be done. So I will continue on my journey. I will not be seduced by politics. And when you think about philanthropy, we do a lot of philanthropy also in AXA. We, for example, go running for money that we then donate to charitable institutions. We do a lot as well on the art side and helping artists and helping restoration of art in France and otherwise. So you can do a lot while being a company CEO.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So obviously in our job, you have a lot of links into politics because when you touch social security systems, when you touch the question around natural catastrophes, when you're the biggest insurer of satellites, then you always have ties into government. And obviously part of my job is also then to be in that sphere and help where I can. Does it entice me to switch over to a political career? The answer is no.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So interestingly, we actually get quite a few young people today in the business. And when you ask them, why are they in the business? The number one reason they always say is the purpose of insurance because insurance companies do protect individuals, but they are also a help. And so that's the number one driver why people are there. Second, we have a lot of people that have analytical background, so people that love data. And obviously our industry is data rich with the revolution and wave of AI coming. We now have the ability to also analyze unstructured data, which would broaden this much more. And so those are the two areas why you have a lot of talent actually coming in this way.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It always depends on what size of us you talk. Normally, they are doing their own business, so we have a clear grid of competence for underwriting, and about 99% of all risks is done in the entities, and so it should be. But yeah, there are some risks that come to me where I have to take a decision.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, we have done quite a few acquisitions, as I said earlier. I started with 80% life insurance, and we are now at 20% life insurance, having kept the same revenue, which meant that we had to do a lot of transactions. So, for example, the company you mentioned earlier, equitable, we IPO'd in the US. We bought AXAXL in the US. So we did transactions probably in the area of about 30 billion euro”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's Europe. So essentially, we have about 20% of the business in France, 40% of the business in Europe, 20% in the US, and then 20% in Asia.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I speak not German. And obviously, whenever there is a person in the room that cannot speak French, we only speak English, but I still do as many of my meetings as I can in French if it's possible.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've been able to work my way in, but that needed two things one, the curiosity of the French CEOs in me, but also my ability to then fully dive into it. And so what I did, for example, with my rudimentary French knowledge that I had from school and studying, I only spoke French the whole day to make sure that this would work. And I integrated myself wherever I could. This point around the university is actually a very good one because in France you compare the very good schools with the less good schools. I was neutral because I came from a university that nobody knew so I wasn't placeable in the hierarchy of universities.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Have to ask my board of directors. No. Essentially, I mean, the board ran a process. They first looked at extra candidates. They then looked at internal candidates. We, I think, if I remember correctly, were seven internal candidates. And then over time, the process took three years. They eliminated and we were just at the end of the day two left, one French person and me. And then the board looked at essentially three criteria, which was very much away from nationality. One was track record within AXA. The other one was what is the value set of the person? And the third one, what is the capacity of the person to reinvent him or herself?”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I worked for Boston Consulting Then went to Winter to Insurance, which was bought by Axis, so the second signature I had to give was the NDA of the Axa deal. Then I went and ran Zurich insurance in Switzerland and then went back to Axa to run Germany.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, not at all. So when I studied, so after I finish my studies, I wasn't really ready to decide in which industry I went. And so I went into consulting to prolong a little bit the journey and test certain industries. And so during that consulting time, I did amazing projects. Some were in insurance. Others were in women's underwear. Others were in IT distribution. So I saw very different sectors. I really liked the insurance sector at the time because I saw exactly what you mentioned earlier, that there is an industry that is deeply rooted in society because we are basically promoting and ensuring social cohesion, yet the industry was not recognized for it. It was that question around a very bureaucratic industry. And at the time, I wanted to make a difference and wanted to go in there.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I learned French in school. It was my third language. So I did Latin, English, and then French. And at the time, I didn't know how valuable it would be that I learned French.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, when I joined the insurance industry in 2005, this image was already there, and I would say at the time it was also justified to a certain degree because we were not enough engaged to work really for the broader society. We were still very bureaucratic. If you fast forward now almost 20 years forward, this is not the case anymore. We are extremely engaged in society, take the topic around climate change, take the topic around social inclusion, and we have significantly changed the whole customer service. So most of it today is very digital, and it's much easier both in the administration and the claims management.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Both have the same issue, which is the demographic issue. If you look, for example, in the US, I think about 10, 15 years ago, about 20% of the federal budgets and fiscal budgets were related to welfare. Today we are at 39% due to”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, obviously, I mean, you have to give your BMI, which is then the proxy around the question how you or not. But even, for example, this area, we are at the beginning of quite a big revolution. If you look at all the new drugs like Ozempic and others, they could change the pattern of obesity significantly going forward, which is actually an exciting journey to go on.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It always depends. So, dying soona is mostly better because if people live longer, you have the longevity risk and you never know how long people live. But that really depends country by country. We have certainly made the choice of being relatively cautious around life insurance. We used to be 80% in life insurance in our whole portfolio. We are now 20% in life insurance because life insurance is very much financial risk, which is not diversifying. And secondly, it is very much linked to a high degree of regulation, which makes the business very, very difficult.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Depends. I would say it's good because A, it creates the awareness to do more prevention. What we see today is that, as I said earlier, there is more events. It becomes more and more difficult to ensure. And therefore, we work a lot with our customers around preventions. And so if you look at the large hurricanes, Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Irma, for example, there are about 15 years apart, costs have actually come down over time despite inflation. prevention does work.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So essentially, we use data from the past, but as you say, since the dynamic has changed, we need to also look forward. And what we do a lot, we work a lot with scientists who understand what the warming of the earth and climate change will mean for the question of taking risk. And secondly, we take much less risk than we used to take because we have to be careful.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, absolutely. When you look at natural catastrophes, the number of events has significantly increased, and not only the very big events like hurricanes, but also what we call secondary perils, so wildfires, flooding, and drought. And this leads to the fact that you have far more events and therefore a much higher cost of all of the natural catastrophe.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I would say the property and casualty insurance for commercial business and the health insurance. Why? Because those are the two businesses that are growing the most on the property and casualty for companies. You've got all the new risks, supply chain risk, cyber risk, climate transition risk. And on the health side, the question around more longevity, but higher health cost, and how can you help people to live a better life? Those are the two areas I would recommend to you.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So again, it depends on the liability profile. We always look what is the duration of the liability relative to how we need to invest. But it's obviously clear now that in an environment like this, we need to get much higher return than we used to in a zero interest rate environment. And therefore the insurer is a very slow moving investor. So we reinvest around 10% of our balance sheet every year. So it is not that when market changes, we immediately change everything to change the return pattern.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yes, I mean, we obviously need to split our assets across many, many asset managers to make sure that we have a high degree of diversification. We have a fourth area of business, which is the investment management. So we have AXA investment managers that has around 700 billion of assets. And we obviously invest a lot through them. But we certainly also do a lot with external asset managers to make sure that we play the market, but also optimize the ritter.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, what we do is we are not speculators. We very much look at what are our liabilities, and so we invest in terms of duration exactly in the same way that we would expect the liabilities to come. And we mostly hold our assets to maturity. And therefore, it really depends what the liability looks like. This determines the return you need. And the longer the liability, the higher the return.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We have to make money on the underwriting because obviously there is capital that needs to be put behind that business. And also we have shareholders that want to return. So what we basically look at, we have a lot of historic data that we can use to price a building and then make sure that over the duration of a contract we make sufficient money to remunerate our shareholders and get remuneration for the risk.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And plus, we have to pay claims as well. So we receive at the beginning of the year a premium, we invest the premium, and then when the claim happened, we obviously have to then pay it out. And all of that should be managed in a way that we protect well the number of people that we insure and also make a profit.”
2024-03-14 · The David Rubenstein Show · Thomas Buberl · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source