Willis Towers Watson plans to offer corporate brand reputation risk solutions

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) India, a wholly-owned arm of Nasdaq-listed global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson, plans to roll out corporate brand reputation crisis insurance products in the Indian market this year, said Rohit Jain, Head of India, Willis Towers Watson.

Such products are expected to help companies understand and manage the risk of reputational damage. Reputational risk is one of the most dynamic and systemic risks facing modern companies.

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“In today’s world the way social media is, the corporate brand reputation is fragile. That’s where we felt the need for reputation crisis insurance and globally we started working on it and we are very optimistically looking at same solution for Indian market if we can convince the global underwriters that India is a safer destination for something like this,” Jain told BusinessLine .

WTW India is hopeful of rolling out this product in the Indian market this year. Such products will take the form of non-life products and could be renewed year-after-year.

“We became the first broker across the globe to offer reputational risk products and launched them at London recently. We want to see how relevant it is and how it can be customised to launch all those products in India at the right price. This is what excites me,” Jain added.

Intangible asset

‘Reputation’ has become a major intangible asset for corporates and something that has grown to be a significant part of many company’s stakeholder value. Damage to reputation is now being considered as an important risk for any business. Also, the forces that affect reputation have multiplied over the past decade with systemic changes in how people consume information, form opinion and take action.

Changing demographics, falling public trust, rising state and non-state manipulation of public opinion and the exponential rise in both the quality and quantity of data are all factors driving a new reputational landscape for companies to navigate, according to Willis Towers Watson.

Jain said that there is lot of appetite in the Indian market for products that can cover corporate brand reputation risks. “We are trying to see how best that risk can be presented to the global underwriters for them to take an underwriting call. India because of its own set of complexities and the way legal system is, there is bit of apprehension as to whether such product is the right product in India,” he said.

Brand experts say Indian market is ripe to see the adoption of brand reputation risk insurance products.

Business and brand strategy expert Harish Bijoor said, “The time has come for brand reputation insurance to pick pace in India. This has plenty of scope in the case of product brands, service brands and human brands equally.”

Experts believe with the accelerated adoption of digital channels by consumers during the pandemic brands are facing larger reputational risks especially with social media being used to voice opinions about brands.

Risk management

Jessie Paul, CEO Paul Writer said, “Risk management is an important board function now and so yes there is a market for reputation risk insurance in India.”

According to international insurance broker Howden, the pandemic has accelerated the rise of the “intangible economy” which is one of the most important economic shifts over the past few years.

According to a study released by Howden in 2021, intangible assets are today the predominant source of economic value for global businesses. “Howden analysis shows that nearly 70 per cent of total business value for the world’s largest 50 corporations emanates from intangibles. This equates to roughly $ 11 trillion,” it stated.

(With inputs from Meenakshi Verma Ambwani)

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