which the firm can use to tailor and price their policy offerings more accurately ( cronin, 2017 ). for the consumer, these technologies have the potential to reward their good behavior with lower premiums. from a firm ’ s perspective, the real time customer data can lead to a more accurate pricing of risk. however, data is being collected and stored in non - traditional manners. the onus is on institutions to have adequate safety nets in place to protect consumer data. additionally, there is a responsibility to use it to get the best outcome for all stakeholders – to not to use the advantages of the data to the long - term detriment of customers. another potential impact technology could have on insurer ’ s business models is the potential for cyber exposure to disrupt the property and casualty line of business. we note that whilst insurers have a high degree of awareness of cyber risks, a recent eiopa survey found that only 5 of 39 insurance groups stated that cyber risks are explicitly excluded from the property and casualty policies offered. technological changes will affect both how insurance is offered, and what is insured. payments we have seen large technology firms become increasingly active in the payments markets. with their deep and vast user base, all digitally connected, these firms promise to offer faster and cheaper online payments systems to compete with current operators. consumer needs are helping to drive this change as they have increased expectations around the speed of decision - making, electronic marketing and digitised distribution channels. again we see data analytics is playing a role. payments related data can offer valuable insights to consumer behaviour which while beneficial for firms, can come with risks to consumers for example around the potential for misuse of this data, and how it is shared and stored. in addition to our own work in monitoring and managing these risks, at eu level the debate on how to approach tech firms expanding into financial services is a live issue. as mentioned, the new european commission is mandated to come up with an approach on tech firms ; we have been and will continue to contribute to this discussion. technology is also contributing to the declining use of cash. in ireland, this trend is happening more rapidly than in many other countries. this, when looked at together with technology firms ’ activity in payments, and also the increasing development of crypto assets, points to a rapidly changing payments market, one where the future looks markedly different to the present. these changes have led to increased calls for a central bank backed digital currency. being a member

for the entry of new players to engender competition, which would in turn promote greater innovation and raise the efficiency of the incumbent insurers. mas also worked on deepening the local talent pool and fine - tuned the already prudent regulatory framework. 6. ten years on, these efforts have yielded significant results. the singapore insurance industry, which saw a number of acquisitions, consolidations and new entrants, experienced strong growth, with total assets tripling to s $ 136bn over the past decade. the industry has also matured in terms of the breadth and depth of products and services offered. for example, we see increased capacity in writing specialised risks like aviation, energy, marine and political risks. for the life insurance industry, we have also seen greater product innovation as well as increased interest from insurers offering more sophisticated products catering to the needs of the high net - worth and mass affluent segments. future challenges and opportunities 7. but greater challenges and opportunities lie ahead. enhancing risk management capabilities 8. the recent global financial crisis has underscored the importance for financial institutions to have strong risk management capabilities. the use of risk management tools such as stress testing, for example, helps identify potential risks, and allows countermeasures to be instituted early. insurers in singapore would have to keep abreast of developments internationally, and should continually look for ways to deepen their risk management tools and capabilities. income is no exception. but unlike some of the other insurers that are part of larger global financial institutions and can therefore leverage on their parents ’ risk management expertise, income does not have such an advantage. these global financial institutions have widely - tested risk management practices and more established risk management cultures, given their richer experience. income would have to grow its risk management expertise internally, but it would do well to learn from these global players ’ recent experiences. strengthening governance 9. however, having risk management tools and capabilities alone will not be enough. the challenge is often in successfully integrating enterprise risk management into the insurer ’ s business, and this would require effective governance. as we have seen from numerous case studies during the financial crisis, weak corporate governance is often the key reason for the failures of financial institutions. 10. much work continues to be done in developing regulatory requirements on governance in many jurisdictions. in singapore, mas has proposed enhancements to its corporate governance regulations and guidelines, drawing lessons from the recent financial crisis and international developments. the key proposals include strengthening