True leadership in finance is not just about preserving value, it is about having the courage to create it. Today, the insurance CFO operates at a rare intersection where capital meets complexity and strategy meets disruption. In an era of heightened volatility and accelerated change, finance must move beyond a defensive posture to become a proactive force that protects and creates value
Sonali Athalye, Chief Financial Officer, Aviva India
Numbers tell a story, but it is often the undercurrents beneath them that decide the future. The global insurance industry recorded approximately €7 trillion in gross written premiums in 2023, an 8.6% year-on-year increase, according to the IAIS Global Insurance Market Report 2024.
This growth, supported by disciplined underwriting and favourable financial markets, reflects the sector’s ability to adapt and thrive. Looking ahead, return on equity is projected to rise to 10.7% by 2025, buoyed by improved investment yields and pricing discipline, as highlighted in Deloitte’s Insurance Industry Outlook.
Yet, behind these numbers lies a far more layered reality. Geopolitical tensions, shifting global tax regimes, climate-driven catastrophe losses and the growing scale of cyber threats are redefining the contours of risk. The IAIS also points to systemic vulnerabilities linked to commercial real estate exposures, increasingly complex reinsurance structures and the rising reliance on alternative assets in life portfolios.
For the CFO, navigating this environment is no longer simply a question of managing the balance sheet. It is about safeguarding the organisation’s resilience while positioning it to seize opportunities in a world that changes faster than forecasts.
The New Strategic Mandate for CFOs
Leadership today is not only measured by the decisions we make but by the questions we are willing to ask. Deloitte’s Asia-Pacific CFO Survey 2025 reveals that 67 per cent of Indian CFOs now place revenue growth ahead of cost containment and 78 per cent are accelerating digital investments. Across the region, finance leaders are anchoring their strategies on growth,efficiency and resilience.
The role of the CFO has expanded beyond the confines of financial stewardship. Today’s finance leaders guide mergers and acquisitions, shape ESG and technology agendas and foster innovation across underwriting, distribution and operations. In this broader remit, finance is not only about meeting quarterly targets. It becomes the architect of sustainable value creation,ensuring that every financial decision reinforces the organisation’s ability to grow and endure.
Sustainability, Technology and Transformation
The future will belong to those who can read the signs of change early and act with conviction.Sustainability is now deeply embedded in financial decision-making. More than half of APAC CFOs have integrated ESG into capital allocation, and nearly as many have embedded it into their operating models.
For insurance, this means pricing climate risks with precision, ensuring transparent and credible disclosures and aligning product development with sustainable outcomes.
Technology is equally transformative. AI, data analytics and automation are reshaping every stage of the insurance value chain, from underwriting and claims to customer engagement. CFOs are increasingly leading this transformation by prioritising investments, establishing clear ROI frameworks and ensuring digital initiatives align with strategic growth priorities.
The challenge lies in combining agility in adoption with fiscal discipline so that transformation delivers measurable and lasting value.
Redefining Priorities: From Insight to Impact
In a time of disruption, insight is not enough – it must translate into meaningful action. The modern insurance customer seeks transparency, flexibility and personalisation.
Finance leaders are responding by using a richer set of data, both financial and behavioural, to inform product portfolios, pricing models and distribution strategies. This is driving innovations such as microinsurance for underserved communities and modular policies for urban customers whose protection needs change rapidly.
Inside the organisation, the focus is on building the capabilities to withstand and adapt to disruption. Sixty-nine per cent of Indian CFOs are prioritising workforce upskilling, especially in AI, ESG and digital capabilities. With 53 per cent expecting a rise in deal activity, the ability to integrate acquisitions, meet regulatory expectations and ensure cyber readiness has become
central to the finance agenda.
CFOs today are in constant dialogue with product leaders, technology teams, regulators and boards. These conversations are not limited to interpreting financial results. They influence the direction of capital allocation by considering underwriting profitability, inflation-adjusted growth and evolving regulatory landscapes alongside traditional performance metrics.
CFO at the Helm of Transformation
True leadership in finance is not just about preserving value, it is about having the courage to create it. Today, the insurance CFO operates at a rare intersection where capital meets complexity and strategy meets disruption. In an era of heightened volatility and accelerated change, finance must move beyond a defensive posture to become a proactive force that
protects and creates value.
This requires a shift in mindset. Risk is no longer only to be mitigated. It can also be a source of innovation. Margin optimisation must be balanced with long-term resilience. Reporting performance must be complemented by shaping the enterprise’s future direction.
In this new paradigm, the most effective CFOs won’t just balance the books – they’ll help rewrite
the business story. And as insurance continues to evolve, so too will the strategic role of CFOs:
not behind the scenes, but at the helm of transformation.