There’s a Dec. 17, 2013 news item on the CanadianUnderwriter.ca website highlighting a 2014 property-casualty report from Ernst & Young (EY) that mentions nanotechnology ,

Ernst & Young LLP is predicting a rise in demand for certain types of insurance, such as cyber and nanotechnology.

The consulting firm announced Tuesday [Dec. 17, 2013] the release of the EY 2014 US Property-Casualty Insurance Outlook, which recommends that P&C carriers “invest in innovation of product development processes and delivery to meet rising demand for protection.”

For example, according to the report, a lack of “any meaningful history” with nanotechnology indicates that potential risks are not easy to assess.

I located the 12 pp. EY 2014 US Property-Casualty Insurance Outlook to take a closer look at what it had to say about emerging technologies such as nanotechnology,

To solidify recent gains and defend against new risks and challenges, US property-casualty companies must augment their focus on margin protection and operating effectiveness in 2014. Successful companies must:
• Double down on broad-based, transformative technology with high ROI [return on investment] impact
• Adopt a complete range of enterprise data excellence
• Invest in innovation of product development processes and delivery to meet rising demand for protection [emphasis mine]
• Exploit segment differences for targeted growth strategies
• Get out in front of emerging investment challenges
• Prepare for escalation of governance and accountability (p. 3)

Nanotechnology is mentioned in the context of investing in innovation,

3. Invest in innovation of product development processes and delivery to meet rising demand for protection

Highly disruptive technologies are changing products, services and customer interactions across the economy. Consequently, new risks and insurance needs are emerging for consumers and the commercial marketplace. In many cases, these risks have a legislative or legal foundation for defining risk and coverage needs, thereby increasing awareness and focusing demand. To improve their ability to design and develop new products quickly and efficiently, as well as improve speed to market, many companies are leveraging technology a and enhanced customer-centric processes.

Risks requiring broader, cost-effective insurance industry solutions include:
•Cyber insurance.
The rapid increase in hacking incidents and data privacy liabilities has
surpassed the ability of most commercial enterprises to keep pace. Insurers can provide
increased coverage and loss mitigation services, applying data analytics and other
technologies to assist insureds.
• Catastrophe insurance.
The increasing uncertainty and volatility of catastrophes has heightened the demand for broader risk protection. The potential emergence of a private flood market augmenting the national flood insurance apparatus is a case in point. The rising flood exposure has also spawned greater demand for contingent business interruption coverage, particularly for supply chain exposures. Insurers also need to prepare for private terrorism coverage exposures, given a potentially limited
federal backstop.
• Workers’ compensation.
The changing health care market, particularly new services in partnership with employers for accelerated rehabilitation and cost-effective traumatic injury medical services, is demanding more effective insurance solutions.

• Nanotechnology.
The emerging applications of nanotechnology in the manufacture or use of medicine, cosmetics, drug delivery, robotics, materials science and other products and systems create potential liability exposures. Examples include bodily injury (analogous to asbestos exposure) and environmental damage from nanoparticles escaping uncontrolled into the air or water supply. The lack of any meaningful history with this technology, as well as with the materials involved, indicate the potential risks cannot easily be assessed. [emphasis mine]
• Sensor technology.
The use of sensors in telematics and in consumer and industrial products can create increasingly integrated exposure information for insurers, while enhancing the ability to provide more cost-effective and targeted risk protection
for customers. Emerging technologies and products have led insurance and reinsurance organizations to establish centers of science to explore new approaches to risk measurement and mitigation. Companies are increasingly seeking executive talent that can drive and lead such new thinking and new approaches.

Customer perceptions of new or changing risks will guide coverage enhancements, possibly opening the market to new entrants that understand these risks. To effectively compete in this environment, companies will need to rationalize their current and often complex portfolios of products, employing technology to simplify the delivery and processing of their
product offerings, in addition to improving their response times. (pp. 6-7)

Ernst & Young does not offer any big surprises about nanotechnology and assessing risks for the insurance industry echoing earlier comments elsewhere such as those in an article I featured in my July 29, 2013 posting. Someone offered insights in a comment to that posting which might interesting as might links to other reports and articles about nanotechnology, risk, and insurance that I placed in the posting..