Our luxury brand and high-end retail clients operate in a fast-moving, complex and competitive business environment.
With increased customer focus on speed, convenience and provenance, luxury brands have invested in complex supply chains, bespoke delivery and payment solutions, and technology as they seek to grow their market share.
Brands also use technology to build and support emotional investment, which is reflected in the many and diverse partnerships with third parties that help to define, develop, promote and support the brand.
While the risk profile of luxury brands from fashion and accessory to hard luxury may share many common features, we understand that one size does not fit all.
Luxury is an important and growing sector in which each company has a unique risk exposure, business model and culture.
That's why WTW is committed to understanding and supporting the unique culture, business model and operational objectives of each of our luxury clients.
An evolving risk landscape
Corporate risk priorities have shifted to include more than just physical assets. Risk management is now just as important for people risks as brands compete for top talent, and for intangible assets, such as intellectual property and copyright.
The drift to digitalization has highlighted data protection, while the prevalence of social media has underlined the importance of reputation.
The risk map for luxury brands is being re-drawn. Along with the more traditional physical loss and damage exposures, corporate risks may also feature, such as:
- Failure to achieve environmental or sustainability targets
- The ability to attract and retain key talent
- Heightened exposure to global terrorism, civil commotion and political risk due to increased geopolitical instability
- New and diverse partnerships, joint ventures, projects and product lines, which push business boundaries and create new risk exposures
- Reputational risk, which is especially acute in an industry so dependent on social media
- Cyber risk, especially in respect of customer and other sensitive data
- Crime, including not just the rise in organized theft but digital theft and social engineering
- Supply chain transparency and end to end-to-end ethical integrity
- Natural catastrophe risk, resulting in loss of assets or contingent business interruption
- Supply chain vulnerabilities in an increasingly global ecosystem
- Vulnerability to counterfeiters and loss or breach of intellectual property
At WTW, we combine many years of global luxury brand experience with wide ranging risk management expertise to address the distinct and specific needs of your luxury brand and help you navigate the changing risk landscape.
What we do
Our globally integrated Luxury Brands team provides you with expertise from all areas of client servicing, including claims management; captive management; program design and placement with markets worldwide; actuarial analysis; alternative risk transfer; mergers and acquisitions; and employee benefits. We also provide day-to-day servicing by a team that understands the luxury sector.
We can work with you to provide bespoke policy wording aligned to the luxury risk profile and a risk program that supports and responds to luxury business and operational needs.
Our clients are leaders in high jewelry and fashion, watches and leather goods, cosmetics and fragrance, luxury automotive, fine art and online luxury sale and distribution.
We can provide the following cover:
- Marine cargo and jewelers block
- Fine art and specie
- Environmental advisory
- Supply chain consultancy
- Cyber risk
- Reputational risk
- Terrorism and political risk
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Remuneration and compensation advisory
- Clinical trials
- Product recall
WTW stats as at 7 October 2022
Why choose WTW?
We use an analytical approach
We can provide you with the data analytics behind the decisions you make on program design and cover requirements. This supports good governance, giving you a clear audit trail of decisions and allows you to present recommendations to your board and internal stakeholders from an evidenced, informed, and data-driven position.
At the most basic level, you will be able to decide whether to transfer or retain risk. By integrating our analytical and broking functions, we take into account current market conditions to ensure we achieve an optimal deal for you, providing best value for money and fit-for-purpose cover.
A proven model for global program management
You will benefit from our tried-and-tested processes and structures that ensure our clients get the same high-level of quality of service anywhere in the world, and that our local offices are fully aligned with our clients’ needs and objectives.
Our connected team brings the best of WTW to serve you
We have an integrated team approach. We connect experts in your business, industry professionals, and product specialists with key talents from across WTW in a flexible team approach. This enables your core team to work cohesively across boundaries and profit centers, to bring the best of WTW intellectual capital to you.
Our claims service proposition
At WTW, we pride ourselves on our ability to protect the interests of our clients in the management and handling of claims.
We recognize the importance of an efficient claims service in terms of cost savings, brand protection and customer care. We aim to prevent claims before they happen. And if they do, draw lessons from them to better prepare for similar losses in the future.
