The marine insurance market may have bottomed out but new threats mean disruptive times could well lie ahead.

The potential for radical change will be the focus of next week’s International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) conference in Tokyo — a sign that one of the most traditional of insurance sectors is not stuck in the past.

The theme — disruptive times and the opportunity or threat they pose — reflects the view of IUMI president Dieter Berg, who says his industry is on the threshold of technological change that will see developments that have revolutionised consumer markets spread to marine insurance.