So to meet the evolving needs of society for resilience, stability, protection, our insurance industry needs to deepen our understanding of risks through better data, better mechanisms to produce insights, enabled by the recent technology improvements I began to discuss.
And we should use this to develop a more effective trading environment. That new trading environment is going to require hard looks at the supportive operating models we exist under and how these models are governed both by our organizations internally and by the external bodies that regulate us.
But all this is needed as we have an accountability to society and to the economies we exist in. If we fail as that shock absorber-- ignore the impact on our profits and our growth for just a second, please-- the implications and impacts can be devastating.
So we need to explore. How can we best prepare to remain innovative and competitive? We need to send a strong message about what we're doing and why. That's why we at WTW have set out some strategic priorities in our risk and broking business to innovate and create a competitive advantage all driven by our shared view that the purpose of insurance is to provide this protection to society.
So we need to close the insurance gap with new and innovative products and services. We need to bring risk and capital closer together to create a more efficient and effective market. We need to digitize to reduce transaction costs in what is a very expensive value chain. And fourth, we need to optimize so that we can maximize value creation for each player and our customers.
Now there has been significant change in the insurance industry since its inception. We've evolved from our crude methods from 3,000 years ago of splitting up cargo to meet the more sophisticated needs of society that we face today.
Now recently change has been relatively slow and relatively incremental. But we're on the verge of an evolution or maybe even a revolution because the timing is right. Why is that timing right? Well, our end user demands sustainable solutions that provide protection and resilience. And that requires innovation, innovation in both what products are delivered and how they're delivered.
Because the way our talent pool is now working requires the incorporation of a virtual environment if we're going to compete for talent. Because a foundational groundwork of technological capabilities has indeed been set. And now the next steps are to use the power of digitization through connected systems and the increased computing power to gain deeper insights into risk. That will result in not only improved protection but the ability to create predictable risk taking and competitive advantage.
Our imperative for change is clear. And it goes beyond the predictability of risk pricing and the need for consistent growth of our individual organizations. We have an obligation to society to act as that shock absorber that protects economies and preserves way of life.
It's clear we can't continue to operate as we have in the recent past. We have to move to that future, using the new tools at our disposal, grounded in data, grounded in technology to deepen our understanding of risks, shape new business models, and evolve with improved governance.
