Dear friend,

What a busy week — I’ve been scrambling around London and beyond interviewing all and sundry for bits and pieces that will end up in upcoming issues of Reinsurance and Fac magazines. I’ve crunched numbers and lunched with the best of them — (hopefully the exercise of running to meetings will be able to offset the extra calorie intake).

We’ve had some great sessions on the results front — an almost unbelievable string of numbers has been paraded our way over the last month.

And quite apart from anything else it’s great to get out of the office and meet people face to face, especially when they are in a good mood because they have posted record results.

You can’t really build up a rapport with someone over the telephone, because you can’t see how they react to what you say and of course, they can’t react to your facial expressions and gesticulations (and mine have to be seen to be believed).

And that’s why I don’t think the worldwide reinsurance market and the London market is ever going to go completely virtual.

Yes, we are on the cusp of an era in which all business will be placed processed and settled electronically, but in no way will this put and end to face to face negotiations.

If anything the electronic marketplace will produce such wondrous productivity gains that it will free brokers and underwriters up for more business travel, and more meaningful face to face meetings.

The result should be more innovation, better end products for our customers and more prosperity for all.

It’s like Woody Allen in the classic 1973 sci-fi spoof Sleeper.

When offered a quick romp in the Orgasmatron by Diane Keaton “I’m strictly manual”, comes the reply from the diminutive funny man.

But then he has a go anyway…