You might wonder why – it’s because the Ikano team was fun and the projects were always interesting to work with. One of my favourite projects was the MyTown Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur. A truly challenging project, but working with the Ikano team made it enjoyable.

Fast forward to 2018, I found myself on the other side of the table. I joined the Insurance Advisory Team in Luxembourg, where I now work with customers from both Ingka Group, Inter IKEA and colleagues within our own group of companies. No day is the same, and with the constant changes in the construction sector and the latest challenges of supply chain issues, inflation, and delays in constructions, there are constant changes that we need to tackle.

A project that stands out in my memory was supporting in the insurance set-up of Ikano Industry’s new mattress factory in Saltillo, Mexico. The project was massive, involving heavy machinery and potential risks during the construction phase. Risks like machinery breakdown, design defects, fire, human risk and natural disasters leading to unforeseen property damage. But thanks to a good insurance solution, we were able to transfer the risk of a possible claim and protect the balance sheet of the local entity.

Crucial to our projects is the Design Review process, when we kick-off the involvement with the insurance company. Together, we review all the risks in the project to ensure that the design meets the requested level of protection. And with long-standing relationships with insurance companies (some dating back 40 years), our role as Insurance Advisor is to find the best possible solution of risk transfer and balance sheet protection to keep the business rolling.