I was lucky as a child to have a big enough back garden to practise le foot. Attentive maintenance of the grass and the earth below it was one of my obsessions. My father had explained that if I wanted to be the best footballer in France, I needed the best pitch to practise on. So I mowed regularly, treated then seeded patches when fungus emerged, and filled in with loose soil any infinitesimal depressions that might make the ball waver on its path towards my goal.

Papa helped, of course. He acquired and paid for all the supplies. It was the age before we learned everything from YouTube, so he provided very good advice about techniques ranging from the application of fertilizers and the eradication of pests. He coached my play, too. Celebrated my successes joyously, and commiserated when due.

The penny dropped after two seasons of intensive lawn maintenance. My father had extolled to me the benefits of keeping the grass green, trimmed, and flat so that I would understand I was doing that job for my own benefit. His own gain – relief from two or more hours of labour each week – was openly appreciated, but entirely incidental.

Reinsurers should learn from my father’s technique of bending young me to his will. I hear regularly from reinsurers that they would like their cedants to deliver better data and adopt better systems. The trick is to admit your desire, but make them want to do it for themselves.

I’m not suggesting that reinsurers should manipulate their clients the way a middle-aged man can influence his ten-year-old son. I’m proposing instead that reinsurers can apply a carefully balanced mix of pressure and promise to convince their insurance-company clients that they want to upgrade their tech and use better data.

They should sweeten the pot with an offer of cash to support efficient connectivity, and a dose of consultation about the cost efficiencies of universally acceptable data standards. As well as better data, reinsurers that adopt my father’s approach to conviction-building will also make their offer of capacity look much more attractive in the current, gently softening market.

Dare I say it, reinsurers can learn from the delegated authority market on this topic. When providing capacity to coverholders, carriers regularly dictate to MGAs the quality, format, and density of the data they require, and even the platform on which it must be delivered. But they do so whilst extoling the benefits of having better data and systems. I appreciate that it’s easier for them, because speciality binder capacity may be in greater demand, and MGAs typically understand the bottom-line benefits of good quality data, but still, the model is proven.

Ronaldinho once said that he learned all he knows about life with a ball at his feet. Footy has a lot to teach us about technology for insurance, too. For one, getting the groundwork right is essential, and we need to bring everyone along to get it done.

Guillaume Bonnissent is Chief Executive of Quotech.