Disaster resilience represents an opportunity, says Allianz Re CEO

Re/insurers are duty bound to help mitigate disaster risks, but this does not mean that the industry cannot benefit at the same time, says Amer Ahmed, CEO of Allianz Re. "Managing risks is our primary role in society. Partnering with government bodies to reduce risk exposure would help create more diversification in our industry, which is ultimately better from a cost of risk point of view," he explained.

In the same report, the Intelligent Insurer reports that a recent joint study, undertaken by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide, found that economic losses stemming from disasters are unlikely to be reduced from present levels of $240 billion per year. Jerry Velasquez, UNISDR’s chief of advocacy and outreach, said: “This study tells us that the way we do development is the reason why economic losses are so high. Development drivers are stronger drivers of the increase of risks than hazards themselves. In order to limit economic losses in the future, we need to improve urban planning and make economic growth resilient.”