Re/insurers should reveal expertise to public bodies: IDF
‘The risk understanding that is the bread and butter for our industry can and should be shared more widely,’ IDF secretary-general says
Insurance Development Forum encourages more information-sharing between insurance companies and governments
The expertise of insurance companies extends beyond risk transfer but many, including governments, may not always be aware or appreciate this, Ekhosuehi Iyahen, secretary-general of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF), has said.
Speaking to Insurance Day, Iyahen said: “Early warning is about effectively communicating risk, including the opportunity to leverage technology to do so and there is strong momentum from the insurance community to provide even more support through early risk mitigation.”
She continued: “In particular, there’s the information element, which is a fundamental basic need, and the industry could go such a long way in helping governments and other key stakeholders understand the risks faced by society and in particular, vulnerable communities and, importantly, also inform the development of appropriate adaptation measures to improve resilience.”
Ivahen said that public bodies, including sometimes even ministries of finance, are not always aware that insurance companies have engineering and science departments, for example, that focus on risk understanding and can add value to deliberation on infrastructure investments.
“There is strong knowledge-sharing potential here – the insurance industry is doing more now than ever before in terms of articulating this value, and at the same time dispelling myths about what insurance is and the full capabilities the industry has to offer,” Iyahen said. “The risk understanding that is the bread and butter for our industry can and should be shared more widely within sovereign and humanitarian sectors.”
On average, the world’s low-income countries lose $29bn every year from disasters yet just 3% of these losses are covered by insurance.
“There is so much that can be done to improve risk understanding but also ensure that future investments are indeed resilient,” Iyahen said.
The IDF is mobilising the partnerships, resources, and expertise to fill this gap and contribute to the Insuresilience Global Partnership goal of providing financial protection for 500 million poor and vulnerable people against climate and disaster risks by 2025.
