Insurance

High-Level Roundtable on the Financial Management of Earthquakes

 

23-24 June 2011 - Paris, France

 

This high-level roundtable on the financial management of earthquakes was convened in response to a request from the Chilean government after the massive earthquake and tsunami in Chile on 27 February 2010 which killed more than 500 people and cost USD 25 to 30 billion. It aimed to help Chile revisit its national strategy on the financial management of catastrophe risks, and earthquake risks in particular, in light of other OECD country experiences. More specifically, the Chilean Ministry of Finance wished to examine options to expand financial coverage and alleviate the financial burden to be borne by the government in the event of future earthquakes, through risk reduction and risk transfer.

 

Beyond Chile, discussions during the Roundtable were of relevance to many other countries exposed to catastrophic risks.

 

The roundtable brought together key policymakers from various Chilean ministries, representatives from the private sector in Chile, Ambassador Saez and delegates from the Permanent Delegation of Chile to the OECD, Ambassador Garcia-Lopez of the Permanent Delegation of Mexico to the OECD, members of the OECD Board on the Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophes and other leading experts in disaster management from the public sector, industry, renowned research institutions and international organisations.

 

Documentation

 

Speakers

(click on their name to see their PPT presentation)

 

Session 1 - Policy Framework for the Improvement of Financial Management Strategies to Cope with Large-Scale Catastrophes

Moderator: Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Managing Director, Center For Risk Management, The Wharton School, United States; Chairman, OECD Board on the Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophes

  • Alberto Monti, Associate Professor of Comparative Law, Bocconi University, Italy
  • Michael Wintringham, Chair, Earthquake Commission, New Zealand
  • Pierre Michel, Executive Vice-President, CCR, France
  • Ernest Rios, Chief Officer of the Insurance and Regulation Division, Superintendence of Securities and Insurance, Chile
  • Juan Carlos Jobet, Interior Ministry, Chile
  • Daniel Johnson Rodriguez, Housing Ministry, Chile
  • Luis Felipe Elton, Public Works Ministry, Chile

 

Sesssion 2 - The Framework for Quantifying Catastrophe Risk Liabilities for the Government of Chile as a Foundation for Identifying Appropriate Risk Mitigation and Risk Transfer Mechanisms

Moderator: Raul Saez, Ambassador, Permanent Delegation of Chile to the OECD

  • Robert Muir-Wood, Chief Research Officer of Risk Management Solutions
  • Ignacio Briones, Head of International Finance, Ministry of Finance, Chile
  • Jorge Claude, Director, Insurance Association of Chile
  • Norio Okada, Director, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan
  • Mike Kreidler, Insurance Commissioner, State of Washington, United States
  • Semih Yucemen, Professor, Departments of Civil Engineering and Earthquake Studies, Middle East Technical University, Turkey
  • Anselm Smolka, Head of Corporate Underwriting/Geo Risks, Munich Re
  • Rui Pinho, Secretary General of the GEM Foundation

 

Session 3 - Catastrophe Financing for Governments : Learning from the 2009-2012 Multicat Program in Mexico

Moderator : Milan Simic, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, AIR Worldwide Ltd.

  • Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Managing Director, Center for Risk Management, The Wharton School, United States; Chairman, Board of the OECD International Network on the Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophes
  • Rubem Hofliger Topete, General Director, Fund for Natural Disasters (FONDEN), Mexico
  • Salvador Perez Maldonado, Deputy General Director, Integral Disaster Risk Management, Mexico
  • Ivan Zelenko, Head of Derivatives and Structured Finance, Capital Markets Department , Treasury, The World Bank
  • Glenn Pomeroy, Chief Executive Officer, California Earthquake Authority, United States

 

Concluding Session

  • Erwann Michel-Kerjan, Managing Director, Center for Risk Management, The Wharton School, United States; Chairman, Board of the OECD International Network on the Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophes
  • Ignacio Briones, Head of International Finance, Ministry of Finance, Chile
  • Robert Ley, Deputy Director, Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD

 

Contact

Cécile Vignial
Principal Administrator
Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs
Tel: 33 (1) 45 24 96 60
Email: cecile.vignial@oecd.org

 

Further reading