Allianz Manages Climate Change Risks
July 7, 2010 by admin
Filed under Initiatives
Karsten Loeffler, Head of Operations and Projects, Allianz Climate Solution, held a briefing on Climate Change Landscape – The risk and opportunities in Kuala Lumpur on 5 July 2010. His presentation explained on how Allianz offers its expertise and services, turning the challenges into an opportunity to develop new products for its clients and to invest in technologies that help to fight climate change.
In the past 30 years, claims payments to the victims of great natural catastrophes have increased 15 fold to approx. 30 bn Euros (about RM 120 billion). Forty percent of industrial insurance claims that Allianz settles are due to natural catastrophes.
Loeffler said:
These figures show that new solutions have to be found, to manage climate change risks, we recognize climate change as a matter of great strategic consequence for us. We need to assess together with our clients on how to mitigate the risks. At the same time the challenge for Allianz is to adapt to the impact of climate change and to safeguard insurability of risks in future.
In 2007, Allianz established Allianz Climate Solutions as a subsidiary with the explicit aim to develop new products and identify investment trends related to climate change. Loeffler added:
The insurance business needs to act as an early warning system and help business and society understand the new risks. There are several ways to prepare for the effects of climate change. Providing risk coverage for emerging technologies for example plays an important role in their future development. Securing the insurability of risks is essential for economies to be able to operate.
Ng Hang Ming, CEO of Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad, said:
It is definitely an honour for us to have Karsten Loeffler here in Malaysia and to share his expertise. Especially in the current environment we can see that insuring risks which are related to climate change remains a huge challenge for insurance companies. This is also relevant to countries like Malaysia that traditionally have had limited exposure to natural catastrophes.
Loeffler is in Malaysia to attend the MARIM FAPARMO Risk and Management Conference 2010 in Langkawi, from 6-8 July 2010.
