Time for the risk & insurance community to play its role

Risk managers and their representative associations, such as Parima, really do need to be involved more often in such initiatives and this will hopefully set an example for the future.

The IDF is an excellent initiative and Stephen Catlin, who recently sold his international insurance business to XL to create XL Catlin, is just the man to drive this forward.

Mr Catlin is a highly intelligent, practical and enigmatic individual, who now presumably has some time on his hands to use his considerable skills to really drive this effort to make a difference.

The insurance industry clearly has a potentially big role to play in saving the planet from human excess and attempting to bridge the ever widening wealth gap in global society, not least emerging markets.

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It makes long-term economic sense for the insurers to get behind such high-minded, long-term projects.

Short-term shareholder returns and raising book value are of course critically important.

It is the reason why investors lend the capital to insurers to underwrite business in the first place.

One can therefore sympathise with insurance company leaders when they talk a good long-term game but actually spend most of their time just trying to defend their business from fierce competition and cutting costs where possible in the meantime.

It needs brave and broad-minded individuals like Mr Catlin to convince others in the industry that going the extra mile and using scarce resources for such initiatives is worth the effort.

The announcement at the International Insurance Society gathering in Singapore that Parima will join the effort is potentially very significant.

The simple fact is that tackling climate change and the global wealth divide is in the interests of all the companies that Parima’s risk and insurance managers represent.

If the risk and insurance management community can gain its rightful place at the table with such efforts and really play a significant role, then it will surely add huge value to such projects.

Franck Baron and his team at Parima have plenty of their plate as they establish the Association, not least getting beyond the relatively small number of established corporate risk managers in the region and selling the message of the value of professional risk and insurance management to the wider business community in Asia.

But high-minded efforts such as that pursued by Mr Catlin and his colleagues need all the help they can get, so well done to Mr Baron for adding another big job to his already frantic agenda.

Parima members need to support this effort in all ways possible.