According to a recent report released by AIR, global economic losses from catastrophes average roughly US$345 billion annually, of which less than 20% are insured

Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) has appointed Roger Grenier as senior vice president of global resilience to lead AIR’s resilience initiatives across the globe, aimed at developing solutions that aid society’s efforts to better prepare for and recover from extreme events.

Speaking with StrategicRISK, Grenier said his appointment will have a significant impact on the Asia Pacific region.

“Our Global Resilience practice provides governments and non-governmental organisations with solutions to help better prepare for and recover from disasters. Through catastrophe modelling we identify and quantify risks to populations and infrastructure, evaluate mitigation strategies, and inform disaster finance programs.

“In SE Asia, AIR has conducted a Disaster Risk Financing project for the Philippines Government. The Disaster Risk Financing project was sponsored by the World Bank.

As a result, we are making society more resilient by leveraging our three decades of catastrophe modelling experience in regions including SE Asia.”

AIR’s global resilience practice serves these distinct roles:

• develop solutions that aid society’s efforts to better prepare for extreme events

• assist organizations in applying catastrophe modeling to disaster risk financing in an effort to close the global protection gap

• establish alliances with organizations to share data and advance the science of modeling and help society better manage the risks from natural hazards

• strengthen relationships with regulatory bodies and rating agencies globally

According to a report released by AIR in November, global economic losses from catastrophes average roughly USD 345 billion annually, of which less than 20% are insured.

The difference, which represents the protection gap, was starkly illustrated by the hurricanes of 2017. Only a small percentage of home and business owners in Houston carried flood insurance, and Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico will be felt for months, if not years, to come.

Topics